They keep tossing that word out! What ever happened to our Republic??
I know… It gave its last death gasp in the 1920s and then was replaced with a Democracy! And then that was replaced with an Oligarchy! And now we’re on our way of losing our Constitution to the Socialist Matrix—with the likes of the Transhuman Prophets, at the helm!
“A passionate plea. The importance of civic engagement and informed decision-making can’t be overstated” That’s a strong sentiment and reflects a perspective that many share regarding political choices and their implications for democracy. Your dedication and hard work will pave the way to success.
Keep pushing forward.
History has shown us time and again that when power concentrates in one hand, it leads to societal catastrophe. From the fall of the Roman Empire to Weimar Germany, whenever democracy weakened, dictatorships swiftly followed. “If one person alone is expected to defend democracy, how secure is that democracy?”
…the question shall be: how secure is that democracy?” It seems like it’s already eradicated given the power of lobbyists to influence the policies. Democracy is just an illusion sold to the masses. When has it ever functioned as a true representation of the people’s will?
The choice is a new Golden Age: Trump, J.D. Vance, RFK Jr, Nicole Shanahan, Tulsi Gabbard, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Elon Musk leading the way or a new Dark Age with Cackling Kamala Harris all the way down to the abyss.
It’s important to remember that democracy is about the power of the people, not just one individual. Every vote counts, regardless of who it’s for. Let’s focus on voting for what aligns with our values and beliefs, ensuring a strong democracy for all.
Philosophers from Plato to Montesquieu:
Have emphasized the importance of balancing power. As Montesquieu stated: “Power should be a check to power, or it will corrupt.” Today, we see how unchecked power threatens democracy everywhere. Across the globe—from Venezuela to Hungary—we witness the decline of democracy and the rise of authoritarian leaders. These leaders, instead of safeguarding democracy, manipulate it for their own interests, curtailing the people’s rights. Democracy should be upheld by the people, not by a single leader.
As Desmond Tutu once said: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Now is not the time to remain neutral—it’s time to raise our voices and defend democracy. Strong leadership isn’t just about protecting democracy; it’s about defending justice and human rights too. As the Quran reminds us: ‘Whoever saves a life, it is as if they saved all of humanity’ (Quran 5:32). Democracy is not merely a form of government; it’s the protection of human rights, justice, and freedom.
Democracy is a fragile masterpiece, and without the right leadership, it could crumble! “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” (Edmund Burke).Now is the time to stand up!
A gov with open borders in today’s society betrays the fundamental responsibility to the American people. Remember, democracy is not only defended at the ballot box,
in everyday life!
Concerns about the direction of democracy can lead to passionate discussions about political candidates and their policies. It’s essential to consider various viewpoints and engage in dialogue about what democracy means and how it can be preserved. What aspects of Trump’s policies or approach do you think are most crucial for this debate?
Is voting for Trump truly a safeguard for democracy, or a capitulation to fear that overlooks the complexities of our political system. While it’s important to voice concerns, democracy thrives on diverse opinions and fair elections, not just supporting one candidate.
The country’s going to end up with nothing! I get the appeal of wanting someone like Elon Musk’s so-called “efficiency” to streamline things, but the government isn’t a business. You don’t get to waltz in and run it like one. You need Congress on board, you need consensus, and you need leaders willing to act in the interest of the country, even if it goes against their own interests. That’s the major issue with our government—it’s packed with people who care more about reelection and their wallets than what’s good for the nation.
Now, Kamala Harris isn’t perfect, that’s for sure. But Trump? He’s not the answer—he’s a whole new problem. Believing Trump will somehow fix the dysfunction is a fantasy. He’s only going to create more chaos, tear down what’s left of trust in the government, and leave us sifting through the wreckage. The Bolsheviks overthrew the corrupt czars, but what did they get in return?
A corrupt system that starved 30 million people to death. You can want change, but if you don’t think carefully about how that change happens, you can end up with something much worse. As Aristotle wisely put it: “Anyone can become angry—that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way—that is not within everyone’s power and is not easy.”
It’s easy to be angry at the state of things right now, but letting that anger drive decisions without thinking through the consequences is how you end up burning the house down. If you want real change, you need people willing to do the hard work—speaking up, building consensus, and voting against self-interest for the betterment of the country. Voting for Trump is just trading dysfunction for disaster. What’s left in the ashes of his chaos is anyone’s guess.
I remember this pic. Abe (Japan) appears to have a good relationship with POTUS#45.
Europe is in more trouble than they want to admit. multiple layers of government, endless regulation, infighting, immigration, climate malarky…they’re balkanizing themselves. The astronomical forces will resist in full force because there’s Trillions at Stake!
President Trump is the first President ever to make me interested in trade and how the economic pieces all come together. He is the GOAT! I’m so glad I lived to see a man like him in the office. That explanation was excellent.
Under the pilfered regime of Squatter Biden, The Dollar Tree (a store where everything was $1.) inflated to the $1.25 Tree. Filled with what I call Commie Process Foods. Now, their dubious merch is even chintzier! No one seems to care…I can see this going on for yonks… Trump hasn’t forgotten what China had done to the world, by releasing the Wuhan Virus. As soon as he takes office Trump is going to drop the MOAB on the Chinese economy!
Then BRICS would do preemptive(s) economic damage control. This Xi & Vlad and company, we are talking about.
Some way, somehow…they’ll get theirs.
Rand Paul (subject matter) is already pushing for legislation so that Congress can reclaim their constitutional authority over trade. I expected higher import prices to create jobs since American products would be the cheaper alternative to imports, requiring US manufacturing jobs. If status quo’s kept and import costs fall, no job growth? Cheap prices are nice, but more income(s) to pay for things is better.
While Trump has strong supporters, the essence of democracy lies in healthy debates and ensuring everyone’s voice is heard.
And then we need to keep voting for whoever will work to preserve our constitutional republic at every election after that. Communists will just keep trying. A Constitutional Republic is a Law of the Land instead of being ruled by a MOB!!!
This is a truth that every American citizen should be aware of. Recognize reality.
This was never about the Democrats vs. the Republicans. This was always about the people vs. the globalists. Understand that the globalist agenda involves destroying the United States and turning control over to the United Nations. No more constitution. No more rights and no more elections.
All countries will be at risk, what happens in the USA actually affects all of the world.
We need a role model for governments in Europe, this role model is the American People. Democrats are ruining our democracy for power…and doing it in front of our faces in real time. Wake up America. Eventually this will not be good for anyone…
VOTE Trump
Drill Baby Drill until we build a grid that cab handle the demand:
We need to pump our own oil and stop funding our enemies’ military.
This is exactly why Trump must and will redesign the military to a peace keeping force from the bullshit we have now … to a strong, strong fighting force designed to protect the homeland. When it comes to the use of economic leverage to create U.S. national security outcomes, we are a commanding lead and an economic master player. As The Fake media will do everything, they can stop people from realizing how effective President Trump is…
Here. Bookmark this for when Trump wins. Everyone who is a pragmatic critical thinker knows that China will devalue their currency to lower the impact of exports to the USA. Beijing controls the banks and they did this before. As a result, the dollar value increases and imports cost less. The Chinese imports then enter the USA at a lower price consistent with their cost estimate as a tariff offset. China takes in a lower price, but retains access.
That’s just how it works.
The importers pay the tariff with a lowered price and a higher valued dollar. Essentially statis for the time being. Then….. EU industrial products to Chinese manufacturing plants start to contract, due to China’s aggressive cost cutting initiatives. The EU gets angry about the impact on their economy. The EU then follows the same path and devalues their central bank currency; further pressuring the dollar to an upward price.
Exports to the EU are now more expensive, and imports from the EU to the USA are now cheaper. Again, the EU goal is statis. Both scenarios create cheaper USA imports despite the tariffs. However, on the EU side Trump then ends the Marshall plan and executes “tariff reciprocity” against the EU. More frustration and gritted teeth by Brussels.
[NOTE: Avoiding this squeeze also explains why U.K PM Starmer was all snuggly to Trump at Trump Tower a few weeks ago – he’s hedging.] Exports from the USA ultimately cost more because the dollar is stronger against EU and Asia currencies.
However, a stronger dollar is an offset to BRICS leverage and allows Trump to play economic chess. Trump uses part of the tariff income to underwrite agriculture exports, but… here we have fun… if agriculture exports are impacted, domestic foodstuffs drop in price. Into this dynamic Trump turns to Mexico. We have a strong dollar, all those Western Union transfers to Mexico are more valuable. Leverage is created:
The economic situation then overlays the secure border dynamic and if Mexico wants to retain trade access within the USMCA agreement, the part that no one discussed comes into play.
(1) DogeDesigner on X: “”If we don’t vote for Trump, I think we’re at a serious risk of losing our democracy.” https://t.co/iAtCWCT9fT” / X Unbeknownst to all those except those who watched Robert Lighthizer do it, the USA has first right of refusal to any trade agreement made by Mexico or Canada. That’s correct, Trump now controls a veto on trade agreements within USMCA partnered countries. Suddenly Xi Jinping is vulnerable in Mexico if Trump nixes the EV production. Beijing is financially exposed and vulnerable. Big Panda is not happy. How do we know this will happen? Good question. Answer: #1) This is what Trump did in 2017. #2) Because he said this is what he is going to do.
Now couple this with energy abundance domestically and the threat of tanking global energy prices by supplying through cheap exports and you not only get EU and overseas business but also decouple EU dependence from Russian gas. So, you hit Russia two ways- by reducing gas revenues by threatening credibly of reducing price per MMBTU or by cutting off their demand from the EU. Economic strength as the foundation of leveraging foreign policy. – Search Videos (bing.com)
Illegal immigration is costing taxpayers billions!
Yet Democrats shout “open borders” with no regard for the burden it puts on American families and states. How’s that for insanity, young man? When will they stop turning a blind eye? Time to put America first and protect our communities. Let’s stop the madness and fix this mess.
Total: $97.9 billion !Think of all of the school programs that could have been funded Aging bridges replaced Roads resurfaced Veterans housed Cancer patients treatments paid for Homeless people housed and retrained for the workforce
Imagine if this was spent on education, infrastructure, veteran services,
social services, public safety, or economic development…
Add up all of that, plus all of the money we are sending to other countries. Can you imagine what each state could have done with that money?! Meanwhile we have homeless vets and people without food.
And this is why our property taxes went up over 50% in Illinois
Why does our government hate us?
Imagine what these BILLIONS could do for veterans, survivors of hurricanes, or just for healthcare, infrastructure for citizens….
No one voted for this….The dollar figures disclose the state governments that are heavily involved in the plan!
Is this counting how much it costs to keep foreign felons incarcerated?
It’s your money, America! “The government” doesn’t generate money, they take it from YOUR PAYCHECK. Did you want to spend your hard earned money this way??
California is the model to observe. Go to any SoCal town the first week of the month and visit shopping centers, banks, restaurants. I could try to describe it in detail, seeing it is the only way. Go to banks, stores, restaurants and parks and recreation areas. See who has ample money to spend while everything they have is new. Big vehicles, all have cell phones, everyone in new clothes, shoes, hats etc. with bags of new stuff. Every month.
Do you know how much a board-and-care costs for the elderly who are legal citizens and have paid taxes all their lives? And it is all out of pocket. Medicare does not cover a penny of it. Our government has NO MONEY FOR THEM!
TOTALLY Unacceptable for illegal immigrant invaders replacing American citizens, when there is natural born citizens homeless in the street, lack of their medical care, education of citizens children with negative learning effects and the cost of living rising for everything and anything American CITIZENS need …. etc. etc. etc. !!!
Me and my family in NY are a perfect example of American citizens going without. We are struggling and hit rock bottom. Car is broke down. Lost a job. Got behind and now looking at eviction before winter. Went to the state for help and they are giving us $883 a month for rent and bills/
This is not sustainable.
#Kamala, that would have been a lot of fixed and new bridges, roads, high-speed trains, schools, people out of tents, rehabilitation facilities. Instead, you turned America into the third world and now ask what can only be described as schmucks to vote for you.
After Trump is back in office, we must start with those illegals who have committed heinous crimes and continue from there. Deportation is the only way…Never was. Those who permitted this are globalists bent on destroying America. Trump to the rescue.
Wake up American voters. We can take our country back.
Harmeet Dhillon @pnjabanis underrated patriot. I’m glad Tucker had her on!
She’s been groomed by identity politics since before she registered to vote at age 29. Harmeet Dhillon is a San Francisco lawyer who’s known Kamala Harris for more than 20 years.
Don’t forget Harmeet is doing this interview just months after the death of her beloved husband, and weeks after the death of her dad, whom she adored. She’s held corrupt Democrats accountable for many years now and won countless big cases.
Kamala Harris is a criminal for what she’s done to America. Specifically, for inviting 20 million illegals to invade our country. Kamala has committed treason. These are just SNIPPETS of this 2hr long interview with Harmeet Dhillon @pnjaban and Tucker.
These snippets only cover the first hour of the interview.
Exposes Kamala Harris for who she really is a Heartless Beyotch: 1) Kamala didn’t even register to vote until she was 29. Former colleague of Kamala (practicing lawyer of 30 yrs) brings receipts in a Tucker Carlson interview. HIGHLY suggest you watch in its entirety — her entire resume unravels. Link to interview is in post if you scroll down
2) Kamala cheated campaign finance laws in California in her first race. She signed paperwork at a cap of money to be raised, and well she fell behind, TRIPLED the amount she was allowed to legally raise.
3) Kamala touts supporting the 2nd amendment, yet is/was notoriously harder on actual lawful gun owners (typically acting in self defense), than she was on illegal criminals committing murder (due to her sanctuary laws).
4) A lab, in which evidence was tested for thousands of cases was shown to be compromised. Kamala sat on this information that could have exonerated THOUSANDS, for THREE MONTHS, until a judge torched her office and had 1,400 cases dismissed. She was also notorious for civil rights violations for those not in “The Club”…
5) Kamala’s election to Attorney General of California was NOT a slam dunk win. In CA, voting starts 1 month out, and it’s illegal to ask for ID for voting. The eve of the Election, her competition had a comfortable lead — and it wasn’t until WEEKS after, she won by 2,000 +\- votes in a state of almost 40,000,000 voters
6) Notable “Fun Facts from the Interview” •Did NOT pass the Bar Exam on her first try •Has never been given a VIOLENT CRIME OR MURDER case to prosecute. •Kamala has never worked in the private sector. Every job she’s had within the “lawyer realm” was paid for by taxpayers •Willie Brown appointed Kamala to specific jobs, each giving her an additional $200K income, and also gifted her a BMW, while Mayor.
