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Editor’s Note: Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more.
The fossil of a tiny bird-like dinosaur with surprisingly long lower legs has been discovered in China.
The creature would have lived during the Late Jurassic Period 148 million to 150 million years ago in what’s now Fujian province in southeast China.
Named Fuijianvenator prodigiosus, which means “bizarre hunter from Fuijian” in Latin, the creature had elongated lower legs that were twice as long as its thighs. In most dinosaurs, the reverse is true.
Weighing around 1.4 pounds (641 grams) and the size of a pheasant, the fossil is important because it bridged a gap in the fossil record close to the origin of birds, said Min Wang, lead author of the study that published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
Birds diverged from two-legged therapod dinosaurs (the group T. rex belonged to) during the Jurassic period, but knowledge of their early evolutionary history is hampered by a relative lack of fossils from this time.
“Fujianvenator, given its unique skeletal morphologies, sheds new light about the morphological evolution … in the earliest evolutionary stage of birds,” said Wang, a professor at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing.
In modern animals, an elongated lower leg is associated with species that can run quickly, suggesting that Fujianvenator may have a been a high-speed runner, according to the study.
However, in birds, it’s a feature also present in wading birds like storks and cranes, making it possible that Fujianvenator lived in a swampy aquatic environment.
The fossil was found with fossils of other aquatic and semi-aquatic animals, including turtles and ray-finned fish, which suggest it may have hung out in swamps.
Other known early bird-like dinosaurs lived in trees and were more aerial in nature, the study said.
While no feathers were preserved in the fossil, it’s highly likely Fujianvenator had them because its closest relatives in the dinosaur family tree did, Wang said. It can’t be determined from the fossil whether the bird-like dinosaur could fly or not, he added.
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Editor’s Note: Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more.
The fossil of a tiny bird-like dinosaur with surprisingly long lower legs has been discovered in China.
The creature would have lived during the Late Jurassic Period 148 million to 150 million years ago in what’s now Fujian province in southeast China.
Named Fuijianvenator prodigiosus, which means “bizarre hunter from Fuijian” in Latin, the creature had elongated lower legs that were twice as long as its thighs. In most dinosa
|
urs, the reverse is true.
Weighing around 1.4 pounds (641 grams) and the size of a pheasant, the fossil is important because it bridged a gap in the fossil record close to the origin of birds, said Min Wang, lead author of the study that published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
Birds diverged from two-legged therapod dinosaurs (the group T. rex belonged to) during the Jurassic period, but knowledge of their early evolutionary history is hampered by a relative lack of fossils from this time.
“Fujianvenator, given its unique skeletal morphologies, sheds new light about the morphological evolution … in the earliest evolutionary stage of birds,” said Wang, a professor at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing.
In modern animals, an elongated lower leg is associated with species that can run quickly, suggesting that Fujianvenator may have a been a high-speed runner, according to the study.
However, in birds, it’s a feature also present in wading birds like storks and cranes, making it possible that Fujianvenator lived in a swampy aquatic environment.
The fossil was found with fossils of other aquatic and semi-aquatic animals, including turtles and ray-finned fish, which suggest it may have hung out in swamps.
Other known early bird-like dinosaurs lived in trees and were more aerial in nature, the study said.
While no feathers were preserved in the fossil, it’s highly likely Fujianvenator had them because its closest relatives in the dinosaur family tree did, Wang said. It can’t be determined from the fossil whether the bird-like dinosaur could fly or not, he added.
|
Impact of Genomics in education;
Genomics is the study of the total or part of the genetic or epigenetic sequence information of organisms.
It is an attempts to understand the structure and function of these sequences and the downstream biological products.
In addition, Genomics examines the molecular mechanisms and the interplay of this molecular information and health interventions and environmental factors in disease.
Furthermore, Human genomics is not the only part of genomics relevant to human health.
However The human genome interacts with those of a myriad other organisms.
Although it includes; plants, vectors and pathogens.
In addition, Genomics is cuts across all organisms, as relevant to public heath in human populations.
In addition to genomics knowledge, we also considers technologies that make use of genomics knowledge.
Genomics is distinct from genetics.
While genetics is the study of heredity, genomics is the study of genes and their functions, and related techniques.
However The main difference between genomics and genetics is that genetics scrutinizes the functioning and composition of the single gene.
While genomics addresses all genes and their inter relationships in order to identify their influence.
This can be on the growth and development of the organism.
Furthermore, The role of human genomics research biotechnologies has the potential to achieve a number of public health goals.
Goals such as to reduce global health inequalities. This can be by providing developing countries with efficient, cost-effective and robust means of preventing,and treating major diseases that burden their populations.
Moreover, It is a new and rapidly evolving branch of science and the full future role of genomics for the provision of health care is far from clear.
However, it does offer the long-term possibility of providing new approaches to the prevention and management of many intractable diseases.
Hence it is important to prepare society for the complexities of this new field.
This is to ensure that its benefits are distributed fairly among the countries of the world.
In this article you will learn some of the impact of genomics in education;
1. It helps to increase students interests and motivation:
Genomics is an interesting field of study.
Both the teachers and students can conduct several research on it.
In addition to that they can also perform various experiments.
This experiments will expose them to endless possibilities of ideas. Such ideas can lead to more development that will improve their interest and motivation to learn.
2. It enhance students knowledge:
Knowledge is power and
Genomics allows students to work outside of their comfort zones. It is a recent aspect of biology that allows every learner to think and make research. This method of learning gives room for them to develop more problem solving skills and gain more useful knowledge.
3. It boosts students success rate while learning:
Genomics in most situations enhance learners/students success rate. Since their hypothesis are mostly practical.
With constant study and research, students tend to perform well in any course relating to Genomics since they can easily learn the various ways of discovering the diagnosis and treatments of diseases.
Are you a school owner and you need a web solution to digitize your school work click here to signup for free.
|
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|
Impact of Genomics in education;
Genomics is the study of the total or part of the genetic or epigenetic sequence information of organisms.
It is an attempts to understand the structure and function of these sequences and the downstream biological products.
In addition, Genomics examines the molecular mechanisms and the interplay of this molecular information and health interventions and environmental factors in disease.
Furthermore, Human genomics is not the only part of genomics relevant to human health.
However The human genome interacts with those of a myriad other organisms.
Although it includes; plants, vectors and pathogens.
In addition, Genomics is cuts across all organisms, as relevant to public he
|
ath in human populations.
In addition to genomics knowledge, we also considers technologies that make use of genomics knowledge.
Genomics is distinct from genetics.
While genetics is the study of heredity, genomics is the study of genes and their functions, and related techniques.
However The main difference between genomics and genetics is that genetics scrutinizes the functioning and composition of the single gene.
While genomics addresses all genes and their inter relationships in order to identify their influence.
This can be on the growth and development of the organism.
Furthermore, The role of human genomics research biotechnologies has the potential to achieve a number of public health goals.
Goals such as to reduce global health inequalities. This can be by providing developing countries with efficient, cost-effective and robust means of preventing,and treating major diseases that burden their populations.
Moreover, It is a new and rapidly evolving branch of science and the full future role of genomics for the provision of health care is far from clear.
However, it does offer the long-term possibility of providing new approaches to the prevention and management of many intractable diseases.
Hence it is important to prepare society for the complexities of this new field.
This is to ensure that its benefits are distributed fairly among the countries of the world.
In this article you will learn some of the impact of genomics in education;
1. It helps to increase students interests and motivation:
Genomics is an interesting field of study.
Both the teachers and students can conduct several research on it.
In addition to that they can also perform various experiments.
This experiments will expose them to endless possibilities of ideas. Such ideas can lead to more development that will improve their interest and motivation to learn.
2. It enhance students knowledge:
Knowledge is power and
Genomics allows students to work outside of their comfort zones. It is a recent aspect of biology that allows every learner to think and make research. This method of learning gives room for them to develop more problem solving skills and gain more useful knowledge.
3. It boosts students success rate while learning:
Genomics in most situations enhance learners/students success rate. Since their hypothesis are mostly practical.
With constant study and research, students tend to perform well in any course relating to Genomics since they can easily learn the various ways of discovering the diagnosis and treatments of diseases.
Are you a school owner and you need a web solution to digitize your school work click here to signup for free.
|
Scientists have found a gene that can help the body fight SARS-CoV-2 so well that people with it may not have any COVID symptoms at all, especially if they've previously had a cold.
- One fifth of people in the study who had asymptomatic COVID-19 had a gene called HLA-B15
- The gene codes a protein that helps the immune system identify SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses such as the common cold
- The discovery could help the development of better coronavirus vaccines
"We've been very curious to understand why some people are able to dodge COVID," said Stephanie Gras of La Trobe University, co-author of a new study published today in the journal Nature.
About 20 per cent of individuals that test positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, escape symptoms, she said.
"Our theory was the immune system was stronger and more able to protect them, and we really wanted to understand how this was working in those individuals."
For their study, Professor Gras and colleagues pored over available data from a large database of registered bone marrow donors.
To understand how the immune system was working, without the influence of vaccines, they needed to select only unvaccinated people.
One part of the study involved a subgroup of 1,428 unvaccinated donors who had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.
The researchers found that of the 136 that had no symptoms, one in five carried a gene called HLA-B15. These findings, which pointed the finger at the protective gene, were replicated in other groups as well.
In a second part of the study, the researchers looked at samples taken from donors prior to the COVID pandemic. This is when they found a smoking gun.
Those with the HLA-B15 gene had T-cells (a type of white blood cell that fights infection) showing a strong immune response to SARS-CoV-2.
In addition, the same group also had a strong immune response to seasonal coronaviruses that cause the common cold.
But to understand the implications of this, we first have to dive a bit deeper into the science of immunology.
HLA 'early warning system'
HLA-B15 belongs to a highly variable family of genes – called HLA (human leucocyte antigens) – that code for a protein that helps alert the immune system when our cells are, for example, cancerous or have been invaded by viruses.
When it comes to bone marrow transplants, the donor and recipient must be "HLA matched" or the organ will be rejected as foreign.
In fact, the researchers used a database of bone-marrow donors precisely because their HLA "genotype" had already been recorded.
In the case of coronaviruses, HLA proteins bind fragments of the virus and present them to T-cells that can then go in for the kill.
"Sometimes I think of [HLA proteins] as like an arm with a hand on it, and the hand is holding the piece of virus," said lead researcher Jill Hollenbach at the University of California, San Francisco.
Once T-cells have been kicked into action by a viral fragment bound by HLA proteins, they will be ready and waiting as a defence the next time that particular virus comes around.
It's analogous to an army that's battle-ready because the soldiers know what the enemy looks like.
Similarities with the common cold
When the team took a closer look at the HLA-B15 protein in the asymptomatic people in their study, they discovered a physical basis for the link with the common cold.
The HLA protein bound a particular part of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein – the bristling extremities on the outside of the coronavirus.
This fragment of spike protein is shaped like equivalent pieces in other coronaviruses that cause common colds.
If a donor had one copy of the HLA-B15 gene they were twice as likely to have had an asymptomatic COVID-19 infection as a donor with another HLA type, the researchers report.
Two copies of the gene meant they were eight times more likely to be asymptomatic.
Professor Gras said despite this they did find a few individuals with the gene that had severe COVID.
"It's not a magic bullet but you will be more likely to be asymptomatic," she said.
The researchers concluded exposure to seasonal cold viruses could have primed the immune system of people with HLA-B15.
This would have enabled their T-cells to kick in a lot faster against SARS-CoV-2, and knocked the virus out before any symptoms emerged, the researchers argued.
The team hope further studies of asymptomatic infection could help identify immune mechanisms that can quickly eliminate the virus.
"It may be possible to develop vaccines and treatments against SARS-CoV-2 that mimic the immune [system's] shield seen in the asymptomatic people with HLA-B15," Professor Gras said.
A bit like vaccination
Stuart Tangye of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, who was not involved in the study, said HLA-B15 appeared to give people an advantage against COVID if they had been exposed to common cold viruses.
"In these cases, the seasonal coronaviruses sort of vaccinated the individuals," said Professor Tangye, who has looked into the genetics of severe COVID.
As with vaccination, the immune system had been primed to look for something similar to the pathogen.
The idea that exposure to the common cold might help trigger an immunity to SARS-CoV-2 was not new, Professor Tangye said.
But this study had pinpointed a specific gene linked to this protection.
"We knew that a certain percentage of people appeared to have cross-reactive immunity that existed before SARS-CoV-2. So this possibly explains that, and that's interesting."
Nathan Bartlett, a viral immunologist from the University of Newcastle, was a little more circumspect, describing the researchers' conclusions as "interesting speculation".
He noted one limitation of the study was that people "self-reported" their COVID test results and lack of symptoms.
Assuming these were truly asymptomatic infections, the research provided a "compelling association", suggesting the T-cell response had prevented symptoms.
But Professor Bartlett said it may only be able to do this against older variants of SARS-CoV-2.
The T-cell response takes a week to swing into action, he said, while some of the newer SARS-CoV-2 variants can generate symptoms faster – "within two or three days'' in the case of Omicron.
In this case, an asymptomatic infection would rely other parts of the immune system that are activated sooner.
But Professor Bartlett agreed the study was potentially useful in developing a universal coronavirus vaccine.
"This research suggests there are common targets across multiple coronaviruses."
HLA: The good, bad and the ugly
This was not the first time that an HLA genotype had been linked to the severity of a disease.
Certain HLA molecules have previously helped explain why some people infected by HIV stay healthier for longer.
On the other hand, some HLA genotypes have been linked to an increased risk of autoimmune disease.
"There are these associations between particular HLA genes and different types of immune responses," Professor Tangye said.
"HLA really drives the immune system's function and dysfunction."
HLA genotypes vary enormously between different ethnic groups, said epidemiologist Catherine Bennett of Deakin University.
This kind of research could help manage COVID risk at a population level, she said.
"This is helpful from a public health point of view."Loading...
If you're unable to load the form, click here.
|
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|
Scientists have found a gene that can help the body fight SARS-CoV-2 so well that people with it may not have any COVID symptoms at all, especially if they've previously had a cold.
- One fifth of people in the study who had asymptomatic COVID-19 had a gene called HLA-B15
- The gene codes a protein that helps the immune system identify SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses such as the common cold
- The discovery could help the development of better coronavirus vaccines
"We've been very curious to understand why some people are able to dodge COVID," said Stephanie Gras of La
|
Trobe University, co-author of a new study published today in the journal Nature.
About 20 per cent of individuals that test positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, escape symptoms, she said.
"Our theory was the immune system was stronger and more able to protect them, and we really wanted to understand how this was working in those individuals."
For their study, Professor Gras and colleagues pored over available data from a large database of registered bone marrow donors.
To understand how the immune system was working, without the influence of vaccines, they needed to select only unvaccinated people.
One part of the study involved a subgroup of 1,428 unvaccinated donors who had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.
The researchers found that of the 136 that had no symptoms, one in five carried a gene called HLA-B15. These findings, which pointed the finger at the protective gene, were replicated in other groups as well.
In a second part of the study, the researchers looked at samples taken from donors prior to the COVID pandemic. This is when they found a smoking gun.
Those with the HLA-B15 gene had T-cells (a type of white blood cell that fights infection) showing a strong immune response to SARS-CoV-2.
In addition, the same group also had a strong immune response to seasonal coronaviruses that cause the common cold.
But to understand the implications of this, we first have to dive a bit deeper into the science of immunology.
HLA 'early warning system'
HLA-B15 belongs to a highly variable family of genes – called HLA (human leucocyte antigens) – that code for a protein that helps alert the immune system when our cells are, for example, cancerous or have been invaded by viruses.
When it comes to bone marrow transplants, the donor and recipient must be "HLA matched" or the organ will be rejected as foreign.
In fact, the researchers used a database of bone-marrow donors precisely because their HLA "genotype" had already been recorded.
In the case of coronaviruses, HLA proteins bind fragments of the virus and present them to T-cells that can then go in for the kill.
"Sometimes I think of [HLA proteins] as like an arm with a hand on it, and the hand is holding the piece of virus," said lead researcher Jill Hollenbach at the University of California, San Francisco.
Once T-cells have been kicked into action by a viral fragment bound by HLA proteins, they will be ready and waiting as a defence the next time that particular virus comes around.
It's analogous to an army that's battle-ready because the soldiers know what the enemy looks like.
Similarities with the common cold
When the team took a closer look at the HLA-B15 protein in the asymptomatic people in their study, they discovered a physical basis for the link with the common cold.
The HLA protein bound a particular part of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein – the bristling extremities on the outside of the coronavirus.
This fragment of spike protein is shaped like equivalent pieces in other coronaviruses that cause common colds.
If a donor had one copy of the HLA-B15 gene they were twice as likely to have had an asymptomatic COVID-19 infection as a donor with another HLA type, the researchers report.
Two copies of the gene meant they were eight times more likely to be asymptomatic.
Professor Gras said despite this they did find a few individuals with the gene that had severe COVID.
"It's not a magic bullet but you will be more likely to be asymptomatic," she said.
The researchers concluded exposure to seasonal cold viruses could have primed the immune system of people with HLA-B15.
This would have enabled their T-cells to kick in a lot faster against SARS-CoV-2, and knocked the virus out before any symptoms emerged, the researchers argued.
The team hope further studies of asymptomatic infection could help identify immune mechanisms that can quickly eliminate the virus.
"It may be possible to develop vaccines and treatments against SARS-CoV-2 that mimic the immune [system's] shield seen in the asymptomatic people with HLA-B15," Professor Gras said.
A bit like vaccination
Stuart Tangye of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, who was not involved in the study, said HLA-B15 appeared to give people an advantage against COVID if they had been exposed to common cold viruses.
"In these cases, the seasonal coronaviruses sort of vaccinated the individuals," said Professor Tangye, who has looked into the genetics of severe COVID.
As with vaccination, the immune system had been primed to look for something similar to the pathogen.
The idea that exposure to the common cold might help trigger an immunity to SARS-CoV-2 was not new, Professor Tangye said.
But this study had pinpointed a specific gene linked to this protection.
"We knew that a certain percentage of people appeared to have cross-reactive immunity that existed before SARS-CoV-2. So this possibly explains that, and that's interesting."
Nathan Bartlett, a viral immunologist from the University of Newcastle, was a little more circumspect, describing the researchers' conclusions as "interesting speculation".
He noted one limitation of the study was that people "self-reported" their COVID test results and lack of symptoms.
Assuming these were truly asymptomatic infections, the research provided a "compelling association", suggesting the T-cell response had prevented symptoms.
But Professor Bartlett said it may only be able to do this against older variants of SARS-CoV-2.
The T-cell response takes a week to swing into action, he said, while some of the newer SARS-CoV-2 variants can generate symptoms faster – "within two or three days'' in the case of Omicron.
In this case, an asymptomatic infection would rely other parts of the immune system that are activated sooner.
But Professor Bartlett agreed the study was potentially useful in developing a universal coronavirus vaccine.
"This research suggests there are common targets across multiple coronaviruses."
HLA: The good, bad and the ugly
This was not the first time that an HLA genotype had been linked to the severity of a disease.
Certain HLA molecules have previously helped explain why some people infected by HIV stay healthier for longer.
On the other hand, some HLA genotypes have been linked to an increased risk of autoimmune disease.
"There are these associations between particular HLA genes and different types of immune responses," Professor Tangye said.
"HLA really drives the immune system's function and dysfunction."
HLA genotypes vary enormously between different ethnic groups, said epidemiologist Catherine Bennett of Deakin University.
This kind of research could help manage COVID risk at a population level, she said.
"This is helpful from a public health point of view."Loading...
If you're unable to load the form, click here.
|
How can humans stay alive for longer?
For a year, The Washington Post has been investigating why life expectancy in the U.S. is in decline, a trend that started longbeforethe pandemic.
Here is the bad news: We are doing a bad job keeping people alive.The investigation found that Americans are more likely to die before the age of 65 than residents of similar wealthy nations.That’s despite the fact the United States spends far more per person on health care.
That’s one side of the life expectancy coin. The other is what some scientists believe could be an “Apollo moment” for how long we can expect to live.
We speak to Lauren Weberwho was part of the Post’s reporting team. We also talk to Alex Zhavoronkovwho says aging research is the most important field of science right now.He’s the CEO of Insilico, a biotech startup that’s working with artificial intelligence and big data.
Copyright 2023 WAMU 88.5
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|
How can humans stay alive for longer?
For a year, The Washington Post has been investigating why life expectancy in the U.S. is in decline, a trend that started longbeforethe pandemic.
Here is the bad news: We are doing a bad job keeping people alive.The investigation found that Americans are more likely to die before the age of 65 than residents of similar wealthy nations.That’s despite the fact the United States spends far more per person on health care.
That’s one side of the life expectancy coin. The other is what some scientists believe could be an “Apollo moment” for how long we can expect to
|
live.
We speak to Lauren Weberwho was part of the Post’s reporting team. We also talk to Alex Zhavoronkovwho says aging research is the most important field of science right now.He’s the CEO of Insilico, a biotech startup that’s working with artificial intelligence and big data.
Copyright 2023 WAMU 88.5
|
Traditional medical imaging – used to diagnose, monitor or treat certain medical conditions – has long struggled to get clear pictures of patients with dark skin, according to experts. Researchers say they have found a way to improve medical imaging, a process through which physicians can observe the inside of the body, regardless of skin tone. The new findings were published in the October edition of the journal Photoacoustics. The team tested the forearms of 18 volunteers, with skin tones ranging from light to dark. They found that a distortion of the photoacoustic signal that makes the imaging more difficult to read, called clutter, increased with darkness of skin. “When you have darker skin, you have more melanin. And melanin is actually one of the optical absorbers that we inherently have within our body,” Muyinatu Bell, an author of the study and director and founder of the Photoacoustic and Ultrasonics Systems Engineering (PULSE) Lab at JHU, told CNN. In other words, the amount of melanin content in the skin could be associated with more clutter. “The skin essentially acts as a transmitter of sound, but it’s not the same type of focused sound that we get and we want with ultrasound, it’s everywhere diffused and creates a lot of confusion,” Bell said. “And so, this scattering of the sound that’s caused by the melanin absorption is worse and worse with the higher melanin concentration.” Changing a technique The study – a collaboration with researchers in Brazil who had previously used one of Bell’s algorithms – found that signal-to-noise ratio, a scientific measure that compares signal with background noise, improved for all skin tones when the researchers used a technique called “short-lag spatial coherence beamforming” while performing medical imaging. That technique, originally used for ultrasounds, can be applied to photoacoustic imaging. The technique involves a combination of light and ultrasound technology, forming a new medical imaging modality, Theo Pavan, an author of the study and associate professor with the department of physics at University of São Paulo in Brazil, told CNN. “We really verified that it was much less sensitive to the skin color in terms of the quality of the image that you can get compared to the conventional methods that … is more commonly used by the community,” Pavan said. The study is “the first to objectively assess skin tone and to both qualitatively and quantitatively demonstrate that skin” photoacoustic signal “and clutter artifacts increase with epidermal melanin content,” the researchers wrote. The applications of photoacoustic technology vary, but with the researchers’ new developments, it may help diagnose health issues more accurately and equitably. “Right now, it’s increasing the application of the breast imaging,” and the next step would be to “increase the image quality overall,” said Guilherme Fernandes, an author of the study and a Ph.D. candidate in physics applied to medicine and biology at USP. Broader rethinking in health care The researchers’ work could also mean advancements for equity in health care at large. “In our scientific technology, there is a bias in terms of developing these products, for things that work well in lighter-skinned people,” said Dr. Camara Jones, a family physician, epidemiologist and former president of the American Public Health Association, who was not involved in the new study. “The biggest problem is that we use a thing we call race, as a risk factor — as a health risk factor. And so race is the social and interpretation of how people look in a race-conscious society. Race is not biology,” Jones explained. “We’ve mapped the human genome. We know there’s no basis in the human genome for racial sub-speciation.” This study isn’t the first to find skin color biases in medical technology. Medical equipment that leverages infrared sensing has also been found to not work as well on darker skin, since skin tone can interfere with the reflection of light. Many devices that were in frequent use during the Covid-19 pandemic, such as pulse oximeters and forehead thermometers, involve emitting and capturing light to make a measurement. But if that device isn’t calibrated for darker skin, the pigmentation could affect how the light is absorbed and how the infrared technology works. Bell said her research can hopefully pave a way to eliminating discrimination in health care and inspire others to develop technology that helps everyone, regardless of their skin tone. “I believe that with the ability to show that we can devise and develop technology — that doesn’t just work for one small subset of the population but works for a wider range of the population. This is very inspiring for not only my group, but for groups around the world to start thinking in this direction when designing technology. Does it serve the wider population?” Bell said.
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Traditional medical imaging – used to diagnose, monitor or treat certain medical conditions – has long struggled to get clear pictures of patients with dark skin, according to experts. Researchers say they have found a way to improve medical imaging, a process through which physicians can observe the inside of the body, regardless of skin tone. The new findings were published in the October edition of the journal Photoacoustics. The team tested the forearms of 18 volunteers, with skin tones ranging from light to dark. They found that a distortion of the photoacoustic signal that makes the imaging more difficult to read, called clutter, increased with darkness of
|
skin. “When you have darker skin, you have more melanin. And melanin is actually one of the optical absorbers that we inherently have within our body,” Muyinatu Bell, an author of the study and director and founder of the Photoacoustic and Ultrasonics Systems Engineering (PULSE) Lab at JHU, told CNN. In other words, the amount of melanin content in the skin could be associated with more clutter. “The skin essentially acts as a transmitter of sound, but it’s not the same type of focused sound that we get and we want with ultrasound, it’s everywhere diffused and creates a lot of confusion,” Bell said. “And so, this scattering of the sound that’s caused by the melanin absorption is worse and worse with the higher melanin concentration.” Changing a technique The study – a collaboration with researchers in Brazil who had previously used one of Bell’s algorithms – found that signal-to-noise ratio, a scientific measure that compares signal with background noise, improved for all skin tones when the researchers used a technique called “short-lag spatial coherence beamforming” while performing medical imaging. That technique, originally used for ultrasounds, can be applied to photoacoustic imaging. The technique involves a combination of light and ultrasound technology, forming a new medical imaging modality, Theo Pavan, an author of the study and associate professor with the department of physics at University of São Paulo in Brazil, told CNN. “We really verified that it was much less sensitive to the skin color in terms of the quality of the image that you can get compared to the conventional methods that … is more commonly used by the community,” Pavan said. The study is “the first to objectively assess skin tone and to both qualitatively and quantitatively demonstrate that skin” photoacoustic signal “and clutter artifacts increase with epidermal melanin content,” the researchers wrote. The applications of photoacoustic technology vary, but with the researchers’ new developments, it may help diagnose health issues more accurately and equitably. “Right now, it’s increasing the application of the breast imaging,” and the next step would be to “increase the image quality overall,” said Guilherme Fernandes, an author of the study and a Ph.D. candidate in physics applied to medicine and biology at USP. Broader rethinking in health care The researchers’ work could also mean advancements for equity in health care at large. “In our scientific technology, there is a bias in terms of developing these products, for things that work well in lighter-skinned people,” said Dr. Camara Jones, a family physician, epidemiologist and former president of the American Public Health Association, who was not involved in the new study. “The biggest problem is that we use a thing we call race, as a risk factor — as a health risk factor. And so race is the social and interpretation of how people look in a race-conscious society. Race is not biology,” Jones explained. “We’ve mapped the human genome. We know there’s no basis in the human genome for racial sub-speciation.” This study isn’t the first to find skin color biases in medical technology. Medical equipment that leverages infrared sensing has also been found to not work as well on darker skin, since skin tone can interfere with the reflection of light. Many devices that were in frequent use during the Covid-19 pandemic, such as pulse oximeters and forehead thermometers, involve emitting and capturing light to make a measurement. But if that device isn’t calibrated for darker skin, the pigmentation could affect how the light is absorbed and how the infrared technology works. Bell said her research can hopefully pave a way to eliminating discrimination in health care and inspire others to develop technology that helps everyone, regardless of their skin tone. “I believe that with the ability to show that we can devise and develop technology — that doesn’t just work for one small subset of the population but works for a wider range of the population. This is very inspiring for not only my group, but for groups around the world to start thinking in this direction when designing technology. Does it serve the wider population?” Bell said.
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In Florida, the risk of melanoma is higher than average
As summer officially begins, please put on a wide-brimmed hat and stay in the shade, measures that can help prevent melanoma.
Why it matters: Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer. It can be disfiguring and fatal.
Details: In 2009, 4,805 new cases of melanoma were reported in Florida, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
- In 2020, that figure jumped to 7,313.
- In 2020, 676 people died from melanoma in Florida.
The big picture: The rate of new cases per 100,000 people in Florida in 2019 — 24.5 — was higher than the national average of 22.7.
Of note: People with lighter skin pigmentation are at higher risk, though anyone can get skin cancer.
- Death rates among people of color are higher, partially because cases are harder to detect early, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.
More Miami stories
No stories could be found
Get a free daily digest of the most important news in your backyard with Axios Miami.
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In Florida, the risk of melanoma is higher than average
As summer officially begins, please put on a wide-brimmed hat and stay in the shade, measures that can help prevent melanoma.
Why it matters: Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer. It can be disfiguring and fatal.
Details: In 2009, 4,805 new cases of melanoma were reported in Florida, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
- In 2020, that figure jumped to 7,313.
- In 2020,
|
676 people died from melanoma in Florida.
The big picture: The rate of new cases per 100,000 people in Florida in 2019 — 24.5 — was higher than the national average of 22.7.
Of note: People with lighter skin pigmentation are at higher risk, though anyone can get skin cancer.
- Death rates among people of color are higher, partially because cases are harder to detect early, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.
More Miami stories
No stories could be found
Get a free daily digest of the most important news in your backyard with Axios Miami.
|
New guidance for treating youth obesity encourages early intervention
The American Academy of Pediatrics on Monday released new guidelines for addressing childhood obesity, emphasizing a comprehensive and proactive approach to treatment.
Driving the news: "There is no evidence that ‘watchful waiting’ or delayed treatment is appropriate for children with obesity," Dr. Sandra Hassink, an author of the guideline and vice chair of the Clinical Practice Guideline Subcommittee on Obesity, said in a news release.
- It's the first update in 15 years by the AAP and the first time that the guidance recommends the age at which youth could be offered medical treatments, including drugs, surgery and lifestyle interventions, AP reports.
Zoom out: The recommendations include nutritional support, motivational interviewing, intensive health behavior and lifestyle treatment, among other things, per the AAP.
- The guidance also highlights the role that "structural racism has played in obesity prevalence" and the "inequities that promote obesity in childhood, such as the marketing of unhealthy food, low socioeconomic status and household food insecurity," per the news release.
- "Obesity is not a lifestyle problem. It is not a lifestyle disease," said Aaron Kelly, co-director of the Center for Pediatric Obesity Medicine at the University of Minnesota, per AP.
- “It predominately emerges from biological factors.”
What they're saying: "Research tells us that we need to take a close look at families — where they live, their access to nutritious food, health care and opportunities for physical activity — as well as other factors that are associated with health, quality-of- life outcomes and risk," said Dr. Sarah Hampl, chair of the Clinical Practice Guideline Subcommittee on Obesity.
- "Our kids need the medical support, understanding and resources we can provide within a treatment plan that involves the whole family."
The big picture: Obesity affects more than 14.4 million young people in the U.S., per AAP.
Go deeper... The pandemic could be worsening childhood obesity
|
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New guidance for treating youth obesity encourages early intervention
The American Academy of Pediatrics on Monday released new guidelines for addressing childhood obesity, emphasizing a comprehensive and proactive approach to treatment.
Driving the news: "There is no evidence that ‘watchful waiting’ or delayed treatment is appropriate for children with obesity," Dr. Sandra Hassink, an author of the guideline and vice chair of the Clinical Practice Guideline Subcommittee on Obesity, said in a news release.
- It's the first update in 15 years by the AAP and the first time that the guidance recommends the age at which youth could be offered medical treatments,
|
including drugs, surgery and lifestyle interventions, AP reports.
Zoom out: The recommendations include nutritional support, motivational interviewing, intensive health behavior and lifestyle treatment, among other things, per the AAP.
- The guidance also highlights the role that "structural racism has played in obesity prevalence" and the "inequities that promote obesity in childhood, such as the marketing of unhealthy food, low socioeconomic status and household food insecurity," per the news release.
- "Obesity is not a lifestyle problem. It is not a lifestyle disease," said Aaron Kelly, co-director of the Center for Pediatric Obesity Medicine at the University of Minnesota, per AP.
- “It predominately emerges from biological factors.”
What they're saying: "Research tells us that we need to take a close look at families — where they live, their access to nutritious food, health care and opportunities for physical activity — as well as other factors that are associated with health, quality-of- life outcomes and risk," said Dr. Sarah Hampl, chair of the Clinical Practice Guideline Subcommittee on Obesity.
- "Our kids need the medical support, understanding and resources we can provide within a treatment plan that involves the whole family."
The big picture: Obesity affects more than 14.4 million young people in the U.S., per AAP.
Go deeper... The pandemic could be worsening childhood obesity
|
Birds of a feather... huddle together? Here's how birds keep warm amid frigid winter temperatures.
When you step outside into the cold winter air, you may start shivering. Our bodies do this to keep us warm – our muscles tighten and loosen quickly, creating enough energy to give off heat.
Humans rely on thermoregulation to keep warm in the wintertime. We bundle up with cozy hats and jackets. We wear gloves and warm boots to keep our extremities cold. We turn on the heat in our homes.
But a bird's home is the great outdoors, so how do birds keep warm in the year’s coldest temperatures? Here’s everything you need to know about how birds survive in frigid winter temperatures.
How do birds keep warm in the winter?
Birds are warm-blooded animals just like humans, meaning they have a fairly consistent internal temperature and use regulatory mechanisms to maintain it in cold environments. Birds have a consistent internal temperature of about 104 degrees.
Birds keep warm in the winter by shivering, fluffing their feathers, cuddling together and tucking their feet and bills in.
Birds increase their body weight in late summer and fall to prepare for the winter ahead, and they also trap pockets of air around their bodies using their feathers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports. Some birds use the oil produced from the glands near their tails as weatherproofing, while other species grow feathers with tips that break down into a powder used for the same protection.
Waterfowl (like gulls, ducks and geese) often stand on ice or cold ground, so they use a countercurrent heat exchange system to keep their feet warm. The cool blood from the foot travels through the arteries while heat transfers from the warm arteries to the cold veins. Their feet have little muscle or nerve tissue, so they can withstand cold temperatures for longer than humans can.
Birds of a feather... huddle together? Birds do this to stay warm, crowding together in trees or shrubs to share body heat and conserve energy.
State flowers:See the official flowers for all 50 US states
What animal kills the most humans?:Protect yourself from this unexpected predator
Why do birds fly south in the winter?
Northern Hemisphere birds migrate with food availability – they move south in winter when insects and plants are harder to come by in the cold weather. There are permanent resident birds who do not migrate, short-distance migrants who may move to lower elevations, medium-distance migrants who travel a few hundred miles and long-distance birds who typically move from North to Central and South America.
According to Cornell Lab’s All About Birds, migration is likely triggered by changes in day length, temperature, food supply and genetics – even some housepet birds have “migratory restlessness” in the spring and fall.
What do birds eat in the winter?
Residential birds who spend the winter in the north don't have as many options for berries as in the summer months, so they typically stick to seeds and whatever insects they can find.
If you have a bird feeder, the Humane Society recommends putting out black-oil sunflower seeds, white proso millet and peanuts for high protein and fat content in the winter months.
Are birds mammals?:Learn more about the feathered animals and their traits
Hummingbird food:Attract the winged beauties to your yard with this recipe
|
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Birds of a feather... huddle together? Here's how birds keep warm amid frigid winter temperatures.
When you step outside into the cold winter air, you may start shivering. Our bodies do this to keep us warm – our muscles tighten and loosen quickly, creating enough energy to give off heat.
Humans rely on thermoregulation to keep warm in the wintertime. We bundle up with cozy hats and jackets. We wear gloves and warm boots to keep our extremities cold. We turn on the heat in our homes.
But a bird's home is the great outdoors, so how do birds keep warm in
|
the year’s coldest temperatures? Here’s everything you need to know about how birds survive in frigid winter temperatures.
How do birds keep warm in the winter?
Birds are warm-blooded animals just like humans, meaning they have a fairly consistent internal temperature and use regulatory mechanisms to maintain it in cold environments. Birds have a consistent internal temperature of about 104 degrees.
Birds keep warm in the winter by shivering, fluffing their feathers, cuddling together and tucking their feet and bills in.
Birds increase their body weight in late summer and fall to prepare for the winter ahead, and they also trap pockets of air around their bodies using their feathers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports. Some birds use the oil produced from the glands near their tails as weatherproofing, while other species grow feathers with tips that break down into a powder used for the same protection.
Waterfowl (like gulls, ducks and geese) often stand on ice or cold ground, so they use a countercurrent heat exchange system to keep their feet warm. The cool blood from the foot travels through the arteries while heat transfers from the warm arteries to the cold veins. Their feet have little muscle or nerve tissue, so they can withstand cold temperatures for longer than humans can.
Birds of a feather... huddle together? Birds do this to stay warm, crowding together in trees or shrubs to share body heat and conserve energy.
State flowers:See the official flowers for all 50 US states
What animal kills the most humans?:Protect yourself from this unexpected predator
Why do birds fly south in the winter?
Northern Hemisphere birds migrate with food availability – they move south in winter when insects and plants are harder to come by in the cold weather. There are permanent resident birds who do not migrate, short-distance migrants who may move to lower elevations, medium-distance migrants who travel a few hundred miles and long-distance birds who typically move from North to Central and South America.
According to Cornell Lab’s All About Birds, migration is likely triggered by changes in day length, temperature, food supply and genetics – even some housepet birds have “migratory restlessness” in the spring and fall.
What do birds eat in the winter?
Residential birds who spend the winter in the north don't have as many options for berries as in the summer months, so they typically stick to seeds and whatever insects they can find.
If you have a bird feeder, the Humane Society recommends putting out black-oil sunflower seeds, white proso millet and peanuts for high protein and fat content in the winter months.
Are birds mammals?:Learn more about the feathered animals and their traits
Hummingbird food:Attract the winged beauties to your yard with this recipe
|
Two months after OpenAI unnerved some educators with the public release of ChatGPT, an AI chatbot that can help students and professionals generate shockingly convincing essays, the company is unveiling a new tool to help teachers adapt.
OpenAI on Tuesday announced a new feature, called an “AI text classifier,” that allows users to check if an essay was written by a human or AI. But even OpenAI admits it’s “imperfect.”
The tool, which works on English AI-generated text, is powered by a machine learning system that takes an input and assigns it to several categories. In this case, after pasting a body of text such as a school essay into the new tool, it will give one of five possible outcomes, ranging from “likely generated by AI” to “very unlikely.”
Lama Ahmad, policy research director at OpenAI, told CNN that educators have been asking for a ChatGPT feature like this, but warns it should be “taken with a grain of salt.”
“We really don’t recommend taking this tool in isolation because we know that it can be wrong and will be wrong at times – much like using AI for any kind of assessment purposes,” Ahmad said. “We are emphasizing how important it is to keep a human in the loop … and that it’s just one data point among many others.”
Ahmad notes that some teachers have referenced past examples of student work and writing style to gauge whether it was written by the student. While the new tool might provide another reference point, Ahmad said “teachers need to be really careful in how they include it in academic dishonesty decisions.”
Since it was made available in late November, ChatGPT has been used to generate original essays, stories and song lyrics in response to user prompts. It has drafted research paper abstracts that fooled some scientists. It even recently passed law exams in four courses at the University of Minnesota, another exam at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and a US medical licensing exam.
In the process, it has raised alarms among some educators. Public schools in New York City and Seattle have already banned students and teachers from using ChatGPT on the district’s networks and devices. Some educators are now moving with remarkable speed to rethink their assignments in response to ChatGPT, even as it remains unclear how widespread use is of the tool among students and how harmful it could really be to learning.
OpenAI now joins a small but growing list of efforts to help educators detect when a written work is generated by ChatGPT. Some companies such as Turnitin are actively working on ChatGPT plagiarism detection tools that could help teachers identify when assignments are written by the tool. Meanwhile, Princeton student Edward Tuan told CNN more than 95,000 people have already tried the beta version of his own ChatGPT detection feature, called ZeroGPT, noting there has been “incredible demand among teachers” so far.
Jan Leike – a lead on the OpenAI alignment team, which works to make sure the AI tool is aligned with human values – listed several reasons for why detecting plagiarism via ChatGPT may be a challenge. People can edit text to avoid being identified by the tool, for example. It will also “be best at identifying text that is very similar to the kind of text that we’ve trained it on.”
In addition, the company said it’s impossible to determine if predictable text – such as a list of the first 1,000 prime numbers – was written by AI or a human because the correct answer is always the same, according to a company blog post. The classifier is also “very unreliable” on short texts below 1,000 characters.
During a demo with CNN ahead of Tuesday’s launch, ChatGPT successfully labeled several bodies of work. An excerpt from the book “Peter Pan,” for example, was deemed “unlikely” to be AI generated. In the company blog post, however, OpenAI said it incorrectly labeled human-written text as AI-written 5% of the time.
Despite the possibility of false positives, Leike said the company aims to use the tool to spark conversations around AI literacy and possibly deter people from claiming that AI-written text was created by a human. He said the decision to release the new feature also stems from the debate around whether humans have a right to know if they’re interacting with AI.
“This question is much bigger than what we are doing here; society as a whole has to grapple with that question,” he said.
OpenAI said it encourages the general public to share their feedback on the AI check feature. Ahmad said the company continues to talk with K-12 educators and those at the collegiate level and beyond, such as Harvard University and the Stanford Design School.
The company sees its role as “an educator to the educators,” according to Ahmad, in the sense that OpenAI wants to make them more “aware about the technologies and what they can be used for and what they should not be used for.”
“We’re not educators ourselves – we’re very aware of that – and so our goals are really to help equip teachers to deploy these models effectively in and out of the classroom,” Ahmad said. “That means giving them the language to speak about it, help them understand the capabilities and the limitations, and then secondarily through them, equip students to navigate the complexities that AI is already introducing in the world.”
|
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Two months after OpenAI unnerved some educators with the public release of ChatGPT, an AI chatbot that can help students and professionals generate shockingly convincing essays, the company is unveiling a new tool to help teachers adapt.
OpenAI on Tuesday announced a new feature, called an “AI text classifier,” that allows users to check if an essay was written by a human or AI. But even OpenAI admits it’s “imperfect.”
The tool, which works on English AI-generated text, is powered by a machine learning system that takes an input and assigns it to several categories. In this case, after pasting a
|
body of text such as a school essay into the new tool, it will give one of five possible outcomes, ranging from “likely generated by AI” to “very unlikely.”
Lama Ahmad, policy research director at OpenAI, told CNN that educators have been asking for a ChatGPT feature like this, but warns it should be “taken with a grain of salt.”
“We really don’t recommend taking this tool in isolation because we know that it can be wrong and will be wrong at times – much like using AI for any kind of assessment purposes,” Ahmad said. “We are emphasizing how important it is to keep a human in the loop … and that it’s just one data point among many others.”
Ahmad notes that some teachers have referenced past examples of student work and writing style to gauge whether it was written by the student. While the new tool might provide another reference point, Ahmad said “teachers need to be really careful in how they include it in academic dishonesty decisions.”
Since it was made available in late November, ChatGPT has been used to generate original essays, stories and song lyrics in response to user prompts. It has drafted research paper abstracts that fooled some scientists. It even recently passed law exams in four courses at the University of Minnesota, another exam at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and a US medical licensing exam.
In the process, it has raised alarms among some educators. Public schools in New York City and Seattle have already banned students and teachers from using ChatGPT on the district’s networks and devices. Some educators are now moving with remarkable speed to rethink their assignments in response to ChatGPT, even as it remains unclear how widespread use is of the tool among students and how harmful it could really be to learning.
OpenAI now joins a small but growing list of efforts to help educators detect when a written work is generated by ChatGPT. Some companies such as Turnitin are actively working on ChatGPT plagiarism detection tools that could help teachers identify when assignments are written by the tool. Meanwhile, Princeton student Edward Tuan told CNN more than 95,000 people have already tried the beta version of his own ChatGPT detection feature, called ZeroGPT, noting there has been “incredible demand among teachers” so far.
Jan Leike – a lead on the OpenAI alignment team, which works to make sure the AI tool is aligned with human values – listed several reasons for why detecting plagiarism via ChatGPT may be a challenge. People can edit text to avoid being identified by the tool, for example. It will also “be best at identifying text that is very similar to the kind of text that we’ve trained it on.”
In addition, the company said it’s impossible to determine if predictable text – such as a list of the first 1,000 prime numbers – was written by AI or a human because the correct answer is always the same, according to a company blog post. The classifier is also “very unreliable” on short texts below 1,000 characters.
During a demo with CNN ahead of Tuesday’s launch, ChatGPT successfully labeled several bodies of work. An excerpt from the book “Peter Pan,” for example, was deemed “unlikely” to be AI generated. In the company blog post, however, OpenAI said it incorrectly labeled human-written text as AI-written 5% of the time.
Despite the possibility of false positives, Leike said the company aims to use the tool to spark conversations around AI literacy and possibly deter people from claiming that AI-written text was created by a human. He said the decision to release the new feature also stems from the debate around whether humans have a right to know if they’re interacting with AI.
“This question is much bigger than what we are doing here; society as a whole has to grapple with that question,” he said.
OpenAI said it encourages the general public to share their feedback on the AI check feature. Ahmad said the company continues to talk with K-12 educators and those at the collegiate level and beyond, such as Harvard University and the Stanford Design School.
The company sees its role as “an educator to the educators,” according to Ahmad, in the sense that OpenAI wants to make them more “aware about the technologies and what they can be used for and what they should not be used for.”
“We’re not educators ourselves – we’re very aware of that – and so our goals are really to help equip teachers to deploy these models effectively in and out of the classroom,” Ahmad said. “That means giving them the language to speak about it, help them understand the capabilities and the limitations, and then secondarily through them, equip students to navigate the complexities that AI is already introducing in the world.”
|
There is no shortage of media coverage on the housing industry right now. Most of it points to rising prices and the lack of affordability. Missing from most of those stories are the escalating costs and ever increasing requirements to build homes.
There are hundreds of inputs into the cost of a home, including land, labor, regulation, and materials. However, in the age of climate crises, there is more focus on finding the perfect, protected land, the right materials, and following the regulations that hopefully are written to keep the home and owner safe in the advent of a climate event.
While all of that sounds incredibly rational, pressure is on for builders to lower costs. The National Association of Home Builders doesn’t have average construction cost increases for housing, but offered average construction values instead.
The group’s chief economist Rob Dietz shared with me that US Census permit data shows that the average construction value, which does not include land, increased 78% since 2015 – going from $166,276 to $295,965 in 2021.
Dietz added that values have been increasing due to rising regulatory costs, rising material costs, limited lot availability, and skilled labor shortages among other factors.
“Moreover, it is an average, so if entry level homes are simply not built, it rises as an average,” he said. “And that has happened.”
Wildfires are just one climate event adding pressure to the housing industry. USA Today reported that in 2022 there were 65,000 wildfires in the US, adding up to more than 7 million burned acres.
Nonprofit research organization First Street Foundation reports that more than 20 million properties across the US are threatened by at least “moderate” wildfire risk, or have up to a 6% chance of being in a blaze at some point in the life of a 30-year mortgage.
During these fires, homes are destroyed, and at the same time, building codes are revised and become more complicated to navigate. Plus, surrounding land becomes more expensive, all adding to the costs to build again.
PolicyGenius reported on the risks in the most fire-prone states and the meanings of the risk. For instance, Colorado has 2.2 million homes and the number of those at risk sits around 17%. In 2021, the state’s worst year for wildfire losses that were tracked by insurance, it added up to $450 million. At an even higher risk is Idaho, where 26% of homes are at risk.
Even though this data shows the significant risks to homeowners, Colorado’s legislative efforts to require fire-resistant construction materials have not been successful. At the same time, the number of homes being built in the wildfire prone areas is growing, and in Colorado has more than doubled between 1990 and 2020.
There continues to be a snowball effect. The more wildfires that occur, the more land is susceptible to the burning, the more homes are at risk, the more costs increase for finding land and building homes.
The US Fire Administration shows that the amount of the wildland urban interface, or the zone between development and wildlife, is growing by nearly two million acres per year. The group also reports that homes in 70,000 communities worth $1.3 trillion are now within the path of a fire event.
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, adopting and carrying out building codes is the most effective mitigation strategy. In 2019, the National Institute of Building Science published a report underlining this finding. The report showed that implementing the International Code Council’s 2015 International Wildland Urban Interface Code saved $4 for every $1 invested and that bringing existing buildings up to that code could provide up to $8 in benefits for each dollar spent.
Blazing Innovative Solutions
Former fire chief and now chief scientific officer at FireGuardia, Oscar Dominguez, is working to commercialize a fireproof plastic he invented in 2002 to bring the 100-year-old fire detection and suppression techniques used today up to date.
“Many insurance carriers are refusing coverage or won’t renew policies when homes are built in fire prone zones,” said Heather Towsley, president and chief executive officer at FireGuardia. “The demand for greater smart home construction technology could accelerate homeowner insurance incentives for using more sophisticated home fire suppression technology – much like water conservation and solar panel rebates.”
She shares that the FireGuardia solution can retrofit without driving up costs. The product can be applied to a number of construction materials to make them fireproof.
The company has a focus on bringing the solution to scale with an incredibly affordable coating product, targeting between $50 to $60 per 5-gallon bucket where other solutions land between $180 to $600, and hopes to be available later this year after an investment round.
The FireGuardia home fire suppression system integrates detection, suppression and a software tool. It also is nontoxic, sustainably sourced, and has low VOC output, taking out the poisonous materials that have historically been used in fire retardants, so there would be no hazardous material to clean up post fire.
Towsley shared an example of the product’s performance. In the first 20 seconds of a piece of Kevlar subjected to fire, it rose to 360 degrees Fahrenheit. A FireGuardia-coated piece of paper only reached 100 degrees in that time.
Another similar solution is from Singapore-based Fire Terminator. Judah Jay is the founder, inventor and scientist behind this plant-based, liquid technology that provides an aerodynamic shield on each molecule of a combustible material, like the wood and drywall used to build homes.
Jay’s technology comes from work on combustion research for aerospace applications that he did in the 1980s with Russian, Bulgarian and other Eastern European scientists.
“Once you introduce heat to our product, free radicals are produced that negate the combustion molecule that fuels the fire,” Jay said. “Without combustion, the fire cannot start or spread. That is how we can prevent and extinguish any fire. The higher the temperature, the more free radicals are produced, therefore, the better the performance of our product. Once the fire is extinguished, it can no longer be reignited.”
Jetfire Xin is the company’s business developer and is working on ways to commercialize the innovation across North America. Fire Terminator’s goal is to provide every homeowner with a home protection product. The product will be sold by the liter, retailing at $20. After mixing, one liter can cover 172 square feet.
In addition, treating wood with Fire Terminator makes it incombustible and protects it against insect infestations and mold. A coating process over the wood can also be done, which would substantially increase its resilience against fire damage.
Finally, Xin points out that homes and buildings that are equipped with sprinkler systems can add Fire Terminator into the water in the system to prevent a fire from spreading, putting it out quickly.
Home Design to Minimize Risk
California builder Connect Homes has been focused on thoughtful design meant to minimize the risk of fire damages. Its homes are designed without eaves, which prevents flying embers from blowing up into the attic and starting a fire. The roofs also have a specific rating to be effective against severe fire exposure.
Plus, the builder also sources non-combustible exterior sheathing and finishes for the most dangerous areas. Connect Homes selects dual-pane glass exterior doors and windows to reduce the chance of breakage that typically occurs due to the extreme heat of a wildfire.
Gordon Stott, co-founder of the home building company, underlines the value of creating defensible space with limited landscaping.
“For me, it’s that balance of knowing that lovely landscaping could turn into a liability,” he said. “Another feature of our prefab system is the extensive use of floor-to-ceiling glass. I’ve been impressed with how floor-to-ceiling glass can sometimes overcome limitations of more limited landscaping. Standing in a modern house, feeling connected to the outdoors often still feels pretty great, even with limited landscaping and if the plant action is far away.”
Bottom line is that building and rebuilding isn’t the answer. Neither can any solution live on an island. There has to be industry-wide collaboration for the right regulations, the most innovative designs and products, along with ways to reduce the costs to bring these solutions to reality.
|
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There is no shortage of media coverage on the housing industry right now. Most of it points to rising prices and the lack of affordability. Missing from most of those stories are the escalating costs and ever increasing requirements to build homes.
There are hundreds of inputs into the cost of a home, including land, labor, regulation, and materials. However, in the age of climate crises, there is more focus on finding the perfect, protected land, the right materials, and following the regulations that hopefully are written to keep the home and owner safe in the advent of a climate event.
While all of that sounds incredibly rational, pressure is on
|
for builders to lower costs. The National Association of Home Builders doesn’t have average construction cost increases for housing, but offered average construction values instead.
The group’s chief economist Rob Dietz shared with me that US Census permit data shows that the average construction value, which does not include land, increased 78% since 2015 – going from $166,276 to $295,965 in 2021.
Dietz added that values have been increasing due to rising regulatory costs, rising material costs, limited lot availability, and skilled labor shortages among other factors.
“Moreover, it is an average, so if entry level homes are simply not built, it rises as an average,” he said. “And that has happened.”
Wildfires are just one climate event adding pressure to the housing industry. USA Today reported that in 2022 there were 65,000 wildfires in the US, adding up to more than 7 million burned acres.
Nonprofit research organization First Street Foundation reports that more than 20 million properties across the US are threatened by at least “moderate” wildfire risk, or have up to a 6% chance of being in a blaze at some point in the life of a 30-year mortgage.
During these fires, homes are destroyed, and at the same time, building codes are revised and become more complicated to navigate. Plus, surrounding land becomes more expensive, all adding to the costs to build again.
PolicyGenius reported on the risks in the most fire-prone states and the meanings of the risk. For instance, Colorado has 2.2 million homes and the number of those at risk sits around 17%. In 2021, the state’s worst year for wildfire losses that were tracked by insurance, it added up to $450 million. At an even higher risk is Idaho, where 26% of homes are at risk.
Even though this data shows the significant risks to homeowners, Colorado’s legislative efforts to require fire-resistant construction materials have not been successful. At the same time, the number of homes being built in the wildfire prone areas is growing, and in Colorado has more than doubled between 1990 and 2020.
There continues to be a snowball effect. The more wildfires that occur, the more land is susceptible to the burning, the more homes are at risk, the more costs increase for finding land and building homes.
The US Fire Administration shows that the amount of the wildland urban interface, or the zone between development and wildlife, is growing by nearly two million acres per year. The group also reports that homes in 70,000 communities worth $1.3 trillion are now within the path of a fire event.
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, adopting and carrying out building codes is the most effective mitigation strategy. In 2019, the National Institute of Building Science published a report underlining this finding. The report showed that implementing the International Code Council’s 2015 International Wildland Urban Interface Code saved $4 for every $1 invested and that bringing existing buildings up to that code could provide up to $8 in benefits for each dollar spent.
Blazing Innovative Solutions
Former fire chief and now chief scientific officer at FireGuardia, Oscar Dominguez, is working to commercialize a fireproof plastic he invented in 2002 to bring the 100-year-old fire detection and suppression techniques used today up to date.
“Many insurance carriers are refusing coverage or won’t renew policies when homes are built in fire prone zones,” said Heather Towsley, president and chief executive officer at FireGuardia. “The demand for greater smart home construction technology could accelerate homeowner insurance incentives for using more sophisticated home fire suppression technology – much like water conservation and solar panel rebates.”
She shares that the FireGuardia solution can retrofit without driving up costs. The product can be applied to a number of construction materials to make them fireproof.
The company has a focus on bringing the solution to scale with an incredibly affordable coating product, targeting between $50 to $60 per 5-gallon bucket where other solutions land between $180 to $600, and hopes to be available later this year after an investment round.
The FireGuardia home fire suppression system integrates detection, suppression and a software tool. It also is nontoxic, sustainably sourced, and has low VOC output, taking out the poisonous materials that have historically been used in fire retardants, so there would be no hazardous material to clean up post fire.
Towsley shared an example of the product’s performance. In the first 20 seconds of a piece of Kevlar subjected to fire, it rose to 360 degrees Fahrenheit. A FireGuardia-coated piece of paper only reached 100 degrees in that time.
Another similar solution is from Singapore-based Fire Terminator. Judah Jay is the founder, inventor and scientist behind this plant-based, liquid technology that provides an aerodynamic shield on each molecule of a combustible material, like the wood and drywall used to build homes.
Jay’s technology comes from work on combustion research for aerospace applications that he did in the 1980s with Russian, Bulgarian and other Eastern European scientists.
“Once you introduce heat to our product, free radicals are produced that negate the combustion molecule that fuels the fire,” Jay said. “Without combustion, the fire cannot start or spread. That is how we can prevent and extinguish any fire. The higher the temperature, the more free radicals are produced, therefore, the better the performance of our product. Once the fire is extinguished, it can no longer be reignited.”
Jetfire Xin is the company’s business developer and is working on ways to commercialize the innovation across North America. Fire Terminator’s goal is to provide every homeowner with a home protection product. The product will be sold by the liter, retailing at $20. After mixing, one liter can cover 172 square feet.
In addition, treating wood with Fire Terminator makes it incombustible and protects it against insect infestations and mold. A coating process over the wood can also be done, which would substantially increase its resilience against fire damage.
Finally, Xin points out that homes and buildings that are equipped with sprinkler systems can add Fire Terminator into the water in the system to prevent a fire from spreading, putting it out quickly.
Home Design to Minimize Risk
California builder Connect Homes has been focused on thoughtful design meant to minimize the risk of fire damages. Its homes are designed without eaves, which prevents flying embers from blowing up into the attic and starting a fire. The roofs also have a specific rating to be effective against severe fire exposure.
Plus, the builder also sources non-combustible exterior sheathing and finishes for the most dangerous areas. Connect Homes selects dual-pane glass exterior doors and windows to reduce the chance of breakage that typically occurs due to the extreme heat of a wildfire.
Gordon Stott, co-founder of the home building company, underlines the value of creating defensible space with limited landscaping.
“For me, it’s that balance of knowing that lovely landscaping could turn into a liability,” he said. “Another feature of our prefab system is the extensive use of floor-to-ceiling glass. I’ve been impressed with how floor-to-ceiling glass can sometimes overcome limitations of more limited landscaping. Standing in a modern house, feeling connected to the outdoors often still feels pretty great, even with limited landscaping and if the plant action is far away.”
Bottom line is that building and rebuilding isn’t the answer. Neither can any solution live on an island. There has to be industry-wide collaboration for the right regulations, the most innovative designs and products, along with ways to reduce the costs to bring these solutions to reality.
|
So you can read. But how?
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) submitted a bill to his state’s legislature this year that would command all Tennessee school districts to rely on phonics for reading in kindergarten through third grade. More than 30 states and D.C. have taken this approach, instituting various degrees of phonics instruction on their turf. Yet teachers unions in many places have been resistant, and some politicians are on their side.
The so-called reading wars have been raging for decades now, sometimes pitting teachers against publishers or publishers against academicians — and also sometimes, as too many things do these days, pitting progressives against conservatives or Democrats against Republicans. That’s unfortunate, because — as perhaps too few things do these days — the debate over how best to teach children to read lends itself to a conclusive answer. That’s phonics.
In phonics, students learn a letter or a pair of letters at a time.
That’s how most Americans learned to read. Slowly, letters add up to words.
Eventually, through a process called “orthographic mapping,” some words will lodge themselves in a child’s memory so they’ll know them on sight. And it turns out the most efficient and effective route to this mapping is linking sounds, letter by letter, to written words. Our brains light up in the right places when we do it.
What’s more, knowing the sounds “a,” “m,” “n” and every vowel team and consonant blend on the long journey to “z” will eventually allow a young reader to decode any word, even when they don’t recognize it.
Not everyone, however, is sold.
Phonics isn’t new — it dates to at least the 19th century. What’s newer is the “whole language” approach to reading. The idea is to teach words rather than letters. It was persuasive in the mid-20th century, when “Dick and Jane” books replaced phonics-based McGuffey Readers.
In the whole-language approach, students are shown simple sentences and learn by logical association.
They learn entire words at a time.
But some students just memorize the narrow set of words in their books and exercises.
In the more modern version of this approach, heavily reliant on what’s known as the “three-cueing system,” students are essentially encouraged to guess words: Does it make sense? Does it sound right? Does it look right?
Because this includes a “look right” component, there’s some element of phonics involved — hence the marketing of this teaching strategy as “balanced literacy.” But too heavy an emphasis on the “make sense” part of the equation, combined with many of those helpful pictures, means some children can get by without sounding out anything. This approach breaks down when the words become longer, less familiar and when the pictures disappear.
About 40 percent of students will learn to read no matter what. They’ll manage to sound words out without systematic phonics instruction, or without any phonics instruction at all. That’s part of why the whole-language approach looks, sometimes, like it works. But research shows that the children who struggle most aren’t likely to stop struggling unless they’re taught to sound words out — unless they’re taught to read.
The Carnegie Corporation of New York released in the 1960s a comprehensive literature review that emphasized the importance of phonics in reading instruction. The U.S. Education Department and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development convened a National Reading Panel that came to the same conclusion in 2000.
Recent numbers bear this out: The “Mississippi miracle” saw the state vault from 49th in fourth-graders’ reading proficiency test scores to 29th in a mere six years, after implementing phonics-based curriculums. Meanwhile, reading scores nationwide are dropping, and only about one-third of fourth- and eighth-graders across the country are proficient at reading.
So why do so many teachers refuse to adopt methods that work — and hold fast to those that don’t?
Many of those most devoted in recent decades to balanced literacy see phonics as, well, boring: “drill and kill,” as some put it. Especially in schools with fewer resources, the chances instructors will be skilled enough to bring these lessons to life might be slim. The thinking goes that kids won’t improve at reading if they don’t enjoy reading, and that to enjoy reading the focus should be on understanding the story a book is trying to tell rather than on getting each and every word exactly right. Who cares, for example, if a student says “puppy” instead of “dog?”
Certainly kids can get bored laboring all day over cats and rats who can’t do much more than be fat until the students have progressed to more challenging combinations of letters. And sounding out words can only take a student so far, if they have no idea what any of those words mean. Reading — really reading — requires myriad skills, starting with word recognition but reaching to background knowledge, vocabulary, syntax and semantics and eventually coping with irony, metaphors, genres and themes.
Some of these skills might come more naturally to students growing up in households with, say, college or high-school educated parents. They’ll definitely come more naturally to students growing up in English-speaking households. The students whose homes infuse them with less background knowledge, vocabulary and beyond than their peers will most need their schools to step in and provide it.
But balanced literacy isn’t really balanced — phonics instruction is usually sprinkled here and there rather than instituted systematically in the manner that’s required for students actually to benefit from it. And three-cueing methods sometimes teach students hacks. For those who don’t immediately catch on to sounding out words, those hacks can discourage them to ever learn how.
Recognizing that students will bring a range of vocabulary and experience to the classroom is important, but that doesn’t negate the reality that phonics is essential, because learning a new word starts with sounding out what the word is and because unspooling a good metaphor requires drinking in an entire sentence.
Parents and advocates are understandably squeamish about government dictates involving so intimate and traditionally local a matter as education — particularly when ideology enters the equation. School boards and other bodies closer to the ground are the ideal places for these decisions to happen. But they should happen. The techniques that will help students master “Bob Books” so someday they might make it to Robert Wright books aren’t a question of ideology. They’re a question of science.
Kids should absolutely learn to love to read. First, though, they need to learn to read.
Editorials represent the views of The Post as an institution, as determined through debate among members of the Editorial Board, based in the Opinions section and separate from the newsroom.
Members of the Editorial Board and areas of focus: Opinion Editor David Shipley; Deputy Opinion Editor Karen Tumulty; Associate Opinion Editor Stephen Stromberg (national politics and policy, legal affairs, energy, the environment, health care); Lee Hockstader (European affairs, based in Paris); David E. Hoffman (global public health); James Hohmann (domestic policy and electoral politics, including the White House, Congress and governors); Charles Lane (foreign affairs, national security, international economics); Heather Long (economics); Associate Editor Ruth Marcus; and Molly Roberts (technology and society).
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So you can read. But how?
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) submitted a bill to his state’s legislature this year that would command all Tennessee school districts to rely on phonics for reading in kindergarten through third grade. More than 30 states and D.C. have taken this approach, instituting various degrees of phonics instruction on their turf. Yet teachers unions in many places have been resistant, and some politicians are on their side.
The so-called reading wars have been raging for decades now, sometimes pitting teachers against publishers or publishers against academicians — and also sometimes, as too many things do these
|
days, pitting progressives against conservatives or Democrats against Republicans. That’s unfortunate, because — as perhaps too few things do these days — the debate over how best to teach children to read lends itself to a conclusive answer. That’s phonics.
In phonics, students learn a letter or a pair of letters at a time.
That’s how most Americans learned to read. Slowly, letters add up to words.
Eventually, through a process called “orthographic mapping,” some words will lodge themselves in a child’s memory so they’ll know them on sight. And it turns out the most efficient and effective route to this mapping is linking sounds, letter by letter, to written words. Our brains light up in the right places when we do it.
What’s more, knowing the sounds “a,” “m,” “n” and every vowel team and consonant blend on the long journey to “z” will eventually allow a young reader to decode any word, even when they don’t recognize it.
Not everyone, however, is sold.
Phonics isn’t new — it dates to at least the 19th century. What’s newer is the “whole language” approach to reading. The idea is to teach words rather than letters. It was persuasive in the mid-20th century, when “Dick and Jane” books replaced phonics-based McGuffey Readers.
In the whole-language approach, students are shown simple sentences and learn by logical association.
They learn entire words at a time.
But some students just memorize the narrow set of words in their books and exercises.
In the more modern version of this approach, heavily reliant on what’s known as the “three-cueing system,” students are essentially encouraged to guess words: Does it make sense? Does it sound right? Does it look right?
Because this includes a “look right” component, there’s some element of phonics involved — hence the marketing of this teaching strategy as “balanced literacy.” But too heavy an emphasis on the “make sense” part of the equation, combined with many of those helpful pictures, means some children can get by without sounding out anything. This approach breaks down when the words become longer, less familiar and when the pictures disappear.
