RER-5
 Part of a series of archived reports in Refugia | |
| RER-5 | |
|---|---|
| Author: | Sylh Alanor |
| Date Posted: | May 8, 2020 |
| Dispatch: | Unknown |
| Word Count: | 1256 |
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An’eth’ara, na lethall’en!
Welcome to the new and improved Refugia Eco-Report, where the stats are compiled and graphics created several days before publication because I get easily distracted sometimes. A lot has happened since the last time I published one of these in January, most notably the establishment and disestablishment of New Refugia. As I’ve discussed those events in another dispatch, I won’t bother going into detail here. But going from 125 nations to 32 has greatly affected our stats.
I’m doing things a little bit differently this time, and I’m willing to adjust this pattern going forward. This month, I want to focus specifically on Environmental Beauty, as it reflects the results of environmental policy, while Eco-Friendliness is specifically the amount of money your government is spending on the environment. While the usual chart with befores and afters returns, I’m also introducing a new section highlighting and celebrating the top nations in the stat. If this section continues, I’ll highlight nations that have shown the most growth in the future, as I assume the top nations will remain in those spots due to inertia. So let’s get started!
First off is the hard Environmental Beauty stat (click the image to the left for a full-sized view). After so many nations left or ceased to exist within the region, their aggregate effect on pulling our stat down eased, gradually pulling our numbers back up, resulting in an April 1 average of 738.71. This rose gradually throughout the month, and was helped when Refuge and I moved our nations back to Refugia in the last weeks of April, resulting in a peak regional average of 1,149.48. This is approximately 230 points under our regional all-time best on November 16, 2019, 1376.89, and an increase of 410.77 over the course of the month, which hits a good foundation on which we can continue to build.
Shortly after we hit this peak, Refugia was featured, which brought with it a group of new nations and silly nations meaning to congratulate us on the feature, which plummeted our score, but by the time the stats were compiled on May 5, we were at 906.79 and rising.
In the same period, we can see the improvements of the regional top three nations when it comes to Environmental Beauty, Karen Matheson, Klyjanoragh, and myself (click the image to the left for a full-size view). Though all three nations are relatively old at this point, and don’t move as much in focused stats as younger nations do, you can still see gradual improvement in all three.
I guess this is a good time to mention that on top of avoiding repeating nations when I can on future run-throughs of this report, I will also, to the best of my knowledge, avoid using puppet accounts as well. So if Dinraal, Refugian Empire, The Sinking Lure, or An Actual Hurricane get in the top, they won’t be shared.
Suggestions for Improvement
It’s a bit of a rough time to be putting expectations on other people, I feel. We’re all experiencing a bit of life upheaval due to the pandemic, and I think that fulfilling our obligations toward each other while maintaining as much comfort as possible is all that should be expected. So take care of yourselves this month, especially those of you who have been shut in for six or seven weeks at this point. Play some Animal Crossing, or get a plant, learn some interesting recipes to cook, or pick up a new hobby. Self-care takes priority right now <3
Environmental News
As per usual, I’m going to be sharing some positive environmental news stories. Given the sensitive subject matter, I’m going to preface this with a warning. Most of the positive news about the environment over the past six or seven weeks are a direct result of the social distancing/isolation procedures being practised by many countries in hopes of slowing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the economic slowdown resulting from those practices. [b]If you have a friend or family member who has died from COVID-19, I dearly apologise for your loss, and want to stress that I am not in any way celebrating the nearly 275,000 deaths at the time I’m writing this dispatch.[/b] That being said, we have been able to infer some fascinating things from this nearly-worldwide test.
The Coronavirus Offers a Radical New Vision for India’s Cities - Because of the nationwide lockdown, Indian citizens are experiencing the lowest air pollution levels in over a generation. Some villages are even starting to see distant mountain ranges they never realised were visible from their homes.
Disbelief in big cities as air pollution falls - Though this was published on April 11, it’s related to the last article and I thought seeing some of the sliders from New Delhi highlighted the issue as well as or better than the above article did.
Pakistan Hires Thousands of Newly-Unemployed Laborers for Ambitious 10 Billion Tree-Planting Initiative - A government project in Pakistan has hired more than 63,000 day labourers who were laid off due to the pandemic, and putting them to work planting saplings and protecting trees. I like this story a lot because it’s showing how governments can still take care of their citizens during the crisis while also doing good for the environment.
Building a just and renewable future on the Navajo Nation - In the United States, the Navajo Nation is using the shutdown of a major coal power plant in its territory as an opportunity to push for renewable energy all around the country.
Can small carbon footprints outlast coronavirus? - A writer in New York City deals with his world getting smaller during the lockdown, and starts coming to terms with how to change their methods of travel once that lockdown lifts.
In the middle of a pandemic, renewables are taking over the grid - Lower air pollution levels are allowing solar panels to absorb energy more efficiently. Combined with higher demand for renewable energy, this is resulting in lower costs across the board.
As always, if you have any suggestions, feedback, or articles you’d like me to share in future reports, please feel free to send me a telegram at any time. If you need someone to talk to because the lockdown is hitting you particularly hard, or just an ear while you rant off some steam, I’m always available. Be safe and healthy, friends.
Sule tael tasalal, dar'eth shiral.
Sylh Alanor