Climate Change a Threat Multiplier Driving Migration from Central America, Expert Says
On 4/14/21 at 6:00 AM EDT
The reasons migrants have for leaving their home countries and coming to the U.S. are often complex, but climate change is increasingly contributing to the social and economic pressures they already face.
Climate change was one of several topics the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) explored in its most recent annual threat assessment, which was publicly released on Tuesday. After providing an overview of the threats posed by China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, the ODNI report examined climate change and migration as two topics of national security interest.
Tue 13 Apr 2021 06.00 EDT
Last modified on Tue 13 Apr 2021 09.20 EDT
Residents of a majority-Black community that have endured long-term flooding from sewage claim that a proposed plan to remedy the issue is insufficient. The Guardian reported last month on how even modest rainfall causes Centreville, 10 minutes from downtown St Louis, to be overwhelmed by sewage that overwhelms homes and streets.
Following the Guardianâs reporting on the âhumanitarian crisisâ in Centreville, Illinois senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin urged the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) to approve federal funding that could potentially address the cityâs failing infrastructure.
But citizens say their calls for help have been met with silence or half-measures from local officials. A Centreville community group says the plan put forth by local officials doesnât sufficiently address the severity of the problems facing the town and say theyâve been excluded from c
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Members of the Las Cruces City Council voiced their support to limit the use of plastic bags during a work session Monday.
Councilor Gabe Vasquez shares a photo from a concerned citizen at Monday s work session.
Stores in Las Cruces may soon be switching to a paper bagging system, as part of a proposed city effort to limit single-use plastics. While an official ordinance has yet to be drafted, City Sustainability Officer Lisa LaRocque reviewed a proposed plan with the Las Cruces City Council during a work session.
She outlined the reasons single-use plastic bags can be harmful, saying they are often only in use for an average of 12 minutes.
President Joe Biden (left) greets John Kerry, the special presidential envoy for climate, on Jan. 27 as he arrives at the White House to speak on climate change. (Photo: Mandel Ngan/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images)
In February, Beverly Wright linked the legacy of slavery and the Jim Crow era with energy development. In March, President Joe Biden appointed Wright to his White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council.
Wright, the founder of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, is joined on the council by Jade Begay of the Indigenous Environmental Network, who co-wrote a 2018 op-ed in EcoWatch contending that climate change is “colonialism” and “cultural genocide.”
Lee Bey Photography
Mayor Lori Lightfoot said it best during an announcement Wednesday at the Altgeld Gardens/Murray Homes public housing development on the city’s Far South Side.
“This community unfortunately way too many times gets forgotten,” she said. “It’s physically isolated from other parts of Chicago. So it’s important to us to be very intentional about making sure Altgeld is not lost in the shuffle.”
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Lightfoot visited the neighborhood to herald the opening of the $7.5 million Altgeld Family Resource Center, a new 14,000-square-foot multi-use building at 955 E. 131st St. The snazzy, new complex includes a Chicago Public Library branch, a community center and a daycare center.