Thursday, August 31, 2017

How to Help Hurricane Harvey Victims the Right Way

With the recent and ongoing tragedy in Texas, it is crucial that we, as fellow human beings, acknowledge our helping abilities and lend a hand to those being affected. One common way for us to provide assistance to Hurricane Harvey victims is by donating funds that can be used to not only help citizens, but animals as well. However, it is equally imperative that we ensure the organizations that we donate to are sound and justly use their donations.
One of the most popular nonprofit organizations that people immediately donate to following disasters is the American Red Cross. Although the nonprofit’s accountability can not be completely verified, there have been numerous reports over the years that the American Red Cross has had many relief failures for disasters such as Hurricane Sandy and the Haiti earthquake. In fact, an investigation in 2015 led by NPR revealed that the nonprofit failed to demonstrate how they spent the $488 million raised for the Haiti earthquake.
With such speculation present, it is safer that we donate funds to smaller and local charities. After researching various charities, I have compiled a small list of charities I found to be reputable and trustworthy. Undoubtedly, there are several other charities that are also trustworthy and should also receive donations. If you stumble upon another charity that is not listed here, just be sure to research a bit about the charity and verify its authenticity and efficiency!


Such research can be completed using Charity Navigator: https://www.charitynavigator.org.


Here is also a good resource for deciding how to donate to the right charity: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/watchdog/2017/08/30/spirit-texas-giving-get-taken-harvey-scam
General Relief: Shelter, Food, Medical Care
  1. Global Giving (https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/hurricane-harvey-relief-fund/): Funds raised will first be directed to immediate needs, such as food, water, and shelter. Remaining funds will be focused on long-term transitional and recovery efforts.
  2. Samaritan's Purse (https://www.samaritanspurse.org/disaster/hurricane-harvey/): International relief that is accepting funds and volunteers for relief purposes.
  3. Save the Children (https://secure.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.9534757/k.CB79/Hurricane_Harvey_Relief_Fund/apps/ka/sd/donor.asp): International non-profit that is providing relief supplies to children and their families.
  4. United Way of Greater Houston (https://www.unitedwayhouston.org/flood/flood-donation/): Non-profit that is assisting with storm-related needs and recovery.
  5. Houston Food Bank: (https://secure3.convio.net/hfb/site/Donation2?df_id=8530&mfc_pref=T&8530.donation=form1): Local food bank providing food and water to victims.
Animals
  1. Houston SPCA (http://www.houstonspca.org/give/): Nonprofit providing animal-related disaster rescue, relief, and resources.
  2. Houston Humane Society (https://www.houstonhumane.org/(Give)/giving/general-donation): Providing care, such as food, shelter, and medical attention, for affected animals.
Environment

  1. Sierra Club Foundation: (https://www.teamsierra.org/MyCampaign/?rbref=I17HZZHW05) A nonprofit focused on mitigating “the hurricane’s environmental effects - from chemical hazards to structural damage - and support urgent relief efforts.”
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Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Trump’s Environmental Agenda Series (Part 1): Positions and Recent Rollbacks

President Trump has made it strikingly apparent before and throughout his presidency that he does not believe in climate change and does not support environmental protection actions, despite the overwhelming amount of scientific evidence and research that proves otherwise. Unfortunately, Trump has already acted upon his wrongly-supported beliefs and has several more rollback plans. The first step, and perhaps one of the most imperative, in acting against Trump’s lack of care for the environment, sustainability, and the health of his people, is being informed and educated on specific matters regarding Trump’s environmental agenda and executive actions. Trump’s plans and actions are fairly extensive, so I will try my absolute best to cover as much as I can, while trying to also be concise.


To contribute my part, I will be starting a series on this blog that will provide information on and will also discuss Trump’s environmental agenda and plans, along with actions that can be taken to combat such rollbacks.


