It’s important to explore the intersection between politics and our natural world for a number of reasons, but particularly because both depend on the other for continued existence. If our elected officials lack the political will to drastically reduce and then eliminate our use of fossil fuels, and scale back the use of deadly chemicals, for example, our natural world will be destroyed. And because our natural world, the air we breathe, the water we drink, the soils where we plant our food is destroyed, then so are we. The unusually fierce and frequent storms that have swept our country this year alone, send a dire warning: our government, businesses and each of us working together, must lead our country out of the environmental disaster we’ve created through our reckless choices.

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On that cheery note, I’ll share three articles that help us understand the urgency of our environmental situation and what we are doing to combat it. All is not yet lost.

— ProPublica produced this fascinating, multi-media piece that explores the relationship between de-forestation and pandemic-level disease outbreaks. Among other reasons you’ll read in this article, de-forestation causes pockets of intense “mixing zones”, or areas where there is very little separation between humans and wild animals. The United States alone spent billions of dollars on the Covid-19 pandemic, but is our government and others around the world doing enough to prevent the next pandemic?

…ProPublica adapted an academic model to show how the way forests are being cut down around the locations of multiple previous outbreaks could increase the risk of another outbreak today.

https://projects.propublica.org/spillover/

— This article by the Commonwealth Fund, discusses the direct and indirect impacts of climate change on our mental health. We’ve heard (and studied) much about the ways climate change affects our physical health, but little about its relationship to our mental health. The article even mentions a growing correlation between climate change and increasing anxiety and violence.

Living through an extreme weather event such as a hurricane, wildfire, flood, or drought can be traumatizing. The destruction, loss, and displacement people experience can sometimes lead to an array of mental health problems, from anxiety and feelings of helplessness to depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suicidal thoughts.

https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/explainer/2023/mar/how-climate-change-affects-mental-health

— And finally, a proactive piece put together by the Environmental Defense Fund that discusses how businesses can use the monies allocated through last year’s Inflation Reduction Act to combat climate change. It provides detailed, specific resources to help businesses and individuals alike, understand the goals of the Act’s environmental allocations ($369 Billion-plus over 10 years), how to access those monies and work together within communities to make change. The Inflation Reduction Act is a clear example of the intersection between politics and our environment, this time for the common good.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) positions the US to cut greenhouse gas emissions by up to 42% by 2030, putting the target of 50% below 2005 levels within reach.

https://business.edf.org/the-inflation-reduction-act-a-snapshot-for-business/

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What’s your take on these articles? Do you think the government, businesses and individuals working together will at least help solve our environmental problems?Please share your thoughts in the Comment Section below!

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