Comparative Politics

NYT Daily Podcast

US and Iran will play each other tomorrow. There is a lot of tension due to conflict between the two governments, and there have been protests in Iran for the last 10 weeks. Many fans have brought politics into the soccer games, such as booing at the national anthem and waving protest flags. Iran's leaders have arrested a bunch of people, and there are a lot of eyes on the team as they continue to advance.

There are so many political issues surrounding the World Cup that sometimes more important ones are ignored. Most of the attention has been directed toward Qatar and less toward what is happening with Iran. The media reporting more about how players are banned from wearing one-love arm bands and other less important issues distracts people from other more important things going on.

After today's game where Iranian players sang the national anthem after some of their families had allegedly been threatened, it is incredibly obvious that the Iranian government intends to use the world cup as a key political tool in dismissing unrest at home.

"Why other rich nations have surpassed the U.S. in protecting pedestrians, cyclists and motorists."

We utilize carbon in our society constantly: economies, housing, and transportation. However, this article focuses on a specific type of carbon: Blue Carbon. The video explains that Blue Carbon is the carbon that is stored in the soil and plants of coastal habitats. Specifically, it is the coastal ecosystems that are very helpful in storing carbon from the atmosphere. The ecological term is a carbon sink which can store up to 10 times the amount of carbon as a tropical rainforest.

46% of the land in Africa is being degraded by unsustainable agricultural practices. Agriculture needs to adapt to climate change through clean energy and better irrigation to avoid widespread famine.

hydrogen demand expected to rise. By 2050, green hydrogen could increase the GDP of Egypt, Kenya, Mauritania, Morocco, Namibia, and South Africa by $126bn, which is equivalent to 12% of these countries' current GDP. Investment of $450-$900 billion needed between now and 2050. Would be beneficial for climate change while also growing economy.

I like to see that we are trying to find solutions for both the climate and economic problems that are currently happening in countries that do not exactly have the resources to do it themselves. Both problems are intertwined so I hope this is able to help! If we start doing it now that is.

Despite all this text in this article, it seems like this organization and the ILO have no idea what to do to reduce the emissions from maritime shipping. The ILO guidelines are focused on providing current sailors the training to operate vessels that use alternative fuels, to ensure they don't lose their jobs. Question: where are these vessels? Who is making eco-friendly cargo ships? 15 ships make more N2O than all the cars in the world. Is making sure their sailors are more educated something that needs to happen before we build the vessels to replace them?

"Iran protests: Tehran court sentences first person to death over unrest"

Sea level rise is not noted as a major threat as often as CO2 or natural disasters, but that's here in the US. Island nations like Kiribati and the Maldives see this as a different level of problem, as they would be almost entirely submerged if sea levels rise much more than this. Putting blame on India is interesting: is it entirely fair to demand additional efforts from a country which produces the level of emissions that it does due to sheer population mass rather than consumer habits?

Seems like a similar argument made by countries like Pakistan for climate reparations in general, except almost more urgent, simply because climate change threatens to literally submerge these island nations. To protect against sea level rise like the netherlands has would be incredibly expensive, so it makes sense that the money would go into a fund to rebuild after climate change disasters. I just wonder what they will do to actually stop their islands from disappearing.

Mexico is playing a strange game. Reputable sources report that Mexico is expected to make major climate commitments at COP 27, such as a 1,000 Mw solar power plant and increasing lithium production for electric cars. However, the new president has been utterly opposed to climate change policy, as he tried to wriggle out of responsibility for 2030 commitments via the Supreme Court. He also bet a large chunk of the economy on fossil fuel energy, particularly coal. People believe he is incapable of doing anything to address climate issues, and want a new president in 2024 who is.

Portraying lithium production as a commitment to the climate is a very interesting tactic. Yeah, we make electric cars using it, but by that logic whale fishing is an honorable commitment because we could create biodegradable corsets. How much ruin will it take for countries to invest in car-independent infrastructure?

27th year of the annual conference. 90 heads of state expected to attend. Borris Johnson will also be attending after being invited by Egypt. Egypt has been criticized for keeping climate protesters separated from the event.

It is interesting that both Sunak and Johnson will be in attendance. It might make UK citizens question legitimacy of new leadership

I think its funny that two former PM's and two legitmate sources of power in the UK are attending. The legitimacy of leadership in the UK has already been called into question many times and having both Sunak and Johnson go could pose some problems. The population isn't involved in the voting at all and this could result in a political war within the country.

Egypt hasn't been under the spotlight since their coup in 2013. COP27 has shed light on many climate related issues in Egypt and other issues.