The effectiveness of lockdowns and strict covid-19 regulations has been questioned many times by many people, but effectiveness aside, an even bigger debate is rather or not lockdowns are constitutional. With the fear of moving into an authoritarian state, many people around the world have protested strict lockdowns measures. More often than not lockdown measures benefit corporations and the government, while they jeopardize the lives of the average citizen.

Recently a Belgian court rules that the current Covid-19 restrictions being put in place do not have a sound legal basis. The Belgian state will face fines if they do not lift the restrictions within 30 days, or provide proof of what law they are abiding by with the current restrictions. Currently, the state is acting based on the Civil Safety Act of 2007 which allows the government to move quickly during “exceptional circumstances”, but the judge ruled that the government “cannot act from ministerial decrees while using these laws.”

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Shortly after this ruling the Finnish government withdrew its proposal for lockdown measures. Prime Minister Sanna Marin announced the news last week after a statement from a constitutional committee deemed the lockdown “vague and not in compliance with the constitution”.

“The committee said the wide-ranging proposal should be changed to targeted restrictions for where the risk of contracting the virus was significant, such as private gatherings and crowded places such as shops. The Nordic nation of 5.5 million people has recorded 77,452 coronavirus infections and 844 deaths. It has been praised for its handling of the pandemic and has been among the least-affected countries in Europe. It has 295 people in hospital with COVID-19.”

Finland Withdraws COVID Measures After Law Committee Deems Them Unconstitutional

With the ever-present threat of climate change, many people are constantly talking about the most important thing we can do to cut carbon emissions. New research shows that cycling could be 10 times more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero emissions cities.

In 2020, one in 50 new cars was fully electric, globally. Even if all new cars were electric, it would still take an estimated 15-20 years to replace the world’s cars running on fossil fuels.

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The emissions savings from switching to zero-carbon alternatives isn’t enough to make the difference we need in the time we have left to spare. Not to mention, electric cars aren’t completely emissions-free. The materials for the batteries, manufacturing, and the electricity used to run them all produce emissions.

Active traveling on the other-hand (walking and biking) is cheaper and better for both you and the environment. Research has shown that those who walk or cycle have lower carbon footprints than those who don’t even if they just walking and biking on top of motorized travel.

Researchers observed 4,000 people in London, Antwerp, Barcelona, Vienna, Orebro, Rome, and Zurich over a two-year period. Over the two years, participants logged a total of 10,00 travel diary entries documenting all the trips they make each day.

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We also estimate that urban residents who switched from driving to cycling for just one trip per day reduced their carbon footprint by about half a tonne of CO₂ over the course of a year, and save the equivalent emissions of a one-way flight from London to New York. If just one in five urban residents permanently changed their travel behavior in this way over the next few years, we estimate it would cut emissions from all car travel in Europe by about 8%.

Cycling is ten times more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

People who cycled on a daily basis had 84% lower carbon emissions from their daily travel than those who didn’t. Additionally, if the average person switched from a car to a bike just one day a week, they cut their emissions by a carbon footprint o 3.2kg of CO2. Research showed that emissions from cycling can be 30 times lower than a fossil fuel car, and 10 times lower than an electric car.

A new study published in the peer-reviewed JAMA Network Open suggests that Americans may have gained 20 pounds over the course of the last year.

Notably, the study was very small and not extremely diverse. Only about 300 people participated in the study with the majority of the participants being white. The average age of the study was 51 and was almost evenly split between men and women.

Researchers analyzed data from participants in 37 states, and the District of Columbia taken over the course of February 1st, 2020 to June 1st, 2020. Data was collected from Bluetooth connected smart scales and researchers collected 7,444 weight measurements over the course of the study, around 28 measurements per person.

We know that weight gain is a public health problem in the U.S. already, so anything making it worse is definitely concerning, and shelter-in-place orders are so ubiquitous that the sheer number of people affected by this makes it extremely relevant.

How Much Weight Did We Gain During Lockdowns? 2 Pounds a Month, Study Hints

Obesity has been linked to a greater risk of Covid-19. Forty-two percent of Americans over the age of 20 have obesity, and an additional 32% of Americans are overweight.

Representative Cezar Mcknight (D-South Carolina) has received backlash after his proposal of a new bill. The bill titled the “South Carolina Vulnerable Child Compassion protection Act” bans minors from receiving gender-altering surgery or treatments that prevent/delay puberty. Any medical professional who violates the law would be charged with a felony and sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.

After the bill’s proposal, Mcknight received backlash from both his own party and those further left.

“I would not have ever put this bill forward if I didn’t think the people in my district wouldn’t be receptive, and they are. Pastors, young parents, older parents, they all tell me the same thing: if you want to do this, wait until you’re 18.”

