Coronavirus and the Toll on Turkey

By Olivia Hutnik

As we know, a pandemic has been contracted from China which has infected people around the world. With the United States realizing it was infected, within a short period of time Europe experienced its first case early in March. The virus rapidly began to spread to all areas of Europe, including Turkey.

After a man returned to Turkey from a different part of Europe, he was the first patient to test positive for COVID-19. The virus began to spread swiftly across the country; two weeks after the first case was confirmed, coronavirus had extended to the entire area.

The virus created havoc, causing many consequences in the economic, social, and political fields of Turkey. However, the country responded to the virus extremely quickly, closing all schools, universities, restaurants, shopping malls, gyms, barber shops, etc. after they discovered the first case. Another obligation was the need to take precautions such as wearing masks everywhere, no gatherings, quarantining.

Compared to the US, the cases in Turkey are extremely low, with only about 130,000 in the country compared to over 1 million. Also, Turkey’s fatality rate is extremely lower than Italy and Spain due to the young population, and more medical resources. Turkey’s main focus is tracing where people came in contact with COVID-19, rather than taking tests. The President of Turkey believes that no one should visit the hospital, unless there is an emergency. With coronavirus being a very tricky virus to detect in young people, and their population being mostly younger, the citizens may be spreading it more than people think.

Even though Turkey started strong with keeping their cases lower than the US initially, the government created a 48-hour curfew for the majority of its country.  The idea would not have been a bad idea, however the government did not inform the people until two hours before it began. The people in 31 provinces that were involved began to panic, flooding grocery stores, which may have been a turn for the worse.

President Erdogan created a campaign to gradually allow the population to return to normal life. An interesting spin on the virus’ quarantine has been taken, where they are allowing different age groups to go out at certain times during the day. People that are, over the age of 65 or under the age of 20, are only allowed outside once a day for 4 hours, but people from the ages of 20-64 can go out after May 13th, from 11:00am to 3:00pm. President Erdogan calls the campaign a way the citizens can have a controlled social life, so the virus doesn’t speedily take over the country as it did to the United States. However, the controlled social life is not as controlled as it is perceived, since people who are in the age range of 20-64 are essentially allowed to go out, even if most stores are closed.

Regarding the economic crisis in Turkey, certain measures have been taken to ensure the best possible outcome for the community's health. People who are retired are receiving around 1,500 dollars that will be sent to their home, instead of them having to pick up the payment. However, the government was criticized for the actions they were taking, which was supposedly unclear to the public.

“On 22 March, by presidential order, all bankruptcy and financial executionary proceedings were stopped until 30 April, except for obligations regarding alimony and child support,” wikipedia noted, quoting Anadolu Agency, an international news group. People of Turkey were relieved when the presidential order was announced. However, as another statement said, “As the country’s struggling businesses continue to experience shrinking revenues, the lira equivalent of servicing their foreign exchange liabilities has grown 20 per cent over the last 12 months. Add to that the nosedive in the central bank’s net foreign currency reserves to a meagre $1.5 billion.” Many businesses such as construction sites, factories, and some other businesses refused to close down since they felt  unable to take the economic hit that the virus may bring.

When Turkey was first infected with the virus, the government believed they were taking the best precautionary measures, however Turkey is now one of the top 10 countries in the world with the most cases. Being that Turkey’s population is mostly young, the mortality rate is way lower than other areas. Overall, the virus will continue to spread whether or not a quarantine is ordered for the country. Once a vaccine is created, or most of the population is infected, then we will begin to see a drop in the amount of cases in Turkey and around the world.

Bibliography

www.cnn.com/2020/04/17/europe/turkey-coronavirus-lockdown-response-intl/index.html

thearabweekly.com/turkeys-response-coronavirus-has-been-complete-shambles

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_Turkey#cite_note-president-announce2-122

www.euractiv.com/section/coronavirus/linksdossier/coronavirus-whats-happening-in-europe/

           

           

A Swarming Pandemic: Locusts Plague East Africa

By Ryan Mathew

With all of the panic and chaos that is caused by the appearance of COVID-19 in the world, a huge problem is occurring in Africa that has largely gone unreported by mass media. This new problem is the enormous swarms of locusts that are ravaging East Africa, killing crops and harming people alike.

