During last Saturday’s Democratic debate, candidate Bernie Sanders surprised audiences by claiming climate change is so serious, it can have dire consequences for seemingly unrelated concerns, including national security. As climate change discussions become more prevalent, it is no surprise that the environmental research community is at the forefront of media attention. In this weekly wrap, we examine stories from this past week that involve significant impacts on our environment.
Though presidential candidates frequently debate the validity of climate change, many reports have been published proving its existence. Last month, the Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported the world was 58.86 degrees on average in October of this year, making it the warmest October in recorded history. This week, similar findings have been reported by several research organizations, including NASA, the Japanese Meteorological Agency, University of California at Berkeley and University of Alabama at Huntsville. Their research concludes that an increase in climate temperature could be due to “potent and strengthening” El Nino winds, as well as an accelerating global warming. Since the year 2000, global monthly heat records have been broken 32 times. Jeffrey Sachs, director of Columbia University’s Earth Institute, said if this pattern continues, this year is destined to be an “all-time record-breaker.”
Unfortunately, climate change is not the only environmental concern demanding attention this week. On Wednesday, Samarco Mineração SA, a joint mining venture in Brazil, said two of its dams could be at risk of collapsing in the near future. The company said it is taking emergency measures to stabilize the two dams, named Germano and Santarém, located in the mountains of Minas Gerais state. “We reiterate once again that Samarco has been engaging all its efforts to minimize the effects of the accident and take preventive measures in order to increase the safety factors of the two structures,” a company spokesperson wrote in an email to the press. This announcement comes two weeks after another of their dams, Fundã, buckled, releasing billions of gallons of mud and killing at least 11 people. Dam officials have yet to provide information about how the break occurred, though they are making efforts to clean up and assess the economic and environmental costs.
As Brazil deals with its recent disaster, other countries are working together to prevent their own. On Wednesday, the United States signed an agreement with Cuba to protect the countries’ shared oceans. Due to ocean currents carrying fish and organisms from Cuba’s robust coral reefs into the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, the agreement is mutually beneficial. The document directs scientists from U.S. national sanctuaries in the Florida Keys and the Texas Flower Garden Banks to collaborate with researchers from Cuba’s similarly fragile and protected sanctuaries, Guanahacabibes National Park and the Banco de San Antonio. Researchers are instructed to share information on a variety of oceanic issues, including protection against oil and gas development. President Obama signed the agreement in Havana during the 10th Ocean Sciences Conference, which attracts environmental scientists from around the world to discuss climate change and global conservation.
Mr. Sanders maintains that environmental concerns should be among our country’s top priorities. Based on these stories and others you have heard, do you agree? Tell us what you think in the comments below.
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Brian Mulligan is an Intern at WordWrite Communications. He can be reached at brian.mulligan@wordwritepr.com or on Twitter, @brian_mulligan1.
