What’s New Wednesday 1-9-19: News & Resources for Educators & Solutionaries

Each week find a round-up of selected news and resources related to global ethical issues and positive solutions that you can use in your solutionary teaching/work.

Here’s some recent news worth knowing:

Small steps toward positive solutions …

A new study looking at the use of restorative practices in schools found that “restorative practices greatly reduced the number of school days lost to suspension,” that there were no negative impacts on test scores, and that the school climate tended to become more positive.
Alabama (US) has been investing in preschools, and the research shows that children who’ve attended preschools are outperforming their peers who didn’t have that experience.
Washington state (US) has launched its first animal overpass to reduce the number of animals hit by cars, and although the overpass isn’t quite finished, animals are already using it.
Serbia’s ban on fur farming has gone into effect, saving up to 12,000 chinchillas (the only animals kept on fur farms there) each year.

In the courts …

The US Supreme Court has refused to hear Exxon Mobile Corp.’s plea to stop the state of Massachusetts from acquiring relevant documents as part of the state’s climate change investigation into the corporation.
The US Supreme Court has declined to hear challenges to two California animal welfare laws: one that bans foie gras, and the other a ban on extreme confinement of farmed animals.

We must do better …

According to the latest statistics, “public school teachers and education employees in the United States are quitting their jobs at the fastest rate on record.”
Research shows that our obsession with online shopping in the US is creating significant traffic jams, parking problems, increased pollution, and other challenges.
A coalition of landowners and mining companies in Florida are proposing to build several new cities and other developments in the middle of crucial habitat for the critically endangered Florida panther.
With increases in destruction due to natural disasters, a growing number of workers involved in recovery efforts are coming from an “informal labor force made up of construction crews, domestic workers and day laborers, who lack … training” and are exposed to hazardous conditions. And more of these workers are undocumented.
As more land in Guatemala is being exploited to cultivate palm oil, villagers are finding themselves exploited by the companies they thought would help them.

Did you know? …

The New York Times has compiled a list of nearly 80 environmental rules that have been rolled-back or targeted to be reversed under the Trump administration. Many of these rules were designed to protect humans, animals, and the environment.
A new study notes that future snowpacks, which farmers in California who grow much of the country’s fresh produce rely on to irrigate their crops, will decrease alarmingly in the coming decades.

Add this to your humane educator’s toolkit: