04/22/20 04/22/20 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] eco-from new yorork city, the epicenteter of thehe pandemic, s is democracy now! >> we must put our differences aside and listen to the signs and the experts. humanity has to stand together in solidarity and leave no one behind. then when this is finally over, we must s start buildlding a rel sustaiainable society within n e

plplanetary boboundaries.. amy: t that was swswedish climie actitivist gretata thunbergg. today marks the 50th anniversary than 20 day, when more million americans joined in actions to protect the environment -- 10% of the u.s. population at the time. half a century later in the middle of the pandemic, protests playing around the world have moved online and the trump administration has gutted the environmental protection agency established not long after earth day, rolled back fuel economy standards and eased the enforcement of pollution regulations. we will talk with author and 350.org founder bill mckibben about how he can build a hardier world after the coronavirus and why he is demanding on this earth day stop the money pipeline. >> the f fossil fuelel industry requires the massive influlux of constant fundiding from the e bg

banks, frorom the b big insurane compmpanies, andnd the big assst mamanagers. literally, that money is the oxygen on which global warming burns. amy: we will also go to chile to speak with angela valenzuela, youth activists and former coordinatotor for fridayays for fututure chile. then to africa where some 260 5 million people who are expected to f face acute hunger is the coronavivirus crisis couldd trir a second pandemic of hunger. >> if this coronavirus does not -- [indiscernible] let me tell you, most of my peopople, they don't eat. amy:y: we will s speak with souh african activist k kumi naidoo, from her general of amnesty international and former head of greenpeace. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democraracy now!,

demomocracynowow.org, the ququae report. i'm amy gogoodman. cororonavirus infefections conte to c climb worldwide. officially at 2.5 million confirmed cases and 178,000 deaths linked to covid-19, that the true toll is certain to be far, far higher. a top united nations official warned tuesday governments must act t immediately to prevent the second pandemic of hunger from economic freefall unleashed by the virus. david beasley, executive director of the world food programme, told the u.n. security council tuesday the number of hungry people worldwidide could sosoon doubleo 265 5 million unleless urgent ts are taken. >> there are no famines yet, but i must warn youou if we don't prepare and act now, , to secure access, avoidid shortfalls, and disruptions of trade, we could

be f facing multiple famines of biblicalal proportrtions withina short few months. amy: the un security council was meeting virtutually online. in the u united states, the epicenter of the pandemic, the dedeath toll from covid-19 has topped 45,000. on tuesday, the u.s. senate approved $484 billion in new coronavirus aid on a voice vote, with many senators remaining at home due to the pandemic. the bill adds another $310 billion to the paycheck protection program providing loans to small businesses, $75 billion for hospitals, $25 billion for testing, and $60 billion for emergency disaster loans and grants. the house is expected to vote on the legislation today. the bill provides no new stimulus checks for u.s. households, no additional money for food stamps, no limits on fossil fuel bailouts, no funds for election security, no bailout for the u.s. postal service postal service, and no additional funds for hard-hit

state and local governments. democratic congressmember alexandria ocasio-cortez told msnbc tuesday, lawmakers are failing to provide for millions of unemployed people who are unable to pay rent and increaeasingly at risk o of goig huhungry. >> we are abdicicating reresponsibility. we h have not l legislated for a month and thohousands of peoeope are dying.g. thousands of p people are dying every day.y. and we are talking about c comig back and every time we passed one of these bills,s, we are hearing the real solutioion is comiming in thehe next bill ande next bill and d the nenext bill. at some point,t, we have to o re our hands and sayay, when is the solution coming? because two months of rent are going to pass by before we are even entertaining a real bill. amy: the house and senate have extended their recesses another two weeks, until may 4. progressive lawmakers are demanding $2000 monthly payments to u.s. households and open enrollment in medicare for uninsured and unemployoyed peope

when lawmakers take up another round of funding, the so-called phase four coronavirus bill. the trump organinization is seeking rent relief fofor the trump inteternational hohotel in wawashington, d.c., which is housed in a federally-owned building leased by the trump administration. the watchdog group common cause tweeted in response -- "this is what we call a conflict of interest. also known as corruption or unconstitutional emoluments violations." new york governor andrew cuomo traveled to washington, d.c., tuesday for talks with president trump at the white house, where the pair reportedly agreed to ramp up diagnostic testing for covid-19 in new york. nearly 15,000 new yorkers have died of the disease, with more than a quarter million testing positive, though the true infection rate is certain to be far higher due to a critical shortage of testing capacity. meanwhile, scores of immigrant rights activists drove their cars through a largely-empty