About 40 percent of students will learn to read no matter what. They’ll manage to sound words out without systematic phonics instruction, or without any phonics instruction at all. That’s part of why the whole-language approach looks, sometimes, like it works. But research shows that the children who struggle most aren’t likely to stop struggling unless they’re taught to sound words out — unless they’re taught to read.
The Carnegie Corporation of New York released in the 1960s a comprehensive literature review that emphasized the importance of phonics in reading instruction. The U.S. Education Department and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development convened a National Reading Panel that came to the same conclusion in 2000.
Recent numbers bear this out: The “Mississippi miracle” saw the state vault from 49th in fourth-graders’ reading proficiency test scores to 29th in a mere six years, after implementing phonics-based curriculums. Meanwhile, reading scores nationwide are dropping, and only about one-third of fourth- and eighth-graders across the country are proficient at reading.
So why do so many teachers refuse to adopt methods that work — and hold fast to those that don’t?
Many of those most devoted in recent decades to balanced literacy see phonics as, well, boring: “drill and kill,” as some put it. Especially in schools with fewer resources, the chances instructors will be skilled enough to bring these lessons to life might be slim. The thinking goes that kids won’t improve at reading if they don’t enjoy reading, and that to enjoy reading the focus should be on understanding the story a book is trying to tell rather than on getting each and every word exactly right. Who cares, for example, if a student says “puppy” instead of “dog?”
Certainly kids can get bored laboring all day over cats and rats who can’t do much more than be fat until the students have progressed to more challenging combinations of letters. And sounding out words can only take a student so far, if they have no idea what any of those words mean. Reading — really reading — requires myriad skills, starting with word recognition but reaching to background knowledge, vocabulary, syntax and semantics and eventually coping with irony, metaphors, genres and themes.
Some of these skills might come more naturally to students growing up in households with, say, college or high-school educated parents. They’ll definitely come more naturally to students growing up in English-speaking households. The students whose homes infuse them with less background knowledge, vocabulary and beyond than their peers will most need their schools to step in and provide it.
But balanced literacy isn’t really balanced — phonics instruction is usually sprinkled here and there rather than instituted systematically in the manner that’s required for students actually to benefit from it. And three-cueing methods sometimes teach students hacks. For those who don’t immediately catch on to sounding out words, those hacks can discourage them to ever learn how.
Recognizing that students will bring a range of vocabulary and experience to the classroom is important, but that doesn’t negate the reality that phonics is essential, because learning a new word starts with sounding out what the word is and because unspooling a good metaphor requires drinking in an entire sentence.
Parents and advocates are understandably squeamish about government dictates involving so intimate and traditionally local a matter as education — particularly when ideology enters the equation. School boards and other bodies closer to the ground are the ideal places for these decisions to happen. But they should happen. The techniques that will help students master “Bob Books” so someday they might make it to Robert Wright books aren’t a question of ideology. They’re a question of science.
Kids should absolutely learn to love to read. First, though, they need to learn to read.
Editorials represent the views of The Post as an institution, as determined through debate among members of the Editorial Board, based in the Opinions section and separate from the newsroom.
Members of the Editorial Board and areas of focus: Opinion Editor David Shipley; Deputy Opinion Editor Karen Tumulty; Associate Opinion Editor Stephen Stromberg (national politics and policy, legal affairs, energy, the environment, health care); Lee Hockstader (European affairs, based in Paris); David E. Hoffman (global public health); James Hohmann (domestic policy and electoral politics, including the White House, Congress and governors); Charles Lane (foreign affairs, national security, international economics); Heather Long (economics); Associate Editor Ruth Marcus; and Molly Roberts (technology and society).
|
What the Supreme Court's 'Sackett' ruling could mean for Kentucky's dwindling wetlands
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling on a long-running environmental case that began in the Idaho panhandle strips protections for wetlands in Kentucky and across the nation.
The court's 5-4 ruling on Thursday sided with the Sackett family, who sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency more than a decade ago after the agency blocked them, under provisions of the Clean Water Act, from developing their property.
Some water advocates were expecting the court to loosen wetland protections, but Thursday's decision cut protections more than expected, according to Michael Washburn, executive director of Kentucky Waterways Alliance.
"Without exaggeration, it's calamitous," he said. Some advocacy groups estimated tens of millions of wetland acres lost protections due to the decision.
More:Ohio River listed as endangered. What that means and what can be done to help.
What does the high court's ruling mean for Kentucky?
What are wetlands?
Generally, wetlands are areas of land covered with water or saturated for some or all of the year. Marshes are an example of this habitat.
Boasting biodiversity on par with rainforests and coral reefs, wetlands provide critical habitat for animals like waterfowl, and are a hotbed for plant life.
More:Kentucky suing DuPont over years of chemical contamination from upstream W.Va. plant
Every year, wetlands' natural ability to filter runoff and help absorb floodwaters during rain events saves the state millions of dollars. They also help sequester carbon.
Deer, frog, salamander and bat species are just some of the wildlife reliant on Kentucky's wetlands.
Where are Kentucky's wetlands?
The most recent catalog of Kentucky wetlands, reported in 1997, estimated the state has lost more than 80% of its original wetlands — equating to more than a million acres of crucial Kentucky habitat, decimated.
Only a few hundred thousand acres of wetlands are left in the state, Washburn said. The majority are in the western half of the state.
Efforts there by the Nature Conservancy, the Natural Resources Conservation Service and local landowners have sought to restore the natural hydrology of thousands of acres of wetlands, particularly in the Jackson Purchase region.
More:EPA proposes new pollution rules for coal power plants. What it could mean for Kentucky
How does Sackett v. EPA impact Kentucky?
Wetlands in Kentucky are at the mercy of the federal Clean Water Act and its definitions, with nothing on the books at the state level, a report from the Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy found.
And when it comes to water quality, Kentucky state law prohibits an agency "from imposing any standards or conditions on permits that would otherwise not be required under federal law," according to the report.
In other words, Kentucky water protections rely on the Clean Water Act, which was eroded by Thursday's decision, and state law prevents Kentucky regulators from replacing the protections that were lost.
National analysis:'Significant repercussions.' Supreme Court limits government power to curb water pollution
How are stakeholders reacting to the ruling?
Some advocacy groups worried the ruling would open the door for increased agricultural runoff, threatening drinking water supplies with chemicals like nitrates, while others said it could represent an erosion of water protections as a whole.
The decision "flatly ignores the ecological and scientific underpinnings of the Clean Water Act," Washburn said.
U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell celebrated the ruling as "long-awaited relief and much-needed clarity" for businesses and landowners, who he said were burdened by the Biden administration's wetland protections announced in December.
The Republican leader also cited complaints from leadership of the Kentucky Farm Bureau and Kentucky Corn Growers Association over the Biden administration's wetland protections in a Courier Journal op-ed last month.
Calling Thursday's decision a win for businesses is "short-sighted," Washburn said, as agriculture and other industries across Kentucky rely on clean water for their operations.
"I think we're shooting ourselves in the foot if we say that you can have a win for small businesses and homeowners ... at the expense of a healthy environment."
Connor Giffin is an environmental reporter for The Courier Journal and a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues. The program funds up to half of corps members’ salaries, but requires a portion also be raised through local community fundraising. To support local environmental reporting in Kentucky, tax-deductible donations can be made atcourier-journal.com/RFA.
Learn more about RFA atreportforamerica.org. Reach Connor directly at <email-pii> or on Twitter@byconnorgiffin.
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What the Supreme Court's 'Sackett' ruling could mean for Kentucky's dwindling wetlands
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling on a long-running environmental case that began in the Idaho panhandle strips protections for wetlands in Kentucky and across the nation.
The court's 5-4 ruling on Thursday sided with the Sackett family, who sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency more than a decade ago after the agency blocked them, under provisions of the Clean Water Act, from developing their property.
Some water advocates were expecting the court to loosen wetland protections, but Thursday's decision cut protections more than expected, according
|
to Michael Washburn, executive director of Kentucky Waterways Alliance.
"Without exaggeration, it's calamitous," he said. Some advocacy groups estimated tens of millions of wetland acres lost protections due to the decision.
More:Ohio River listed as endangered. What that means and what can be done to help.
What does the high court's ruling mean for Kentucky?
What are wetlands?
Generally, wetlands are areas of land covered with water or saturated for some or all of the year. Marshes are an example of this habitat.
Boasting biodiversity on par with rainforests and coral reefs, wetlands provide critical habitat for animals like waterfowl, and are a hotbed for plant life.
More:Kentucky suing DuPont over years of chemical contamination from upstream W.Va. plant
Every year, wetlands' natural ability to filter runoff and help absorb floodwaters during rain events saves the state millions of dollars. They also help sequester carbon.
Deer, frog, salamander and bat species are just some of the wildlife reliant on Kentucky's wetlands.
Where are Kentucky's wetlands?
The most recent catalog of Kentucky wetlands, reported in 1997, estimated the state has lost more than 80% of its original wetlands — equating to more than a million acres of crucial Kentucky habitat, decimated.
Only a few hundred thousand acres of wetlands are left in the state, Washburn said. The majority are in the western half of the state.
Efforts there by the Nature Conservancy, the Natural Resources Conservation Service and local landowners have sought to restore the natural hydrology of thousands of acres of wetlands, particularly in the Jackson Purchase region.
More:EPA proposes new pollution rules for coal power plants. What it could mean for Kentucky
How does Sackett v. EPA impact Kentucky?
Wetlands in Kentucky are at the mercy of the federal Clean Water Act and its definitions, with nothing on the books at the state level, a report from the Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy found.
And when it comes to water quality, Kentucky state law prohibits an agency "from imposing any standards or conditions on permits that would otherwise not be required under federal law," according to the report.
In other words, Kentucky water protections rely on the Clean Water Act, which was eroded by Thursday's decision, and state law prevents Kentucky regulators from replacing the protections that were lost.
National analysis:'Significant repercussions.' Supreme Court limits government power to curb water pollution
How are stakeholders reacting to the ruling?
Some advocacy groups worried the ruling would open the door for increased agricultural runoff, threatening drinking water supplies with chemicals like nitrates, while others said it could represent an erosion of water protections as a whole.
The decision "flatly ignores the ecological and scientific underpinnings of the Clean Water Act," Washburn said.
U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell celebrated the ruling as "long-awaited relief and much-needed clarity" for businesses and landowners, who he said were burdened by the Biden administration's wetland protections announced in December.
The Republican leader also cited complaints from leadership of the Kentucky Farm Bureau and Kentucky Corn Growers Association over the Biden administration's wetland protections in a Courier Journal op-ed last month.
Calling Thursday's decision a win for businesses is "short-sighted," Washburn said, as agriculture and other industries across Kentucky rely on clean water for their operations.
"I think we're shooting ourselves in the foot if we say that you can have a win for small businesses and homeowners ... at the expense of a healthy environment."
Connor Giffin is an environmental reporter for The Courier Journal and a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues. The program funds up to half of corps members’ salaries, but requires a portion also be raised through local community fundraising. To support local environmental reporting in Kentucky, tax-deductible donations can be made atcourier-journal.com/RFA.
Learn more about RFA atreportforamerica.org. Reach Connor directly at <email-pii> or on Twitter@byconnorgiffin.
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When most animals move into a new area, they don’t significantly change it. Beavers, on the other hand, leave a mark on the landscape that you can sometimes see from space.
Swarming ponds, building dams and expanding waterways, beavers are moving farther and farther into the Arctic, and are changing what the region looks like.
“We think of these beaver ponds like oases in the Arctic, oases of warmth, biodiversity, permafrost thaw,” said Ken Tape, an ecologist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. “We used to think Arctic streams were these little free-flowing things about as wide as my office. And it turns out that once beavers get involved, that’s not what Arctic streams look like. They look like wetlands because of all these beaver dams.”
Tape — together with Benjamin Jones, research assistant professor at the Water and Environmental Research Center at UAF; biology doctoral student Sebastian Zavoico; and Northwest Alaska writer Seth Kantner — traveled by snowmachine from Nome to Kotzebue in recent weeks to study how beavers are changing the landscape.
While the implications of beavers’ increasing presence aren’t yet clear, several Northwest Alaska residents welcome the change. Beavers, they say, provide an additional food source for locals and create a more diverse environment.
“Unlike other animals in the Arctic that sort of migrate or move with the seasons, beavers are very reliable,” Kantner said. “They are almost like money in the bank: If you ever get hungry or we have starvation or need furs and need food, they’re an incredible resource.”
The number of beaver ponds in the Alaska Arctic doubled between 2003 and 2017, with the animals moving into tundra regions farther north, Tape said. The data comes from the analysis of ponds through satellite imagery and aerial photography.
Stream by stream, the population is spreading from forested areas in the Interior into the Northwest Arctic. In the 1970s and ‘80s, beavers started to occupy the Nome area, where there’s a lot of groundwater and shrubby vegetation available year-round. In the 1990s and early 2000s, they started to move to Kotzebue.
Kantner said that at Baldwin Peninsula behind Kotzebue, there were almost no beavers 30 to 40 years ago, and “now, every little puddle seems to have a beaver lodge on it.” Kotzebue hunter and trapper Lance Kramer agreed.
“We first started noticing beavers back around 1995 behind Kotzebue,” said Kramer, who is familiar with most of the lakes and the landscape around Kotzebue. “Every year there’s just more and more and more from those three lodges in 1995, now there’s over 65 lodges today behind town.”
[From 2017: ’Tundra be dammed’: Beavers head north, leaving their mark on the Arctic]
Following the beavers
To understand how beavers are changing the environment they’re moving into, researchers spent nine days traveling more than 400 miles on snowmachines earlier this month, visiting beaver sites on the Seward and Baldwin peninsulas. As part of a project funded by the National Science Foundation, they took water samples, measured snow depth and ice thickness and noted whether there’s unfrozen water at the bottom of ponds, Tape said.
“When we’re looking at how they change the landscape, we don’t actually have to see the beaver, which is kind of funny and slightly disappointing,” Tape said. “We were not looking so much at the behavior of beavers, but we’re looking at their impacts.”
Navigating in whiteout conditions, transporting heavy scientific equipment, looking for unfrozen water, drilling through 1 1/2 meters of ice — those were some of the challenges they faced during the trip, Tape said.
“The blizzard was our biggest challenge by far — having to hunker down and sit tight for a day, which we’re not very good at,” Tape said. “We’re eager to get out there and make measurements.”
After the blizzard, the group dug out from the snow and moved to their next stop: Serpentine Hot Springs. In addition to providing a repose for tired travelers, the hot springs, with unfrozen water at the surface, also entertained them with a long-awaited beaver sighting.
Researchers knew that the beavers have used springs and hot springs to gain a foothold in the Arctic because those are the first places where the habitat is really available, Tape said. So out of curiosity, they set up time-lapse cameras to observe them at Serpentine Hot Springs.
“Sure enough, here comes the beaver,” Tape said.
The group also met a local family at the hot springs and spoke to them about beavers and the region.
“You always learn a lot from talking to those knowledgeable folks — about beavers, about their history, about the history of the entire area,” Tape said.
Kantner, who was born along the Kobuk River, has his own experience to share. When he was growing up, there were already beavers in the area and people used them for meat and fur. He said he always had a lot of respect for beavers as animals.
“I personally always admired them because, you know, it lived very close to where I lived and had been hard-working all the time as I am too,” he said. “We sort of felt like we lived a little bit more like beavers because they were just a mile or two away in their latitudes with their hard work and hardscrabble life, and there we were, in our little sod igloo with a tunnel entrance.”
Changing the Arctic
When beavers make ponds, they alter the hydrology and tend to thaw the permafrost, Tape said. This can be a big issue in locations with a lot of ice-rich permafrost, like the Baldwin Peninsula and the northern part of the Seward Peninsula, though for now, beavers are actually occupying a relatively small part of the Arctic, Tape said.
“It’s not that every single beaver pond is thawing permafrost, but a lot of them do,” Tape said. “We think that they’re accelerating climate change. Is it a huge deal? Not clear right now.”
Kantner pointed out that of all the causes for the warming Arctic, an increased beaver presence might not be the biggest. “The land is definitely melting but I’m not about to blame that on beaver,” he said.
How the increased beaver population is affecting or will affect existing wildlife is an open question. Overall, scientists predict that the oases created by beaver activity will lead to more biological production in the water and on land, with more organisms thriving and shrubs growing, Tape said.
Some believe that beaver dams can negatively affect fish, Tape said — for example, by blocking a small stream and preventing fish from migrating. But warmer water can also create a better spawning environment for species like salmon, Tape added.
Kramer, who traps beavers from mid-November to the end of December, said that while beavers can pose a potential danger to sources of drinking water for residents, the increased presence of the animals is actually good news. Beavers expand the water system on the Baldwin Peninsula, improving the conditions for fish and insects, which in turn creates more food for minks, otters and martens.
Beavers, he said, “really enhance our area by making ponds deeper, making waterways deeper through their dams to their lodges. If it wasn’t for a beaver dam, so many ponds wouldn’t exist ... They help everything survive better, everything in our country.”
Some Northwest Alaska hunters rely more and more on beaver meat, especially now that caribou hunting is rare and scarce, Kantner and Kramer said.
In Kramer’s experience, beaver meat is also one of the best baits.
“Everything of the country likes to eat beaver,” he said. “They’re a very good critter to trap because they’re used so much. The hides, of course, I get them tanned and I sell them to local people here for hats and things like that. And then the carcasses, they are good to eat — a lot of protein, a lot of fat.
“I’m actually glad they’re here.”
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When most animals move into a new area, they don’t significantly change it. Beavers, on the other hand, leave a mark on the landscape that you can sometimes see from space.
Swarming ponds, building dams and expanding waterways, beavers are moving farther and farther into the Arctic, and are changing what the region looks like.
“We think of these beaver ponds like oases in the Arctic, oases of warmth, biodiversity, permafrost thaw,” said Ken Tape, an ecologist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. “We used to think Arctic streams were these little free-flowing things about
|
as wide as my office. And it turns out that once beavers get involved, that’s not what Arctic streams look like. They look like wetlands because of all these beaver dams.”
Tape — together with Benjamin Jones, research assistant professor at the Water and Environmental Research Center at UAF; biology doctoral student Sebastian Zavoico; and Northwest Alaska writer Seth Kantner — traveled by snowmachine from Nome to Kotzebue in recent weeks to study how beavers are changing the landscape.
While the implications of beavers’ increasing presence aren’t yet clear, several Northwest Alaska residents welcome the change. Beavers, they say, provide an additional food source for locals and create a more diverse environment.
“Unlike other animals in the Arctic that sort of migrate or move with the seasons, beavers are very reliable,” Kantner said. “They are almost like money in the bank: If you ever get hungry or we have starvation or need furs and need food, they’re an incredible resource.”
The number of beaver ponds in the Alaska Arctic doubled between 2003 and 2017, with the animals moving into tundra regions farther north, Tape said. The data comes from the analysis of ponds through satellite imagery and aerial photography.
Stream by stream, the population is spreading from forested areas in the Interior into the Northwest Arctic. In the 1970s and ‘80s, beavers started to occupy the Nome area, where there’s a lot of groundwater and shrubby vegetation available year-round. In the 1990s and early 2000s, they started to move to Kotzebue.
Kantner said that at Baldwin Peninsula behind Kotzebue, there were almost no beavers 30 to 40 years ago, and “now, every little puddle seems to have a beaver lodge on it.” Kotzebue hunter and trapper Lance Kramer agreed.
“We first started noticing beavers back around 1995 behind Kotzebue,” said Kramer, who is familiar with most of the lakes and the landscape around Kotzebue. “Every year there’s just more and more and more from those three lodges in 1995, now there’s over 65 lodges today behind town.”
[From 2017: ’Tundra be dammed’: Beavers head north, leaving their mark on the Arctic]
Following the beavers
To understand how beavers are changing the environment they’re moving into, researchers spent nine days traveling more than 400 miles on snowmachines earlier this month, visiting beaver sites on the Seward and Baldwin peninsulas. As part of a project funded by the National Science Foundation, they took water samples, measured snow depth and ice thickness and noted whether there’s unfrozen water at the bottom of ponds, Tape said.
“When we’re looking at how they change the landscape, we don’t actually have to see the beaver, which is kind of funny and slightly disappointing,” Tape said. “We were not looking so much at the behavior of beavers, but we’re looking at their impacts.”
Navigating in whiteout conditions, transporting heavy scientific equipment, looking for unfrozen water, drilling through 1 1/2 meters of ice — those were some of the challenges they faced during the trip, Tape said.
“The blizzard was our biggest challenge by far — having to hunker down and sit tight for a day, which we’re not very good at,” Tape said. “We’re eager to get out there and make measurements.”
After the blizzard, the group dug out from the snow and moved to their next stop: Serpentine Hot Springs. In addition to providing a repose for tired travelers, the hot springs, with unfrozen water at the surface, also entertained them with a long-awaited beaver sighting.
Researchers knew that the beavers have used springs and hot springs to gain a foothold in the Arctic because those are the first places where the habitat is really available, Tape said. So out of curiosity, they set up time-lapse cameras to observe them at Serpentine Hot Springs.
“Sure enough, here comes the beaver,” Tape said.
The group also met a local family at the hot springs and spoke to them about beavers and the region.
“You always learn a lot from talking to those knowledgeable folks — about beavers, about their history, about the history of the entire area,” Tape said.
Kantner, who was born along the Kobuk River, has his own experience to share. When he was growing up, there were already beavers in the area and people used them for meat and fur. He said he always had a lot of respect for beavers as animals.
“I personally always admired them because, you know, it lived very close to where I lived and had been hard-working all the time as I am too,” he said. “We sort of felt like we lived a little bit more like beavers because they were just a mile or two away in their latitudes with their hard work and hardscrabble life, and there we were, in our little sod igloo with a tunnel entrance.”
Changing the Arctic
When beavers make ponds, they alter the hydrology and tend to thaw the permafrost, Tape said. This can be a big issue in locations with a lot of ice-rich permafrost, like the Baldwin Peninsula and the northern part of the Seward Peninsula, though for now, beavers are actually occupying a relatively small part of the Arctic, Tape said.
“It’s not that every single beaver pond is thawing permafrost, but a lot of them do,” Tape said. “We think that they’re accelerating climate change. Is it a huge deal? Not clear right now.”
Kantner pointed out that of all the causes for the warming Arctic, an increased beaver presence might not be the biggest. “The land is definitely melting but I’m not about to blame that on beaver,” he said.
How the increased beaver population is affecting or will affect existing wildlife is an open question. Overall, scientists predict that the oases created by beaver activity will lead to more biological production in the water and on land, with more organisms thriving and shrubs growing, Tape said.
Some believe that beaver dams can negatively affect fish, Tape said — for example, by blocking a small stream and preventing fish from migrating. But warmer water can also create a better spawning environment for species like salmon, Tape added.
Kramer, who traps beavers from mid-November to the end of December, said that while beavers can pose a potential danger to sources of drinking water for residents, the increased presence of the animals is actually good news. Beavers expand the water system on the Baldwin Peninsula, improving the conditions for fish and insects, which in turn creates more food for minks, otters and martens.
Beavers, he said, “really enhance our area by making ponds deeper, making waterways deeper through their dams to their lodges. If it wasn’t for a beaver dam, so many ponds wouldn’t exist ... They help everything survive better, everything in our country.”
Some Northwest Alaska hunters rely more and more on beaver meat, especially now that caribou hunting is rare and scarce, Kantner and Kramer said.
In Kramer’s experience, beaver meat is also one of the best baits.
“Everything of the country likes to eat beaver,” he said. “They’re a very good critter to trap because they’re used so much. The hides, of course, I get them tanned and I sell them to local people here for hats and things like that. And then the carcasses, they are good to eat — a lot of protein, a lot of fat.
“I’m actually glad they’re here.”
|
Visitors to Brittany in the 18th and 19th centuries noted many beliefs surrounding the little folk of the region. This post continues to look at some of the more notable characteristics once attributed to a specific group of fairies, known as the Fairies of the Swells, in the local legends and folklore of northern Brittany.
Fairies who ask to be godmothers to a mortal child are found in several old French tales and a rather peculiar example was also once noted in northern Brittany. Here, a tale relates that a fairy became the godmother of a human baby and was so besotted by him that she cast a powerful spell to ensure that the baby would not grow until he made her laugh. After seven years, the child, though healthy, remained as small as on the day he was born. One day, while riding his pet rat to the river, he was thrown off and landed awkwardly in front of the fairy who laughed uncontrollably at the strange sight; the curse was broken and the child immediately assumed the size of all other seven-year-olds.
Several legends show that the fairies did not guard their good fortune too closely but like all good neighbours were prepared to lend their prized possessions to those in genuine need. They lent their oxen to those neighbours who politely asked for them but they imposed certain conditions; most commonly they demanded that their beasts not be made to work before sunrise or after sunset. If the fairies’ animals made but a single furrow after dusk, they immediately burst and the fairies came to curse the imprudent ploughmen.
It was said that the fairies often kept their cattle stabled in a corner of their vast cave dwellings and that each morning a child from the nearest farm came to fetch them and took them to graze in the meadows. The cows were returned each evening but never once did the young cowherd see the fairies she diligently served but every month, a small cloth bag hung from the end of a rope was found containing the silver owed to her for their care. Likewise, the fairies of Saint-Agnan, who needed milk and butter for their cakes, had cows which were found every morning grazing in the midst of the communal herd and who, at night, suddenly disappeared. On the last day of the grazing season, one of them carried, suspended from its horn, a small bag containing the sum owed to the cowherd.
As might be expected, not all fairies were benevolent, some were even reputed to be evil and were known as such, while others were simply viewed as mischievous. Those mortals who had offended the fairies were sometimes transformed beyond human recognition. For instance, an enormous oak tree near Saint-Pôan was said to have once been a man changed into a tree by a fairy’s curse, while another legend tells that the lumpfish was once a fisherman. One evening, when walking along the seashore at nightfall, a fisherman heard a voice saying that the feast of the queen of the fairies would take place on the next day and that any fisherman who lifted his nets that day would be punished. The man ignored the warning and when he touched his nets, a voice cried out to him: “Unbeliever, you are the cursed of the fairies; be changed into a fish.”
Like the other little folk of Brittany, the Fairies of the Swells loved to dance, especially the circular dance. Traces of their nocturnal dancing were recognised in the morning light by large circles on the ground where the grass seemed greener or in the strange marks in the sand of the most isolated coves. The fairies did not welcome uninvited guests at their soirées; those mortals curious enough to spy on them were almost immediately bewitched. The fairies along the Emerald Coast west of Saint-Malo once invited some hapless men into their moonlit dance and suddenly turned them into cats. Locals reported seeing them wandering on the cliffs on windy evenings, wailing in distress. To regain their human form, they had only to weave, for the fairies, mantles of gold and silver from the grains of sand on the seashore.
Another glimpse into the spiteful nature of some fairies is afforded in a tale about two old maids long tormented by them in their small cottage by the sea. After weeks of anguish and many vain attempts to combat the fairies with charms and prayers, magical amulets and holy rosaries, the two ladies resolved to fortify their home with holy water. Copious amounts of which they sprinkled all over the house, including the doors, windows and fireplace, before retiring to bed. At midnight, the fairies appeared but found themselves unable to enter the house because the holy water burned them harshly. A few minutes later, they were lifting the earthen sods from the roof and throwing them down the chimney, and, walking carefully on these new lawns which they threw out in front of them, they reached the old women’s beds and began to whip them, singing in chorus: “All is not blessed! All is not blessed!”
In several parts of Brittany, it was said that fairies visited people’s homes by means of the chimney, particularly to see if any of the household dared to continue their spinning on certain auspicious days. Around Essé, it was also believed that this was the means fairies used to gain access to a house when they stole the children.
A perhaps more unsettling tale highlighting the dangers of antagonising the fairies lies in the jagged jumble of rocks and boulders that litter the base of the cliffs around Cap Fréhel. Local legend tells that a good house once stood upon the ground now covered by these rocks; home to a family that had repeatedly bothered the fairies of the neighbouring caves. To avenge their perceived offence, the fairies brought down these massive rocks and crushed the house, on the very day when the wedding of the eldest son was being celebrated.
Further west, the debris of the shore, specifically sand dunes, were at the heart of another fairy-related legend. Around the village of Portsall it was said that some fairies, having committed a murder, were condemned to fetch sand from the sea and to count the grains until they had arrived at a figure which the imagination could hardly conceive; the sand dunes that lie between Portsall and the estuary of the Aber represent the piles of sand that each fairy had to count.
Returning some miles east, the cave known as Toul ar Groac’h (Fairy’s Hole) near Loguivy was reputed to be home to a group of fairies who carried a most sinister reputation. As late as the middle of the 19th century, local fishermen preferred to sleep under their boats for the night rather than risk walking home near the fairy’s cave. Interestingly, it was said that the power of these fairies did not extend over women; if those of Loguivy came to meet their men at the end of a day’s fishing, they had nothing to fear as they passed the Toul ar Groac’h.
This area seems to have once been home to many groups of malevolent fairies as it was noted that around the nearby town of Tréguier, evil fairies once killed those who ventured onto the beach at night, while the salt workers of Crec’h Morvan feared the evil fairies that seemed to protect those of neighbouring Buguelès whose salt was reputedly of better quality. If the fairies of this stretch of coast were not evil then perhaps some enterprising smugglers spread such tales in order to keep prying eyes away from the beaches at night?
Further east, around the port of Saint-Cast-le-Guildo, the Pointe de l’Isle was said to be the domain of fairies who whipped human trespassers with the long strips of seaweed. Some 12km (8 miles) across the Bay of Saint-Malo lies the Goule-aux-Fées, just north of the resort of Dinard. Here, popular tradition warned that those people who dared to venture on the clifftops at night risked being seized by a ferocious whirlwind that would drag them down into the fairy cave below, where they would be devoured by the evil fairies chained there.
One of the key characteristics of the fairies was their industriousness, even if their activities were accomplished beyond the sight of mortal eyes. The fairies were reported to have visited their human neighbours at night; knocking on doors asking for the loan of ploughs and horses. It was believed necessary to agree to any request made by the fairies for fear of exposing the household to any evil spells. The fairies were said to have been very careful with whatever items they borrowed and would even return any damaged items fully repaired.
Despite their diminutive size, fairies were attributed prodigious strength as evidenced by certain menhirs which were said to be discarded spindles which they had once used to spin wool. In their aprons they could transport massive stones, such as those that were used to create the world’s largest surviving dolmen, La Roche-aux-Fées (Rock of the Fairies), near Essé. Constructed from 32 upright stones with nine roof slabs, this structure is about 20 metres long by five metres wide and at its highest point is over four metres high. These monumental stones were likely quarried about 4km (2.5 miles) away and dragged to this site some 5,000 years ago but local legend long ascribed the building of this dolmen to the fairies who completed the work in a single night.
A rather touching local legend tells that the structure was built by the fairies to shelter the souls of the just but that these fairies disappeared with the retreat of the forest. Since then, the whistling of the wind between the stones was held to be the lamentations of souls in pain no longer visited by the fairies.
Some 13km (8 miles) away at Saulnières stands another megalith said to have been built by the fairies, La Table aux Fées (Table of the Fairies) to serve as a table where they could eat and rest during their exertions at La Roche-aux-Fées. The presence of many of the neighbourhood menhirs were once explained away as discarded building stones; at the precise moment the dolmen was completed, the fairies carrying their now surplus stones simply dropped them where they stood. It was also said that the fairies had placed a spell of confoundment upon the monument so that no count of the number of stones would consistently tally.
Other significant landmarks were once credited to the skilled craftsmanship of the fairies, such as the 14th century Cesson Tower in Saint-Brieuc and the elaborate portal of the chapel of Saint James in Saint-Alban which is otherwise accredited to the Knights Templar in the 13th century. This was about the time that the castle of Montauban de Bretagne, just 49km (30 miles) away, was built although local lore attributes its construction to the fairies who are also reputed to save sown the forest that surrounds it in order to give it protection.
It was traditionally believed that during the hours of darkness everyone possessed the capacity to see the fairies but during the day this privilege was only afforded to a very small number of people, such as gifted sorcerers and those who had rubbed their eyes with a magic ointment. Many stories tell that it was thanks to this mysterious ointment that the fairies could make themselves invisible or transform themselves.
A few cautionary tales highlight the dangers to mortals who believe that they can wield the magic of the fairies. One tells that, one evening, a fisherman from Saint-Jacut was walking home along the bottom of the cliffs when he saw several fairies talking animatedly together in a cave. Alas, he heard nothing of their discussion but did see them rub their eyes with some kind of ointment and immediately change shape before walking away from the cave like ordinary women.
When he thought the fairies were far away, the fisherman entered the cave and saw, on the wall of the rock which formed part of the cave, a remnant of the ointment with which they had rubbed their eyes. He scraped a little with his fingertips and smeared it around his left eye, to see if he could, by this means, acquire the magic of the fairies and discover their hidden treasures.
A few days later, a ragged and dirty beggar came to the village where she pleaded for alms from door to door but the fisherman immediately recognized her as one of the fairies he had seen in the cave; he noticed that she was casting spells on certain houses and that she was looking carefully inside them as if she had wanted to see if there was something worth stealing within.
