#Local community benefits

[techdriveplay]

Why I Made the Switch to Step One

I have recently had the pleasure of trying out Step One. This is why you might want to make the switch.

Whether you are a boxer, briefs, or “going free” type of guy, there is no doubt that many of us can do more to protect our bits. Thankfully, some innovations are coming out in the men’s underwear space, and they have truly changed the game. I have recently had the pleasure of trying out the frontrunner, Step One and they are right when they say that “once people try Step One they will want to…

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#3D pouch design #Active lifestyle support #Anti-bacterial #Anti-fungal properties #Chafing solution #Closed water system usage #Comfort and fit focus #Community support #Eco-friendly apparel choice #Environmental sustainability #Ethical production standards #Fair wages #Fashion Forever Green Pact signatory #Local community benefits #Men&039;s underwear innovation #Moisture-wicking #Multiple wear benefits #Protection against plant and animal harm #Rapid bamboo growth #Reduced environmental impact #Species protection #Step One review #Sustainable manufacturing practices #Ultraglyde panel feature #Underwear drawer overhaul #Zero deforestation commitment

[ivygorgon]

AN OPEN LETTER to THE U.S. CONGRESS

Put the Good Jobs for Good Airports standards in the FAA reauthorization bill!

104 so far! Help us get to 250 signers!

I’m calling on you to stand with working people, passengers and our communities by supporting Good Jobs for Good Airports standards (GJGA) in the FAA reauthorization bill. Airports should and can be strong, vibrant drivers of good jobs in every part of our country. The Good Jobs for Good Airports standards are central to that mission and our nation’s future prosperity. Billions of our public dollars are invested in our nation’s aviation system every year, and we must ensure that our public resources serve the public good. That includes ensuring airports better serve the needs of our families, our passengers, our communities and the airport service workers who make it all possible.

It is evident that our air travel industry is in crisis. From record flight cancellations during summer travel peaks to mountains of lost luggage during the holiday travel season. Airports are critical publicly-funded infrastructure vital to the health of our local communities and global economy, but right now airports aren't working the way they should for travelers or airport service workers — a largely Black, brown, multiracial and immigrant service workforce. These working people, including cleaners, wheelchair agents, baggage handlers, concessionaires and ramp workers, keep airports safe and running smoothly even through a global pandemic, climate disasters and busy travel seasons. Yet many are underpaid and underprotected--even as some major airlines rake in record profit and billions of our tax dollars are invested in our national air travel system.

Domestic passenger numbers increased by 80% between 2020 and 2021, total industry employment fell by nearly 14%, leaving airport service workers to sometimes clean entire airplanes in as little as five minutes as many take on additional responsibilities outside of their typical job duties. Meanwhile, wages have barely budged for airport service workers in 20 years. The Good Jobs for Good Airports standards has the power to transform workers’ lives by ensuring airport service workers have the pay and benefits they need to care for their families.

The Good Jobs for Good Airports standards would help build a stronger, safer, more resilient air travel industry by making airport service jobs good jobs with living wages and benefits like affordable healthcare for all airport workers. Airport service workers at more than 130 covered airports would be supported through established wage and benefit standards, putting money back into hundreds of local economies and helping families thrive. If passed over 73% of wage increases will go to workers making $20 or less, estimates show.

I urge you to include the Good Jobs for Good Airports standards in the FAA reauthorization bill, and help ensure our public money serves the public good.

▶ Created on September 20, 2023 by Jess Craven

📱 Text SIGN PNXUOF to 50409

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#JESSCRAVEN101 #PNXUOF #resistbot #FAA reauthorization #Good Jobs for Good Airports #airport workers #aviation industry #public infrastructure #labor rights #economic justice #workers' rights #fair wages #benefits #community support #passenger rights #public investment #economic prosperity #airport service workers #living wages #healthcare #job security #labor standards #economic equity #social welfare #income equality #workplace conditions #economic development #local economies #financial stability #worker empowerment

[butchysterics]

[vaguely gesturing to discourse buzzing on the horizon] there is no pure pristine culture to return to, we have to interrogate the ones we have and make our own

