Thursday Morning Linkage

7 March 2013, 0001 EST

Here is some Thursday morning linkage action:

  • In time for the CITES meeting on the trade in endangered species, scientists released a study that showed a 60% decline in the small forest elephant species in Africa in the last TEN years
  • Meanwhile, news accounts reported on the shadowy networks of criminals involved in the trade of endangered species (see here as well)
  • Scientists reported that they were able to cure a little girl infected with HIV by giving her large doses of a triple cocktail of antiretrovirals at birth; this is only the second reported case of someone known to have the HIV virus to be “cured” in some capacity
  • Another HIV clinical trial or pre-exposure prophylaxis (where people at risk take drugs before infection) failed because of low adherence
  • Here are some reported figures on the effects of sequestration on the foreign aid and humanitarian budget
  • The New York Times shuttered its Green blog and the Washington Post moved its Enviro reporter over to the White House
  • Obama admin picks for EPA and Energy may do some heavy lifting on policy in this admin (here, here)
  • State Department report suggests that Keystone XL pipeline won’t have much additional climate impact since oil sands will be exploited regardless
  • The EU emissions trading scheme is in need of an overhaul: low economic activity means firms have needed fewer permits than available, serious oversupply means low prices
  • Dan beat me to the punch on the “Call Me A Hole” mash up so I’ve posted this link to and embedded playlist for my SXSW 2013 Spotfiy playlist of bands that I’d like to and may see next week

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Joshua Busby is a Professor in the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas-Austin. From 2021-2023, he served as a Senior Advisor for Climate at the U.S. Department of Defense. His most recent book is States and Nature: The Effects of Climate Change on Security (Cambridge, 2023). He is also the author of Moral Movements and Foreign Policy (Cambridge, 2010) and the co-author, with Ethan Kapstein, of AIDS Drugs for All: Social Movements and Market Transformations (Cambridge, 2013). His main research interests include transnational advocacy and social movements, international security and climate change, global public health and HIV/ AIDS, energy and environmental policy, and U.S. foreign policy.