7) Kamala was the first person to PROSECUTE a journalist (whose case has been in limbo for the past SEVEN YEARS) over Free Speech. He utilized recordings in public spaces to ‘out’ the selling of fetal parts from organizations like Planned Parenthood. None of the organizations who’ve been exposed to selling parts has been investigated or charged.
Here are the details: (0:43) Who Really Is Kamala Harris? (2:41) Kamala and Willie Brown (22:17) How Does Kamala Pronounce Her Name? (32:23) Kamala’s Crimes (45:03) How Has Kamala Changed? (47:44) Corporate Media Covering for Kamala’s Gaffes (49:46) Kamala Protecting Criminals (1:06:11) What Kind of Attorney General Was Kamala? (1:09:10) Kamala’s Hatred for the Pro-Life Movement and Free Speech (1:18:14) Who Is Kamala’s Husband Doug Emhoff? (1:30:47) Kamala’s “Minority” Status (1:39:03) Voters Don’t Like Kamala (1:44:59) What Happens If Kamala Wins?
Kamala Harris is also literally an illegal alien. Parents arrived on student visas, which don’t have permanently domiciled status. That’s a requirement of the citizenship category SCOTUS created out of whole cloth in Ark v US. – Search (bing.com)
The OBummer’s, Clinton’s, Corrupt TRAITOR Brandon’s, Kommie Kamala with Pelosi and Schumer have all committed Treason. Hence architects of intentional Globalization through open border policies. However, We the People aren’t supposed to notice the regular gaslighting from the White House.
While the Bible makes it clear that no one knows when the world will end, it also says there will be signs that Jesus’ return is approaching. Read this article to learn the six biblical signs of the end times.
The Bible presents a certain paradox when it comes to the end times. On one hand, we have Mark 13: 32, which tells us “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” So the angels in heaven don’t know when the end is coming. Not even Jesus, Himself, knows when He’s coming back, it seems.
Yet in Matthew 24: 5-8, Christ says, of the impending end of all things, that “For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you dare not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.”
So we’re told that we cannot know when the end will come, yet we are given definitive signs that foretell its coming.
How can we make sense of this?
One way in which these signs can be useful is if we, instead of trying to predict the end through them, simply take them as hope-filled reminders that Christ is going to return and redeem all of creation.
In this way, when we see these events transpiring, we can find hope instead of fear as we prepare ourselves to weather the storm. To help you see these events for what they are, let’s take a look at 6 Biblical signs of the end times.
Nation Against Nation
In Matthew 24:7, Christ gives us one of the signs, saying that, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.”
Since war has been raging ever since the Biblical Fall, we have to assume that this means something more—something far more destructive or significant than what we’ve yet seen. And knowing what we’ve already been through—things like WWII—it is difficult to imagine anything worse.
We may very well be about to enter this troublesome age. However, with world tensions again growing taut, and with most every country now possessing the most powerful weapons in history, this sign may be fast approaching.
Consider North Korea, and its boasts of nuclear retaliation. Think of Russia’s growing tension with the United States. Think of the myriad conflicts in the Middle East. And don’t forget that China, one of the world’s superpowers, is growing increasingly hostile with the West. With all that’s going on, we can’t help but be reminded of Christ’s return.
False Prophets
In Matthew 24:24, Jesus warns of another sign, saying “For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.”
These “false christs” will look like the real deal—they’ll preach like a Christian, be charismatic, and draw in many, many followers.
Those followers will sincerely believe that, in following these people, they are doing the work of God.
But in reality, these false prophets are not of God at all. Their messages will be subtly corrupt. They’ll even perform miracles. This brings to mind many corrupt religious leaders.
But there is a way we can discern who is true from who is false—Christ, in John 14:21, says “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”
If we steep ourselves in the study of Christ’s life, we can plainly point out those who are not like Him. So study up, and be prepared for the false prophets.
In 2 Timothy 3:1-4, Paul writes of a sign: “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”
Again, since human beings have always been all of these things, we must assume that these traits will occur at an unprecedented level—more brutal, more heartless, and more greedy and proud than ever. The fall from God-inspired morality to relativity is a mark of the postmodern age.
Ours is a society that has become suspicious of anything labeled “truth,” and this may very well be the beginning of this sign. Moral relativism allows for the creation of personal codes of morality, of personal interpretations of truth—everything is up to the individual. This may eventually allow for the extreme behaviors listed in this sign. Remember the fruits of the spirit— love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Live by these, and you’ll avoid the trap of moral decay that so many are destined to fall into. In my continuing research on critical realism, I discovered a lecture by Steve Ash at the Centre for Critical Realism in which he presents the core concepts of his book, “Explaining Morality.” Contrary to popular theory, Ash presents a strong case for a universal, objective moral value within social morals that can be verified using a critical realism paradigm.
Signs in the Stars: space-stars-inspirational
In Luke 21:25-26, Christ speaks of the sky, saying, “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”
This is an interesting one, and appears in several places in the Gospels. Some of the other verses speak of “roaring” in the heavens, as well as some kind of trouble in the seas.
One thing that’s certain—this sign will not be one to be missed.
It’s possible that this sign is simply speaking of human weaponry—satellite-based defenses capable of firing on the planet, missiles and bombs that streak down from the sky, and whatever other objects of destruction the human mind will contrive in the coming years.
Alternatively, this could, as we see in Matthew 24:29-32, be the great sign that accompanies Christ’s return.
The Great Tribulation is a bit of a contentious sign. Some interpret surrounding scripture to mean that believers will be taken up into heaven and spared this difficult time. Others believe that they will not be taken up until after.
Of this time, Christ says that “For then there will be a Great Tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall.” This Tribulation will be set off by an action of the Antichrist and conclude with the coming of the true Christ.
The Book of Revelation gives us a few details about what this time period will entail: God’s wrath will be on the earth, the Beast will be revealed, and plagues and suffering will occur throughout the earth.
It may be that this Tribulation is the combined effect of all the other signs—a world torn by war, inhumanity, natural disasters, and heavenly disturbances would certainly qualify as a “tribulation.” Whatever the case, and whatever you believe about this troubling time, keep your eyes open for it, and make sure your heart is prepared for the coming of Christ.
Earthquakes play a big role in Biblical prophecy. In Matthew 24:6-7, Christ says that “there will be famines and earthquakes in various places” when the time is near for His return.
Notice the “various places.” We cannot point to every earthquake that happens and think the end is coming—this sign is something different, something more widespread.
Like many of the signs, this will be something we’re familiar with, but greatly intensified—these won’t be just any old earthquakes, but something that rocks the very foundations of the earth, and so do in many places at once.
These quakes are mentioned five times in the Book of Revelation, with the final earthquake corresponding with the seventh bowl of God’s wrath being poured out on the earth. This is described as “a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake that had not occurred since men were on the earth. Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell.”
This is another sign that will be difficult to miss but take care to interpret it correctly. These signs are merely the “birth pains” of Christ’s return, as Christ, Himself, says. Even in these frightening times, there is hope for a better world. Humanity’s future depends on our ability to live in harmony with nature (msn.com)
Millions of people in the southeastern U.S. still are reeling from the catastrophic damage caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, but scientists warn that the Atlantic hurricane season is far from over. “As far as hurricane landfalls in the U.S., it’s been crazy busy,” said Jeff Masters, meteorologist for Yale Climate Connections. So far five hurricanes have made landfall in the U.S. — and the record is six.
Masters said it’s possible that record will be matched since tropical cyclone activity is expected to be above-average for the rest of October and November. Hurricane season officially ends Nov. 30 and peaks from mid-August to mid-October due to warm ocean waters. Masters said the very active period will continue into November because of favorable upper level winds in the atmosphere as well as ocean temperatures remaining at record-high temperatures.
“I think probably two or three more named storms by the first week of November is a good bet with at least one of those being a hurricane,” said Masters. “The Gulf (of Mexico) remains fairly anomalously warm even at this point in the year, so we shouldn’t relax,” said Chris Horvat, assistant professor of earth, environment and planetary science at Brown University.
Warm ocean waters at 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.6 Celsius) or higher fuel hurricanes, but other factors needed for hurricane formation, such as favorable upper level winds, will eventually cap when these monster storms can form. “The Caribbean is warm enough year-round to get hurricanes, but it’s the strong upper level winds that prevent it from happening in the winter,” said Masters.
Staying prepared through the latter part of hurricane season is essential. “Because of climate change making the oceans warmer, we should expect to see more high-end hurricanes and we should expect to also see them later in the season,” he said.
Prepare, Don’t Despair: Cross on bridge
Christ tells us the importance of the signs when He says, “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.”
That’s it. That’s the essence of why we’ve been made aware of the signs—so that we might know that Christ is near and take heart, and so that we might also prepare ourselves. So, keep an eye out for these 6 major Biblical signs of Christ’s return—you might just be able to see a few already.
CNN — Nearly 1 in 5 new cancer cases among adults ages 30 and older in the US in 2019 could be attributed to smoking, according to a new study. About 40% of new cancer cases among adults ages 30 and older in the United States — and nearly half of deaths — could be attributed to preventable risk factors, according to a new study from the American Cancer Society.
“These are things that people can practically change how they live every single day to reduce their risk of cancer,” said Dr. Arif Kamal, chief patient officer with the American Cancer Society.
Smoking was the leading risk factor by far, the study found, contributing to nearly 1 in 5 cancer cases and nearly a third of cancer deaths. Other key risk factors included excess body weight, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, diet and infections such as HPV.
Overall, researchers analyzed 18 modifiable risk factors across 30 types of cancer. In 2019, these lifestyle factors were linked to more than 700,000 new cancer cases and more than 262,000 deaths, the study found.
Cancer grows because of DNA damage or because it has a fuel source, Kamal said. Other things — such as genetics or environmental factors — can also create these biological conditions, but modifiable risks explain a significantly larger share of cancer cases and deaths than any other known factors. Exposure to sunlight can damage DNA and lead to skin cancer, for example, while fat cells produce hormones that can feed certain cancers.
“With cancer, it often feels like you have no control,” Kamal said.
“People think about bad luck or bad genetics, but people need to feel a sense of control and agency.” Certain cancers are more preventable than others, the new study suggests.
There were 10 types of cancer where modifiable risk factors could be attributed to at least 80% of new cases, including more than 90% of melanoma cases linked to ultraviolet radiation and nearly all cases of cervical cancer linked to HPV infection, which can be prevented with a vaccine.
Lung cancer had the largest number of cases attributable to modifiable risk factors — more than 104,000 cases among men and 97,000 among women — and the vast majority were linked to smoking.
After smoking, excess body weight was the second largest contributor to cancer cases, linked to about 5% of new cases in men and nearly 11% of cases in women. It was associated with more than a third of deaths from cancer of the endometrium, gallbladder, esophagus, liver and kidney, the new study found.
Another recent study found that the risk for certain cancers was significantly reduced for people taking popular weight-loss and diabetes medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy.
“Obesity is emerging, in some ways, as just as potent of a risk for people as smoking is,” said Dr. Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. He was not involved in the new study, but has prior experience working on cancer prevention initiatives.
Intervening on a set of “core behavioral risk factors” — quitting smoking, eating well and exercising, for example — can make a “dramatic difference in the rates and outcomes of chronic diseases,” Plescia said. And cancer is one of those chronic diseases, just like heart disease or diabetes.
Policymakers and health officials should work to “create environments where it’s easier for people, where the healthy choice is the easy choice,” he said. And it’s particularly important for people who are living in historically disadvantaged neighborhoods, where it might not be safe to exercise or easy to get to a store with healthy food.
As rates of early-onset cancer rise in the US, it’s especially important to create healthy habits early, experts say. It’s harder to quit smoking once you’ve started or lose weight that you’ve gained.
But “it’s never too late to make these changes,” Plescia said. “Turning (health behaviors) around later in life can make a profound difference.”
And making lifestyle changes to minimize exposure to certain factors can reduce cancer risk relatively quickly, experts say.
“Cancer is something your body fights every single day as your cells divide,” Kamal said. “It’s a risk that you face every day, and that also means that the reduction of the risks can benefit you every day as well.”
There’s new evidence of the health benefits of avoiding smoking, excessive drinking and being dangerously overweight: they are the leading preventable causes of cancer in adults, a new study found.
An American Cancer Society study published this week estimates 40% of new cancer cases or 44% of cancer deaths in people 30 and over could be avoided if people cut out high-risk behaviors, such as smoking and drinking. Experts say the study provides fresh evidence for public health leaders to encourage people to adopt healthy lifestyles to reduce the risk of cancer and ample evidence that people should take action to prevent it.
The American Cancer Society study examined cancer cases and deaths that could have been prevented through behavior and diet changes or vaccines for HPV and hepatitis B, which reduce the risk of cancer-causing infections.
Behaviors that can raise cancer risk include smoking, exposure to second-hand smoke, drinking alcohol and being overweight. Consumption of too much red meat or processed meat and diets short on fruits and vegetables, dietary fiber or calcium also increase the odds of getting cancer. The study cited cancer risk from infections such as hepatitis B, Epstein-Barr virus, HIV, human papillomavirus and Kaposi sarcoma herpes virus.
To illustrate how cigarette smoking is still an issue in today’s society, about 160 students from Chillicothe High School’s … The Keys to Success program spent an hour Wednesday morning at Yoctangee Park picking up cigarette butts and replacing them with orange flag markers to help build momentum for the Great American Smoke out in November, which is sponsored by the American Cancer Society.
Experts not involved in the population-level study said it’s an important reminder for public health agencies and decision makers to adopt policies to encourage healthy behaviors.
The findings amount to “a big opportunity for our country – really every country – to reduce cancer incidence and mortality by being more proactive in prioritizing prevention at a personal level and at a societal level,” said Ernest Hawk, vice president and head of cancer prevention and population sciences at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Hawk said the purpose of a study like this is not to shame individuals who smoke or drink or engage in other high-risk behavior, but rather to inform and educate. “It’s hard to change one’s lifestyle immediately or consistently over time,” Hawk said. The goal is to help orient people “toward helpful behaviors and helpful policies that can assist them in making that choice easier.”
