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Which Communities Fight?

Tatum Eames Uncategorized
Which Communities Fight?

The eighth installment of a blog series of 13 sharing art, articles, and abstract ideas that spark a contagious conversation.

With just a quick Google search, I was able to find 10+ pages of community response teams for COVID-19. Relief funds, medical help, child care, and meal services are just a few of the actions commonly taken by helpers. My question is this: are the communities who are teeming with helpers also the communities that take climate change seriously? Is there a connection between the way neighborhoods, cities, and countries react to COVID-19 and the climate crisis? Where are those communities, and what influences them?

Image from the CDC.

To the left is a map of the world. The blue color is places where cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed. The yellow color is for places where no cases have been found. This map is useful because it helps us understand where the COVID-19 crisis has spread. Most of the world has experienced some turmoil due to COVID-19. There is only one country as of May 2020 without any cases.

Image from Mother Jones with graphs from Johns Hopkins COVID-19 research.

This next image reveals the countries where COVID-19 has been found, and tracks its spreading since. The graphs show that countries like US, France, and Spain have had significant growth in COVID-19 cases. Places like Sweden and Canada have limited the spread of the disease. I wondered if the countries where COVID-19 was spreading rapidly might be the same countries that have poor climate protection.

Image from New Climate Institute.

Sweden is ranked as the 4th best country in climate protection. The United States is ranked at 61. This suggests that there may be a correlation between the nations that react quickly to the COVID-19 crisis, follow best practices, and unify communities and their subsequent responses to climate change.

Image from New Climate Institute.

This map depicts the world and color codes countries based on their effort in fighting climate change. Green is used to show a very high level of effort and help, while red is used to show a very low effort. Again we can see some intersections in the communities that have responded adequately to the COVID-19 pandemic, and those who have taken action of climate protection.

Where we live matters. Our communities and their reactions to crisis can be the defining factor in thriving or suffering. In some ways, the COVID-19 pandemic is a trial run, a foreshadowing of future events, and a glimpse of what reactions to a worsening climate crisis could be. Let’s all make our communities the ones who fight.

Written by Tatum Eames, Western Washington University Senior and Climate Justice Now Intern.

Cost Can Be Social Too

Tatum Eames Uncategorized , ,
Cost Can Be Social Too

The seventh installment of a blog series of 13 sharing art, articles, and abstract ideas that spark a contagious conversation.

The economic hit caused by COVID-19 and the climate crisis is clear, but the social implications can be just as devastating. When circumstances change for millions of people and every country all in a short period of time, the social ramifications should be considered just as critical as the economic ones.

A newborn baby meets grandparent through the window due to social distancing measures. Image courtesy of @emmabethgall

During the global COVID-19 shut-down, many are finding themselves without work. Unemployment has long been associated with a significantly increased risk of death in general, particularly for low-skilled workers in the U.S. The risk of heart disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S. at almost 650,000 deaths per year, has been shown to increase by 15–30 percent in men unemployed for more than 90 days. Among older workers, involuntary job loss can more than double the risk of stroke, which already claims 150,000 lives in the U.S. per year, as well as increase the likelihood of depressive symptoms that then persist for years.

Such harms are likely exacerbated by concomitant longer term social isolation, which in of itself is associated with a 30 percent increase in mortality risk. Loneliness and social isolation have been associated with a 29 percent increase in risk of incident coronary heart disease and a 32 percent increase in risk of stroke. The scale of these elevated health risks is significant—comparable to that caused by taking up light smoking or suffering from obesity.

Income itself, of course, is strongly associated with poorer health across the income distribution, whether measured by life expectancy, health status or infant mortality. The gap in life expectancy between the richest and poorest 1 percent of individuals in the U.S. is around 14 years, a gap that, unlike in other high income countries, has continued to grow in recent years. These are just a few of the non-economic crises taking place in response to COVID-19.

