What A Day: Ginni! Ginni! Ginni! (A Man After Midnight)

This summer, the world has endured historic effects of climate change in the form of major droughts and heat waves across Europe and the United States, but recent flooding in Pakistan has been the most dramatic consequence we’ve seen in years.
 

• Southern Pakistan faces yet more devastation after record floods likely caused by climate change submerged one-third of the country. Over 1,100 people have perished, 1.2 million people are estimated to have been displaced, and there is still more water coming. A surge of water is flowing down the Indus River, threatening communities in the province of Sindh. Extremely high rainfall began across Pakistan in June on the heels of months of record-breaking heat waves and very little precipitation. The loose, dry ground from months of heat caused landslides across the country once the rainfall began. As monsoon season commenced in July, it quickly became the wettest on record since 1961. 
   

• The country has experienced 190 percent more rainfall than average in the past two months. Glaciers melted, the Indus River swelled, and low-lying areas were therefore devastated by flooding. The provinces of Baluchistan and Sindh have both seen more than four times the average level of rainfall, ravaging homes there and throwing millions of lives into chaos. The government estimates that 33 million people have been affected by the floods, about 13 percent of the population, and many of the deaths reported have been children. The World Health Organization reported yesterday that 888 health facilities have been damaged, and the disaster could lead to a sharp increase in disease and malnutrition. Standing water is a breeding ground for mosquitoes that carry dengue fever and malaria, the former of which has already increased notably. 
   

• Entire swaths of Pakistan are unable to function. Officials said on Tuesday that over one-million homes have been destroyed, and 2,100 miles of road (about the distance between New York City and Salt Lake City, UT). Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said this week that more than $10 billion will be needed to rebuild, and the devastation will be lasting. The country’s most-affected regions have already experienced food shortages, and Sindh’s agricultural economy “has totally collapsed” according to Iqbal. Particularly hard-hit are cotton, rice, and livestock. Pakistan, one of the world’s lowest emitters of carbon dioxide per capita, is suffering the heaviest consequences of climate change. Many believe that the world’s highest emitters of greenhouse gases like China, the U.S. and India, should pay these damages. 

Across the world, we’re learning more painfully every day just how high the cost of climate inaction really is.
 

• The western U.S. is in the midst of an intense, lengthy heat wave, which may produce the hottest September ever recorded in the region. Area officials have appealed to citizens to conserve energy, but it likely won’t be enough. The heat is fueling fires and causing heat-related illnesses. California’s Central Valley is predicted to be hit particularly hard in the coming days, with highs soaring to 105 to 115 degrees. Sacramento just saw its hottest August on record. Flooding in Mississippi this week also shows the degree to which climate change is currently affecting, and will continue to affect, our drinking water. As Mikhail Chester, a professor of civil, environmental and sustainable engineering at Arizona State University stated, “The climate is simply changing too fast, relative to how quickly we could change our infrastructure.”
   

• California took some of its most aggressive steps yet to fight global warming, with lawmakers passing a flurry of new climate bills last night, including a record $54 billion in climate spending. Other measures include keeping the state’s nuclear power plant open, sharp new restrictions on oil and gas drilling, and a mandate that California be carbon-neutral by 2045. But even though California is the most-populous state, comprising about 12 percent of the total U.S. population, it’s just one state. It can only accomplish so much when the next most populous state, Texas, actively penalizes companies for trying to divest from fossil fuels. California taking the lead is admirable and necessary, but we will need all hands on deck to make meaningful changes.
   

The devastation caused by climate change is too massive to ignore, but some politicians are still attempting to do so. We have to hold our representatives accountable and do our part to solve a problem that developed nations mostly created. 

*You can donate to those affected by the floods in Pakistan through many organizations, such as Unicef or the International Rescue Committee doing much-needed work on the ground there.

Summer is coming to an end, and as you soak up those last few rays of sun it's important to know what sunscreens are truly protecting your skin. On America Dissected Abdul spoke with Amanda Mull, a staff writer at the Atlantic, about the fewer selections Americans have compared to their counterparts abroad and what that means for the level of skin protection available to us.