While locusts swarms are not unheard of, the scale of this attack is quite terrifying this time around. East Africa is being depleted of its resources and there is no simple answer or cure to rid the world of these problems. Hundreds of billions of locusts have appeared, making this event the worst infestation in over a quarter of a century. These insects are capable of eating their own body weight in food every single day; couple this with their extremely high mating cycle and these locusts are projected to only increase in the coming months. The newest estimated report shows that by June the number of locusts could increase four hundred fold.

           

Stopping this plague of infestation is no easy feat; this problem goes beyond searching for a single miraculous medicine or reducing harmful human interactions. The main solution to this problem is pesticides. Spraying the crops in the infested lands and waiting is one of the only ways to protect against the locusts. But with a swarm of this size this solution seems unlikely. On top of whatever crops the locusts do not eat the pesticides will harm, the land becomes infertile and the food becomes harder to grow.

This pandemic is truly biblical in proportion and seems to have no end. Locusts love moist sandy locations and East Africa is the perfect breeding bed for them to continue. However, a new solution has come to light that may be of benefit; while animals such as chickens are used to eating up to 70 locusts a day, ducks can eat up to three times as much. Ducks also travel in groups and are much easier to control than chickens, while this new solution may seem absurd at first glance, these ducks are the perfect predator against the swarms. Already China is projected to send over 100,000 ducks to aid in the relief effort. But while Africa waits for help to come the swarms only get more lethal.

The economic toll is also at a breaking point. BBC news reports “In January, the UN appealed for $76m (£59m) to tackle the crisis. That figure has now risen to $138m.” (Hundreds of billions). The budget for the crisis is also in crisis due to the spread of COVID-19 and the overwhelming need for it to be taken care of. East Africa does not have the resources necessary to combat this problem and the spread of COVID-19. The countries in this region are not as economically stable to control such a terrible situation and must rely on the help of the UN. But with the UN preoccupied, there seems to be a harsh outlook on this locust situation.

  

Bibliography

“Hundreds of Billions of Locusts Swarm in East Africa.” BBC News, BBC, 10 Mar. 2020, www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-51618188.

Weitering, Hanneke. “Locust Swarms Are Invading Africa. Here's How NASA Satellites Can Help Stop Them.” Space.com, Space, 1 Apr. 2020, www.space.com/nasa-satellites-fight-locust-swarms-in-africa.html.

Climate, Covid-19 and the American South

By Taylor Koster

When turning on the television, it almost seems like the news is on every channel. This pandemic has had some effect on everyone’s lives; recently, a softball coach of mine passed due to the pandemic. People in America are struggling to get by. Whether there are customers fighting over toilet paper, to families getting laid off from work, things haven’t been easy, to say the least. Driving on the road is only for essential travel and there has been a new curfew placed at 8 pm. 

From this pandemic, researchers have been making comments the air is clearer and cleaner. The opposing direction of where we are is having other ideas at this time. It seems as though states are rebelling against restrictions given no matter where the stance is; Citizens are trying to do everything and anything possible to resolve this pandemic.

The social media website, Twitter, went viral over a New York Times article reporting about a man in Atlanta buying a hospital to take people suffering from the coronavirus. Johnny Presley has purchased many hospitals to resolve the issue of the pandemic. In the NY Times article, Presley states, “The governors of the Southern states did not take this seriously enough… I think we’re really going to suffer through this pandemic.” 

It’s a bit ironic for Presley to be saying this, especially being a Republican trying to campaign for a seat in the senate. Medical professionals like Presley who are behind the scenes have their voices unheard on what they see happening with the pandemic in the south region.

Through all of the struggles states like New Jersey are facing from this pandemic, the channel is changed in my household to people walking down the beach in Florida. The new norm is walking around seeing people in masks as well as gloves. Reporters for this newscast were wearing nothing of the sort, and it was noticeable as well that the pedestrians weren’t wearing much protection either. 

The Washington Post explains in an article, “(So far) there have been four deaths from COVID-19, the disease the coronavirus causes, and more than 200 confirmed cases in the county, a sliver of the 35,463 cases and 1,364 deaths in Florida.” Due to walks on the beach, citizens are worsening the spread of the virus. People in Florida aren’t taking things seriously, which is worsening not only the spread of the virus, but the spread of air pollution. 

