Welcome back to another week of Robertson’s Reportings! For the first time in about one year, Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano erupted, spewing out lava and releasing volcanic smog into the atmosphere. Kilauea last erupted on December 20 of 2020, and it is considered the most active of the five volcanoes on the Big Island. While many people believe that volcanic eruptions have a warming effect on the atmosphere, these events actually cause cooling because the particles released shade the planet from incoming solar radiation. Consequently, volcanic eruptions have important effects on climate change.

With a vote of 65 for and 35 against, the U.S. Senate passed a short-term spending bill in order to prevent a government shutdown. This bill will be sent to the House for a vote, and then it will be sent to President Biden for his approval. It’s likely that the bill will pass due to the Democratic majority in the House and the urgency, considering the government would shut down in merely a few hours without the spending bill. This piece of legislation will fund the government until December 3, provide $6.3 billion to help Afghan refugees, and give $26.8 billion to communities for recovery from national disasters such as recent hurricanes. 

Beginning on October 1, Seinfeld will be available for streaming on Netflix. With new episodes being created from 1989 to 1998, Seinfeld is a sitcom that follows the lives of four characters: Jerry Seinfeld, George Costanza, Cosmo Kramer, and Elaine Benes. While the show reruns most nights on TBS, Netflix users will have the show at their fingertips beginning on October 1.

See you next time on Robertson’s Reportings, coverage you can count on!

Photo Credits: USGS.gov