I have 4 articles for you this morning!
First, a sad but needed project The Guardian is undertaking:
The Counted: People killed by police in the US
The Counted is a project by the Guardian – and you – working to count the number of people killed by police and other law enforcement agencies in the United States throughout 2015, to monitor their demographics and to tell the stories of how they died.
The database will combine Guardian reporting with verified crowdsourced information to build a more comprehensive record of such fatalities. The Counted is the most thorough public accounting for deadly use of force in the US, but it will operate as an imperfect work in progress – and will be updated by Guardian reporters and interactive journalists as frequently and as promptly as possible.
Jump!
Second, a sad consequence of climate change:
California redwood trees stressed to breaking point by drought, dying in Southern California
In parks, along creek beds and in parkways, coast redwood trees were planted in Southern California for their shade and stunning beauty. Now, many are dying. Though arborists say their decline is a result of them being taken outside the cooler climates of central and northern California, new studies show even in those regions redwoods are showing signs of distress, raising the question: Do California’s coast redwoods – one of the state’s most iconic trees – portend worsening effects of rainfall shortages and climate change?
“They’ve been around for millions of years. But this is a pretty unprecedented event in the last four or five years,” said Ted Dawson, a UC Berkeley professor studying the effects of the drought on the redwoods in their native habitat. “Some of these trees will suffer because of that.”
While Dawson said the trees are not doomed, the redwoods in Big Sur, those near San Simeon, in the hills near the Central Valley and even in Northern California where his research teams have traveled are definitely feeling the effects of the state’s fourth year of drought, he said recently. As are California oak trees, an even more worrisome development because of the species’ drought-tolertant qualities.
Next, an older article, but some good news in it:
Here Comes the Sun: America’s Solar Boom, in Charts
Last week, an energy analyst at Deutsche Bank came to a startling conclusion: By 2016, solar power will be as cheap or cheaper than electricity from the conventional grid in every state except three. That’s without any changes to existing policy. In other words, we’re only a few years away from the point where, in most of the United States, there will be no economic reason not to go solar. If you care about slowing climate change or just moving toward cleaner energy, that is a huge deal.
Finally, I love all of these quotes:
51 Of The Most Beautiful Sentences In Literature
We asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us about their favorite lines from literature. Here are some of their most beautiful replies.
So how you doin’? 😀