#no shame to ppl reconnecting with their european ancestral culture but i am suspicious of those movements too #white supremacy runs so deep #and idk if it’s rly truly less appropriative and more just to cling to reviving european traditions you’re deeply detached from #i want to give the benefit of doubt to everyone trying to find a place in the world and do it right / justly #but i do wonder if white settlers in the US need to find ways of being that acknowledge where and what we are #not some distant detached ‘return to culture’ or invisibilizing American Culture #but finding specificity in Where You Are and how you got there #building relationships with the land and local community and the uniqueness in that #and still grappling with white supremacy and settler colonialism as 100% saturating forces which are core to all of this #i don’t think there are perfect answers but it’s worth talking about #the disconnect from Culture/tradition/meaning-making structures is something everyone grapples with individually #it’s your own familial / ancestral history to wrestle with but #there are common threads of disconnection to Being American #and specific shared baggage to the broad umbrella of White Americanism #idk just scattered thoughts we need to figure out how to be good ppl without letting ourselves off the hook for systemic violence

[gender-euphowrya]

i'm getting a good grade in transgender

#sib the local lgbtq charity that has monthly meet-ups for trans people & any of their open-minded loved ones #just asked Me if i could help with hosting these ??? #I GOT A PROMOTION BY JUST BEING THERE GKFJFKF #poggers. huge. #i said FUCK YEAH because ohhh this is exactly what i wanted #i WANT to give back to this community i WANT to help my fellow people #i don't want to just reap the benefits of the ongoing fights other people had for my sake i want to fight with them ! #and if my means of fighting are caring for and welcoming people in need of company or information or just fun #then that's what i'm gonna do !!!! #taking care of each other is our number one priority in the face of everything society throws at us #if i can help even just a little bit with that. fuck. i'll have all i need. #if one other trans person can feel safe thanks to something i did i will have it all. fuck the lottery. this is my big win #the founder of the charity was so nice too he was understanding that i may not be able to help consistently #because i don't have a car and it's like a 15-min drive away not really reachable by bus so. need mom to drive me there gkfkf but #he said that was completely okay and he said my ''expertise'' was all that was needed ??? #BRO i'm. yes it is i the big tramsgengar expert uh-huh professor t-shot in the house #like SURE i know. quite a lot about all this what with all the internet exposure to the subject and. Me living that #but expertise ??? gkfjf i. i guess. i mean. woargh. #anyway i'm super flattered and excited and i hope i don't let them down

[pointsfortrying]

-

#rye rants #vent #bad vibes #sometimes i wonder if adults/20-25+y/o's who openly make p/rn jokes around or with known minors #would also like roll up to their local middle school or highschool and make the same kind of comments/jokes with the kids there #i am just. #'its on them to leave if they're uncomfortable/They should be the responsible one' #with all due respect which may or may not be none they are Literally a minor #no i dont think internet censorship yadayada is a solution yes i know that p/rn or k/nk etc. #is historically/culturally important to queer communities etc. #but also in my humble opinion knowing either of that does not exempt you from an ounce of responsibility #im just head in hands #you are!! absolutely free to talk ab whatever you want with friends but if one of your friends who you have Actively invited is a Minor #i do not think it is So much to say that Hey. #maybe dont do that— #<- it is completely fine for kids to have adult friends and most of my friends growing up were adults #but also for certain conversations or whatnot mayhaps do Not invite the kid #i feel like the internet in particular has caused these kinds of issues bc when you talk to someone here you do Not. see their faces or rly #percieve age which has benefits but also does. #make me think that a lot of people are a lot more careless than they would have been otherwise #<- once again thinking a things in the past and conversations that annoyed me but i didnt say it annoyed me at the time #so now they are haunting me #<- has Many mixed feelings ab things #<- thinking ab the time i talked to someone on behalf of a mutual friend (Much younger than us both) that their talk ab something #was making them uncomfortable <- was told off for it and bc i respected said mutual friend i just went 'aight jsyk' #<- regrets not being firmer in my stance #yes you are free to talk ab whatever but also Again. some responsibility Please — #<- knows that person doesn't mean anything by it and isnt a bad person by any means #but also grits teeth some ppl just. either assume kids are stupid or assume that they know everything #or both! i cant tell whats worse tbh. gjskgkd ill shut up for now ab this but gjgmfjgkdkgkd head in hands

[possessionisamyth]

If you live in the USA and you're pleading for donations to pay your rent, bills, or get food then dial 211! Please dial 211 before the last minute!

