EarthBeat Weekly 10.27.22

https://www.ncronline.org/files/styles/email_newsletter_full_width/publ… style= »font-size: 19px; font-family: ‘Georgia’, serif; »><p style= »margin-top:16px; margin-bottom:16px »>For most of the past week, I was in Washington, D.C., reporting on and presenting at the 25th Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice.</p>

<p>Since 2010, the annual gathering organized by the Ignatian Solidarity Network has brought thousands of students from Jesuit and other Catholic high schools and universities across the country to the nation’s capital to learn about a wide range of justice issues, from immigration and the environment, to LGBTQ+ issues, racism and poverty, and then to meet with their elected representatives to discuss challenges and potential solutions.</p>

<p>It’s three days full of energy and enthusiasm that young adults uniquely bring to the table. This year, climate activist and 350.org founder Bill McKibben delivered the opening keynote address, proposing an alliance of the young — with their energy and idealism— and the old — offering political and financial heft — to provoke the power shift needed to rapidly move the planet to renewable energy and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions before it’s too late.</p>

<p><a href= »I »>https://www.ncronline.org/earthbeat/justice/bill-mckibben-urges-climate… reported for EarthBeat on McKibben’s speech</a>, and the crowds of students that swarmed him following his remarks. Afterward, he said on Twitter that the Teach-In&nbsp;<a href= »"was »>https://twitter.com/billmckibben/status/1584311245519613952?s=20&amp;t=… a true highlight of the year »</a> and commented that each of the young people there « seemed ready to go to work for good things! »</p>

<p>Outside of covering the Teach-In, as well as presenting a breakout session&nbsp;<a href= »on »>https://www.ncronline.org/earthbeat/justice/what-environmental-justice »… the basics of environmental justice and climate justice</a>, I was able to sneak some time to see some of the sights around D.C.</p>

<p>One stop was one of the capital’s smaller, and maybe lesser-known, landmarks — the U.S. Botanic Garden.</p>

<p>Tucked near the U.S. Capitol building, the Botanic Garden features an exotic and expansive menagerie of plants and flowers outside in the fresh air and within its multi-room conservatory. It was in there where the real beauty of the gardens bloomed.</p>

<p>The conservatory’s main courtyard is filled with plants responsible for producing many of the foods that have fed humanity for centuries; you can stop and smell everything from bananas and tea leaves to the bark of a cinnamon tree.</p>
</div><div style= »font-size: 19px; font-family: ‘Georgia’, serif; »><p>Other spaces highlight specific climates, like Hawaii, Mediterranean regions and world deserts. In the middle lies The Tropics, a mini rainforest amid the political jungle of D.C., with palm trees and other jungle canopy reaching toward the beams of sunlight that spray from the 93-foot glass dome.</p>

<p>As you’d expect with the nation’s other iconic museums, the Botanic Garden offers plenty of placards with information about what you’re seeing and smelling. One highlighted how human activity destroys an area the size of Pennsylvania in the rainforest each year. Another offered ways to help save Hawaii’s threatened plants. A third summarized some of the amazing ways plants are adapting to survive a changing world.</p>

<p>The <a href= »U.S »>https://www.usbg.gov/ »>U.S. Botanic Garden</a> made for a peaceful, pleasant stroll through nature in the midst of a bustling city, and a welcome break from a busy reporting period. The next time you’re in D.C., consider making a stop yourself there to smell the roses, and of course, the cinnamon.</p>

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<p style= »margin-top:16px; margin-bottom:16px »><strong>What else is new on EarthBeat:</strong></p>

<ul>
<li role= »presentation »>Ten years ago on Saturday (Oct. 29), Superstorm Sandy crashed into the Atlantic coast, bringing near hurricane-force winds and extreme high tides that wrought destruction and blackouts across New York and New Jersey. A Peter Feuerherd reports, <a href= »a »>https://www.ncronline.org/earthbeat/science/10-years-after-sandy-coasta… decade later many communities have rebuilt, but climate change and rising oceans continue to pose major challenges</a> to long-term planning for the 94 million people in the U.S. who live in coastal areas.&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;</li>
<li role= »presentation »>Catholic Charities in Florida <a href= »continue »>https://www.ncronline.org/earthbeat/justice/catholic-charities-agencies… to assist thousands of people whose lives were impacted by Hurricane Ian</a>, organizing emergency supply distributions throughout affected areas, writes Katie Camario for Catholic News Service.<br />
&nbsp;</li>
<li role= »presentation »>Ahead of All Souls Day on Tuesday (Nov. 2), environmentalists in the Philippines are urging the millions of Catholics who flock to cemeteries that day&nbsp;<a href= »to »>https://www.ncronline.org/earthbeat/faith/advocates-urge-filipinos-limi… take only biodegradable materials</a>, CNS reports.<br />
&nbsp;</li>
<li role= »presentation »>Environmental agencies, activists and health organizations are <a href= »increasingly »>https://www.ncronline.org/earthbeat/science/it-makes-climate-change-rea… using terms like « carbon pollution »&nbsp;and « climate pollution. »</a>&nbsp;Kate Yoder of Grist, part of the Covering Climate Now consortium that includes EarthBeat, took a look at how those phrases gained in popularity, what they convey about environmental justice, and their legislative consequences.</li>
</ul>