times square in manhattan tuesday, blaring their horns in a protest demanding emergency cash benefits for undocumented workers. governor cuomo has so far refused to follow california's example by aiding immigrants who did not qualify for the federal government's $1200 coronavirus relief payments. in wisconsin, health officials in milwaukee report at least seven people contracted the coronavirus at polling places during the controversial primary elections on april 7. state officials worry that number could climb as more data about election day-related infections becomes available. in-person voting proceeded after the conservative majority on the wisconsin supreme court overturned an order by goverernr tony evers to delay in-p-person voting until early june. in south dakota, a second worker at a massive smithfield pork processing plant has died of covid-19.

at least 760 coronavirus cases are linked to the plant, which shut down indefinitely last week as cases exploded. in iowa, local officials are urging governor kim rereynolds o shut down the tyson foods pork plplant in wataterloo as at leat 90% of coronavirus cases in black hawk countnty are traced back to the tyson plant workers. in raleigh, north carolina, an estimated people flouted social 1000 distancing guidelines tuesday to hold a protest at the state capitol demanding a lifting of remain-at-home orders. protesters waved anti-vaccination signs and called for the firing of top u.s. infectious disease expert dr. anthony fauci. hundreds more gathered in jefferson city, missouri, for a similar protest. recent anti-quarantine protests were organized by freedomworks and tea party patriots, backed by koch industries, as well as the far right group minnesota gun rights, and a conservative network linked to the family of education secretary betsy devos.

on tuesday, attorney general william barr said the justice department may take legal action against govevernors whwho contie to order residents to remain at homeme during the pandememic. outside the white house, dozens of nurses held a protest and vigil tuesday, reading the names of 50 hehealthcare workers who have died after becoming infected by the coronavirus on the job. >> [indiscernible] amy: the protest was organized by national nurses united, which is demanding the occupational safety and health administration require adequate personal protective e equipment for healthcare workers. >> i would help anyone until i i couldn't, but i can't help sick. if i am dead or

amy:y: last week, the centers fr disease control and prprevention reporteded healthcare e workerse 9200 tested d positive for cocovid-19, thouough the cdc ads ththe true rate is likely mumuch higher. inin california, the santa c cla county medicalal examiner on tuesday saidid two people died f covid-19 on fefebruary 6 and 17, weekeks before washington state reported the first u.s. fatality from the disease on february 28. the finding adds to mounting evidence that the coronavirus was circulating in the united states much earlier than previously thought. a new study funded by the national institutes of health has found coronavirus patients administered the drugs hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin had a higher death rate than those receiving standard care alone. on tuesday, a panel of experts at the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases recommended against the use of the drugs, saying they increase the risk of sudden cardiac death in patients.

president trump has repeatedly touted the drugs as a miracle cure for covid-19. in march, he tweeted "they have a real chance to be one of the biggest game changers in the history of medicine." meanwhile, robert redfield, the director of the centers for disease control and prevention, warned tuesdsday that a second wave of coronavirus infections may sweep the united states next winter, which could be even deadlier than the first wawave since it would coincidide with e flu season. hundreds of workerers called in sisick tuesday at amazon warehouses around the united states, demanding paid time off work while improved safety measures are implemented. this is jordan flowers, a worker at amazon's vast jfk-8 warehouse in staten island, new yoyork ci. >> we haveve over 50 plus covid cases at our warehouse. we are putting our lives at risk, and are commmmunities at risk our families at risk, most

importantly, our c customers at risk stop we need jeff bezos too close down these warehouses and have two weeks paid lleave. when he gogovernor cuomo to clen up amazon. to return toning work no time soon. amy: president trump said tuesday he will issue an executive order suspending permanent reresidency applications, or green c cards, for the next 60 days. pres. trump: suppressing immigration will help put unemployed americans first in line for jobs as america reopens. so,. it would be wrong and unjust for americans laid out by the virus to be replaced with new in fromt labor flown abroad. amy: as president trumpmp, however, will not suspend visas fofor temporary f farmworkers wo are essentiaial to the country's food supply. in t texas, twtwo dozen asylum seekers at t the for-prorofit praiairieland detentioion center near dallas have tested positive for covid-19.