While not explicitly stated, the language of the bill implies a ban on circumcision as well, stating:

…no person shall engage in, counsel, make a referral for, or cause any of the following practices to be performed upon a minor if the practice is performed for the purpose of attempting to alter the appearance of or affirm the minor’s perception of the minor’s gender or sex, if that perception is inconsistent with the minor’s sex as defined in this chapter:

(1)    prescribing, dispensing, administering, or otherwise supplying puberty-blocking medication to stop or delay normal puberty;

(2)    prescribing, dispensing, administering, or otherwise supplying supraphysiologic doses of testosterone or other androgens to females;

(3)    prescribing, dispensing, administering, or otherwise supplying supraphysiologic doses of estrogen to males;

(4)    performing surgeries that sterilize, including castration, vasectomy, hysterectomy, oophorectomy, orchiectomy, and penectomy;

(5)    performing surgeries that artificially construct tissue with the appearance of genitalia that differs from the individual’s sex, including metoidioplasty, phalloplasty, and vaginoplasty; or

(6)    removing any healthy or nondiseased body part or tissue.

To read more about the damages of circumcision check out this article.

The issue of gender reassignment surgery and hormone therapy for adolescents is an extremely nuanced topic. For more information on the issue, Joe Rogan has an excellent podcast episode with Abigail Shrier, author of “The Transgender Craze Seducing our Daughters” which you can listen to here.

The latest studies on masks estimate that humans are using 129 billion face masks each month, or around 3 million a minute. Experts have warned that mask pollution may be our next big plastic problem. The world health organization estimates 89 million medical masks are required each month for Covid response, with little chance of a decrease anytime soon.

A year ago U.S officials estimated the country would need 300 million face masks to meet the need for the pandemic. The company 3M made 550 million masks in 2019 and has plans to produce 2 billion masks this year, for as long as the pandemic lasts.

There’s no way to recycle plastic masks the same way there are plastic water bottles and other plastic products. Most disposable face masks are made of three layers that just continue to break down into smaller and smaller nanoparticles.

Like other plastic debris, “disposable masks may accumulate and release harmful chemical and biological substances, such as bisphenol A, heavy metals and pathogenic microorganisms,” according to Xu and Ren. Some of the toxic chemicals released during degradation of plastic polymers include phthalates, organotin, nonylphenol, polybrominated biphenyl ether and triclosan.

3 Million Masks a Minute: The Next Plastic Problem?

OceanAsia reports 52 billion face masks were produced in 2020. Of those, 1.56 billion masks were estimated to have ended up in the ocean. Using a reusable cotton mask is better for both your health and the environment.

A national survey of 977 parents with kids between the ages of 13-18 analyzed the mental health of teens since the beginning of the pandemic. Nearly half of parents have reported that their children are experiencing new or worse mental health problems since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

The poll was conducted by Ipsos the C.S Mott Children’s Hospital at the University of Michigan medical school.

The restrictions to control the spread of Covid-19 have kept teens at home “at the age they were primed to seek independence from their families,” said poll co-director Dr. Gary Freed, who is the Percy and Mary Murphy professor of pediatrics at the University of Michigan.

Nearly half of parents said teens face new or worsening mental health issues during pandemic, poll says

Parents of teen girls reported higher cases of depression and anxiety compared to boys. Thirty-one percent of teenage girls experienced depression compared to 18% of boys. Thirty-six% of teenage girls faced anxiety compared to 19% of boys. A quarter of parents have said that the pandemic has affected children’s sleep schedule.

A new report by Oxfam has shown that the ten richest men in the world have seen their wealth increase by half a trillion since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic a year ago. Meanwhile, many have lost their jobs with the unemployment rate peaking around 14%. The current unemployment rate is estimated to be 6.2%.

A recent report by Oxfam shows that “the world’s ten richest men have seen their combined wealth increase by half a trillion dollars since the pandemic began.” On the other hand, the majority of people have been ushered into “the worst jobs crisis in over 90 years with hundreds of millions of people now underemployed or out of work.” The report was titled “The Inequality Virus” and was published on the opening day of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) ‘Davos Agenda.’

World’s Ten Richest People See Wealth Increase By Half A Trillion Dollars Since Beginning of COVID

While the coronavirus took jobs and houses from people, Elon Musk surpassed Jeff Bezos as the richest man in the world. Jeff Bezos increased his net worth by 20% thanks to a surge in Amazon sales, and Bill Gates quietly bought up farmland becoming the countries largest farmland owner.

The Richest men in the world have more than enough money to make some of our larger financial problems go away. The housing crisis, world hunger, you name it. To try and comprehend just how much money the richest men in the world have, check out this wealth comparison chart.