Vaccine Diplomacy                                                                                      #176                            By Hank Silverberg 

There were a lot of issues for the world leaders gathered this past week at the Group of 7 Summit in the United Kingdom. 

Much will be made about the meeting between President Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, but for me the biggest news may be the agreement between the Summit partners to help provide one billion doses of the Covid-19 vaccines to countries that don't have the money to buy it on their own.  

For the first time in four years, the United States led the way again by offering 500 million doses, even before the Summit began. It is a no-brainer to understand that America will never really be rid of Covid-19 until the virus is controlled worldwide. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain by helping the poorer nations of the world eradicate Covid.  

Biden and G7 leaders to commit to donating 1 billion COVID-19 vaccines - CBS News

Mr. Biden likes to say "America is back!" And that is a good thing. Since the end of World War Two we have won more friends and influenced more world decisions by using the carrot instead of the stick. 

It started with the Marshall Plan under President Truman, which helped rebuild Europe and Japan after the second world war. That turned our enemies from that war into our biggest allies today. The humanitarian efforts expanded successfully when President Kennedy created and promoted the 

(A Peace Corp volunteer in Senegal , courtesy of 
SUNY  Geneseo, )

Peace Corps in 1961. Since then, The Peace Corps has sent more than 240 thousand Americans to help people on a more personal basis in more than 141 countries. The Peace Corps currently operates in 65 nations.  

Peace Corps - Make the Most of Your World

On top of the Peace Corp, U.S. Aide for International Development continues to show American generosity around the world. It uses about 1% of the federal budget each year ($20 billion in 2019), to invest in more than a hundred countries by providing assistance on everything from climate change solutions to disaster relief.  

USAID Dollars to Results

During the Trump administration's "America First" policy, aide to other countries was downgraded and deemphasized, a move that damaged our interests and influence around the globe.

Luckily, four years was a short enough period that we can rebound and once again lead the world, not just as a military power, but also as the biggest humanitarian nation in history.  

Of note though: The USA stamp on many relief supplies promotes friendship and democracy around he world.  But the United States has sometimes removed that stamp to eliminate any conflict it might create in some unfriendly countries. That's what America is about.  

Off The Ice Shelf:

Here's a story you may have missed. A new study 

(Courtesy University of Washington)

out last week indicated a critical Antarctic glacier is in a more vulnerable state because an ice shelf that blocks it from collapsing into the sea is breaking up much faster than earlier predictions. It's called the Pine Island Glacier, and scientists worry that climate change will cause it to  raise sea levels around the world centuries before earlier predictions. The study, published in Science Advances indicates the ice shelf has shrunk 12 miles between 2017 and 2020. Pine Island contains 180 trillion tons of ice, or about 1.6 feet of sea level rise if it melted. This by itself will not force you to tie your boat up in Idaho, but combined with other factors it's a strong indication that climate change is real and getting worse.     

Ice shelf protecting Antarctic glacier is breaking up faster | Fort Worth Star-Telegram

A Whale Of A Tale:

No, it was not Moby Dick. But a lobster diver from Cape Cod is lucky to be alive to tell the story about being swallowed by a Humpback whale. 

Fifty-six year-old Michael Packard of Provincetown was about 35 feet down in the water when he felt a huge shove and found himself in complete darkness. He told The Cape Cod Times that he initially thought it was a great white shark and 

(An adult Humpback)

 he was done for. After a few seconds, he started to shove the side wall and move around and that apparently bothered the whale enough that it spit him out. Packard had some injuries, but is doing okay. In case you think it's just a "fish" tale, there's a witness. His boat mate saw the whale surface and produce an air spout right after Packard was ejected.

The whale may have been just as surprised.  Jooke Robbins, Director of the Humpback Whale Studies at the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, says the whale was probably a juvenile who just made a mistake while scooping up thousands of fish for dinner. Humpbacks don't usually eat people. 

 Lobster diver swallowed by humpback whale near Cape Cod (nypost.com)

Dumbest Quote of The Week:

This week's dumbest quote comes once again from a Republican member of Congress. I'm not sure how people like Texas Republican Louie Gohmert actually get elected to Congress. But I thought this time my readers would like to hear exactly what he said and in what context. It was in a hearing on climate change. He seriously asked a Forest Service expert if they some how could change the orbit of the moon or Earth as a solution to climate change.  This is the text from his tweet sent out later on.

There were some people who claimed later he was just being sarcastic. But I doubt it.  

Did Rep. Gohmert Suggest Changing the Moon's Orbit To Fight Climate Change? | Snopes.com

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