 Lauren Singer, holding a mason jar containing her entire output of trash over four years. The Home Front Staying Eco-Friendly in Lockdown Sheltering in place provides a good opportunity to learn, plan, and organize for climate action. Because it’s pretty clear the planet needs us now more than ever. So next time you’re ready for a break from the news, Netflix, and public service announcements about hand sanitizer, consider jumping into one of these books:
—Karen McCann  In a major victory for for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe of North Dakota, a federal court on Wednesday struck down permits and ordered a comprehensive environmental review of plans for the Dakota Access pipeline. (Photo Earthjustice) STOP, LOOK, LISTEN! Isolation Nation A few random observations from inside the house: • People here in my in-laws’ neighborhood are way more friendly than I remember, but from a distance. Lots of porch-to-porch chats. • All my podcasts sound funny now, because the hosts are recording them from their bedroom closets. • I’m inventing errands upstairs, just to move around more. (I am lucky to be at the in-laws', as my home in Sevilla doesn't have an upstairs.) No doubt you are experiencing similar effects—after all, we’re all in this together, separately. —Kathy Sherretts AND from a WaPo online discussion about social distancing at home: Opportunity! Let’s all drive our representatives crazy at state and federal levels pushing for the issues we care most about. For starters, making SURE all registered voters can vote on Nov. 4th no matter what COVID19 does. Maybe we could even tackle global warming! Finally (many) citizens have time to actually call/write our leaders and fuss! Such a fine civics lesson for kids stuck at home. We could change things for the better! Two steps forward: Earthjustice: Standing Rock Tribe Wins in Court After Years of Perseverance by Alison Cagle A federal judge struck down permits for the Dakota Access Pipeline, even after COVID-19 precautions led to an unconventional day in court. How Stuff Works: Good News! Some Butterfly Populations Bounced Back in 2019 by Laurie L. Dove In addition to favorable weather, volunteers and nonprofits' work on butterfly waystations and education has turned around long-term population decline for some species. Bad actors: Washington Post: Congress to bail out firms that avoided taxes, safety regulations and spent billions boosting their stock by Jonathan O'Connell Many of the airlines, hotels, cruise lines, coal-mining companies and others strangled by coronavirus shutdowns behaved in ways before the crisis that are making a bailout tough to swallow. When signing the legislation, President Trump indicated that he could limit oversight of the corporate aid program. ...And when did they know it? Behind the Bastards: The Bastards Who Covered Up Climate Change (Podcast, 84 min. Strong language.) At an industry forum in 1959, Edward Teller warned the oil industry about global warming. Head in a bag: New York Times: In Coronavirus, Industry Sees Chance to Undo Plastic Bag Bans by Hiroko Tabuchi Before the outbreak, an industry-funded group was already working on legislation to pre-empt bans on disposable bags, boxes, cups, and bottles in the name of protecting businesses and consumer choice. Now, hygiene! Just for fun: A gallery of great guitar licks. Voting in a Pandemic Year Read the plan to ensure that the 2020 election is free, fair, accessible, and secure, from the Brennan Center for Justice Learn More About Candidates and Issues! 
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 The Home Front How Response to the Pandemic is Clearing the Air “Here's an unexpected side effect of the pandemic,” tweeted a woman in Italy. “The water flowing through the canals of Venice is clear for the first time in forever. The fish are visible, the swans returned.” With Italy on lockdown, NASA satellite images show significant drops in pollution. And from the once smog-laden city where the outbreak originated, a young man tweets, “I'm in the central city of China-Wuhan, today the weather is very good, the blue sky, birds and trees have grown green! Under the control of the virus outbreak, our city will usher in a beautiful spring!” Halting human activity in response to COVID-19 seems to be reversing (if only temporarily) some of the environmental devastation Rachel Carlson wrote about in her famous book, Silent Spring. Open your window and listen; can you hear more birds today? —Karen McCann  A close-up of President Trump's notes for a March 19 press conference: "Corona" was replaced with "Chinese" Virus. (Jabin Botsford—The Washington Post/Getty Images) STOP, LOOK, LISTEN! Consequences: Intended and Otherwise I intended to be back in Sevilla by now, but here I am in Pennsylvania, sheltering in place. I have a lot more freedom of movement than you have in Spain, but we all have WAY too much time to obsess about everything. For instance: Do you think it's possible that I inadvertently started all this months ago, when I invoked a pox upon Mitch McConnell? (I've read The Secret, about unleashing the awesome power of our thoughts...) I now see that I should have envisioned something non-contagious for him, like flatulence, or excessive nose hair. —Kathy Sherretts Germ theory: New Yorker: How Pandemics Change History by Isaac Chotiner Epidemics are a category of disease that seem to hold up the mirror to human beings as to who we really are. They reflect our relationships with the environment. They show the moral relationships that we have toward each other as people. Pointing the finger: Time: Trump's 'Chinese' Virus Is Part of a Long History of Blaming Other Countries for Disease by Becky Little Associating diseases with specific countries has led to ethnic and racial discrimination, stymied efforts to effectively handle public health crises, and distorted public historical memory. Changing the rules: Slate: America Is a Sham by Dan Kois Whenever the government or a corporation benevolently withdraws some penalty because of the coronavirus, it’s a signal that there was never any good reason for it in the first place. Podcast: Stuff You Should Know: The Pledge of Allegiance (15 min) Salute your flag, and thank a socialist. 
Folks have been passing along photos of Seville on lockdown...
