Yesterday my friend sent me a tweet that read: “The Environmental Protection Agency shall terminate on December 31, 2018.”
According to Time, this is highly unlikely to happen but it was done as a way to get attention. However, the article also states that this doesn’t mean that the EPA isn’t in danger. The fact that Trump wants to select Scott Pruitt to run the agency is highly problematic. Together, they want to dismantle all the laws that former president Obama set forth in his last 8 years of presidency. And Trump has always claimed that he doesn’t believe in Global Warming (even though him and his son claim that building a wall in Ireland for their golf court will deter Global Warming *eye roll*). I can no longer pretend that this won’t happen. So many things that I convinced myself that wouldn’t happen, happened.
Therefore, I bring to you today some of the reasons why I think that science and the environment are amazing. Why, among other things like fighting against the Muslim Ban, against the dismantling of Planned Parenthood, against building a wall at the border of Mexico, against the racism and sexism people of color face everyday, against the DAPL, we should also fight for the environment.
Look at these creatures and places in National Geographic’s award-winning undersea photos!
Look at how they discovered bizarre microbes in a crystal cave in Mexico that might have been in there 50,000 years ago and that are STILL alive. This means that these microbes have survived under the harshest conditions for thousands of years. Also, observe how big these crystals are in comparison to the humans. It’s amazing.
Look how scientists are leading “de-extinction” efforts of the Asian Elephant by having created an embryo that mixes the genes of the Asian elephant with woolly mammoths. This is a very interesting article to read because it also raises ethical concerns on the issue such as if they do manage to bring a “mammophant” into the Planet, how would it be received by the other elephants? They also want to create an artificial uterus because they don’t want to risk the life of a female Asian elephant that is already in extinction.
I guess I like to talk about science because it lets me forget about what is going on in the world, at least for just a few minutes. I admire animals and how they survive through the harsh environments they face. I extremely recommend watching any of David Attenborough’s documentaries in Netflix, they are eye-opening and so beautifully shot.
Science is fascinating.
When I was about 12 years old my dad took me to see El Perito Moreno glacier in Santa Cruz, Argentina. We were amazed by this big river of frozen ice but it was also heartbreaking to watch and hear as big, massive chunks would fall at the front of it. I remember the tour guy saying, “I don’t know for how long we’ll have this.”
-Alana
Leaflets in Mosul
In 2014, ISIS seized the second largest city in Iraq, Mosul. Currently, this is the groups last huge stronghold in Iraq. In October 2016, there was a massive offensive push from the Iraqi Army, federal policy, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, and counter-terrorism forces to take back Mosul from the control of ISIS.
Iraqi forces have been in control of the eastern part of the city of Mosul since January. The western part of the city is still controlled by ISIS. In order to warn citizens of the western side of the city, the Iraqi Air Force dropped millions of leaflets over the city. The leaflets warned citizens that there would be an offensive grounds attack from Iraqi forces on the western part of the city. According to the Joint Operations Command, these pamphlets also provide recommendations and guidance for citizens to prepare beforehand. The statement from the JOC also warms members of ISIS to surrender before they face a horrible fate at the hands of Iraqi forces.
According to the UN, there are about 800,000 civilians in the western part of Mosul, all of who have a possibility of getting caught in the fighting. The UN humanitarian agencies in Iraq are also preparing to aid all the civilians that get caught in the crossfire during this time. In the midst of all this impending warfare, the people who live in Mosul are facing other difficulties, such as providing for their families. Lise Grande, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Iraq discusses how parents are already struggling to heat their homes and feed their children.
The army has claimed that a variety of airstrikes have weakened the number of members of ISIS in the city and also destroyed a lot of their equipment. So the army is pretty confident in their chance of victory.
Ultimately, whatever the outcome is, our thoughts and prayers are with the civilians in Mosul and the UN’s efforts to protect them from any harm.
Sources:
http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/18/middleeast/western-mosul-leaflet-drop/
-Michelle Cherian
Still Can’t Breathe: Eric Garner Case Remains Under Investigation in 2017
It is quite a troublesome task being a native Staten Islander. Often, I have a difficult time balancing both my nostalgic love of my hometown and my vehement disgust with its overwhelmingly prevalent right-wing politics; the cognitive dissonance is ridiculous. Whenever my borough comes into a conversation, my chauvinistic gut reaction is to defend my homeland from slander and derision. But then I let reality set in, and I remember that my borough is responsible for such national shames as Trump’s highest poll numbers this past election as well as borderline laughably blatant instances of bigotry such as racist police quota arrests and anti-Mexican hate crimes, among many other travesties of justice.
Which brings me to perhaps the most notorious travesty in contemporary Staten Island: the murder of Eric Garner.
By now we are all familiar with this case. “I can’t breathe” has become a rallying cry for Black Lives Matter protesters across the nation. It seems like only yesterday news stations were flooded with footage of a Staten Island father being pinned down to a concrete sidewalk by police and asphyxiated in a prohibited chokehold, despite his desperate pleas for air. The images are still fresh in the mind of the American public, yet the case became a national issue nearly three years ago, around mid-2014. And as we usher in 2017, the investigation continues.
According to the Associated Press, the death of Eric Garner is still being investigated, but “its future is uncertain as a U.S. attorney general with a law-and-order bent takes over the Justice Department.”
An anonymous source informed the AP that, as of late, other officers at the scene of the incident who witnessed the illegal chokehold by Officer Daniel Pantaleo have testified before a grand jury. However, now that the Senate has appointed Jeff Sessions as attorney general, the future of this case looks bleak. Sessions has made it very clear since the Obama administration that he is an ally to the police and has publicly defended police against being “unfairly maligned.”
The President-elect himself has even stated that the police “are entitled to an administration that has their back.” However, in the case of Garner, the 45th did express disgust at Garner’s death, the action of the cop he termed “a terrible situation.” It remains to be seen if his opinion will sway Sessions’ decision in this case.
Despite previously being deemed “too racist” to be a federal judge, Jeff Sessions is now in the White House, and Eric Garner’s case is still shamefully unresolved. As Jonathan Moore, Garner’s family lawyer, commented, Sessions needs to step up to the plate and show his competency as an attorney for all Americans.
In the meantime, chants like “No Justice, No Peace” and “I Can’t Breathe” still permeate the nation’s mind—rallying cries that have soundtracked the country’s resistance movements. And like any infectious song, they demand to be repeated and refuse to be forgotten.
The Junction Journal 
