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PICKS are stories from many sources, selected by our editors or recommended by our readers because they are important, surprising, troubling, enlightening, inspiring, or amusing. They appear on our site and in our daily newsletter. Please send suggested articles, videos, podcasts, etc. to picks@whowhatwhy.org.
Young People Demand Climate Justice in Run-up to Cop27 UN Talks (Maria)
The author writes, “Young people from some of the countries most affected by climate breakdown have warned they are not victims but a force to be reckoned with in the runup to a UN climate conference in Egypt. Led by climate groups across Africa and the Middle East, hundreds of activists from countries that are the least responsible for the crisis but are experiencing the worst impacts have gathered in Tunisia to prepare for what they say will be a collective fight for justice for their countries and communities, which they will take to Cop27 next month.”
Hurricane Ian Showcases GOP’s Disaster Aid Hypocrisy (Sean)
From The Daily Beast: “As Hurricane Ian ravaged south Florida on Thursday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) stood outside the U.S. Capitol at a press conference and made a vow to the victims. ‘We’ll do anything in our power to help them,’ McCarthy said, responding to a question from a reporter about the impacts of the hurricane, and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ ability to help his state recover. As the GOP leader said this, he was flanked by dozens of members of his House Republican conference. Their presence added a new dimension to McCarthy’s statement: many of them have been on the record opposing hurricane relief packages — or lent their support to proposals designed to drastically reduce the amount of money the federal government spends on disaster relief.”
Churches Defend Clergy Loophole in Child Sex Abuse Reporting (Reader Steve)
The authors write, “It was a frigid Sunday evening at the Catholic Newman Center in Salt Lake City when the priest warned parishioners who had gathered after Mass that their right to private confessions was in jeopardy. A new law would break that sacred bond, the priest said, and directed the parishioners to sign a one-page form letter on their way out. ‘I/We Oppose HB90,’ began the letter, stacked next to pre-addressed envelopes. ‘HB90 is an improper interference of the government into the practice of religion in Utah.’ … HB90 targeted Utah’s ‘clergy-penitent privilege,’ a law similar to those in many states that exempts clergy of all denominations from the requirement to report child abuse if they learn about the crime in a confessional setting.”
Ukraine-Russia War: US Army Doctor and Wife Charged With Russia Spying (Mili)
The author writes, “A US army major doctor and her wife, a civilian doctor, have been charged with a plot to leak information to the Russian government. Jamie Lee Henry and Anna Gabrielian are accused of planning to share confidential information about patients at a military hospital. The pair allegedly told an undercover FBI agent that they were motivated by patriotism for Russia. …. The pair were charged with conspiracy and the disclosure of identifiable health information, in an indictment filed in a court in Baltimore, Maryland which was unsealed on Thursday after their arrest.”
Protecting Pregnant People and Babies From the Health Effects of Climate Change (Mili)
From the New England Journal of Medicine: “As is the case for other consequences of climate change — including more intense hurricanes, extreme heat, and deteriorating water quality — pregnant people and newborns are particularly vulnerable to the health harms associated with wildfires. Wildfire smoke results in exposure to toxic gases, volatile organic compounds, and particulate matter; in pregnant people, these exposures have been associated with an increased risk of gestational hypertension and gestational diabetes, conditions that can carry long-term health risks for the mother. Exposure to wildfire smoke or its components has been associated with an increased risk of preterm birth and low birth weight, outcomes that can similarly have lifelong health effects.”
A Moonshot for Coral Breeding Was Successful (Laura)
From Hakai Magazine: “Wearing a navy-blue polo neck emblazoned with the Florida Aquarium logo, Keri O’Neil hugs a white cooler at Miami International Airport. ‘Coral babieeeeees,’ she says, before letting out a short laugh. Relief. The container holds 10 plastic bottles teeming with thousands of tiny peach-colored specks. Shaped like cornflakes and no more than a millimeter in length, they are the larvae of elkhorn coral, an endangered species that is as characteristic to the reefs of the Florida Keys and the Caribbean as polar bears are to the Arctic or giant sequoias to Sierra Nevada. With the larvae kept at 27 °C inside their insulated cooler nestled in the trunk of her car, O’Neil drives back to the Florida Aquarium in Tampa. … Once there, the larvae begin their metamorphosis from free-swimming specks into settled polyps, the beginnings of those branching, antler-like shapes that define this species.”
A Piglet Left Behind by Its Herd Finds a New Family With Some Cattle (Dana)
The author writes, “A cow herd in Germany has gained an unlikely following, after adopting a lone wild boar piglet. Farmer Friedrich Stapel told the dpa news agency that he spotted the piglet among the herd in the central German community of Brevoerde about three weeks ago. It had likely lost its group when they crossed a nearby river.”
