In recent news, a new report indicates that Russia’s attempts at warming its relationship with the US are slowly coming to fruition. In fact, according to the report, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy said last week that he fervently hopes for the resumption of talks between Russia and the US on cybersecurity issues. This comes after President Joe Biden’s administration re-established intelligence sharing with Russia regarding Iran in late January. The report also advances the information that US and NATO aircraft crossed into Russian airspace nearly 1,000 times last year, causing concerns and domain violations for the Russian authorities. Nonetheless, Putin’s envoy proposed that experts from both sides could meet weekly via video conference to discuss cyber issues, something that the White House has yet to respond to publicly. On a different note, New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ spokesperson called for the federal government to spend more money on helping communities prepare and adapt to the effects of climate change. In proceeding from the current administration’s insistence that urban areas must combat climate change to avoid disastrous consequences, Adams’ statement indicates a growing concern for issues of climate and environmental justice. Over the years, an overwhelming fight has taken place at the neighborhood level to address pollution and infrastructure issues that have put in jeopardy the health and safety of denizens of various urban spaces worldwide. Nonetheless, the effort taken by current local administrations to fight climate change seems somewhat thwarted due to the lack of federal participation. While global warming science is not subject to partisan politics, it can be challenging for communities to address these issues in a bipartisan fashion when party leaders cannot agree on federal funding or policies. However, local officials like Adams believe that if the federal government spends money to assist communities affected by climate change, not only would the cities and towns in the US provide economic and physical shelter to vulnerable populations but would also provide long-lasting resources to their communities that would put them on a strong footing to face the challenges.
Leave a Reply