And then there is the environmental crisis. The social cost of climate change was actually calculated. It’s a policy tool that attaches a price tag to the long-term economic damage caused by one ton of carbon dioxide, hence the cost to society. It’s related to a carbon tax, and it serves as a way to distill the vast global consequences of climate change down to a practical metric. Suppose every country in the world suddenly wakes up tomorrow in ecstatic cahoots on climate change and decides to implement a carbon tax at the level of their respective social costs of carbon. Will that solve climate change?


Not even remotely.

That’s because there are some countries that emit very little and will be hit hard by climate change, while others emit a lot and won’t see as many damages. So for a country to set a meaningful carbon tax, or any other price on carbon, it has to include damages caused to other countries, as former Obama adviser Jason Bordoff wrote in the Wall Street Journal:

“Unlike other regulated pollutants that have almost entirely domestic consequences, CO2 impacts are global, and climate change is a “tragedy of the commons” problem. A ton of CO2 contributes equally to climate change regardless of where it comes from. If all nations looked only at the impact of a ton of CO2 on their own nations, the collective response would be vastly inadequate to address the true damages from climate change.”

This is part of why the global social cost of carbon, $417 per ton, is so much higher than it is for any individual country. The costs of climate change are greater than the sum of their parts. Yet it also shows that many of the wealthiest countries, which contributed the most greenhouse gases, stand to be the best insulated from its costs.

The social cost of carbon for individual countries in dollars per ton of carbon dioxide emissions. 
Image from Nature Climate Change


That makes climate change a global justice concern. In limiting global warming, wealthy countries face a moral imperative to look beyond their borders and GDPs, pushing even harder to cut their own emissions. The social costs of carbon also show why climate change really has to be tackled as a global problem rather than by individual nations.

Written by Tatum Eames, Western Washington University Senior and Climate Justice Now Intern.

The Cost of it All

Tatum Eames Uncategorized
The Cost of it All

The sixth installment of a blog series of 13 sharing art, articles, and abstract ideas that spark a contagious conversation.

Many predictions of the economic and social costs of our current pandemic are based on the effects of the influenza pandemic of 1918. The influenza pandemic in the United States occurred in three waves during 1918 and 1919. The first wave began in March 1918 and lasted throughout the summer of 1918. The more devastating second and third waves (the second being the worst) occurred in the fall of 1918 and the spring of 1919. Although it originated in the U.S., according to one researcher:

“Spanish influenza moved across the United States in the same way as the pioneers had, for it followed their trails which had become railroads…the pandemic started along the axis from Massachusetts to Virginia…leaped the Appalachians…positioned along the inland waterways…it jumped clear
across the plains and the Rockies to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. Then, with secure bases on both coasts…took its time to seep into every niche and corner of America.”

As COVID-19 seeps into every niche and corner of modern America, the question of cost is on all of our minds. What will this pandemic cost us? Will the unemployment rate ever jump back to normal? How can the stock market come back from this? The Bureau for Labor Statistics’ April 2020 job report reveals that the unemployment rate is currently 14.7%. The jump from March 2020’s 10.3% rate to April’s rate is the highest unemployment rate month-to-month increase since reporting started in 1948.

The George Mason Univeristy Mercatus Center reseachers estimate that the real GDP growth rate will decline 5 percent for each month of partial economic shutdown. Therefore, the economic cost of the first two months spent fighting the pandemic will be $2.14 trillion (10 percent), which is surprisingly close to the static fiscal cost of the CARES Act.

At a time when there’s concern about a global economic downturn, a study from August 2019 circulated as a working paper in the National Bureau of Economic Research, warns of a far bigger cut to economic growth if global warming goes unchecked. The Washington Post wrote an article titled,”Climate change could cost the U.S. up to 10.5 percent of its GDP by 2100, study finds” that nearly broke the comments section.

“What our study suggests is that climate change is costly for all countries under the business as usual scenario (no matter whether they are hot or cold, rich or poor), and the United States will be one of the countries that will suffer the most (reflecting sharp increases in U.S. average temperatures by 2100),” study co-author Kamiar Mohaddes, an economist at the University of Cambridge reports.

