Trump Opens Only Atlantic Marine Monument to Commercial Fishing

On Friday, June 5th 2020, Trump signed a proclamation allowing commercial fishing in the only marine monument in the Atlantic Ocean, the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument. The monument is home to rare and endangered whales and turtles and contains three underwater canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon and four underwater mountains. The Monument was created in response to citizens requesting for area in the Northeast Atlantic to be protected, due to its importance as a biodiversity hotspot, habitat for numerous rare and endangered species, and a valuable scientific and historical site.

Trump Announces He's Pulling Out the Open Skies Treaty

Last week Trump announced that he is pulling the U.S. out of the Open Skies Treaty, a multilateral agreement among 34 countries that allows countries to conduct reconnaissance flights in order to provide transparency regarding military activities. The treaty allows for reconnaissance flights at short notice to lessen the uncertainty about a nation’s military intentions. Here are five reasons why the US should not withdraw from the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.

Trump Greenlights Factory Farming the Oceans

In a blow to fishermen and women across the country, Trump issued an executive order on May 7th to open US territorial waters to fish farming. In addition to driving fishers out of business, fish farms are gross polluters, breed disease, and threaten wild populations. See the full story on Huffington Post and the Food and Environment Reporting Network.

Report: US Forces Burn Syrian Wheat Fields

SANA--the Syrian Arab News Agency--reports that US forces have burned 200 dunums (acres) of Syrian wheat fields. This in a country facing record food insecurity. More on the story is available at Veteran's Today.

Trump's Refusal to take the COVID-19 Virus Seriously Led to Tens of Thousands of Avoidable Deaths

It's been calculated by epidemiologists that Trump's refusal to respond seriously to the COVID-19 virus from when he first learned of it caused over 57,000 deaths. The Trump Death Clock is the site keeping track of the deplorable score. And so when I saw this mural by Danish muralist Welin, I thought how fitting to show these two calamities together in our lives.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Proposes Nuclear Waste De-Regulation

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is proposing to allow low-level nuclear waste to be dumped in private landfills; not just the four sites that currently handle it. The problem this poses is the lack of oversight at private dumps and the fact that the public would be put in the dark about their very existence.

Comments can be shared with the NRC through July 20th, 2020.

Trump Cancels Corona Virus Research!

CBS documents the cancellation of Corona virus research in recent weeks by the Trump Administration in this piece: