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047: Current news for Kids -17

Jan 16, 2021

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Hi, This news episode speaks about a lot of events that happened since the year started… Covid news from across the world, on how Gorillas have contracted to it and how sad it is, that Brazil is facing its worst nightmare of having no oxygen to treat its suffering citizens. We also hear about how and why the Capitol saw some bad riots followed by Trump’s impeachment. In environmental news we see how microplastics are showing up in the arctic!! And that 2021 is set for a huge increase in outdoors CO2 levels…. We end our news with wishing Wikipedia on its 20th birthday and hear the exciting news of Tesla opening shop in Bengaluru, India. Hope you enjoyed and learnt something new. Thanks

Transcripts

SEASON-3

EPISODE 047 CURRENT NEWS FOR KIDS-17

[0.01] {Background Music}

[0.08] Siyona: Hi all, welcome to my podcast Little Mind Chats. Minds are little, not our thoughts. I’m your host Siyona.

[0.16] Today’s episode would be my first fortnightly news for the year 2021. There’s so much I’d like to share with you. Without any further delays, let’s just jump straight into some good and bad news about the Covid situation across the world.

[0.34] The good news is that many countries have started their vaccination drive. Here in India, Prime minister Narendra Modi launched the vaccination drive today on the sixteenth of January, connecting with 3006 vaccination centres across the country.

[0.52] Ladakh soldiers will be amongst first set of army personnel to get Covid-19 vaccine. “Top priority is being given to military doctors and medical staff who have been at the forefront of the fight against Covid-19” officials said.

[1.11] The not so good part of the Covid news is that, Brazil is struggling heavily with not only a new variant of Corona virus, but also, its hospitals are running out of oxygen for its citizens affected by Covid. As a result, the number of deaths are rising sharply. In US, coronavirus cases and deaths continue to soar.

[1.38] Amidst all the vaccination going on, A coronavirus vaccine, developed by China’s Sinovac was proved to be significantly less effective than previously thought, according to researchers conducting trials in Brazil.

[1.55] In a strange twist to events, now Gorillas test positive for coronavirus at San Diego Zoo. Several gorillas at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park have tested positive for the coronavirus in what is believed to be the first known cases among such primates in the United States and possibly the world.

[2.19] It appears the infection came from a member of the parks wildlife care team who also tested positive for the virus but has been asymptomatic and wore a mask at all times around the gorillas.

[2.35]

[2.39] While the Covid situation is really bad in US, A riot broke out in the Capitol building in Washington DC.

[2.48]

[2.53] The United States Capitol, situated in Washington, DC is among the most symbolically important and architecturally impressive buildings in the nation. This is where presidents are inaugurated and deliver their annual State of the Union messages. It’s the most recognized symbol of democratic government in the world.

[3.18] Protestors, mainly the supporters of Trump gathered around the Capitol on 6th January. And then around mid-day broke into the building while the senate was in session.

It was the most shocking failure of security to date, in the United States. To put it in the context of India, it’s like rioters marching into the parliament in New Delhi. That is a big deal.

[3.48] Most of Trump’s social media accounts like Twitter, Facebook, snapchat, Instagram, Tiktok and many more have been banned or restricted. As it is thought that this wouldn’t have happened without his support.

[4.03]

[4.08] What is impeachment you ask, The US constitution states a president “shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes or misdemeanours”.

[4.26] Well! That’s a shame. I hope all my friends in the US are safe.

[4.34] Moving on to some Environment News

[4.37]

[4.43] A recent scientific study has shown that the Arctic Ocean is polluted with tiny microplastic fibres. The fibres were found all through the Arctic. The most likely source of the pollution is laundry from Europe and North America.

[4.58] To identify the particles they found; the scientists used a tool based on infrared light. A kind of light that humans are unable to see. This tool allowed them to figure out not just which bits were plastic, but exactly what kind of plastic they were.

[5.19] So how do these microfibers get into the sea? They break off when clothes are washed and are emptied into sewers as washing machines drain.

[5.30] One recent study suggested that laundry from the US and Canada carries around 7,716,000 pounds (3,500,000 kilograms) of plastic microfibers into the sea every year.

[5.53] One way to avoid sending so much plastic into the sea is for clothing makers to cut back on man-made materials, especially those that easily break down into microfibers.

[6.06]

[6.16] Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration will soar past a scary threshold this year, exceeding 417 parts per million (ppm). This is really bad compared to 2006, when outside CO2 levels were at 381 parts per million (ppm)

[6.40] Since CO2 stays in the atmosphere for a very long time, each year’s emissions add to those from previous years and cause the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere to keep increasing, Richard Betts, head of the climate impacts group at the Met Office and lead researcher for the forecast.

[7.02] Reversing this trend and slowing the atmospheric CO2 rise will need global warming emissions to reduce, and will need global emissions to be brought down to net zero. Betts said. “This needs to happen within about the next 30 years if global warming is to be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius.”

[7.27] Sadhguru is right in saying that, “There is no substitute for responsible and conscious behaviour”.

[7.36] If each one of us ate, lived and drove consciously, we could probably avoid worse situations in the future.

[7.49]

[7.54] The world’s vital insect kingdom is undergoing “death by a thousand cuts,” the world’s top bug experts said.

[8.04] The problem, sometimes called the insect apocalypse, is like a jigsaw puzzle. And they believe they do not have all the pieces of this puzzle yet.

[8.17] Climate change, insecticides, herbicides, light pollution, invasive species and changes in agriculture and land use are causing Earth to lose probably 1 to 2% of its insects each year, said the entomologist David Wagner, from University of Connecticut.

[8.41] Insects “are absolutely the fabric by which Mother Nature and the tree of life are built,” Wagner said.

[8.51]

[8.54] Wikipedia turns 20 years!

[8.58] Happy birthday to you. Yesterday, the world’s most favourite online encyclopaedia, Wikipedia turned 20 years. On 15 January 2001, two American entrepreneurs – Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger – launched an online encyclopaedia.

[9.19] In these 20years, it has had

56 million articles.
3 billion edits.
1.7 billion unique visitors every month.

[9.33] And its written in 316 languages. What an inspirational effort. Thank you! Wikipedia, I’ve drawn a LOT of help from you for my podcast too.

[9.50] And finally, a news that I’m most excited about. It’s the fact that Tesla starts its operations here in India, and that too, in my own city, Bengaluru.

[10.04] Karnataka Chief Minister, B.S. Yediyurappa on Tuesday confirmed that the electric-vehicle giant will start its operations with an R&D unit in Bengaluru.

[10.19] I’m so looking forward to seeing this happen.

[10.24]

[10.32] “How old is Wikipedia this year?” Mail the answer to siyona@littlemindchats.com. Please do remember that this podcast is for children and I hope you will kindly forward it to all children, all parents you come across. Also don’t forget to follow me on Facebook, twitter, Instagram and now on LinkedIn too!

[11.07] Thanks a Ton for listening. Bye.