It's a toll free service with people who will help you find programs in your community to pay those bills, find food, and find housing! They will give you numbers to call so you can get help.

It is not 100% foolproof. Their job is to direct you to a program they believe will help your current issue, but it's still a step up from praying random strangers online will give you enough cash before a deadline! The added benefit of these community programs, which get funded by the local government most of the time, is if there are more people using them then they can get more money to help more people.

You're not taking resources from other people if you use your community services. Your taxes pay for them. Use them.

Dial 211 first to see if they can help, and if for some reason they can't, then make your donation posts!

https://www.211.org/

#211

[gnc-tits]

i have no problem with striking and whatnot and of course i donate when i can but so so much of usamerican political action (aside from the heroes who do direct action but lets be real, not everyone is the person to do that) is like. follow the strike. call your reps. which is important! its super important to do that! but this country is so so divided from state to state like i really did not feel it until spending some time away from home but we all live so so differently and it sucks in different ways thats vaguely united but. to give a personal example: i have no idea what its like to be a trans person in a red state. i just have no idea. i imagine its pretty fucking bad, and where i live isnt even that great but a 16 year old got killed IN SCHOOL in oklahoma the other day like the sheer difference in how we live is insane. i only know what it’s like to be a trans person in this state. and thats just one of the ways we’re divided! and soooo much usamerican political action is this broad fucking country wide thing we’re all supposed to be doing and it does matter, it is important, but more and more people in gaza are dying and we need a ceasefire now. we’re divided as fuck and on all different ends of the working class spectrum and something like a strike (which, again, cannot stress this enough, does matter) i genuinely believe isnt going to get to a ceasefire fast enough

yknow what we can do though? organize with our local community. like i cant speak for more rural areas unfortunately but cmon if you live in a city you have to know at least someone who is generally progressive and doesnt have to worry as much about being killed for it. there are people out there who want a better world, you just have to find them and yall! if you organize and enough people get together and put a fire under politicians asses you CAN call for a ceasefire in your city it IS possible it is so possible and even if it doesnt pass you can still get together and make noise. and if you take that energy and apply it to other cities in your state and connect with them and influence them then like. its a lot fuckin harder to ignore! as of right now around 70 us cities have called for a ceasefire and it is largely divided and there are like. none in red states where we need them to be. and lets be real none of the blue ones are lookin that great either. but if you get like, i dont know, as many as possible but even like, 10 is still significant, if you get that many cities in one state calling for a ceasefire then its a lot harder for your state reps to ignore you. and absolutely keep calling and emailing but. i dunno. 5 months of genocide and theyre still largely ignoring us, so maybe we need to do something a little bit more that’s actually feasible for the way we’re living

#free palestine #free gaza #ceasefire now #united states politics #leftism #its just so hard to not feel hopeless yall but we dont get to feel that! the united states is a key fucking player in this and we need to do #More we just need to! and asking people to call off work when a lot of us are a few missed paychecks away from homelessness just isnt #realistic. basically participate in local government in ways that isnt just fucking voting oh my godddddd #even then theres a problem with voter turnout in local elections where it tends to matter more but. regardless of if you live in a city #thats progressive/leftist/liberal/whatever or not you CAN make a difference #embrace community and you shall reap the benefits etc etc #also just to give credit where credits due: the black women in georgia who organized in 2020? the blueprint. thats the energy we need during #any year but especially now and during an election year #fucking forgot it was an election year oh my god. i am so anxious

[livelocalorganic]

Savor the Health Benefits of Organic, Locally Grown Produce

In a world where convenience often triumphs over quality, it’s important to take a moment to appreciate the tremendous benefits of organic, locally grown produce. In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in sustainable farming practices and the consumption of fresh, pesticide-free fruits and vegetables. Not only does organic, locally grown produce offer a host of health benefits,…

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#environment #environmental benefits #health benefits #local communities #locally grown produce #nutritional density #Organic #supporting local farmers #sustainable farming #tips for incorporating

[liberalsarecool]

When schools offer free meals for everyone, local families reduce grocery spending. Large chains respond by dropping prices, amplifying benefits to the broader community.

