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Why the John Deere strike is being viewed as harbinger of a new labor market

November 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Members of the United Auto Workers Union are set to vote Tuesday on a tentative agreement that would end the ongoing strike of more than 10,000 John Deere workers.

News of the tentative deal, which would give approximately double the wage increase compared the previously rejected offer that kicked off the strike on Oct. 14, comes as unique labor market conditions have resulted in workers wielding new power as the pandemic wanes.

An apparent shortage of workers accepting low-wage jobs has left many major companies reeling for staff and has been linked to the spate of strikes that have rocked the private sector in recent weeks. The labor crunch — combined with recent record-high rates of people quitting their jobs and record-high job openings, per Bureau of Labor Statistics data — have resulted in workers gaining new leverage as they seek to bargain for better pay or working conditions.

UAW leadership and John Deere announced a tentative agreement had been reached between the union’s elected national bargaining team and officials at the agricultural machinery giant Saturday, but workers remain on strike until the ratification vote Tuesday.

The terms of the new agreement would guarantee a 10% wage increase for all union employees in the first year of the contract, and 5% each in the third and fifth year of the deal, as well as 3% lump sum payments in the second, fourth and fifth years of the deal, according to a contract breakdown document shared with ABC News by the union. Moreover, employees would receive an $8,500 ratification bonus.

There would also be improved retirement benefit options and no changes to the cost of their health insurance.

The UAW on Oct. 14 rejected a contract offer that would have offered a ratification bonus of $3,500 and immediate raises of 5% to 6%.

“Our UAW John Deere national bargaining team went back to our local members after the previous tentative agreement and canvassed the concerns and priorities of membership,” UAW President Ray Curry said in a statement announcing news of the new tentative agreement.

“We want to thank the UAW bargaining team and striking UAW members and their families for the sacrifices they have made to achieve these gains,” Curry added. “Our members have enjoyed the support of our communities and the entire labor movement nationwide as they have stood together in support and solidarity these past few weeks.”

John Deere, meanwhile, confirmed in a statement on its website that a second tentative agreement on a labor contract had been reached with the union and that the “UAW will call for a vote on the new tentative agreement.”

The striking John Deere workers have received well-wishes and support from lawmakers and the public, as new employee activism during so-called “Striketober” has fueled momentum for the post-pandemic labor movement.

A GoFundMe set up to support the striking Deere workers has raised more than $135,000 from over 3,000 donors.

The first strike in more than three decades at John Deere comes after the company reported earning a record-high $4.68 billion during the first nine months of the 2021 fiscal year, more than double the $1.993 billion reported during the same time last year.

John Deere’s chairman and CEO John May, meanwhile, earned compensation of some $15.58 million in fiscal year 2020, according to a company SEC filing. This would make the ratio of the CEO’s total compensation to a median employee’s total compensation in 2020 approximately 220 to 1, the SEC filing states.

The recent bout of employee activism that has manifested in work stoppages and strikes in recent weeks comes after the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic that took an inordinate toll on workers deemed “essential,” but also after decades of soaring income inequality in the U.S., experts have said.

“I think workers have reached a tipping point,” Tim Schlittner, the communications director of the coalition of labor unions AFL-CIO, told ABC News last month shortly after the Deere strike commenced. “For too long they’ve been called essential, but treated as expendable, and workers have decided that enough is enough.”

Schlittner said the pandemic also exposed some deep “imbalances of power in the economy.”

“The pandemic has made clear what’s important and what’s not, and workers are looking at work in a new way, and demanding more of a return on their labor and demanding things like basic respect, dignity and safety on the job,” he said. “The pandemic has put on display for everyone to see how important workers are to this country, and you can’t call workers essential for 18 months and then treat them like crap when they all come back on the job.”

Dia de Los Muertos offers healing for COVID-19 victims’ Latinx families

November 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — This year, as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, many Mexican Americans will find solace in celebrating Día de los Muertos.

The holiday, which is celebrated from Oct. 31 through Nov. 2, is meant to honor loved ones that have passed away. People do so by setting up ofrendas, or altars, for those they’ve lost.

When she set up her ofrenda this year, Destiny Navaira included a photo of her grandmother, whose life was cut short by COVID-19.