The study estimated that, in 2019, 40% of the nearly 1.8 million cancers in adults 30 and older were attributable to “potentially modifiable risk factors.” It examined 30 types of cancer and excluded non-melanoma skin cancers.
The causes of cancer the study said were preventable broke down like this:
∎ Cigarette smoking was the top risk factor, accounting for 19.3% of cases.
∎ Excess body weight was a risk factor in 7.6% of cases.
∎ Alcohol consumption was linked to 5.4% of cases.
Lung cancer had the largest number of cases tied to preventable risk factors assessed by researchers. The study found 104,410 preventable lung cancers in men and 97,250 in women. The next most common preventable cancer included 50,570 cases of skin melanoma and 44,310 colorectal cancers.
“Despite considerable declines in smoking prevalence during the past few decades, the number of lung cancer deaths attributable to cigarette smoking in the United States is alarming,” said said Farad Islami, the American Cancer Society’s senior scientific director of cancer disparity research and the study’s lead author.
Islami added the study shows the need for tobacco control policies in every state that encourage people to quit smoking. He also cited the need for early detection of lung cancer.
American Cancer Society officials also stressed the importance of vaccines for hepatitis B and human papillomavirus, or HPV. Hepatitis B causes liver cancer and HPV can lead to multiple types of cancer, including cervical, anal and genital cancers and cancer of the mouth and throat.
Earlier this year, the American Cancer Society projected U.S. cancer cases would eclipse 2 million for the first time this year. However, the report said lower smoking rates, earlier detection and improved treatments have lowered death rates over the past three decades.
Environmental scientists play a crucial role in addressing the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. Their research and innovations help protect ecosystems, combat climate change, and promote sustainability. By making significant contributions in various fields, these scientists are shaping a healthier, more resilient planet for future generations.
21 Environmental Scientists Making a Global Impact
Jane Goodall is one of the most well-known environmental scientists and conservationists, celebrated for her groundbreaking work with chimpanzees in Tanzania. Her detailed research on primates has changed how we understand animals and their behavior. Through the Jane Goodall Institute, she continues to promote animal welfare, environmental conservation, and human-animal connections. Her focus on sustainability and ecosystem protection has made her a global advocate for nature preservation.
David Suzuki, a geneticist and environmental activist from Canada, has spent decades advocating for environmental issues. As the co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation, he has been a leading voice in the fight against climate change, the protection of biodiversity, and the promotion of clean energy. His work on linking science with environmental policy has been instrumental in shaping sustainable practices in Canada and beyond.
Wangari Maathai was a Kenyan environmental and political activist who founded the Green Belt Movement, an organization dedicated to environmental conservation and women’s rights. She was the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her efforts in promoting sustainable development, democracy, and peace. Her tree-planting campaigns helped combat deforestation and desertification, improving both the environment and the livelihoods of local communities.
Rachel Carson, an American marine biologist, is credited with launching the modern environmental movement through her influential book, Silent Spring. Her research highlighted the dangers of chemical pesticides like DDT and their adverse effects on ecosystems. Her advocacy led to policy changes and increased awareness of environmental hazards, particularly in regard to human health and the protection of wildlife.
His theory on island biogeography, which explains the distribution of species in isolated ecosystems, has been foundational for conservation biology. Wilson advocates for the preservation of global biodiversity, and his work has inspired efforts to protect habitats for endangered species.
She has spent decades exploring the world’s oceans, advocating for the protection of marine ecosystems. Through Mission Blue, her nonprofit organization, she aims to protect ocean habitats and create marine protected areas, known as Hope Spots, around the world. Her work emphasizes the critical importance of healthy oceans to the planet’s overall health.
James Hansen, a climate scientist and former NASA researcher, is known for his work in the study of global warming. Hansen was one of the first scientists to bring public attention to the dangers of human-caused climate change in the 1980s. His continued efforts in climate modeling and advocacy for reducing carbon emissions have made him a leading figure in the fight against global warming.
Vandana Shiva, an Indian environmental activist and food sovereignty advocate, has worked tirelessly to protect biodiversity and promote sustainable agriculture. Through her organization, Navdanya, she promotes organic farming, seed saving, and indigenous knowledge systems. Shiva has been a strong opponent of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and corporate control over agriculture, advocating for environmentally responsible farming practices.
Paul Hawken is an environmentalist, entrepreneur, and author focused on climate change solutions. His book Drawdown outlines 100 ways to reverse global warming, with a focus on sustainable practices and renewable energy solutions. Hawken’s work offers a practical and hopeful vision for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate impacts, making him a respected thought leader in the field.
Amory Lovins is an American physicist and co-founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute, an organization focused on energy efficiency and sustainable solutions. Lovins has been a leading voice in the push for renewable energy, emphasizing the economic and environmental benefits of transitioning away from fossil fuels. His work in sustainable architecture and energy-efficient technologies has had a profound impact on environmental science and green energy initiatives.
Indian environmentalist and director of the Centre for Science and Environment, Sunita Narain has been a key figure in advocating for climate justice, water conservation, and air quality improvement in India. She has been instrumental in shaping environmental policy, particularly in developing countries, ensuring that sustainable development practices are adopted at the local and national levels.
Naomi Klein journalist and environmental activist known for her work on climate change and social justice. Her book This Changes Everything argues that addressing climate change requires systemic changes to the global economy. Klein advocacy for climate action has highlighted the links between environmental degradation, corporate power, and inequality.
When public and private sectors combine intellectual and other resources, more can be achieved.
Gro Harlem Brundtland, a former Norwegian Prime Minister and environmental leader, chaired the World Commission on Environment and Development, which produced the influential Brundtland Report. The report introduced the concept of sustainable development, defining it as development that meets present needs without compromising future generations. Brundtland’s leadership has had a lasting impact on international environmental policies.
Bill McKibben is an environmentalist, author, and co-founder of 350.org, a global grassroots movement aiming to reduce carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. His writing and activism focus on the need for urgent action to address climate change. McKibbens work has helped shape public discourse on renewable energy, divestment from fossil fuels, and global climate policy.
Known as The Planetwalker, John Francis stopped speaking for 17 years and walked across the United States to raise awareness about environmental issues. His commitment to non-motorized travel and sustainability has inspired many to rethink their relationship with nature. Today, Francis is an educator and advocate for environmental stewardship and sustainable living.
Norman Myers is a British environmental scientist recognized for his work on biodiversity hotspots. His research identified regions of the world with high biodiversity under threat, shaping global conservation priorities. Myers work has led to the protection of numerous ecosystems and endangered species, making him a vital figure in global biodiversity conservation.
Designated hotspot areas around the World (Myers et al., 2000).
Biodiversity loss, which is the most important point that is discussed in the popular and political arena, is classified into two groups that involve endangered species and vulnerable species. Endangered species are under threat of extinction in all or most of their distributions. Species that are predicted to be under threat in the future in all or most of their distributions are vulnerable species (Campbell and Reece, 2008).
There is a positive relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (Loreau et al., 2001). Areas with high biodiversity are more resilient to environmental changes such as global climate change and better to invasive species that is one of the important ecological problems today. Loss of biodiversity makes ecosystems more sensitive (less resilient) to environmental conditions such as drought (Naeem et al., 1999). More species with different characteristics or individuals with different characteristics in a population provides a potential for ecosystem to tolerate environmental fluctuations
One academic has stated that “my understanding is that Norman Myers looked at a map of the world, and he said which are the hotspots that we think are going to be affected by climate change; then he looked up the projected populations for those areas in 2010 and 2050 and added them up…. That’s how he got to such a figure, because he didn’t take into account that some people wouldn’t move.” Populations continue to rise in many regions, with one effect being attempts at migration. Other estimates place the number of climate refugees in the tens of thousands.
Michael Mann, a climatologist and geophysicist, is well known for his work on the hockey stick and climate war, which shows the sharp rise in global temperatures due to human activity. His research on climate change has contributed to the understanding of how human actions are influencing the planet’s climate, and he remains a strong advocate for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
George Monbiot ’s Regenesis takes as its subject no less than the entire world’s food production system and dares to imagine a world largely free of farming as we have known it.
George Monbiot is an environmental writer and activist who has used his platform to campaign for rewilding, biodiversity conservation, and climate action. His books and articles challenge conventional views on land use, and he advocates for restoring natural ecosystems to fight climate change and restore biodiversity.
Joan Martinez-Alier, an ecological economist, is known for his work on environmental justice, focusing on the intersection of economics, development, and environmental degradation. He has championed the concept of ecological debt and emphasized the need for equitable resource distribution and sustainable economic practices.
Tim Flannery, an Australian paleontologist and environmentalist, has been a leading voice on climate change and biodiversity conservation. His books, including The Weather Makers, focus on the scientific evidence behind climate change and advocate for urgent global action.
Christiana Figueres is a Costa Rican diplomat and former Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). She played a critical role in the Paris Agreement, the most significant international effort to combat climate change. Figueres continues to advocate for global cooperation in addressing environmental challenges, promoting climate resilience and sustainability.
W….T….F…… to put this into comparison, the sustained winds are a constant EF4 category tornado speed with gusts of EF5+.if you are in Florida I strongly urge you to leave.
Weather modification at its best.
FIRST!!! To my friends who say they are not evacuating, I truly wish you the best and I pray for you and your family. That is absolutely no judgement on my part. ZERO. I love you all and I just want you all safe!!!
As for any comments on here that have made this political, neither side reflects my thoughts or feelings. I AM NOT A DEMOCRAT OR A REPUBLICAN. I am Libertarian !!!! Both wings come from the same bird and both wings took 3/4 of my life from me and my entire page is exposing the truth. The government doesn’t care about you.
They don’t care if you are sick. They don’t care if you are personally dying of an illness that actually has a root cause but western medicine fails to address the root causes.
The Biden Administration only gives you $750 and doesn’t help you in your time of need with money nor food, nor bills. Not only do they not help you during this time of need when your family is finding ways to scrape money together to go to the store and buy food, but they have their hand out collecting property taxes and saying you will go to jail if you don’t pay. THEREBY, Stop being a slave of the OLIGARCHY!!! – Search (bing.com)
Watch as Vice President Kamala Harris discusses the economy, immigration, the ongoing war in the Mideast, and the differences between herself and former President Trump during a 2024 election interview. “60 Minutes” is the most successful television broadcast in history. Microsoft Bing Travel – Westmount, Quebec(Kamala Harris Affluent Neighborhood She Grew Up In.) … YouCan’t Believe a Word She SAYS.
Offering hard-hitting investigative reports, interviews, feature segments and profiles of people in the news, the broadcast began in 1968 and is still a hit, over 50 seasons later, regularly making Nielsen’s Top 10. Watch full episodes: http://cbsn.ws/1Qkjo1F
Likely, not surprisingly, 29 of the 50 places on the list are in Florida, though several are part of Miami-Dade County. This is the case with other communities on the list, which tend to be in the same general geographical area. Following Florida, nine of the places on the list are in Texas, eight are in Louisiana, and four are in Mississippi.
Areas in Texas are often slammed with hurricanes. Some cities nationwide tend to experience many more hurricanes than others, and some also experience more powerful ones than others. To determine the cities with the most Category 3 and above hurricanes, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on historical hurricane tracks from 1842 to 2022 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, ranking census places by the number of such hurricanes within their boundaries.
Hurricanes are the most damaging natural disasters in the United States, responsible for trillions of dollars in damages and thousands of lives. While destruction is the worst when hurricanes land, they can go far inland or cause considerable damage in their aftermath, such as tropical storms. Knowing an area’s propensity to be in the path of such destructive forces is good.
Climate change has made extremely active Atlantic hurricane seasons much more likely than they were in the 1980s. Since March 2023, average sea surface temperatures around the world have hit record-shattering highs, giving storms like Milton and Helene an extra boost before they make landfall.
“Milton is the 3rd Atlantic storm to become a major hurricane since September 26 (Helene, Kirk),” Philip Klotzbach, a meteorologist at Colorado State University, wrote on X. “This is the most on record for the Atlantic between September 26 – October 7, breaking the old record of 2 set in 1893, 1941 and 1959.”
As hurricanes intensify, some Florida towns are fighting back with innovative designs. Storms may have met their match in communities strengthened by new technology and smart planning. Earth temperature through the decades (bing.com)
Hurricane Helene’s path of destruction across the eastern U.S. is another reminder of how tropical tempests can uproot homes — and lives — overnight. As the U.S. population has grown and more people have chosen to live in harm’s way, larger numbers of homeowners face the threat of destructive storms.
Unfortunately, many communities are not up to the task of surviving hurricane-force winds. But that is not true everywhere. A handful of developments specifically built to withstand hurricanes appear to be performing splendidly. Here are some Florida towns that are proving to be hurricane-proof.
Cortez
As Hurricane Helene whipped through northern Florida.
The lights stayed on — and homes remained dry — in the Hunters Point neighborhood of the town of Cortez. Since homeowners began moving into the new community in 2002, Hunters Point has stared down three hurricanes and hasn’t blinked.
Built to survive a Category 5 storm, the homes in the Gulf Coast community feature steel straps that connect each floor together. The first floor is made of concrete, thicker lumber is used in framing and roofs are made of steel.
The homes themselves sit in a flood zone, but the first floor of each sits 16 feet off the ground. As soon as the power went out during Helene, homes in Hunters Point automatically switched to battery power. Water filled a retention system pond 7 feet deep, helping to keep floodwaters away from the community’s homes.
Babcock Ranch
At Babcock Ranch, Hurricane Ian met its match.
Like Helene, Hurricane Ian was a Category 4 storm when it crashed into southwest Florida in 2022. It was one of the state’s deadliest and costliest storms, but the 5,000 residents of Babcock Ranch emerged almost completely unscathed.
The development was the first built in Florida specifically to survive hurricanes. A few miles inland from Fort Myers, the community runs almost exclusively on solar energy, and stormwater-control features surround the homes. Tough-as-nails hardened infrastructure also presents a formidable front to incoming storms.
During Ian, nobody in Babcock Ranch lost their power, suffered flooding or lost access to clean water. More importantly, there were no casualties in the development.
Las Olas Isles
When a strong hurricane moves in, people can quickly lose their power.
It’s not unusual in Florida for millions of residents to see their homes go dark in a storm. Hurricane Helene was a monster storm that caused folks living all across the state to lose power. But in Fort Lauderdale, on the Atlantic coast, residents of the community of Las Olas Isles were secure in the knowledge that they were likely to remain powered up despite the storm’s fury.