Education and nutrition depend on each other.

#food programs work #snap #nutrition #education

[web-knowledge-power]

The Benefits of Supporting Local Produce

Supporting local produce not only benefits your health but also has positive impacts on the environment and local economy. When you choose to buy locally grown fruits, vegetables, and other agricultural products, you are making a conscious decision to support your community and contribute to a sustainable food system. One of the major benefits of consuming local produce is its freshness. Locally…

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#community support #environmental impact #health benefits #local produce #sustainable food system

[deerstacks]

I feel like it's worth saying but over the years having used both Tumblr and Twitter in different periods (long time Tumblr user, moved to Twitter because it's where everyone I knew was, moved back to Tumblr) that i don't care what people say but Twitter sucks for community actually. Yeah you can interact with people in different ways and prior to the techbroification of the site it was super useful for highspeed access to news (which I'm still thankful for), the sharing of tools and information sucked ass actually and the lack of good archival makes it impossible to retain anything actually useful on that site. Twitter fills the same part of the ven diagram as Discord for "most useful way to share important tools" compared to Reddit and Tumblr which still to this day has the same use as sharing information in an actual in person community.

Someone puts something on Twitter and it's like a single piece of paper with useful information pasted at a bus stop that gets taken down within 24 hours by rain and it's lost forever. Tumblr people hand out flyers in person at events that tell you exactly where to go locally for support and safety and that shit gets passed around for years after the fact by people that want to then get kept in a local store front by people who care and want to keep something alive for years.

I know Tumblr and Reddit both have equal chances of deteriorating even worse and dying in the future like all social media has over the past decade but it's a kind of universal community that can only keep existing on sites like this as long as people care about mutual aid and help. Even the most mundane shit like "damn this website is super useful and will support your hobbies in ways that capitalism has let down" can only thrive on these style of websites and I'm so thankful that Tumblr has stuck around as long as it has. You put that information out on Twitter and that shit's gone within a month never to be found again unless the person posting has 100k followers and pins the damn tweet.

#not too sure if I worded my thoughts properly #social media dying and losing IRL communities is making me long for those communities I once had #please don't take them for granted like I did #I loathe discord and twitter more and more as time goes on it's like a bad group chat where you can't kick people with garbage spam #supporting people online in small ways is just as important as the support locally #and in the face of everything right now I feel it's just as if not more important than before that a desire to help and inform others #with no benefit to yourself even just to share a useful website and have that information stick around is retained as much as possible #there's so much useful shit on Twitter that I saw over the years that's just Gone man #there's websites I used to love and storefronts that are dead because there wasn't support so it's great seeing people prop that stuff up

[writinglad16]

The tropes for my new book on Wattpad :)

#writing #my writing #enemies to lovers #fake dating trope #celebrityxnormie #celebrity fake dating #new wattpad book #wattpad books #wattpad #my new book #romance #romance books #grumpy x grumpy #fake dating with benefits #local writers community

[fordragonfliesandme]

Why Supporting Local Businesses is More Important Than Ever: Let's Look at The 3/50 Project & How You Can Participate!

I am a huge advocate for supporting local businesses. You will see me out & about every week posting about a local business wherever I go. As an entrepreneur, I completely understand the importance of small businesses supporting one another! It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on businesses globally. Small businesses, in particular, have been hit hard, and many…

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#Farmers Markets #Goldner Walsh Garden and Home #how can I support local businesses? #Inner Sage: The Studio #Rustic Leaf Brewing #support your local small business #The Dearborn Shop #what are some of the benefits to shopping local #what are some resources to finding local businesses? #what are some ways I can support my local community? #what is shop small? #what is the 3/50 Project?