Sometime later, at the Ploubalay fair, the fisherman noted the presence of several fairies despite their various disguises; some masqueraded as beggars, others displayed curiosities or held games of chance in which the country people were taken like fools, one even appeared in the guise of a fortune-teller. He was careful not to imitate his companions and to play the fairies’ games but he could see that the fairies were worried; vaguely sensing perhaps that someone was aware of them. Delighted with the knowledge that he held the upper hand, the fisherman laughed as he wandered among the crowd. Passing by a tent where several fairies paraded on a platform, he quickly realised that he too had been unmasked and that they were looking at him irritably. He wanted to run away but swift as an arrow, one of the fairies used the wand in her hand to burst the eye which their ointment had made clairvoyant.
A similar tale was noted some 30km (18 miles) south, near Gouray, in 1881: A human midwife who delivered a fairy baby carelessly allowed some of the fairy ointment to get onto one of her own eyes. The eye at once became clairvoyant, so that she beheld the fairies in their true nature. A few days later, this midwife happened to see a fairy in the act of stealing and admonished her for it. The fairy quickly asked the midwife with which eye she beheld her and when the midwife indicated which one it was, the fairy immediately plucked it out.
Just 33km (20 miles) east, a local legend from near Dinard tells that a midwife of the town was once called out to attend a mother in labour in a cave on the Rance estuary. Having successfully delivered the baby, the midwife was given a jar of ointment with which to massage the newborn, along with strict instructions to avoid rubbing it around her own eyes. Unfortunately, she was unable to resist the temptation to do so and was startled to find everything around her changed; she now saw the dark cave was as beautiful as the finest castle and that the new mother and her friends were actually fairies dressed like princesses. Careful not to betray any surprise, the midwife completed her tasks and returned home well paid. Sometime later, as she could, thanks to the magic ointment, see the fairies that were invisible to others, she saw one flying and could not help exclaiming aloud. Realising she had been seen, the fairy swooped down and tore out the offending eye.
The invisibility charms woven by the fairies seem to have extended beyond masking their appearance and that of their dwellings. According to popular legend in Plévenon, the fairies of Cap Fréhel used to wash their clothes in a pool on Fréhel moor and spread their laundry to dry in the surrounding meadows. Their linen was reputedly the whitest that one could ever see and whoever could get near it without moving their eyelids would have had permission to take it but none of those who tried ever succeeded, for as soon as they moved their eyelids the linen became invisible.
In this region, fairies were renowned as skilled healers whose remedies were believed to contain compounds from plants that possessed yellow and blue flowers. Secret, bewitched herbs that enjoyed the virtue of curing all diseases were said to have been cultivated along the shorelines by the fairies who employed them to make the ointment which was used in many of their enchantments, although some tales say that the fairies also ate these herbs. Fairies were also said to feed on sylvies; a delicate plant whose downy seeds were sensitive enough to disperse at a fairy’s breath but highly toxic to humans. A fairy’s breath is usually lethal in Breton lore but there is a tale of an old leper on the Île-de-Groix visited one night by an old crone. Discovering him near death, the fairy recited some charms and breathed on the man’s sores, leaving him fully cured.
Most legends here agree that the fairies did not age and were immune to all sickness. However, they were believed susceptible to ailments and even death as soon as any salt was put into their mouths; a belief likely due to the association of blessed salt and the Christian baptismal ceremony. It was even said that all the fairies around Plévenon died at the same moment because a malicious boy, seeing a fairy asleep with her mouth open, threw a handful of salt into it.
About 24km (15 miles) to the east, along the Rance estuary, legends unique to this part of Brittany tell of fairies that appeared during storms and followed a queen who rode a boat fashioned from a nautilus shell, pulled by two large crayfish. It was said that she could command the winds and that she ordered the waves to return the corpses of the drowned. This fairy queen of the Rance sometimes visited the small island of Île Notre-Dame where she was seen landing one day by a young sailor who, having sighted her, quickly hid himself.
Captivated by the queen’s great beauty, the sailor noticed that she had fallen asleep and felt compelled to move closer so as to see her better. Standing over the sleeping queen, he was silently admiring when he was quickly surrounded by other fairies who wanted to throw him into the sea for his effrontery. The commotion awoke the queen who ordered her companions to do the lad no harm and to whom she addressed a few, sadly unknown, words before disappearing in a chariot drawn by butterflies.
The numerous legends of the fairies of the swells represent them as living as part of a family unit or wider community but there are a few notable exceptions. One is the Fairy of Puy who is reported to have lived in a cave popularly known as la Grotte-ès-Chiens (Dogs’ Cave) on the Rance estuary near Saint-Suliac. This fairy was said to emerge at sunset, being initially glimpsed as a white and indistinct vapour that seemed to dance over the ground before slowly evaporating to reveal a beautiful woman whose dress shone with all the colours of the rainbow. She was seen walking on the seashore, sometimes sitting on the grass of the cliffs; a sad, solitary figure who fled at the sight of man.
Local legend tells that this fairy did not always cut such a forlorn figure for she was once sovereign of these lands; her voice commanded the winds and controlled the waves. Recognising her power, fishermen would offer their homage to her before setting out to sea and the mouth of her cave, guarded by a pack of invisible dogs, was always bedecked with garlands offered by the wives and loved ones of those at sea. In return for such devotion, the fairy delivered favourable winds and abundant fishing.
One day, some shepherds found, near the entrance of the cave, a young woman lying close to death. She told them that she had come to this place to wait for her fiancé but she had seen the fairy who told her that her fiancé was dead and that she herself would die soon. The shepherds took her to the village where the priest, having heard their story, quickly gathered his congregation and marched to confront the fairy. At the mouth of her cave, he summoned her to appear and exorcised her but nothing was seen and only an anguished cry heard. Returning from the cave, the people who had accompanied the priest found the dead body of the young fiancé.
Since that fateful day, the Fairy of Puy does not often show herself; she flees from the sight of man because she no longer has any power over him. Her appearance now is said to announce some imminent misfortune and any bloody traces found on the beach are a bitter reminder of her rejection and her fall from benevolent protector to spiteful destroyer. Perhaps the Puy fairy’s journey was typical of others who were more thoroughly lost to the mists of time. It is not too fanciful to see in her some kind of pre-Christian sea deity or sacred oracle that, over time, was greatly rationalised and transformed into just another devilish creature for the superstitiously minded imagination.
One interesting aspect of the legends involving the fairies of the swells is the paucity of any meaningfully direct association with water. Certainly, they had their homes close to the sea but unlike the korrigans who are frequently noted as frolicking in fountains and streams, there are no tales that mention these fairies swimming or bathing and only one of them being said able to walk on water. Nor were they seemingly concerned with catching fish by natural or magical means, preferring to steal their oysters and fish from the catches landed by the fishermen. These fairies thus shared some attributes with other supernatural beings such as korrigans and mermaids but were viewed as a quite distinct, even unique, group.
Some Breton tales tell that the fairies transformed into moles in order to escape the Gospel or else that they were condemned to the darkness by God in punishment for having rejected the early saints. In southern Brittany, it was said that the Gulf of Morbihan was born from the abundant tears that the fairies shed when they were forced to leave Brittany; on this new sea, they threw their garlands which turned into little islands.
Legends surrounding the disappearance of the fairies of the swells are far more consistent than those surrounding Brittany’s other fairies; they left the country, all at once, during the course of a single night. They are said to have left for another country and several legends tell us that their destination was the island of Great Britain. While the exact date of their departure varied from commune to commune, most agreed that it was sometime around the beginning of the 19th century. Towards the end of that century, the Breton painter and author Paul Sébillot, who spent over two decades recording the folklore of the region, claimed to have met only two people who believed in the contemporary existence of fairies and who swore to having personally seen them.
There is no neat answer as to why the fairies left these lands but it is important to remember that primary education was being pushed in rural areas from the middle of the 19th century and was made compulsory in 1881. Young Breton children entering school were officially described as “like those of countries where civilization has not penetrated: savage, dirty and not understanding a word of the language”. Education was the State’s main tool in civilising the savages and “clods” of “the bush” in order to integrate them into national society and culture, specifically the culture of the city, of Paris; the war on superstition was now began in earnest. Over time, children became almost as separated from the world of their grandparents as they were from the court of the King of Siam.
With the existence of the fairies attacked by both Church and State and with the communities that sustained such beliefs changing rapidly, it is little wonder that certainty in the living presence of fairies waned. Perhaps the character Peter Pan summed it up best when he said: “You see children know such a lot now. Soon they don’t believe in fairies and every time a child says ‘I don’t believe in fairies’ there is a fairy somewhere that falls down dead.”
I shall end this post on a more positive note because Breton legend assures us that the fairies will, one day, return to this land; perhaps at a time when the Angelus bell is no longer sounded, perhaps at some other time of their choosing. The fairies all left in one night and will likewise all return during the course of a single night in a century that is an odd number. Some people were convinced that the fairies would return in the nineteen hundreds and in the early part of that century, the people of Saint-Cast, seeing women in motorcars for the first time, thought that the fairies had indeed returned.
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Visitors to Brittany in the 18th and 19th centuries noted many beliefs surrounding the little folk of the region. This post continues to look at some of the more notable characteristics once attributed to a specific group of fairies, known as the Fairies of the Swells, in the local legends and folklore of northern Brittany.
Fairies who ask to be godmothers to a mortal child are found in several old French tales and a rather peculiar example was also once noted in northern Brittany. Here, a tale relates that a fairy became the godmother of a human baby and was so besotted by him that she
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cast a powerful spell to ensure that the baby would not grow until he made her laugh. After seven years, the child, though healthy, remained as small as on the day he was born. One day, while riding his pet rat to the river, he was thrown off and landed awkwardly in front of the fairy who laughed uncontrollably at the strange sight; the curse was broken and the child immediately assumed the size of all other seven-year-olds.
Several legends show that the fairies did not guard their good fortune too closely but like all good neighbours were prepared to lend their prized possessions to those in genuine need. They lent their oxen to those neighbours who politely asked for them but they imposed certain conditions; most commonly they demanded that their beasts not be made to work before sunrise or after sunset. If the fairies’ animals made but a single furrow after dusk, they immediately burst and the fairies came to curse the imprudent ploughmen.
It was said that the fairies often kept their cattle stabled in a corner of their vast cave dwellings and that each morning a child from the nearest farm came to fetch them and took them to graze in the meadows. The cows were returned each evening but never once did the young cowherd see the fairies she diligently served but every month, a small cloth bag hung from the end of a rope was found containing the silver owed to her for their care. Likewise, the fairies of Saint-Agnan, who needed milk and butter for their cakes, had cows which were found every morning grazing in the midst of the communal herd and who, at night, suddenly disappeared. On the last day of the grazing season, one of them carried, suspended from its horn, a small bag containing the sum owed to the cowherd.
As might be expected, not all fairies were benevolent, some were even reputed to be evil and were known as such, while others were simply viewed as mischievous. Those mortals who had offended the fairies were sometimes transformed beyond human recognition. For instance, an enormous oak tree near Saint-Pôan was said to have once been a man changed into a tree by a fairy’s curse, while another legend tells that the lumpfish was once a fisherman. One evening, when walking along the seashore at nightfall, a fisherman heard a voice saying that the feast of the queen of the fairies would take place on the next day and that any fisherman who lifted his nets that day would be punished. The man ignored the warning and when he touched his nets, a voice cried out to him: “Unbeliever, you are the cursed of the fairies; be changed into a fish.”
Like the other little folk of Brittany, the Fairies of the Swells loved to dance, especially the circular dance. Traces of their nocturnal dancing were recognised in the morning light by large circles on the ground where the grass seemed greener or in the strange marks in the sand of the most isolated coves. The fairies did not welcome uninvited guests at their soirées; those mortals curious enough to spy on them were almost immediately bewitched. The fairies along the Emerald Coast west of Saint-Malo once invited some hapless men into their moonlit dance and suddenly turned them into cats. Locals reported seeing them wandering on the cliffs on windy evenings, wailing in distress. To regain their human form, they had only to weave, for the fairies, mantles of gold and silver from the grains of sand on the seashore.
Another glimpse into the spiteful nature of some fairies is afforded in a tale about two old maids long tormented by them in their small cottage by the sea. After weeks of anguish and many vain attempts to combat the fairies with charms and prayers, magical amulets and holy rosaries, the two ladies resolved to fortify their home with holy water. Copious amounts of which they sprinkled all over the house, including the doors, windows and fireplace, before retiring to bed. At midnight, the fairies appeared but found themselves unable to enter the house because the holy water burned them harshly. A few minutes later, they were lifting the earthen sods from the roof and throwing them down the chimney, and, walking carefully on these new lawns which they threw out in front of them, they reached the old women’s beds and began to whip them, singing in chorus: “All is not blessed! All is not blessed!”
In several parts of Brittany, it was said that fairies visited people’s homes by means of the chimney, particularly to see if any of the household dared to continue their spinning on certain auspicious days. Around Essé, it was also believed that this was the means fairies used to gain access to a house when they stole the children.
A perhaps more unsettling tale highlighting the dangers of antagonising the fairies lies in the jagged jumble of rocks and boulders that litter the base of the cliffs around Cap Fréhel. Local legend tells that a good house once stood upon the ground now covered by these rocks; home to a family that had repeatedly bothered the fairies of the neighbouring caves. To avenge their perceived offence, the fairies brought down these massive rocks and crushed the house, on the very day when the wedding of the eldest son was being celebrated.
Further west, the debris of the shore, specifically sand dunes, were at the heart of another fairy-related legend. Around the village of Portsall it was said that some fairies, having committed a murder, were condemned to fetch sand from the sea and to count the grains until they had arrived at a figure which the imagination could hardly conceive; the sand dunes that lie between Portsall and the estuary of the Aber represent the piles of sand that each fairy had to count.
Returning some miles east, the cave known as Toul ar Groac’h (Fairy’s Hole) near Loguivy was reputed to be home to a group of fairies who carried a most sinister reputation. As late as the middle of the 19th century, local fishermen preferred to sleep under their boats for the night rather than risk walking home near the fairy’s cave. Interestingly, it was said that the power of these fairies did not extend over women; if those of Loguivy came to meet their men at the end of a day’s fishing, they had nothing to fear as they passed the Toul ar Groac’h.
This area seems to have once been home to many groups of malevolent fairies as it was noted that around the nearby town of Tréguier, evil fairies once killed those who ventured onto the beach at night, while the salt workers of Crec’h Morvan feared the evil fairies that seemed to protect those of neighbouring Buguelès whose salt was reputedly of better quality. If the fairies of this stretch of coast were not evil then perhaps some enterprising smugglers spread such tales in order to keep prying eyes away from the beaches at night?
Further east, around the port of Saint-Cast-le-Guildo, the Pointe de l’Isle was said to be the domain of fairies who whipped human trespassers with the long strips of seaweed. Some 12km (8 miles) across the Bay of Saint-Malo lies the Goule-aux-Fées, just north of the resort of Dinard. Here, popular tradition warned that those people who dared to venture on the clifftops at night risked being seized by a ferocious whirlwind that would drag them down into the fairy cave below, where they would be devoured by the evil fairies chained there.
One of the key characteristics of the fairies was their industriousness, even if their activities were accomplished beyond the sight of mortal eyes. The fairies were reported to have visited their human neighbours at night; knocking on doors asking for the loan of ploughs and horses. It was believed necessary to agree to any request made by the fairies for fear of exposing the household to any evil spells. The fairies were said to have been very careful with whatever items they borrowed and would even return any damaged items fully repaired.
Despite their diminutive size, fairies were attributed prodigious strength as evidenced by certain menhirs which were said to be discarded spindles which they had once used to spin wool. In their aprons they could transport massive stones, such as those that were used to create the world’s largest surviving dolmen, La Roche-aux-Fées (Rock of the Fairies), near Essé. Constructed from 32 upright stones with nine roof slabs, this structure is about 20 metres long by five metres wide and at its highest point is over four metres high. These monumental stones were likely quarried about 4km (2.5 miles) away and dragged to this site some 5,000 years ago but local legend long ascribed the building of this dolmen to the fairies who completed the work in a single night.
A rather touching local legend tells that the structure was built by the fairies to shelter the souls of the just but that these fairies disappeared with the retreat of the forest. Since then, the whistling of the wind between the stones was held to be the lamentations of souls in pain no longer visited by the fairies.
Some 13km (8 miles) away at Saulnières stands another megalith said to have been built by the fairies, La Table aux Fées (Table of the Fairies) to serve as a table where they could eat and rest during their exertions at La Roche-aux-Fées. The presence of many of the neighbourhood menhirs were once explained away as discarded building stones; at the precise moment the dolmen was completed, the fairies carrying their now surplus stones simply dropped them where they stood. It was also said that the fairies had placed a spell of confoundment upon the monument so that no count of the number of stones would consistently tally.
Other significant landmarks were once credited to the skilled craftsmanship of the fairies, such as the 14th century Cesson Tower in Saint-Brieuc and the elaborate portal of the chapel of Saint James in Saint-Alban which is otherwise accredited to the Knights Templar in the 13th century. This was about the time that the castle of Montauban de Bretagne, just 49km (30 miles) away, was built although local lore attributes its construction to the fairies who are also reputed to save sown the forest that surrounds it in order to give it protection.
It was traditionally believed that during the hours of darkness everyone possessed the capacity to see the fairies but during the day this privilege was only afforded to a very small number of people, such as gifted sorcerers and those who had rubbed their eyes with a magic ointment. Many stories tell that it was thanks to this mysterious ointment that the fairies could make themselves invisible or transform themselves.
A few cautionary tales highlight the dangers to mortals who believe that they can wield the magic of the fairies. One tells that, one evening, a fisherman from Saint-Jacut was walking home along the bottom of the cliffs when he saw several fairies talking animatedly together in a cave. Alas, he heard nothing of their discussion but did see them rub their eyes with some kind of ointment and immediately change shape before walking away from the cave like ordinary women.
When he thought the fairies were far away, the fisherman entered the cave and saw, on the wall of the rock which formed part of the cave, a remnant of the ointment with which they had rubbed their eyes. He scraped a little with his fingertips and smeared it around his left eye, to see if he could, by this means, acquire the magic of the fairies and discover their hidden treasures.
A few days later, a ragged and dirty beggar came to the village where she pleaded for alms from door to door but the fisherman immediately recognized her as one of the fairies he had seen in the cave; he noticed that she was casting spells on certain houses and that she was looking carefully inside them as if she had wanted to see if there was something worth stealing within.
Sometime later, at the Ploubalay fair, the fisherman noted the presence of several fairies despite their various disguises; some masqueraded as beggars, others displayed curiosities or held games of chance in which the country people were taken like fools, one even appeared in the guise of a fortune-teller. He was careful not to imitate his companions and to play the fairies’ games but he could see that the fairies were worried; vaguely sensing perhaps that someone was aware of them. Delighted with the knowledge that he held the upper hand, the fisherman laughed as he wandered among the crowd. Passing by a tent where several fairies paraded on a platform, he quickly realised that he too had been unmasked and that they were looking at him irritably. He wanted to run away but swift as an arrow, one of the fairies used the wand in her hand to burst the eye which their ointment had made clairvoyant.
A similar tale was noted some 30km (18 miles) south, near Gouray, in 1881: A human midwife who delivered a fairy baby carelessly allowed some of the fairy ointment to get onto one of her own eyes. The eye at once became clairvoyant, so that she beheld the fairies in their true nature. A few days later, this midwife happened to see a fairy in the act of stealing and admonished her for it. The fairy quickly asked the midwife with which eye she beheld her and when the midwife indicated which one it was, the fairy immediately plucked it out.
Just 33km (20 miles) east, a local legend from near Dinard tells that a midwife of the town was once called out to attend a mother in labour in a cave on the Rance estuary. Having successfully delivered the baby, the midwife was given a jar of ointment with which to massage the newborn, along with strict instructions to avoid rubbing it around her own eyes. Unfortunately, she was unable to resist the temptation to do so and was startled to find everything around her changed; she now saw the dark cave was as beautiful as the finest castle and that the new mother and her friends were actually fairies dressed like princesses. Careful not to betray any surprise, the midwife completed her tasks and returned home well paid. Sometime later, as she could, thanks to the magic ointment, see the fairies that were invisible to others, she saw one flying and could not help exclaiming aloud. Realising she had been seen, the fairy swooped down and tore out the offending eye.
The invisibility charms woven by the fairies seem to have extended beyond masking their appearance and that of their dwellings. According to popular legend in Plévenon, the fairies of Cap Fréhel used to wash their clothes in a pool on Fréhel moor and spread their laundry to dry in the surrounding meadows. Their linen was reputedly the whitest that one could ever see and whoever could get near it without moving their eyelids would have had permission to take it but none of those who tried ever succeeded, for as soon as they moved their eyelids the linen became invisible.
In this region, fairies were renowned as skilled healers whose remedies were believed to contain compounds from plants that possessed yellow and blue flowers. Secret, bewitched herbs that enjoyed the virtue of curing all diseases were said to have been cultivated along the shorelines by the fairies who employed them to make the ointment which was used in many of their enchantments, although some tales say that the fairies also ate these herbs. Fairies were also said to feed on sylvies; a delicate plant whose downy seeds were sensitive enough to disperse at a fairy’s breath but highly toxic to humans. A fairy’s breath is usually lethal in Breton lore but there is a tale of an old leper on the Île-de-Groix visited one night by an old crone. Discovering him near death, the fairy recited some charms and breathed on the man’s sores, leaving him fully cured.
Most legends here agree that the fairies did not age and were immune to all sickness. However, they were believed susceptible to ailments and even death as soon as any salt was put into their mouths; a belief likely due to the association of blessed salt and the Christian baptismal ceremony. It was even said that all the fairies around Plévenon died at the same moment because a malicious boy, seeing a fairy asleep with her mouth open, threw a handful of salt into it.
About 24km (15 miles) to the east, along the Rance estuary, legends unique to this part of Brittany tell of fairies that appeared during storms and followed a queen who rode a boat fashioned from a nautilus shell, pulled by two large crayfish. It was said that she could command the winds and that she ordered the waves to return the corpses of the drowned. This fairy queen of the Rance sometimes visited the small island of Île Notre-Dame where she was seen landing one day by a young sailor who, having sighted her, quickly hid himself.
Captivated by the queen’s great beauty, the sailor noticed that she had fallen asleep and felt compelled to move closer so as to see her better. Standing over the sleeping queen, he was silently admiring when he was quickly surrounded by other fairies who wanted to throw him into the sea for his effrontery. The commotion awoke the queen who ordered her companions to do the lad no harm and to whom she addressed a few, sadly unknown, words before disappearing in a chariot drawn by butterflies.
The numerous legends of the fairies of the swells represent them as living as part of a family unit or wider community but there are a few notable exceptions. One is the Fairy of Puy who is reported to have lived in a cave popularly known as la Grotte-ès-Chiens (Dogs’ Cave) on the Rance estuary near Saint-Suliac. This fairy was said to emerge at sunset, being initially glimpsed as a white and indistinct vapour that seemed to dance over the ground before slowly evaporating to reveal a beautiful woman whose dress shone with all the colours of the rainbow. She was seen walking on the seashore, sometimes sitting on the grass of the cliffs; a sad, solitary figure who fled at the sight of man.
Local legend tells that this fairy did not always cut such a forlorn figure for she was once sovereign of these lands; her voice commanded the winds and controlled the waves
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Baby babble isn't just goo goo! And hearing 2 languages is better than one
In English, we adults like to say babies go "goo goo ga ga." In French, it's "areau areau." And in Mandarin, it's "ya ya."
So do babies really babble with different sounds in different parts of the world? And what does that tell us about how babies learn to speak?
A few years ago I was on a train, seated across a table from a French woman traveling with her toddler.
His mom and I hit it off and spoke in English for a few hours. Meanwhile, this little boy had a lot to say. I couldn't understand it, but he clearly had opinions about his books, his snacks, maybe how cool it was that his hands were attached to his arms – all in what I just assumed was French.
I said to his mom completely earnestly, "So, what's he saying?" She paused for a while and then she went, "Nothing. He's a baby."
Well, it turns out that baby babble has a deeper meaning.
I called up Megha Sundara, the linguistics department chair at UCLA, whose lab is unlike any lab you've ever heard of. For starters, there's a castle in it. Well, it's a sound booth, but it looks like a castle.
"So the thing about sound booths is they are intimidating spaces," she says. So her student with a background in set design built a castle around it. "And we've never had a problem with the baby going in. They just waltz right in."
Sundara studies how babies listen before they start talking and how they eventually learn language.
When babies first start babbling at around 6 months old, they all make the same sounds – even deaf babies. Then they start to drift toward the language around them.
Babies, it turns out, "are very good at imitating the rhythm and the intonation of the language they're hearing," Sundara says.
Sundara also studies how babies respond to hearing different languages. In bilingual households, babies switch that rhythm and melody in their babble depending on what language they're responding to. In monolingual households, they don't.
She led an experiment showing that those babble patterns can change, however.
At the beginning of the experiment, each participating baby is 9 or 10 months old and can only babble in what sounds like English. Then, they let the babies spend time with a research assistant who speaks Spanish. "And in these sessions, you are just reading to them, playing with them in Spanish. That's all that's happening."
The babies get about five hours of exposure to the second language spread out over four weeks.
Then, when her team gives the babies another chance to interact with a Spanish speaker, they are able to change their babbling to match the Spanish sounds.
Babies have this special skill for picking up language thanks to something called enhanced neuroplasticity. It basically means their brains are superadaptive.
"When babies are born, they can hear and distinguish all of the sounds and all the languages in the world," says Jeannette Reiff, associate director of clinical issues in speech language pathology with the American Speech Language Hearing Association.
So a baby who hears a couple of languages regularly would be able to tune into both languages. And there are, of course, cognitive and social benefits to being bilingual.
And what about the idea that trying to learn two languages at once would confuse babies. That has since been disproven, Reiff says. But the question still comes up.
"I work with many families and I have this conversation a lot with them," she says. You know, 'We speak three languages in our home. Which language should we choose?' And I say 'All three...We're not confusing [the baby]. We're only increasing brain flexibility and maximizing the neuroplasticity that your baby has right now.'"
That heightened ability to learn language lasts until children are around 5 years old — with some lingering language superpowers lasting until age 12.
So while my baby isn't walking yet and insists on scooting backward on his bottom while blowing raspberries, his babble is one sign his brain is doing amazing things.
As I occasionally struggle to conjugate verbs in Spanish, willing my brain to remember something from high school Spanish class, I sometimes wonder how much easier it would be if I had just started to learn a second language as a baby.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
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Baby babble isn't just goo goo! And hearing 2 languages is better than one
In English, we adults like to say babies go "goo goo ga ga." In French, it's "areau areau." And in Mandarin, it's "ya ya."
So do babies really babble with different sounds in different parts of the world? And what does that tell us about how babies learn to speak?
A few years ago I was on a train, seated across a table from a French woman traveling with her toddler.
His mom and I hit it off and spoke in English for a few hours
|
. Meanwhile, this little boy had a lot to say. I couldn't understand it, but he clearly had opinions about his books, his snacks, maybe how cool it was that his hands were attached to his arms – all in what I just assumed was French.
I said to his mom completely earnestly, "So, what's he saying?" She paused for a while and then she went, "Nothing. He's a baby."
Well, it turns out that baby babble has a deeper meaning.
I called up Megha Sundara, the linguistics department chair at UCLA, whose lab is unlike any lab you've ever heard of. For starters, there's a castle in it. Well, it's a sound booth, but it looks like a castle.
"So the thing about sound booths is they are intimidating spaces," she says. So her student with a background in set design built a castle around it. "And we've never had a problem with the baby going in. They just waltz right in."
Sundara studies how babies listen before they start talking and how they eventually learn language.
When babies first start babbling at around 6 months old, they all make the same sounds – even deaf babies. Then they start to drift toward the language around them.
Babies, it turns out, "are very good at imitating the rhythm and the intonation of the language they're hearing," Sundara says.
Sundara also studies how babies respond to hearing different languages. In bilingual households, babies switch that rhythm and melody in their babble depending on what language they're responding to. In monolingual households, they don't.
She led an experiment showing that those babble patterns can change, however.
At the beginning of the experiment, each participating baby is 9 or 10 months old and can only babble in what sounds like English. Then, they let the babies spend time with a research assistant who speaks Spanish. "And in these sessions, you are just reading to them, playing with them in Spanish. That's all that's happening."
The babies get about five hours of exposure to the second language spread out over four weeks.
Then, when her team gives the babies another chance to interact with a Spanish speaker, they are able to change their babbling to match the Spanish sounds.
Babies have this special skill for picking up language thanks to something called enhanced neuroplasticity. It basically means their brains are superadaptive.
"When babies are born, they can hear and distinguish all of the sounds and all the languages in the world," says Jeannette Reiff, associate director of clinical issues in speech language pathology with the American Speech Language Hearing Association.
So a baby who hears a couple of languages regularly would be able to tune into both languages. And there are, of course, cognitive and social benefits to being bilingual.
And what about the idea that trying to learn two languages at once would confuse babies. That has since been disproven, Reiff says. But the question still comes up.
"I work with many families and I have this conversation a lot with them," she says. You know, 'We speak three languages in our home. Which language should we choose?' And I say 'All three...We're not confusing [the baby]. We're only increasing brain flexibility and maximizing the neuroplasticity that your baby has right now.'"
That heightened ability to learn language lasts until children are around 5 years old — with some lingering language superpowers lasting until age 12.
So while my baby isn't walking yet and insists on scooting backward on his bottom while blowing raspberries, his babble is one sign his brain is doing amazing things.
As I occasionally struggle to conjugate verbs in Spanish, willing my brain to remember something from high school Spanish class, I sometimes wonder how much easier it would be if I had just started to learn a second language as a baby.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
|
What does cortisol do to the body? All about the 'stress hormone.'
When our bodies are under stress, either physical (like an injury) or psychological (like relationship struggles), our bodies go through an intense hormonal and neurological response – most commonly known as the fight-or-flight reflex. It's also referred to as sympathetic nervous system activation, or the HPA axis.
Your body responds to stress by releasing a steroid hormone called cortisol – sometimes called “the stress hormone.”
So what is cortisol, and what does it do to our bodies? We spoke with Dr. Megan Gunnar, PhD., a professor of developmental psychology at the University of Minnesota and The Institute of Child Development, to answer some of the most common questions about cortisol.
What is cortisol?
Although cortisol is known for its role in the stress response, it has many functions.
“Cortisol does so many things,” Gunnar begins. “It’s a steroid hormone, and steroid hormones have a particular structure that allows them to be what’s called lipid soluble, which means they don’t need to be actively transported into cells. Once they are in our cells, they travel up to the nucleus, where they get actively transported to genes that are responsive to them – and almost all cells are responsive. This is how they play a role in the transcription of genes. That is why cortisol does a lot of different things because it’s regulating a lot of different genes.”
In other words, cortisol affects almost every tissue and organ in our bodies.
What does cortisol do to the body?
“We produce cortisol every day. We produce it according to a daily rhythm where our levels begin to rise in the last hours of sleep. They reach their peak levels about 30 to 40 minutes after we wake up. Then, they decrease until they’re almost nothing. In fact, it needs to be almost nothing about an hour or so after we fall asleep so you can sleep well at night,” explains Gunnar. She adds, “Cortisol does a lot of different things early in the morning, like stimulating your interest in getting up and out, in grappling with novelty and in finding carbohydrates. “It’s like your cup of coffee. It’s the ‘let’s get up and get going!’” Gunnar chirps.
When you experience stress, cortisol travels throughout the body to prepare it to take on the stressor.
The Cleveland Clinic explains, “During the fight-or-flight response, your body is trying to prioritize, so anything it doesn’t need for immediate survival is placed on the back burner. This means that digestion, reproductive and growth hormone production, and tissue repair are all temporarily halted. Instead, your body is using all of its energy on the most crucial priorities and functions.”
The American Institute of Stress describes five key symptoms of fight-or-flight system activation:
- Rapid heartbeat
- Rapid breathing (hyperventilation)
- Pale or flushed skin
- Dilated pupils
What does chronically elevated cortisol do to your body?
Gunnar says, “One effect of chronic stress is that it flattens the natural cortisol rhythm. You can get a sort-of hypo-functioning system with a flat rhythm that might be a little too high at night. This can disrupt your sleep and disrupt the levels in the morning, and really disrupt your whole system.”
And while the development of certain mental health conditions is influenced by a number of factors, cortisol dysregulation may play a role. “It is a risk factor for all sorts of health and mental health conditions, but it also (depends on) the characteristics of an individual,” explains Gunnar.
The next time you’re feeling stressed out – you may have cortisol to blame. But also, the next time you wake up, refreshed from a good night’s sleep and ready to grab some breakfast – you can thank cortisol!
Read more about stress and your body here:
Explained:Your body's intense reaction to stress
Spot the symptoms:Chronic stress can be a serious problem
Is stress making you sick?Symptoms of stress-related illness, tips for stress management.
Feeling stressed?Tips for how to reduce stress in your daily life
|
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What does cortisol do to the body? All about the 'stress hormone.'
When our bodies are under stress, either physical (like an injury) or psychological (like relationship struggles), our bodies go through an intense hormonal and neurological response – most commonly known as the fight-or-flight reflex. It's also referred to as sympathetic nervous system activation, or the HPA axis.
Your body responds to stress by releasing a steroid hormone called cortisol – sometimes called “the stress hormone.”
So what is cortisol, and what does it do to our bodies? We spoke with Dr. Megan Gunnar, PhD., a professor of developmental psychology at the University
|
of Minnesota and The Institute of Child Development, to answer some of the most common questions about cortisol.
