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science, biodiversity, climate change, ecosystems, primatologist Jane Goodall
Photo credit: Milken Institute / Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)

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Jane Goodall Thinks It’s Not Too Late to Save the World (Maria)

The authors write, “The planet’s biodiversity has also rapidly deteriorated over the past few decades, and according to the UN, up to a million species are at risk of extinction, mainly due to their wild habitats being changed to farmland. On top of this, human-induced climate change reduces the living space for many species. The window of time available to halt this trend and to protect ecosystems that both animals and humans rely on is running out, [primatologist Jane] Goodall argues. … Addressing both biodiversity loss in specific regions and global climate change is imperative, Goodall stresses. Everything is connected, she says: ‘You have to do them together — biodiversity loss and climate change.’”

Shapiro Has Had the Back of the Muslim and Arab Community in the Face of Islamophobia and Anti-Arab Racism (Russ)

From The Philadelphia Inquirer: “Marwan Kreidie, from the Philadelphia Arab American Development Corp., applauds Gov. Josh Shapiro for listening to and working with the Muslim and Arab community despite disagreements.”

Harris Grabs Green New Deal Network Endorsement That Eluded Biden (Laura)

The authors write, “The coalition of progressive youth and environmental justice groups are confident they can help give the presumptive Democratic nominee a needed edge with the base, even as the Trump team seeks to paint her as a radical.”

Court Reverses Itself on Arizona Voter Registration Rules (Reader Steve)

From The Arizona Daily Star: “Arizonans who lack proof of citizenship can again sign up to vote in this year’s presidential and congressional races. The action comes after two of three judges on a panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals late Thursday overturned a ruling to the contrary by a different three-judge panel whose duty it is to rule on pending motions. The majority of this panel — the one actually assigned to hear the case — concluded the other judges should never have made such a radical change in voting registration rules so soon before the election, saying it would cause chaos.”

Constitutions and the Rule of Law: Ten Voices From America’s Founding Period (Al)

From the Journal of the American Revolution: “The idea that no one is above the law is a long-held and repeated precept of American constitutionalism. Its roots go back to the philosophical and historical foundations of western political thought. Holding a prominent place in this history is the thirteenth-century English Magna Carta. Although it does not explicitly use the phrase, the document — a 1297 copy of which is on display in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom at the National Archives Museum in Washington, D.C. — is often cited for codifying limits to a king’s exercise of powers. As the following ten quotes show, Americans were keenly aware of the principle and the necessity of enshrining it in republican charters.”

FTC to Probe Stubbornly High Grocery Prices (DonkeyHotey)

The author writes, “Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan said Thursday her agency will investigate the high cost of groceries in the United States as chain supermarkets bring in ‘enormous profits.’ Khan noted at a joint FTC and Department of Justice public meeting that the cost of groceries ‘skyrocketed during the pandemic, due in large part to the higher costs and supply chain disruptions. But we also know that in the years since, costs have fallen, and supply chains have improved,’ she said.” 

Researchers Decipher Cuneiform Tablet — and Discover It’s a Furniture Receipt (Dana)

The author writes, “Researchers have discovered that a clay tablet found in Turkey is actually a 3,500-year-old receipt, on which someone recorded a furniture sale. Written in cuneiform — an ancient Middle Eastern script — the record details a purchase of wooden tables, chairs and stools by an unknown buyer. Excavators discovered the tablet during construction work in Reyhanlı, a southern Turkish city near the border with Syria, according to a translated statement by the country’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism.”

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