Climate change has been an ongoing issue for longer than people assume. Taking this class has given me information that Americans should be more aware of. Greenhouse gases pouring into the air has caused severe issues in the environment. There were points in time schools would teach students about reusing, reducing, and recycling. Today, a lot of environmentalists display their fears and wonder what the future holds. 

An article in The Guardian states, “The new governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, announced surprising plans for big environmental reforms earlier this month, without mentioning climate change (a term his predecessor, Rick Scott, also refused to use).”  The quote from this article shows, even for people who don’t believe climate change is real, they are trying to do something to solve this issue.

As a joke, my mother approached me the other day, notifying me that we’re going on a road trip to Georgia because they’re opening up malls and beauty salons. While most states in this area are in quarantine with curfews, Georgia is listening to our president’s orders in opening up early. Georgia isn’t the only one, other states in the south are following these orders as well. 

CNN has a site that shows all of the states and their planned schedule in opening. When looking through the different states, taking notes on where each state is located shows this reoccurring pattern. Most southern states display their reopening to be early May. States near New Jersey display their reopening to be later than that. Sources show that southern states are reopening early because they’re considered red states, and the south will always give their support to President Trump. 

An article by Megan Mayhew Bergman begins by stating, “I’ve long felt America, particularly the south, where I grew up, is in the ‘denial’ stage of grief when it comes to our psychological response to climate change.” Citizens of the south see from their own perspective, and are in disbelief in our doings of climate change. This article brings up that there are more things to worry about than issues like these; expenses seem more significant to people than worrying about the safety of our earth. Every day things worsen without citizens having any idea. The more these citizens are in disbelief, the more likely things could potentially worsen. Southerners block out topics like these because they’re a bit political, but conversations like these are essential in making the world a better place for us to live. 

The articles I’ve been reading have evidence that the coronavirus doesn’t seem to be handled as it should be. Medical professionals, as well as reliable sources, have proven the negative effects of how this country is doing at this time. There are two separate views as to how things should be handled. Considering how America is treating this pandemic, working together is what should be a priority at this time. 

The same mindset should go for climate change. At this time, people and our planet are suffering, and instead of assisting the suffering, our country is debating on who’s right and who’s wrong. World events like these need to be resolved, rather than the country picking sides; maybe something should be done about it. To this day, people are still debating whether or not things like these are conspiracies or issues caused by the government.


Bibliography

Bergman, Megan Mayhew. “Why People in the US South Stay Put in the Face of Climate Change.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 24 Jan. 2019, www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/24/us-south-climate-change.

Fausset, Richard, and Rick Rojas. “Across the South, 'Walking a Tightrope' While Awaiting the Worst.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 9 Apr. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/us/coronavirus-american-south.html.

Kornfield, Meryl. “Florida County's Medical Examiner Begged Officials to Close Beaches, Internal Emails Reveal.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 3 May 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/05/03/florida-countys-medical-examiner-begged-officials-close-beaches-internal-emails-reveal/.

Greenland is Melting

By Madeline Hendl

Greenland, a country where its entire land mass is two-thirds ice, is melting at a rate that could alone raise the sea level anywhere from three to five inches by 2100 (Samuelson). Climate change not only affects the monstrous ice sheets of the country, but the people and their economy as well. Greenlanders recognize the impending doom that climate change brings in their everyday lives, and without the help of the rest of the world, it will only get worse.

Currently, the Earth is in a stage known as Holocene, also know as the current geological epoch. In the beginning of this age, about 12,000 years ago, the Earth experienced the warmest weather ever recorded. Scientists are able to calculate this using climate proxies known as ice cores. Similar to tree rings and ocean sentiments, ice cores can infer how climate has changed in the past. Scientists are unable to measure the exact temperatures of the ice cores; however, they use an oxygen isotope which imperfectly correlates with temperature. By studying how the oxygen isotopes have changed overtime, scientists are able to infer how climate has changed.