That is because homeowners in Las Olas Isles had fought to get their utility lines buried. Soon, power poles made way for transformer boxes on the ground. A hurricane can huff and puff, but there are no power lines to blow down in Las Olas Isles.
The cost of making the change was high: One resident estimated that if you spread out the expense over 30 years, each homeowner would pay $1,700 per year over that span. But at least 90% of homeowners in Las Olas Isles voted in favor of the initiative.
Medley
Hurricane Ian was such a fierce storm that about 2.7 million Floridians lost power in its wake. But lights continued to burn brightly in the 37 homes in the Medley at Southshore Bay community in Wimauma, a suburb of Tampa on the state’s west coast.
In Medley, a backup microgrid system has the ability to power homes. A network of batteries in the homes stores solar power gathered from panels on rooftops.
When Ian struck, homes quickly disconnected from the main power grid and turned to their batteries. The microgrid system — dubbed BlockEnergy and developed by Emera Technologies — is part of a pilot project that could eventually spread to other communities.
I’m on the East Coast in Daytona Beach- about 3/4 miles west of Intercoastal Waterway (Halifax River), which if you cross, you’ll be on the Beachside. How bad do you anticipate the backend being?
The one thing I fear is that the current ERC does cycle out before Miltie traverses the Loop Current Eddy of hot water, because that could possibly give him enough oomph on the post-ERC restrengthening to delay the inevitable weakening due to the westerly shear and dry air before final approach to land.
Could mean the difference between Tampa Bay getting Cat 1 and Cat 3 winds.
The eye of a hurricane always travels around the central periphery of a counterclockwise current. If it’s path is between both clockwise and counterclockwise currents, the counterclockwise current shall always prevail and steer regardless of the other current being superior.
I want to make something EXTREMELY clear:
Toss out the “what category will it be at landfall?” right now. Throw it out. Why? Categories are for WIND not SURGE. You want a category that you can relate to? Assume the surge will inflict catastrophic damage; AKA CAT 5 damage. Do not wait and see if it weakens below some threshold that makes you more comfortable. The storm surge will be unlike anything Floridians have ever seen. And….it will be at night. Category: NIGHTMARE.
Famous Frank Pharma Czar™ Stated
Agreed. Katrina (supposedly) weakened from a Cat 5 to a Cat 3 at landfall. Surge was still Cat 5 level. Parents house had 26 feet of water, completely submerged. (Water level is confirmed by the water line on the 2-story house next door.) What was the elevation of the property below sea level before the levees failed? 5 feet below sea level.
So the water was 21 feet higher than sea level. 21 ft surge in St Bernard Parish which is east of New Orleans. The eastern end of the parish is on the water. They were on the western end, within levees but the surge overtopped the levees. The water was still 26 feet deep. I am quite aware that the levees in NOLA broke. The levees in St Bernard on the MRGO were overtopped. St Bernard and the 9th ward flooded way before the rest of the city.
Tens of thousands of people and homes were affected. On the other hand, a Cat 5 hitting land in Tampa and then sliding up through Orlando would directly affect upwards of six million people. Hope for a Cat 3. If there’s no ocean or large bodies of water in the middle of the state then what are we supposed to pay attention to? You people only care about coastal destruction. It’s annoying as hell for us who don’t live there.
National Hurricane Center · @NHC_Atlantic
Hurricane #Milton Advisory 14A: Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters Find That Milton’S Intensity Has Rebounded. Today is the Last Full Day For Florida Residents to Get Their Families and Homes Ready and Evacuate If Told to Do So. http://hurricanes.gov
It’s worth mentioning too that #Milton has a slight chance to do (something else) unprecedented here. We have yet to observe an Atlantic hurricane w/ a sub-900mb peak re-intensify and see its central pressure fall back below 900mb a 2nd time. The closest we came to this was Hurricane Allen (1980) when it reached 899mb at peak then re-intensified back into a 909mb 155 kt category 5 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico.
As Hurricane Milton strengthens into a Category 4 storm, officials are urging Florida residents to evacuate immediately, with the mayor of Tampa issuing a dire warning: “if you remain there, you could die.” NBC’s Tom Llamas reports for TODAY.
U.S. President Joe Biden, who announced Sunday that he would not seek reelection in this year’s presidential race, has served in Washington for nearly half a century — in the Senate, as vice president and, lastly, in the Oval Office.
When Biden leaves the White House in January, he will have spent almost his entire career in national politics. Turning 82 in November, Biden will have been in public life longer than some of his Democratic colleagues have been alive.
Questions about Biden’s age have bookended his Washington career.
In 1972, he surprised Democrats by winning a long-shot Senate race at the age of 29, becoming the sixth-youngest senator in American history. Now his advancing age is one of the key reasons that led Democratic leaders to urge him to withdraw from the November presidential race, with polls showing that most Americans believe he is too old to serve another presidential term.
Biden’s decades as a public elected official have led to a long record of both career successes and setbacks. Here is a look at key moments in his career.
Presidential years
Biden’s years as president were marked by numerous global challenges, among them the grueling COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a newly emboldened China and the economic and social fallout of all of those.
Domestically, Biden struggled to address rising inflation — the highest in four decades — that sharply boosted the cost of living for Americans, as well as deal with rising migration along southern U.S. border and issues of social, racial and gender justice.
Biden, as a presidential candidate in 2020, promised to restore civility to the White House after former President Donald Trump’s administration, marked almost daily by his vitriolic tweets targeting Democrats, his political foes in the Republican Party and the national news media. Biden pledged to work across the political divide in Congress to achieve legislative success.
To an extent, Biden was successful, winning a smattering of Republican votes for key pieces of legislation to spend billions of dollars to repair the country’s aging and deteriorating roads and bridges, promote the American production of computer chips, and install new gun controls — the first enacted in nearly three decades in the United States.
FILE – President Joe Biden speaks during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, March 3, 2022.
In separate legislation, Democrats, over unified Republican opposition, approved a coronavirus economic relief bill and later, a $369 billion plan to help control the effects of climate change, the biggest such U.S. allocation ever to help protect the environment.
The substantial government spending, however, has proved problematic, with some economists blaming it for the rampant increase in U.S. consumer prices that have yet to totally recede.
In perhaps his biggest foreign policy achievement, Biden led a coalition of Western nations that sent billions of dollars’ worth of armaments to Ukraine to help Kyiv’s military fend off Russian forces that had initially been expected to overrun the capital within days of their February 2022 invasion. However, even with Biden’s unwavering support, the war has become a stalemate with no easy end in sight.
Also on the foreign front, Biden’s approval ratings declined sharply after 13 U.S. soldiers were killed in the withdrawal of U.S. and allied forces from Afghanistan.
The Israel-Hamas conflict also led to challenges for Biden, who stood by Israel even after pro-Palestinian protests erupted on U.S. college campuses. As the war has dragged on, now in its 10th month, Biden has called for it to end and has grown critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct of the conflict.
Vice presidency
Before Biden ran for the White House in 2020, he was a top adviser to President Barack Obama during his eight years as vice president, beginning in 2009.
Biden was put in charge of many large projects, including the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and the distribution of hundreds of billions of federal dollars to state and local governments to help the economy recover from the Great Recession, while working closely with the-Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to avoid government shutdowns and debt defaults.
When Obama surprises Biden in 2017 with the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Obama described him as “the best vice president America ever had.”
FILE – President Barack Obama laughs with Vice President Joe Biden during a ceremony in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Jan. 12, 2017.
The two men were famously affectionate, chronicled in countless internet memes, and their families were also close, including a friendship between first lady Michelle Obama and second lady Jill Biden as well friendships between Obama’s daughters and Biden’s granddaughters.
Obama chose Biden as his vice presidential running mate in large part because of Biden’s long experience on the international stage as a U.S. senator, which Obama hoped would balance his own limited experience in that area.
Biden was long thought of as a possible successor to Obama, but he did not run for president in 2016, citing his family’s grief following the death of his son, Beau, from brain cancer at the age of 46. However, reporting in 2019 by The New York Times said Obama had discouraged Biden from running for president in 2016 because he believed then-front runner Hillary Clinton had the best chance of winning the general election.
Senate years
After Biden won his Senate race to represent Delaware in 1972, he spent the next 36 years in the chamber, commuting by train most days over a hundred miles between Wilmington and Washington. He rose through the Democratic ranks and twice served as the head of the powerful Foreign Relations Committee and once as the chairman of the coveted Senate Judiciary Committee.
Known as someone who could work across the aisle with Republicans such as John McCain and Chuck Hagel, Biden had always advocated for bipartisanship. However, despite his ties with Republican lawmakers, he struggled to parlay his relationships into legislative successes when he came to the Oval Office.
CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten and Jake Tapper discuss recent polling in battleground states and the issues many voters are watching closely ahead of the presidential election.
CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten breaks down recent polling in battleground states.
FILE – U.S. President Bill Clinton talks with Senator Joseph Biden at a meeting with law enforcement officers at the Alexandria, Virginia, Jan. 14, 1999.
Biden’s successes in the Senate included sponsoring the Violence Against Women Act, which made it easier to prosecute domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. He was also instrumental in helping to pass the Brady Bill, which required background checks for the purchase of most firearms.
Critics say that in retrospect, some of his votes were failures. Biden has expressed regret for several of his Senate decisions, including supporting the 1994 crime bill that contributed to higher incarceration rates of African Americans and his vote to authorize the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
He was also criticized for his role as chairman of the 1991 confirmation hearings for Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas, who was accused of sexual harassment by Anita Hill. In 2019, Biden offered an apology — not his first — about the situation, saying “To this day, I regret I couldn’t come up with a way to get [Hill] the kind of hearing she deserved.” Hill and her supporters have blamed Biden for not doing enough to protect her from being vilified during the hearing.
Presidential runs
Before his successful presidential run in 2020, Biden had twice earlier run for the presidency, failing in 1988 and 2008, to gain the nomination of his Democratic party.
He eventually won the national election in 2020 against Trump, who has refused to recognize Biden’s victory and continues to claim falsely that he was cheated out of reelection by voter fraud and vote-counting irregularities. Biden won the election by narrowly capturing several political battleground states to win the Electoral College by a 306-232 margin, the same total that Trump declared was a “landslide” when he won the presidency in 2016.
Biden won 7 million more votes than Trump, but U.S. presidents actually win office in state-by-state elections, with the most populous states having the most votes in the Electoral College and thus the most sway in the determining the national outcome.
When he took office as president on January 20, 2021, Biden, at 78, became the country’s oldest chief executive, surpassing Trump, who was 70 when he entered the White House in 2017.
VIDEO: Capito Highlights Three Years of Failure from President Biden and his Administration
“Our country cannot continue to accept the level of failure that this administration has made normal over the past three years.” – Senator Capito
Click here or on the image above to watch Senator Capito’s floor speech.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, delivered remarks on the Senate Floor highlighting the failures of President Biden’s three years in the White House. Saturday, January 20, marked the third anniversary of President Biden’s inauguration.
During her remarks, Senator Capito outlined the consequences of the Biden administration’s border policy, weak foreign policy record, and disastrous action regarding the economy.
“This past Saturday, January 20th, marked three years since President Biden took his oath of office. Since then, President Biden has had nearly 1,100 days in the White House to enact the policies that he campaigned on and I can tell you what is clear:
“The lives of Americans are not better now than they were three years ago. Our country is not safer than it was three years ago. And, the state of our union is not stronger than it was three years ago.
“Time and time again, President Biden has let his tenure be defined by weakness instead of strength. This lack of leadership has had negative implications across a variety of sectors of American life, and left millions of people across our country and world in situations that were avoidable.
“It doesn’t have to be this way, Mr. President.
“Perhaps none of the Biden administration’s failures is as glaringly obvious as the southern border and the continued fallout we’re seeing as the result of a president who is asleep at the switch on the issue.
“There have been 6.7 million illegal encounters at the southern border under President Biden’s watch. It’s hard to imagine the scope of 6.7 million encounters – but think of it this way: Only 17 U.S. states have a population higher than 6.7 million. This massive flow of humanity is the equivalent of adding another state to our country that is nearly four times the size of my home state of West Virginia.
“But, President Biden’s border failure doesn’t stop there. Since Fiscal Year 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has seized 536,000 pounds of meth, 256,000 pounds of cocaine, and 56,000 pounds of deadly fentanyl.
“With hundreds of thousands of admitted got-aways, it’s impossible to know the amount of illegal narcotics that have made it across the border and into our homeland. When it comes to the southern border, the only thing that President Biden has improved is the business of cartels, who are receiving cover to continue their crimes every day that we don’t respond to this crisis.
“The list of consequences as a result of President Biden’s inaction on the border is long and it has led to everything from violent crimes committed by individuals not lawfully in our country, to our hospitals and health clinics being pushed to the brink. To our children forced to vacate their schools and remote learn to make room for migrant shelters, and even calls from the leaders of blue states, who sent a letter on Monday asking for federal assistance to handle this crisis.
“Rather than properly defending our homeland, President Biden has incentivized a crisis that urgently needs a solution.“Unfortunately for this administration, when it comes to failures, the border is just the beginning. Let’s look at the economy, and where the unrelenting pursuit of ‘Bidenomics’ has taken us.
“President Biden and his supporters want the American public to believe that some positive trends are a sign that his policies are working. But, if you have spent any time in middle-class America over the past three years, you would know that our families are continuously being squeezed by high prices and businesses are being taxed and regulated out of operation.
“The quality of life for American families is defined by their ability to put food on the table, to earn an honest living, and to put a roof over their heads, not by broad macroeconomic indicators and unfortunately, there is no relief in-sight for American families under ‘Bidenomics.’
“Since January 2021: Cumulative overall prices have risen 17%. Food prices have increased 20%. Energy prices have increased 32%. And, rent prices have increased 19%. All while average weekly earnings for all employees decreased by 4.5%. The basic truth is that under this president: Americans are spending more and getting less.
“Additionally, these policies defined by ‘Bidenomics’ are failing our small businesses and manufactures as well. Small and medium manufacturing companies continue to have historically lower levels of optimism. And, 23% of small business owners reported that inflation was their single most important problem to their business operations.
“Another area in which this administration has continued to fail is our national security, and the standing of our country on the world stage. The same president who vowed that ‘America is Back’ in one of his first addresses has instead come to own a foreign policy record that is marred by botched withdrawals, open displays of weakness, and regretful decision-making.