Extreme weather events, cuts to worker productivity and other effects of climate change could cause major global economic losses unless greenhouse gas emissions are significantly curtailed in the next few decades. Climate change constitutes a looming financial risk, even in the midst of COVID-19 chaos.

Written by Tatum Eames, Western Washington University Senior and Climate Justice Now Intern.

Crisis Crash Course

Tatum Eames Uncategorized , , , ,
Crisis Crash Course

The third blog in a series of 13 sharing art, articles, and abstract ideas that spark a contagious conversation.

A time of intense difficulty, heightened danger, or prolonged trouble- these are just a few indicators of a crisis. Right now, we are enduring not one, but two generation defining crises. Climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic will transform society as we know it. But what exactly is a crisis? How is it different from a disaster, an emergency, or a dark period?

The term crisis comes from the Latinized form of the Greek word krisis, meaning “turning point in a disease.” At such a moment, the person with the disease could get better or worse: it’s a critical moment. It is the fork in the road, a decisive point or situation; a turning point. Both climate change and COVID-19 were made worse by early inaction. They became crises because leaders ignored that warning signs, refused proactive measures, and denied expert guidance. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez explained how the result of early inaction in regards to COVID-19 likely parallels the results of our climate crisis inaction.

A crisis is any event that is going to lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, community, or whole society. Clearly, both of these sicknesses fit this criteria. Both of these sicknesses bring with them prolonged periods of uncertainty, they demand a complete transformation of norms, and they require quick dramatic action. It is because of these factors that COVID-19 and climate change are not simply emergencies or disasters. Let me know in the comments if you agree. Tell me how you define crisis, and if these sicknesses count.

For more information on what qualifies as a crisis, listen to Disasterology (DISASTERS) with Dr. Samantha Montano on the Ologies podcast at https://www.alieward.com/ologies/disasterology?rq=disasterology Check back on the blog next week for more COVID-19 and climate change updates.

Written by Tatum Eames, Western Washington University senior and Climate Justice Now intern.

To Protect One, We Must Protect the Other

Tatum Eames Uncategorized
To Protect One, We Must Protect the Other

The second blog in a series of 13 sharing art, articles, and abstract ideas that spark a contagious conversation.

Cartoon by Dave Granlund. Featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer 4/23/2020.

As the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day was celebrated digitally around the globe, millions connected for over 12 hours of online content reaffirming their love for this great blue marble we all call home. Without a doubt, Earth Day 2020 demonstrated that the call for environmental action provides unity, even in a time of uncertainty.

Earth Day 2020 and the Future Coalition featured a three day live streamed event: Day 1- Earth Day and climate justice, Day 2 – Stop the money pipeline and Day 3 – Get out the Vote for climate justice.

Tweet by Earth Day Network on 4/22/2020

Perhaps the biggest successes of Wednesdays event came from former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, who sent an urgent call for an end to the burning of fossil fuels. Pope Francis addressed his congregation by saying “Because of our selfishness, we have failed in our responsibility to be guardians and stewards of the Earth,” and many pledged to adopt plant based diets in the name of environmental protection. The tone of the day was hopeful, urgent, and unifying. It was certainly a day to be remembered.

Among all of the celebration, one thing remained clear: the coronavirus is still public enemy #1, and the reason for the altered Earth Day event. The tie between those two truths never loosened. And, according to a Harvard study released ealier this month, the tie could be more important than it seems.

