Zero to savvy in 5 minutes
 | |||
| Follow us... | |||
 |  | ||
Amazon Rainforest
The world's largest tropical rainforest.
It covers much of northwestern Brazil, as well as parts of Columbia, Peru, and other South American countries. The Amazon river, as well as thousands of others, passes through it.
It it referred to as the Earth's lungs because its trees absorb greenhouse gases from the air and creates 5 percent of the planet's oxygen.
Facts about the Amazon fires (2019-Aug-23)
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)
Region in northeast Alaska that is the country's largest wildlife refuge. It is one of the most pristine ecosystems on Earth.
It is home to polar bears, migratory birds, and caribou.
It also is considered to be rich in oil.
For more, read the National Geographic story.
Website: www.fws.gov/refuge/arctic
Biden suspends ANWR oil drilling (2021-Jun-01)
Biden reverses Trump environmental rules (2021-Jan-20)
Trump orders ANWR drilling leases (2020-Nov-16)
Congressional Republicans pass tax reduction. Who benefits? (2017-Dec-20)
Arctic oil exploration could resume in December (2017-Jul-13)
Obama bans oil drilling off much of Alaska and east coast (2016-Dec-20)
Arctic drilling banned through 2022 (2016-Nov-18)
Belarus
Eastern European country that had been part of the former Soviet Union.
Russia releases sex worker after silence pledge about Trump (2019-Feb-15)
Crimea
A peninsula in the Black Sea just south of Ukraine and west of Russia.
A simple history of Crimea's national affiliation...
o 1954: Russia "transfers" Crimea to Ukraine. However, both Russia and Ukraine are part of what was then the Soviet Union.
o 1991: The Soviet Union is dissolved. Ukraine becomes independent. Crimea becomes an autonomously governed part of Ukraine. However, Russia maintains its naval base at Sevastapol.
o 2014: Russian troops occupy Crimea and Russia annexes it.
o 2018: Russia completes a 12-mile bridge linking Russia to Crimea. There had been no previous direct road link between mainland Russia and Crimea.
For more on Crimea, read this Bloomberg story.
For more on the political situation in Crimea, read this BBC story.
For a perspective on why Russia annexed Crimea, read this Foreign Affairs analysis.
Trump administration imposes Russia sanctions (2018-Apr-06)
Dozens of Trump aides lose top-secret clearances (2018-Feb-28)
Great Lakes
A group of five large freshwater lakes on the United States - Canada border. They contain a fifth of the Earth's surface fresh water.
The lakes are..
o Lake Superior
o Lake Erie
o Lake Ontario
Greenland Ice Sheet
A sheet of ice covering most of Greenland. It is the second largest body of ice on Earth (the largest is the Antartic ice sheet).
It contains almost 10 percent of all the Earth's fresh water.
Its average thickness is 1.5 miles. If melted, it would cause the sea level to rise more than 20 feet.
Click here for more on the Greenland Ice Sheet.
Referenced by...Coastal communities worldwide could flood by 2030 (2021-Sep-13)
Guantánamo Bay
(Coming)
Independence Hall
Building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were debated and adopted.
Mar-a-Lago
Donald Trump's luxury resort in Florida.
As president, Trump has routinely used Mar-a-Lago to host official visitors or perform other official U.S. business.
Website: www.MaralagoClub.com.
Referenced by...Trump profits from Secret Service (2020-Sep-20)
Trump associates charged with campaign violations (2019-Oct-10)
New pedophile charges against Trump friend Epstein (2019-Jul-08)
Trump profits most from his properties that he visits (2017-Jul-18)
Bill would require presidents to disclose visitors (2017-Mar-23)
Issue: Trump's Enrichment
National Monument: Bears Ears
A 1.35 million acre area in Utah. Indigenous people lived on the land for thousands of years, leaving artifacts that date back 5,000 years. It also is a recreational visitor attraction.
Bear Ears also leases land for grazing and oil and gas extraction.
In Dec. 2016, President Barack Obama invoked the Antiquities Act to designate it a national monument. That means existing leases can continue, but no new leases can be issued.
In 2016, Rep. Rob Bishop introduced an alternative plan that would allow for mineral extraction, energy development, and road construction at Bears Ears.
For a local look at Bears Ears National Monument, read this Telluride News story.
Referenced by...Biden reverses Trump environmental rules (2021-Jan-20)
Administration proposes land sale from national monument (2018-Aug-15)
Trump orders review of National Monuments (2017-Apr-26)
National Monument: Grand Staircase-Escalante
A national monument in Utah.
It was established in 1996 by President Bill Clinton under the 1906 Antiquities Act.
Click here for a look at Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
Referenced by...Administration proposes land sale from national monument (2018-Aug-15)
Northern Mariana Islands
U.S. commonwealth consisting of 14 islands in the Pacific Ocean.
Source: Google Maps
For more, visit the Department of the Interior website.
Website: www.gov.mp.
Labor Sec. Acosta resigns. Replacement fought worker rights (2019-Jul-12)
Soviet Union (USSR)
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) - or Soviet Union for short - was a nation comprised of several nations that it had appropriated.
It existed from 1922 to 1991.
Its nations, along with Russia, were...
o Azerbaijan
o Belarus
o Estonia
o Georgia
o Kazakhstan
o Kyrgyzstan
o Latvia
o Lithuania
o Moldova
o Tajikistan
o Turkmenistan
o Ukraine
o Uzbekistan
For more, vist www.WorldAtlas.com.
Trump Tower
A condominium and office skyscraper in New York.
It is the private residence of Donald Trump, as well as the main office of his businesses.
Trump profits most from his properties that he visits (2017-Jul-18)
Ukraine
Eastern European country that had been part of the former Soviet Union.
In 1991 it became an independent country again. It has since gone through periods when its policies were more aligned with Russia, and others where its policies were more aligned with western Europe and the United States.
Trump associates charged with campaign violations (2019-Oct-10)
Trump pressured Ukranian president to investigate Biden (2019-Sep-23)
Trump inaugural committee investigated for corruption (2018-Dec-13)
Trump's former campaign manager convicted (2018-Aug-21)
Trump won't impose required Russia sanctions (2018-Feb-02)
Bill limits president's power to lift Russian sanctions (2017-Aug-02)
Paul Manafort proposed influence plan to Russia 10 years ago (2017-Mar-22)
Trump fires Sec. of State Tillerson (2016-Dec-12)
Issue: Mueller's Indictments
Yazoo-Mississippi Delta
The delta of the Yazoo River between the Yazoo and Mississippi rivers. It also is referred to as the Mississippi Delta.
It consists of the northwest section of Mississippi and parts of Arkansas and Louisiana.
Due to a combination of factors aggravated by Global Warming, flooding has made the delta among the fastest-disappearing lands on Earth.
For more about the delta, including its history , read the Southern Spaces article.
Referenced by...Mississippi Delta under water for six months (2019-Aug-06)