The glossy photo stood among paper marigolds, teal sugar skulls, candles and even beef jerky for her cousin, who also died.

Navaira’s grandmother Consuela Llamas died from COVID-19 in December 2020. It was her who taught Navaira about the tradition behind the ofrenda, and the belief that it is a way for ancestors to come back from the world of the dead to visit their families for a few days.

Navaira said she is excited to celebrate Día de Los Muertos this year because it is also her grandparents’ anniversary and their spirits finally get to celebrate with family on Earth.

She said she found the process of making an altar for her late loved ones healing.

“I couldn’t invite my grandpa and not invite her, because she wouldn’t have it!” Navaira joked.

The native San Antonian recalled how her abuela spent two weeks on a ventilator before passing away, and her uncle Joe Navaira spent a month fighting for his life in a hospital bed. She’s not alone. Over half of Latinos living in the U.S. this year said that they know someone who has died from COVID-19, according to Pew Research.

“I’m angry that my family and I’ve lost family members, but at the same time, things happen in the world and all we can do is to make them better,” Navaira said.

In the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, Church of the Epiphany will celebrate Día de los Muertos with a community ofrenda. The church has been setting up a community ofrenda since the early 1970s to honor members of the community and Chicano leaders like Cesar Chavez and Sal Castro.

“There’s pain, and there’s celebration, and there’s memory,” said the Rev. Tom Carey of the ceremony.

Members of the community are invited to write the names of their late loved ones on a scroll and share their stories. Churchgoers will speak the names of the dead followed by cries of “Presente!” or “Present!” in English.

Along with a community altar, the church set up one altar made by students at Lincoln High School, one by the neighborhood council and another to honor those who have died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Due to COVID-19, the church did not have its Día de los Muertos celebration in 2020. This year, it will have COVID-19 precautions in place.

“We want to really honor our culture and our customs and we don’t want them to disappear,” said Rev. Richard Estrada from the Church of the Epiphany. “We continue to celebrate our tradition on our heritage.”

Navaira said she’s spending this holiday surrounded by the music her Tejano legend uncle, Emilio Navaira, taught her.

She also has advice to help her non-Latino friends who’ve lost loved ones find peace.

“Take advantage of the time they have here with the people who they love while they’re here on Earth,” she said. “It’s important to talk about death as part of life. Yes, it’s sad. Yes, it is devastating that somebody literally isn’t in your life anymore because they are not physically here. But if you’re able to keep them alive, to do their favorite things, to tell stories of them, to have memories, even just a picture? I think that that can offer such peace to somebody who’s truly grieving somebody.”

Robert Durst indicted on murder of first wife, Kathleen

November 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A grand jury indicted Robert Durst on a second-degree murder charge Monday in connection with the 1982 death of his first wife, Kathleen Durst.

Westchester County prosecutors charged the real estate heir with murder last month, shortly after he was sentenced to life in prison for the 2000 murder of his assistant, Susan Berman.

Robert Durst allegedly murdered Berman because he feared she would disclose details of Kathleen Durst’s death, investigators said.

Kathleen Durst’s body has not been located, despite numerous searches, since her disappearance on Jan. 31, 1982 in South Salem, New York. Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah said her office’s cold case bureau has been working diligently on the investigation into her death for over 10 months.

“For nearly four decades there has been a great deal of speculation about this case, much of it fueled by Robert Durst’s own highly publicized statements,” Rocah said in a statement. “An indictment is a crucial step in the process of holding wrongdoers accountable for their actions.”

A warrant by the Westchester DA’s office has been issued for Robert Durst’s arrest. His attorneys couldn’t be reached for immediate comment.

The 78-year-old tested positive for COVID-19 and was put on a ventilator, according to his attorney Dick DeGuerin. He was discharged from the hospital last week and transferred to a California prison’s medical facility.

Robert Durst appeared frail during his murder trial in Los Angeles and sat in a wheelchair during his sentencing.

COVID-19 live updates: Kids’ shots not widely available until Nov. 8

November 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 746,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

Just 67.9% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Latest headlines:
-What to expect at Tuesday’s CDC panel meeting on vaccinating young kids
-Kids’ shots not widely available until Nov. 8
-Biden tests negative after White House press secretary contracts COVID-19

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.

