Donnovan Ames, Miles Syverson, Gian Sierra
TRAVELING PANDAS
Due to financial challenges, Finland recently returned two giant pandas to China. The pandas, a significant attraction at the Helsinki Zoo, were part of a long-term loan agreement with China that included substantial upkeep costs. As the zoo faced budget constraints exacerbated by the global economic situation, maintaining the pandas became increasingly unfeasible. The return of these beloved animals highlights the complexities of international animal conservation efforts and the financial commitments that come with them. While the pandas garnered much public interest and support, the financial realities ultimately led to this regrettable decision.
Last Pandas in the U.S. Have a Timetable to Fly Back to China - CBS News. 17 May 2024, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/last-pandas-in-us-timetable-return-to-china/.
Magazine, CoRd. “Finnish Zoo to Return Giant Pandas to China Due to Lack of Funds.” CorD Magazine, 26 September 2024, https://cordmagazine.com/living/chill-out/finnish-zoo-to-return-giant-pandas-to-china-due-to-lack-of-funds/. Accessed 23 October 2024.
Why would Finland send back the pandas EIGHT years before their time? Finland Zoo has been experiencing some challenges, including a decline in visitors ever since COVID-19 and the conflict between Russia/Ukraine. Another issue they have been having is the increase in inflation/ interest rates. Finland built a special panda annex hoping that more people would be interested in visiting and seeing the pandas. They spent approximately 9 million (USD) on this enclosement according to CNN news. After this, Finland figured out that hopefully, The zoo would earn back how much they spent on everything they had bought for the pandas and to China.
“Finland ended up running into a problem because of their spending of 9 million on the enclosement, they had to send 1.5 million euros annually according to. For the bamboo that they would send in from the Netherlands” ( Finland's President Alexander Stubb (CNN news). Also, the Chinese Embassy in Helenski told the Finland media that Beijing had tried to help them financially, urging Chinese companies operating in Finland to make donations to the zoo and trying to help them find a way to pay for the debts they owe to China and the other businesses Finland partnered with.
Magazine, CoRd. “Finnish Zoo to Return Giant Pandas to China Due to Lack of Funds.” CorD Magazine, 26 September 2024, https://cordmagazine.com/living/chill-out/finnish-zoo-to-return-giant-pandas-to-china-due-to-lack-of-funds/. Accessed 23 October 2024.
Isha. Finland to send pandas back. Isha, 2024. https://www.nbnw.org/news/finland-to-send-pandas-back-to-china-sooner-than-planned-due-to-expenses.
Finland has made it official that they will be sending the pandas back. It took a while for them to decide, but they finally made the final decision. This will also impact people who liked going to the zoo to see the pandas because now that they’re leaving they can't see them and the people won't have a connection with them anymore.
IMPORTANT UKRAINIAN CITY IS ANNEXED
Russia and Ukraine have been at war with each other for nearly a decade now, but the war really became mainstream in 2020-2022 when it reached American news and sparked different opinions across the world. Some of these views on the issue mainly are about whether or not the United States should even be interacting with the situation or taking a back seat and letting the war play out how it would without interference. However, most of the views are of course from the two countries, and opinions on them, especially from Ukrainians who have escaped the warfront.
Months of fighting has left the town largely abandoned and in ruins. Evgeniy Maloletka/AP/File
FT Montage 26 Sept 2024, Visual and Data Journalism Team
Recently, Russia has captured a major city in Ukraine called Vuhledar in order to move further north in order to capture more major cities that are mainly used to keep Ukraine's economy moving. If these northern cities are captured then Ukraine will most likely be crippled and be unable to defend its borders for much longer. This is presumably Russia’s goal in this war now. Many soldiers attempted to escape, however, they were shot and killed by Russia’s drones while retreating on foot.
It took Russia 2 years to take the city, meaning that in that time, Ukraine was able to boost its forces in other places to push back in those locations. Meaning that while they lost the city they’re currently still winning in most other locations in the country. According to the Ukrainian government, of the 14,000 original residents, only 107 remain there due to difficulty evacuating, however, they are receiving aid and are projected to be able to escape in the coming weeks. The soldiers who lost their lives defending the evacuees are remembered and are heroes to their people. Those who survived were angry with their command, as it was clear that they would not be able to hold their positions long enough to push Russia out again. But, Eastern Command has stated that: “The higher command has given permission to carry out a maneuver to withdraw units from Vuhledar in order to preserve personnel and combat equipment, to take up positions for further actions.”, meaning that more soldiers will be able to escape in the coming weeks.