in arizona, asylum seekers jailed at the la palma correctionalal center near phoex are receiving waivers from corecivic, freeing the for-profit prison company from liability if immigrant prisoners contract covid-19. in exchange, corecivic will provide prisoners with a single face mask to use indefinitely. the forms, written in spanish, read in part -- "i understand and accept that i must complete and sign this form in order to use a face mask at corecivic facilities." in michigan, 60-year-old prisoner william garrison died of covid-19 on april 13, just days before he was set to be released on parole because his age made him vulnerable to the coronavirus. garrison had served 44 years in prison after he was convicted of murder as a 16-year-old. in ohio, more than 1800 prisoners and over 100 prison staff have now tested positive for covid-19 at the marion correctional institution. the prison is now the nation's leading coronavirus hotspot.

in arkansas, governor asa hutchinson announced tuesday that nearly 40% of the state's coronavirus cases are concentrated at the cummins maximum security prison, where some 850 prisoners have tested positive. in southerern greece 148 8 asylm , seseekers have t tested posite for r covid-19 at t a hotel convnverted into a a quarantine cecenter for migigrants. most o of those ininfected are single parents from the democratic republic of the congo and cameroon. this follolows two otherer coronavirus outbrereaks at crowd migranant camps nearar athens. mexican officials say the country hahas entered its most severe stage i in the spread o f the cocoronavirus, what they rer to as phase three, as cases surge, with the death toll topping 2600. meanwhile, hundreds of factory workers in ciudad juarez protested on monday demanding a closure of maquiladora assembly plants along the u.s.-mexico border, where at least four workers in u.s.-owned factories have died of covid-19.

>> they y say we are under quarantine and w we should be en our homes this company is not closed because it is essential. people are desperate to buy -- as a people are desperate to buy stoves or washing machines. now the most important thing is to be safe at home. we have children and we are risking our children's help by coming to work host up amy: also in mexico, chihuahua state officials say covid-19 deathths have increased nearly six-x-fold within 10 days in ciudad juarez. at least 13 of those deaths were of employees working at u.s.-run maquiladoras. meananwhile the pentagon is s ug mexico to reopen factories that were shuttered amid the papandec as many u.s. weapons manufacturers rely o on mexican labor. back in the ununited states, president t trump promised tuesy to bail out u.s. fossil fufuel producers after an unprecedented collapse in oil l markets pushed benchmark crude prices into negatitive territoryry, meaninge traderers were payining customeo offload oioil.

on tuesday, trump tweeted -- "we will never let the great u.s. oil & gas industry down. i have instructed the secretary of energy and secretary of the treasury to formulate a plan which will make funds available so that these very important companies and jobs will be secured long into the future." in response, journalist and activist naomi klein wrote -- "democrats need to counter with a sweeping plan to cover the full salaries of fossil fuel workers while they retrain for the clean economy. time to wind down this abusive industry that has always relied on massive public subsidies." this week, oxford university passed a resolution requiring its endowment fund to divest from fossil fuel companies. at harvard, president larry bacow said tuesday his university would move its 40 billion-dollar endowment to carbon investments by 2050. the student group divest harvard called the plan too little, too late, writing in a statement -- "by evading divestment, harvard is once again standing with fossil fuel companies and against its students' futures." after headlines, we'll speak

with environmentalist bill mckibben, founder of 350.org, about the collapse of fossil fuel markets and the pandemic on this day, the 50th anniversary of earth day. anand iran said wednesesday it s launched its firirst militaryy satetellite into o orbit after a series o of launch attttempts lt year ended in failure. iriran hasas long accused the ud states of a covert program of sabotage targeting its aerospace supply chain, and last year president trump seemed to confirm the program in a tweet taunting iran following a mysteriousus explosion a at a rt lalaunch site. and d those are some of the headlinenes. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the ququarante report. i'm amy goodman. with juan gonzalez. we're broadcasting from the center of the pandemic in new york city. juan is in new jerersey, the number two statete to this pandemic. juan: good day to all our listeners and viewers across the country and around the woworld. amy: today marks the 50th

