000-tobecategorised

Why Are Democrats Having Such a Hard Time Beating Trump? https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/02/upshot/democrats-trump-election.html
The national political environment just isn’t as conducive to a Harris victory as many might imagine. ..

In the United States, post-pandemic disillusionment and frustration took a toll on Democrats. The party championed a tough response to the virus, including mask and vaccine mandates, school closures and lockdowns. It had backed the Black Lives Matter movement, argued for a more liberal border policy, sought to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and spent trillions on stimulus. As the pandemic ended, all of this quickly became a liability...Democrats are playing defense on the issues. They’ve moved to the right on immigration, energy and crime. They de-emphasized the traditional liberal push to expand the society safety net, which was eclipsed by the urgency to reduce prices....On issue after issue, Democrats have responded by moving to the right. Most obviously, Ms. Harris had to back away from positions she took when the progressive cultural ascendancy was near its peak in 2019 — a ban on fracking, Medicare for all and so on. But the Democratic shift isn’t simply about backing away from positions taken during a Democratic primary...In her speech at the Democratic convention, Ms. Harris didn’t mention the unfinished business of Obama-Biden era liberalism: paid family leave, an expanded child tax credit, student loan forgiveness, universal pre-K or free community college. Instead, she promised a conservative-sounding tax break for small businesses. The liberal policies she does advocate on the campaign trail tend to be far smaller than the Affordable Care Act or those contained in Build Back Better... 

What are the key takeaways from COP-16?  - https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/what-are-the-key-takeaways-from-cop-16-convention-of-biological-diversity/article68823555.ece 

https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/un-summit-approves-fund-to-share-benefits-of-natures-sequenced-genetic-data/article68823148.ece A UN nature summit agreed in Colombia on Saturday (November 2, 2024) on the creation of a fund to share the profits of digitally sequenced genetic data taken from animals and plants with the communities they come from.

Such data, much of it from species found in poor countries, is notably used in medicines and cosmetics that can make their developers billions.

India commits to 30 per cent protected areas in updated biodiversity plan https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/india-commits-to-30-per-cent-protected-areas-in-updated-biodiversity-plan/articleshow/114836446.cms   

The updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), unveiled at the 16th UN Biodiversity Conference in Cali, Colombia, outlines 23 national targets aligned with the 23 global goals set under t he Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF),  adopted at the 15th UN Biodiversity Conference in Canada in 2022

http://www.nbaindia.org/nbsap/