Ethiopia to plant 5 billion trees, New York legislates for police accountability, Britain goes coal-free

| Posted on June 10, 2020 |

Photo: Rod Waddington via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

In this issue of Squirrel News, Ethiopia commits to planting 5 billion trees as part of their 4-year reforestation scheme, protests have compelled New York state to enforce police transparency regarding disciplinary proceedings, and Britain remains coal-free for longest time yet.

Ethiopia commits to planting 5 billion trees in 2020

The country’s Green Legacy initiative hopes to reforest some of the 97% of its native forests lost to deforestation.

Source: The Planetary Press

Protests compel New York to pass bill for police accountability

A decades-old law has been repealed in New York State that has allowed police disciplinary records, complaints and proceeds to be hidden from the public eye.

Source: PBS News Hour

Britain goes coal-free as renewables take precedent

No power has been generated through coal in the past two months, compared to 40% of the energy being generated from coal just a decade ago.

Source: BBC News

Disuses coal mines to become source of renewable heating

Water is heated naturally from the Earth’s crust and then pumped from flooded mine shafts. The UK has 30 of these minewater heat schemes planned to help reach zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Source: BBC News

One woman’s campaign has led to a more accurate definition of racism

US dictionary Merriam-Webster will now revise their definition to include the “systemic oppression upon a group of people”.

Source: DW

City workers paint huge ‘Black Lives Matter’ message along road to White House

The giant mural was accompanied with that section of street being officially named Black Lives Matter Plaza.

Source: CNN

Labour councils across UK launch slavery statue review

As statues of slavery and plantation owners are removed across the world, Sadiq Khan has announced a thorough review of all the capital’s landmarks.

Source: The Guardian

Pakistan tackles locust plague with initiative rewarding locals and chickens alike

As Pakistan agriculture suffers from the invasion, locals are paid for every kilo of locusts they catch, which are in turn sold as chicken feed.

Source: PHYS ORG

Green turtle population almost twice as large as previously thought

Thanks to drone footage over Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, up to 64,000 green turtles were seen swimming during nesting season.

Source: CNN

Racist viral video sparks joyful solidarity movement #BlackBirdersWeek

As the world witnessed a video taken by a black birder in Central Park, the black birdwatching community were able to connect over shared experiecnes.