What is cortisol?
Although cortisol is known for its role in the stress response, it has many functions.
“Cortisol does so many things,” Gunnar begins. “It’s a steroid hormone, and steroid hormones have a particular structure that allows them to be what’s called lipid soluble, which means they don’t need to be actively transported into cells. Once they are in our cells, they travel up to the nucleus, where they get actively transported to genes that are responsive to them – and almost all cells are responsive. This is how they play a role in the transcription of genes. That is why cortisol does a lot of different things because it’s regulating a lot of different genes.”
In other words, cortisol affects almost every tissue and organ in our bodies.
What does cortisol do to the body?
“We produce cortisol every day. We produce it according to a daily rhythm where our levels begin to rise in the last hours of sleep. They reach their peak levels about 30 to 40 minutes after we wake up. Then, they decrease until they’re almost nothing. In fact, it needs to be almost nothing about an hour or so after we fall asleep so you can sleep well at night,” explains Gunnar. She adds, “Cortisol does a lot of different things early in the morning, like stimulating your interest in getting up and out, in grappling with novelty and in finding carbohydrates. “It’s like your cup of coffee. It’s the ‘let’s get up and get going!’” Gunnar chirps.
When you experience stress, cortisol travels throughout the body to prepare it to take on the stressor.
The Cleveland Clinic explains, “During the fight-or-flight response, your body is trying to prioritize, so anything it doesn’t need for immediate survival is placed on the back burner. This means that digestion, reproductive and growth hormone production, and tissue repair are all temporarily halted. Instead, your body is using all of its energy on the most crucial priorities and functions.”
The American Institute of Stress describes five key symptoms of fight-or-flight system activation:
- Rapid heartbeat
- Rapid breathing (hyperventilation)
- Pale or flushed skin
- Dilated pupils
What does chronically elevated cortisol do to your body?
Gunnar says, “One effect of chronic stress is that it flattens the natural cortisol rhythm. You can get a sort-of hypo-functioning system with a flat rhythm that might be a little too high at night. This can disrupt your sleep and disrupt the levels in the morning, and really disrupt your whole system.”
And while the development of certain mental health conditions is influenced by a number of factors, cortisol dysregulation may play a role. “It is a risk factor for all sorts of health and mental health conditions, but it also (depends on) the characteristics of an individual,” explains Gunnar.
The next time you’re feeling stressed out – you may have cortisol to blame. But also, the next time you wake up, refreshed from a good night’s sleep and ready to grab some breakfast – you can thank cortisol!
Read more about stress and your body here:
Explained:Your body's intense reaction to stress
Spot the symptoms:Chronic stress can be a serious problem
Is stress making you sick?Symptoms of stress-related illness, tips for stress management.
Feeling stressed?Tips for how to reduce stress in your daily life
|
Anthrax has been confirmed as the cause of death of several animals on a cattle property north-east of Shepparton.
The property has been quarantined.
Anthrax is a disease caused by spore-forming bacteria that naturally occur in soil.
Grazing livestock are at the greatest risk of coming into contact with the bacteria, which can cause death within hours.
Agriculture Victoria said the dead animals have been disposed of, while the remaining cattle on the property are being vaccinated.
Anthrax can affect humans — although rarely — and a wide range of animals, with nearly all cases in Victoria having been seen in livestock, particularly grazing cattle and sheep.
Once ingested by animals, the bacteria produce potent toxins that cause the clinical signs of anthrax in animals, including fever, a lack of appetite, lethargy or sudden death, often with blood visible at the nose, mouth, and/or anus.
Swift action taken
Victoria's deputy chief veterinary officer Dr Cameron Bell said five animals had died from the illness and had been disposed of in Agriculture Victoria's specialised portable incinerator unit.
He said decisive action had been taken to limit the outbreak.
"Thanks to the early reporting by the owner and owner's vet, Ag Vic was able to undertake the necessary steps to control the spread of infection," he said.
"Since that notification we've quarantined the property and undertaken a number of measures to try and contain the spread.
"All the livestock on the property have been vaccinated and carcasses are in the process of being disposed of by burning, and the contaminated sites are being disinfected."
The burning of the dead animals aims to limit the spread of spores.
"Burning carcasses on-site is a very effective way to destroy the infected carcasses and prevent spread," Dr Bell said.
He urged people to be on the lookout for unexplained deaths and report them immediately.
"The key message is that any time of the year, anywhere in Victoria, it's really important to report unexplained livestock deaths," he said.
The bacteria that cause anthrax can live in soils for up to half a century, livestock veterinarian Alison Gunn said.
Wet weather can help the bacteria to multiply, and when soil dries out they can form spores.
Northern Victoria has experienced a wet summer followed by recent hot, dry days.
"I think the biggest thing you need to do is be aware that now is a risk period, and if you have any suddenly dead animals you should investigate it," Dr Gunn said.
Personal protective equipment is essential for anyone handling animals suspected to be infected with anthrax.
"There is a risk to humans," Dr Gunn said.
"Most commonly it causes an infection on the skin or it gets into a cut on the skin, and then you get blisters and quite a nasty infection."
In about 5 per cent of cases, people infected with anthrax can develop lung or gastrointestinal infections, she said.
Outbreaks of anthrax have previously been confirmed in the area.
In 2022, an anthrax outbreak occurred at a sheep property in the Murray River region.
Reports can be made to private veterinarians or to Agriculture Victoria's Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 000.
|
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Anthrax has been confirmed as the cause of death of several animals on a cattle property north-east of Shepparton.
The property has been quarantined.
Anthrax is a disease caused by spore-forming bacteria that naturally occur in soil.
Grazing livestock are at the greatest risk of coming into contact with the bacteria, which can cause death within hours.
Agriculture Victoria said the dead animals have been disposed of, while the remaining cattle on the property are being vaccinated.
Anthrax can affect humans — although rarely — and a wide range of animals, with nearly all cases in Victoria having been seen in livestock, particularly grazing cattle and
|
sheep.
Once ingested by animals, the bacteria produce potent toxins that cause the clinical signs of anthrax in animals, including fever, a lack of appetite, lethargy or sudden death, often with blood visible at the nose, mouth, and/or anus.
Swift action taken
Victoria's deputy chief veterinary officer Dr Cameron Bell said five animals had died from the illness and had been disposed of in Agriculture Victoria's specialised portable incinerator unit.
He said decisive action had been taken to limit the outbreak.
"Thanks to the early reporting by the owner and owner's vet, Ag Vic was able to undertake the necessary steps to control the spread of infection," he said.
"Since that notification we've quarantined the property and undertaken a number of measures to try and contain the spread.
"All the livestock on the property have been vaccinated and carcasses are in the process of being disposed of by burning, and the contaminated sites are being disinfected."
The burning of the dead animals aims to limit the spread of spores.
"Burning carcasses on-site is a very effective way to destroy the infected carcasses and prevent spread," Dr Bell said.
He urged people to be on the lookout for unexplained deaths and report them immediately.
"The key message is that any time of the year, anywhere in Victoria, it's really important to report unexplained livestock deaths," he said.
The bacteria that cause anthrax can live in soils for up to half a century, livestock veterinarian Alison Gunn said.
Wet weather can help the bacteria to multiply, and when soil dries out they can form spores.
Northern Victoria has experienced a wet summer followed by recent hot, dry days.
"I think the biggest thing you need to do is be aware that now is a risk period, and if you have any suddenly dead animals you should investigate it," Dr Gunn said.
Personal protective equipment is essential for anyone handling animals suspected to be infected with anthrax.
"There is a risk to humans," Dr Gunn said.
"Most commonly it causes an infection on the skin or it gets into a cut on the skin, and then you get blisters and quite a nasty infection."
In about 5 per cent of cases, people infected with anthrax can develop lung or gastrointestinal infections, she said.
Outbreaks of anthrax have previously been confirmed in the area.
In 2022, an anthrax outbreak occurred at a sheep property in the Murray River region.
Reports can be made to private veterinarians or to Agriculture Victoria's Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 000.
|
Roaring Fork schools consider new drug prevention strategies, experts weigh in
When school district staff gathered at Basalt High School (BHS) on Jan. 18, they taught families about fentanyl contamination and how to recognize the warning signs of drug addiction.
Interim Principal Megan Hartmann says they’re hosting these sessions because kids across the country are using pretty serious substances, both intentionally or otherwise.
“There's been increased evidence of especially teenagers using drugs like fentanyl, cocaine, meth, heroin, [and] different other opioids in schools,” Hartmann said. “And it's not just in our valley. It's in our state and it's across the nation.”
Roaring Fork School District (RFSD) staff told Aspen Public Radio in an email that their evidence comes from “disciplinary actions and qualitative data.”
And while reports show that illicit drug use among students is down overall compared to pre-pandemic levels, youth overdose deaths are spiking across the country. The National Institutes of Health say this increase is largely attributed to illicit fentanyl.
In response, RFSD has offered up a few potential strategies to address these problems — such as implementing a robust drug and alcohol education program.
They’ve also suggested increasing the number of school resource officers, closing campuses so that kids can’t leave during their free periods, or bringing drug-sniffing dogs to campus, which have all drawn skepticism.
Maggie Seldeen, the founder of High Rockies Reduction, works in western Colorado to limit the negative effects of drug use and was at the BHS meeting.
“I haven't seen anyone who's supportive of these punitive methods,” Seldeen said. “And if anything, people seem really upset. And that's all I've heard from person after person, community member after community member, parent after parent.”
She grew up in the Roaring Fork Valley and knows what can happen when communities shame people struggling with addiction, or when resources are unavailable.
Her parents were addicts, and her mom struggled with mental health issues until she died in 2006 from a heroin overdose.
Seldeen was just 15.
“So I had kind of a rocky road,” Seldeen said. “I really struggled here and didn't have anyone who believed my voice as a teenager.”
She received D.A.R.E. programming in school, a set of drug abstinence lessons that became popular in the U.S. in the ‘80s and ‘90s.
Seldeen remembers the lessons were sometimes led by police officers and used ineffective scare tactics.
Her family also taught her that the police could get them all in trouble, so she worries that bringing in more officers or drug-sniffing dogs could alienate the students who need the most help.
“And so not every student is going to be freaked out by a K-9 unit, but the students that are, [they] are the students who we're going to lose trust with,” Seldeen said. “We're going to lose connection with. We're potentially going to lose seeing them in school as much.”
Seldeen suggests more evidence-based practices.
Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development is an online registry of scientifically-backed interventions that promote healthy habits.
Dr. Karl G. Hill is the director of the Prevention Science Program at CU Boulder and helped develop this resource. In an interview with Aspen Public Radio, he said many problem behaviors like drug use and violence have a common set of root causes.
“If you can address those root causes, then you have a broader effect across many different outcomes,” Dr. Hill said.
He’s been studying prevention and youth development since the 1990s, and he assessed the Roaring Fork School District’s different ideas.
When it came to increasing the number of school resource officers, Dr. Hill said that studies have shown “the presence of a school resource officer had actually zero impact on school violence.”
He does not expect that it would have any impact on drugs, either, since school violence and drug use tend to rise and fall in tandem, and he doesn’t think closing campuses shows much promise either.
“The majority of adolescent crime happens between 3 to 5 p.m. in the afternoon after kids get out of school and before their parents come home from work,” Dr. Hill said.
He said he had not heard of any schools introducing drug-sniffing dogs, and was doubtful it could be a viable solution.
Many of the evidence-based programs that Dr. Hill recommends teach kids to manage their impulses, emotions, and make good decisions.
He added that programs with a specific emphasis on drug education are promising, as long as they are targeted at students, parents and teachers, providing educators with the tools they need to handle this important curriculum.
And since the transition from elementary to middle school is a peak time for drug onset, Dr. Hill recommends schools start their programming early and incorporate it into a bigger strategy that boosts social-emotional learning.
Seldeen says kids are really hungry for this kind of knowledge.
“Kids want to know about drugs, and if they have the science and information and the opportunities to practice saying ‘no’ and having these conversations, they're a lot less likely to experiment or use.”
Roaring Fork School District staff said whatever drug prevention plan they choose, community input and buy-in will be an important component.
The district’s interim superintendent is scheduled to discuss next steps at its Feb. 6 school board meeting.
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Roaring Fork schools consider new drug prevention strategies, experts weigh in
When school district staff gathered at Basalt High School (BHS) on Jan. 18, they taught families about fentanyl contamination and how to recognize the warning signs of drug addiction.
Interim Principal Megan Hartmann says they’re hosting these sessions because kids across the country are using pretty serious substances, both intentionally or otherwise.
“There's been increased evidence of especially teenagers using drugs like fentanyl, cocaine, meth, heroin, [and] different other opioids in schools,” Hartmann said. “And it's not just in our valley. It's in our
|
state and it's across the nation.”
Roaring Fork School District (RFSD) staff told Aspen Public Radio in an email that their evidence comes from “disciplinary actions and qualitative data.”
And while reports show that illicit drug use among students is down overall compared to pre-pandemic levels, youth overdose deaths are spiking across the country. The National Institutes of Health say this increase is largely attributed to illicit fentanyl.
In response, RFSD has offered up a few potential strategies to address these problems — such as implementing a robust drug and alcohol education program.
They’ve also suggested increasing the number of school resource officers, closing campuses so that kids can’t leave during their free periods, or bringing drug-sniffing dogs to campus, which have all drawn skepticism.
Maggie Seldeen, the founder of High Rockies Reduction, works in western Colorado to limit the negative effects of drug use and was at the BHS meeting.
“I haven't seen anyone who's supportive of these punitive methods,” Seldeen said. “And if anything, people seem really upset. And that's all I've heard from person after person, community member after community member, parent after parent.”
She grew up in the Roaring Fork Valley and knows what can happen when communities shame people struggling with addiction, or when resources are unavailable.
Her parents were addicts, and her mom struggled with mental health issues until she died in 2006 from a heroin overdose.
Seldeen was just 15.
“So I had kind of a rocky road,” Seldeen said. “I really struggled here and didn't have anyone who believed my voice as a teenager.”
She received D.A.R.E. programming in school, a set of drug abstinence lessons that became popular in the U.S. in the ‘80s and ‘90s.
Seldeen remembers the lessons were sometimes led by police officers and used ineffective scare tactics.
Her family also taught her that the police could get them all in trouble, so she worries that bringing in more officers or drug-sniffing dogs could alienate the students who need the most help.
“And so not every student is going to be freaked out by a K-9 unit, but the students that are, [they] are the students who we're going to lose trust with,” Seldeen said. “We're going to lose connection with. We're potentially going to lose seeing them in school as much.”
Seldeen suggests more evidence-based practices.
Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development is an online registry of scientifically-backed interventions that promote healthy habits.
Dr. Karl G. Hill is the director of the Prevention Science Program at CU Boulder and helped develop this resource. In an interview with Aspen Public Radio, he said many problem behaviors like drug use and violence have a common set of root causes.
“If you can address those root causes, then you have a broader effect across many different outcomes,” Dr. Hill said.
He’s been studying prevention and youth development since the 1990s, and he assessed the Roaring Fork School District’s different ideas.
When it came to increasing the number of school resource officers, Dr. Hill said that studies have shown “the presence of a school resource officer had actually zero impact on school violence.”
He does not expect that it would have any impact on drugs, either, since school violence and drug use tend to rise and fall in tandem, and he doesn’t think closing campuses shows much promise either.
“The majority of adolescent crime happens between 3 to 5 p.m. in the afternoon after kids get out of school and before their parents come home from work,” Dr. Hill said.
He said he had not heard of any schools introducing drug-sniffing dogs, and was doubtful it could be a viable solution.
Many of the evidence-based programs that Dr. Hill recommends teach kids to manage their impulses, emotions, and make good decisions.
He added that programs with a specific emphasis on drug education are promising, as long as they are targeted at students, parents and teachers, providing educators with the tools they need to handle this important curriculum.
And since the transition from elementary to middle school is a peak time for drug onset, Dr. Hill recommends schools start their programming early and incorporate it into a bigger strategy that boosts social-emotional learning.
Seldeen says kids are really hungry for this kind of knowledge.
“Kids want to know about drugs, and if they have the science and information and the opportunities to practice saying ‘no’ and having these conversations, they're a lot less likely to experiment or use.”
Roaring Fork School District staff said whatever drug prevention plan they choose, community input and buy-in will be an important component.
The district’s interim superintendent is scheduled to discuss next steps at its Feb. 6 school board meeting.
|
Reimagining Shakespeare through Latino and Indigenous lenses
The global movement to diversify the works of William Shakespeare is hitting the U.S. borderlands, with a new project, book and adaptations attempting to tell the writer's stories through Latino and Indigenous lenses.
The big picture: Shakespeare's work for centuries has catered to and been performed for white audiences, but a new movement is flipping that on its head.
- Scholars worldwide have in recent years examined how race and gender intersect in Shakespeare's work, resulting in diverse casting in productions and experimental adaptations of his most famous works.
Driving the news: Three Texas-based scholars who are part of a collective examining Shakespeare through a Chicano studies lens were recently awarded a $500,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation for their research project, "Shakespeare in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands."
- The project seeks to make Shakespeare more accessible to border communities.
- Kathryn Vomero Santos of Trinity University, along with Katherine Gillen and Adrianna M. Santos of Texas A&M University-San Antonio, are behind the project, which is culminating with their upcoming book, "The Bard in the Borderlands: An Anthology of Shakespeare Appropriations en La Frontera."
The book, which is scheduled to publish in March, contains 12 plays that reenvision Shakespeare on the border.
- One adaptation in the book, "The Language of Flowers," has Romeo and Juliet ending up in a Mexican afterlife framed by Día de Los Muertos, Gillen says.
Zoom out: Shakespeare's Globe in London regularly stages productions with Black or South Asian actors in prominent roles.
- It sponsors "Anti-Racist Shakespeare," free webinars that bring together scholars and artists of color to examine Shakespeare's plays via the lens of social justice.
- In the U.S., classical theater companies are experimenting with more diverse Shakespeare productions.
- A bilingual audio adaptation of "Romeo and Juliet" — "Romeo y Julieta" — starring Lupita Nyong'o ran in 2021, and a Delaware production group last year reimagined "Twelfth Night, or What You Will" as a bilingual immigration story with Latino actors.
What they're saying: "We see our work aligned with a larger movement that has been embraced under the umbrella #ShakesRace," Kathryn Vomero Santos tells Axios.
- Adrianna Santos said it's common for students of color in K-12 to resist Shakespeare and see his work as unrelatable.
- "But when you offer them Shakespeare through the lens of the Borderlands, through multilingual adaptations...that teach Mexican American contexts and histories and culture, then it becomes a new life for them," Adrianna Santos adds.
One fun thing: Scholars say there is evidence that Shakespeare's audiences were more diverse than initially thought, and the playwright would have been exposed to travelers from around the world, including Africa and the Americas.
- In "Titus Andronicus," Aaron the Moor refuses to kill his biracial baby and gives what is believed to be one of the first Black power speeches in literature, according to Shakespeare scholar and Arizona State University English professor Ayanna Thompson.
Subscribe to Axios Latino to get vital news about Latinos and Latin America, delivered to your inbox on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
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Reimagining Shakespeare through Latino and Indigenous lenses
The global movement to diversify the works of William Shakespeare is hitting the U.S. borderlands, with a new project, book and adaptations attempting to tell the writer's stories through Latino and Indigenous lenses.
The big picture: Shakespeare's work for centuries has catered to and been performed for white audiences, but a new movement is flipping that on its head.
- Scholars worldwide have in recent years examined how race and gender intersect in Shakespeare's work, resulting in diverse casting in productions and experimental adaptations of his most famous works.
Driving the news: Three Texas-based scholars who are
|
part of a collective examining Shakespeare through a Chicano studies lens were recently awarded a $500,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation for their research project, "Shakespeare in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands."
- The project seeks to make Shakespeare more accessible to border communities.
- Kathryn Vomero Santos of Trinity University, along with Katherine Gillen and Adrianna M. Santos of Texas A&M University-San Antonio, are behind the project, which is culminating with their upcoming book, "The Bard in the Borderlands: An Anthology of Shakespeare Appropriations en La Frontera."
The book, which is scheduled to publish in March, contains 12 plays that reenvision Shakespeare on the border.
- One adaptation in the book, "The Language of Flowers," has Romeo and Juliet ending up in a Mexican afterlife framed by Día de Los Muertos, Gillen says.
Zoom out: Shakespeare's Globe in London regularly stages productions with Black or South Asian actors in prominent roles.
- It sponsors "Anti-Racist Shakespeare," free webinars that bring together scholars and artists of color to examine Shakespeare's plays via the lens of social justice.
- In the U.S., classical theater companies are experimenting with more diverse Shakespeare productions.
- A bilingual audio adaptation of "Romeo and Juliet" — "Romeo y Julieta" — starring Lupita Nyong'o ran in 2021, and a Delaware production group last year reimagined "Twelfth Night, or What You Will" as a bilingual immigration story with Latino actors.
What they're saying: "We see our work aligned with a larger movement that has been embraced under the umbrella #ShakesRace," Kathryn Vomero Santos tells Axios.
- Adrianna Santos said it's common for students of color in K-12 to resist Shakespeare and see his work as unrelatable.
- "But when you offer them Shakespeare through the lens of the Borderlands, through multilingual adaptations...that teach Mexican American contexts and histories and culture, then it becomes a new life for them," Adrianna Santos adds.
One fun thing: Scholars say there is evidence that Shakespeare's audiences were more diverse than initially thought, and the playwright would have been exposed to travelers from around the world, including Africa and the Americas.
- In "Titus Andronicus," Aaron the Moor refuses to kill his biracial baby and gives what is believed to be one of the first Black power speeches in literature, according to Shakespeare scholar and Arizona State University English professor Ayanna Thompson.
Subscribe to Axios Latino to get vital news about Latinos and Latin America, delivered to your inbox on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
|
“The Nine Tailors is a 1934 mystery novel by the British writer Dorothy L. Sayers, her ninth featuring Lord Peter Wimsey. The story is set in the Lincolnshire Fens, and revolves around a group of bell-ringers at the local parish church. The book has been described as Sayers’ finest literary achievement
The Nine Tailors of the book’s title are taken from the old saying “Nine Tailors Make a Man”, which Sayers quotes at the end of the novel. As explained by John Shand in his 1936 Spectator article The Bellringers’ Art, “‘Nine Tailors’ means the nine strokes which at the beginning of the toll for the dead announce to the villagers that a man is dead. A woman’s death is announced with ‘Six Tailors’. Hence the old saying … which might otherwise be construed as a slander on a worthy profession”.”
From: Thirty-Two Years of Local Self-Government 1855-1887 (1888), by Rowley W. C. Richardson:
“In this book I have endeavoured to describe Surbiton as it was before the passing of the Improvement Act in June 1855; to give a record of the work which has since been done, and to represent the condition of the district in June last. The results of the important step which was taken in establishing independent existence in 1855 are thus traced up to the completion of the thirty-two years of self-government…
…The practice of tolling the bell to announce the death of a parishioner is maintained at Christ Church–the knell for a man being three times three; for a boy, twice three; for a woman, three times two; and for a girl, twice two.
The expression, ” Nine tailors make a man, ,” is supposed to have originated from the number of strokes given in ringing the death-knell. The following appears on this subject in “Folk Etymology,” by the Rev. A. Smythe Palmer:
” ‘Tailors, nine make a man,’ said to be a corruption of ‘Nine tailers (itself corrupted from ‘tellers’) make it a man;’ i.e. nine counting strokes at the end of a knell proclaim the death of a male adult. An old homily for Trinity Sunday declares that at the death of a man three bells were to be rung as his knell, and two bells for a woman (Hampson, ‘Med. vi Kalend, 294’). It is observable that Taylor, the Water Poet, has a version of the phrase conformable to this, speaking of ‘the slander that three taylers are one man’ (‘Works,’ 1630, iii. 73).”
In Brewer’s ” Dictionary of Phrase and Fable” it is stated that ” an orphan lad, in 1742, applied to a fashionable London tailor for alms. There were nine journeymen in the establishment, each of whom contributed something to set the little orphan boy up with a fruit-barrow. The little merchant in time became rich, and adopted for his motto, ‘Nine tailors make a man.’ “
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“The Nine Tailors is a 1934 mystery novel by the British writer Dorothy L. Sayers, her ninth featuring Lord Peter Wimsey. The story is set in the Lincolnshire Fens, and revolves around a group of bell-ringers at the local parish church. The book has been described as Sayers’ finest literary achievement
The Nine Tailors of the book’s title are taken from the old saying “Nine Tailors Make a Man”, which Sayers quotes at the end of the novel. As explained by John Shand in his 1936 Spectator article The Bellringers’ Art,
|
“‘Nine Tailors’ means the nine strokes which at the beginning of the toll for the dead announce to the villagers that a man is dead. A woman’s death is announced with ‘Six Tailors’. Hence the old saying … which might otherwise be construed as a slander on a worthy profession”.”
From: Thirty-Two Years of Local Self-Government 1855-1887 (1888), by Rowley W. C. Richardson:
“In this book I have endeavoured to describe Surbiton as it was before the passing of the Improvement Act in June 1855; to give a record of the work which has since been done, and to represent the condition of the district in June last. The results of the important step which was taken in establishing independent existence in 1855 are thus traced up to the completion of the thirty-two years of self-government…
…The practice of tolling the bell to announce the death of a parishioner is maintained at Christ Church–the knell for a man being three times three; for a boy, twice three; for a woman, three times two; and for a girl, twice two.
The expression, ” Nine tailors make a man, ,” is supposed to have originated from the number of strokes given in ringing the death-knell. The following appears on this subject in “Folk Etymology,” by the Rev. A. Smythe Palmer:
” ‘Tailors, nine make a man,’ said to be a corruption of ‘Nine tailers (itself corrupted from ‘tellers’) make it a man;’ i.e. nine counting strokes at the end of a knell proclaim the death of a male adult. An old homily for Trinity Sunday declares that at the death of a man three bells were to be rung as his knell, and two bells for a woman (Hampson, ‘Med. vi Kalend, 294’). It is observable that Taylor, the Water Poet, has a version of the phrase conformable to this, speaking of ‘the slander that three taylers are one man’ (‘Works,’ 1630, iii. 73).”
In Brewer’s ” Dictionary of Phrase and Fable” it is stated that ” an orphan lad, in 1742, applied to a fashionable London tailor for alms. There were nine journeymen in the establishment, each of whom contributed something to set the little orphan boy up with a fruit-barrow. The little merchant in time became rich, and adopted for his motto, ‘Nine tailors make a man.’ “
|
More and more people are adding fish into their diets for the heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. But it may be time to skip the salmon and tuna, and reach for foods lower on the seafood chain like sardines and clams instead.
Shifting your seafood diet to incorporate mainly smaller fish and bivalves can up your intake of micronutrients that people are typically deficient in, including zinc, iron, vitamin B12 and omega-3 fatty acids, says Christopher Golden, professor of nutrition and planetary health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
"Of all of the different equestrial and aquatic-based foods, small fish are the best source of nutrients for these types of things on a per-weight basis," Golden tells CNBC Make it. "So, although they are underutilized, they're really good at delivering those sorts of nutrients."
Bivalves, like mussels, are also a "really healthy choice," Golden notes, and they're great sources of zinc and calcium. Bivalves are "a type of mollusk, such as an oyster, that has its body inside two connected shells."
Here's what Golden recommends adding to your diet to replace foods like red meat and farmed salmon.
That being said, eating lower on the seafood chain is something you should consider for more than just nutritional value. There are other important reasons why it's a healthy decision to make, says Golden.
Smaller fish and bivalves may have lower levels of mercury
While Golden is actively researching if there's a significant difference between the mercury levels in smaller fish and larger fish, scientifically it is shown that when you eat foods that are higher on the seafood chain, "you're going to have a greater risk of mercury toxicity within the foods that you eat and mercury exposure," he says.
"Eating the smaller fish, you're more likely to have a lesser mercury load than some of the larger carnivorous fish," says Golden.
Bivalves, including clams and oysters, will also have much lower levels of mercury, especially in geographic regions with less pollution, he adds.
"Bivalves from healthy waters and small fish is really the direction to go," says Golden.
Eating lower on the seafood chain is better for the environment
"These types of foods are the best possible sources of animal-sourced food from a sustainability standpoint," Golden says.
Bivalves, specifically, are "nature-positive" because they don't require feeding to be farmed, which is better for the environment, says Golden. They also filter water and capture carbon which can weed out pollution and contaminants within them, and provide "an ecosystem service," he adds.
Another way to support the environment is by adding aquatic plant foods like seaweed and kelp to your diet. "Seaweed is low in calories, is a good source of fiber, and also contains iodine, a mineral required to make thyroid hormones," according to an article by Harvard Health Publishing.
But it's important to keep in mind, "where something is produced and how it is produced," says Golden. "[It] is often so much more important than what the actual food is when it comes to seafood."
For the best protection, you should follow the Food and Drug Administration's guidelines for buying and preparing seafood safely.
DON'T MISS: Want to be smarter and more successful with your money, work & life? Sign up for our new newsletter!
Get CNBC's free Warren Buffett Guide to Investing, which distills the billionaire's No. 1 best piece of advice for regular investors, do's and don'ts, and three key investing principles into a clear and simple guidebook.
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More and more people are adding fish into their diets for the heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. But it may be time to skip the salmon and tuna, and reach for foods lower on the seafood chain like sardines and clams instead.
Shifting your seafood diet to incorporate mainly smaller fish and bivalves can up your intake of micronutrients that people are typically deficient in, including zinc, iron, vitamin B12 and omega-3 fatty acids, says Christopher Golden, professor of nutrition and planetary health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
"Of all of the
|
different equestrial and aquatic-based foods, small fish are the best source of nutrients for these types of things on a per-weight basis," Golden tells CNBC Make it. "So, although they are underutilized, they're really good at delivering those sorts of nutrients."
Bivalves, like mussels, are also a "really healthy choice," Golden notes, and they're great sources of zinc and calcium. Bivalves are "a type of mollusk, such as an oyster, that has its body inside two connected shells."
Here's what Golden recommends adding to your diet to replace foods like red meat and farmed salmon.
That being said, eating lower on the seafood chain is something you should consider for more than just nutritional value. There are other important reasons why it's a healthy decision to make, says Golden.
Smaller fish and bivalves may have lower levels of mercury
While Golden is actively researching if there's a significant difference between the mercury levels in smaller fish and larger fish, scientifically it is shown that when you eat foods that are higher on the seafood chain, "you're going to have a greater risk of mercury toxicity within the foods that you eat and mercury exposure," he says.
"Eating the smaller fish, you're more likely to have a lesser mercury load than some of the larger carnivorous fish," says Golden.
Bivalves, including clams and oysters, will also have much lower levels of mercury, especially in geographic regions with less pollution, he adds.
"Bivalves from healthy waters and small fish is really the direction to go," says Golden.
Eating lower on the seafood chain is better for the environment
"These types of foods are the best possible sources of animal-sourced food from a sustainability standpoint," Golden says.
Bivalves, specifically, are "nature-positive" because they don't require feeding to be farmed, which is better for the environment, says Golden. They also filter water and capture carbon which can weed out pollution and contaminants within them, and provide "an ecosystem service," he adds.
Another way to support the environment is by adding aquatic plant foods like seaweed and kelp to your diet. "Seaweed is low in calories, is a good source of fiber, and also contains iodine, a mineral required to make thyroid hormones," according to an article by Harvard Health Publishing.
But it's important to keep in mind, "where something is produced and how it is produced," says Golden. "[It] is often so much more important than what the actual food is when it comes to seafood."
For the best protection, you should follow the Food and Drug Administration's guidelines for buying and preparing seafood safely.
DON'T MISS: Want to be smarter and more successful with your money, work & life? Sign up for our new newsletter!
Get CNBC's free Warren Buffett Guide to Investing, which distills the billionaire's No. 1 best piece of advice for regular investors, do's and don'ts, and three key investing principles into a clear and simple guidebook.
|
Do trees suck? You bet they do, and it’s time we do something about it, according to a group of conservative Utah lawmakers.
Claiming “overgrown” forests are guzzling Utah’s water resources dry, rural members are now calling for a major logging initiative as the best hope for saving the shrinking Great Salt Lake and Lake Powell, despite a lack of scientific evidence that tree removal would make a big difference.
Water conservation and efficiency are fine, but such measures are not enough to replenish Utah’s drought-depleted reservoirs and avert the ecological disaster unfolding at the Great Salt Lake, according to presentations Thursday before the Legislature’s “Yellow Cake Caucus,” a group of conservative lawmakers organized by Rep. Phil Lyman, R-Blanding.
Utah’s 5 million acres of forests are crowded with 100 to 200 trees per acre, about 10 times the densities in the 1800s, Randy Julander, a retired federal hydrologist, told the caucus gathering. And the trees on about a quarter of this land are standing dead because there isn’t enough water in the ground to sustain them, he added.
“The forests we have today have way too many trees,” said Julander, who led the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Utah snow survey for years. “Too many trees, the wrong kinds of trees, and the wrong age class of trees on many of the forests that we see sitting around here. So forest management has a critical role in producing streamflow.”
Ecology professor Ben Abbott, however, cautioned against comparing today’s forests with those of the late 19th century.
“There was expansive wholesale over logging of our forests at that time,” Abbott said after viewing the caucus meeting on Zoom. “You look at some of these photos, and maybe there were 10 to 20 trees per acre out there. That was because all the trees that could be used for timber and fuel wood were cut down. It was extremely degraded forest ecosystems.”
