Edition 13: An eco-friendly way to mourn your loved ones
By: Judith Alba
Tags: Sustainability, Lgbtq Rights, Archive, Immigration, Mars

(This newsletter was sent to email subscribers on February 28, 2020.)

Happy Friday, muggles. Need some encouragement to power through the last day of the week? Just take some cues from the 62-year-old former marine who spent 8 hours, 15 minutes, and 15 seconds in a perfect plank position. 😱 Congrats on setting a new record that’s out of this world!

NASA approves plans for the first round-trip mission to Mars

Mon Feb 10

The Mars Sample Return mission is officially a line item in the NASA 2021 proposed budget. This first-of-its-kind mission will attempt to bring back rock and soil samples from the red planet, collected and left behind by the new Mars 2020 rover. Why is this a big deal? NASA has sent rovers to Mars in the past, but those expeditions have always been a one-way trip. This new mission promises to be one of the most complex engineering feats attempted thus far, posing unique challenges such as launching a rocket from the surface of Mars for the first time.

Mars has long fascinated us Earthlings being one of the likeliest candidates in our solar system to host extraterrestrial life. Scientists hope that the results from this mission will finally answer the question: Was there ever life on Mars … and if so, what happened to it?

The Mars 2020 rover is set to launch in July. If all goes according to plan (aka if Congress approves NASA’s proposed budget for 2021), the Mars Sample Return mission will be on track to launch the pick-up rover by 2026 and return its first Martian cargo by 2031.

New policy restricts immigration based on income

Mon Feb 24

A new policy is now in effect that makes it even harder for low-income immigrants to be approved for citizenship, green cards, or extended visas. The Trump administration has created a vetting process that judges applicants based on the chance that they will rely on government programs, such as Medicaid or food stamps, in the future.

How many people will be affected by this change? It’s too early to say, but based on records from the past five years, 69% of the 5.5 million people approved for green cards would have had at least one strike on their record under these new parameters.

Since the law was first introduced last year, immigrant families have been withdrawing from public benefits programs — despite being entitled to use them. Immigrant advocacy groups are also hesitant to convince them to re-enroll, as it might actually jeopardize their applications for green-card status.

Know someone in this situation? Share these resources that offer support for low-income and migrant families (or donate to any of the listed charities).

Supreme Court to decide if adoption agencies can reject same-sex couples

Mon Feb 24

This particular case started in 2018, when Philadelphia stopped sending displaced children to a Catholic foster-care agency that refused to work with same-sex couples. This prompted the agency to sue the city, arguing that this exclusion violated its right to religious expression. The first verdict ruled unanimously against the agency … but the case will now be decided in the Supreme Court, where it will essentially get a “do-over” in a more conservative forum.

The Court’s decision will affect over 400,000 children currently in the foster system and — should its ruling favor the religious adoption agency — may weaken anti-discrimination protections for the LGBTQ+ community.

The trial is scheduled for October 2020.

States pitch composting over cremation as a new burial practice

Mon Feb 24

California hopes to become the second state, after Washington, to legalize an unconventional burial process: composting. This practice offers an *eco-friendly* alternative to embalming and cremation, both of which come with hefty environmental costs (either in the form of carbon dioxide emissions or non-biodegradable chemicals).

How does it work? Essentially, your loved ones’ remains are left to decompose in a container filled with wood-chips, alfalfa, and straw. A month later, the end-product — roughly one cubic yard of soil — is delivered to the family or donated to land conservation efforts.

Although the Catholic Church says the method shows a lack of respect for the dead, proponents of the idea are excited by the potential cost savings and ecological benefits.

The law will go into effect in Washington on May 1st. Meanwhile, California lawmakers are waiting for the bill to be scheduled for a hearing.

Colombia struggles to control an unusually large problem: hippos

Sun Feb 23

Residents of the rural town of Doradal are trying to find a humane way to deal with 80 hippos.

The problem started 40 years ago…

The current hippo population descended from a herd originally housed in the private zoo of the infamous drug lord, Pablo Escobar. After his estate fell to ruin, the hippo population thrived in peace, uncontested by any other predators.

Now that they’ve wandered off the property, these aggressive three-ton animals pose a huge safety risk for locals — and an environmental threat to the region.

The town’s current solution is sterilization — a dangerous, labor-intensive effort, but still the most humane option. Luckily, locals have yet to experience any dangerous encounters with their invasive neighbors.

That’s all for this week. Have a magical weekend.✨