Rachel’s Network has strong roots in Colorado. Home to over a dozen of our members, beautiful national parks, innovative research institutions, and a culture of environmentalism, it was the perfect place for our Fall Retreat after over a decade’s absence. Here’s a summary of our visit and what we learned.
This summer, Rachel’s Network Member Ashley Stone flew into the heart of the Democratic Republic of Congo with Dr. Takeshi Furuichi and Dr. Chie Hashimoto to observe wild bonobos at the Luo Scientific Reserve, the original bonobo research station started in the 1970s by Dr. Takayoshi Kano. She recounts why conservation must address local livelihoods to succeed.
This month, PBS NewsHour covered one of the most pressing health issues that we face today: antibiotic resistance. Lance B. Price, Ph.D., microbiologist and director of the Antibiotic Resistance Action Center at the Milken Institute School of Public Health, appears in the series and explains why we must tackle antibiotic overuse in the farming industry if we’re to address this global threat.
Because the US is one of the largest contributors to United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), eliminating US funds to the agency puts the health and rights of the world’s most vulnerable girls and women on the line. Seema Jalan, executive director of the Universal Access Project and Policy at the United Nations Foundation, speaks out against these cuts.
In an administration that’s eviscerating public health and environmental protections, advocates and funders need to work harder and smarter and be more strategic and united than the other side. We need to continue to mobilize the broad grassroots and grasstops coalition that produced an updated toxics law in 2016, marshal our best and brightest minds, and communicate more effectively.