Named for the uranium product used to generate nuclear power, the Yellow Cake Caucus was organized by Lyman last year with the goal of advancing the interests of rural Utah. It meets every Thursday where a dessert by the same name is served.
Julander was the main witness in Lyman’s case that there are better ways out of Utah’s water crisis than forcing growers to use less water on alfalfa and other thirsty crops. Prompting Lyman to discuss forest thinning at the caucus’s first meeting of the session was a letter sent last week by Salt Lake County Council Member Dea Theodore to legislative leadership, demanding greater focus on restoring forest health to address Utah’s growing water crisis.
“The trees in our over-grown forests and other non-native, noxious trees along our rivers and streams are consuming trillions of gallons of water that would otherwise flow downstream to the Great Salt Lake. Many of our forests are already in desperate need of tree thinning due to high and extreme fire danger,” states Theodore’s Jan. 13 letter, which was cosigned by several Yellow Cake members and rural county commissioners.
“The thinning of overgrowth in the Great Salt Lake Basin would restore over 1.5 million acre-feet of water per year to the Great Salt Lake,” says the letter, which doesn’t cite sources for the claim, “enough to have the Lake on its way to restored water levels over the next 5 years.”
Coincidentally, the U.S. Forest Service on Thursday announced major investments in forest health arising from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, some of which target Utah forests for thinning, prescribed fire and other treatments aimed at reducing wildfire risk. Some $18 million will be spent on the central Wasatch and western Uinta mountains in the program’s first year, according to Intermountain Regional Forester Mary Farnsworth.
While many of Julander and Theodore’s assertions about poor forest health are beyond dispute, their proposed remedy for Utah’s water problem is not grounded in science, according to Abbott and other academic Utah scientists.
“There are some nuggets of truth in there,” Abbott said. “Is this [logging] a real solution for the Great Salt Lake? That’s where the evidence really falls apart. Water yield increases following either mechanical tree thinning or wildfire are not guaranteed. There has been over 100 years of research on this topic, using paired watershed studies.”
In such studies, researchers compare how watersheds with similar vegetation, aspect, soil type, elevation and other elements respond after a disturbance in which trees are killed, whether it’s through logging, insects or wildfire.
“It is not a simple response. You can see no change in water yields. You can see decreases in water yields observed in many areas affected by pine beetle outbreaks,” he said. “You can see shifts in when the water comes out in the watershed, often shifting earlier in the year when you don’t necessarily want it to be coming out.”
Another critical issue Abbott raised is water quality, which can be degraded after trees die or are removed.
“Let’s say that you do have large vegetation reduction in a watershed, enough that you see an increase in streamflow,” he said, “then almost always that’s accompanied by release of pollutants from the soil, including erosion, that create all of these water infrastructure problems downstream.”
A Brigham Young University professor, Abbott led the recent presentation by Utah scientists calling on the Legislature to take action this session to ensure more water reaches the Great Salt Lake to stave off its ecological collapse, which has already begun. The group argued Utahns, especially alfalfa growers who account for most of the state’s water use, must reign in waste so that more water is available in the environment to support vital ecosystems.
Abbott applauded Julander for pointing out the ecological role of wildfire in forest health. The poor condition of the West’s forest can be largely attributed to fire suppression, although overgrazing and past logging practices also played a role.
“Having more prescribed burning would have a lot of benefits for forest health. That’s been proposed by the research and management community for a long time,” Abbott said.
The rise of fire suppression in the early 20th century enabled conifers to displace millions of acres of aspen, a species that is not only resilient to fire, but also helps increase streamflows, Julander told the caucus. Without regularly occurring fires to wipe out pines and furs, these species have all but replaced aspen in many places to the detriment of overall forest health.
“I see trees, particularly conifers, as the problem,” Julander said. “In order to have a forest, you have to have trees. Trees are a wonderful thing. But when you look at it specifically in terms of water production, trees are the enemy, particularly conifers.”
This article is published through The Great Salt Lake Collaborative: A Solutions Journalism Initiative, a partnership of news, education and media organizations that aims to inform readers about the Great Salt Lake.
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Do trees suck? You bet they do, and it’s time we do something about it, according to a group of conservative Utah lawmakers.
Claiming “overgrown” forests are guzzling Utah’s water resources dry, rural members are now calling for a major logging initiative as the best hope for saving the shrinking Great Salt Lake and Lake Powell, despite a lack of scientific evidence that tree removal would make a big difference.
Water conservation and efficiency are fine, but such measures are not enough to replenish Utah’s drought-depleted reservoirs and avert the ecological disaster unfolding at the Great Salt Lake, according to presentations Thursday before the
|
Legislature’s “Yellow Cake Caucus,” a group of conservative lawmakers organized by Rep. Phil Lyman, R-Blanding.
Utah’s 5 million acres of forests are crowded with 100 to 200 trees per acre, about 10 times the densities in the 1800s, Randy Julander, a retired federal hydrologist, told the caucus gathering. And the trees on about a quarter of this land are standing dead because there isn’t enough water in the ground to sustain them, he added.
“The forests we have today have way too many trees,” said Julander, who led the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Utah snow survey for years. “Too many trees, the wrong kinds of trees, and the wrong age class of trees on many of the forests that we see sitting around here. So forest management has a critical role in producing streamflow.”
Ecology professor Ben Abbott, however, cautioned against comparing today’s forests with those of the late 19th century.
“There was expansive wholesale over logging of our forests at that time,” Abbott said after viewing the caucus meeting on Zoom. “You look at some of these photos, and maybe there were 10 to 20 trees per acre out there. That was because all the trees that could be used for timber and fuel wood were cut down. It was extremely degraded forest ecosystems.”
Named for the uranium product used to generate nuclear power, the Yellow Cake Caucus was organized by Lyman last year with the goal of advancing the interests of rural Utah. It meets every Thursday where a dessert by the same name is served.
Julander was the main witness in Lyman’s case that there are better ways out of Utah’s water crisis than forcing growers to use less water on alfalfa and other thirsty crops. Prompting Lyman to discuss forest thinning at the caucus’s first meeting of the session was a letter sent last week by Salt Lake County Council Member Dea Theodore to legislative leadership, demanding greater focus on restoring forest health to address Utah’s growing water crisis.
“The trees in our over-grown forests and other non-native, noxious trees along our rivers and streams are consuming trillions of gallons of water that would otherwise flow downstream to the Great Salt Lake. Many of our forests are already in desperate need of tree thinning due to high and extreme fire danger,” states Theodore’s Jan. 13 letter, which was cosigned by several Yellow Cake members and rural county commissioners.
“The thinning of overgrowth in the Great Salt Lake Basin would restore over 1.5 million acre-feet of water per year to the Great Salt Lake,” says the letter, which doesn’t cite sources for the claim, “enough to have the Lake on its way to restored water levels over the next 5 years.”
Coincidentally, the U.S. Forest Service on Thursday announced major investments in forest health arising from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, some of which target Utah forests for thinning, prescribed fire and other treatments aimed at reducing wildfire risk. Some $18 million will be spent on the central Wasatch and western Uinta mountains in the program’s first year, according to Intermountain Regional Forester Mary Farnsworth.
While many of Julander and Theodore’s assertions about poor forest health are beyond dispute, their proposed remedy for Utah’s water problem is not grounded in science, according to Abbott and other academic Utah scientists.
“There are some nuggets of truth in there,” Abbott said. “Is this [logging] a real solution for the Great Salt Lake? That’s where the evidence really falls apart. Water yield increases following either mechanical tree thinning or wildfire are not guaranteed. There has been over 100 years of research on this topic, using paired watershed studies.”
In such studies, researchers compare how watersheds with similar vegetation, aspect, soil type, elevation and other elements respond after a disturbance in which trees are killed, whether it’s through logging, insects or wildfire.
“It is not a simple response. You can see no change in water yields. You can see decreases in water yields observed in many areas affected by pine beetle outbreaks,” he said. “You can see shifts in when the water comes out in the watershed, often shifting earlier in the year when you don’t necessarily want it to be coming out.”
Another critical issue Abbott raised is water quality, which can be degraded after trees die or are removed.
“Let’s say that you do have large vegetation reduction in a watershed, enough that you see an increase in streamflow,” he said, “then almost always that’s accompanied by release of pollutants from the soil, including erosion, that create all of these water infrastructure problems downstream.”
A Brigham Young University professor, Abbott led the recent presentation by Utah scientists calling on the Legislature to take action this session to ensure more water reaches the Great Salt Lake to stave off its ecological collapse, which has already begun. The group argued Utahns, especially alfalfa growers who account for most of the state’s water use, must reign in waste so that more water is available in the environment to support vital ecosystems.
Abbott applauded Julander for pointing out the ecological role of wildfire in forest health. The poor condition of the West’s forest can be largely attributed to fire suppression, although overgrazing and past logging practices also played a role.
“Having more prescribed burning would have a lot of benefits for forest health. That’s been proposed by the research and management community for a long time,” Abbott said.
The rise of fire suppression in the early 20th century enabled conifers to displace millions of acres of aspen, a species that is not only resilient to fire, but also helps increase streamflows, Julander told the caucus. Without regularly occurring fires to wipe out pines and furs, these species have all but replaced aspen in many places to the detriment of overall forest health.
“I see trees, particularly conifers, as the problem,” Julander said. “In order to have a forest, you have to have trees. Trees are a wonderful thing. But when you look at it specifically in terms of water production, trees are the enemy, particularly conifers.”
This article is published through The Great Salt Lake Collaborative: A Solutions Journalism Initiative, a partnership of news, education and media organizations that aims to inform readers about the Great Salt Lake.
|
West Coast study to examine disease impacting honeybees
This spring, researchers from across the West Coast will begin surveying more than 1,500 honeybee hives in California, Oregon and Washington to determine why a bacterial disease is leading to a persistent decline of the pollinators.
Why it matters: Beekeepers have been aware of European foulbrood disease for decades. However, its rapid resurgence over the last few years has many worried about the disease's potential to harm commercial food production on bee-dependent crops throughout the country.
- That's according to Ramesh Sagili, an apiculturist and a professor of agriculture at Oregon State University. "We know the basics," he told Axios. "But what we don't know are the triggers."
How it works: European foulbrood disease infects honeybees in the larvae stage by turning the eggs into brown mush.
- Bees infected with the bacterial disease can easily spread it to larvae, infecting the comb.
- For example, if a queen bee lays an egg in a contaminated cell, or an infected bee feeds a larvae, that larvae will be infected, too — essentially prohibiting the replenishment of the hive and leading to its demise.
Driving the news: In December, OSU received a $4.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to lead a study on what stress factors make bees more susceptible to the disease, including malnutrition and climate.
- Researchers from OSU, Washington State University, and the University of California, Davis will follow dozens of commercial beekeepers as they travel with their hives to pollinate crops throughout the U.S. — starting in February with almonds in California.
The project, led by Sagili, will span four years. The first step is finding evidence of foulbrood, which involves labeling each hive and collecting samples for genetic testing to determine if there's a new strain while monitoring each colony's population.
- Researchers will also note climate, weather patterns, and availability of nutrition — i.e. pollen and nectar — in hopes of figuring out how bees contract foulbrood in the first place.
The intrigue: Sagili believes they may have identified where the disease starts to show up in the pollination process.
- When commercial beekeepers return to their home states after helping to pollinate orchards in California, there's "good correlational data at this point where we see the hives that go to blueberries are the ones showing high incidence of disease," Sagili said.
- Because bees can't go out and pollinate in the cold, a bee's "immune system may be compromised because of nutritional stress," Sigili added, making it a target for European foulbrood.
The bottom line: As foulbrood spreads, hives become smaller and weaker, and the bees are unable to pollinate the millions of acres needed to sustain a region's food supply.
- There's a high probability of cascading impacts on several bee-dependent crops down the line (like carrots, clover, turnips, and more) — economic damages researchers hope to quantify soon.
More Portland stories
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Get a free daily digest of the most important news in your backyard with Axios Portland.
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West Coast study to examine disease impacting honeybees
This spring, researchers from across the West Coast will begin surveying more than 1,500 honeybee hives in California, Oregon and Washington to determine why a bacterial disease is leading to a persistent decline of the pollinators.
Why it matters: Beekeepers have been aware of European foulbrood disease for decades. However, its rapid resurgence over the last few years has many worried about the disease's potential to harm commercial food production on bee-dependent crops throughout the country.
- That's according to Ramesh Sagili, an apiculturist and
|
a professor of agriculture at Oregon State University. "We know the basics," he told Axios. "But what we don't know are the triggers."
How it works: European foulbrood disease infects honeybees in the larvae stage by turning the eggs into brown mush.
- Bees infected with the bacterial disease can easily spread it to larvae, infecting the comb.
- For example, if a queen bee lays an egg in a contaminated cell, or an infected bee feeds a larvae, that larvae will be infected, too — essentially prohibiting the replenishment of the hive and leading to its demise.
Driving the news: In December, OSU received a $4.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to lead a study on what stress factors make bees more susceptible to the disease, including malnutrition and climate.
- Researchers from OSU, Washington State University, and the University of California, Davis will follow dozens of commercial beekeepers as they travel with their hives to pollinate crops throughout the U.S. — starting in February with almonds in California.
The project, led by Sagili, will span four years. The first step is finding evidence of foulbrood, which involves labeling each hive and collecting samples for genetic testing to determine if there's a new strain while monitoring each colony's population.
- Researchers will also note climate, weather patterns, and availability of nutrition — i.e. pollen and nectar — in hopes of figuring out how bees contract foulbrood in the first place.
The intrigue: Sagili believes they may have identified where the disease starts to show up in the pollination process.
- When commercial beekeepers return to their home states after helping to pollinate orchards in California, there's "good correlational data at this point where we see the hives that go to blueberries are the ones showing high incidence of disease," Sagili said.
- Because bees can't go out and pollinate in the cold, a bee's "immune system may be compromised because of nutritional stress," Sigili added, making it a target for European foulbrood.
The bottom line: As foulbrood spreads, hives become smaller and weaker, and the bees are unable to pollinate the millions of acres needed to sustain a region's food supply.
- There's a high probability of cascading impacts on several bee-dependent crops down the line (like carrots, clover, turnips, and more) — economic damages researchers hope to quantify soon.
More Portland stories
No stories could be found
Get a free daily digest of the most important news in your backyard with Axios Portland.
|
Sign up for CNN’s Sleep, But Better newsletter series. Our seven-part guide has helpful hints to achieve better sleep.
Ever drift off to sleep and suddenly feel like you’re falling, forcing you to wake with a start? Some people say they are startled alert by a loud snapping noise or a blinding light coming from inside their head, while others describe their muscles twitching involuntarily from a sudden electric shock.
“Sleep starts usually involve one strong jerk that moves most of your body, with the arms and legs more likely to be affected. This can jolt you awake before you have the chance to fall asleep,” said sleep specialist Dr. Raj Dasgupta, an associate professor of clinical medicine at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine.
Chris Breitigan, a 29-year-old podcast producer from Huron, Ohio, says he’s sometimes awakened by a rather ghostly experience.
“I’ll be right on the verge of falling asleep, and it’s like someone tickles me,” he said. “It starts from my back and moves down through my legs. I startle and get a sort of jerk in my body.”
The experience may be accompanied by a rapid heartbeat, faster breathing, sweating or a vivid dream or hallucination, according to scientists.
Sleep starts, officially called “hypnic jerks,” are normal occurrences that can happen to men and women of any age and are typically nothing to worry about, Dasgupta said.
“It’s estimated that nearly 70% of the population experience sleep starts at some point,” he said. “Medically speaking, hypnic jerks are classified as a type of myoclonus, which is a category of rapid, involuntary muscle movements. A classic example of myoclonus are hiccups.”
No one knows precisely why the body twitches while falling asleep, but experts believe excessive caffeine intake, and physical or emotional stress may increase their frequency.
“They also may be facilitated by fatigue or sleep deprivation,” Dasgupta said. “However, most hypnic jerks occur essentially at random in healthy people.”
Breitigan’s sleep is typically disturbed after going out with friends on Taco Tuesday nights.
“I really don’t drink much,” he said. “But on Tuesdays, I go out with friends and we have some drinks with tacos. So for me it seems it’s triggered by alcohol because I don’t drink regularly.”
When to worry
There is no treatment for sleep starts, Dasguta said, and they are generally harmless. However, it’s time to visit the doctor if you experience any of the following symptoms: multiple muscle jerks during the day, an injury caused by hypnic jerks, tongue or mouth biting while you sleep, or wetting the bed.
“Hypnic jerks can sometimes be confused with seizures,” Dasgupta said. “While they may seem similar, they have some key differences: Seizures are a serious occurrence that can be a result of an underlying condition.
“Hypnic jerks, on the other hand, are benign phenomena that aren’t tied to any health conditions or concerns,” he said. “Mainly they’re just annoying, especially if they keep preventing you from falling asleep.”
However, some people develop a fixation on these jolts from slumber, leading to increased anxiety about the disruptive experience, he added.
“This increased anxiety and fatigue increases the likelihood of experiencing these jerks, resulting in a vicious cycle of insomnia and sleep deprivation,” Dasgupta said.
Try these fixes
For anyone bothered by such events, Dasgupta has the following suggestions:
Reduce caffeine intake: Drinking less caffeine throughout the day can help improve your overall quality of sleep, Dasgupta said, especially if you avoid caffeine in the late afternoon and at night.
Avoid or reduce alcohol near bedtime: The same applies to alcohol, he said. Alcohol may make you sleepy but when the body is finished metabolizing it, you will wake, typically in the middle of the night. That will increase your fatigue, making you more vulnerable to hypnic jerks.
Try meditation and mindfulness before bed: Relaxing the body may ease that transition into sleep, making your muscles less likely to twitch, Dasgupta said.
“Also, one of the best ways to help yourself fall asleep is focusing on breathing. Most breathing exercises for sleeping usually involves slow and deep breaths,” he said.
Keep to a sleep routine: Dasgupta said the best sleep requires a set bedtime — even on weekends and holidays. It also helps to avoid bright screens at bedtime.
“The bright light of a TV, computer or smartphone can affect your sleep patterns and keep you alert when you should be getting sleepy,” he said. “Sleeping is something you’ve done your whole life, but the older you get, the harder it can get to fall sleep, so practice good sleep hygiene.”
Get inspired by a weekly roundup on living well, made simple. Sign up for CNN’s Life, But Better newsletter for information and tools designed to improve your well-being.
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Sign up for CNN’s Sleep, But Better newsletter series. Our seven-part guide has helpful hints to achieve better sleep.
Ever drift off to sleep and suddenly feel like you’re falling, forcing you to wake with a start? Some people say they are startled alert by a loud snapping noise or a blinding light coming from inside their head, while others describe their muscles twitching involuntarily from a sudden electric shock.
“Sleep starts usually involve one strong jerk that moves most of your body, with the arms and legs more likely to be affected. This can jolt you awake before you have the chance to fall asleep,” said sleep specialist
|
Dr. Raj Dasgupta, an associate professor of clinical medicine at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine.
Chris Breitigan, a 29-year-old podcast producer from Huron, Ohio, says he’s sometimes awakened by a rather ghostly experience.
“I’ll be right on the verge of falling asleep, and it’s like someone tickles me,” he said. “It starts from my back and moves down through my legs. I startle and get a sort of jerk in my body.”
The experience may be accompanied by a rapid heartbeat, faster breathing, sweating or a vivid dream or hallucination, according to scientists.
Sleep starts, officially called “hypnic jerks,” are normal occurrences that can happen to men and women of any age and are typically nothing to worry about, Dasgupta said.
“It’s estimated that nearly 70% of the population experience sleep starts at some point,” he said. “Medically speaking, hypnic jerks are classified as a type of myoclonus, which is a category of rapid, involuntary muscle movements. A classic example of myoclonus are hiccups.”
No one knows precisely why the body twitches while falling asleep, but experts believe excessive caffeine intake, and physical or emotional stress may increase their frequency.
“They also may be facilitated by fatigue or sleep deprivation,” Dasgupta said. “However, most hypnic jerks occur essentially at random in healthy people.”
Breitigan’s sleep is typically disturbed after going out with friends on Taco Tuesday nights.
“I really don’t drink much,” he said. “But on Tuesdays, I go out with friends and we have some drinks with tacos. So for me it seems it’s triggered by alcohol because I don’t drink regularly.”
When to worry
There is no treatment for sleep starts, Dasguta said, and they are generally harmless. However, it’s time to visit the doctor if you experience any of the following symptoms: multiple muscle jerks during the day, an injury caused by hypnic jerks, tongue or mouth biting while you sleep, or wetting the bed.
“Hypnic jerks can sometimes be confused with seizures,” Dasgupta said. “While they may seem similar, they have some key differences: Seizures are a serious occurrence that can be a result of an underlying condition.
“Hypnic jerks, on the other hand, are benign phenomena that aren’t tied to any health conditions or concerns,” he said. “Mainly they’re just annoying, especially if they keep preventing you from falling asleep.”
However, some people develop a fixation on these jolts from slumber, leading to increased anxiety about the disruptive experience, he added.
“This increased anxiety and fatigue increases the likelihood of experiencing these jerks, resulting in a vicious cycle of insomnia and sleep deprivation,” Dasgupta said.
Try these fixes
For anyone bothered by such events, Dasgupta has the following suggestions:
Reduce caffeine intake: Drinking less caffeine throughout the day can help improve your overall quality of sleep, Dasgupta said, especially if you avoid caffeine in the late afternoon and at night.
Avoid or reduce alcohol near bedtime: The same applies to alcohol, he said. Alcohol may make you sleepy but when the body is finished metabolizing it, you will wake, typically in the middle of the night. That will increase your fatigue, making you more vulnerable to hypnic jerks.
Try meditation and mindfulness before bed: Relaxing the body may ease that transition into sleep, making your muscles less likely to twitch, Dasgupta said.
“Also, one of the best ways to help yourself fall asleep is focusing on breathing. Most breathing exercises for sleeping usually involves slow and deep breaths,” he said.
Keep to a sleep routine: Dasgupta said the best sleep requires a set bedtime — even on weekends and holidays. It also helps to avoid bright screens at bedtime.
“The bright light of a TV, computer or smartphone can affect your sleep patterns and keep you alert when you should be getting sleepy,” he said. “Sleeping is something you’ve done your whole life, but the older you get, the harder it can get to fall sleep, so practice good sleep hygiene.”
Get inspired by a weekly roundup on living well, made simple. Sign up for CNN’s Life, But Better newsletter for information and tools designed to improve your well-being.
|
Exposure to loud noises from headphones and commuting is leaving half of under-35s with poor hearing, a study has found.
Experts said the extent to which loud or prolonged exposure to noise is causing irreversible damage to young people’s ears was an “emerging crisis”.
Data from more than 1,000 people aged 16 to 35 collated between June and October 2023, found that 49 per cent had “less than normal hearing” levels expected and that it was affecting their quality of life.
A quarter of under-35s had hearing loss while a further two in five had “probable” hearing loss, according to analysis of clinical tests by hearing health company eargym.
Just 40 per cent had no sign of hearing loss, with the remainder undetermined.
The test used was a “speech-in-noise” activity, which requires participants to identify three numbers against a background of noise, multiple times and at a range of volumes, giving them a score called a signal-to-noise ratio.
It was corroborated by a clinical questionnaire called the Amsterdam Inventory for Auditory Disability and Handicap (AIADH), which found that half of under-35s had difficulty hearing, particularly in the categories “intelligibility in noise” and “auditory localisation”.
This means hearing speech in noisy environments, such as following conversation against loud backgrounds and identifying lyrics in music, and being able to identify where a sound is coming from, such as the direction of a travelling car.
Amanda Philpott, a former local NHS chief executive, hearing-aid user and co-founder and chief executive of eargym, told the Telegraph that asking someone these types of questions about their hearing “can really give a clear clue about whether or not you’re starting to experience the early signs of hearing loss from wear and tear”.
‘Urban environment noise’ also a cause
Ms Philpott said the increase in hearing damage among young people is principally because of “unsafe listening”, but also “urban environment noise” from construction, roads and trains or tubes.
“We see headphone use is pretty much ubiquitous, and we tend not to take our headphones off. We tend to listen to music or podcasts a bit more loudly than we should, and we don’t take enough breaks,” she said. “We have around 18,000 hair cells in our cochlea and those are the bits that get damaged that we can’t regrow.
She likened the damaging of hair cells to walking the same route across the lawn without giving the grass a break.
“If you walked around the path occasionally or just didn’t walk on the grass sometimes then the path would be less pronounced, and it’s a little bit like that for our hair cells. We pound them with noise and we don’t give them a break and chance to recover so they die,” she said.
Ms Philpott suggested people follow the 60/60 rule, listening at 60 per cent volume, for no more than 60 minutes at a time.
Several studies have linked hearing loss with neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. Experts at the University of Oxford said it could be the biggest single risk factor for dementia.
Ms Philpott explained that hearing loss leads to social isolation, which can cause mild-cognitive impairment and then dementia.
“We lose our high frequencies first, and so we lose the sibilance, the ‘s’ sounds at the beginning and end of words, and so it starts to sound like people are mumbling,” she said.
“It’s more difficult for me to distinguish what you’re saying against the environmental sounds in the background and so I have to concentrate, watch your lips move, and the listening effort and cognitive load of listening when the hardware is failing, tires me out, and so I stop going to those environments, I start to withdraw from social interactions, which affects my mental health and also therefore my cognitive health.”
|
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Exposure to loud noises from headphones and commuting is leaving half of under-35s with poor hearing, a study has found.
Experts said the extent to which loud or prolonged exposure to noise is causing irreversible damage to young people’s ears was an “emerging crisis”.
Data from more than 1,000 people aged 16 to 35 collated between June and October 2023, found that 49 per cent had “less than normal hearing” levels expected and that it was affecting their quality of life.
A quarter of under-35s had hearing loss while
|
a further two in five had “probable” hearing loss, according to analysis of clinical tests by hearing health company eargym.
Just 40 per cent had no sign of hearing loss, with the remainder undetermined.
The test used was a “speech-in-noise” activity, which requires participants to identify three numbers against a background of noise, multiple times and at a range of volumes, giving them a score called a signal-to-noise ratio.
It was corroborated by a clinical questionnaire called the Amsterdam Inventory for Auditory Disability and Handicap (AIADH), which found that half of under-35s had difficulty hearing, particularly in the categories “intelligibility in noise” and “auditory localisation”.
This means hearing speech in noisy environments, such as following conversation against loud backgrounds and identifying lyrics in music, and being able to identify where a sound is coming from, such as the direction of a travelling car.
Amanda Philpott, a former local NHS chief executive, hearing-aid user and co-founder and chief executive of eargym, told the Telegraph that asking someone these types of questions about their hearing “can really give a clear clue about whether or not you’re starting to experience the early signs of hearing loss from wear and tear”.
‘Urban environment noise’ also a cause
Ms Philpott said the increase in hearing damage among young people is principally because of “unsafe listening”, but also “urban environment noise” from construction, roads and trains or tubes.
“We see headphone use is pretty much ubiquitous, and we tend not to take our headphones off. We tend to listen to music or podcasts a bit more loudly than we should, and we don’t take enough breaks,” she said. “We have around 18,000 hair cells in our cochlea and those are the bits that get damaged that we can’t regrow.
She likened the damaging of hair cells to walking the same route across the lawn without giving the grass a break.
“If you walked around the path occasionally or just didn’t walk on the grass sometimes then the path would be less pronounced, and it’s a little bit like that for our hair cells. We pound them with noise and we don’t give them a break and chance to recover so they die,” she said.
Ms Philpott suggested people follow the 60/60 rule, listening at 60 per cent volume, for no more than 60 minutes at a time.
Several studies have linked hearing loss with neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. Experts at the University of Oxford said it could be the biggest single risk factor for dementia.
Ms Philpott explained that hearing loss leads to social isolation, which can cause mild-cognitive impairment and then dementia.
“We lose our high frequencies first, and so we lose the sibilance, the ‘s’ sounds at the beginning and end of words, and so it starts to sound like people are mumbling,” she said.
“It’s more difficult for me to distinguish what you’re saying against the environmental sounds in the background and so I have to concentrate, watch your lips move, and the listening effort and cognitive load of listening when the hardware is failing, tires me out, and so I stop going to those environments, I start to withdraw from social interactions, which affects my mental health and also therefore my cognitive health.”
|
If you, like me, are among the several billion people who received an mRNA Covid-19 vaccine, we have benefited from one of the greatest medical breakthroughs in human history. And we have many scientists to thank, including American physician and immunologist Drew Weissman, who shared this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with his research partner Katalin Karikó. Last week, I had the honor of speaking to Weissman about how he envisions the future of mRNA vaccines and therapies.
For quick background, Weissman and Karikó spent years solving the incredibly complex problem of how to dampen the harmful effect of lab-made mRNAs on the immune system. In a landmark paper in 2005 in the journal Immunity, they reported that a substitution of one chemical base of the mRNA molecule for another modified base nearly eliminated the immune reaction. Several of their later papers showed that the modified mRNA also greatly increased protein production compared to unmodified mRNA.
Their breakthrough helped lay the foundation for the Covid-19 vaccines, which cleverly train our bodies to prepare to fight the virus without seeing the real thing. As the Nobel Assembly wrote in its announcement of this year’s award, “Through their groundbreaking findings, which have fundamentally changed our understanding of how mRNA interacts with our immune system, the laureates contributed to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times.”
Weissman is a quintessential scientist: humble, matter of fact, driven and not content to rest on his laurels. Rather, he’s laser-focused on working to alleviate devastating diseases “that torture the human race.” Our discussion revealed seven memorable insights:
1. Many of our new vaccines will be RNA-based, but not all.
“All of the more difficult diseases, RNA is leading the development, so for HIV, Hepatitis C, TB, malaria,” Weissman said. “RNA vaccines are now in clinical trials for all of those.”
For common diseases, it’s hard to replace an established, cheap technology that is easy to distribute around the world with something new. “The MMR vaccine, for example, is dollars to produce and works great. I don’t think that is ever going to be replaced with RNA or if it is, it will be a long time coming.”
2. Beyond vaccines, there’s tremendous momentum to develop mRNA therapies for noninfectious diseases, including genetic and autoimmune diseases and cancer.
There are many diseases in which the body does not produce the right protein or enzyme, and which may theoretically be corrected by mRNA being sent to the right organ or cell to replace the malfunctioning one with the right copy. Thanks to Weissman and Karikó’s discovery of figuring out how to enable the body to tolerate lab-made mRNA without a prohibitive immune reaction, the race is on to develop potentially curative therapies not possible until now.
3. The future of gene therapy depends on targeted delivery, which Weissman is working on.
By now, most people have heard of lipid nanoparticles, the fatty delivery vehicle that stabilizes fragile mRNA. The thing about LNPs is that they go to the liver, because the liver has blood vessels with larger pores that attract these nanoparticles. This is a great approach for liver diseases, but not as helpful for all the diseases that originate in other places outside the liver.
“We figured out how to target LNPs to other cells and tissues,” Weissman told me. “We had a paper in Science a few weeks ago where we targeted repopulating bone marrow stem cells with incredibly high efficiency approaching 100% for gene editing.”
He’s working with other researchers, including the Gates Foundation, to develop several novel approaches to curing sickle cell disease.
“The future is going to be, we can go to Africa and the entire world, give people a single injection of RNA LNPs that are targeted to bone marrow stem cells and correct the gene mutation for sickle cell and cure sickle cell with just a simple injection.”
He adds: “You can expand that to the thousands of other bone marrow and genetic diseases. We can also target brain, lung, heart, kidneys, spleen, adrenals, and we continue to expand that. We’re working on being able to deliver either therapeutic proteins or gene editing technology to a variety of diseased cells or tissues.”
4. Faster, easier and cheaper CAR T-cell therapy is a major challenge that Weissman is working on.
Back in 2010, the first cancer patients were treated with CAR T-cell therapy in a landmark trial at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine (where Weissman also has his lab). The first child ever given the therapy, Emily Whitehead, went into remission from leukemia and is still doing well today.
The therapy works by removing some of a patient’s own T cells, engineering them in a lab to hunt down their cancer, and then infusing the souped-up T cells back into their bodies to circulate in perpetuity as a living drug.
So far, there are five FDA approved CAR T-cell therapies, all for hematologic malignancies like leukemia and lymphoma. To date, 27,000 patients worldwide have received approved CAR T-cell therapies, not including clinical trials. But the time, cost and complexity to engineer a patient’s own cells outside their body puts the therapy out of reach for many.
One of the next horizons is to figure out how to engineer the cells inside a patient’s body, known as in vivo—a much more direct and efficient approach. Weissman is working on targeted T-cell delivery of RNA therapies.
“We’ve shown in our cardiac fibrosis paper that we can cure a mouse with a single treatment,” he said.
Clinical trials for in vivo CAR therapies are expected to start within a year or two, and the earliest FDA approval would be a few more years after that.
5. Figuring out how to make CAR T-cell therapies attack solid tumors—which make up 90% of adult cancers—is a significant unsolved problem.
“I suspect it will be a multistep process,” Weissman said, “because there are lots of issues with solid tumors. The environments are immunosuppressive,” so even if the cell therapy gets into the tumor, it gets turned off and can’t kill the cancer.
Different approaches under study include adding proteins or knocking out proteins to make the CAR Ts more functional, including with gene editing. “Many levels have to be addressed before we come up with something that works well.”