Recently drilled ice cores in Greenland’s ice sheet have shown that the current temperature of the country is higher than any other time in the last 2000 years. However, it has not yet exceeded any temperatures in the early part of Holocene. Due to the current output of greenhouse gases and combustion of fossil fuels in industrialized nations, temperatures in Greenland and globally will exceed anything seen in the last 125,000 years by 2050.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientists first noticed a drastic change in Greenland’s ice sheets in the 1990s. Scientists knew that Greenland and Antarctica were negatively responding to climate change, but believed that noticeable impacts would take decade or centuries to see. Even with the rise in air temperatures caused by man, the ice sheet remained stable until 1997.

In 1997, NASA scientists started to notice that a “tongue” of ice protruding out from the Jackobshavn Glacier began to shrink. The tongue of the glacier measured 15 kilometers in 1997 and was completely gone in the early 2000s.

Melting Ice Sheet, Rising Sea Levels

Today, Greenland’s ice sheet is losing ice six times faster than in the past few decades. In the past 50 years, the ice sheet has melted enough to add half an inch of water to the world’s oceans, and that number is only increasing. From 2005 to 2016, melting of the ice sheet was the single largest cause of rising sea levels worldwide (Borunda).  

The 2019 summer heatwave turned half of the surface of the ice sheet into slush and expelled enough melt into the ocean that sea levels increased by half a millimeter. This amount of slush is equivalent to over four million swimming pools of slush being expelled every day.

Rising air temperatures are not the only cause of the ice sheet melting, however. Rising ocean temperatures are to blame as well. The ocean alone absorbs over 90% of all extra warmth since the industrial revolution. If the ocean temperatures continue to warm, the 200 glaciers protruding out of Greenland’s coast will meet the same fate as Jackobshavn and ultimately raise sea levels another centimeter.

Climate change impacts the indigenous Inuit people and the general population in Greenland in a catastrophic manner. These people rely solely on their environment and with the changing of their entire world, it is reaping devastating consequences. “‘We don’t have solid sea ice in the winter anymore and the ice is melting quickly,’ said one resident in Avannaata, in the northwest of Greenland. ‘Some of the glaciers are becoming smaller than before, and glaciers now release icebergs all year round’” (Kirk). Warming of Greenland has an overall negative impact on the livelihood of the people. Without stable ice year-round, traditional forms of seal hunting and fishing cannot be done, leaving people without their sole source of food.

With the warming of the country comes small benefits to the economy and infrastructure. Longer, warmer summers are much more appealing. Warming weather means less money spent on heating oil and electricity, benefits navigation and agriculture, and could create more access to gas, oil, and other natural resources. It is also becoming harder to make a living during the winter due to the shrinking of sea ice. Although warmer weather is appealing, it brings disastrous consequences; “the summer of 2019 dealt Greenland an early breakup of sea ice, wildfires, a widespread heat wave, and record-breaking glacial melt” (Kirk). Short term benefits of warmer weather will mean nothing if there is not a world to benefit from.

The beliefs of Greenlanders regarding climate change differ greatly from those of industrial nations like the United States. The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world, which causes Greenlanders to experience the negative effects before the rest of the world. 92% of Greenlanders believe that climate change is happening, while only 69% of Americans share the same belief (Kirk).

The US experiences many different climates across the country so it is understandable that only 38% of the population say that they have experienced the effects of climate change. Climate and nature are a part of the everyday lives of Greenlanders and they talk about it every single day. 76% of Greenland’s population fish, hunt, and gather and one fourth of the population have ventured onto sea ice to make a living (Kirk). Greenland’s economy directly correlates with the weather, therefore, if the weather is unstable, so is the economy. That same 76% of the population have said that they have experienced the effects of climate change in their everyday lives.

When it comes to what causes climate change, both nations have similar beliefs. 55% of Americans and 52% of Greenlanders believe that man is to blame (Kirk). 32% of Americans and 34% of Greenlanders believe that nature is to blame (Kirk). People in Greenland are not used to seeing industrialization in their everyday lives like Americans do. Nature controls what they do day to day and how their economy will function. When it comes to America, partisanship and fossil fuel lobbying affects public and political opinion by disguising the true effects of climate change.

