A result we cannot lose ourselves in the darkness we have to remind ourselves that there is still an amazing amount of good in this world and that there is still hope there is always hope so today let us celebrate some of the good that has come from all d of this bad starting with the tremendously fantastic news that since us humans across the globe been spending more time indoors the outdoors has had the time to start healing itself yes the guardian other outlets are are now reporting that according to satellite imagery from the European Space agency the coronavirus pandemic is shutting down industrial activity and temporarily slashing air peru pollution levels around the world and that levels of nitrogen dioxide over cities and industrial clusters in asia and europe were markedly lower than the same period last year. Meanwhile another bit of great news for both the environment and remind us of our ability to change the world the Standing Rock sioux tribe just want to major victory in court after a federal judge ruled that the u. S. Army corps of engineers were violated the National Environmental policy act by approving federal permits for the Dakota Access pipeline. So on todays show we shall celebrate these new stories and a few unique good people who are shining the light of hope in this sea of pandemic darkness as we start watching the us. Go on a city street. There so you. See there is this joyce state see a. Great city desolate systemic dissent says so which. Brings up the bill as. A welcome everyone to watching the ox i am Tyrone Ventura and today we are highlighting some of the positive news stories of the day in the end and some amends to come out of this tragedy in this pandemic starting with r. T. America contributor alex mahela bitch who joins me now from toronto with the news that alex i guess air pollution is actually coming down now that many of us humans can no longer go outside is this actually true is that what were seeing. It looks like thats exactly what were seeing think about it most people when they go outside or i should say a lot of people what do they do they get into their cars and they drive someplace so thats a major factor along with the fact that were looking at in the industrial world basically shutting down so those are 2 places that we know pollution comes from the 3rd being power plants all these places produce dioxide now nitrogen dioxide i should say nitrogen dioxide when it gets up with the atmosphere it causes some problems mostly for people to. More respiratory difficulties it is not however a Greenhouse Gas but wherever nitrogen dioxide comes from so do Greenhouse Gases so this is a great measurement of what is happening right now the European Space agency say is saying that were seeing a massive drop and with that actually a lot of healthy things happening when you look at this happening as i mentioned people who have respiratory illnesses its business better for them and then in the Bigger Picture its also good for agriculture because plants when theres pollution they just dont grow as well so this is whats happening right now can be positive and even with the corona virus itself there is a good possibility that the virus moves better in areas that are highly polluted because peoples systems their their Natural Systems to fight off their new systems are not as strong as they would be in cleaner environments wow do i want to ask where are we seeing some of the biggest drops in this pollution around the world. Though some knots of drops happening most primarily in asia and in europe if you look at will hand which was the epicenter of this we know that lockdown happened in that city of 11000000 in january massive drops there parts of china 10. 00 to 2010th i should say to 30 percent drops in and oxide so that is big move over to europe the biggest drop weve seen so far is in northern italy now northern italy is it Industrial Hub you know around the land theres tons of factories there and its also surrounded by the alps which sense to hold in pollutants weve seen a 40 percent nitrogen oxide drop in the dioxide drop in that area so 80 percent of the pollution that they have from nitrogen dioxide is from automobiles in the london area and theres a marked difference there as well so globally speaking this has some repercussions that are positive our pollution levels are down and many are saying that we should try to keep it that way. I really couldnt agree more alex and then the other interesting thing that to ask is are we seeing any other positive effects on the environment now that now that were all itself isolating and do you think. Scientists feel that will these improvements last beyond the quarantines. Well the most marked effect would be tourism of the slowdown of tourism obviously theres less air travel theres less cruise ships going around and in the city like venice italy this is really prominent and you think about 7 100000. 00 tourists a day this time of year walking through venice gone bill is going around boats moving around the water is cleaner theres less garbage theres less pollution happening and this is all positive so from that respect not only is our air becoming cleaner but theres less garbage going around and there is the water at least around venice is becoming cleaner now according to the United Nations these are things that we really need to be looking at and taking seriously at this point seeing that this lowering of pollution is something that we need we need to stop destroying our Natural Environment because if we continue the way that were going and do not keyed this warning what will do is release more viruses like this from our Natural World that we live in and that would be a bigger problem but on the flip side of course the United States of america as you know the e. P. A. Has just lowered the levels of restrictions towards polluters in the United States because of the coronavirus so its completely counterintuitive and hopefully some of this is something that americans will will be taking seriously as well because