anniversary ofof earth day, started have a century ago by wisconsin senator gaylord nelson as a national teach in on the national environonment. in 1970, more than 20 million americans participated in earth day events from coast to coast -- 10% of the population at the time. later that year, congress established the environmental protection agency and passed landmark laws to protect air and water quality, marine mammals and endangered species. eartrth day lookoks quite didift a half century later, in the midst t of t the pandemimic, ass and prprotests plalanned arounue world have moved online. it comes as the trump administration has gutted fuel economy standards and eased the enforcement of pollution regulations, and the environmental protection agency has implemented its "secret science" rule that limits the use of studies that don't make their underlying data public. this year's earth day also comes in an election year. more than 50 scientists, including prominent climate experts, released a letter this

week endorsing former vice president joe biden, writing -- "we are confident that, unlike president trump, joe biden will respect, collaborate with, and listen to leaders in the scientific community and public health experts to confront the existential climate crisis and other environmental threats." last week, senator bernie sanders endorsed biden with an announcement of plans to form a joint policy task force on climate, and biden said expanding his climate platform is a "key objective." this comes as trump promised tuesday to bail out u.s. fossil fuel producers after an unprecedented cocollapse in oil markets. meanwhile, oxford university has just passed a resolution requiring its endowment fund to divest from fossil fuel companies, andnd harvard's president said tuesday his university would divest from plans to decarbonize its endowment by 2050, which the student group divest harvard condemned,d, saying -- "harvard is once againin standig with fossil fuel c companies and against its students' futures." to talk about how far we've come since the first earth day 50

years agago and the challenges ahead, we are joined by bibill mckibben from his home in vermont. author, educator environmentalist, and co-founder , of 350.org. in his recent piece for the nation he writes, "this earth day, stop the money pipeline." his piece in the new yorker asks, "how we can build a hardier world after the coronavirus." his latest book is "falter: has the human game begun to play itself out?" bill, thank you for rejoining us on democracy now! can you talk about the significance of this 50th anniversary of earth day and where we stand h half a century afafter that april 22, 191970? >> absolutely. [indiscernible] 50 years ago, [indiscernible]

amy: bill, we are having trouble with your line. we're going t to reconnect with you and take a break. while we do that, bill mckibben is author, educator, environment list co-fofounder of 350.org. inter we speak to bill vermont, are going to london to speak with kumi naidoo, the first african to head greenpeace. use the former head of greenpeace and the former hehead of amnesty interernational. then we are heading to chchile. this is demomocracy now! we will be back in a moment. ♪ [music break]

amy: earth day network present dharti ma, a tribute to earth.

commemorating earth dates 50t0th and -- e earth day'' is 5050th anniversary. the theme is "climate action." this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman. gonzalelez. as we mark this 50th anniversary of earth day started have a century ago. 10% of the u.s. population particicipated in evenents. we are joined by bill mckibben, ,ho is the founder of 350.org authoror, educacator, envivironmentalistst. his latetest book "falter: has e , , human game begun to playay itself out?" hihis recent piece in the new yorker "how we can build a , hardier world after the coronavirus." in the nation "this earth day, , stop the money pipeline." bill, we hope we have a better connection. talk about the significance of this earth day 50 yearss later anand what neededs to happen non the midst of this pandemic. >> thank you for bearing with me

in the midst of all of the rearrangements we are all making in our lives. 50 years ago come as you say, probabably thehe biggest day of polititical action i in american history. it came out of the fury over the dirty air and the dirty water that marked our country. people were wearing surgical too, but tors ago, protest the almost breathable air -- an breathable air. the kind of air we see in places like beijing and delhi. those early wires, we owe a great debt of thanks to because they changed the zeitgeist in the wake of that massive show a protest. president nixon signed the endangered species act of the clean air act, clean water act, everything else kemal of the act that donald trump is systematically trying to gut. that was a remarkable accomplishmement in air and watr are cleaner, but we did nonot me

the kind of systemic fundamental changes that we would have needed to head off the much deeper environmental perils that faces now. in the last 50 years, the temperature has obviously gone sharply up. we have lost half the cis -- sea ice. we have lost some of the biggest living things on earth, the great barrier reef, large parts of our rain forest, half the wild animals in the world are dead now compared to 40 years ago. those are remarkable changes that need to be met with remarkable upsurge again in protest and action and we are seeing some of that and we are seeing some of it today -- albeit, online at the 72 hours of earth day life that begins at 9:00 on earth day morning. struggle, a deeper

