A year in review: COVID-19 impacts the environment
Talcott Greenhouse turns the annual flower show virtual using social media
The Mount Holyoke Botanic Garden is adapting to COVID-19 restrictions by substituting its annual flower show, which has been a tradition since 1971, with the March into Spring series on the garden’s Instagram page. Talcott Greenhouse is one of many campus buildings to remain closed during the spring semester, leading to the cancellation of the 2021 Flower Show and making social media an important way for students to connect with the greenhouse.
Weekly Climate News
March 4, 2021
The U.N. has suspended climate projects in Myanmar after the military seized control of the Myanmar government in a coup executed on Feb. 1.
Claude Nyamugabo, environmental minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been brought to court on accusations of illegal allocation of logging claims in the Congo rainforest to a Congolese cleaning company and two Chinese firms.
The U.S. said it will terminate funding for “carbon-intensive” fossil fuel projects overseas.
Environmental racism has impacted the health of marginalized communities for decades. Read this article on environmental justice advocates fighting pollution in Black communities by calling for civil rights protections to be included in the National Environmental Policy Act.
Arkansas, Kansas, Minnesota and Montana, among other U.S. states, have proposed stricter penalties for protests against fossil fuel and pipeline projects.
The gulf stream is weakening as a result of climate change. Check out this interactive article.
Mexico City initiated a plastic ban, which has raised concerns for women’s access to period products.
New initiatives in the travel industry suggest a future of sustainable travel for the post COVID-19 world.
More than 100 Chicagoans, motivated by environmental justice concerns, are involved in a hunger strike in protest of the city’s proposed location for a scrapyard in Southeast Chicago.
Seville, Spain, is using oranges to generate electricity.
From conservation to polarization: The political history of environmentalism in the US
“As a case of partisan polarization and politics, environmentalism, broadly speaking, is one of the most curious and important ones out there,” Adam Hilton, assistant professor of politics at Mount Holyoke College, said. The transformation of environmental issues’ place in the political sphere over the past century is unique, from its bipartisan origins to the Republican Party’s reversal of support for sustainable initiatives.
Winter storm Uri barrages Texas, leaving many without heat, electricity and running water
An unusual snowstorm hit Texas and nearby states with sub-freezing temperatures on Feb. 12, 2021, and has since led to the death of 26 people. President Joe Biden announced a state of Emergency as Texas faced the chilliest temperature on record in the past three decades. Snowfall at around 10 inches and low temperatures have disrupted the state’s energy grid, jeopardizing the lives of over 4 million Texans, many of whom were forced to live without heat, electricity and running water for several days.
Changes in clouds and the ozone layer reveal human impacts on the atmosphere
Human activity has a significant impact on the Earth’s atmosphere. The disastrous consequences of changes to the atmosphere have been widely researched regarding carbon emissions, but changing cloud formation and holes in the ozone layer play significant roles as well. Clouds are responsible for simultaneously reflecting the sun’s heat and trapping it in the atmosphere. The ozone serves as a protective layer in absorbing ultraviolet radiation from the sun. It is predicted that as climate change progresses, clouds will diminish in frequency, allowing more solar energy to reach the Earth.