[totesmag]

Green Eating: How to Make Sustainable Food Choices

Explanation of the connection between food and the environment Food production and consumption have a significant impact on the environment. The way we grow, process, and distribute food affects land use, water resources, and greenhouse gas emissions. On the other hand, the environment also has a significant impact on food production, from weather patterns affecting crop yields to environmental…

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#benefits of sustainable eating #carbon footprint of food #eco-friendly food choices #food and the environment #food waste reduction #green eating #here are some potential tags for the blog &quot;green eating: how to make sustainable food choices&quot;: #local and seasonal food #organic farming #plant-based diet #reducing the impact of food production #seafood sustainability #supporting local communities and economy #sustainable food practices

[beatrice-otter]

I’ll be honest, when one party’s aiding and abetting the genocide and the other’s outright gonna kill all my friends, I don’t really care if the fascists “win”. They’ve won already.

You know who would be delighted to hear that? Trump and Putin. The US far right and the Russian government have poured lots of time, effort, and money over the last decade+ into convincing US leftists and liberals that things are hopeless, there's no point in even trying to make things better, and the Democrats and Republicans are functionally interchangeable. They do this because one of the easiest ways for them to win is if the left gives up and stops trying. Every person on the left they can convince to give up in despair brings them closer to complete control. Defeatism on the left actively supports victory on the right.

I think your statement is wrong on a number of levels, both factual and emotional. It comes from not understanding what the actual options are for the US government and the President specifically, either at home or abroad. And it will allow actual fascism to flourish and make the world far worse than it is now.

On an emotional level, the way to address this is to stop doomscrolling. Stop focusing on the worst things happening in the world. Don't ignore them! but don't let them consume you. Start looking for the things that are going well. Find places in your community that you can get involved in making things better. Even if it's only on a small scale like volunteering in a soup kitchen or homeless shelter, it will help you realize that you aren't helpless, that there are things that can be done to make the world a better place. Stay informed about things on a local, national, and international level, but limit how much time and attention you give to things that depress you that you can't affect. Instead of sitting there thinking about all the ways the world sucks and how awful things are, look for things you can do that are productive, and then do them. You'll feel better and you will have made your corner of the world a little better. And you will be a lot less likely to unintentionally fall into the despair, nihilism, and passivity that the fascists want you to be consumed by.

Always remember that the worlds problems are not resting solely on your shoulders, or solely on America's shoulders, and neither is the hope of fixing them. Everyone has things that we can do to make the world a better place, but there are also things that are beyond our control. We can control what we do; we cannot control what others do. We can and should try to make the world a better place, but focusing on the things we can't change has no positive benefits. Focusing on things we can't change accomplishes two things: it makes you feel bad, and it stops you from doing the things you actually can do to make things better. Neither of these things is good for you or anyone else. Look for things you can do and do them. Keep informed on the things you can't change, but don't focus on them.

On a factual level, let's look at "aiding and abetting genocide," shall we?

First, it's important to remember that the US President is not the God-Emperor Of The World. The US government has limits to what it can and can't do in other countries, and both legally and practically. If the US wants to intervene in a problem in another country, there are a variety of things we can do that boil down to basically four categories. It's a lot more complex than this in practice, of course, but in general here are the categories of things we can do:

Send in the troops. Invade, either by ourselves or as part of a NATO or UN operation. (Or maybe just send in a CIA wetworks team to assassinate the head of state.) I hope you can see the moral problems with this option, and also, we've done this a shitton of times over the course of the 20th Century and pretty much every time we've done it, we've made an already awful situation worse. On a moral level, it's pretty bad, and on a practical level, it's worse. Sure, we could stop the immediate problem, but what then? Consider Afghanistan and Iraq. We got rid of Saddam Hussein and the Taliban, and everything went to shit, we spent twenty years occupying Afghanistan with pretty much nothing to show for it. (The Taliban is back in control of Afghanistan.) Things were worse when we left than when we arrived. So this option is pretty much off the table (or should be).

Diplomatic pressure. Now, the thing is, they're a sovereign nation, they don't have to listen to us if they don't want to. We have a lot of things we can leverage--including financial aid--but the only way to force them to do what we want is to invade and conquer, and that only works temporarily. Since we can't force, we have to persuade. This requires us to maintain our existing relationship with the country in question, and possibly strengthen it, because that relationship is what we're leveraging to try and influence them to do what we want them to do. If we do not maintain our relationship, they have no reason to listen to us.