structural then we have ever seen before. and the salience of that struggle is highlighted as we deal with the pandemic. of messages that come out this strange moment in human history? one, reality is real. ordern't fight with forced to negotiate or compromise chemistry or physics or biology. the covid my robe in the carbon oxide molecule are immune matter how much our president yells at them. if they say stand six feet apart, we stand six feet apart. if they say it is time to stop burning coal and gas and oil, that is what we need to do. similarly, we are learning lessons about to lay and timing that are crucial. the countries that flattened the

coronavirus curve early on are doing far better than those like ours which delayed. that is a pretty perfect analog to the 30 years that we have wasted in the climate crisis. powerfully thest lesson we are learning is social solidarity is a must everything. amy, this era in our political life began in essence with ronald reagan announcing the nine scariest words in the english language were "i'm from the government and i'm here to help." those are not the scariest words. the scariest words are "we have run out of ventilators." hillside behind your house has caught t on fire" those things we can only faface together. maybybe, maybe we are seeing the beginning g of the end o of this doctrinene of every man for himself.

juan: bill, , i wanted to ask y, , , ironically, this pandemic has led to a situauatin where the air on earth is probably cleananer -- i thininku remamarked -- than a any time in recent memory as a result of so many planes being grounded, so -- thers unable passengers get into them and so much industry ground to a halt. i'm wondering your thoughts about howow the pandemic is goig to affect ththe battle over clclimate chanange in the futur? earththere are people on for getting their first long. clean air in their lives -- air in theirulls of

lives. [indiscernible] there is definitely a kind of -- even as we all of the horror of this pandemic [inaudible] people who are glimpsing the way the wororld should be. [indiscernible] amy: bill, we're going to try to fix this feet a little better.r. i do want to read what trurump twtweeted again. we set i it earlier. he saiaid -- john "we will never let the great u.s. oil and gas industry down. i have instructed the secretary

of energy and the secretary of the treasury to formulate a plan which will make funds available so that these very important companies and jobs will be secured long into the future." respond bill mckibben, to what he is sasaying right now inin the midst of ththis pandem? >> the great oil and gas industry has been subsidized for 100 years with trillions of dodollars in taxaxpayer money.y. --ow there is no demand product. [indiscernible] industry is in huge trouble. we saw great news yesterday when oxford university divested from fossil fuel on the theory you could never -- that it is both immoral and economical. more good news this morning when the american university did the

same thing in the state. these are powerful signs. all that is left is the political juice and trump will do everything he can to try to bail them out with our money. we have got to try and make s se that doesn't happen. the workers get protected, that we have a just transition for people who, through no fault of their own, are employed in that induststry. but it is folly of the highest order to contitinue subsidizingn industry that, a, is breaking a planet, and, b, no longer makes economic sense. juan: i would ask you ababout cutting off the money spigot for the fossil fuel indusustry. the announcemement recently of --igroup ththat they are going the third lalargest bank in the united states, that they're going to from now on not invest coal-firered power plants.

is this movement beginning to have a reaeal impact on the fifinancial underpinningngs of e fossil fuel l industryry? , it sure is. about the pandemic from an you, thispoint of organization is cresting and there would have been doing deaf people doing nonviolent civil disobedience and probably have to chase bank people around america, some arrested at the first -- this orgaganization iss cresting and there would have been people doing nonviolent civil disobediencece and probaby have chase bank pepeople around america, some arrested at first. -- it is been growing probably the biggest victory was to make ake rock series of announcements.

this is the biggest asset manager on earth. really the biggest box of money on the planet. getting them to make a series of announcements about the new climate policies. now we a are monitororing to sef they're serious about it, to see if they're actctually doing g i. one of the first t tests will ce next month when chase bank tries to reappoint 81-year-old lee raymond to the lead post of lead independent director. he is the guy who read exxon for 15 years in the years when it was pioneering corporate climate denial. and now he runs the board of the biggest fossil fuel funder on earth. that is the kind of thing that needs to stop. whatt happens even amidst the pandemic. amy: and what t the council be votining? you u just had a virtual news conference with city council members? >> brad landers another city council members announced monday

