The Disaster and Self-Inflicted Wounds Megaedition
Dear Reader,
Happy weekend (and happy belated Gandhi Jayanti to those who celebrate!) Here are this weekend’s top stories on the world’s most pressing health and environmental disparities.
A lot is going on in early October at the turn of the U.S. federal fiscal year, around the anniversary of some of the most devastating disasters, and leading up to the U.S. midterm elections, so bear with us!
Warmly,
Laasya Shekhar
Managing Editor
🏨 HOT OFF THE PRESSES: A Hilton Luxury Resort Closes In on Goa’s Sand Dunes
In a tourism-dependent Goa, resorts have long taken priority over residents. Now, that priority is reshaping the state’s coastline, threatening protected sand dunes that provide the first line of defence against coastal flooding and erosion.
This story is produced by The Xylom and co-published by Frontline, an Indian fortnightly magazine. Read more here.
🍑 A SOUTHERN FLAIR
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — When disaster strikes, newsrooms scramble. A new website aims to help tame the chaos. (Neel Dhanesha, Nieman Lab)
“I feel guilty about not being on the ground with everybody when it actually went down, but it kind of was a blessing in disguise,” Laura Lee, who was the news director of Asheville-based Blue Ridge Public Radio (BPR) at the time, said. “I was in a place that had stable internet, so I could make calls and run point on some things that I don’t know I would have been able to do otherwise.”
Read more:
Two years after Helene: Western NC struggles to rebuild amid FEMA turmoil and the missing "recovery czar" (Chris Kromm, Facing South)
Childcare Is Key to Disaster Resilience (Anne Vilen, The Daily Yonder)
RICHMOND COUNTY, N.C. — Duke Energy wants to build a new gas plant. Regulators said not so fast. (Elizabeth Ouzts, Canary Media)
“We used to intervene in [permit] proceedings like this, but they generally have been somewhat of a foregone conclusion,” said Will Scott, North Carolina policy director with the Environmental Defense Fund. “It was really a surprise to see pushback on this proposal.”
See also: CLINCH RIVER, Tenn. — A New Type of Small Nuclear Reactor Gets the Green Light in Tennessee (Brad Plumer, The New York Times)
NEW BOSTON, Texas — A Texas data center project puts Rick Jackson’s Georgia promises to the test (Greg Bluestein, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
“I feel like he’s saying, ‘I’m not going to do this in my own backyard, but I’m going to come to Texas and we’ll just dump it in your backyard,’” said [said Paula Sorenson, a resident of the Bowie County town of Hooks].
NEW ORLEANS — John Georges believes Meta AI deals will ‘save journalism’ — and Louisiana’s largest newspaper (Drew Hawkins, Gulf States Newsroom; Delaney Nolan and Vivi Smilgius, The Lens)
“You think we’re getting a little too close to Meta?” Georges asked. “I’m not afraid of the sun. You know — Icarus? I’ll get as close to the sun as I can.”
FORT WORTH, Texas — Hospitals Have a Little-Known Tool To Prevent Medical Debt. Here’s How It Works. (Melanie Evans & Oonda Zenda, KFF Health News)
🟠 TRACKING TRUMP
HARARE, Zimbabwe — A data-sharing clause derailed US-Zimbabwe health talks. Now all funding ends this month (Farai Mutsaka, Associated Press)
“Zimbabweans have already been suffering gravely as a result of abrupt disruptions to lifesaving malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV programs caused by the U.S. stop work orders and USAID award terminations in 2025,” said Asia Russell, executive director of Health GAP, an international advocacy group. “This deadly decision will trigger a public health catastrophe.”
Why US Transportation Policy Became a Partisan Battleground (David Zipper, Bloomberg)
This “don’t tell me what to do” ethos is an awkward fit for transportation, which — like public health — is an inherently collective endeavor. Moving around entails using infrastructure built and maintained through public investment.
