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China
Trade Conflicts Growing with EU
China has imposed a tax on imports of brandy from Europe following the approval of tariffs on electric vehicles from China by the European Union. The government of France says China’s move is retaliation and an abuse of trade defense measures, and the European Commission says it will challenge China on the move at the World Trade Organization. The member states of the European Union voted last week to impose tariffs on electric vehicles from China, but the bloc’s two largest countries, France and Germany, disagreed with each other on the move. Now France, the largest supporter of the electric vehicle tariff and home to some of the world’s leading brandy producers, has the most to lose from China’s new tax. China, which called the electric vehicle tariff a breach of trade rules, has characterized the brandy tax as an “anti-dumping measure” meant to protect its domestic brandy producers.
This map depicts the votes by the countries of the European Union for or against a tariff on electric vehicles from China across the bloc. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Bloomberg
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United States
Pledge to Replace Lead Pipes
The White House has pledged to remove all lead water supply pipes across the country to reduce the negative health effects of contaminated drinking water. The Biden administration says this effort will prevent the collective loss of 200,000 IQ points and reduce the number of underweight newborns due to lead poisoning by at least a million. Municipal city utilities must replace lead supply pipes in the next 10 years. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says there are approximately 9 million lead pipes in use across the country today. Lead poisoning has been shown to cause irreversible damage like developmental issues, behavioral disorders, and low birth weight. Even though the federal government has banned lead pipes since 1986, there have been lags in updating older infrastructure.
This map depicts the numbers of people receiving water supply through lead pipes at the country level across the United States. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Daily Mail
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World
2030 Deforestation Goal Off Track
Research group Climate Focus reports that 15.7 million acres (6.37 million hectares) of forest were lost in 2023, creating a significant setback in the international goal of eliminating deforestation by 2030. This overshoot means deforestation worldwide is 45% more than the 10.9-million-acre (4.4-million-hectare) limit needed to meet the 2030 goal. Increases in deforestation are primarily due to changes in politics, road construction, and the demand for commodities like beef, soy, palm oil, and nickel, the collection of which can drive deforestation. In the fight against climate change, forests are crucial. They contain 80% of the world’s terrestrial animal and plant species, regulate water cycles, and sequester carbon. Researchers suggest voluntary changes to end deforestation will not be enough to stop it and that strengthening regulations and land rights of Indigenous peoples, increasing funding for forest protection, immunizing it to political and economic changes, and decreasing overconsumption of deforestation-driving commodities is critical.
This map depicts the targets countries intended to meet to end deforestation by 2030 and the actual amount of deforestation that occurred in 2023. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: In Roman times, what forest was named Silva Marciana (from the Germanic word marka, “border”) because it marked an imperial boundary?
A: Black Forest
The Black Forest is a large, forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is the source of the Danube and Neckar rivers. In Roman times (Late Antiquity), it was given the name Silva Marciana (“Marcynian Forest”, from the Germanic word marka, “border”). The Black Forest probably represented the border area of the Marcomanni (“border people”) who were settled east of the Roman limes (pronounced with two syllables “lim-es”) along the Danube. Limes is a term used primarily for the Germanic border defense or delimiting system of Ancient Rome marking the borders of the Roman Empire.
Source
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Q: What are the youngest and most densely populated mountains in Europe?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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