6. Weissman is developing new vaccines and the basic science underlying them.
His lab has a couple of HIV vaccines and universal influenza vaccines in clinical trials, as well as a pan coronavirus vaccine that will go into clinical trials soon.
7. The time is coming closer for personalized cancer vaccines.
“There are already cancer vaccines in clinical trials that have shown efficacy for melanoma and pancreatic cancer,” Weissman said. “They are in phase 2 now, I’m sure they will move to phase 3 very quickly and they’re continuing to study many other types of cancer with personalized vaccines.”
Thanks in part to Weissman and Karikó’s breakthrough, there are close to 1,000 approaches in development for new vaccines and therapies using mRNA. (Disclosure: One such example is Capstan Therapeutics, a startup co-founded by Weissman and which has received an investment from my team at Leaps. Capstan is developing a platform to allow for off-the-shelf, targeted delivery of RNA to the desired cells or organs. It’s a broad enough platform to be applicable in cancer, genetic diseases, fibrosis and autoimmune diseases, like lupus.)
“I personally can’t even think of a therapeutic application of mRNA if their discovery hadn’t happened,” said Priya Karmali, Capstan’s chief technology officer. “Drew is a scientist to the core. What he really, really cares about is how one can translate the discoveries being done in his lab and others in the field into the future of human health.”
One day, for example, Weissman imagines a child receiving a single shot containing mRNA vaccines that protect against multiple diseases, all delivered with one lipid nanoparticle.
Karmali concludes: “He’s a visionary for thinking of the applications of this field beyond where we are today.”
Thank you to Kira Peikoff for additional research and reporting on this article.
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If you, like me, are among the several billion people who received an mRNA Covid-19 vaccine, we have benefited from one of the greatest medical breakthroughs in human history. And we have many scientists to thank, including American physician and immunologist Drew Weissman, who shared this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with his research partner Katalin Karikó. Last week, I had the honor of speaking to Weissman about how he envisions the future of mRNA vaccines and therapies.
For quick background, Weissman and Karikó spent years solving the incredibly complex problem of how to dampen the harmful
|
effect of lab-made mRNAs on the immune system. In a landmark paper in 2005 in the journal Immunity, they reported that a substitution of one chemical base of the mRNA molecule for another modified base nearly eliminated the immune reaction. Several of their later papers showed that the modified mRNA also greatly increased protein production compared to unmodified mRNA.
Their breakthrough helped lay the foundation for the Covid-19 vaccines, which cleverly train our bodies to prepare to fight the virus without seeing the real thing. As the Nobel Assembly wrote in its announcement of this year’s award, “Through their groundbreaking findings, which have fundamentally changed our understanding of how mRNA interacts with our immune system, the laureates contributed to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times.”
Weissman is a quintessential scientist: humble, matter of fact, driven and not content to rest on his laurels. Rather, he’s laser-focused on working to alleviate devastating diseases “that torture the human race.” Our discussion revealed seven memorable insights:
1. Many of our new vaccines will be RNA-based, but not all.
“All of the more difficult diseases, RNA is leading the development, so for HIV, Hepatitis C, TB, malaria,” Weissman said. “RNA vaccines are now in clinical trials for all of those.”
For common diseases, it’s hard to replace an established, cheap technology that is easy to distribute around the world with something new. “The MMR vaccine, for example, is dollars to produce and works great. I don’t think that is ever going to be replaced with RNA or if it is, it will be a long time coming.”
2. Beyond vaccines, there’s tremendous momentum to develop mRNA therapies for noninfectious diseases, including genetic and autoimmune diseases and cancer.
There are many diseases in which the body does not produce the right protein or enzyme, and which may theoretically be corrected by mRNA being sent to the right organ or cell to replace the malfunctioning one with the right copy. Thanks to Weissman and Karikó’s discovery of figuring out how to enable the body to tolerate lab-made mRNA without a prohibitive immune reaction, the race is on to develop potentially curative therapies not possible until now.
3. The future of gene therapy depends on targeted delivery, which Weissman is working on.
By now, most people have heard of lipid nanoparticles, the fatty delivery vehicle that stabilizes fragile mRNA. The thing about LNPs is that they go to the liver, because the liver has blood vessels with larger pores that attract these nanoparticles. This is a great approach for liver diseases, but not as helpful for all the diseases that originate in other places outside the liver.
“We figured out how to target LNPs to other cells and tissues,” Weissman told me. “We had a paper in Science a few weeks ago where we targeted repopulating bone marrow stem cells with incredibly high efficiency approaching 100% for gene editing.”
He’s working with other researchers, including the Gates Foundation, to develop several novel approaches to curing sickle cell disease.
“The future is going to be, we can go to Africa and the entire world, give people a single injection of RNA LNPs that are targeted to bone marrow stem cells and correct the gene mutation for sickle cell and cure sickle cell with just a simple injection.”
He adds: “You can expand that to the thousands of other bone marrow and genetic diseases. We can also target brain, lung, heart, kidneys, spleen, adrenals, and we continue to expand that. We’re working on being able to deliver either therapeutic proteins or gene editing technology to a variety of diseased cells or tissues.”
4. Faster, easier and cheaper CAR T-cell therapy is a major challenge that Weissman is working on.
Back in 2010, the first cancer patients were treated with CAR T-cell therapy in a landmark trial at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine (where Weissman also has his lab). The first child ever given the therapy, Emily Whitehead, went into remission from leukemia and is still doing well today.
The therapy works by removing some of a patient’s own T cells, engineering them in a lab to hunt down their cancer, and then infusing the souped-up T cells back into their bodies to circulate in perpetuity as a living drug.
So far, there are five FDA approved CAR T-cell therapies, all for hematologic malignancies like leukemia and lymphoma. To date, 27,000 patients worldwide have received approved CAR T-cell therapies, not including clinical trials. But the time, cost and complexity to engineer a patient’s own cells outside their body puts the therapy out of reach for many.
One of the next horizons is to figure out how to engineer the cells inside a patient’s body, known as in vivo—a much more direct and efficient approach. Weissman is working on targeted T-cell delivery of RNA therapies.
“We’ve shown in our cardiac fibrosis paper that we can cure a mouse with a single treatment,” he said.
Clinical trials for in vivo CAR therapies are expected to start within a year or two, and the earliest FDA approval would be a few more years after that.
5. Figuring out how to make CAR T-cell therapies attack solid tumors—which make up 90% of adult cancers—is a significant unsolved problem.
“I suspect it will be a multistep process,” Weissman said, “because there are lots of issues with solid tumors. The environments are immunosuppressive,” so even if the cell therapy gets into the tumor, it gets turned off and can’t kill the cancer.
Different approaches under study include adding proteins or knocking out proteins to make the CAR Ts more functional, including with gene editing. “Many levels have to be addressed before we come up with something that works well.”
6. Weissman is developing new vaccines and the basic science underlying them.
His lab has a couple of HIV vaccines and universal influenza vaccines in clinical trials, as well as a pan coronavirus vaccine that will go into clinical trials soon.
7. The time is coming closer for personalized cancer vaccines.
“There are already cancer vaccines in clinical trials that have shown efficacy for melanoma and pancreatic cancer,” Weissman said. “They are in phase 2 now, I’m sure they will move to phase 3 very quickly and they’re continuing to study many other types of cancer with personalized vaccines.”
Thanks in part to Weissman and Karikó’s breakthrough, there are close to 1,000 approaches in development for new vaccines and therapies using mRNA. (Disclosure: One such example is Capstan Therapeutics, a startup co-founded by Weissman and which has received an investment from my team at Leaps. Capstan is developing a platform to allow for off-the-shelf, targeted delivery of RNA to the desired cells or organs. It’s a broad enough platform to be applicable in cancer, genetic diseases, fibrosis and autoimmune diseases, like lupus.)
“I personally can’t even think of a therapeutic application of mRNA if their discovery hadn’t happened,” said Priya Karmali, Capstan’s chief technology officer. “Drew is a scientist to the core. What he really, really cares about is how one can translate the discoveries being done in his lab and others in the field into the future of human health.”
One day, for example, Weissman imagines a child receiving a single shot containing mRNA vaccines that protect against multiple diseases, all delivered with one lipid nanoparticle.
Karmali concludes: “He’s a visionary for thinking of the applications of this field beyond where we are today.”
Thank you to Kira Peikoff for additional research and reporting on this article.
|
Unusual bush tomato with ladder-like features discovered in Northern Territory national parkBy Lee Robinson
During a nature walk along one of the Northern Territory's most spectacular lookouts, botanist Peter Jobson and his companions were stopped in their tracks by an unusual looking plant.
The bush tomato was low-growing, and had dozens of unique right-angle spines below each flower.
"You can see 20 or 30 spines going up, and they look like the rungs of a ladder," Mr Jobson said.
Mr Jobson, who was formerly the chief botanist of the Northern Territory, was the lone Australian among a group of American scientists hiking through the Judbarra/Gregory National Park, and in the region for an unrelated research expedition.
Enjoying panoramic views of Victoria River and its towering red escarpments, he said a spontaneous decision to make a detour led to the discovery.
"We came across the escarpment walk and we went, 'Well, let's just see what's up there'," Mr Jobson said.
"If nothing else, it would be a nice view, and we'd be able to take some photos."
The plant turned out to be a new species of bush tomato.
Ladder-like spines excite researchers
Its ladder-like appearance inspired its scientific name, Solanum scalarium.
"Then we started thinking that we had climbed up a lot of steps to see it, and we continued up more steps to get up to the lookout at the top," Mr Jobson said.
"We looked for the Latin word for 'stairs' or 'ladder', and fortunately it's the same thing — it's 'scalarium'.
"We liked the play on words."
The researchers were thinking about yet another wordplay when recommending a common name for their new discovery.
"As biologists, we get to go and see lots of the countryside — it's part of our job, and we get very excited about it," Mr Jobson said.
"In our paper, we wanted to acknowledge that this was also climbing up to go into the national park."
They suggested using "Garrarnawun Bush Tomato" as the common name for the new species, in recognition of the Garrarnawun Lookout near where it was discovered.
In their paper, published in December in plant journal PhytoKeys, the authors said the naming served as a tool to highlight "the importance of building community around natural spaces".
"It's also about us introducing the general public back into the wilderness that we have, particularly in the Northern Territory, which is probably one of the best places to be isolated in such an easy way," Mr Jobson said.
Many species still undiscovered
The vast Judbarra/Gregory National Park, located 360 kilometres south of Darwin, is recognised as a botanically rich area, meaning there are potentially hundreds of species yet to be formally identified.
"A lot of people think that we know every plant in Australia, but we don't," Mr Jobson said.
It is too early for scientists to postulate the potential applications of the tomato, but Mr Jobson said related species of the plant had been used in Aboriginal ceremonies and as food in the Kimberley in WA.
"We guess that there's a potential for it to be eaten," he said.
"But the thing with tomatoes is you have two types: the ones you can eat and the ones that are highly toxic and will happily kill you.
"I have a very healthy respect for my liver … so until I can talk with the traditional owners … I'd rather not taste it."
He said it was also possible to take a sample into the lab for testing, where it could be tested for the toxic compounds.
Bright future ahead for bush tomato
Mr Jobson said he was excited for further research to be conducted on the plant.
"What would be wonderful is if were able to work out a management plan to try to find out how rare it is," he said.
"If it is very rare, we need to work out how to manage it so that it doesn't go extinct and it stays around.
"And I think it's smart that we ask the local tribe to see if they used it. If it is used, the scope is amazing — it spreads out like ripples in a pond."
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Unusual bush tomato with ladder-like features discovered in Northern Territory national parkBy Lee Robinson
During a nature walk along one of the Northern Territory's most spectacular lookouts, botanist Peter Jobson and his companions were stopped in their tracks by an unusual looking plant.
The bush tomato was low-growing, and had dozens of unique right-angle spines below each flower.
"You can see 20 or 30 spines going up, and they look like the rungs of a ladder," Mr Jobson said.
Mr Jobson, who was formerly the chief botanist of the Northern Territory, was the lone Australian among a group of American scientists
|
hiking through the Judbarra/Gregory National Park, and in the region for an unrelated research expedition.
Enjoying panoramic views of Victoria River and its towering red escarpments, he said a spontaneous decision to make a detour led to the discovery.
"We came across the escarpment walk and we went, 'Well, let's just see what's up there'," Mr Jobson said.
"If nothing else, it would be a nice view, and we'd be able to take some photos."
The plant turned out to be a new species of bush tomato.
Ladder-like spines excite researchers
Its ladder-like appearance inspired its scientific name, Solanum scalarium.
"Then we started thinking that we had climbed up a lot of steps to see it, and we continued up more steps to get up to the lookout at the top," Mr Jobson said.
"We looked for the Latin word for 'stairs' or 'ladder', and fortunately it's the same thing — it's 'scalarium'.
"We liked the play on words."
The researchers were thinking about yet another wordplay when recommending a common name for their new discovery.
"As biologists, we get to go and see lots of the countryside — it's part of our job, and we get very excited about it," Mr Jobson said.
"In our paper, we wanted to acknowledge that this was also climbing up to go into the national park."
They suggested using "Garrarnawun Bush Tomato" as the common name for the new species, in recognition of the Garrarnawun Lookout near where it was discovered.
In their paper, published in December in plant journal PhytoKeys, the authors said the naming served as a tool to highlight "the importance of building community around natural spaces".
"It's also about us introducing the general public back into the wilderness that we have, particularly in the Northern Territory, which is probably one of the best places to be isolated in such an easy way," Mr Jobson said.
Many species still undiscovered
The vast Judbarra/Gregory National Park, located 360 kilometres south of Darwin, is recognised as a botanically rich area, meaning there are potentially hundreds of species yet to be formally identified.
"A lot of people think that we know every plant in Australia, but we don't," Mr Jobson said.
It is too early for scientists to postulate the potential applications of the tomato, but Mr Jobson said related species of the plant had been used in Aboriginal ceremonies and as food in the Kimberley in WA.
"We guess that there's a potential for it to be eaten," he said.
"But the thing with tomatoes is you have two types: the ones you can eat and the ones that are highly toxic and will happily kill you.
"I have a very healthy respect for my liver … so until I can talk with the traditional owners … I'd rather not taste it."
He said it was also possible to take a sample into the lab for testing, where it could be tested for the toxic compounds.
Bright future ahead for bush tomato
Mr Jobson said he was excited for further research to be conducted on the plant.
"What would be wonderful is if were able to work out a management plan to try to find out how rare it is," he said.
"If it is very rare, we need to work out how to manage it so that it doesn't go extinct and it stays around.
"And I think it's smart that we ask the local tribe to see if they used it. If it is used, the scope is amazing — it spreads out like ripples in a pond."
|
A few years ago, I started asking lecture halls filled with students to raise their hands if they had run out of time on the SAT. In each room, nearly every hand went up. I was surprised, but I shouldn’t have been.
For decades, educators have seen speed as a marker of aptitude or mastery, forcing students to scramble to finish tests. But a race against the clock doesn’t measure knowledge or intelligence. It assesses the much narrower skill of how well students reason under stress. As a result, timed tests underestimate the capabilities of countless students.
New evidence shows that although smarter people are faster at solving easy problems, they’re actually slower to finish difficult ones. They’re well aware that haste makes waste, and they don’t want to sacrifice accuracy for speed. You wouldn’t want a surgeon who rushes through a craniectomy, or an accountant who dashes through your taxes. Even for the many jobs in which people are judged on speed, there’s no evidence that doing algebra under time pressure is useful preparation. Although it pays to be quick, it also pays to be determined, disciplined and dependable.
Strangely, though, the tests that define students’ grades and help determine their educational and professional fates are rarely designed for deliberation. They evaluate students as if they’re applying to join a bomb squad or appear on “Jeopardy.” Time pressure rewards students who think fast and shallow — and punishes those who think slow and deep.
One fall, one of our daughters was pleasantly surprised by her grade on a math midterm. Despite being the longest and hardest test of the semester, it was her highest score. At first we were puzzled: She hadn’t changed her study habits or made a quantum leap in understanding. Then we learned that it was the first test where she didn’t feel pressed for time. Her teacher had allowed more time per question than usual.
On math tests, one of the few skills in which boys consistently outperform girls is mental rotation — turning 3-D shapes in their minds. But gender differences vary dramatically based on time pressure. Across several dozen studies, the more time students had to finish tests, the smaller the female disadvantage became. Shifting from short time limits to no time limits — or even just allowing more than 30 seconds per question — was enough to cut the gender gap in half.
It’s well known that the “girls can’t do math” stereotype can cause female students to underperform on math tests. The fear of confirming the stereotype can lead to test anxiety, draining working memory and disrupting cognitive processing. What we’ve overlooked is that time pressure can exacerbate these effects. When girls are distracted by doubts about their abilities, it takes them longer to finish problems. Having to rush leaves them more prone to choosing suboptimal strategies — and to possibly making mistakes. Even if they’re not anxious, female students tend to work more methodically than male students. When they have more time, they can rethink their approaches and double-check their answers. They also become more comfortable making educated guesses.
I tried this out with our daughter on practice tests at home. She’s an honors math student, but when she was under time pressure, she made distracted mistakes like plugging in the wrong formula on relatively easy algebra problems. It was the math version of a typo, and we ended up coining a term for it: a matho. But when there was no time limit, she excelled on difficult algebra problems — and mental rotation, too.
Time pressure doesn’t just underrate the math abilities of girls and young women. Having to hurry can obscure the abilities of anyone who has reason to worry. That might include boys who are expected to underperform in reading, immigrants who are doubted on verbal aptitude and Black students who face a host of questions about their intellect. It also includes students with learning difficulties such as dyslexia and ADHD — or mental health conditions, physical disabilities and sensory impairments.
A common solution to this problem is for schools to offer extended time to accommodate students with disabilities. But lately, this has created an accommodations arms race as parents and students try to game the system to get diagnosed with a learning difficulty or health condition. Why not give everyone enough time to complete the test?
I heard from one counselor in the Northeast whose high school experimented with extended time for final exams. After allotting four hours instead of two, they were bombarded with complaints. Students who had previously met the requirements for special accommodations — and their parents — said they ran out of time. Why? The teachers wrote longer exams to fill the space.
This madness has to end. If a significant portion of the students run out of time, it means the test is too long or the time period is too short. That’s why, as soon as I read about this evidence, I started writing two-hour exams for the three-hour exam period allocated to my class. But many other educators still cling to the fraternity hazing excuse: I had to walk five miles barefoot up a snow-covered hill, so you should suffer too! Most teachers, though, say they’re preparing their students for the pressure they’ll face in standardized tests.
It’s a delicious twist of irony, then, that the lifeboat to rescue us from the tyranny of time pressure is being piloted by the folks behind the mother of all standardized tests. I learned recently that the College Board has redesigned the SAT to minimize time pressure.
Historically, the SAT gave students “too much to cover and not enough time to do it,” the College Board’s chief executive officer, David Coleman, told me. But developing a digital version gave them the opportunity to experiment. And the results were so impressive they decided to stick with them. Starting next year, the test is shorter overall, and most importantly, “on average, 97 percent of students complete all questions in a section with up to seven minutes to spare on each section,” Mr. Coleman said. “It’s time we stop confusing quick with smart.”
This could be game-changing for teachers as well as students. If the dominant standardized test no longer creates time pressure, there’s less need to use a ticking clock on classroom quizzes and exams. I don’t expect students to start looking forward to tests, but they should be less likely to dread them. That will give them a better chance at putting their best foot forward. It will also give them a more realistic preview of what it takes to excel in the future.
In school, timed tests teach kids that success is a sprint. But in life, success is a marathon. Wisdom is less about the speed of thought than the complexity of thinking. The students with the greatest potential aren’t always the ones who can rapidly spit out the right answers. They’re often the ones who take the time to ask the right questions.
Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. He is the author of “Hidden Potential” and “Think Again,” and the host of the TED podcast “Re: Thinking.” This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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A few years ago, I started asking lecture halls filled with students to raise their hands if they had run out of time on the SAT. In each room, nearly every hand went up. I was surprised, but I shouldn’t have been.
For decades, educators have seen speed as a marker of aptitude or mastery, forcing students to scramble to finish tests. But a race against the clock doesn’t measure knowledge or intelligence. It assesses the much narrower skill of how well students reason under stress. As a result, timed tests underestimate the capabilities of countless students.
New evidence shows that although smarter people are faster at
|
solving easy problems, they’re actually slower to finish difficult ones. They’re well aware that haste makes waste, and they don’t want to sacrifice accuracy for speed. You wouldn’t want a surgeon who rushes through a craniectomy, or an accountant who dashes through your taxes. Even for the many jobs in which people are judged on speed, there’s no evidence that doing algebra under time pressure is useful preparation. Although it pays to be quick, it also pays to be determined, disciplined and dependable.
Strangely, though, the tests that define students’ grades and help determine their educational and professional fates are rarely designed for deliberation. They evaluate students as if they’re applying to join a bomb squad or appear on “Jeopardy.” Time pressure rewards students who think fast and shallow — and punishes those who think slow and deep.
One fall, one of our daughters was pleasantly surprised by her grade on a math midterm. Despite being the longest and hardest test of the semester, it was her highest score. At first we were puzzled: She hadn’t changed her study habits or made a quantum leap in understanding. Then we learned that it was the first test where she didn’t feel pressed for time. Her teacher had allowed more time per question than usual.
On math tests, one of the few skills in which boys consistently outperform girls is mental rotation — turning 3-D shapes in their minds. But gender differences vary dramatically based on time pressure. Across several dozen studies, the more time students had to finish tests, the smaller the female disadvantage became. Shifting from short time limits to no time limits — or even just allowing more than 30 seconds per question — was enough to cut the gender gap in half.
It’s well known that the “girls can’t do math” stereotype can cause female students to underperform on math tests. The fear of confirming the stereotype can lead to test anxiety, draining working memory and disrupting cognitive processing. What we’ve overlooked is that time pressure can exacerbate these effects. When girls are distracted by doubts about their abilities, it takes them longer to finish problems. Having to rush leaves them more prone to choosing suboptimal strategies — and to possibly making mistakes. Even if they’re not anxious, female students tend to work more methodically than male students. When they have more time, they can rethink their approaches and double-check their answers. They also become more comfortable making educated guesses.
I tried this out with our daughter on practice tests at home. She’s an honors math student, but when she was under time pressure, she made distracted mistakes like plugging in the wrong formula on relatively easy algebra problems. It was the math version of a typo, and we ended up coining a term for it: a matho. But when there was no time limit, she excelled on difficult algebra problems — and mental rotation, too.
Time pressure doesn’t just underrate the math abilities of girls and young women. Having to hurry can obscure the abilities of anyone who has reason to worry. That might include boys who are expected to underperform in reading, immigrants who are doubted on verbal aptitude and Black students who face a host of questions about their intellect. It also includes students with learning difficulties such as dyslexia and ADHD — or mental health conditions, physical disabilities and sensory impairments.
A common solution to this problem is for schools to offer extended time to accommodate students with disabilities. But lately, this has created an accommodations arms race as parents and students try to game the system to get diagnosed with a learning difficulty or health condition. Why not give everyone enough time to complete the test?
I heard from one counselor in the Northeast whose high school experimented with extended time for final exams. After allotting four hours instead of two, they were bombarded with complaints. Students who had previously met the requirements for special accommodations — and their parents — said they ran out of time. Why? The teachers wrote longer exams to fill the space.
This madness has to end. If a significant portion of the students run out of time, it means the test is too long or the time period is too short. That’s why, as soon as I read about this evidence, I started writing two-hour exams for the three-hour exam period allocated to my class. But many other educators still cling to the fraternity hazing excuse: I had to walk five miles barefoot up a snow-covered hill, so you should suffer too! Most teachers, though, say they’re preparing their students for the pressure they’ll face in standardized tests.
It’s a delicious twist of irony, then, that the lifeboat to rescue us from the tyranny of time pressure is being piloted by the folks behind the mother of all standardized tests. I learned recently that the College Board has redesigned the SAT to minimize time pressure.
Historically, the SAT gave students “too much to cover and not enough time to do it,” the College Board’s chief executive officer, David Coleman, told me. But developing a digital version gave them the opportunity to experiment. And the results were so impressive they decided to stick with them. Starting next year, the test is shorter overall, and most importantly, “on average, 97 percent of students complete all questions in a section with up to seven minutes to spare on each section,” Mr. Coleman said. “It’s time we stop confusing quick with smart.”
This could be game-changing for teachers as well as students. If the dominant standardized test no longer creates time pressure, there’s less need to use a ticking clock on classroom quizzes and exams. I don’t expect students to start looking forward to tests, but they should be less likely to dread them. That will give them a better chance at putting their best foot forward. It will also give them a more realistic preview of what it takes to excel in the future.
In school, timed tests teach kids that success is a sprint. But in life, success is a marathon. Wisdom is less about the speed of thought than the complexity of thinking. The students with the greatest potential aren’t always the ones who can rapidly spit out the right answers. They’re often the ones who take the time to ask the right questions.
Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. He is the author of “Hidden Potential” and “Think Again,” and the host of the TED podcast “Re: Thinking.” This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
|
AI tool forecasts new COVID variants
Why it matters: The approach could prove more efficient than lab-based testing, because it doesn't rely on people becoming infected or getting vaccinated to develop antibodies.
- This could lead to better and quicker vaccines, including in the next pandemic.
How it works: Researchers developed a generative AI model that's trained on historical viral sequences to predict ways in which the organism could mutate.
- They then added structural details about the virus, like regions most easily targeted by the immune system.
- To test its predictive power, the researchers drew on the trove of data about COVID-19 from the pandemic, and how the stealthy virus kept evolving.
What they found: When presented with ancestral strains of coronavirus from before the pandemic, the tool, called EVEscape, predicted the most frequent mutations and dangerous variants of SARS-CoV-2, the researchers wrote Wednesday in Nature.
- Forecasting mutations could help public health officials develop more effective countermeasures, potentially minimizing the human and economic toll of a pandemic.
- EVEscape is already being used to make predictions about other viruses, including HIV and influenza.
What they're saying: "You can use these generative models to learn amazing things from evolutionary information — the data have hidden secrets that you can reveal," senior author Debora Marks, an associate professor of systems biology at Harvard Medical School, said in a statement.
- "We underestimate the ability of things to mutate when they're under pressure and have a large population in which to do so," Marks said. "Viruses are flexible — it's almost like they've evolved to evolve."
What we're watching: EVEscape is being used in real time to make predictions about how COVID will evolve next.
- The team ranks new variants on their website and is sharing the information with entities including the World Health Organization.
- They're also testing EVEscape on understudied viruses such as Lassa and Nipah, which have pandemic potential.
|
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AI tool forecasts new COVID variants
Why it matters: The approach could prove more efficient than lab-based testing, because it doesn't rely on people becoming infected or getting vaccinated to develop antibodies.
- This could lead to better and quicker vaccines, including in the next pandemic.
How it works: Researchers developed a generative AI model that's trained on historical viral sequences to predict ways in which the organism could mutate.
- They then added structural details about the virus, like regions most easily targeted by the immune system.
- To test its predictive power, the researchers drew on the trove of data about COVID-19 from the pandemic, and
|
how the stealthy virus kept evolving.
What they found: When presented with ancestral strains of coronavirus from before the pandemic, the tool, called EVEscape, predicted the most frequent mutations and dangerous variants of SARS-CoV-2, the researchers wrote Wednesday in Nature.
- Forecasting mutations could help public health officials develop more effective countermeasures, potentially minimizing the human and economic toll of a pandemic.
- EVEscape is already being used to make predictions about other viruses, including HIV and influenza.
What they're saying: "You can use these generative models to learn amazing things from evolutionary information — the data have hidden secrets that you can reveal," senior author Debora Marks, an associate professor of systems biology at Harvard Medical School, said in a statement.
- "We underestimate the ability of things to mutate when they're under pressure and have a large population in which to do so," Marks said. "Viruses are flexible — it's almost like they've evolved to evolve."
What we're watching: EVEscape is being used in real time to make predictions about how COVID will evolve next.
- The team ranks new variants on their website and is sharing the information with entities including the World Health Organization.
- They're also testing EVEscape on understudied viruses such as Lassa and Nipah, which have pandemic potential.
|
A Psalm for Desert-Like People
Psalm 74 is titled, “Plea for Help in Time of National Humiliation.” It is a desert-like psalm—a psalm of desert-like troubles. It is a psalm of barrenness and of inhospitable conditions. Verse 3 sums up the problem well: “Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins; the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary.” Verse 19 speaks of the soul of God’s dove (God’s beloved people) being delivered “to the wild animals.”
How can a people survive in a desert? How can a people survive amidst desert-like conditions?
Ray Vander Laan writes, “Community is essential in the desert. Survival in the desert literally demands that its people care for one another. Even today, Bedouin will say that the unbelievable commitment to hospitality expressed among desert tribes exists in part because as they travel through the barren wilderness they need to depend on others for food, shelter, and especially water. So the code of hospitality is very strong.
“In the desert, guests and complete strangers are welcomed and receive the best food and water a family has. Families will serve the last bit of flour they have or defend a guest in their tent with their lives—even if they just met that guest. This code of hospitality is quite foreign to many people in the Western world where privacy, competition, and a spirit of self-sufficiency prevail.
“Perhaps it shouldn’t surprise us that God chose the desert to be the place where he would prepare his people to be his community of priests who would reveal him to the world. He knew that at times his people would be in the desert, but that far more often they would suffer the intense pain and suffering of life’s desert experiences. He would provide manna, shade, and water so that his people would not only survive their desert experiences but as a community—numerous as the sand of the seashore—would share what God had provided them with other people who find themselves in the desert.”
Because this psalm is a desert-like psalm—a psalm of desert-like troubles—the psalm puts an emphasis on community. It begins with a plea for God’s protection and provision for the community of Israel: “O God, why do you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture? Remember your congregation, which you acquired long ago, which you redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage. Remember Mount Zion where you came to dwell.”
And in verses 20-21 (near the end of the psalm), the psalmist pleads for the most vulnerable in the nation: “Have regard for your covenant, for the dark places of the land are full of the haunts of violence. Do not let the downtrodden be put to shame; let the poor and needy praise your name.”
The South African concept of Ubuntu shines forth in Psalm 74. Ubuntu, a Nguni Bantu term meaning “humanity,” is often translated as “I am because we are.” In a preface to Richard Stengel’s Mandela’s Way: Fifteen Lessons on Life, Love, and Courage, Nelson Mandela describes ubuntu as “the profound sense that we are human only through the humanity of others; that if we are to accomplish anything in this world, it will in equal measure be due to the work and achievements of others.”
May Psalm 74 remind us that we are desert-like people—people who are often facing desert-like circumstances along with others who are facing desert-like circumstances. And may Psalm 74 remind us to keep our hearts attuned to the whole community, practicing ubuntu care for one another, including the most vulnerable among us.
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A Psalm for Desert-Like People
Psalm 74 is titled, “Plea for Help in Time of National Humiliation.” It is a desert-like psalm—a psalm of desert-like troubles. It is a psalm of barrenness and of inhospitable conditions. Verse 3 sums up the problem well: “Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins; the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary.” Verse 19 speaks of the soul of God’s dove (God’s beloved people) being delivered “to the wild animals.”
How can a people survive in a desert? How can a people survive amidst
|
desert-like conditions?
Ray Vander Laan writes, “Community is essential in the desert. Survival in the desert literally demands that its people care for one another. Even today, Bedouin will say that the unbelievable commitment to hospitality expressed among desert tribes exists in part because as they travel through the barren wilderness they need to depend on others for food, shelter, and especially water. So the code of hospitality is very strong.
“In the desert, guests and complete strangers are welcomed and receive the best food and water a family has. Families will serve the last bit of flour they have or defend a guest in their tent with their lives—even if they just met that guest. This code of hospitality is quite foreign to many people in the Western world where privacy, competition, and a spirit of self-sufficiency prevail.
“Perhaps it shouldn’t surprise us that God chose the desert to be the place where he would prepare his people to be his community of priests who would reveal him to the world. He knew that at times his people would be in the desert, but that far more often they would suffer the intense pain and suffering of life’s desert experiences. He would provide manna, shade, and water so that his people would not only survive their desert experiences but as a community—numerous as the sand of the seashore—would share what God had provided them with other people who find themselves in the desert.”
Because this psalm is a desert-like psalm—a psalm of desert-like troubles—the psalm puts an emphasis on community. It begins with a plea for God’s protection and provision for the community of Israel: “O God, why do you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture? Remember your congregation, which you acquired long ago, which you redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage. Remember Mount Zion where you came to dwell.”
And in verses 20-21 (near the end of the psalm), the psalmist pleads for the most vulnerable in the nation: “Have regard for your covenant, for the dark places of the land are full of the haunts of violence. Do not let the downtrodden be put to shame; let the poor and needy praise your name.”
The South African concept of Ubuntu shines forth in Psalm 74. Ubuntu, a Nguni Bantu term meaning “humanity,” is often translated as “I am because we are.” In a preface to Richard Stengel’s Mandela’s Way: Fifteen Lessons on Life, Love, and Courage, Nelson Mandela describes ubuntu as “the profound sense that we are human only through the humanity of others; that if we are to accomplish anything in this world, it will in equal measure be due to the work and achievements of others.”