STOP, LOOK, LISTEN! Degrees of Separation I met my dad at a diner for lunch yesterday. (I feel lucky that we can still do that here in PA.) He had just come from a local gun show. I don't think the attendees were practicing much social distancing there; lots of hand-shaking and back-slapping. I could picture them passing around rifle sights and boxes of hollow-point bullets. Not a big hand-sanitizer crowd. Dad seems kind of dismissive of the COVID-19 scare. Before we ordered our sandwiches, he showed off his purchase—a new Trump 2020 hat (which features a rather mean-spirited slogan, instead of strong-minded and upbeat support of his candidate of choice). All in all, that's probably the best thing he could have brought home from the gun show. —Kathy Sherretts Indisposed: Grist: Can the zero-waste movement survive the coronavirus? by L.V. Anderson Given the rapid spread of COVID-19, all manner of reuse habits that might have been considered environmentally virtuous now invoke a kind of germaphobic fear response. We tend to think of plastic packaging as being sanitary. It’s not. Behind bars: Marshall Project: What Do We Really Know About the Politics of People Behind Bars? by Nicole Lewis, Aviva Shen, and Anna Flagg (Article/interactive graphics.) Long stretches in prison appear to be politicizing: The more time respondents spend in prison, the more motivated they are to vote, the more they discuss politics, and the more likely their opinions are to evolve. It can happen to you: The Root: The Mayor of Kansas City Went to Vote. A Poll Worker Turned Him Away by Joe Jurado Mayor Quinton Lucas decided to turn the mistake into a moment of advocacy: as an elected official, he was able to get clarification from an official and return later to vote. Those who aren’t in his exceptional position may not be allowed the same courtesy. We need to make it easier for folks to vote, not harder. 
Resisters — along with a few thousand of our closest friends — took to the streets in Sevilla on Sunday for Día Internacional de la Mujer. "The March was wonderful today — big, noisy, chaotic, energizing!"  Thanks to everyone who came out for our Pub Party and Democrats Abroad Global Primary night — another great event with our friends at Merchant's Pub! STOP, LOOK, LISTEN! Early Mourning As many observers have commented, the exciting diversity of Democratic primary field has now been reduced to a couple of old white guys. Don’t get me wrong—some of my best friends are old white guys. But I mourn the departure of Elizabeth Warren. Warren's campaign has ended, as well as those of other inspiring candidates, but their influence and some very important ideas remain. Don’t let that energy go to waste. I hope we will all support the ultimate Democratic candidate, but without forgetting the issues and principles that we are counting on that candidate to uphold. —Kathy Sherretts All is forgiven: Market Watch: Trump’s pardons demonstrate his belief that white-collar crime isn’t real crime by Paul Brandus Trump has lived in a world of non-accountability for his entire adult life. You don’t say: Common Dreams: EPA Expands Rule Limiting Science the Agency Can Use to Make Public Health Policy Decisions by Julia Conley The rule could allow industry-funded studies as the EPA makes regulatory decisions, while blocking results from academic studies. "Now is not the time to play games with critical medical research…” Immune system: Newsweek: 37 Republicans File Supreme Court Brief Arguing Trump Can't Block Manhattan DA's Tax Fraud Investigation by Matthew Impelli Trump's lawyers have argued that criminally investigating a president while in office is unconstitutional, claiming that Trump is immune to investigation as well as prosecution. Climate calling: Grist: How do I choose a more climate-friendly phone? by Eve Andrews The most eco-conscious device is the one that you will use for as long as possible. How long will the battery last? Can you repair it if something goes wrong? (Check out this list of smartphones from iFixIt, ranked by repairability) Vote in the Primaries! Are You Registered? Are You Sure?
   
 The Home Front: Eat Well on Meatless Mondays Rich and I love comfort food, and I spend a fair amount of time researching recipes that are meatless, easy, reasonably healthy, and use ingredients I can get here in Seville. And of course, totally satisfying and delicious. Here are some that have become mainstays in our household, starting with the stuffed sweet potatoes I’m making tonight. Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Beans and Guacamole Extra Vegetable Fried Rice Baked Risotto with Roasted Vegetables Cozy Autumn Wild Rice Soup Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Sweet Potato with Balsamic Honey Glaze Watermelon Feta Salad —Karen McCann STOP, LOOK, LISTEN! Our Daily Dread In spite of the fact that here in the US the coronavirus is a major topic on the midday, evening, and nightly news (not to mention the daily paper) it's probably not time to panic yet—at least about the virus. On the other hand, I think we can all go ahead and freak out about the fact that Mike Pence has been named to direct the govenment's response to the outbreak. —Kathy Sherretts Take a hike: Mother Jones: The Energy Industry’s “Metaphysical” Argument for a Pipeline That Crosses the Appalachian Trail by Will Peischel The National Park Service controls the trail, but the land surrounding it is under the jurisdiction of the Trump Administration’s US Forest Service—which issued construction permits for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Mixed message: New York Times: Why a Top Trump Aide Said ‘We Are Desperate’ for More Immigrants by Jeanna Smialek and Zolan Kanno-Youngs Mick Mulvaney acknowledged the economic reality, even if President Trump’s policies have not. Fair styles: ACLU/At Liberty: "Your hair is okay. You are okay." (Podcast, 19 min) Hair discrimination is a form of racial discrimination (and often gender discrimination)—although, the argument goes, unlike skin color, people can change their hairstyles. But should they have to? • A year ago this Mississippi news anchor lost her job over her natural hair style. • See Hair Love Oscar-winning short film (7 min) Just for fun: Good grooming Primaries are Starting! Are You Registered? Are You Sure?
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