Nov 01, 4:33 pm
Details on vaccine mandates for businesses expected in coming days

A federal rule on vaccine mandates for businesses will be released this week, according to the Labor Department.

The rule will require employers with 100 employers or more to mandate the vaccine or weekly testing. It also will require large businesses to provide paid time off to workers to get the shot and recover from side effects from the vaccine.

The department said in a statement, “On November 1, the Office of Management and Budget completed its regulatory review of the emergency temporary standard. The Federal Register will publish the emergency temporary standard in the coming days.”

It’s not clear when the rule will take effect.

President Joe Biden first announced the rule in September and it’s since been making its way through the regulatory process.

ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett, Anne Flaherty

Nov 01, 3:52 pm
Pediatric cases continue to decline

The U.S. reported about 101,000 child COVID-19 cases last week, marking the eighth consecutive week of declines in pediatric infections since the pandemic peak of nearly 252,000 cases in early September, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.

The rate of pediatric hospital admissions is also declining.

Approximately 45.3% of adolescents ages 12 to 17 have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to federal data.

Severe illness due to COVID-19 remains “uncommon” among children, AAP and CHA said. However, AAP and CHA continue to warn that there is an urgent need to collect more data on the long-term consequences of the pandemic on children, “including ways the virus may harm the long-term physical health of infected children, as well as its emotional and mental health effects.”

ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos

Nov 01, 3:15 pm
What to expect at Tuesday’s CDC panel meeting on vaccinating young kids

An independent CDC advisory panel will convene at 11 a.m. Tuesday to debate and hold a nonbinding vote on whether to recommend the Pfizer vaccine for the roughly 28 million kids ages 5 to 11 in the U.S.

The CDC panel is expected to vote around 4:15 p.m.

If the panel decides to move ahead, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky must sign off on those specific recommendations, which would likely happen Tuesday evening.

No pediatric vaccinations will start until Walensky gives the green light. If that happens Tuesday evening, shots could start going into younger children’s arms beginning Wednesday.

The White House has purchased 65 million Pfizer pediatric vaccine doses — more than enough to fully vaccine all American children in this age group.

ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik

Nov 01, 2:19 pm
US case rate appears to be plateauing

After six weeks of steady declines, the nationwide case rate appears to be plateauing, according to federal data. In recent days, the daily case average in the U.S. ticked up slightly to 69,000 cases per day, which is a 37% drop in the last month, but higher than last week.

In recent weeks cases have been creeping up in states including Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin, according to federal data.

Alaska currently has the country’s highest infection rate. Puerto Rico, Florida and California have the lowest.

ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos

John Deere workers to vote on new contract as strike leads to major gains for union

November 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Members of the United Auto Workers Union are set to vote Tuesday on a tentative agreement that would end the ongoing strike of more than 10,000 John Deere workers.

There would also be improved retirement benefit options and no changes to the cost of their health insurance.

The UAW on Oct. 14 rejected a contract offer that would have offered a ratification bonus of $3,500 and immediate raises of 5% to 6%.

A GoFundMe set up to support the striking Deere workers has raised more than $135,000 from over 3,000 donors.

Schlittner said the pandemic also exposed some deep “imbalances of power in the economy.”

COP26 live updates: Biden emphasizes urgency to fight climate change: ‘The science is clear’

November 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(GLASGOW, U.K.) — Leaders from nearly every country in the world have converged upon Glasgow, Scotland, for COP26, the United Nations Climate Change Conference that experts are touting as the most important environmental summit in history.

The conference, delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was designed as the check-in for the progress countries are making after entering the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, a value that would be disastrous to exceed, according to climate scientists. More ambitious efforts aim to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Not one country is going into COP26 on track to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement, according to experts. They will need to work together to find collective solutions that will drastically cut down on greenhouse gas emissions.

“We need to move from commitments into action,” Jim Harmon, chairman of the World Resources Institute, told ABC News. “The path to a better future is still possible, but time is running out.”

All eyes will be on the biggest emitters: China, the U.S. and India. While China is responsible for about 26% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, more than all other developed countries combined, the cumulative emissions from the U.S. over the past century are likely twice that of China’s, David Sandalow, a senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, told ABC News.

