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Australian and Western US wildfires
Australia experienced the worst fire season with 6% of the country in flames and nearly 3M animals killed, Australian state of New South Wales declaring its 3rd state of emergency within the past three months. Western United States faced similar record-breaking wildfires later in 2020. These examples illustrate the consequences of global warming harming the environment because hotter weather and winds helped spread these fires. -
COVID-19 arrives
World Health Organization introduces the world to a novel coronavirus appearing in China causing respiratory disease referred to as 2019-nCoV (later known as COVID-19). It declares the disease outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The global pandemic later resulted in simultaneous country lockdowns, unprecedented deaths, and changed the way societies interacted (“social distancing”). -
The UK leaves the EU
United Kingdom (UK) becomes the first to withdraw officially from the European Union (EU), international organization promoting peace and free trade among its members. “Brexit” came more than three years since 51+% of people from England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Gibraltar voted for its exit (Willingham). Leaving the trading bloc enables the UK to broker different trade agreements with non-EU countries; yet, trading between the UK and EU may require paperwork and taxes. -
Pandemic contributes to global recession
That includes Dow Jones suffering its worst single-day point drop (-2997.10) “According to…forecasts, global economy will shrink by 5.2% this year--deepest recession since Second World War” (World Bank). Effects of global recession on labor markets are: rise in unemployment rates among major economies, contributing to increased government intervention (e.g., US CARES Act) to mitigate economic impact like governments intervening during the Great Depression. -
Prices and demand for crude oil dropped because of the pandemic lockdown which included travel restrictions
The price of West Texas Intermediate crude tanked 300%: first time oil prices traded at a negative price (-$37/barrel) (Lee).
Although the market impact was temporary because demand increased after travel restrictions were loosened, the pandemic stimulated a historically low market price which convinced OPEC to reduce oil production (Before 2020 annual oil production had been trending upward). -
George Floyd's tragic death by a cop sparks the global movement "BLACK LIVES MATTER"
The protests called for racial equality in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Australia, South Africa and other countries. These social justice protests are significant because they were global and largely interracial—compared with protests in 1960s. According to The New York Times, about 95% of countries that protested were majority white, which is different compared to past protests that were mainly African American in the 1960s. -
Abraham Accords were signed by Israel, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain normalizing each country’s relationship with Israel
Since the formation of a Jewish nation state in 1948 on land previously called Palestine, Israel has experienced conflicts with Palestians and Arab nations. The formal recognition of Israel by two Arab countries hoped to signify the start of sociopolitical peace among the Middle Eastern countries. -
World Health Organization approved Comirnaty COVID-19 mRNA vaccine for emergency use to suppress attack rate, making it the 1st vaccine to receive validation since the outbreak
Technological advancement enabled this vaccine’s development within a year (substantially faster than for most vaccines). If it were not for ongoing research and development sponsored by pharmaceutical companies, this pandemic could have higher global case rates, like the Spanish flu. -
A new COVID-19 variant is found
UK Kent COVID-19 strain is set to become the dominant strain globally after the strain was detected in over 50 countries. “Kent variant” is 70% more transmissible and much deadlier than existing variants of the coronavirus (Cage, et al.).
The discovery of this mutation is significant because it could increase the proliferation of the pandemic and counteract the effects of the vaccines. -
Pfizer Vaccine is approved for 12-15 year-olds
FDA expands emergency use authorization for Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to include adolescents ages 12 to 15. Lowering the age restrictions enables more Americans to be vaccinated and protected against COVID-19--hopefully, mitigating the number infected by the virus and aiding the country’s return to normalcy (FDA). -
Israel and Hamas (Islamic militant group) agreed to cease-fire after two weeks of fighting in Jerusalem.
Similar to the implications after the East and West Pakistan partition from India and the Communists who monitored Berlin traffic after WWII, the creation of Israel from Palestine and the division of Jerusalem and East Jerusalem resulted in decades of conflict between differing groups. As of May 26th, both sides have upheld the agreement, hopefully stabilizing peace. (NY Times) -
Sources
Cage, Feilding, et al. “Variant of Concern.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 26 Mar. 2021.
“Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Authorizes Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for Emergency Use in Adolescents in Another Important Action in Fight Against Pandemic.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, 10 May 2021.
“COVID-19 to Plunge Global Economy into Worst Recession since World War II.” World Bank, 8 June 2020. -
Sources
Forgey, Quint. “'The Dawn of a New Middle East': Trump Celebrates Abraham Accords with White House Signing Ceremony.” POLITICO, POLITICO, 15 Sept. 2020.
History.com Editors. “2020: The Year in Events.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 17 Dec. 2020.
Lee, Nathaniel. “How Negative Oil Prices Revealed the Dangers of the Futures Market.” CNBC, CNBC, 16 June 2020. -
Sources
Lindsay, James M. “Ten Most Significant World Events in 2020.” Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign Relations, 17 Dec. 2020.
“Live Updates: Cease-Fire Between Israel and Hamas Holds on Day One.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 May 2021
Salo, Jackie. “2020 Events: Yep, These Things All Happened in the Year from Hell.” New York Post, New York Post, 31 Dec. 2020. -
Sources
“WHO Issues Its First Emergency Use Validation for a COVID-19 Vaccine and Emphasizes Need for Equitable Global Access.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 31 Dec. 2020.
Willingham, AJ. “2020 Has Changed Everything. And It's Only Half Over.” CNN, Cable News Network, 3 July 2020.