they worse eking to help cut ties between the city and banks like chase that don't take climate change seriously. that is a big deal because citi used to do a lot of business with these guys. one of the difference -- we pressured the fossil fuel companies very hard integrate effect. the divestment campaign is the biggest anticorporate campaign in history now. $14 trillion. the fossil fuel industry -- they only know how to do one thing. if you're a bank like chase, you lend them a lot of money, but it is still only 6% or 7% of your business. you might change and change fast if you have sufficient pressure, and that is the pressure that people are building now. amy: and the livestream of the three days of celebrations, bill mckibben, in thehe midst of this pandemic? where cacan people go? and your final comment on what

this pandemic can mean. arundhati roy talalks about the pandemic is a portal and howow n the midst ofof this terrible suffering, something can come out that makes thihis world betr and safer for everyone. live to jointh day the livestream. and then take a moment to reflect about the beauty thatat remains yet on even this hard-pressed world. it is our job, the job b of our timeme on earth to try and figue out how to slow down andnd limit the civilization threatening changes that we see going on around us. we are capable of f doing it. engineers who provided us with the gift in the form of sun and wind energy, let's see if we can come together to take advantage of it. we betetter.

if we are on the current trends and 50 years from now earth day won't be a celebration coming will be a fununeral stepp amy: l mckibben, thank you for being with us, author, educator environmentalist, and co-founder , of 350.org. we will link to your pieces in the new yorker magazine as well as the nation. in it he writes, "this earth day, stop the money pipeline." when we cocome back, kumi naido. stay with us. ♪ [music brbreak]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i am amymy goodman with jujuan gogonzalez. 265 million. that's the number of people that are expected to face acute food insecurity as the coronavirus crisis could trigger a second pandemic of hunger, according to a new u.n. report. the study released says the tuesday number of severely hungry people worldwide will nearly double due to the devastating impact of the spread

of covid-19. on tuesdayay, the head o of the world foodod program warned thtt the e world will s see multiplee famines ofof biblical proportios if swift action isn't tataken. the e crisis is prprojected to dispropoportionately affect africa, where therere is already widespreread food ininsecurity.. in sououth sudan, , a food criss affected 61%1% of ththe populatn last year. now with the coronavirus, reports of growing desperation are layiying bare e rampant inequality a across the contine. in south africa, which is under strict lock-k-down as the afrirn nation with h the most reported covivid 19 cases, , there is res of a food crisis in cape town amid an ongoing lockdown that has leleft informal workerers wo have lost t their livelilihoodsh littlele relief. there arare also repeports of growining panic about hunger in nigeria. this is s a nigerian c citizen speaking. >> if this coronavirus does not kill people with its ability, -- hunger will kill

people. let me tell you, most of my people, they don't eat. amy: this comes as the world health organization esestimates that the number of covid-19 cases inin africa coululd rise 0 million in the next three to six months. "the new york times" reports public hospitals in 41 countries have less than 2000 ventilators. countries don't have a single 10 v ventilator. for r more, we go to londodon we we're joined byby kumi naidoo, e former secretary general of amnesty international. former head of greenpeace. he is a lifelong south african human rights activist and climate justice activist. the first african to had greenpeace. welcome back to democracy now! as you hit us figures about africa and in particular what is happening in your country of south africa were decades ago you were very well-known anti-apartheid activist come ass you startrted your activism rigt through to todayay, talk about whatat africa f faces.

>> this is i industriaially terrrrifying and frightetening moment for p people of africa. it is important to note thee report thahat was releaseded bye world for you programme was already saying to ththe world dt in 2020, we were already facing a major food crisis. that wasas before the coronavirs hihit. now we are looking at a situation where the report says we could be looking at about 300,0,000 d deaths aa day over a threree-month period. the realality for africa is that before even the coronavirus hits, this is what we're dealing with. we are dealing with health carae systems that are not strong. we are dealing with a population o ofhas high levels morbidity becauause of ththe hih levels of hiv/aids, tuberculosis, and malaria. and we are looking at economies

that are really struggling. so right now, i think we are in a very y vulnerable state as the african continent and we hope that international solidarity will be there to help our people get through this very bumpy ride ahead of us. kumi, i'm wondering ifif you can talk abobout the impact, especiallyly the most popopulous nations in africa -- egypt, south africa wherere you are. the questionon of the increasisg globalizationn and urbanization of the world h has led to thesee giant megacities even in africa where of ours like the coronavirus, can spread much more rapidlyly. amy mentionened south sudan my coununtry of 11 million pepeopl. --is got more vice presisident five vice prpresident's -- thant has ventilators. it only has four ventntilators n the whole country.

in these large countries with these huge urbrban populations, how can a coat and what lessons do they have i in -- i massive public heaealth prograram that s already spreading out trying to identify potential hotspots in their country.. i isthink the positive news the extetent of how hot the virs has move through the a african continent has not been as devastating as it was in e euro. so when we looook at the situatn in south africa, for example, the interventions that, by the south african government, havave and to ensure in the first instance that we prprevent deats but to actually buy time for peaks so thatmic during this time we ramp up on , fieldmp up on testing

hospitals, and so on. , the lossas we stand of human life in the african continent compared to europe or the u.s., for example, is still painful but -- south africa, for example, the number is still under 100 deaths. preparedness, the preparedness of african countries, if we have a situation like what we had in new york in terms of ventilators, equipment, and so on, is going to be pretty devastating. so that is why i think the efforts now that are being made by individual african countries but also the african union needs to be generously supported. for many people in africa right now, the choice is almost also pandemicif you want, or hunger pandemic

commitment people safe you don't get killed by covid-19, will get killed by hunger. so balancing this is going to be a very tricky active leadership. -- act of leadership. in terms of how we think, we need to build the continent forward, is not to build back exactly what we had which shows all of these vulnerabilities. we have to learn from this so we're building in a way that we address the climate crisis address inequality, address distribution off budgetary resources and so on. amy: kumi i naidoo, the price of oil dropping below zero for the first time ever monday? the historic collapse due to this historic lack of demand as many in the world are told to shelter at t home. whatat are the implications of this? we just haveve a minute or two. > the one short-term positive, if you want, impact is

emissions have actually reduced drastically. the scale of the impactct has been so much in the fact that people have responded in most couountries with such ensuringnd a also they're taking the painful actions of being unlocked -- by the way, i am locked down in london at the momoment waiting o try to g get to south africa. peoplen the fact that have taken all of these efforts shows that there is a greater capability within the people of our planet to take the big actions that we need to take to address the other challenges that have been with us for so long. the major problem right now, we have to bebe conscious t that ae saw with t the united states afr 9/11 a and the p patriot act, te

was a speciaial reductioion in l liberties and so on. what we see e even though 9/11 s behind us, many of those elements still remain. one o of the concerns we must he is that we want to be very clelr our c citizens supporting govevernments s in the moment of crisisis, but we also neeeed to ensure that we do not have a situation whehere immediately after this, most of those measasures remain in p place. we have to understand the crisis is a multifaceted crisis, a crisis of poverty, hunger, human rights, of course climate. but speak clear. if we don't invest in environmental degradation, the situation we have right now with the spread of viruses as the professionals have been warning us will contininue. ecological assets help prevent the flow of viruses and so on. and righght now humamanity muste a hard look at ourselves about

whether we w want to build back after corona exactly what we had or we want to build back a more equitable, m more just, more sustainable worlrld. amy: kumi naidoo, thahank you fr being with us, former secretary general of amnesty international. previously the head of greenpeace. lifelong south african human rights and climate justice activist. on this 50th anniversary of earth day special in the midst of the pandemic. broadcast, our 17-year-old swedish climate activist greta thuhunberg spoken an earth day livestream hosted by the nobel prize museum. shshe spoke about howow fridaysr fufuture school strikes movement is responding to the pandemic. like how long is this going to go on? the uncertainty. people are not always comfortable with that kind of uncertainty. people want to know what will happen and how we're going to

move forward. it might be hard for many to accept that we don't know anything. we don't know how long this is going to go on because we can't predict that kind of thing. it feels like right now the world is tototally different frm how it was just a week ago. we just have to adapt and see what happens. and change our behavior and plan from there. because that is what -- simply what you have e to do in a criss coming up to adapt to the current situation. like we at thel fridays for future movement ofre is still this sense resistance and people are thinking, we will get out of this and when we do, we will continue and we will do

everything we can that is possible in that situation to continue to push even harder. -- theyike many people have not lost their sense of hope. way we just c changeded the do things. later just saving it for at the moment. amy: that was 17-year-old swedish climate activistst greta thunberg speaking in an earth day livesestream hosted by the nobel l prize museum just before our broadcast.. thisis is democracacy now!,, democracynow.o.org, the quaranae repoport. with juanodman gonzalez. months ago the streets of scent? and other chilean cities were live with the vibrant mass protest movement that drew hundreds of thousands and even let the u.n. climate summit to