What sets Greenland apart from the United States and other industrialized companies is their overwhelming favor of limiting greenhouse gas emissions. 75% of the population support converting to renewable energy (Kirk). Greenlanders also support entering the Paris Agreement. However, Greenland is a territory of Denmark. When Denmark entered the Paris Agreement, they were granted a territorial exclusion for Greenland. Denmark did this because Greenland’s main source of economic development is through resource extraction. What also sets Greenland apart from the US is that 40% of Greenlanders support protection the environment even if it means losing their jobs. Greenland realizes that if there is not a stable world, then the economy means nothing.

Greenland’s people experience the negative impacts of climate change every day of their lives. Industrialized countries, like the United States, either do not see the imminent threat of climate change or are paid enough money to look the other way. If the world continues to warm, looming glaciers will continue to disappear and sea levels will continue to rise. Greenland is doing their part to help combat climate change and the rest of the world should follow.

Works Cited

Borunda, Alejandra, et al. “Greenland's Melting Ice May Affect Everyone's Future.” Nationalgeographic.com, National Geographic, 15 Oct. 2019, www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/10/greenland-ice-oceans-melting-fast/.

Kirk, Karin. “92% Of Greenland's Residents Believe Climate Change Is Happening " Yale Climate Connections.” Yale Climate Connections, 10 Dec. 2019, www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2019/10/92-percent-of-greenlands-residents-believe-climate-change-is-happening/.

Markey, Edward J. “The Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.” Global Warming Impact Zones | Greenland, 0AD, www.markey.senate.gov/GlobalWarming/impactzones/greenland.html.

McSweeney, Robert, et al. “Factcheck: What Greenland Ice Cores Say about Past and Present Climate Change.” Carbon Brief, 5 Mar. 2019, www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-what-greenland-ice-cores-say-about-past-and-present-climate-change.

Samuelson, Arielle. “Greenland's Rapid Melt Will Mean More Flooding – Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet.” NASA, NASA, 11 Dec. 2019, climate.nasa.gov/news/2940/greenlands-rapid-melt-will-mean-more-flooding/.

The Many Impacts Coronavirus Has Had on Day-To-Day Life in America

By Kara Saucyn

For the past few weeks, going on two whole months, the citizens of America have been enduring a pandemic that has been sweeping the whole world.  This pandemic of the Coronavirus, or CoVID-19, has been sweeping through a few states in particular; New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and California.  These top 5 states have been enduring the worst of the hotspots, and have been experiencing things like mass and long lasting economic shutdowns, long lasting periods of isolation, loss of loved ones, and constant circulation of misinformation.  It has been a warzone for residents both in the physical world and in our media, as it lacks solidarity, research, and encouragement for unity in such a troubling and difficult time in our lives.

The long lasting shut-downs are costing the average American family. The average small business owner in the United States says that within six months of an impeded economy, which is what many people including government officials expect to be the minimum amount of time before things return to normal. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s website,  “Nearly half of small businesses (46%) believe it will take the U.S. economy six months to a year to return to normal.” 

If many of the businesses in the country go under due to this shutdown, our economy will be seeing major casualties.  This wave of businesses going under due to the COVID-19 outbreak could be comparable to that of losing a limb in battle. As more and more businesses push to make ends meet, the people running these businesses need to find ways to make ends meet with their personal bills.  The people not acquiring a paycheck are then applying for unemployment. In New Jersey alone, three weeks of isolation led to over 580 thousand people applying for unemployment, according to the state's website. As the weeks went on, the number of people applying for government aid went up and are at their highest in the state’s history. Citizens currently are scared for their financial stability, and are predicting a surge in homelessness in their states. 

There are, however, states that are reopening their economies already.  States like Florida and Georgia have already reopened their businesses.  Florida reopened their beaches after closing them for only two weeks.  DeSantis (the Governor of Florida) says the numbers in the state are low enough that it is safe to open the economy back up “slow and steady”. Georgia has claimed the same thing, saying their risk is lower than states that are considered hotspots. 

