One Sentence News / August 10, 2023
Three news stories summarized & contextualized by analytic journalist Colin Wright.
Amazon leaders fail to commit to end deforestation by 2030
Summary: A two-day summit in Brazil with eight nations in attendance has not resulted in a collective commitment to end the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, as many had hoped.
Context: Brazilian President Lula has been scrambling to reverse policies put into place by his predecessor that allowed, and in some cases even encouraged, the deforestation of the Amazon, mostly but not exclusively to allow for more beef production in cleared areas; as part of that effort, he pulled leaders from eight countries whose borders contain a portion of the Amazon together to discuss possible solutions, but while they made a lot of noise about being concerned about rainforest depletion and said they would work together to ensure the Amazon survives—primarily by asking wealthier nations for money in exchange for preservation efforts, since they would all be giving up on wealth-generating opportunities to focus on preservation—they were not able to agree on a hard end-date for all deforestation, and that’s left interested parties with mixed feelings on this approach to protecting rainforests.
—The Guardian
Voters in Ohio reject GOP-backed proposal that would have made it tougher to protect abortion rights
Summary: Ohio voters have soundly rejected a proposal that would have upped the requirements to change the state’s constitution, 57%-ish to 43%-ish—the measure proposed and funded by out-of-state Republican billionaires who wanted to head-off planned Democratic efforts to add abortion rights to the state’s constitution in an upcoming vote.
Context: This is being generally seen as one more indication that folks at the local level, even in Republican-heavy states, are not generally in favor of new laws that limit abortion rights, even laws that do so asymmetrically as this one would have, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn nationwide abortion rights last year.
—The Associated Press
The climate-friendly cows bred to belch less methane
Summary: The first cows with low-methane belches will be born next Spring in Canada, potentially helping reduce livestock-originating emissions.
Context: Methane doesn’t last as long as CO2 in the atmosphere, but it’s a far more potent greenhouse gas, and cows burp a lot of methane, which makes livestock-heavy regions big targets for reducing greenhouse gases; there are many potential ways to do this, including feeding cows more seaweed, which gives them all their necessary nutrients while reducing the amount of methane they belch, though this approach—selectively breeding for low-methane genetic traits—is also proving to be popular, since it would allow for a reduction in methane over time without having to substantially change feed-related supply chains; it’s estimate that addressing cow burps, alone, could help reduce livestock-related emissions by something like 1.5% annually, and up to 20-30% by 2050.
—Reuters
Deployments of new energy infrastructure across the US have been heavily slanted toward renewables, and planned deployments through the end of the year are even more weighted toward solar, wind, and battery storage-focused assets.
—EIA
$1.03 trillion
Total balance of US credit card debt in the second quarter of 2023, according to the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
This is the first time such debt has breached the $1 trillion mark, and it serves both bearish and bullish views of the US economy, as from one perspective this is a huge debt-load that will accrue interest and could truncate spending (thus, reducing the strength of the economy) in the coming years, but from another perspective it suggests US consumers are feeling pretty good about the country’s economic outlook (and their outsized average post-pandemic savings), which could keep generally positive economic figures trending upward.
—Axios
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