From Politico: Covid-19 changed education in America — permanently. It’s been a school year like no other. Here’s what we learned.

From HSNW: The U.S. Water and Wastewater Crisis – How Many Wake-up Calls Are Enough?

In February, much of Texas plunged into darkness when the state’s electricity grid failed due to extreme cold weather conditions. What started as a foreseeable blackout quickly became a life-threatening calamity. “This catastrophe illustrates what happens when aging and inadequate infrastructure is hit by extreme rain or snow—an increasingly regular occurrence due to climate change,” Lucía Falcón Palomar, Obinna Maduka, and JoAnn Kamuf Ward write. “And, the matter extends well beyond Texas. It is easy to forget that, within U.S. borders, communities have long endured the conditions seen in Texas in February.”

From the Guardian: California is poised for a catastrophic fire season. Experts say its plan isn’t nearly enough.

From the Wash Post: The rise of domestic extremism in America. Data shows a surge in homegrown incidents not seen in a quarter-century

‘From The Guardian: No community should suffer this’: Florida’s toxic breach was decades in the making. A leak at an abandoned fertilizer plant is just the latest development at a site that has polluted the area since it was built

From GovTech: Major NOAA Upgrades Mean Longer-Range Storm Forecasting.
Enhancements to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s forecasting system will effectively allow models to run at a higher resolution of detail and yield a more accurate, longer forecast.

From the staff at the Univ. of DE, Disaster Research Center: A disaster by any other name?: COVID‐19 and support for an All‐Hazards approach

From Politico, this unusual, illustrated article: How to stop a pandemic before it starts, illustrated. U.S. policymakers have spent trillions of dollars to mitigate the effects of Covid-19. But the answer to preventing the next pandemic altogether lies elsewhere.

From the WashPost: Intelligence forecast sees a post-coronavirus world upended by climate change and splintering societies

The Kennebunkport Climate Initiative (KCI) is a scientifically-based, non-partisan education organization aimed to help solve the climate crisis. The uniqueness of KCI’s approach is its focus on educating and empowering youth. KCI believes that the generation most at risk (the youth) will shift politics, stimulate solutions, and ultimately be agents of change. KCI’s vision is to create a cohesive voice at the grassroots level to push for climate friendly policy and action in this time of crisis.

The organization is headquartered in Kennebunkport, Maine, and was founded in part due to the major climate issues impacting the Gulf of Maine, which is warming faster than 99% of the world’s oceans. KCI knows that climate change has greatly impacted the intensity of disasters and believes that youth are key to solving the climate challenge because they influence and foster climate concern among their parents, communities, and decision-makers. KCI aims to educate, empower and activate 10 million youth by 2025. 

We are all facing futures impacted by climate change. But by bonding together we can decide what that future looks like. To learn more about KCI and get involved, head to www.kportclimate.org. 

The Diva wishes Jono Anzalone and his team the best of luck.