Ukraine has been losing material and has been needing support from outside countries, mainly the United States. The country and its people are thankful for this support, however, Russia has been threatening nuclear war, and the Russian people have been refusing to sell their goods to the United States and places allied with them.
Neither side’s governments have commented on the losses in the battle, instead stating that the opposite side lost men and material and that they are currently in the lead in this war. Russia also claims to have control over an entire region of Ukraine, and over half of another region, whether or not these claims are true is up to debate, and Ukraine has not made any comments on this topic.
CLIMATE CHANGE— THE IDLE MELTER
Have you noticed that it’s been getting hotter in Nevada from year to year? We’re a desert, sure, but it’s been unusually blazing this year, we broke our temperature record this year at 120 degrees Fahrenheit (according to Anne Davis on the National Public Radio’s article website). Has anyone stopped to think why this is happening? It’s a multitude of factors, including our melting ice caps and the increased amount of fossil fuels being burned that heat our climate to almost the broiling temperatures we’ve been experiencing. Let’s take a deeper dive into it.
iStock. “Blue Little Guy Characters Full Length Vector Art Illustration. Earth...,” IStock, 3 Sept. 2019, www.istockphoto.com/vector/earth-thermometer-breaking-and-people-are-worried-and-scared-gm1171865419-324818057. Accessed 23 Oct. 2024.
There are many reasons as to why climate change marches on with its progression, unrelenting like time itself, but to describe climate change, a metaphor is best used. Imagine putting out an ice cube straight from the freezer onto your cold water-filled sink. With time, the ice cube will slowly disappear into the water. But where did it go? It melted, returning to its liquid form due to sudden temperature changes and from the light (most likely) overhead the kitchen, lighting it so you don’t trip on something. That is climate change. Or, it’s a metaphor for climate change. much like our ice cube, the ice caps are melting slowly yet surely due to the passage of time, but time isn’t the only perpetrator, the overhead light is a representation of man’s reckless activities on Earth, including the burning of fossil fuels, greenhouse gas emissions among other things.
There are a myriad of ways to prevent climate change, including things as simple as just spreading the word, that climate change is bad and talking about how it can be stopped! According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, or NRDC, some of the easiest ways are to compost groceries or food you can’t eat, and eat what you can. recycling and composting your food helps to make sure it doesn’t go into methane-producing landfills, instead it makes your soil healthier and reduces the impact of droughts. It’s also important to be mindful of plugs in your house being plugged in when you leave because there’s an ‘idle load’ on each device, across the U.S. adding up to around the same amount of power that 50 power plants produce. The way to reduce this would be to unplug fully charged devices, or devices that are rarely ever used, and make sure that monitors or screens get powered down to the lowest setting after a while of being inactive.
Other ways to reduce your contribution to climate change, as stated by the United Nations, are to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Repair; Plant Native Species in your gardens, This is because the native species to where you are opens the door to food for the local fauna, as most animals will not eat non-native plants. You can also switch to or buy an electric vehicle, as gas cars produce a ton of greenhouse gasses. Most electric cars still run off of electricity produced by fossil fuels and use rare minerals in the batteries that come at a high cost, but per year, it will reduce a person’s carbon footprint by up to 2 tons (or 4,000 pounds).
VEDANTU. “Global Warming: Learn Definition, Facts and Examples,” VEDANTU, www.vedantu.com/evs/global-warming-for-kids.
With all of the given information, it should appear clearer why climate change is a huge issue. Even if it doesn’t appear as important as this article makes it sound, it still threatens our quality of life; like the rising temperatures and how the sky seems to be lighter at night than before. Hopefully, you come away from this, thinking about how others and yourself can make an effort to reduce the impact of climate change, or at least what an individual contributes to the general issue. Be the change you want to see in the world.
‘Russia Captures Strategic Stronghold after 2 Years of Ukrainian Resistance’. NBC News, 2 Oct. 2024, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-captures-vuhledar-ukraine-strategic-gain-putin-war-rcna173585.
Russians Claim Key City of Vuhledar in Ukraine’s East. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2knzxn9x7o. Accessed 1 Nov. 2024.
]Last Pandas in the U.S. Have a Timetable to Fly Back to China - CBS News. 17 May 2024, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/last-pandas-in-us-timetable-return-to-china/.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/24/europe/finland-panda-return-china-cost-intl-hnk/index.html
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