You can learn more about this and listen to new episodes of America Dissected each Tuesday, on Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Excerpts from president Biden’s primetime speech were released by the White House, and he is not mincing words about the dangers posed by the MAGA-controlled Republican Party. He's delivering the speech as this hits your inbox.

Republicans are preparing lawsuits to block president Biden’s student debt cancellation plan. 

The leader of Poland’s Law and Justice Party said today that the Polish government will seek $1.3 trillion in reparations from Germany for the Nazi invasion and occupation of Poland during World War II. 

The Chinese city of Chengdu, which has a population of around 21 million, is the latest city in the country to go into lockdown to pursue its controversial “zero-Covid” policy.

Three Canadian police officers have been charged in the November 2020 fatal shooting of an 18-month-old child, following a nearly two-year investigation from the Ontario Special Investigation Unit. 

One of Wisconsin’s “fake electors” (the 10 Republicans in the state who signed falsified paperwork claiming to be an elector backing Trump in 2020) has been working as a paid staffer for Ron Johnson’s re-election campaign.

Speaking of fake electors, Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) has selected one as his running mate in his reelection campaign. 

With COVID-19 interruptions over the past two years, American students’ test scores have fallen to the lowest levels in decades. 

A “pneumonia of unknown origin,” has killed three people and infected nine more in Argentina. 

An attorney for the right-wing Oath Keepers was arrested and charged today in connection with the January 6 insurrection.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for disgraced former president Trump, what with the crimes and the lying about the crimes and the filing of official court documents to lie about the crimes under penalty of perjury. This morning, on a conservative radio show, Trump promised to offer full pardons and official government apologies to rioters who stormed the Capitol building on January 6, 2021, should he run and win in 2024. Ah yes, pardons and apologies to the people who caused the deaths of several people and injured 140 law enforcement officers. The Law & Order Candidate is back, baby! In other Trump news, a federal judge ordered the release of a detailed list of property seized during the August 8 FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, but did not issue a decision related to Trump’s request for the court to appoint a “special third-party master” to review the documents. The judge, Aileen Cannon, is also considering whether to block the Justice Department’s access to the seized materials, but seems inclined to allow the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to continue its assessment for national security risks. Judge Cannon is a Trump appointee, naturally, so we can only expect her rulings will reflect that.

Sometimes, in order to go green, you have to get blue. Blueland, that is. Blueland was founded on the belief that a cleaner planet starts by eliminating plastic waste while creating powerful, effective cleaners for your entire home.

• Blueland’s idea is simple, and beautiful: Buy the bottle once, refill it forever. No more plastic waste. The only thing you need to discard is your outdated idea that “eco-friendly” products are more expensive and less effective.
   
• Just fill Blueland’s beautiful, Instagrammable bottles with warm water, pop in one of the hand-soap or spray-cleaner tablets, and within minutes you have powerful cleaning products in the most incredible scents such as Iris Agave, Perrine Lemon, and Lavender Eucalyptus.
   
• From their best-selling Clean Essentials Kit, to their Hand Soap Duo, and plastic-free Laundry and Dishwasher Tablets, Blueland has something for every inch of your home. And—back by very popular demand—is Blueland’s Toilet Tablet Cleaner. Get it before it sells out again!
   
• Blueland’s stunning, high quality Forever bottles start at just $10 when you buy a kit, and are meant to be reused forever with money-saving refill tablets that start at just $2. Try Blueland today. You’ll love it, and the planet will thank you.

Right now, you can get 20% off your first order when you go to Blueland.com/crooked!

The state of New Mexico is earmarking $10 million to set up a new reproductive-health clinic in a county on the Texas border, Gov. Michelle Grisham (D-NM) announced yesterday. 

Democrat Mary Pelota defeated Sarah Palin to win a special House election, becoming the first Alaska Native to win a seat in Congress as well as the first woman to win a seat in the district. 

President Biden’s approval rating in Qunnipiac polling climbed nine points in one month. Amazing what can happen when you even make a show of delivering on your campaign promises!

Sen Chuck Grassley (R-IA) became the 10th Republican senator to officially support the Electoral Count Reform Act, all but ensuring a filibuster-proof majority if all Senate Dems approve. 

A federal district court judge has rejected a motion from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to quash his subpoena from a Georgia special grand jury, though the scope of his testimony will be slightly limited.