we have a chance to make things better this is our chance and it might be the only one well you know us alex we are always about the counterintuitive down here in the states i can promise you that thank you so much for that report alex awesome awesome news of the year the pollution is kind of clearing up because of the lack of human activity in the world thank you so much sir. Thank you. With one. 3rd of the worlds human population under some form of coronavirus related lockdown the thought of more and more days and weeks of social distancing and self isolation can seem daunting and yes even scary humans are social animals we need that kind of interaction to survive so the question is how do we find community when for our own safety we must have none what one of the more ingenious methods weve seen has come out of the united kingdoms james sells the musician behind whats called sopa signatures yes so singers a free to anyone online Video Conferencing choir that lead spokesman around the world joined together in song during these pressing times james joins us now from london james welcome to the show. That really great to be here so ive really great work that youre doing i want to ask you what was your inspiration for so for singers what brought this. Well i guess it was seeing the scenes and to the few weeks ago where people were singing in the street spontaneously you know coming together in their communities and using song to kind of you know bind them together. If too few weeks ago i was running my usual choirs and singing with which and to bring people together through singing. I thought well how can we make the most of the situation and still create those human connections. How important is just the simple act of bringing people together during times like these especially through the power of news or column porton is that. I think coming as you said away is really important so im trying to just check in with my friends every day in the phone all of which you know through a video call but theres something about singing together and the kind of sense that the shared purpose that really just bonds people instantly and whats been amazing from the singing sessions is that people often being you know coming into the session on their own they didnt know anybody else in the room and afterwards they feel they for a real sense of kind of joy in connection and some of the faces we seeing there you know it just it just says it all and so i think you know were finding that common language of song and new music to really help is in these in these really Uncertain Times i couldnt agree with you more and when i saw this story kind of come across my basket i really thought this is this is someone i want to talk to because that we need more people like you out there kind of you know finding some kind of positive finding ways to bring us together and finding the light in the tunnel you know for those with an itch to join you on this quest of song how can make buying software singers on line and whats kind of required to join or take part. Yeah well what was say 1st is that its not a choir where you expected to read music or have any particular experience in fact i dont really call it a choir in that the singers can actually hear each other but we can see each other and so its kind of this global kind of sing along in a way on tuesday session we had over a 1000 people singing one love by bob marley across about 20 Different Countries and so its very low pressure its all about participation and so you can go to the website which is w w dot the sofa saying is dot net that tells you when the next session will be its absolutely free for people to take parts of the 500 digital spaces in the room so you seen the pictures with all the you know all the little squares on we do that through a conferencing platform and so you have to register for that there are 500 people free places but if you dont get in the room and it has proved very popular then were also streaming on you tube live as well so you can still join in at home you wont have your face on the screen but you hopefully will still get that same sense of kind of connection i got to ask how do you pick the music how do you pick the songs that everyone joins together and how does our process work. Yes a good question im picking songs you know that are kind of classics for a kind of uplifting that are going to help bring people together because you know like said you know singing and music is the universal language so its picking songs that will really resonate across different cultures so so far we sung stand by me as the 1st session and then. Im trying to remember who lean on me you have course and then we did some bob marley this week so kind of continue in that vein but looking at songs you know that have themes of kind of solidarity of companionship that just you know celebrate our humanity and thats what these sessions are all about. I got and like i said i cant thank you enough for doing things like this what just a little bit of a minute left what it what do you have moving forward in the future and where were you looking for to do with your career. Well im just this is really excited me to be honest because up to now ive never really thought about bringing thing in into the digital sphere in this way but you know interested in taking this forward reaching more people id love to get some special guests in for the sofa singing sessions. You know and and just really open it out to even more people were only on tour for session and it just feels like were just at the beginning of something really exciting and so what are say is watch this space you know comes to website be part of it see what were doing and lets you see but but after krone virus im looking at doing some so for singers live events in the u. K. And maybe in the states as well where everyone has been joining in from their sofas we can actually do it face to face and feel those benefits even more because were in the same room together ill be happy to have you over here in the states