“Look no further than the United States’ disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, which undoubtedly has damaged the trust between our allies, broadcasted weakness on the world stage, and displayed a lack of resolve that emboldened our adversaries.
“When it comes to Iran and the Middle East, President Biden has made disastrous decisions: Like the decision to de-list the Houthis as an FTO, the same Iranian-backed terror group that has perpetrated more than 30 attacks on vessels transiting the Red Sea. Or the administration’s willingness to be strung along by Iran on fruitless nuclear negotiations. Today, it is clear that these negotiations were a waste of time – with Iran now rapidly increasing its production of highly enriched uranium. And how could we forget the decision to unfreeze $6 billion in assets to Iran, and to do so on 9/11 of all days.
“The foreign policy of President Biden has been defined by skyrocketing attacks on U.S. troops by foreign adversaries, a large scale ground war in Europe, and the unprecedented buildup of China’s military amid concerns about the health of our own defense industrial base here at home.
“While there is an undeniable lack of American leadership in our executive branch, we must remind ourselves that it is not too late to reverse course. And while Congressional Republicans did not create these issues at hand, we accept the responsibility of attempting to solve them.
“That is why Republicans stand for solutions that change the border policies that have allowed this crisis to thrive, rein in wasteful Washington spending, support our small businesses, manufactures, and middle-class families, unleash American energy, and that prove the true strength and standing of the United States of America on the world stage.
“Our country cannot continue to accept the level of failure that this administration has made normal over the past three years.
Jul 25, 2024 — Vice President Kamala Harris and her meteoric rise as the successor to President Joe Biden, 81, as the Democratic presidential candidate in …
Biden Failed on All Accounts to the American People.
Joe Biden’s average job approval rating during his third year in office was the lowest of any president since Jimmy Carter. This is unsurprising given the numerous crises Americans face because of Biden’s failed Far Left policies.
According to Gallup:
“During President Joe Biden’s third full year in office, spanning Jan. 20, 2023, to Jan. 19, 2024, an average of 39.8% of Americans approved of his job performance. Among prior presidents in the Gallup polling era who were elected to their first term, only Jimmy Carter fared worse in his third year.”
MAKE NO MISTAKE: The American people know that Joe Biden is a failed president. Biden’s reckless Far Left policies are directly responsible for our historic border crisis, which has resulted in over 3 million illegal immigrants being released into our country in FY23 alone by the Biden Administration. Bidenomics continues to fail the American people, costing the average American worker a paycheck and a half per year and the typical American household over $11,400 more a year to buy the basics. Joe Biden’s weakness on the world stage has plunged the world into chaos as our adversaries in Beijing, Moscow, Tehran, and around the world have become emboldened.
BIDEN’S BORDER CRISIS BY THE NUMBERS:
Since Joe Biden took office:
There have been 8 million illegal crossings nationwide.
There have been OVER 6.7 MILLION illegal crossings of our Southern Border.
There have been 1.7 million known gotaways who evaded U.S. Border Patrol.
In November, there were 242,418 illegal immigrants encountered at the Southern Border.
This is a 236% increase from November 2020.
November was the 33rd straight month, where monthly illegal immigrant encounters have been higher than even the highest month seen under President Trump.
In November, 18 more individuals whose names appear on the terrorist watchlist were stopped trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border between ports of entry.
So far under Biden, 312 of these individuals whose names appear on the terrorist watchlist were stopped trying to cross the Southern Border.
In FY23, 169 people whose names appear on the terrorist watchlist were stopped trying to cross the Southern Border, an all time record.
This total is more than the encounters in all FY17, FY18, FY19, FY20, FY21, and FY22 combined.
Biden’s Far Left open border policies are to blame for this historic crisis.
During Biden’s first 100 days in office, he took 94 executive actions on immigration, including halting the construction of the border wall.
In August 2022, Biden and his Administration decided to make the border crisis WORSE by formally ending former President Trump’s successful ‘Remain in Mexico’ program.
The Biden Administration announced on May 10, 2023, that it would allow for the release of some migrants into the U.S. with no way to track them.
Biden’s Department of Homeland Security has now admitted that 40 percent of catch-and-release migrants have disappeared.
Despite this historic crisis Joe Biden has only visited the southern border ONCE, and it was widely panned as nothing more than a photo-op.
BIDENOMICS BY THE NUMBERS:
Inflation is a tax on ALL Americans.
When Joe Biden took office, inflation was at just 1.4%.
Since Joe Biden took office inflation has risen by 17.2%
Electricity is UP 26.6% since Biden took office.
Motor vehicle insurance is UP 20.3% since Biden took office.
Food prices are UP 20.2% since Biden took office.
Americans are paying more for just about everything because of inflation:
Frozen noncarbonated juices and drinks are UP 19.1%
Rent prices are UP 18.6%
Food from vending machines and mobile vendors is UP 13.1%
Uncooked beef steaks are UP 11.2%
Motor vehicle repair is UP 10.3%
Transportation services are UP 9.7%
Uncooked beef roasts are UP 8.9%
Nonprescription drugs are UP 8.3%
Crackers, bread, and cracker products are UP 7.7%
Baby food and formula is UP 7.3%
Sugar and sugar substitutes are UP 6.9%
Rent of primary residence is UP 6.5%
Shelter is UP 6.2%
Frozen vegetables are UP 6.1%
Food away from home is UP 5.2%
Pet food is UP 5.1%
Under Joe Biden’s failed economic agenda, Americans are spending $11,400 more annually to buy the basics.
BIDEN’S NATIONAL SECURITY CRISIS:
Joe Biden has failed to stand up to our adversaries in Beijing, Tehran, and Moscow.
Iranian-backed terrorists have launched numerous missile strikes on American servicemembers stationed in the Middle East.
These strikes have injured multiple American servicemembers.
While American servicemembers were under attack, Iranian-backed terrorist Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was MIA, and Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks was on vacation in Puerto Rico.
On January 1, 2024, Austin was hospitalized. The Department of Defense did not disclose Austin’s hospitalization to President Biden, Congress, senior Defense Department officials, or senior White House national security staff for several days.
Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks was not informed of Austin’s hospitalization when she assumed his duties and was on vacation in Puerto Rico.
In the chain of command, the Secretary of Defense serves as the connection through which the President commands and controls our armed forces; it is unknown who was calling the shots while Austin was hospitalized.
The House Committee on Armed Services, under the leadership of Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) has launched a formal inquiry into Secretary Austin’s failure to disclose his hospitalization and incapacitation.
The Biden Administration allowed a Chinese surveillance balloon to traverse the entire continental U.S. over the course of 7 days,gathering intelligence and flying over sensitive military sites, before taking action.
The balloon entered U.S. airspace on January 28th over the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.
Despite President Biden knowing of the threat and invasion of U.S. airspace violating our national sovereignty, he waited 5 days before issuing an order to shoot down the balloon.
The American people deserve to know why Joe Biden allowed this national security threat for so long, why he tried to hide it from the American people, and what information our foreign adversaries were gathering.
Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan resulted in:
OVER 1,000 Americans were abandoned behind enemy lines for months at the mercy of the Taliban and $7 billion in U.S. military equipment was left behind.
Under Biden, the U.S. Army fell 15,000 soldiers short of their recruitment goal for FY22, missing by 25%.
According to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy, who testified before the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee, “This constitutes an unprecedented mission gap.”
The Army projects the number of active duty soldiers could drop by as much as 6% in FY23, below the branch’s budgeted target request for the year.
The year 2024 was a record-breaking one, and not in a good way. In July, Earth’s average temperature was the highest it has been in at least 175 years, with July 22 specifically being the hottest day on record. This past summer was the hottest summer since about the year 1880, this year’s hurricane season started with Beryl — the earliest Category 4 hurricane on record — and a report published in June confirmed that human-driven global warming is at an all-time high.
But it isn’t just the headline-making record-breakers that scientists are worried about. As of this year, glaciers are melting at unprecedented rates due to all this human-induced heat, sea levels are irreversibly rising as a result of those glaciers melting, coastal communities are being ravaged by storms exacerbated through such sea level rise combined with high temperatures, and animals are getting evicted from their homes because Earth is changing too much, too quickly. Just last month, we saw Hurricane Helene destroy towns and claim lives — and its strength has indeed been connected to climate change.go
It’s certainly heavy to see the facts laid out like this, especially considering how much those paragraphs leave unsaid. This feeling, however, brings to the forefront something very important: it is, on a baseline level, valuable that this information exists at all. Perhaps the biggest limiting step in the fight against climate change is turning facts into actionable tasks and, in turn, convincing policymakers to start making major changes in the way our world is run. The climate crisis is a deceptively political problem, meaning the future of Earth hinges on data — and, depending on how you see it, that data hinges on an unlikely source: space exploration.
“The only way we can draw connections between the various phenomena that drive the complex functioning of our planet, tease out the natural and the human-driven, is to connect the dots among them,” Cedric David, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, told Space.com.
“For this, we need an ongoing fleet of space sentinels up high in space,” he said. “The same way we do annual checkups at the family doctor, we need to diagnose the health of our own planet.”
What exactly do climate satellites do?
The word “satellite” is thrown around a lot these days, but in basic terms, it just refers to any object sent to live in our planet’s orbit to perform a designated task. We have communications satellites to make our cellphones work, navigation satellites to make Google Maps give us correct driving directions and experimental satellites for the purpose of pure science, like this one that’s presently testing solar sail technology.
Amid the satellite party, we also have climate satellites.
“NASA and other international space agencies inspire the world with our exploration of planets in our solar system and beyond,” David said. “But a significant impact that space research has had has also been a much better understanding of our own planet.”
For example, there are satellites with spectrometers that can reveal the concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, which is important because experts have revealed that atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are increasing primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil. More carbon dioxide in the atmosphere means a “supercharged” greenhouse gas effect, as the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) puts it — and a supercharged greenhouse gas effect means a global temperature rise. To be clear, there is such a thing as “natural” climate change. But, right now, nature isn’t the primary driver of global warming. Human activities are, as research has shown time and again.
Furthermore, there are many satellites, like NASA’s Landsat spacecraft, that can procure images of how forests are decreasing in size as industries chop them down to make room for commercial ventures. Imagery can also help track things like changing animal habitats, forced wildlife migration and diminishing food supply for certain species. There are also spacecraft with lasers that can help measure the rate at which ice caps are melting. Still others have synthetic aperture radars that show how our planet responds to earthquakes, which could increase in frequency as the Earth warms.
“Having worked at NASA for 10 years, I’ve seen a good number of remote observations that have really given me pause to reflect,” David said. “The most incredible, to me, is gravimetry.”
Satellite gravimetry helps scientists measure Earth’s gravitational influence — and most importantly, subtle changes in our planet’s gravitational field. As gravitational force is directly correlated with objects of mass, this means the technique can precisely measure when ice mass is lost, how oceans are rising and even fluctuations in groundwater supply. “Satellites can see what we cannot with our own eyes: changes in deep underground water storage that would require us to dig deep in the ground to witness firsthand,” David said.
“That’s just mind-blowing.”
Earth’s future is our future
The list goes on — and that’s a good thing. Having so much data allows scientists to do their due diligence, compiling extensive amounts of evidence for people in power to peruse before making climate-impacting decisions. During huge climate meetings— the COP conferences are probably the most well-known — that evidence can be presented to officials as part of a case for change. Without information, communication isn’t easy.
But oftentimes, satellite data is practical in the short term as well.
Hurricane watchers, for instance, help meteorologists predict where storms are going to fall — a crucial task, as these storms are bound to grow in intensity as well as frequency as the climate warms — and methane emission trackers can identify where exactly greenhouse-gas hotspots are located.
David also points out that, in a 2018 report, the U.S. National Academies recommended NASA build a series of spacecraft that will together form the Earth System Observatory, or ESO. This observatory, he explains, would have the duty of sensing the movements of our planet’s atmosphere, the generation of rain, the ups and downs of continents and the continued movements of mass around the world.
However, there’s still a lot more that can be done.
“One grand challenge remains: the accurate measurement of our snowpacks from space. Snow is notoriously difficult to quantify; we can see the area it covers, but it’s still difficult to sense how deep it is and how dense it is,” he said. “Given that many regions — including California, where I live — for which snowmelt is a primary source of freshwater, advancing our understanding of snow in areas that are difficult to access is imperative.”
David believes all of this information is “absolutely essential.” But I asked him to pick the one most useful kind of satellite data to have while forming possible solutions to climate change; he picked radar altimetry.
“We’ve had a series of radar altimetry satellites circling around our Earth in constant operation since 1992 that have allowed us to see the undeniable: oceans are in constant rise,” he said. “The 30-year-long curves of sea level rise are unquestionable evidence that our climate is changing.”
In other words, we have a continuous stream of data telling us the same thing again, and again, and again: Earth’s climate is changing, and it’s because of the humans that populate it. It is this kind of data that should be dictating our response.
“As we continue to explore our universe and inspire people, we are constantly reminded that, so far, the only place where we have found life is right here on Earth,” David said. “We can keep looking for a Plan B, but so far, there is only Plan A: our own planet.”
Let’s look at the Two Factors
The ever-growing human consumption and population is the biggest cause of forest destruction due to the vast amounts of resources, products, and services we take from it.
Half the world’s rainforests have been destroyed in a century; at this rate you could see them vanish altogether in your lifetime! We must take action so that these forests, its plants and animals and us humans who depend on them continue to live. Deforestation is in fact considered the second major driver of climate change (more than the entire global transport sector), responsible for 18-25% of global annual carbon dioxide emissions.
Direct human causes of deforestation include logging, agriculture, cattle ranching, mining, oil extraction and dam-building.
Every year about 18m hectares of forest – an area the size of England and Wales – is cleared
BANNER PHOTO: Tropical rainforest along the shoreline of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Photo by Faizal Abdul/CIFOR.
Tropical rainforests are one of the world’s most complex ecosystems. These hot and humid forests harbor millions of species—10 percent of the world’s known species can be found in the Amazon alone—which together form a unique structure that rises in stories from the forest floor to the tops of the tallest trees. Each of these layers holds its own unique community of plants, animals and other creatures that interact to create a rainforest. This complex ecosystem is a sum that is truly more than its parts, but its complexity means that disturbances to individual layers are in fact threats to the entire forest’s natural order.