Cut ties and go home. Break off any existing relationship and support, loudly proclaim that they're awful and doing awful things and we wash our hands of the whole situation. This keeps our own hands lily-white and pure, but it also means we have zero leverage to work on any kind of a diplomatic solution. They have no reason to listen to us or care about what we think. We can pat ourselves on the back for doing the right thing, but we destroy our own ability to influence anything. Not just now, but also in the future. Let's say the current crisis ends, and then ten years later there's another crisis. If we want to have any effect then, we would have to start from square one to start building a relationship. Cutting ties would be great for making Americans feel better about ourselves, and there are times when it's the only option, but it should be a last resort. If there is any hope of being able to influence things for the better this will destroy it at least temporarily.

Cut ties and impose sanctions. Break off any existing relationship and support, loudly proclaim that they're awful and doing awful things, but also use the might of the American economy to isolate and punish them. We've done this a lot over the 20th Century, too, and it has never actually resulted in the country in question buckling down and toeing the line we want them to. What happens is the sanctioned country has an economic shock (how long it lasts and how bad it gets depends on a lot of factors) and then pulls themselves back together economically, except this time they're more self-sufficient and less reliant on international trade and financial networks. They tell themselves that America is evil and the cause of all their problems, and so not only do they not listen to us, they actively hate us. And they have fewer international relationships, so fewer reasons to care about what the international community thinks about them. So they're most likely to double down on whatever it is they're doing that we don't like. This one is completely counterproductive and utterly stupid. It's great for making Americans feel better about ourselves, but if we actually care about being able to use our influence for good (or, at least, to mitigate evil) this option shoots us in the foot. It encourages other nations to do the very thing we're trying to stop them from doing.

So, with those four options in mind, both option one (invasion/assassination) and option four (sanctions) are off the table for being immoral and counterproductive. That leaves "breaking our relationship and going home" and "using diplomatic pressure" as our only two viable options.

Biden has chosen option two, diplomatic pressure. Yes, he and our government have continued financial support for Israel ... but with strings attached. They have put limits on it that have never been put on any US foreign aid before. They have taken legal steps to lay the groundwork to target Israeli settlers (i.e. Israeli citizens who confiscate Palestinian homes and businesses). We've been hearing reports for months that Benjamin Netanyahu (Israeli Prime Minister, and a far-right-wing demagogue) hates Biden's guts, because Biden is pressuring him to stop the genocide and work towards peace. Biden is maintaining the relationship, and he's using that relationship to try and influence things to curb the violence and pave the way for a just peace settlement of some sort. Biden has also mentioned the possibility of a two state solution where Palestine becomes its own completely separate country. That's huge, because up until this point the US position has always been that Israel is the only possible legitimate nation in that territory. If Biden stopped US support for Israel, it wouldn't force Israel to stop what it's doing ... but it would let them ignore us. It would remove any leverage or influence we might have.

Biden's hands aren't clean. But the only way for them to be clean would be to also give up any chance of influencing the situation or working to protect Palestinians now or in the future. Only time will tell if it works, but I personally would rather have someone who tried and failed than someone who didn't even try. You might disagree about whether this is the right course of action, and there's a lot of room for honest disagreement about the issue (there's a lot of nuances that I'm glossing over or ignoring). But please do acknowledge that Biden isn't supporting Israel because he supports genocide; he's doing it so that he can continue to maintain diplomatic pressure on Israel to stop the violence.

Which brings us back to "aiding and abetting genocide." Trump is not like Biden. Trump is good friends with Netanyahu and backs Israel to the hilt. Trump thinks that all Arabs are terrorists (and all Muslims are terrorists) and genuinely believes the world would be a better place with them dead. Biden is continuing to support Israel, but using that support as influence to get them to stop or slow down. Trump would be using that influence to encourage them.

And those are the two choices. Someone who is trying to curb the genocide, and someone who actively supports it.

I really hope you can see the significant and substantial difference between those two positions.

But let's say that you're right and Biden's policy towards Israel and Palestine is every bit as bad as Trump's would be. If there was nothing to choose between them on foreign policy grounds, there would still be a shitton to choose between them on domestic policy grounds. You admit that the right wants to kill your friends, and yet you don't seem to think that stopping them from killing your friends might be a good thing to do.