be relocated to madrid, spain, last december.r. now the public spaceces of scen? are largely empty of citizens shelter in place t to prevent te spread of covidid 19. the prototest movement against austerity and the right-wing president sebastian pinera lives on as s activists s find new wao organize online. for more, we're going to chile to speak with angela valenzuela. she's been active both in chile 's uprising g in the global youh climate strikes which have also moved online. she is a climate activist, 350.org organizer, and former coordinator with fridays for future chile. and also a singer and songwriter. angela, we spoke with you in madrid at the u.n. climate summit. welcome back to democracy now! can you talk about the climate movement on the 50th anniversary of earth date in the midst of the pandemic in chile? >> thank you so much for having me. it is nice to be here.

we are adjusting to the newestst scenario, using online organizing that we were already working on but now really moving into this world of creating , a spark of hope, using a lot of our to convey our messagage to people can deal empowered facing the covid crcrisis and the climate crisis. i think it is very interesting moment where we can learn from [indiscernible] i think the rabbit response -- i think the rapid response for many countries s shows what type of leadership in terms of the climate crisis. , evenangela valenzuela before sebastian pinera came to

power way back to the pereriod f pinochet, chile became an example of privatization, of the pension system, of health, and how has that affected this history of privatization, how is that affected the ability of the country to deal with the coronavirus now? what it is really showing and demonstrating is the system of thisme neoliberal policies failing to protect people when a crisis like covid-19 shshows upp withthout any expectation. access to washve their hands. millionsns don't have access to water. in the health care system already collapsed without covid-19.

people wonon't bebe able have as to even ventilators. we are 18 million people and we ventilators.0 already, most of them are used. we only have 500 available. amy: angela, can youou talk abot he hadmate protesters -- this massisive protest against inequality. so the president cancels the cop and it ends up in madrid. can talk about how climate protesesters are adapting in ths time of covidid-19? >> everything is happening online. butonly climate protesters, oil strikers and other movements is s saying anothther way too ft is to stay home and take care of eachch otherer, strengthen thrhh

online orgrganizing, and have memories of what has happened in chile in terms of the environment as well as human rights violations. we will not forget the people who have been murdedered. we won't forget how we have sacrificed those and, like even pollution in our cities are also making us more vulnerable to the covid crisis. so once we go back to the crisis in this health basically stops or we go out again, we will grow stronger. i think it is an important moment to reflect on a system that is not working and also to push forwardrd for what isis ne. juan: angela, i'm wondering ifif you could comment there has been this pozo by the chilean

governrnment to possibly i issue chilean cards t to those citizens who have already .ecovered from the v virus what could be the possiblee effects of that, especially sincee it has not beenen proven concnclusively yet that immunity is established once e you have recovered from the virus?? veryyl, it is a responsible measure. as you said,d, it is not proven that you can get any in after you recover from the virus. in s south korea, morere than 10 people that recovevered already got covid-d-19 again a second time. i think it is irresponsible. and also shows the atattitude te gogovernment has overconfidence. for example, we have more than 10,000 cases already and the planes announced were slowly we will go back to a new normality.

which means public workers this week i to go back to work, which -- go back to classes slowly, which will put their lives at risk, basically. it feels like the decision-making is not putting people's well-being at the center, but basically trying not to commit the well-being of the economy. this is really problematic. amy: angela, president peña your recently sparked outrage for proposing -- proposing in the main plaza where for monthths ws the center of the raging they'requality protests taking place. the plaza has remained empty since the c coronavirus h has fd the country to shut down. your wrist on the symbolism of what he was doing and your final comments?

action taken that picture with the her wrote poststure, it wass really outrageous, first of all, and also vile. -- it was renamed dignity square. it is been a symbolic point. people have died there fighting because of police brutality. people have lost their sight because of things being shot at their eyes witith rubber bullet. so when you see him, when he takes advanantage of peopople bg in quarantine not allowed to go and lethe goes there -- amy: we have five seconds. >> it is just showing his lack of empathy to the whole social process. thankngela valenzuela,

you for being with us climate , activist, 350.org organizer, and former coordinator with fridays for future chile. as we wrap up our 50th anniversary of earth day special in the midst of this raging pandemic. democracy now! is working with as few people onsite as possible.