Perhaps apart from when the dinosaurs were around, the world is in its most turbulent times right now. A global pandemic, heated politics, climate change, and genocide, this moment in history certainly has a lot to look at it, and most of it isn’t beneficial. A reflection on recent events shows that these happenings have large effects on our planet as we know it today. How you and the people around you react to events will shape our future. One can not be idle in today’s issues, and action must be taken. 

A terrorist attack on the United States capitol is a huge contributor to our current history, and little consequences are being put in place. At the time of the attack, while Donald Trump was still president, just hours before the swearing-in of president-elect Joe Biden, Trump led a rally. In this rally, he encouraged his supporters to march on the capitol and called on them to “show strength, you have to be strong”. As Trump kept speaking, supporters of his began heading towards the capital, where there was already a growing crowd. The Trump supporters began clashing with police, pushing barricades, and throwing/spraying chemical agents. Police in full riot gear were deployed, but the barricades were overrun and protesters got inside of the capitol building. This was happening at the same time as the house of representatives was certifying the results of the election. Trump supporters broke into the building, and several people died throughout this event. One woman was shot by police, while another was trampled. Two other people died of a stroke and a heart attack. Many were left asking what the priorities of the country were, and why there wasn’t nearly as much police/protection at the capital as there was during the BLM protests of the summer of 2020. 250 people have been arrested on charges of conpiracy, destruction of property, theft, or other similary charges. This is not a very big number compard to the thousands of people there. This terrorist attack was a shocking way to start the year, and hopefully, nothing like it will happen again. 

In the year 2021, corruption is a common theme with little opposition. Who better to talk about then than one of the strongest anti-corruption persons in the world. Introducing Alexei Navalny, a man who has opposed Vladimir Putin as the president of Russia. Alexei runs the Russia of the Future party and has formed the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK). In July 2013 and 2014 he ran for minor political positions, such as mayor,  but only received 27% of the vote as opposed to a Putin nominated candidate who got the rest of the votes. He received a suspended sentence in 2013 for embezzlement. He received a second suspended sentence in Dec. 2014, also for embezzlement.  “Both cases were widely considered to be politically motivated and meant to bar him from running for future elections,” (Wikipedia). He tried to run for president in 2018 but was barred by Russia’s Central Electoral Committee (CEC). In August 2020, Navalny was poisoned with a deadly nerve agent called the Novichok agent. According to Wikipedia, a gram of this inhalable substance contains 5000 lethal doses. (There is a Youtube video in the works cited page which plays the audio of Alexei screaming in pain on the plane he was in after he was poisoned. Viewer discretion is advised.) Despite being exposed to one of, if not the most deadly nerve agent in recent history, Alexei survived after being medically transported to a Berlin medical facility. He then went to return to Russia after accusing the government of orchestrating the poisoning (it is worth noting that the Novichok agents were developed by the Soviets and Russia at a chemical research facility sometime between 1971 and 1993), where he was immediately detained for violating the parole that was associated with his suspended sentences. He is still currently being detained, even after mass protests and public outcry. He will spend two and half more years in jail, though the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has called for his release. Alexei will continue to fight for political freedom and freedom from corruption in his country.

This moment in history wouldn’t be complete without talking about the “re-education” camps in the Xinjiang region of China. Ethnic and religious minorities have been held against their will in these camps outside of the legal system, without being provided trial. “in Chinese authorities’ eyes, living the life of a Turkic Muslim is punishable.” (HRW). These camps are comparable to Japanese internment camps during WWII, with citizens being taken from their lives and families. “mass arbitrary detention, torture, forced political indoctrination, and mass surveillance” are some of the atrocities being committed at these camps. Other alleged acts include mistreatment, rape, and genocide. These people are being detained for erratic, inconsistent reasons. “His wife wore veils.” “He has one more child than allowed by the family planning policy.” “He prayed after each meal.” Economic sanctions against China have begun to be put into place as an effort to combat these camps. “The Trump administration announced sanctions Friday on a powerful government entity and two senior officials who have helped manage it, citing systemic human rights abuses against predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region in China’s far northwest.” (NYT) Other countries that have placed sanctions that include the UK and Australia. However, economic sanctions aren't stopping these atrocities. A massive breach of human rights is being committed in broad daylight, and nothing serious is being done about it. 

The Amazon rainforest is in a dire state and no one is trying to protect it. According to the World Wildlife Fund, 27% of the Amazon will be without trees by 2030. “With as much as 17% of the forest lost already, scientists believe that the tipping point will be reached at 20% to 25% of deforestation.” (Time) This means that without drastic measures and billions of dollars in the next 5 to 10 years, the rainforest will be lost. The water cycle in that region will become broken, locked in long dry seasons and lower amounts of rainfall. (Time)  421,774 sq kilometers of the Amazon has been deforested from 1985 to 2016. In terms of deforestation in 2021, that’s an area almost the size of Texas. The Amazon rainforest is located in Brazil, whose current president is Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro has been named the number one person of the year in organized crime and corruption by the OCCRP (Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project). He has gutted protections and allowed illegal logging to take place. “Cattle farming accounts for up to 80% of deforested land” (Time) While deforestation is devastating to the ecosystem, turning it into cattle farms does more harm. Insane amounts of land are used to produce feed for cows, which destroys soil. Cows also produce methane gases which contribute to global warming and climate change. A slaughterhouse in Jaru will kill one cow every 8 seconds after its current expansion is completed. The Amazon and her species need protection, and they need it now. 

In our day and age, it seems like every day is a chance for another bad thing to happen. This year alone we had a terrorist attack in January and record-breaking winter storms in February. Our environment is filled with climate change, corruption, politics, and all sorts of nonsense. This is a crucial time in humanity’s history, and what we chose to do now will likely have a great effect on our future. Inaction will surely result in unfavorable consequences. The world is in a rough state, and it needs our help. 

Works Cited

“Alexei Navalny.” Wikipedia, 16 Feb. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexei_Navalny 

Davidson, Helen. “China in Darkest Period for Human Rights since Tiananmen, Says Rights Group.” The Guardian, 13 Jan. 2021, www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/13/china-in-darkest-period-for-human-rights-since-tiananmen-says-rights-group 

iefimerida news. “Airplane Alexey Navalny.” YouTube, 20 Aug. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxPcttf_f14  Accessed 3 Mar. 2021.

Litvinova, Daria. “Navalny Releases Recording of Call to His Alleged Poisoner.” AP NEWS, 21 Dec. 2020, apnews.com/article/alexei-navalny-poisoning-underpants-202f470c2d1c19151b9deb564d94e8f9  Accessed 3 Mar. 2021.

“Novichok Agent.” Wikipedia, 7 Dec. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novichok_agent

Sandy, Matt. “The Amazon Rain Forest Is Nearly Gone. We Went to the Front Lines to See If It Could Be Saved.” Time, 2019, time.com/amazon-rainforest-disappearing/

Staff, OCCRP. “Jair Bolsonaro.” OCCRP, www.occrp.org/en/poy/2020/.

Swanson, Ana, and Edward Wong. “U.S. Adds Sanctions over Internment of Muslims in China.” The New York Times, 7 Aug. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/07/31/us/politics/sanctions-china-xinjiang-uighurs.html 

Wang, Maya. “More Evidence of China’s Horrific Abuses in Xinjiang.” Human Rights Watch, 20 Feb. 2020, www.hrw.org/news/2020/02/20/more-evidence-chinas-horrific-abuses-xinjiang#