Latest headlines:
-‘It’ll take trillions,’ Jeff Bezos says of his $10 billion climate pledge
-US submits long-term strategy to UN
-Biden apologizes for Trump administration pulling out of the Paris Agreement
-Biden emphasizes urgency to fight climate change: ‘The science is clear’
-‘Time has run out’: Prince Charles addresses COP26
-COP26 opening ceremony commences

Here’s how the conference is developing. All times Eastern.

Nov 01, 4:55 pm
Israeli energy minister misses leaders’ summit due to wheelchair inaccessibility

Karine Elharrar-Hartstein, Israel’s national infrastructures, energy and water resources minister, was not able to attend COP26’s leaders’ summit because the venue was not handicap accessible.

Elharrar, who uses a wheelchair, tweeted she was disappointed with the United Nations, which she said promotes accessibility for people with disabilities, but in 2021, does not provide accessibility to all of its events.

UK Ambassador to Israel Neil Wigan denounced Elharrar-Hartstein’s treatment at COP26.

“I am disturbed to hear the @KElharrar was unable to attend meetings at #COP26,” Wigan tweeted. “I apologise deeply and sincerely to the Minister. We want a COP Summit that is welcoming and inclusive to everyone.”

ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim contributed to this report

Nov 01, 2:22 pm
Prime Minister Modi announces India’s net-zero plan for 2070

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the country will reach net-zero emissions by 2070, one of five pledges he made during his remarks at the COP26 leaders summit.

Modi said India will commit to increasing non-fossil fuel energy capacity, fulfilling 50% of its energy needs with renewable energy, reducing carbon emissions by 1 million tons and reducing the carbon intensity of its economy by 2030.

“These five elixirs will be an unprecedented contribution from India toward climate action,” Modi said.

India has been one of the countries under pressure to update its commitments to the Paris Agreement, especially because of the country’s heavy reliance on coal. India contributes around 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Modi is scheduled to announce a global clean energy initiative with Boris Johnson and Biden tomorrow.

ABC News’ Stephanie Ebbs

Nov 01, 2:17 pm
President Xi Jinping sends written statement to COP26

Chinese President Xi Jinping, whose absence at COP26 was expected, delivered a written statement to the World Leaders Summer earlier today.

In his statement, Jinping said that China, the world’s top emitter, will speed up its transition to green and low-carbon, renewable energy sources.

Jinping emphasized the need for cooperation between developed and developing countries, saying, “Developed countries should not only do more themselves, but should also provide support to help developing countries do better.”

Nov 01, 1:39 pm
Biden meets leaders from Indonesia, Estonia

President Joe Biden met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, exchanging general pleasantries and discussing next year’s G20 summit, which will be held in Bali, Indonesia.

Widodo congratulated Biden on his January 2020 victory, to which he replied, “Thank you very much. Thank you for recognizing it.”

Although not a part of his official COP26 schedule, Biden also met with Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.

Estonia was one of the last G20 countries to sign on to the agreement, along with Ireland and Hungary.

According to a readout sent by the White House, the leaders spoke about the cooperation between the two countries on climate and defense.

Biden “conveyed his support for Prime Minister Kallas’ efforts to promote trusted connectivity and high-standards infrastructure investment in Europe and around the world,” the readout said.

ABC News’ Molly Nagle and Sarah Kolinovsky

Olympian’s widow gives birth to his daughter via IVF

November 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — At the time Australian Olympic snowboarder Alex Pullin died in a spearfishing accident last year, he and his partner, Ellidy Vlug, were hoping to become parents, according to Vlug.

Now, nearly 16 months after Pullin’s death, Vlug has given birth to the couple’s first child, a daughter she named Minnie Alex Pullin.

Vlug gave birth to her daughter on Oct. 25, 2021, according to a photo of the newborn she shared with her followers on Instagram.

Pullin, who was Australia’s flagbearer at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, was 32 when he died in July 2020 off the coast of Queensland.

In June of this year, Vlug shared on Instagram that she was pregnant with their child via in vitro fertilization (IVF).

“When my love had his accident, we all held onto hope that I’d be pregnant that month. We’d been trying for a baby,” she wrote. “IVF was on our cards but it wasn’t something I ever imagined I’d be tackling on my own. Bittersweet like none other, I’ve never been more certain or excited about anything in my entire life.”