The rainforest floor: Where dead things go to… well, die
Rainforests, like all forests, begin with the soil. Despite the vast amount of life it supports, rainforest soils are actually very nutrient poor, lacking minerals like phosphorus, calcium and magnesium which typically come from weathered rocks and earning them the moniker “wet deserts”.
What the forest floor is rich in however, is fungi, bacteria and insects that drive the process of decomposition. Because of the hot and humid environment, the nutrients present in organic matter are cycled out of the soil and into growing vegetation extremely rapidly. Animals or bits of foliage that die and fall to the forest floor are quickly scavenged by other organisms to support the forest’s rapid growth.
This hungry system is therefore strongly impacted by anything that interferes with the flow of nutrients. Hydroelectric dams, for example, can halt the flow of sediments downriver. There are currently 140 dams either built or under construction in the Amazon basin that are trapping nutrients behind their concrete walls.
What the rainforest floor lacks in nutrients it makes up for in carbon storage. Carbon from organic matter is stashed away in the soil over centuries of forest growth, yet it can be released in a matter of years. Clear cutting forests unlocks the carbon stored in forest soils, making it more likely to be released into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change.
The understory: The rainforest’s dark basement shelter
One layer up from the forest floor is the understory. Here light is at a premium. The thick vegetation above means that at most, only about 5% of the bright tropical sunshine will reach the residents of the understory. The plants that grow here have adapted to the shady conditions with wide leaves to trap every fleck of sunlight. Thick canopy vegetation also shields the understory from harsh winds and rain, sheltering growing seedlings.
Understory fires in the satellite imageryEven with advancements in fire detection using remote sensing, some fires still go unnoticed in the satellite imagery. Understory fires are notoriously hard to detect because of their slow-moving, low-intensity nature. Because of this they are often shielded from the view of satellites by the canopy overhead— even as the sustained heat causes serious damage to young trees and shrubs below.
In a healthy, mature rainforest, the understory will be relatively empty. Thick, scrubby vegetation is indicative of some disturbance that has opened a light gap. Any form of clearing opens up the roof of the forest and the downpour of sunlight favors fast growing shrubs and vines over the slower-growing saplings of keystone tree species. Harsh sun and wind also dries out clearings and the edges of the forest, making them susceptible to burning.
When farmers clear rainforest for crops or livestock using fire, the flames can easily escape into the understory of the surrounding forest. These understory fires are often not big enough to destroy large trees, but they do kill small thin-barked trees and young saplings, creating even more dry, dead wood that increases the risk of further fires.
Areas with clearing between 2001 and 2018 (left) align with high fire risk weather conditions in Brazil. Fire weather risk recorded as of March 7, 2020.
The canopy: A tree top power station
Above the understory and knit together by the thick crowns of the trees is the canopy. Up here it is warm, sunny and crowded, like a popular beach vacation spot. An estimated 50-90% of life in the rainforest lives up in the trees—swinging, squawking and slithering through the branches.
The canopy is the main site of interchange for energy, water vapor and atmospheric gasses like oxygen and carbon dioxide. Canopy leaves act as trillions of tiny solar panels converting the strong sunlight to energy, and water evaporating from the trees contributes to the humid climate around tropical rainforests.
The canopy is also populated by a class of plants called epiphytes, which grow in the “canopy soils” (decaying leaves and organic matter caught in the crooks of tree branches) and pull most of their nutrients from the air. This makes them particularly vulnerable to air pollution.
A recent study found that increased levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in the atmosphere from human activity can lead to alterations in the chemical make-up of the canopy soils which could have big impacts on the diversity of canopy life— the same way polluted runoff can cause algal blooms in water.
The emergent layer: Ancient pillars of the forest
The emergent layer is composed of the oldest and tallest trees. Breaking through the canopy and sometimes reaching over 200 meters above the ground, emergent trees are the “kings” of the rainforest. These keystone hardwood species like Brazil Nut, Mahogany and Kapok provide critical habitat for large birds and primates. This layer is threatened particularly by selective logging practices.
Large emergent trees are targeted for their value as timber. Some species of birds like Macaws nest in large cavities found exclusively in these old growth trees and therefore suffer these losses hardest. Additionally, although only one tree is cut, woody vines called lianas that are strung between trees often pull down others as the cut tree falls, and the infrastructure required to move logging equipment into the thick forest tears down trees along the way.
Logging roads expanding into the Peruvian Amazon. Roads like these typically precede further loss in the surrounding forest.
One rainforest
Although each layer of the rainforest is distinct, they are inextricably connected—by animals dispersing seeds and plants cycling nutrients up to the canopy and back down again. Research has even shown that trees communicate with each other via mutualistic relationships with fungi. Damage done to one segment of the forest ripples down and outward, often having broader impacts than are immediately visible.
Understanding these connections, both within the forest and to the wider global climate, highlights the need to tread carefully when it comes to rainforests. Their complexity and interconnected structure mean seemingly small actions can cause unexpected damage.
Logging
Logging is believed to be the second largest cause of deforestation. Timber companies cut down huge trees such as mahogany and teak and sell them to other countries to make furniture. Smaller trees are often used for the production of charcoal. Vast areas of rainforest are cut in one go (clear felling) and the most valuable trees are selected for timber, leaving the others for wood chipping. The roads that are created in order to cut and remove the timber often lead to further damage: see the effect of forest roads under “Oil Companies”.
Unsustainable agriculture
Much of the fruit, cereals and pulses we buy from tropical countries have been grown in areas where tropical rainforests once thrived. The forests are cut down to make way for vast plantations where products such as bananas, palm oil, pineapple, sugar cane, tea and coffee are grown. As with cattle ranching, the soil will not sustain crops for long, and after a few years the farmers have to cut down more rainforest for new plantations.
Cattle ranching
Many rainforests in Central and South America have been burnt down to make way for cattle farming, which supplies beef to the rest of the world. It is estimated that for each pound of beef produced, 200 square feet of rainforest are destroyed. The cleared land cannot be used for long without the forests’ nourishment. The soil soon becomes dry and the cattle farmers then have to move on to create new cattle pastures leaving a trail of destruction.
Mining
The demand for minerals and metals such as oil, aluminium, copper, gold and diamonds mean that rainforests are destroyed to access the ground below. Developed nations relentlessly demand minerals and metals such as oil, aluminium, copper, gold and diamonds, which are often found in the ground below rainforests. The forest therefore has to be removed in order to extract them. Poisonous chemicals are sometimes used to separate the waste from the minerals, for example mercury, which is used to separate gold from the soil and debris with which it is mixed. These chemicals often end up in rivers, polluting water supplies which local people depend on, killing fish and affecting the river’s ecosystem.
Oil companies
Rainforests are seriously affected by oil companies searching for new oil deposits. Often large roads are built through untouched forests in order to build pipelines and extract the oil. This encourages settlers to move into previously pristine forests and start slash-and-burn farming or cutting more timber to sell or to produce charcoal. Once established, the oil pipelines which transport the oil sometimes rupture, spouting gallons of oil into the surrounding forest, killing wildlife and contaminating the water supplies of local villages.
Dams
The World Bank and large companies invest money in developing countries to build dams for the generation of electricity. This is often viewed as renewable ‘clean’ energy, but it can involve flooding vast areas of rainforest. Dams built in rainforest areas often have a short life because the submerged forest gradually rots, making the reservoir water acidic, which eventually corrodes the dam turbines.
What is the Relationship Between Deforestation And Climate Change?
What, exactly, is the relationship between deforestation and climate change?
The Rainforest Alliance breaks down the numbers for you—and explains our innovative approach to keeping forests standing.
Among the many gifts forests give us is one we desperately need: help with slowing climate change. Trees capture greenhouse gases (GHGs) like carbon dioxide, preventing them from accumulating in the atmosphere and warming our planet.
When we clear forests, we’re not only knocking out our best ally in capturing the staggering amount of GHGs we humans create (which we do primarily by burning fossil fuels at energy facilities, and of course, in cars, planes, and trains). We’re also creating emissions by cutting down trees: when trees are felled, they release into the atmosphere all the carbon they’ve been storing. What the deforesters do with the felled trees—either leaving them to rot on the forest floor or burning them—creates further emissions. All told, deforestation on its own causes about 10 percent of worldwide emissions.
Knowing that deforestation robs us of a crucial weapon in the battle against climate change—and creates further emissions—why on Earth would anyone clear a forest? The main reason is agriculture. The world’s exploding population has made it profitable for big business to raze forests so it can plant mega crops like soy and oil palm; meanwhile, on a much, much smaller scale, subsistence farmers often clear trees so they can plant crops to feed their families and bring in small amounts of cash.
But there’s a tragic irony to clearing rainforests for agriculture: their underlying soils are extremely poor. All the nutrient-richness is locked up in the forests themselves, so once they are burned and the nutrients from their ashes are used up, farmers are left with utterly useless soil. So on they go to the next patch of forest: raze, plant, deplete, repeat. All told, agriculture is responsible for at least 80 percent of tropical deforestation.
Not surprisingly, agriculture causes emissions, too—in fact, farm emissions are second only to those of the energy sector in the dubious contest for the emissions title. In 2011, farms were responsible for about 13 percent of total global emissions. Most farm-related emissions come in the form of methane (cattle belching) and nitrous oxide (from fertilizers and the like).
All told, deforestation causes a triple-whammy of global warming:
We lose a crucial ally in keeping excess carbon out of the atmosphere (and in slowing global warming),
Even more emissions are created when felled trees release the carbon they’d been storing, and rot or burn on the forest floor, and
What most often replaces the now-vanished forest, livestock and crops, generate massive amounts of even more greenhouse gases. Taken together, these emissions account for a quarter of all emissions worldwide.
Our accounting of the ugly impacts of deforestation only considers emissions and doesn’t even touch on how the lives and traditions of forest communities are ruined when forests are razed, or how many species of plants and animals are lost, upsetting the delicate balance of ecosystems. The uptick in mosquito-borne diseases, for example, or the rapid spread of roya, an insidious plant disease that threatens our supply of coffee are all indirect consequences of deforestation and global warming.
There’s no doubt about it: the best thing we can do to fight climate change is keep forests standing. Yet the need to feed a rapidly growing global population—projected to reach 9 billion by 2050—is urgent. That’s why the Rainforest Alliance works with farmers to advance a variety of strategies, such as crop intensification (growing more food on less land), and with traditional forest-dwellers to develop livelihoods that don’t hurt forests or ecosystems. We stand more of a chance in this fight with forests standing strong.
The Second Factor is the Indian Ocean brown cloud.
The Indian Ocean brown cloud or The Asian brown cloud is a layer of air pollution that recurrently covers parts of South Asia, namely the northern Indian Ocean, India, and Pakistan.[1][2] Viewed from satellite photos, the cloud appears as a giant brown stain hanging in the air over much of the Indian subcontinent and the Indian Ocean every year between October and February, possibly also during earlier and later months. The term was coined in reports from the UNEP Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX). It was found to originate mostly due to farmers burning stubble in Punjab and to lesser extent Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The debilitating air quality in Delhi is also due to the stubble burning in Punjab.[3]
The term atmospheric brown cloud is used for a more generic context not specific to the Asian region.[4]
Causes
The Asian brown cloud is created by a range of airborne particles and pollutants from combustion (e.g., woodfires, cars, and factories), biomass burning[5] and industrial processes with incomplete burning.[6] The cloud is associated with the winter monsoon (October/November to February/March) during which there is no rain to wash pollutants from the air.[7]
Observations
This pollution layer was observed during the Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX) intensive field observation in 1999 and described in the UNEP impact assessment study published 2002.[3] Scientists in India claimed that the Asian Brown cloud is not something specific to Asia.[8] Subsequently, when the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) organized a follow-up international project, the subject of study was renamed the Atmospheric Brown Cloud with focus on Asia.
The cloud was also reported by NASA in 2004[9] and 2007.[10]
Although aerosol particles are generally associated with a global cooling effect, recent studies have shown that they can actually have a global warming effect in certain regions such as the Himalayas.[11]
Impacts
Health problems
One major impact is on health. A 2002 study indicated nearly two million people die each year, in Asia alone, from conditions related to the brown cloud.[12]
Regional weather
A second assessment study was published in 2008.[13] It highlighted regional concerns regarding:
Changes of rainfall patterns with the Asian monsoon, as well as a delaying of the start of the Asian monsoon, by several weeks.[14][15] The observed weakening Indian monsoon and in China northern drought and southern flooding is influenced by the clouds.
Increase in rainfall over the AustralianTop End and Kimberley regions. A CSIRO study has found that by displacing the thermal equator southwards via cooling of the air over East Asia, the monsoon which brings most of the rain to these regions has been intensified and displaced southward.[16]
Retreat of the Hindu Kush–Himalayan glaciers and snow packs. The cause is attributed to rising air temperatures that are more pronounced in elevated regions, a combined warming effect of greenhouse gases and the Asian Brown Cloud. Also deposition of black carbon decreases the reflection and exacerbates the retreat. Asian glacial melting could lead to water shortages and floods for the hundreds of millions of people who live downstream.
Decrease of crop harvests. Elevated concentrations of surface ozone are likely to affect crop yields negatively. The impact is crop specific.
Cyclone intensity in Arabian Sea
A 2011 study found that pollution is making Arabian Sea cyclones more intense as the atmospheric brown clouds has been producing weakening wind patterns which prevent wind shear patterns that historically have prohibited cyclones in the Arabian Sea from becoming major storms. This phenomenon was found responsible for the formation of stronger storms in 2007 and 2010 that were the first recorded storms to enter the Gulf of Oman.[17][18]
Global warming and dimming
The 2008 report also addressed the global concern of warming and concluded that the brown clouds have masked 20 to 80 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the past century. The report suggested that air pollution regulations can have large amplifying effects on global warming.[clarification needed]
Another major impact is on the polar ice caps.
Black carbon (soot) in the Asian Brown Cloud may be reflecting sunlight and dimming Earth below but it is warming other places by absorbing incoming radiation and warming the atmosphere and whatever it touches.[19]
Black carbon is three times more effective than carbon dioxide—the most common greenhouse gas—at melting polar ice and snow.[20]
Black carbon in snow causes about three times the temperature change as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. On snow—even at concentrations below five parts per billion–dark carbon triggers melting, and may be responsible for as much as 94 percent of Arctic warming.[21]
Silva-Send, Nilmini (2007) Preventing regional air pollution in Asia : the potential role of the European Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution in Asian regionsUniversity of Kiel, Kiel, Germany, OCLC262737812
Fact: With all that’s required to mine and process minerals — from giant diesel trucks to fossil-fuel-powered refineries — EV battery production has a significant carbon footprint. As a result, building an electric vehicle does more damage to the climate than building a gas car does.