"We can't save Palestinians, so we might as well let Republicans destroy the rights, lives, and futures of LGBTQ+ people, women, people of color, people with disabilities, poor people, non-Christians, and anyone else they don't like." "We can't save Palestinians, so why bother to try to save the people we might actually be able to save." "We can't save Palestinians right now, so there's no point in trying to build up a longer-term political bloc that might drag US politics to the left over the long run."

Do you get why there's a problem with that line of thought?

#us politics

[reasonsforhope]

"Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo has a lot to celebrate.

The park, which celebrated its 30th anniversary on December 31 of 2023, also shared an exciting conservation milestone: 2023 was the first year without any elephant poaching detected.

“We didn’t detect any elephants killed in the Park this year, a first for the Park since [we] began collecting data. This success comes after nearly a decade of concerted efforts to protect forest elephants from armed poaching in the Park,” Ben Evans, the Park’s management unit director, said in a press release.

Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park was developed by the government of Congo in 1993 to maintain biodiversity conservation in the region, and since 2014, has been cared for through a public-private partnership between Congo’s Ministry of Forest Economy and the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Pictured: Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park. Photo courtesy of Scott Ramsay/Wildlife Conservation Society

Evans credits the ongoing collaboration with this milestone, as the MEF and WCS have helped address escalating threats to wildlife in the region. 

This specifically includes investments in the ranger force, which has increased training and self-defense capabilities, making the force more effective in upholding the law — and the rights of humans and animals.

“Thanks to the strengthening of our anti-poaching teams and new communication technologies, we have been able to reduce poaching considerably,” Max Mviri, a park warden for the Congolese government, said in a video for the Park’s anniversary. 

“Today, we have more than 90 eco-guards, all of whom have received extensive training and undergo refresher courses,” Mviri continued. “What makes a difference is that 90% of our eco-guards come from villages close to the Park. This gives them extra motivation, as they are protecting their forest.”

As other threats such as logging and road infrastructure development impact the area’s wildlife, the Park’s partnerships with local communities and Indigenous populations in the neighboring villages of Bomassa and Makao are increasingly vital.

“We’ve seen great changes, great progress. We’ve seen the abundance of elephants, large mammals in the village,” Gabriel Mobolambi, chief of Bomassa village, said in the same video. “And also on our side, we benefit from conservation.”

Coinciding with the Park’s anniversary is the roll-out of a tourism-focused website, aiming to generate 15% of its revenue from visitors, which contributes significantly to the local economy...

Nouabalé-Ndoki also recently became the world’s first certified Gorilla Friendly National Park, ensuring best practices are in place for all gorilla-related operations, from tourism to research.

But gorillas and elephants — of which there are over 2,000 and 3,000, respectively — aren’t the only species visitors can admire in the 4,334-square-kilometer protected area.

The Park is also home to large populations of mammals such as chimpanzees and bongos, as well as a diverse range of reptiles, birds, and insects. For the flora fans, Nouabalé-Ndoki also boasts a century-old mahogany tree, and a massive forest of large-diameter trees.

Beyond the beauty of the Park, these tourism opportunities pave the way for major developments for local communities.

“The Park has created long-term jobs, which are rare in the region, and has brought substantial benefits to neighboring communities. Tourism is also emerging as a promising avenue for economic growth,” Mobolambi, the chief of Bomassa village, said in a press release.

The Park and its partners also work to provide education, health centers, agricultural opportunities, and access to clean water, as well, helping to create a safe environment for the people who share the land with these protected animals. 

In fact, the Makao and Bomassa health centers receive up to 250 patients a month, and Nouabalé-Ndoki provides continuous access to primary education for nearly 300 students in neighboring villages. 

It is this intersectional approach that maintains a mutual respect between humans and wildlife and encourages the investment in conservation programs, which lead to successes like 2023’s poaching-free milestone...

Evans, of the Park’s management, added in the anniversary video: “Thanks to the trust that has been built up between all those involved in conservation, we know that Nouabalé-Ndoki will remain a crucial refuge for wildlife for the generations to come.”"

-via Good Good Good, February 15, 2024

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