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<p style= »margin-top:16px; margin-bottom:16px »><strong>What’s happening in other climate news:</strong></p>

<ul>
<li role= »presentation »><a href= »The »>https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/10/26/united-na… world is on track to heat 2.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century</a>, with countries’ emissions-cutting commitments well short of the Paris Agreement goals,&nbsp;according to a new United Nations report, released weeks before COP27. At the same time, methane emissions are spiking to their highest levels in decades. Steven Mufson and Sarah Kaplan have the news for the Washington Post.<br />
&nbsp;</li>
<li role= »presentation »>Alternately, the International Energy Agency projected that while coal use has increased this year due to the energy crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, <a href= »the »>https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/27/climate/global-clean-energy-iea.html… global transition to clean energy is still likely to speed up rather than slow down</a>, and that worldwide demand for every type of fossil fuel will peak in the near future, reports Brad Plumer for The New York Times.<br />
&nbsp;</li>
<li role= »presentation »>Emperor penguins of Antarctica are <a href= »now »>https://www.npr.org/2022/10/26/1131489472/emperor-penguins-endangered-s… an endangered species due to climate change and the loss of sea ice</a>, according to a new designation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. James Doubek has the story for NPR.<br />
&nbsp;</li>
<li role= »presentation »>While eyes are understandably on the critical run-off vote Sunday to determine Brazil’s presidential election, an outcome that&nbsp;will have enormous consequences for the Amazon rainforest and the planet, <a href= »Indigenous »>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/brazils-biggest-elected-indigenous-ca… communities are already celebrating the election of five Indigenous candidates</a> during the Oct. 2 general elections, Karla Mendes writes for Mongabay.<br />
&nbsp;</li>
<li role= »presentation »>Speaking of elections, the U.S. midterms are less than two weeks away. Blanca Begert of Grist looks at <a href= »what »>https://grist.org/elections/tax-the-rich-for-climate-action-protect-tow… climate and environmental measures are on state ballots this year</a>, with two major ones in New York and California.</li>
</ul>

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<p style= »margin-top:16px; margin-bottom:16px »><strong>Upcoming Events:</strong></p>

<p><strong><a href= »Faith »>https://default.salsalabs.org/Tf41d1d94-a193-4bc4-acc3-855348f51fa2/092…, Food, and the Environment</a>, Nov. 3, virtual</strong>. With climate change, an ongoing pandemic, war and rising food prices, the need to build sustainable and just agricultural and food systems in the U.S. has never been more urgent. Join the Catholic Climate Covenant and Catholic Rural Life for a discussion on ways farming methods can be in balanced relationship with creation, how agriculture can cultivate economic sustainability and how one Catholic farmer is leading in how food is grown.</p>

<p>You can find information about upcoming events on the<a href= »https://ncronline.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=4c29a3eb94b5f54c4f0…; EarthBeat Events page</a>. Don’t forget to<a href= »https://ncronline.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=4c29a3eb94b5f54c4f0…; add your group’s events</a> as well.</p>

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<p style= »margin-top:16px; margin-bottom:16px »><strong>Final Beat:</strong></p>

<p>Next week, NCR environment editor Stephanie Clary is expected to be back at the helm of this newsletter, which means this will be my final edition of EarthBeat Weekly, at least for a while.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It has been fun to parse through all the climate and environmental news on our pages and elsewhere with you here. It offers a different channel to connect and engage with readers. Hopefully, you’ve found some of the storylines I’ve highlighted helpful and informative, and thanks for tolerating my semi-frequent baseball chatter. [By the way, go Phils (reluctantly), boo Houston « Trash »tros.]</p>

<p>I’m sure I’ll be back here from time to time, so we’ll set aside any goodbyes.</p>

<p>As always, please forward this email to a friend who might appreciate EarthBeat.</p>

<p>And of course, thanks to you for reading.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Brian Roewe<br />
Environment Correspondent<br />
National Catholic Reporter<br />
<a href= »mailto:broewe@ncronline.org »>broewe@ncronline.org</a></p&gt;
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