New Jersey and New York have no end date for their stay-at-home orders that have been put into place since March, but Murphy and Cuomo have mentioned the date May 15th as a significant date to re-evaluate the crisis at hand.  As of April 27, Murphy said that with regulations involving social distancing, the economy can begin to reopen.  According to NJTV News and their Live Updates they put out every twenty-four hours, there is a steady decrease in new infections and hospitalizations.  In the past two weeks, there have been fluctuating numbers of new cases in New Jersey, averaging out to around 3,000 new cases a day.  In the past two days, (April 26th and 27th) the numbers moved down for two consecutive days, into a 2,400 average. This decrease in cases and increase in recovery has led to Murphy’s confidence that the coming weeks will be enough downtime to plan how to heal the economy enough to stay afloat.

However, many people are growing very impatient while waiting in isolation at home.  People are developing cabin fever, depression, and domestic violence has increased worldwide. In France and Singapore, domestic violence rates have gone up about thirty percent; in the U.S. there was about a thirty-five percent increase.  Other countries like Spain have rising calls to hotlines and authorities by about eighteen percent. As more people are stuck in homes with abusive partners and parents, and more health and economic stressors are piled on, the amount of abuse rises.

What must also be factored in is America is currently going through what is being called a loneliness epidemic.  It is said that loneliness in extreme cases can cause the same health problems as smoking about 15 cigarettes a day.  This loneliness, sadness, and constant sense of loss is a threat similar to COVID-19, as suicide rates have increased drastically since the start of the stay-at-home orders that were out into effect countrywide. In fact, so many people are sick of this shutdown, that some people in Michigan and California are protesting and saying this shutdown and isolation is unconstitutional.

The world was blindsided by this crisis, and it is clear that the preparation for this inevitable pandemic was not a priority to the leaders of the world.  The real value that continues to shine through statements by government officials worldwide is economics rather than making the health and safety of citizens the first priority.  The way this pandemic has unraveled shows that such a lack of guidance and unified media yields horrifying results. If the world were to really recover from this crisis, it would be wise to unify and try to find solutions as a whole rather than as sectors.  Division is weakness, unity is strength.

Works Cited

www.uschamber.com/report/special-report-coronavirus-and-small-business
www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/04/another-214000-nj-workers-seek-unemployment-as-claims-soar-to-576000-over-3-weeks.html
www.uschamber.com/report/special-report-coronavirus-and-small-business
www.njtvonline.org/news/uncategorized/tracking-the-coronavirus-in-new-jersey/

How New Jersey Handles Covid-19

By Dylan Grisafe 

The big question in my state and many others across the country during this time is what your state is doing to flatten the curve. This curve is made up of the number of cases reported to the state each day. According to NJ’s government run website, there are 135 thousand confirmed cases in our state. Yes, I know that number sounds like a lot, but there are also factors that go into that number that aren’t being reported. One reason that this number is not a true representation of the amount of cases is because that 135 thousand does not go down when people exit the 2-week quarantine window. It also does not go down when people who tested positive for the virus in the past come up negative in the future. The reason I am bringing this up is because the state has failed to look at the fact that there are not actually 135 thousand people who actively have coronavirus in this state. Now, this number caused massive chaos throughout the quarantine period and more recently as well when Governor Phil Murphy extended the lockdown another 30 days. Even though the curve has flattened a tremendous amount since the start of all this, there are still no signs of the state re opening any time soon. While social-distancing measures have been somewhat effective, officials say more critical-care beds, testing and federal aid are essential to getting a handle on the crisis. The public has been following all of the guidelines that have been put out, but for some reason there is still no plans in place for what to do next. This is probably one of the scariest things that we have seen recently because even with all the amped up precautions and new laws put into place, the governor has failed to put in a plan to get the state up and running. A couple weeks ago before the lockdown was extended, Governor Murphy said that he was going to roll out a plan to reopen New Jersey. The people are still waiting on that plan and all that has been done is put more and more people on edge. He has given false hope to the people and the state and still has yet to give a timeline to give people an outlook of the next couple weeks. Instead everyone stays inside clueless every day, not knowing what’s going to happen next. This is not just New Jersey. Some states across the country have re-opened already or have plans in place to open in the next several weeks. Some other states are also still on full lockdown. The governor has been firm that he won’t reopen the state until the time is right, and the six-point plan is the clearest he’s been on how the state gets there. But as more states across the country start to loosen their coronavirus restrictions, New Jersey’s economy continues to struggle. Murphy might start to feel some pressure to begin reopening the state. Since the governor has been taking very small steps throughout this process, one county In the state decided to send Governor Murphy their own plan to re-open. Cape May County officials have sent the governor a plan to incrementally reopen beaches, boardwalks, bars and other staples of its tourism industry over the next two months. Non-essential businesses from hotels to whale watches would reopen before the peak vacation season by using mitigation measures like increased sanitation, decreased capacity and ubiquitous masking to limit the spread of the coronavirus. This has definitely stirred up some questions, but Governor Murphy has not commented and just reiterated the fact that counties and towns around the state are not allowed to put in place any rules that contradict his stay at home order. As more and more people file for unemployment and lose their jobs the question of when New Jersey will open is a mystery. The unemployment rate is at an all time high with more and more non-essential businesses closing and people getting laid off. People are running out of money and stimulus checks are not enough, as well as unemployment money. This problem is just going to keep getting worse if there is not more action taken. Yes, the state of New Jersey has done a great job flattening the curve but there is also a lot more action that needs to take place from the people higher up. Yes the corona virus is serious and cannot be taken lightly but people are losing money, jobs and a lot more because of the little action that our government has done to re-open the state and the economy.

