Hits and Misses
A future of heat waves, wildfires and floods is pretty much baked in, according to a report released Monday by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The planet has warmed up by about 2 degrees Fahrenheit over the last century or so, and is likely to creep up another couple of degrees by the 2040s. The report characterized the gathering climate calamity as “code red for humanity.” Also, one of the scientists who worked on the report told The New York Times, “We show that climate change is already acting in every region, in multiple ways.” Even though extreme weather events are likely to be more frequent over the next 20 years, the worst impacts of climate change can be averted, according to the report, if our burning of fossil fuels is greatly reduced and eventually eliminated. If we truly care about the world we will be leaving our children and grandchildren, we all need to support efforts to make renewables our primary sources of energy.
The news that Richard Trumka had died last week at the age of 72 came as a shock. The native of Greene County and the leader of the AFL-CIO had been in the news advocating for the $1 trillion infrastructure plan that was approved by the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, and was also actively supporting legislation that would make union organizing easier. State Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Jefferson, is one of Trumka’s cousins and had dinner with him the weekend before his death in Morgantown, W.Va. Snyder told the Observer-Reporter’s Rick Shrum, “This has rocked our whole family. It’s a terrible loss for us, but also a terrible loss to working people across the country.” Before becoming president of American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, Trumka had been president of the United Mine Workers of America. Snyder also said in a statement, “Richard spent every day of his career fighting for the middle class and working families. … His work has improved the lives of middle-class families across the country.”
A week after a damning report was released detailing alleged incidents of sexual harassment involving New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, he did the right thing Tuesday and announced his resignation, which will take effect Aug. 24. Echoing Richard Nixon, who announced his resignation from the presidency 47 years and two days before Cuomo announced he was stepping down, Cuomo said he was stepping aside to “let government get back to governing.” The truth is, like Nixon, he stood an excellent chance of being impeached, his allies had abandoned ship and his public support had cratered. Cuomo simply had no options left.
The Summer Olympics wrapped up in Tokyo last week, but the winter games will follow in just six months in Beijing, and then the Special Olympics will take place in Orlando, Fla., in June. In the latter contest, a swimmer from Washington County will be on hand. Katy Day, a 2016 Canon-McMillan graduate, has been practicing weekly at the Mon Valley YMCA, and her coach describes her as “a very natural swimmer.” She will most likely compete in the backstroke and individual medley contests next year. Like her counterparts in Tokyo, we hope that Day brings home the gold.