thank you so much for the work that youre doing and keep it up out there bringing hope and bringing song to people always a pleasure sir thank you. Thank you thank you very much. As we go to break remember that you can also start watching the hawks and the man of the. Brand new portable t. V. App which is available on smartphones through google play on the Apple App Store by searching portable t. V. Or stream us to your t. V. By downloading the portable t. V. App on apple t. V. Or online and portable dot tv portable t. V. Will also be available on more devices coming soon all right up next we find some hope with lawyer and autism advocate haley moss and then we showcase a big win for the water protectors and made of americans of Standing Rock stay tuned to watch in the fall. And were going to fulfill the repeated promises of politics to the people come on you know we its all bots in this. Race for a. Pretty good burka now you want to 1st correct that. No. Paul 5 the cat. Joined me every thursday on the alex. Im unsure and ill be speaking to us of the world of politics Small Business im show business ill see that. I can show you my face but im going to teach you must story in 1903 this man was sentenced to death. They could charged with capital murder even though he didnt have the gun didnt pull the trigger didnt intend to kill anybody madge in the beginning your best for the week with the senate for 23. I doubt that had to be but it had been. Confined within the green walls hed fight so using it can help him to leave death row. All right welcome back everyone you know i cant stress enough how important it is in times like these tremendous are that there was always a light at the end of the tunnel and one of the best ways to keep fanning the flames of hope is to highlight those of us in our community who one could easily argue not only talk the talk when it comes to finding hope and beauty in the struggle but who also walk the walk in overcoming adversity and realizing self actualization without a doubt one of those good people is haley ma so when diagnosed with autism and age 3 her family was told that she would be lucky to graduate from High School Get a drivers life license or even make a friend or 2 while Flash Forward to today and not only does ms moss have a lot of grief from the university of miami school of law. As well as 2 bachelor degrees in psychology and criminology from the university of florida but she is also an accomplished author and writer whose byline has appeared everywhere from the Washington Post to teen vogue to past company she joins us now to discuss the importance of keeping and maintaining hope in a time of adversity always great having you on welcome back. Thank you so much for having me you know i really we are without a doubt you know living in a very scary turbulent Uncertain Times and while dealing with stay at home quarantine social distancing on the threat of disease is difficult for everyone i have to ask what kind of effect has this pandemic had on our brothers and sisters around the world with mental and physical disabilities. Its honestly been kind of a mixed bag so obviously you have folks who are immunocompromised then you do have this ability to earn a high risk captain something or having symptoms of coronavirus but you also see something really exciting happening when it comes to remote work or this even being south isolated or quarantined because a lot of remote work options and different Virtual Events and things that otherwise would have been inaccessible and might have been seen as an unreasonable accommodation are sent me the norm so its really happening is youre seeing this Community Around together and youre seeing a society that might not otherwise be as welcoming to people of disability incorporating things that weve been asking for for a very long time you know i have to ask of someone who quite literally took what many would call you know adversity by being diagnosed on the spectrum with autism you truly turned that into as you said a superpower what do you feel is a good way for folks you know either you know with disabilities or god to overcome their own hurdles in life as we as we move forward in these times. I think its really important to remember what youre passionate about and why you do the things that you do sound kind of having a lot of time to self reflect that this point is something that i think all of us can benefit from and also to channel that energy into. Something that we care a lot about i mean for me in thats doing more writing another book i know that i get to spend more time with my family which i really appreciate so i think about the good things that youre able to do and what theyre instead you especially when youre thinking about that line at the end the tunnel that you can speaking about is it is really important to realize there is good that can come out of this and every day try to think of something that youre thankful for and think of something that matters to you and remember kind of your why is why are you doing what youre passionate about why is it important to you Autism Awareness month actually starts on april 2nd what do you feel about the biggest improvements to seen in the our society handles our brothers and sisters with autism. I think that society has a long way to go but i am really hopeful for the future especially as we are in 2020 i think whats really going on as far as april and aunt is more in this month which i think should be caring more towards acceptance and awareness according to a recent c. D. C. Statistics the prevalence rate of autism is now one in 54. 00 but whats exciting about that while it might sound scary is that were closing the divide in who is getting diagnosed with autism so now we dont see it necessarily just being one racial group in particular or just gender and that were seeing kind of the gap close and that we have more access to identifying people so there is more going on in the awareness fear but i think its far as acceptance even having more jobs in closi