But the gas car starts to catch up as soon as it goes its first mile.
The toxicity of the battery material is a direct threat to organisms on various trophic levels as well as direct threats to human health. Identified pollution pathways are via leaching, disintegration and degradation of the batteries, however violent incidents such as fires and explosions are also significant.
This GOES-16 GeoColor satellite image taken at 5:46 p.m. ET and provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Shows a 350 mile wide Hurricane Helene in the Gulf of Mexico moving toward Florida, on Thursday. (NOAA/The Associated Press)Why Hurricane Helene was so destructive – Search (bing.com)
Parts of the Southeast, including North Carolina, had been dealing with rain before Helene arrived. Together, the storms dumped 40 trillion gallons of water — the equivalent of Lake Tahoe — on the region in over a week, the Associated Press reported.
Typically, hurricanes weaken and winds die down as they move from the warm ocean to dry land. While Helene did devolve into a tropical storm as it moved inland, the warm, sodden ground from previous rains could have helped propel the storm more forcefully than usual, Dev Niyogi, a University of Texas at Austin earth and planetary sciences professor, told The New York Times.
“This has been an unprecedented storm that has hit western North Carolina,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said. “It’s requiring an unprecedented response.”
Swollen rivers overflowed, landslides cut off roads, and flash floods sweptpeople away as they tried to find safety. The last time Asheville saw anything like this disaster was in 1916 during the collision of two tropical storms, which killed 80 people, according to The Washington Post. The affected states are trying to coordinate disaster relief along with recovery and rescue. Hundreds of people are still missing or unable to contact loved ones.
Some mountainous areas are relying on helicopters to bring necessary supplies. Reaching rural areas has also been a struggle.”We know there’s areas we haven’t gotten to yet,” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told CNN, “and so we’ll continue to get that information of the places that still need critical equipment, critical food and water.”
Here’s a look at just how bad it was — and a few reasons why.
U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with violent winds extending up to 560 kilometres from its centre. It was also travelling twice as fast as a typical Gulf of Mexico storm striking the coast.
The storm made landfall in Perry, Fla, on Thursday night as a Category 4 hurricane, with winds reaching 225 km/h, according to NOAA, which said it was one of the most powerful ever to strike the U.S. On the Florida coast, it caused storm surges of up to 4.6 metres.
Meteorologist Ryan Maue and Ed Clark, head of NOAA’s National Water Center, independently calculated that 151 trillion litres of water poured down on the southeastern U.S. over four days. That’s enough to fill and overflow Lake Athabasca, Canada’s tenth largest lake, or cover the entire surfaces of both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick together more than a metre deep.
The deluge caused record flooding in at least seven locations in North Carolina and Tennessee, the BBC reported. In Buncombe County, N.C., where the town of Asheville suffered major damage, Ryan Cole, a local emergency services assistant director, described its impact as “biblical” devastation. What made Helene so bad?
Many places hit by Helene, such as Asheville, N.C., had already been pounded by rain from other two or three other storms before the remnants of the hurricane arrived, including one that fell just short of named status along North Carolina’s coast, said state climatologist Kathie Dello.
“Torrential rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Helene capped off three days of extreme, unrelenting precipitation,” said the North Carolina State Climate Office in a blog post Monday.
That meant streamflows were already at daily record highs and soils on local mountain slopes were already saturated by the time the remnants of Helene brought more heavy rain.
As Helene passed through, it could have mopped up some of the evaporating water as additional energy. That’s a phenomenon known as the “brown-ocean effect” since it resembles, on a smaller scale, the normal building of storms from ocean heat and evaporation.
Marshall Shepherd, director of the University of Georgia’s atmospheric sciences program, told The New York Times that could have been a factor, and he and his colleagues are planning to study how much the effect could have contributed to Helene’s force.
Helene was so fast and powerful that it moved far inland. Some of the areas most devastated by the storm were in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, which saw “catastrophic flooding and unimaginable damage,” the state’s climate office said.
As storm clouds moved into the mountains, they were forced up and over. That “tends to squeeze out more rainfall,” Doug Outlaw, a National Weather Service meteorologist told NBC News.
The storm strengthened very quickly — a phenomenon called rapid intensification. Helene had become a Category 1 hurricane by Thursday morning, and had intensified to Category 4 within 12 hours.
In the case of Helene, climate change caused it to drop 50 per cent more rainfall in some parts of Georgia and the Carolinas, and made those record rainfalls up to 20 times more likely, reported researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in a rapid climate attribution study released Monday. That study is based on methods used for a similar study on Hurricane Harvey, but has not yet been peer reviewed.
In the days before Helene made landfall, it drew a lot of energy from the very warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, strengthening quickly from a Category 1 to a powerful Category 4 hurricane. High sea surface temperatures meant there was a lot of moisture in the atmosphere capable of producing a vast amount of rain and this moisture was carried deep inland by the storm.
Most very powerful hurricanes do strengthen rapidly but what was unusual about Helene was the sheer scale of the storm’s rain clouds and wind field coverage.Despite the storm making landfall on Florida’s Big Bend, even cities such as Miami, many hundreds of miles away, experienced wind gusts of more than 70mph (110km/h), due to Helene’s vast size.
It also meant the extreme rainfall took a long time to pass over any location in Helene’s path.
Why was North Carolina so badly hit?
More than six months’ worth of rain landed in parts of North Carolina as Helene passed through.The mountainous western part of the state suffered huge impacts from the storm due to its topography, with homes and bridges washed away, villages flattened and the tourist city of Asheville cut off.
Mountainous terrain typically receives heavier rain than lowland areas.
Tropical systems also tend to bring especially heavy rain so it is not surprising that river levels rose so rapidly and flash flooding was so extreme, cutting off vulnerable communities in the state. Media caption, Sarah Keith-Lucas describes Helene’s destructive path across the south-eastern United States.
How bad was the flooding?
Helene brought historic flooding and a storm surge of more than 15 feet (4.5m) as it barrelled across the south east of the US.Record flood crests were measured in at least seven locations in North Carolina and Tennessee. In parts of western North Carolina, records that had stood since the “Great Flood” of July 1916 were smashed.
The states in the storm’s path had already had a lot of rain in the days ahead of Helene’s arrival, so the ground was already saturated. This meant flooding was more likely because the ground could not absorb any more water.The destruction across the south-eastern states was also down to a phenomenon known as the “brown ocean effect”.
This is when a storm continues to draw some energy as it passes over wet ground, so it does not fizzle out as fast as a storm that crosses dry terrain.
Could climate change have made Helene worse?
Initial analysis of the storm already suggests that human induced climate change played a significant role in the amount of rainfall dumped by Helene.
One rapid attribution study, external claims that climate change caused over 50% more rainfall during Hurricane Helene in some parts of Georgia and the Carolinas.
Another study, external found that cyclones similar to Hurricane Helene are up to 20% wetter over the south-east of the US and up to 7% windier in Florida’s Gulf today compared to the past.
It is well understood that a warming climate means a wetter world. That is because a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, which produces more intense rainfall.
We could see the impacts of tropical cyclones reaching further inland in a warming worldInitial analysis of the storm already suggests that human induced climate change played a significant role in the amount of rainfall dumped by Helene.
There was a lull in Atlantic hurricanes forming mid-season due to an unusual pattern in the West African monsoon, which prevented storms brewing in the area where they usually thrive. The waters of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean are currently above average temperature, meaning there is more potential for powerful storms to develop through the rest of the autumn.
What we covered here
• Helene makes historic landfall: Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 storm and is now a Category 1. It is the strongest hurricane on record to slam into Florida’s Big Bend. You can track Helene’s path with CNN’s storm tracker.
• A sprawling storm: Helene is one of the largest storms in the Gulf of Mexico in the last century, with a wind field that could span roughly the distance between Indianapolis and Washington, DC. Watches and warnings are in place for 60 million people in 12 states.
• “Unsurvivable” storm surge: Storm surge — how high the water rises above normal levels — could climb to 20 feet along Florida’s Big Bend. The National Weather Service is warning of “unsurvivable” storm surge in Apalachee Bay.
• Widespread impacts: There have been at least three storm-related deaths. Catastrophic wind damage from the storm could cause power outages that will “likely last days, if not weeks.” Helene has also prompted school and business closures, as well as flight cancellations.
Six states are under states of emergency as Hurricane Helene batters the Southeast after slamming into Florida’s Big Bend. The storm made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane and although it has now weakened to Category 1, torrential rains and ferocious winds have caused widespread damage to homes and infrastructure.
Storm watches and warnings are also in place for 60 million people in 12 states.
These states have declared emergencies:
Florida:Gov. Ron Desantis said 61 of Florida’s 67 counties are currently under a state of emergency.
Georgia:All 159 counties were placed under state of emergency, enabling emergency management teams to make necessary arrangements and position needed resources ahead of the storm’s arrival.
North Carolina: Gov. Roy Cooper warned “Helene is an unusually dangerous storm that threatens to bring heavy rain and potentially catastrophic flooding” on Thursday night though Friday for central and western parts of of the state.
South Carolina: Gov. Henry McMaster said: “We will likely avoid the brunt of this storm, but it is still expected to bring flooding, high winds, and isolated tornadoes.”
Alabama:President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for the state and ordered federal assistance to those affected by Helene.
Virginia: Gov. Glenn Youngkin said the state “cannot ignore the fact that we have had significant flooding events arise from pre-cursory rain events and outer bands from tropical systems that drop locally heavy rainfall leading to flooding, especially in our southwestern region.”
Ohio: Gov. Mike DeWine has declared a state of emergency in four Ohio counties after severe weather caused high winds, flooding, and power outages. A state of emergency has been declared for Lawrence, Jackson, Pike, and Scioto counties after severe weather on Sept. 27 caused by the remnants of Hurricane Helene.
West Virginia – A news release reports Gov. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) declared a State of Emergency Tuesday afternoon, following significant damage caused by the remnants of Hurricane Helene. Tuesday’s proclamation came just hours after Gov. Justice appeared to downplay the damage, saying “In all fairness, we have had many situations as far as weather in West Virginia that were much more damaging and everything to this event in West Virginia. You know what it did in North Carolina.”
In Tuesday’s proclamation, Justice said the following: We’re still learning about reports of serious damage throughout Mercer County. W.V., and the estimates are adding up quickly. I’m told there’s a sizable portion of the county still without power, and there were so many downed trees that it’s been difficult to get the full scope of what’s happened. This State of Emergency will allow us to speed up the response on the ground and potentially receive federal assistance as we push forward with recovery efforts…This storm is one that we’ll remember in Appalachia for a long, long time. We’ve seen some really troubling images from our neighboring states, but there’s no question that Helene has left its mark here at home, as well. We’ll continue to pull the rope together and take care of each other, because that’s what we do in West Virginia.
Devastation far inland with catastrophic flooding in Virginia…
Camille weakened to a tropical depression as it passed through northern Mississippi and into western Tennessee. It then took a turn to the northeast through central Kentucky and then eastward through extreme southern West Virginia and southern Virginia.
By the 19th of August, atmospheric conditions were coming together for extreme rainfall and local geographic features were enhancing chances for catastrophic flooding in the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains – but few were prepared for what was about to take place.
Specifically, the remains of Camille were moving into an area where there was tropical air in place along with an existing backdoor cold front at the surface and an intensifying jet streak aloft. In this part of Virginia, there is a narrow valley with steep ridges and an upsloping wind amplified rainfall amounts. The combination of this extremely unstable atmosphere and local geographic features was resulting in historic and deadly flooding conditions.
Rainfall amounts were disastrous across the northern Gulf coast and in the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains; credit NOAA
Rainfall amounts of more than 26 inches occurred in the mountain slopes between Charlottesville and Lynchburg, Virginia in a 12 hour period. Nelson County, Virginia recorded 27 inches of rain with reports that the rain was so heavy there were birds drowning in trees. [A post-storm “reanalysis” by NOAA suggests over 30 inches of rain fell in as little as eight hours in some spots].
Survivors recall a night between the 19th and 20th of August that was filled with thunderstorm after thunderstorm and lightning was so fierce “it was like daylight and the lightning didn’t flash, the sky just literally stayed lit”. A total of nearly 3800 landslides within Nelson County, Virginia alone were calculated using LiDAR scans and 123 of the 153 fatalities in the state during this storm took place in this particular county.
After Camille, the landscape had changed so much that topographical maps were obsolete. To this day, hillsides still remain bear with exposed rock where mudslides ravaged and stripped the forest away. The rainfall tripled the state of Virginia’s record and has not been broken since. (Credit to Jason Elliott (NWS, Sterling, VA) for much of the information on Camille and its impact on Nelson County, Virginia: https://noaa.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=33861c5d64d04dcd8a1529430a37c363).
Hurricane Camille was the second most intense landfalling hurricane in the US in terms of central pressure; credit NOAA
Conclusion
Hurricane Camille will always be remembered as one of the most devastating storms in US history and one of only four category 5 hurricanes to strike the US. In addition to Hurricane Camille and the 1935 Labor Day hurricane, there have been two other category 5 hurricanes to make landfall in the US and both took place after 1969.
Hurricane Andrew struck the southeastern part of Florida in August of 1992 and Hurricane Michael made landfall in October of 2018 across the panhandle region of Florida. In the case of Michael, category 5 status did not come until months later when a “reanalysis” by NOAA increased its winds by 5 mph at landfall near Mexico Beach and Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida compared to the original operational estimate and this increase pushed the storm into category 5 territory.
The U.S. Constitution, while a foundational document, does have limitations that can pose challenges in modern governance. Issues such as the rigidity of the amendment process, the Electoral College, and the balance of power between federal and state governments are often debated. Chemerinsky likely explores how these limitations impact contemporary political and social issues, and whether the Constitution can adapt to address them.
It looks like you’re referring to an article or discussion by Erwin Chemerinsky on Vox about the limitations of the U.S. Constitution. While I couldn’t find the exact article, I can provide some context on this topic.