“Your Dad and I have been dreaming of you for years little one. With a heart wrenching plot twist in the middle, I am honored to finally welcome a piece of the phenomenon that is Chump back into this world!” Vlug wrote at the time.

Vlug shared her pregnancy journey on social media, writing about how her friends have supported her as she both mourned Pullin and prepared on her own to become a mom.

“My friends literally deserve a medal for the way they have shown up for me the past year,” she wrote in an Oct. 14 post, later adding, “I feel so grateful and lucky to be bringing Chumpy’s daughter or son into this love bubble.”

Ballot question asks Minneapolis voters to consider replacing police department

November 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(MINNEAPOLIS) — The future of the Minneapolis Police Department may be decided on Tuesday.

A ballot measure is asking voters if the city should amend its charter to replace the police department with the Department of Public Safety, which would take a “comprehensive public health approach.”

The new department could include police officers, but there wouldn’t be a required minimum number to employ. The MPD had 588 officers as of mid-October and was authorized for up to 888, according to The Associated Press.

The charter amendment would replace the police chief with a commissioner nominated by the mayor and approved by the City Council. By state law, the charter amendment would go into effect 30 days after it passes.

“It’s a vote for us to all reimagine public safety and to move away from the type of systems that have not produced safety for all communities,” said Rashad Robinson, a spokesperson for Color of Change PAC, which organized in support of the ballot measure.

City Council member Jeremiah Ellison told ABC News that the police department would become a division of law enforcement within the Department of Public Safety.

“Question two is about are we locked into our current system of public safety, this police only model,” he said. “Are we locked into this model, that’s what voting no does, or do we have an ability to transform public safety into the future? That’s what a yes does.”

While supporters of the charter amendment connect it to the calls for police reform that followed George Floyd’s killing last year, opponents, including those who want reform, have said the measure is ill-defined and crafted without enough community input.

“We skipped over a lot of steps that would normally happen when you’re bringing about a change of this magnitude, and people are being sold a proposal that has no plan attached to it,” said Nekima Levy Armstrong, a Minneapolis civil rights attorney and activist. “There’s no certainty of what this new department will actually look like, how it will function and whether it will actually address the underlying public safety issues.”

Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo similarly criticized the charter amendment at a press conference on Wednesday.

“It will not eliminate tragic incidents between police and community from ever occurring in our city,” he said. “It will not suddenly change the culture of the police department that has been in existence for 155 years.”

Voters appear divided. North Minneapolis resident Tallaya Byers said that she supports the public safety charter amendment because she feels current police officers aren’t trained to handle certain situations, like those involving people who use drugs or have a mental illness.

“It will bring an element to where they can identify and analyze situations, to where people are not seen as such a threat,” Byers said. “For me, it’s going to help the police officers do their job, analyze situations, have a conversation. It’s that simple.”

Teto Wilson, a North Minneapolis resident who owns a barbershop, said that he plans to vote against the ballot measure because proponents haven’t elaborated on how it will affect people of color.

“I think policing needs to be radically reformed, and they’re proposing this charter amendment like it’s a radical change to policing, but how can you say that you haven’t told us what that means,” he said. “What’s going to be in this Department of Public Safety?”

He added: “They have not told us what it would look like other than, you know, we’re gonna have mental health workers that are going to show up on calls. I can’t see how that’s going to solve our problems.”

Some council members have pushed back on claims that they haven’t explained the proposal thoroughly. Council member Phillipe Cunningham tweeted in August that the city attorney advised council members to not engage on an outline of the ordinance that would explain the functions of the proposed Department of Public Safety because it could be seen as advocacy.

“A charter change is supposed to be as barebones as possible,” he said. “You’re not going to put a bunch of details that might need to be flexible in the charter, you’re going to put a skeleton language in the charter.”

Ellison added that amending the charter would not reallocate funds. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the most recent police budget approved was $164 million, with an additional $11 million accessible if approved by the City Council.

Wilson said he was worried neighborhood crime may increase with fewer officers. Armstrong mentioned a similar concern.

“Many in our community feel as though we have already been underserved when it comes to having to call 911 or receiving an adequate response when there is a crisis,” she added.

Robinson, the Color of Change spokesperson, said that the charter amendment gives the city more tools for approaching public safety issues.

“The community has been doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result,” he said. “This is putting something new on the table and hoping to build some new ways of really bringing about safety and bringing about justice.”

