Humanitarian Unknown 050.
1. Why Reform Isn’t Enough: From Rethinking to Remaking Humanitarianism
"The idea that states can be benevolent humanitarian donors at the same time as they neglect international norms, support conflict, destroy the environment, and prioritise economic growth above people’s lives has now been exposed beyond repair. The choices humanitarians and their institutions now have to make go way beyond just how to balance their budgets without US funding."
From Tammam Aloudat.
2. Wild Clocks
"In every living thing, there ticks a clock. Once, these rhythms comforted and consoled, orchestrating innumerable ecological relationships and offering glimpses of the greater wheels within which our small lives turn. But as climate breakdown takes hold, more and more species are struggling to keep time as they once did. Biological clocks that evolved an exact synchronization over millions of years are falling out of sync: the beat does not fall where it should."
Wonderful read from David Farrier .
3. How to Think About the Meaning of Life
"Consider the additional value a child can derive from a poem, when they realize that its depiction of a running horse represents the passing of time."
4. 140 Women Are Murdered Every Day by Relatives
"Home is one of the most dangerous places on earth for women, a new United Nations report reveals. More than 60% of homicides of women are carried out by their intimate partners or by other relatives."
By Damilola BANJO .
https://www.passblue.com/2024/11/26/140-women-are-murdered-every-day-by-relatives-un-report-reveals/
5. Scientists Have a New Explanation for the Last Two Years of Record Heat
"Two new studies offer a potential explanation [for the record heat]: fewer clouds. And the decline in cloud cover, researchers say, could signal the start of a feedback loop that leads to more warming."
By Shannon Osaka .
6. Bill Gates Is Playing Both Sides of the Climate Crisis
"In 2021, Bill Gates announced that the foundation that bore his name had divested all its “direct holdings in oil and gas companies.” But recently available IRS records show that four years on, the Gates Foundation Trust, the entity that manages the Gates Foundation’s $75.5 billion endowment, appears to have done very little to back off oil and gas. In fact, its stake in fossil fuels seems to have increased."
By Alex Park .
7. I Work in Global Health. Trump Ditching the WHO Might Be the Wake-up Call It Needs.
"For the WHO to survive, it needs to improve. And for the US to have the best chances of protecting itself from future global health emergencies (...) it still needs the WHO. But it needs a better one."
From Jessica Craig.
8. How Cairo’s “Garbage City” Became the Envy of the World
"This street in Egypt’s capital is one of countless nodes in what might be the world’s most efficient and sustainable recycling system. Germany, the country with the highest recycling rate in the world, recycles about 66% of its waste. The informal networks that manage refuse in this half of Cairo are estimated to recycle over 80% of garbage they collect."
From Jaclynn A.
9. Breaking Down Africa's Debt Landscape
"Africa’s debt situation is a complex mix of domestic borrowing, foreign aid, Eurobonds, multilateral loans, bilateral government loans, and commodity-backed financing. While debt relief movements like Jubilee 2000 and the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative provided temporary relief, many African nations fell back into debt cycles due to structural economic weaknesses. This article explores the sources of debt, the role of different creditors, and the long-term implications of Africa’s borrowing strategies."
Yaw Asamoah reviews (at length) a book by Gregory Smith : "Where Credit is Due: How Africa's Debt Can Be a Benefit Not a Burden"
10. The Bookends of Time
"Nothing lasts forever: not humanity, not Earth, not the Universe. But finitude confers an indelible meaning to our lives."
From Thomas Moynihan .