Planet Week: China attacks US climate policy
Welcome to Planet Week, where we highlight the last week of environmental news and what it means for our Planet.
Welcome to Planet Week, where we highlight the last week of environmental news and what it means for our Planet.
Last week, researchers linked air pollution to Alzheimer’s. Tropical Storm Zeta tied the record for most named storms in an Atlantic hurricane season. And European Union leaders made their 2050 net zero emissions target official.
In case you missed it, here’s what else happened around the Planet:
Monday, October 19
Floods and landslides displace thousands in Vietnam
Weeks of heavy rain have triggered catastrophic floods and landslides in Vietnam, killing at least 105 people and affecting millions more, reports Aljazeera.
The disasters come as the region reels from COVID-19, and officials fear millions will fall into poverty as a result. Another storm, tropical storm Saudel, is expected to bring more rain to the central region of the country this weekend.
Big Oil merges to cope with plummeting demand
It’s been a rough year for oil companies (see: October 12’s Planet Week). To cope with the fallout in energy demand, oil companies are merging. On Monday, the largest shale deal since the COVID-19 pandemic started went down when ConocoPhillips announced the acquisition of Concho Resources for $9.7 billion in stocks.
The deal is expected to save the company $500 annually by 2022 and make both companies more competitive, even amid low oil prices. To dive deeper, the deal is likely to make ConocoPhillips a more dominant player in the United States’ premier oil basin, the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico. Read the story by Bloomberg.
Babies swallow millions of microplastics
Research published in the journal Nature Food found that baby bottles shed millions of microplastics when heated up, and infants swallow as many as 1.6 million pieces each day — that’s about 2,600 times the amount adults consume daily.
This report is alarming, considering that microplastics can disrupt hormone activity and may lead to cancer, diabetes, and heart problems. But the World Health Organization announced last year there’s not enough research to confirm its adverse effects, and researchers urge parents not to worry too much.
“At the moment, there is no need to be afraid,” Philipp Schwabl, a physician and researcher at the Medical University of Vienna, told NPR. “But it is an open question and definitely an unmet [research] need.”
China attacks US climate policy
China just burned the United States on climate: On Monday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry accused the Trump administration of being an “environmental troublemaker,” committing a “major retrogression on climate change.”
This statement follows the U.S. State Department’s attack on China’s climate record in late September and adds a new element to a feud that has largely centered around human rights and trade.
“[China’s statement] demonstrates how the U.S. has lost almost all of its moral high ground when it comes to engaging with China and other emerging economies on the environment and climate change in particular,” Joanna Lewis, a China specialist at Georgetown University, told The Washington Post.
We wrote this week how the future of the planet relies on the U.S. and China working together to fight climate change.
Wednesday, October 21
The Hummer no one asked for
The gaudy, military-grade truck of the early 2000s is back, and this time, it’s electric. On Wednesday, GM announced its Hummer EV, through a commercial narrated by LeBron James and set to “Immigrant Song” by Led Zeppelin.
The truck is impressive for all the wrong reasons — it’s 18-feet long, 6,000 pounds, and can crab walk?? Perhaps the new Hummer could help mainstream EVs by showcasing the power of electric engines, no matter how unnecessary that power is being used. Regardless, the decision to electrify a vehicle that was once known for its gas guzzling is questionable at best and entirely misguided at worst.
“It’s clear that GMC is banking on conspicuous consumption as a climate solution,” writes Earther. “Yet it’s that attitude that got us into the climate crisis, and slapping a 1,000-horsepower electric motor in it is the vehicular embodiment of putting lipstick on a pig.”
Japan set to announce new climate goal
A month after its western neighbor, China, vowed to go carbon neutral by 2060, Japan will announce its own climate goal: carbon neutrality by 2050, reports Nikkei. The announcement is expected to come on Monday, when Japan’s new prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, makes his first address to parliament.
To hit the target, Japan will need to significantly revise its energy plan, increasing investments in renewable energy and scaling down dependency on coal and liquified natural gas. The move would put the country, which is the fifth-highest greenhouse gas emitter, in line with the European Union’s climate goals.
Thursday, October 22
Final US presidential debate takes on climate, again
Well, that’s all, folks. The two U.S. presidential candidates had their second and final debate on Thursday. And reflecting an electorate’s increasing concern over a warming world, climate change once again made an appearance.
Environmentalists saw a candidate in Former Vice President Joe Biden that finally leaned into his climate platform, outlining his plan to spend $2 trillion on green infrastructure and renewable energy. Conservatives, however, attacked Biden for saying he wanted to transition away from the oil industry.
At the other end, Trump, who has denied climate science, threw around largely unfounded claims about the price of Biden’s climate plan, the dangers of the Paris Climate Agreement, and the progress his administration has made in fighting climate change. Watch the exchange on CBS News.
Election Day is next week. Have you voted yet? Find your polling place.
Bonus
Utah’s governor’s race brings hope to a dark place
Usually our bonuses focus on environmental news, but with Election Day next week, we decided to change it up. The U.S. is increasingly divided along party lines, with attack ads and smear campaigns, distatestful rhetoric, and ugly, unwatchable debates. Candidates in Utah’s governor race, however, recently shared a different kind of message.
“We can disagree without hating each other,” Democratic candidate Chris Peterson and Republican candidate Spencer Cox said in a video on Twitter. “And win or lose, in Utah, we work together. So, let’s show the country there’s a better way.”
Have a great week,
Brandon and Sam