Erwin Chemerinsky, a renowned constitutional law scholar, often discusses the challenges and limitations of the U.S. Constitution. Some key points he might cover include:
Erwin Chemerinsky, a prominent constitutional law scholar, often discusses how the U.S. Constitution, while foundational, has limitations that can impact modern governance. These limitations include:
Outdated Provisions: Some parts of the Constitution reflect the 18th-century context and may not address contemporary issues effectively.
Rigid Amendment Process: The Constitution is notoriously difficult to amend, making it challenging to adapt to new societal needs.
Vague Language: Certain clauses are open to interpretation, leading to varied judicial interpretations and potential inconsistencies in the law.
Federalism: The balance of power between federal and state governments can create conflicts and inefficiencies.
Chemerinsky and others argue that while the Constitution provides a strong framework, it requires thoughtful interpretation and, at times, reform to meet the needs of a changing society.
If you have specific questions or need more details on a particular aspect, feel free to ask!
I ask my students this every time I teach constitutional law, whether they’re law students or undergraduates. From the perspective of hindsight, I ask if it would’ve been better to have two countries, a country that repudiated slavery and a country that accepted slavery? I think the reason that those who strongly favored abolition thought one country was better is they thought that slavery would naturally fade away. That didn’t happen.
Slavery dominated every political issue up until the Civil War. As we sit here today, I think it’s much better that the country stayed together and that we continue to be one United States.
On the other hand, I worry that if we don’t fix the flaws, there will be great pressure toward secession, not next year but in the longer term, because I think the hard question is: Is what unites us as a country greater than what divides us as a country?
I’ll make what I think is a very frightening prediction: If Donald Trump wins in November of 2024 and the Republicans take both houses of Congress, we will hear the first serious discussion of secession since the Civil War. I think there will be discussion of Calexit. I don’t think much will come of it now, but from that discussion, the longer-term could be quite cataclysmic changes.
4chartable.com5open.spotify.com6vox.com I am not advocating it. I am not predicting that it’s imminent, but I do think the divide between the red states and the blue states is so great that people will ask if it still makes sense to be one country. Listen to the rest of the conversationMusic and Podcasts, Free and On-Demand | Pandoraand be sure to followThe Gray Area onApple Podcasts,Spotify,Pandora, or wherever you listen to podcasts.It goes without saying that when survival is threatened, struggles erupt between peoples, and unfortunate wars between nations result. This quote by Hideki Tojo, ‘It goes without saying that when survival is threatened, struggles erupt between peoples, and unfortunate wars between nations result,’ encapsulates a universal truth about the nature of humanity. In a straightforward manner, Tojo’s words highlight the unfortunate reality that when a group’s survival is at stake, tensions arise, and conflicts between nations ensue.
This quote serves as a reminder of the fragility of our existence and the desperate measures humanity may resort to in order to ensure its own survival.However, beyond the surface interpretation of Tojo’s quote lies a profound and unexpected philosophical concept – the interconnectedness of humanity. While the quote suggests an inherent conflict between different groups, a closer examination reveals the underlying unity that binds us all.
This juxtaposition between survival-driven conflicts and our shared interconnectedness provides an intriguing perspective and paves the way for deeper reflection.When we consider the struggles that emerge during times of crisis, it becomes apparent that they often stem from a primal urge to protect one’s own kind.
However, this instinctual drive to safeguard our own survival often blinds us to the fact that the survival of one group is intricately linked to the survival of all. By focusing solely on maintaining our own existence, we inadvertently contribute to the perpetuation of conflicts and wars between nations.In truth, survival is not merely an individualistic pursuit but a collective endeavor.
Our survival as a species depends on our ability to recognize and embrace our interconnectedness. Instead of letting fears and insecurities drive us towards conflict, we should foster a deep sense of empathy and understanding that transcends the boundaries of nations and cultures.Tojo’s quote brings to the forefront the importance of finding alternative ways to address the challenges that threaten our survival. Rather than resorting to violence and aggression as a means to ensure our own existence, we should seek collaborative solutions that promote collective well-being.
This calls for a crucial shift in mindset, where the preservation of our own survival is intertwined with the preservation of the survival of others. Recognizing and embracing our interconnectedness not only has the potential to prevent future conflicts but also holds the power to foster unity and cooperation.
In cultivating a sense of global citizenship, we can transcend the barriers that separate us and work together to solve the pressing issues that pose a threat to our survival, such as climate change and global pandemics.
In conclusion, Hideki Tojo’s quote sheds light on the inherent struggles and wars that can arise when our survival is threatened. Thereby, looking beyond the surface implications of this statement, we uncover a profound philosophical concept: our interconnectedness as a species.
By embracing this interconnectedness and seeking collaborative solutions, we can strive towards a future that prioritizes collective survival and peace. Ultimately, the realization of our shared destiny and our mutual reliance on each other has the potential to transform the world into a more harmonious and unified place.
“A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear.” ― Taylor Caldwell.
Joe Biden’s 7 Biggest Failures During His First Year as President 1) Biden ‘Makes No Apologies’ for Afghanistan Withdrawal, Regrets Taliban Rule – President Joe Biden’s first year in the Oval Office has come to a close today and, as is to be expected of an administration’s freshman year, the president has had a tumultuous path so far. The series of challenges presented to Biden’s administration have made the 46th president’s inaugural year at the White House a difficult one, having to deal with record inflation, the ongoing COVID pandemic and political division. As Biden calls an end to his first year in office, Newsweek looked back over some of the president’s failures over the course of the last year.President Joe Biden said he makes “no apologies” for his August 2021 withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. However, he did express regret for changes that have happened in the country under the Taliban’s rule, as well as an ISIS-K terrorist attack that killed U.S. troops during the withdrawal.
“There is no way to get out of Afghanistan after 20 years easily. Not possible, no matter when you did it. I make no apologies for what I did,” Biden said. Amid the withdrawal, the Biden administration scrambled to evacuate troops and Afghan allies who aided the U.S. during its occupation. The U.S. evacuated somewhere between 13,000 to 18,000 people per day to meet the Aug. 31, 2021, withdrawal deadline.
During the press conference, Biden expressed concern for the U.S. military service members who were killed and injured by an Aug. 26 ISIS-K terrorist attack at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. However, Biden said that if the U.S. had stayed in the country, it would’ve been asked to station between 20,000 and 50,000 troops at the cost of nearly $1 billion a week.
“Now, do I feel badly [about] what’s happening as a consequence of the incompetence of the Taliban? Yes, I do,” Biden continued. He said he also feels bad “about a whole range of things around the world that we can’t solve.”
2) Failed Build Back Better Act President Biden’s flagship Build Back Better Act has failed to get passed into law, despite his commitment to pass the bill by Christmas. The Build Back Better Act is a central piece of the administration’s objectives and was originally drafted with a budget of $3.5 trillion that included provisions and support for infrastructure and social policies. Eventually, the bill’s budget saw itself slashed to $1.75 trillion.
How Biden’s Approval Ratings Have Changed During His First Year in OfficeRead moreHow Biden’s Approval Ratings Have Changed During His First Year in Office The proposed bill was initially passed by the House in November, though has been stalled in the Senate since. The Build Back Better Act also lost the crucial support of Democratic senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, all but killing the bill as it needed the support of all 50 Democratic senators. President Biden could now be forced to sacrifice key components of the bill in order to maneuver through the divided Senate. Biden might have to compromise on issues such as the extension of the enhanced child tax credit, universal preschool and increased climate change funding in hopes of passing his flagship bill.
3) Stalled Voting Legislation Other central elements of the Biden administration’s agenda for his inaugural year have also met a deadlock. Democrats also failed to pass voting rights legislation, which their Republican counterparts have successfully opposed. This follows the introduction of new voting restrictions in Republican-led states in the aftermath of the 2020 election, and former president Donald Trump’s false claims of voter fraud. In order to successfully pass the voting rights legislation, the Biden administration would also have to reform the Senate filibuster, which Manchin has repeatedly opposed.
4) Failure to Cancel Student Debt On the campaign trail, Biden vowed he would cancel at least $10,000 of student loan debt per person in an effort to undo individual burdens the loans imposed. The President has extended the interest-free pause on federal student loan repayments that was introduced amid the pandemic, though the measure is by no means a forgiveness of standing loans. The pause is scheduled to lift in February, and payments will resume. His primary actions on this front are primarily built on existing promises on the topic made by previous administrations. Much debate has been had about the president’s authority to personally write off student debts, with certain factions of the Democratic party urging the president to use executive action to resolve the issue. However, Biden himself expressed his doubt towards that approach, and said in April: “I don’t think I have the authority”, a sentiment echoed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
5) COVID Mismanagement Biden has long been aware of the severity of the COVID pandemic and the need for effective measures to manage the crisis, and in the opening months of his tenure he oversaw a mass vaccination campaign. However the emergence of the Delta variant over the summer and the recent wave of Omicron has stalled Biden’s initial progress on the COVID front. The administration’s lack of preparation for new variants was reflected in the sharp surge in cases nationwide, as well as in the shortage of testing kits. The surge in infections saw an average of over 750,000 daily new COVID cases reported over the last week, according to data from John Hopkins University. The number of daily COVID deaths has also seen a rise in the past week, with 1,796 deaths reported last Sunday according to John Hopkins data. A number of Biden’s fellow Democratic senators criticized his approach for being “reactive, rather than proactive.” Additionally, Biden recently saw the Supreme Court block Biden’s vaccine mandate for businesses, which intended to enforce vaccine-or-test requirements for large private companies. Criticism was also leveled at the CDC for its guidance recommending mask use in schools for children over the age of two. Scientists raised concerns over the method’s effectiveness, while fellow international bodies offered contrasting advice to the CDC. Consequently, more U.S. citizens than ever now disapprove of Biden’s handling of the pandemic, with 48 percent of the public dissatisfied.
6) Record Inflation President Biden’s economic accomplishments have been bittersweet. On the one hand, the Biden administration approved a hefty $1.9 trillion COVID relief package and passed a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law. Additionally, a record 6.4 million jobs were created which saw unemployment drop to just 3.9 percent last December. On the other hand, national inflation rose to a record 6.8 percent, (closer to 20%) the highest level in 40 years. This has consistently driven up the prices of basic goods and services such as gas, food and housing. In November, gas prices skyrocketed by 58 percent, the largest increase recorded over a 12-month period since 1980. The upshot in prices seen in December represented the sixth consecutive month of price increments. Rising inflation was also compounded with supply chain shortages and delays, further aggravating the issue for consumers. The White House has deemed the rising prices to be “transitory,” a temporary effect as a result of increased pandemic-related costs. and expects the surge to settle over the coming months. In a statement at the time, Biden said the ongoing inflation was not representative of “today’s reality”. “It does not reflect the expected price decrease in the weeks and months ahead,” Biden said in the statement.
7) Immigration Debacles and Remain in Mexico In Biden’s opening year in the White House, the issue of migration and the administration’s mismanagement at the US-Mexico border has become a constant headache. Biden had vowed to undo many of Trump’s heavily criticized immigration policies in a bid to guarantee increased protection and care for asylum-seekers and migrants entering the country. However, his administration’s handling of the issue has left a lot to be desired. Despite his campaign trail promises, Biden has reinstated the Trump-era Remain In Mexico program and has also upheld a controversial policy known as Title 42. Title 42 has been heavily criticized for using the pandemic to enable veiled human rights violations and pre-emptively remove migrants found at the border. The policy has also led to family separations at the border, as many blocked from entering the country chose to send their children through alone in a bid to guarantee their safety. Meanwhile, the Remain In Mexico program has been slammed by critics for denying migrants entry to the U.S. while keeping them in bureaucratic limbo at makeshift border camps in Mexico. The administration’s negligence at the border has also resulted in increased hostility. In the opening 10 months of Biden’s presidency, over 7,647 cases of rape, torture, murder, kidnapping and violent assault towards asylum-seekers at the border have been recorded.
This meme raises a terrifying topic that most are too stunned to say out loud. A non-coastal mountain city in NC was just devastated by a hurricane on the same day that that hurricane made landfall in Florida. It’s like some quantum physics insanity. Well yall didnt like the term Global Warming so now we have Climate Change, either way it’s real. sea levels are rising and if we do at least try something our Great Grand Kids are going to ask us why we at least didn’t try. Let me ask this question, does it cost more to generate electricity by coal or by solar? For every kwh generated by solar, who doesn’t get paid? Those are the people telling you to deny science. 100 years ago we did not have the ability to seek alternate sources like we do today. Carbon is the key, scientists know it so if we don’t use a pound of carbon, who loses money? Clean energy is jobs, we either embrace it and America takes the lead or someone else does. Climate has been changing for thousands of years and will continue too..it’s all a money grab…..Co 2 is presently at .004 plant growth requires at least.002 or they will die??? So what do they wont.every disaster we have every so many years is just like the end of time warnings I’ve heard for 70 years…. A product of atmospheric manipulation…. Pennsylvania is now considered part of tornado alley. They are trying to immobilize people from getting to the voting booths. Don’t let the left win. This will be just the beginning. They have been doing it all year .Go back and do searches. In other countries it’s happening there as well. FEMA is not letting people into certain places. Sounds familiar..keep looking!!!
Published: Oct. 1, 2024 at 6:54 PM EDT | Updated: Oct. 1, 2024 at 6:58 PM EDT
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. (WVVA) – A news release reports Gov. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) declared a State of Emergency Tuesday afternoon, following significant damage caused by the remnants of Hurricane Helene. Tuesday’s proclamation came just hours after Gov. Justice appeared to downplay the damage, saying “In all fairness, we have had many situations as far as weather in West Virginia that were much more damaging and everything to this event in West Virginia. You know what it did in North Carolina.”
In Tuesday’s proclamation, Justice said the following:
We’re still learning about reports of serious damage throughout Mercer County, and the estimates are adding up quickly. I’m told there’s a sizable portion of the county still without power, and there were so many downed trees that it’s been difficult to get the full scope of what’s happened. This State of Emergency will allow us to speed up the response on the ground and potentially receive federal assistance as we push forward with recovery efforts…This storm is one that we’ll remember in Appalachia for a long, long time. We’ve seen some really troubling images from our neighboring states, but there’s no question that Helene has left its mark here at home, as well. We’ll continue to pull the rope together and take care of each other, because that’s what we do in West Virginia
“Will We Remain Silent as Our Republic Falls?” 
Weather modification at its best. 
MILTON 
Logging roads expanding into the Peruvian Amazon. Roads like these typically precede further loss in the surrounding forest.