Volcano Destruction in the Philippines

By Mary Ann Dela Cruz     

At the beginning of the year, the Philippines had a rough start. A volcano that was inactive for fifty-four years erupted in January, covering nearby villages and homes in ash and dust, as well as spewing molten lava. The alert level was raised in minutes from Level 1 to Level 4, with 5 being the highest (Neuman). In fear of another eruption happening, every one living near the volcano was evacuated and the Manila airport was shut down until further notice.

“Dozens of earthquakes preceded Sunday's eruption, and authorities warned that a tsunami was possible in the freshwater lake surrounding the volcano,” NPR reported.

Evacuation was difficult for some citizens because the majority of the people living in the Philippines own some sort of farm animal. Whether it is to sell or for personal use. With such a short amount of time to prepare and the fear of how close the lava was, the villagers could only bring so much and at the same time had to move all their livestock at the same time.

The Philippines being a third world country, it does not have a large abundance of water or other necessities in certain areas. Since the volcano had not erupted for fifty-four years, a build-up of ash, mud, and other things was just sitting on top. After a couple of days of waiting to make sure that the volcano would not erupt anymore, police officers were told to make sure it was ok for citizens to go home. The things that they saw were devastating. Homes were covered in mud and ash. One family was cleaning all the muck in order for the house to not cave in (Regan). 

It causes a great toll on the economy, with many of the plantations destroyed. Many farmers had to not only clean up the mess that was left behind but also try and fix and rebuild their properties. Yet, many homes and shops did not make it. Whether they were destroyed by the eruption or the amount of ash and dust dumped on the roofs. Many of the homes in the Philippines do not have many of the things that the house in America has. Most homes do not have insulation or proper windows, some just have openings in the wall or by the roof. Also, the roofs are not made the same. Some are just metal sheets to cover the interior of the house and most of the time it is not applied properly.

Recovery is rough for the citizens, though they have returned home. They struggle to support their families on a normal basis. The donations are appreciated but it is not enough to bring back the education system and the restoration of their source of income. Most of that is from tourists, agriculture, and fishing (“Philippines Enters”). The majority of that income is now unavailable because the land is not usable for agriculture or the water is covered in ash, which killed some of the wildlife. The Philippine government is figuring out a way to support the provinces that were affected. 

Works Cited

Neuman, Scott. “Volcanic Eruption In Philippines Causes Thousands To Flee.” NPR, NPR, 13 Jan. 2020, www.npr.org/2020/01/13/795815351/volcanic-eruption-in-philippines-causes-thousands-to-flee.

“Philippines Enters Recovery Phase after Dodging Volcano Crisis.” Voice of America, www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/philippines-enters-recovery-phase-after-dodging-volcano-crisis.

Regan, Helen. “The Dilemma Facing Those in the Shadow of Taal Volcano.” CNN, Cable News Network, 19 Jan. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/01/17/asia/taal-volcano-philippines-fatal-attraction-intl-hnk/index.html.