But Armstrong, a local organizer, pushed back on that idea.

“It’s a false dichotomy between voting ‘no’ and keeping things the same, or voting ‘yes’ and agreeing to this new public safety charter amendment,” she said. “Really, we should have had a community engagement process. We should have had evidence-based practices and we should have had options in terms of what kind of structure, you know, the MPD should become, versus being boxed into voting ‘no’ or voting ‘yes.'”

ABC News’ Zachary Kiesch and Briana Stewart contributed to this report.

COP26: This is what individuals can do to slow down climate change, according to experts

November 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(GLASGOW, U.K.) — As the leaders of the world gather in Glasgow to discuss the fate of the climate crisis, the power to save the planet from destruction caused by humans does not only lie in the hands of those in power.

While the majority of reductions in greenhouse gases will need to be accomplished by transformation in policy and industry, individual actions can also help prevent further warming, according to the experts.

“As individuals, we have to pursue collective action to actually move the needle on this,” Jason Smerdon, a climate scientists for Columbia University’s Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, told ABC News.

This is what individuals can do to help slow down climate change, according to experts:

Discuss climate change at the dinner table

Recent polling shows that global warming is “one of those controversial subjects that don’t get discussed at the dinner table,” but according to Smerdon, that is a mistake.

“People often say that you shouldn’t talk about religion or politics at the dinner table … and that’s a significant disadvantage,” he said. “People need to be discussing what it means for us individually, what it means for our communities, the regions where we live.”

Smerdon encourages people who are educated and worried about the issue to talk to their loved ones and inner circles about what climate change would mean for them.

Continue to talk about climate change to transform the culture and “mobilize at the scale we need,” Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, a marine biologist, environmental policy expert and founder of the Urban Ocean Lab, a think tank for urban coastal cities, told ABC News.

Use the power of the vote

It’s up to the voter to put politicians in place to implement solutions already available, such as renewable energy, restoring ecosystems, practicing regenerative farming and making transportation greener, according to the experts.

Actions taken during the Trump administration, such as the decision to roll back dozens of environmental protections and remove the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, as well as holding the Biden administration accountable on their promises, illustrate why it is so important to vote in every single election, Johnson said.

Lawmakers will need to address the structural deficiencies and ensure that climate legislation is passed and implemented swiftly, Smerdon said.

“The biggest, the most important things with regard to addressing climate change are addressing so many of the threats to our democracy that are unfolding currently in the United State,” Smerdon said, adding that gerrymandering, the filibuster, the strong money lobby within politics and voter disenfranchisement are all “real, serious impediments to passing climate change legislation.”

Carefully select who to do business with

A relative few number of companies are responsible for an overwhelming percentage of the world’s industrial greenhouse gas emissions, why it’s important for consumers to know where they are putting their money, activists say.

Just 100 companies worldwide are responsible for 71% of the world’s industrial greenhouse gas emissions since 1988, according to a report by the non-profit Carbon Disclosure Project, published in 2017.

It is important to “look at the institutions that are financing and expanding and digging us more deeply in this climate hole,” Lindsey Allen, executive director of the non-profit Rainforest Action Network, told ABC News.

Individuals should think about where their money “sleeps at night” and remove it from the banks they believe do not have a commitment to the climate fight, Allen said.

“I think there really is an opportunity if consumers engage with their dollars and vote with their wallets to really increase the ambition of financial institutions with what the climate crisis demands,” she said.

In addition, donate time or spare cash to organizations dedicated to the fight against climate change, Johnson said.

Eat sustainably

On of the easiest thing individuals can do in their daily lives to make an impact in the climate fight is simple switches to their diets, according to experts.

Individuals do not need to become a vegetarian or give up animal products altogether to reduce the carbon footprint of their meals.

“We’re not turning them into vegans,” Marty Heller, senior research specialist at the University of Michigan’s Center for Sustainable Systems, told ABC News. “We’re just saying, hey, eat something that is an average [carbon] footprint.”

The easiest way to make a meal more sustainable is to eat less meat and more organic, plant-based foods — the closer they were grown, the better, according to the experts.

Meat consumption is the largest culprit of greenhouse gas emissions in American diets. Individuals should cut back on beef consumption, which has a “monumental” carbon footprint compared to any other meat, Smerdon said.

