This Week on Earth: Jan 15-22
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Northwestern
The Block Museum of Art will soon be host to Actions for the Earth: Art, Care & Ecology, a traveling exhibition comprising climate-focused works by 18 artists and collectives from around the world (Northwestern Now). The installation is intended to evoke a sense of connection with the earth in the midst of global conflicts and public health concerns.
“We believe artists can play an important role in helping us understand what it means to live within the impact of environmental change and in visualizing how the climate crisis intersects with our lives, including the eco-anxiety afflicting so many of us,” said Lisa Corrin, the Ellen Philips Katz Executive Director of The Block (Northwestern Now).
One of the pieces featured, called “Memory of Nature”, will take the form of a flower bed outside the museum and feature native flowers selected by Eli Suzukovich III, a research affiliate at Northwestern’s Center for Native American and Indigenous Research. Another project, “Calendrical Systems for the Afterlife”, will allow guests to add personal symbols of shelter and safety amidst current events (Northwestern Now).
The exhibition will be in the Main and Alsdorf Galleries from January 26 to July 7, 2024.
United States
In response to more frequent natural disasters caused by climate change in recent years, the Biden administration is reducing restrictions on federal benefits for survivors, according to a press release by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The Agency has been working to address years of complaints over eligibility and accessibility.
“The Department of Homeland Security interacts with more Americans on a daily basis than any other federal agency and we will continue to eliminate red tape to ensure that our services, resources, and support reaches the people we serve,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas.
The changes primarily target those who are most vulnerable to climate disasters. For example, the Serious Needs Assistance program provides $750 in cash relief to households in urgent need of shelter and basic supplies. Other improvements are designed to expedite the process of requesting and receiving aid, such as the removal of loan application requirements. Previously, survivors needed to apply and be rejected for a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan before seeking FEMA assistance, creating confusion and delays (The New York Times).
United Kingdom
After leaving the EU, the UK has not kept pace with its European neighbors in environmental regulations (The Guardian). Before Brexit, British officials promised that the UK would maintain strong environmental protections independently, but such statutes have since stagnated or been eliminated.
“We are increasingly seeing a trend towards the EU improving environmental laws and the UK not following suit. In some areas, there is a real danger of us going backwards,” said Michael Nicholson, the head of British environmental policy at the Institute for European Environmental Policy UK.
Proposed changes include the removal of emissions caps for certain pollutants, allowing air quality to decline (The Guardian). Lax environmental laws may also hamper trade between the UK and the EU: by using pesticides outlawed in the EU but not the UK, British farmers may start to see their crops get rejected from export to the rest of Europe (The Guardian).