🌳 A plan to sell more than 2 million acres of public land for housing was removed from the Senate budget bill for violating chamber rules, but activists warn that it’s still a threat.
📞 Also, the Utah senator who proposed that land sale provision in the first place responded to public outcry, saying he would revisit the plan. (We tell you to contact your reps a lot — that’s because it really does matter.)
Governments doing good
Photo: Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project
A world-first agreement created a visa related to the climate crisis — its first round of applications just opened
In 2023, Tuvalu and Australia signed the Falepili Union treaty, which would allow up to 280 Tuvaluans a year to migrate to Australia, obtain permanent residency, and move freely between the countries.
Tuvalu is one of the smallest countries in the world, and is predicted to be one of the first to become uninhabitable due to rising sea levels caused by the climate crisis. Projections estimate that by 2050, half of the nation’s capital city could be submerged during high tides, and up to 95% regularly flooded by the end of the century.
Tuvalu’s prime minister called the agreement creating a migration pathway “groundbreaking, unprecedented, and landmark” since it means people aren’t forced to reside in Australia, but “can go in and come out as you wish.”
Why is this good news? While some worry about the impacts of the agreement on labor and cultural knowledge loss, migration due to climate change is still expected to be a massive global issue. These countries are proactively working on solutions because all migrants, regardless of how they come to be displaced, deserve choice, safety, protection, and autonomy.
A coordinated global effort eradicated smallpox within decades — after it initially declined only gradually
The world’s first vaccine against smallpox was developed in 1796. While many countries in Europe and North America, the Soviet Union, and island nations eliminated the disease through vaccination programs — it remained widespread across Africa and Asia in the mid-20th century, with tens of millions infected every year.
That is, until the World Health Organization committed to global eradication in 1959 and intensified its campaign with a “ring vaccination” strategy in 1967.
The approach worked almost immediately, and within a decade, the number of countries where smallpox was endemic fell to zero. The disease was officially declared eradicated in 1980.
🇸🇪 Best game ever: Clear invasive species, earn money.
What’s good?
Living in Florida, I think about climate migration a lot. While we’re privileged to have lots of options for where to go within the U.S., it made me feel really hopeful to see other countries thinking about the issue, too.
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