First, let’s discuss a few of Trump’s positions on the environment and climate change (some with the addition of my counter-arguments)
  1. Via twitter on November 6, 2012, Trump notoriously tweeted that climate change was a concept created by China solely to “make U.S manufacturing non-competitive”. Since then, Trump has continuously expressed a disbelief in climate change and the fact that human-impact is a significant cause of it.
  2. Trump does admit and support that water is a threatened source and has expressed a determination to ensure that clean water is accessible to everyone. Here is what he stated on Science Debate: “We must make the investment in our fresh water infrastructure to ensure access to affordable fresh water solutions for everyone. We must explore all options to include making desalinization more affordable and working to build the distribution infrastructure to bring this scarce resource to where it is needed for our citizens and those who produce the food of the world."   However, it is important to note that Trump fails to acknowledge that water is a scarcity due to human actions, such as climate change and industrialization, both of which Trump has rarely spoken of. Yet, Trump has already failed to keep this promise. (See Recent
    Rollbacks)
  3. Trump is also an avid supporter of coal, despite the plethora of evidence that demonstrates how coal is energy inefficient and poses detrimental effects on our air and water. Trump mainly supports the coal industry and has vowed to restore it, as he relates doing so to saving jobs, which is one of his huge campaign promises. In fact, Trump has already enforced actions that threaten clean energy alternatives. Yet, not surprisingly, Trump has failed to see that the clean energy industry is more promising and is growing more than the fossil fuel industry. For example, the solar industry is growing annually at a rate of 20%, and wind energy industry increased by 32% in 2016. Furthermore, according to the 2017 U.S Energy and Employment Report, "nearly 1 million Americans are working near or full-time in the energy efficiency, solar, wind, and alternative vehicles sectors. This is almost five times the current employment in the fossil fuel electric industry, which includes coal, gas, and oil workers."
       
Although Trump has several other positions on the environment, next, let’s discuss the actions that Trump and his administration have already enforced. Please note that this list is not fully complete. To see a complete list click the following links:
  1. Trump and his administration have enforced censoring on the Official White House website and on the EPA website. The White House website no longer includes information or a section dedicated to climate change. Other imperative causes, such as civil rights, LGBT community, and people with disabilities, have also been removed. The EPA’s official website has also been dramatically altered. Much information regarding climate change, such as research and regulations, have been removed, despite the fact that such information was present on the website for two decades since 1997. Check out the difference between the current EPA website (https://www.epa.gov) and the archived website (https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/climatechange_.html)
  2. Trump most recently overturned Obama’s executive order that ensured new federally-funded projects were to abide to the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard, a standard that was set to reduce to risk of future flood damage. Trump has overturned this imperative rule in order to reduce the process involved when implementing new federal infrastructure. Trump’s executive order occurs during a time in which Hurricane Harvey demonstrates the necessity of flood prevention. In addition, such a rollback threatens the safety of U.S cities in the upcoming years, where projected rises in sea levels will dramatically increase the likelihood of floods. National Geographic states that since 1993, sea level has raised approximately 3.25 inches and is expected to rise one to four feet by the end of the century.
  3. In February 2017, Trump contradicted his supposed commitment to clean water by overturning a regulation that prevented coal mining debris from being dumped into nearby streams. Trump has also contradicted his commitment to clean water by beginning to repeal the Clean Water Rule. The Clean Water Rule was finalized by Obama and his administration in 2015 to clarify federal jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act. Once the Clean Water Rule was finalized, it ensured and expanded protection of two millions miles of streams and 20 million acres of wetlands.
  4. On August 2, 2017, the EPA finalized its decision to delay Obama’s ozone regulations. In 2015, Obama declared the national standard of ozone to be at 70 parts per billion (ppb). (However, please note that ozone at 70 ppb is still considered detrimental to human health.)  Ozone is a secondary air pollutant that is formed when nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) undergo chemical reactions in the presence of sunlight. Ozone has been shown to cause many health effects, such as chest pain and lung irritation, and can worsen pre-existing lung conditions such as bronchitis and asthma.
The unfortunate truth is that Trump’s presidency still continues to pose threats to our current environmental progress and the future protection of our people, wildlife, and planet. I will continue to provide updates as these actions occur. However, it is important that hope and determination are retained in our spirits. There is so much that is being done by advocates, and so much that still can be done. Let us all find the many ways in which we can contribute our part, whether it be by small steps, such as implementing sustainability in our everyday lives, or larger steps by pursuing careers dedicated to environmental protection. Let us all make a pledge to secure a better future for all.  I plan on contributing my part by spreading awareness through my blog and social media, participating in advocacy work and groups on my college campus, and pursuing a career in environmental protection.
If you have read this far, thank you for demonstrating your care for this planet and its beings. Stay tuned for a post regarding Hurricane Harvey and what can be done to help Texas citizens.
Sources:


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