Trump administration reverses stance on integration of people with disabilities (Jonaki Mehta, NPR)
Bruce Darling, president and CEO of the Center for Disability Rights, says when he heard about the ruling, it felt "like a knife in your chest. Because what we're hearing, what people are hearing, is that the federal government has made a determination that [disabled people] don't have a right to live in freedom, that they can be locked up against their will."
At least five candidates vie to become the next WHO leader, as questions over U.S. role loom (paywalled)(Helen Branswell, STAT)
ICC, insurer Axa cut ties amid Trump campaign against court (Kanjyik Ghosh & Chandni Shah, Reuters)
Inside the anti-climate campaign against researchers (Chelsea Harvey, Lesley Clark and Corbin Hiar, POLITICO)
See also: The Coal Industry Asked for a Rescue. Trump Obliged. (Brad Plumer and Claire Brown, The New York Times)
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🗺️ WHAT ELSE WE'RE READING
They fought wildfires while serving time. A new law gives them a shot at Cal Fire jobs (Adam Echelman, CalMatters)
“It changed my life,” said Royal Ramey, the chief executive of the nonprofit Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program. “At first it was grueling and it sucked, but I embraced it. Once I fell in love with it, I wanted to pursue it as a career.”
CALIFORNIA — A Girl Nearly Died After Drinking Raw Milk. The State Did Little to Punish the Unlicensed Farmer Who Sold It. (Annie Waldman, ProPublica)
“My 17 month old almost died this week,” wrote Emily Marris, a trained birth doula and former teacher. “I NEVER WANTED TO have to call her out on this, but it’s prudent that she take a break, make sure she tests for THIS SPECIFIC strain and ensure the milk is safe before resuming sales.”
See also: Haphazard pesticide enforcement puts farmworkers in California at risk (paywalled) (Robert J. Lopez, Los Angeles Times)
“Yes, there are laws,” said Jesus, his face wrinkled from years of harvesting garlic, pruning grape vines and picking blackberries in the sun-baked San Joaquin Valley.
“But unfortunately, at times the law favors the powerful — it sides with the wealthy,” he added, asking that his last name not be used for fear of reprisal from his bosses.
How domestic violence survivor networks are working to keep people safe from fires, floods, and abuse by "supporting women's … ability to rebuild their lives on their own terms" (Gracie Leavitt, Climate Gendered)
"Survivors who had previously left abusive homes and gotten safe are suddenly facing having to return, or have their kids stay with sexually or physically abusive family members, or go to disaster relief shelters where an abuser could find them or sleep outside," said Judy Chen, Executive Director of Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault.
See also: Illinois passed the nation’s first climate migration law. The effort has languished since (Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, Grist and WBEZ)
The Embryos That Don’t Come From Eggs and Sperm
(Frieda Klotz, Undark)“Even the newest human embryo models have a lot that’s different from real human embryos, but I expect the gap will continue to shrink,” wrote Paul Knoepfler, a professor of cell biology at University of California, Davis, by email. Mouse and primate embryo models, he noted, are already progressing to their natural counterparts. “As human embryo models continue to get relatively more similar to embryos, that will raise many issues,” Knoepfler wrote.
At the UN, Panama Champions a Universal Declaration on the Rights of Nature (Katie Surma, Inside Climate News)
“Please, let’s tell the truth to ourselves, let’s speak the truth to our own citizens—climate negotiations are not going anywhere,” said [Panama’s environment minister, Juan Carlos Navarro]. “We continue to have destruction at a massive scale.”
Liberals Must Fight The New York Times’ Monopoly Too (Perry Bacon, The New Republic)
The power of the Times isn’t new. But American politics has changed in fundamental ways. And that makes the American left’s attachment to the Gray Lady more problematic.
How Big Tobacco flooded the FDA with public comments to kill a menthol cigarette ban (Jason McLure, The Examination)
AMBROSELI NATIONAL PARK, Kenya — Who is poisoning Kenya’s elephants? (Hannah McCarthy, The Irish Times)
There are still nearly pristine coral reefs. They're a blueprint for coral restoration (Lauren Sommer, NPR)
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