🥵 South Sudan Closes Schools For Two Weeks Amid Extreme Heat

✂️ U.S. Climate Research Faces Significant Cuts

Last week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S.’s pre-eminent climate research agency, was forced to cut hundreds of staff members amid the Trump administration’s “efficiency” crackdown. NOAA provides essential resources to the public and has helped make the U.S. a scientific leader internationally. Experts and officials warn that dismantling and defunding the agency will come with severe consequences that will only increase as the world warms. Nearly every component of the agency contributes to our understanding of the climate. NOAA staff were asked to compile databases of contracts and grants that contain references to environmental policy, including climate change, for further evaluation by the administration to see if they comply with Trump’s executive orders. With further cuts to staffing and funding, public safety could be put at risk.

Gabrielle Canon, The Guardian

🥵 South Sudan Closes Schools For Two Weeks Amid Extreme Heat

South Sudan closed all schools for two weeks due to an extreme heat wave that caused students to collapse. South Sudan faces extreme effects from climate change, including extreme heat and flooding. This is the second time the country had to close schools during heat waves in February/March. An average of 12 students were collapsing per day as temperatures were expected to hit 42 degrees Celsius. Most schools in South Sudan have makeshift structures made with iron sheets and do not have electricity to power cooling systems. Educators are urging the government to consider amending the school calendar to close schools in February and resume in April when temperatures begin to decline. The government counters that plea by saying that closing schools during heat waves shows a failure to prioritize the education of South Sudan’s children.

Euronews Green with AP

🦠 Chonkus Sinks Climate Change

Researchers have found a strain of microbe that absorbs CO2 and can help curb the climate crisis. Synechococcus elongatus, dubbed “Chonkus”, is a large and heavy strain of blue-green alga that soaks up CO2 for its photosynthesis. It grows fast and is very dense, and can store more carbon than other strains of this microbe. Because it is so heavy, it sinks to the seabed, helping lock away its carbon into a dense, slimy sludge. Chonkus has also been found to be useful in producing food supplements such as omega-3 fatty acids, the antioxidant astaxanthin, and the high-protein food spirulina.

Jeremy Plester, The Guardian