New Dehli Capitol. Image on the left was taken on November 3rd, 2019. The image on the right was taken on March 30th, 2020. NICK UT/AP, GARY A. VASQUEZ/USA TODAY/REUTERS

Harvard biologists Xiao Wu and Rachel C. Nethery state that, “COVID-19 may kill between 100,000 and 240,000 Americans. The majority of the pre-existing conditions that increase the risk of death for COVID-19 are the same diseases that are affected by long-term exposure to air
pollution.” Their study found that an increase even a small increased exposure to air pollution is associated with a 15% increase in the COVID-19 death rate. In other words, small increase in long-term exposure to pollution leads to a large increase in COVID-19 death rate. This study and its results underscore the importance of continuing to enforce existing air pollution regulations to protect human health both during, and after, the COVID-19 crisis.

In order to protect each other from this virus, we must also protect the environment we live in.

Full link to Harvard Study can be found at: https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/covidpm/files/pm_and_covid_mortality.pdf. A full recording of the live stream can be found at https://www.earthdaylive2020.org/#the-three-days and  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCceO4pCY_b4N76IpDSmP_2g.

For more information on COVID-19 and Climate Change, check back on the blog next week.

Written by Tatum Eames, Western Washington University Senior and Climate Justice Now Intern.

Earth Day Isn’t Cancelled

Tatum Eames COVID-19, Uncategorized
Earth Day Isn’t Cancelled

The first blog in a series of 13 sharing art, articles, and abstract ideas that spark a contagious conversation.

Students at Nipher Junior High School on 4/22/1970 protesting against smog caused by automobiles. The demonstration was in connection with the observance of the first Earth Day. Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS

Each year on the 22nd of April, people of all backgrounds, places, and spaces come together to celebrate the one thing that unifies us: Earth. The first Earth Day led 20 million people to flood streets and participate in teach-ins as the birth of the modern environmental movement took place. Fifty years later, Earth Day looks a little different. It’s relevancy, however, is sustained by a call to address the most crucial threat of our time – climate change. In 1970, this call was answered by a massive march, a new holiday, and sign making. Today, it is answered in digital action and creative problem solving.

Earth Day was born during the ’60s. Think civil rights, the Vietnam War and women’s liberation igniting pandemonium in the country, contrasting the submissive tone of the decade before. Born from a time of chaos and now being celebrated in another one, the last 50 years of Earth Days have seen it all. Now, the fight for a clean environment continues with increasing urgency, as the ravages of climate change become more and more apparent every day. On the celebration of the first ever Earth Day, activists wore face masks to protest the unhealthy air quality and pollution. Now, with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommending we all wear face masks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, it is hard not to draw parallels. The fights against the coronavirus and the climate crisis go hand-in-hand and as we work to flatten the curve of this pandemic, we must also strive toward the longer term goal of building a society rooted in sustainability and justice.


Children protest in New York City for the first Earth Day celebration in 1970. Image by Santi Visalli/Getty Images

Environmental activists were radical. They were loud, creative, gutsy-demanding action and gaining momentum quickly. Their methods paid off, and Earth Day helped set the agenda for some of the first national environmental legislation, including the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts. The social and cultural environments we saw in 1970 are rising up again today — a fresh and frustrated generation of young people are refusing to settle for staleness and organizing by the millions. Digital platforms and social media are bringing these conversations, protests, strikes and mobilizations to a global audience, especially now, uniting a concerned citizenry as never before and energizing generations to join together to take on the greatest challenge that modern humankind has faced. 

Cartoon by Paresh Nath. Nath is the chief cartoonist for India’s National Herald, and his cartoons are syndicated in the United States by Cagle Cartoons.

For many, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day serves as both a reminder of accomplishments since the 1970’s and what is left to be done. This year’s celebration may seem odd, irrelevant, or even lack luster, but now more than ever we must remember the origins of Earth Day. We must stand unified in the fight for a better future, and get creative in solving our biggest problems.

You can celebrate this year by participating in a three day Earth Day Live celebration. For a schedule of events, hosts, and activities visit https://www.earthdaylive2020.org/. For more history of Earth Day and a 24 hour 50th Anniversary Livestream Event, visit https://www.earthday.org/.

Written by Tatum Eames, Western Washington University Senior and Climate Justice Now Intern.