India
The Biden administration has partly reversed[1] its earlier idiocy, in which it refused to allow exports of raw materials for vaccines to India.[2] The country faces utter calamity with a COVID-19 surge, and India’s government, which has diminished the severity of the problem, bears considerable blame.[3] The U.S. now promises both vaccines and the raw materials to manufacture those vaccines.[4]
Thomas Wright, “Biden’s Misstep in India,” Atlantic, April 28, 2021, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/04/bidens-misstep-in-india/618722/
Ananya Bhattacharya and Amanda Shendruk, “India’s incomplete Covid-19 data doesn’t begin to capture the crisis in Delhi,” Quartz, April 28, 2021, https://qz.com/india/2002082/the-dire-covid-19-hospital-bed-crisis-in-indias-capital-delhi/
Clairton
U.S. Steel, blaming permitting delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will close three of its dirtiest batteries at the Coke Works in Clairton instead of investing in an upgrade. Environmentalists welcomed the move but blamed the company, unions blamed the government, and the government insisted it had been supportive and tried to expedite the process.[5] I continue to believe the entire ugly mess should be shut down and razed.
Oliver Morrison, “‘Today is a difficult day.’ U.S. Steel announces closure of several of Clairton’s ‘dirtiest’ coke oven batteries,” Public Source, April 30, 2021, https://www.publicsource.org/mon-valley-clairton-us-steel-coke-works-pollution-f-grade-air-quality/
- [1]Thomas Wright, “Biden’s Misstep in India,” Atlantic, April 28, 2021, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/04/bidens-misstep-in-india/618722/↩
- [2]Hindu, “U.S. defends restrictions on export of COVID-19 vaccine raw materials amid India’s request to lift ban,” April 23, 2021, https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/us-defends-restrictions-on-export-of-covid-19-vaccine-raw-materials-amid-indias-request-to-lift-ban/article34391251.ece↩
- [3]Rana Ayyub, “‘This Is Hell.’ Prime Minister Modi’s Failure to Lead Is Deepening India’s COVID-19 Crisis,” Time, April 23, 2021, https://time.com/5957118/india-covid-19-modi/; Ananya Bhattacharya and Amanda Shendruk, “India’s incomplete Covid-19 data doesn’t begin to capture the crisis in Delhi,” Quartz, April 28, 2021, https://qz.com/india/2002082/the-dire-covid-19-hospital-bed-crisis-in-indias-capital-delhi/; Nathan Jeffay, “The only real herd immunity is global: Why India’s COVID crisis threatens us all,” Times of Israel, April 29, 2021, https://www.timesofisrael.com/why-indias-covid-rampage-should-worry-israel-and-all-aiming-for-herd-immunity/; Shaikh Azizur Rahman and Emma Graham-Harrison, “India’s Covid death toll at record high, but true figure likely to be worse,” Guardian, April 24, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/24/indias-covid-death-toll-hides-stark-truth-for-the-poor-its-even-worse; Joanna Slater, “India’s devastating outbreak is driving the global coronavirus surge,” Washington Post, April 19, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2021/india-covid-cases-surge/↩
- [4]Thomas Wright, “Biden’s Misstep in India,” Atlantic, April 28, 2021, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/04/bidens-misstep-in-india/618722/↩
- [5]Oliver Morrison, “‘Today is a difficult day.’ U.S. Steel announces closure of several of Clairton’s ‘dirtiest’ coke oven batteries,” Public Source, April 30, 2021, https://www.publicsource.org/mon-valley-clairton-us-steel-coke-works-pollution-f-grade-air-quality/↩