Individuals should also choose foods that are grown regeneratively, which restores carbon to the soil, “where it belongs” and plant trees and grow their own food, even if with just a small plot of land, Johnson said.

We can no longer wait on large changes from the federal government

Individuals will find more success addressing the impacts of climate change on their local communities rather than wait on the federal government to pass sweeping legislation, Smerdon said.

Climate change is already here and impacted communities, as seen in the recent superstorms to hit the South and the wildfires burning in the drought-ridden West.

“So we have to engage locally,” he said. “We have to engage our local networks, our local institutions, our local decision makers, to think about the impacts of climate change in our communities and make our communities more resilient and interconnected.”

‘Individual efforts only go so far’

While there are several things people can do to reduce their carbon footprint, there are more reasons why placing the burden on individuals is “simply not enough,” Smerdon said.

The guilt that people associate with the their carbon footprint and the carbon footprint of others is not actually helping to slow down global warming, he added.

“And when people start to feel guilty about what they are doing or not doing, it can lead to a sense of paralysis and a feeling of guilt that’s not productive,” Smerdon said.

Smerdon gave an example of the pandemic, and how it stalled the transportation sector across the globe in 2020.

“Despite all of the individual sacrifices that we made — staying in our homes or apartments, not traveling, not going out much at all — that made a very minimal dent in the overall emissions,” he said. “And so that really indicates that these are systemic characteristics of how we do business, how we create energy on the planet.”

S. Madagascar on the verge of climate change-induced famine: How to help

November 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(AMBOVOMBE, Madagascar) — “Kere” is a word that echoes around southern Madagascar. It means hunger, and the people here know it all too well.

For the past four years, the lack of food has become a constant in their lives.

But unlike other countries, where extreme hunger and near-famine conditions are caused by war, conflict, or isolated weather events, in this part of Madagascar, the cause is so far unique: southern Madagascar is on the verge of becoming the world’s first climate-change induced near-famine in modern history.

Arduino Mangoni, the deputy country director of the World Food Programme in Madagascar, told ABC News he had “never seen people, especially children, in this situation that we’re seeing here.”

“I have seen people eating cactus leaves, insects, and surviving upon nothing, and the lack of water is probably the most striking element,” he said.

“World News Tonight” anchor David Muir and his team traveled to Madagascar to report on the worsening situation, as aid organizations and the Malagasy government rush to fill in the gaps of food and water in this region.

Southern Madagascar is experiencing its worst drought in 40 years, making the land here too arid to farm and leading to crop failure. For the past four years, the severe lack of rain has led to depleted food sources and dried-up rivers. Climate change has also led to sandstorms affecting these lands, covering formerly arable land and rendering it infertile.

“As they cannot plant, it’s affecting their food security,” Patrick Vercammen, the World Food Programme’s emergency coordinator here, told Muir during a visit to Akanka Fokotany, an affected village. “Having sandstorms in this kind of landscape is not something usual and having the effects of sandstorms shows that nature is changing, the environment is changing, and the climate change is affecting this area more than the rest of Madagascar.”

The situation has led to widespread malnutrition affecting more than 1 million people, and pockets of what the United Nations classifies “catastrophic” food insecurity signaling deepening hunger.

Madagascar has produced 0.01 percent of the world’s annual carbon emissions in the last eight decades, but it is suffering some of the worst effects.

“It is not fair…these people have not contributed to climate change because they do not have electricity, they do not have cars etc., and they’re paying probably the highest price in terms of the consequences of climate change,” Mangoni said.

The children are the most affected, with at least half a million kids under the age of five expected to be acutely malnourished, according to the World Food Programme and UNICEF.

In fact, the agencies say about 110,000 children are already in severe condition, suffering irreversible damage to their growth.

As the country enters the lean season – that dangerous time during which people wait for the next successful harvest — the need to provide food to those at risk of starvation has become more urgent. Aid workers warning that, without action, they could run out of food resources by the end of the year.

The World Food Programme is working together with the Malagasy government to alleviate some of the most acute needs in this region; prevent and treat children experiencing malnutrition; and build infrastructure and knowledge to make the population of southern Madagascar more resilient in the face of drought. They’re supporting more than 700,000 people in dire need, and the need is expected to grow.

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