May Psalm 74 remind us that we are desert-like people—people who are often facing desert-like circumstances along with others who are facing desert-like circumstances. And may Psalm 74 remind us to keep our hearts attuned to the whole community, practicing ubuntu care for one another, including the most vulnerable among us.
|
The U.S. government will reportedly fund a carbon removal program, a first-of-its-kind move which will offer credits for carbon permanently removed from the atmosphere or oceans, according to Heatmap.
We’ve collected news and analysis you should read about carbon removal and its place in the race to net zero.
- Carbon removal is a more credible option for businesses than carbon offsets, the latter of which allow companies to invest in green projects, paying for future avoided emissions in order to offset or balance out their present-day emissions. Under the more expensive carbon removal system, companies purchase a credit for their emissions which are permanently removed from the atmosphere. The tactic is still in its infancy, Semafor’s Tim McDonnell reported in May, but purchasers — including JP Morgan Chase and Microsoft — are beginning to emerge.
- The U.S.‘s move will be a world first: No government has so far offered to pay businesses for carbon removal before. The program could help to strengthen the argument that carbon dioxide is a waste product that is subject to public management. It will have a budget in the tens of millions of dollars, relatively small given that individual carbon removal credits can be expensive. — Heatmap
- The growth of carbon removal might follow a similar trajectory to waste management projects several decades ago. Startup costs were high, and public sentiment needed to be won in order to keep the projects moving. The potential payoff, however, is high, and removal programs could eventually see high profits for investors. A major sign that these projects have legs? The oil and gas sector is starting to embrace them. — The Economist
Reliance on carbon removal technologies, which pull carbon out of the air and store them in facilities for later recycling, has divided some scientists and policy makers.
Notable among those concerned about the tech is U.S. special envoy on climate John Kerry. With the earth already rocketing past several tipping points, reliance on carbon removal without additional safeguards in place — like moving away from oil and gas projects — might not be enough, Kerry warned.
|
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The U.S. government will reportedly fund a carbon removal program, a first-of-its-kind move which will offer credits for carbon permanently removed from the atmosphere or oceans, according to Heatmap.
We’ve collected news and analysis you should read about carbon removal and its place in the race to net zero.
- Carbon removal is a more credible option for businesses than carbon offsets, the latter of which allow companies to invest in green projects, paying for future avoided emissions in order to offset or balance out their present-day emissions. Under the more expensive carbon removal system, companies purchase a credit for their emissions which are permanently removed from the atmosphere.
|
The tactic is still in its infancy, Semafor’s Tim McDonnell reported in May, but purchasers — including JP Morgan Chase and Microsoft — are beginning to emerge.
- The U.S.‘s move will be a world first: No government has so far offered to pay businesses for carbon removal before. The program could help to strengthen the argument that carbon dioxide is a waste product that is subject to public management. It will have a budget in the tens of millions of dollars, relatively small given that individual carbon removal credits can be expensive. — Heatmap
- The growth of carbon removal might follow a similar trajectory to waste management projects several decades ago. Startup costs were high, and public sentiment needed to be won in order to keep the projects moving. The potential payoff, however, is high, and removal programs could eventually see high profits for investors. A major sign that these projects have legs? The oil and gas sector is starting to embrace them. — The Economist
Reliance on carbon removal technologies, which pull carbon out of the air and store them in facilities for later recycling, has divided some scientists and policy makers.
Notable among those concerned about the tech is U.S. special envoy on climate John Kerry. With the earth already rocketing past several tipping points, reliance on carbon removal without additional safeguards in place — like moving away from oil and gas projects — might not be enough, Kerry warned.
|
In the rapidly evolving landscape of globalisation, multinational corporations have witnessed their influence stretch across borders in previously unimaginable ways. Operating in diverse contexts has become a daily concern for corporate giants, and adapting to local realities in different countries is a crucial aspect of business strategy.
Despite decades of development and progress in the corporate sector, a profound divide persists between the representatives of developed and developing nations, particularly in the area of corporate leadership talent and its development. This division often results in senior leaders from developed countries being dispatched to lead projects or business units in developing nations, necessitating collaboration with local teams in contexts that are vastly different from their own experiences and understanding.
This carries a high risk for causing technically and functionally brilliant leaders to falter in developing countries, primarily because of their inability to contextualise the value of their contributions within unfamiliar circumstances. These leaders struggle to immerse themselves in local contexts, to comprehend issues from alternative perspectives and to apply cultural intelligence to effectively lead in unfamiliar territory.
Cultural meaning systems: Ubuntu’s influence
A profound philosophy, Ubuntu is embedded as a societal value within sub-Saharan Africa. It shapes how individuals within a range of societies make sense of their surroundings. The philosophy has been observed to permeate the cultural meaning systems of employees within organisations operating in the region.
Multinational corporations often encounter Ubuntu’s cultural influence as being in stark contrast to westernised cultures. This dichotomy arises for two principal reasons: first, as leaders in multinationals compete on a global stage, they engage primarily with westernised cultures, often led by leaders from developed, westernised backgrounds. Second, leaders in southern Africa sometimes translate predominantly westernised thinking into their business practices, influenced by an education system steeped in western-infused management philosophies.
Historically, leadership in Southern Africa has been shaped by two distinct influences: indigenous African worldviews and imported western perspectives. The traditional and cultural leadership in tribal areas included chiefs at the apex of the hierarchy. Though informal, their authority was widely recognised within the tribe.
Western influence on leadership can be traced back to the colonisation of the region, first by the Netherlands and later by England. Much of African history has been narrated through the lens of colonisers who, driven by self-interest and a lack of cultural understanding, produced a one-sided and biased account of events.
This paradigm dominated the political landscape during the apartheid era and extended its reach into corporate South Africa and the public sector. The enduring impact of this legacy cannot be separated from the discourse on cross-cultural leadership in sub-Saharan Africa, as unresolved issues from the birth of a democratised South Africa in 1994 continue to inform regressive societal and organisational leadership dynamics.
Throughout history, beliefs have often been moulded by prejudice rather than concrete evidence. It is self-evident that societal values alone do not account for issues such as poverty and wealth. Colonialism’s enduring legacy has played a substantial role in shaping societal structures and economic realities in the region. But stereotypes and preconceived notions persist, perpetuating among others the false idea that African poverty can be attributed to laziness, the suppression of individualism, and irrationality. This disregards the profound impact of colonisation.
Botswana’s model of success
Botswana, Africa’s longest continuous democracy, offers a compelling example of how indigenous culture can drive economic success. Seretse Khama’s leadership was instrumental in Botswana’s transition from English rule and South African apartheid influence in 1966. Botswana, now a sociopolitically stable and economically vibrant country, has embraced a parliamentary democracy built on a multiparty system rooted in the chieftaincy systems that have existed for centuries.
This system is heavily influenced by the underlying philosophy of Kgotla, characterised by principles of democracy, inclusiveness and open dialogue. Chiefs in Botswana continue to exert influence, serving as a check on inappropriate actions in government. Botswana’s example demonstrates that economic prosperity can be built upon indigenous culture, a stark contrast to the dominance of foreign models in many other African countries, especially within the realm of business culture.
Rethinking leadership through indigenous perspectives
The realm of leadership and management theory has been predominantly shaped by the writings of early 20th-century western scholars, deeply influenced by economics and classical sociology. This perspective centrally emphasises logic and a masculine archetype and minimises sensemaking, instinct and emotions.
Recent scholarship has shed light on the biases embedded in these theories. Human beings are not solely rational and transaction-oriented creatures; we are also guided by emotions and communal instincts. Recognising the significance of emotions in leadership can pave the way for more holistic, inclusive and emancipatory theories of management. Eastern philosophies have already demonstrated their positive impact in areas such as business process management and emotional intelligence.
Dr Reuel Khoza stands as one of the pioneering thought leaders who have operationalised the Ubuntu philosophy as a conceptual framework for interpersonal relationships and leadership. His book, Ubuntu Botho – African Humanism, aimed to reposition African ideas of communalism and humanism as fundamental to philosophies found on the continent, extending these principles into corporate life. Ubuntu, originating from the isiZulu language, encapsulates the aphorism, “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu”, which translates to “a person is a person because of or through other people”.
Desmond Tutu beautifully encapsulated this philosophy by emphasising that none of us enters the world fully formed; we become human through our interactions with other human beings.
Ubuntu’s ancient roots are traced to central Africa, where it emerged in the earliest societies. As different groups migrated across the continent, they carried the Ubuntu philosophy with them.
Today, Ubuntu philosophy lies at the heart of how organisations can evolve into more inclusive and purpose-driven entities. It finds expression in open innovation platforms, where individuals collaborate externally to navigate fast-changing business landscapes. This interconnectedness fosters a social organisational culture that promotes personal growth, communal achievement, and shared aspirations.
Expressing mutual values such as compassion, reciprocity, and humanity becomes the key to success in online communities and beyond.
The levels of Ubuntu
Johann Broodryk, the first person to receive a PhD in Ubuntu, published a seminal work on the Ubuntu philosophy and its application in modern business. He captured the essence of Ubuntu and explained how it can serve as a management philosophy in contemporary organisations.
Later, the principles of Ubuntu were further elucidated by Vuyisile Msila through his notion of the “5Ps of Ubuntu,” which encompass people-centeredness, permeable walls, partisanship, progeny and productivity.
Traditional western management systems have been guided by misapplied economic assumptions about human nature, often focusing on self-interest as the ultimate driver of behaviour. Subsequently this self-interest may lead to employees wanting to earn as much as possible while contributing as little as possible.
In general, organisational culture, a product of leadership style and decisions, systems, policy and process, influences employee engagement, and this system needs to be explored to articulate the inherent cultural dynamics (values, leadership style, levels of engagement and behaviour and the symbols influencing how things get done).
Post-colonial theoretical perspectives critically examine the far-reaching impacts of European colonial rule on various aspects of society. They challenge prevailing notions of power structures, amplify marginalised viewpoints and advocate for a more balanced representation of history. Understanding leadership and relationships in South Africa necessitates an examination of the country’s post-colonial history and each leader’s personal connection to it. This requires emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and the pursuit of personal mastery, as postulated by Peter Senge.
Personal mastery is a journey of deepening self-identity, emotional awareness, patience and objective reality perception. It entails a keen awareness of one’s mental models, the deeply ingrained assumptions and biases shaping one’s worldview. Management decisions often reflect organisational intentions, while individual paradigms inform how those messages are interpreted. Therefore, leaders must consciously scrutinise their beliefs and perceptions, recognising these factors’ profound influence on their behaviour and outcomes.
Navigating the legacy of colonialism
Colonisation of Africa commenced in the 15th century, with different European nations leaving their distinct marks on the continent. Africa became a strategic asset, coveted for its trading posts and abundant natural resources. However, this era was marked by an inherent power imbalance between colonists and indigenous populations, leading to enduring legacies of marginalisation and inequality. The process of decolonisation unfolded differently in various African countries, further shaping the post-colonial landscape.
Leaders in Africa and those operating within its context face a multitude of challenges, from economic and political instability to limited infrastructure and disparities in access to technology. Cultural diversity and the historical baggage of colonisation also exert a profound influence on leadership dynamics. The lingering perceptions of poor governance, corruption and overt racism, alongside an oversimplified belief that societal values determine poverty and wealth, complicate leadership efforts in the region.
Countries in southern Africa have demonstrated commendable transitions to democracy and boast admirable constitutions. However, little has changed in terms of economic empowerment and patterns of wealth accumulation.
While legislative measures and political changes have fostered a more diverse middle class, economic disparities remain entrenched. An increase in the registration of Black-owned businesses may deflect from the reality that many new businesses fail and the reality that there has been a limited rise in Black management control. Black women continue to face marginalisation, with low representation in business ownership and leadership positions. These challenges persist despite legislation aimed at promoting transformation.
Leadership is inherently context-specific, shaped by the environment in which it operates. African leaders and those operating within African contexts must navigate sometimes extraordinarily unstable economic and political landscapes while addressing a plethora of challenges. These challenges include the need for socially and environmentally responsible practices addressing long-standing poverty and inequality, limited education and healthcare infrastructure, disparities in technological access, cultural diversity and the enduring legacy of colonisation. These factors contribute to complex leadership dynamics marked by authoritarianism, over-reliance on positional authority, marginalisation, bias, and the perpetuation of “in-groups”.
Responsible leadership operates at four interconnected levels, starting with authentic self-leadership. It emphasises transformational, ethical, and servant leadership in relationships with others; values-based leadership within organisations; and a systems perspective that views the world of work as an interconnected value chain in the ecosystem. Responsible leadership extends beyond individual organisations to broader society and the world, embodying principles of stewardship. In this context, Ubuntu philosophy finds resonance, promoting values such as trust, cooperation, communication, information sharing, reciprocity and resilience.
Leaders operating within the sub-Saharan African context recognise the value of social capital, a concept gaining prominence in management theory. Social capital encompasses shared values, trust, cooperation, communication, information sharing, reciprocity and resilience within a group of individuals in an organisation. It fosters mutual benefit, but its impact can take on a darker dimension when relationships foster corruption and diminish the value of social capital, particularly in contexts characterised by political interference.
The development of social capital involves creating new connections, enhancing relational dynamics and recognising collective identity through shared language and meaning-making. In the South African context, collective identity has the potential to influence power dynamics and force organisations into disruptive change.
The influence of indigenous perspectives within societies where western-dominated organisational cultures operate places a responsibility on global leaders to remain mindful of potential tensions and to critically examine their own beliefs that shape decision-making and relationships. Ultimately, cohesive engagement requires the deliberate creation of organisational cultures that harness the collective strengths of all cultural paradigms, fostering awareness and sensemaking throughout the business architecture and relationships.
The path to inclusive leadership in sub-Saharan Africa is a multifaceted journey, where indigenous philosophies such as Ubuntu can play a pivotal role in reshaping organisational cultures and promoting holistic leadership. As the region continues to grapple with the legacies of colonisation and persistent challenges, responsible leadership that embraces diversity and shared values offers a promising avenue for progress. By recognising the interconnectedness of all individuals and communities, leaders can navigate the complex terrain of sub-Saharan Africa with empathy, compassion and a commitment to positive change. DM
Dr Natasha Winkler-Titus is a senior lecturer in Organisational Behaviour and Leadership at Stellenbosch Business School.
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In the rapidly evolving landscape of globalisation, multinational corporations have witnessed their influence stretch across borders in previously unimaginable ways. Operating in diverse contexts has become a daily concern for corporate giants, and adapting to local realities in different countries is a crucial aspect of business strategy.
Despite decades of development and progress in the corporate sector, a profound divide persists between the representatives of developed and developing nations, particularly in the area of corporate leadership talent and its development. This division often results in senior leaders from developed countries being dispatched to lead projects or business units in developing nations, necessitating collaboration with local teams in contexts that are vastly different from their own
|
experiences and understanding.
This carries a high risk for causing technically and functionally brilliant leaders to falter in developing countries, primarily because of their inability to contextualise the value of their contributions within unfamiliar circumstances. These leaders struggle to immerse themselves in local contexts, to comprehend issues from alternative perspectives and to apply cultural intelligence to effectively lead in unfamiliar territory.
Cultural meaning systems: Ubuntu’s influence
A profound philosophy, Ubuntu is embedded as a societal value within sub-Saharan Africa. It shapes how individuals within a range of societies make sense of their surroundings. The philosophy has been observed to permeate the cultural meaning systems of employees within organisations operating in the region.
Multinational corporations often encounter Ubuntu’s cultural influence as being in stark contrast to westernised cultures. This dichotomy arises for two principal reasons: first, as leaders in multinationals compete on a global stage, they engage primarily with westernised cultures, often led by leaders from developed, westernised backgrounds. Second, leaders in southern Africa sometimes translate predominantly westernised thinking into their business practices, influenced by an education system steeped in western-infused management philosophies.
Historically, leadership in Southern Africa has been shaped by two distinct influences: indigenous African worldviews and imported western perspectives. The traditional and cultural leadership in tribal areas included chiefs at the apex of the hierarchy. Though informal, their authority was widely recognised within the tribe.
Western influence on leadership can be traced back to the colonisation of the region, first by the Netherlands and later by England. Much of African history has been narrated through the lens of colonisers who, driven by self-interest and a lack of cultural understanding, produced a one-sided and biased account of events.
This paradigm dominated the political landscape during the apartheid era and extended its reach into corporate South Africa and the public sector. The enduring impact of this legacy cannot be separated from the discourse on cross-cultural leadership in sub-Saharan Africa, as unresolved issues from the birth of a democratised South Africa in 1994 continue to inform regressive societal and organisational leadership dynamics.
Throughout history, beliefs have often been moulded by prejudice rather than concrete evidence. It is self-evident that societal values alone do not account for issues such as poverty and wealth. Colonialism’s enduring legacy has played a substantial role in shaping societal structures and economic realities in the region. But stereotypes and preconceived notions persist, perpetuating among others the false idea that African poverty can be attributed to laziness, the suppression of individualism, and irrationality. This disregards the profound impact of colonisation.
Botswana’s model of success
Botswana, Africa’s longest continuous democracy, offers a compelling example of how indigenous culture can drive economic success. Seretse Khama’s leadership was instrumental in Botswana’s transition from English rule and South African apartheid influence in 1966. Botswana, now a sociopolitically stable and economically vibrant country, has embraced a parliamentary democracy built on a multiparty system rooted in the chieftaincy systems that have existed for centuries.
This system is heavily influenced by the underlying philosophy of Kgotla, characterised by principles of democracy, inclusiveness and open dialogue. Chiefs in Botswana continue to exert influence, serving as a check on inappropriate actions in government. Botswana’s example demonstrates that economic prosperity can be built upon indigenous culture, a stark contrast to the dominance of foreign models in many other African countries, especially within the realm of business culture.
Rethinking leadership through indigenous perspectives
The realm of leadership and management theory has been predominantly shaped by the writings of early 20th-century western scholars, deeply influenced by economics and classical sociology. This perspective centrally emphasises logic and a masculine archetype and minimises sensemaking, instinct and emotions.
Recent scholarship has shed light on the biases embedded in these theories. Human beings are not solely rational and transaction-oriented creatures; we are also guided by emotions and communal instincts. Recognising the significance of emotions in leadership can pave the way for more holistic, inclusive and emancipatory theories of management. Eastern philosophies have already demonstrated their positive impact in areas such as business process management and emotional intelligence.
Dr Reuel Khoza stands as one of the pioneering thought leaders who have operationalised the Ubuntu philosophy as a conceptual framework for interpersonal relationships and leadership. His book, Ubuntu Botho – African Humanism, aimed to reposition African ideas of communalism and humanism as fundamental to philosophies found on the continent, extending these principles into corporate life. Ubuntu, originating from the isiZulu language, encapsulates the aphorism, “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu”, which translates to “a person is a person because of or through other people”.
Desmond Tutu beautifully encapsulated this philosophy by emphasising that none of us enters the world fully formed; we become human through our interactions with other human beings.
Ubuntu’s ancient roots are traced to central Africa, where it emerged in the earliest societies. As different groups migrated across the continent, they carried the Ubuntu philosophy with them.
Today, Ubuntu philosophy lies at the heart of how organisations can evolve into more inclusive and purpose-driven entities. It finds expression in open innovation platforms, where individuals collaborate externally to navigate fast-changing business landscapes. This interconnectedness fosters a social organisational culture that promotes personal growth, communal achievement, and shared aspirations.
Expressing mutual values such as compassion, reciprocity, and humanity becomes the key to success in online communities and beyond.
The levels of Ubuntu
Johann Broodryk, the first person to receive a PhD in Ubuntu, published a seminal work on the Ubuntu philosophy and its application in modern business. He captured the essence of Ubuntu and explained how it can serve as a management philosophy in contemporary organisations.
Later, the principles of Ubuntu were further elucidated by Vuyisile Msila through his notion of the “5Ps of Ubuntu,” which encompass people-centeredness, permeable walls, partisanship, progeny and productivity.
Traditional western management systems have been guided by misapplied economic assumptions about human nature, often focusing on self-interest as the ultimate driver of behaviour. Subsequently this self-interest may lead to employees wanting to earn as much as possible while contributing as little as possible.
In general, organisational culture, a product of leadership style and decisions, systems, policy and process, influences employee engagement, and this system needs to be explored to articulate the inherent cultural dynamics (values, leadership style, levels of engagement and behaviour and the symbols influencing how things get done).
Post-colonial theoretical perspectives critically examine the far-reaching impacts of European colonial rule on various aspects of society. They challenge prevailing notions of power structures, amplify marginalised viewpoints and advocate for a more balanced representation of history. Understanding leadership and relationships in South Africa necessitates an examination of the country’s post-colonial history and each leader’s personal connection to it. This requires emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and the pursuit of personal mastery, as postulated by Peter Senge.
Personal mastery is a journey of deepening self-identity, emotional awareness, patience and objective reality perception. It entails a keen awareness of one’s mental models, the deeply ingrained assumptions and biases shaping one’s worldview. Management decisions often reflect organisational intentions, while individual paradigms inform how those messages are interpreted. Therefore, leaders must consciously scrutinise their beliefs and perceptions, recognising these factors’ profound influence on their behaviour and outcomes.
Navigating the legacy of colonialism
Colonisation of Africa commenced in the 15th century, with different European nations leaving their distinct marks on the continent. Africa became a strategic asset, coveted for its trading posts and abundant natural resources. However, this era was marked by an inherent power imbalance between colonists and indigenous populations, leading to enduring legacies of marginalisation and inequality. The process of decolonisation unfolded differently in various African countries, further shaping the post-colonial landscape.
Leaders in Africa and those operating within its context face a multitude of challenges, from economic and political instability to limited infrastructure and disparities in access to technology. Cultural diversity and the historical baggage of colonisation also exert a profound influence on leadership dynamics. The lingering perceptions of poor governance, corruption and overt racism, alongside an oversimplified belief that societal values determine poverty and wealth, complicate leadership efforts in the region.
Countries in southern Africa have demonstrated commendable transitions to democracy and boast admirable constitutions. However, little has changed in terms of economic empowerment and patterns of wealth accumulation.
While legislative measures and political changes have fostered a more diverse middle class, economic disparities remain entrenched. An increase in the registration of Black-owned businesses may deflect from the reality that many new businesses fail and the reality that there has been a limited rise in Black management control. Black women continue to face marginalisation, with low representation in business ownership and leadership positions. These challenges persist despite legislation aimed at promoting transformation.
Leadership is inherently context-specific, shaped by the environment in which it operates. African leaders and those operating within African contexts must navigate sometimes extraordinarily unstable economic and political landscapes while addressing a plethora of challenges. These challenges include the need for socially and environmentally responsible practices addressing long-standing poverty and inequality, limited education and healthcare infrastructure, disparities in technological access, cultural diversity and the enduring legacy of colonisation. These factors contribute to complex leadership dynamics marked by authoritarianism, over-reliance on positional authority, marginalisation, bias, and the perpetuation of “in-groups”.
Responsible leadership operates at four interconnected levels, starting with authentic self-leadership. It emphasises transformational, ethical, and servant leadership in relationships with others; values-based leadership within organisations; and a systems perspective that views the world of work as an interconnected value chain in the ecosystem. Responsible leadership extends beyond individual organisations to broader society and the world, embodying principles of stewardship. In this context, Ubuntu philosophy finds resonance, promoting values such as trust, cooperation, communication, information sharing, reciprocity and resilience.
Leaders operating within the sub-Saharan African context recognise the value of social capital, a concept gaining prominence in management theory. Social capital encompasses shared values, trust, cooperation, communication, information sharing, reciprocity and resilience within a group of individuals in an organisation. It fosters mutual benefit, but its impact can take on a darker dimension when relationships foster corruption and diminish the value of social capital, particularly in contexts characterised by political interference.
The development of social capital involves creating new connections, enhancing relational dynamics and recognising collective identity through shared language and meaning-making. In the South African context, collective identity has the potential to influence power dynamics and force organisations into disruptive change.
The influence of indigenous perspectives within societies where western-dominated organisational cultures operate places a responsibility on global leaders to remain mindful of potential tensions and to critically examine their own beliefs that shape decision-making and relationships. Ultimately, cohesive engagement requires the deliberate creation of organisational cultures that harness the collective strengths of all cultural paradigms, fostering awareness and sensemaking throughout the business architecture and relationships.
The path to inclusive leadership in sub-Saharan Africa is a multifaceted journey, where indigenous philosophies such as Ubuntu can play a pivotal role in reshaping organisational cultures and promoting holistic leadership. As the region continues to grapple with the legacies of colonisation and persistent challenges, responsible leadership that embraces diversity and shared values offers a promising avenue for progress. By recognising the interconnectedness of all individuals and communities, leaders can navigate the complex terrain of sub-Saharan Africa with empathy, compassion and a commitment to positive change. DM
Dr Natasha Winkler-Titus is a senior lecturer in Organisational Behaviour and Leadership at Stellenbosch Business School.
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Missouri educators hope a new approach to reading will improve low literacy rates
Education leaders want Missouri teachers to lean into research-backed literacy instruction methods, known as the science of reading.
Missouri education leaders are pushing for a big change in the way children are taught to read. They’re leaning into something called the science of reading, a blanket term for research-backed teaching methods that have been gaining in popularity in recent years.
Multiple new laws are part of this push, including one that takes effect this week. At the same time, the state is in the middle of an effort to train elementary English teachers to completely rethink their approach in the classroom.
In a state where reading test scores have been declining for years, educators hope this method could be a solution to Missouri schools’ failure to teach all kids to read.
The research-backed approach
In the St. Louis area, you can see the science of reading in action in KIPP elementary schools. The charter network has been moving toward a research-backed curriculum in its schools for a few years, and about 70% of its English teachers are going through an intensive professional development course on these teaching methods.
Something seems to be working here. While overall test scores are low, KIPP Victory Academy students’ English language growth scores led the state in the 2020-21 school year, according to St. Louis University’s PRiME center. PRiME researchers say growth is an important measure, because while test scores often reflect the socioeconomic background of students, growth can tell you whether students are improving at school.
On a December Monday at Victory Academy in St. Louis’ West End neighborhood, first graders were getting fidgety in anticipation of recess, but they powered through for their teacher Allison Feldmann. A big textbook from the science of reading professional development course sat on a table at the back of her room; Feldmann is in the middle of the program.
She wore a headset that amplifies her voice as she led the kids through exercises — they were learning how letter sounds combine to make words.
“Say damp,” she asked.
“Damp!” the class responded.
“Change ‘duh’ to ‘luh,’” she prompted, making the sounds for the letters.
“Lamp!” the class yelled in unison.
Feldmann asked the students to move their bodies as they broke down the sounds in words. As they replaced letters to form a new word, they folded their little arms in front of them, "Macarena" style.
This letter sound exercise is meant to teach students a skill called phonemic awareness. science of reading-based classes focus on it alongside phonics, reading fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. Research has shown readers need to have a good grasp of these concepts, and these words have also recently been written into multiple Missouri education laws.
At December’s state board of education meeting, the stakes were clear during a presentation on the latest test results from the Nation’s Report Card. Education leaders looked at charts showing consistent declines in Missouri students' reading scores since 2015, with a big drop after the start of the pandemic.
Missouri’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education officials are hoping a push toward research-backed literacy instruction will help.
The department is rolling out a big, statewide effort to put teachers through an intensive professional development program on the science of reading for all teachers, called LETRS. It’s the same course Victory Academy teacher Allison Feldmann is in the middle of.
The training is a time commitment for busy teachers; it can take more than 160 hours to complete over the course of two years. The state has funding for 15,000 kindergarten through fifth grade teachers to go through this training. So far, about 9,000 have at least started it.
On top of that, lawmakers enacted a series of reading instruction changes last session that are already in effect. One makes components of the science of reading a required topic for teachers to learn in college or other training institutions. Another says schools must offer an evidence-based reading program for elementary students.
Another law, which took effect this week, requires new reading testing for kindergarten through third grade at the beginning and end of the school year, to identify students who are behind or at risk for dyslexia. Those students’ parents will then be notified so the struggling students can be given intensive reading instruction.
Altogether, the laws and initiatives represent a big investment of time and money in the science of reading in Missouri.
“We want to ensure that when you hear conversations across the nation about states who have been successful with reading improvement, Missouri needs to be part of that conversation,” said Tracy Hinds, an assistant commissioner at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
The science of reading training for teachers is a good start, but more will be needed to truly change how kids are taught, said Matt Burns, a professor of special education at the University of Missouri. Teachers will need support to implement effective instruction.
“If we want this to happen, we have to have school districts have people on site who could help coach teachers,” Burns said.
There’s another barrier to implementation; methods that aren’t backed by science are still popular in schools. Allison Feldmann remembers how she and her colleagues used to teach at KIPP Victory Academy.
“We weren't really teaching kids to listen to the sounds in words,” Feldmann said.
In about 3 out of 4 classrooms, teachers do the same, deemphasizing methods like sounding out words and instead telling students to use context clues or illustrations to guess a word they don’t know while reading.
“We had been teaching kids, ‘guess this letter and look at the picture,’ and now, because of the science of reading, we know that was definitely not what we were supposed to be doing,” said Angela Jackson, an elementary literacy curriculum manager at KIPP.
To truly improve reading in Missouri, Burns said other schools will have to make the same change. “I think we have to really make sure that some of these practices for which there isn't a research base aren't used in schools,” Burns said.
Feldmann said going through the intensive science of reading course has changed her perspective.
“I really enjoy it. It's just a very deep dive into the curriculums that I'm teaching and kind of the why behind everything,” Feldmann said. “It has changed my perspective a lot.”
Missouri education leaders hope more teachers will change their perspectives too.
Copyright 2023 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit St. Louis Public Radio.
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Missouri educators hope a new approach to reading will improve low literacy rates
Education leaders want Missouri teachers to lean into research-backed literacy instruction methods, known as the science of reading.
Missouri education leaders are pushing for a big change in the way children are taught to read. They’re leaning into something called the science of reading, a blanket term for research-backed teaching methods that have been gaining in popularity in recent years.
Multiple new laws are part of this push, including one that takes effect this week. At the same time, the state is in the middle of an effort to train elementary English teachers to completely rethink their approach in the
|
classroom.
In a state where reading test scores have been declining for years, educators hope this method could be a solution to Missouri schools’ failure to teach all kids to read.
The research-backed approach
In the St. Louis area, you can see the science of reading in action in KIPP elementary schools. The charter network has been moving toward a research-backed curriculum in its schools for a few years, and about 70% of its English teachers are going through an intensive professional development course on these teaching methods.
Something seems to be working here. While overall test scores are low, KIPP Victory Academy students’ English language growth scores led the state in the 2020-21 school year, according to St. Louis University’s PRiME center. PRiME researchers say growth is an important measure, because while test scores often reflect the socioeconomic background of students, growth can tell you whether students are improving at school.
On a December Monday at Victory Academy in St. Louis’ West End neighborhood, first graders were getting fidgety in anticipation of recess, but they powered through for their teacher Allison Feldmann. A big textbook from the science of reading professional development course sat on a table at the back of her room; Feldmann is in the middle of the program.
She wore a headset that amplifies her voice as she led the kids through exercises — they were learning how letter sounds combine to make words.
“Say damp,” she asked.
“Damp!” the class responded.
“Change ‘duh’ to ‘luh,’” she prompted, making the sounds for the letters.
“Lamp!” the class yelled in unison.
Feldmann asked the students to move their bodies as they broke down the sounds in words. As they replaced letters to form a new word, they folded their little arms in front of them, "Macarena" style.
This letter sound exercise is meant to teach students a skill called phonemic awareness. science of reading-based classes focus on it alongside phonics, reading fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. Research has shown readers need to have a good grasp of these concepts, and these words have also recently been written into multiple Missouri education laws.
At December’s state board of education meeting, the stakes were clear during a presentation on the latest test results from the Nation’s Report Card. Education leaders looked at charts showing consistent declines in Missouri students' reading scores since 2015, with a big drop after the start of the pandemic.
Missouri’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education officials are hoping a push toward research-backed literacy instruction will help.
The department is rolling out a big, statewide effort to put teachers through an intensive professional development program on the science of reading for all teachers, called LETRS. It’s the same course Victory Academy teacher Allison Feldmann is in the middle of.
The training is a time commitment for busy teachers; it can take more than 160 hours to complete over the course of two years. The state has funding for 15,000 kindergarten through fifth grade teachers to go through this training. So far, about 9,000 have at least started it.
On top of that, lawmakers enacted a series of reading instruction changes last session that are already in effect. One makes components of the science of reading a required topic for teachers to learn in college or other training institutions. Another says schools must offer an evidence-based reading program for elementary students.
Another law, which took effect this week, requires new reading testing for kindergarten through third grade at the beginning and end of the school year, to identify students who are behind or at risk for dyslexia. Those students’ parents will then be notified so the struggling students can be given intensive reading instruction.
Altogether, the laws and initiatives represent a big investment of time and money in the science of reading in Missouri.
“We want to ensure that when you hear conversations across the nation about states who have been successful with reading improvement, Missouri needs to be part of that conversation,” said Tracy Hinds, an assistant commissioner at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
The science of reading training for teachers is a good start, but more will be needed to truly change how kids are taught, said Matt Burns, a professor of special education at the University of Missouri. Teachers will need support to implement effective instruction.
“If we want this to happen, we have to have school districts have people on site who could help coach teachers,” Burns said.
There’s another barrier to implementation; methods that aren’t backed by science are still popular in schools. Allison Feldmann remembers how she and her colleagues used to teach at KIPP Victory Academy.
“We weren't really teaching kids to listen to the sounds in words,” Feldmann said.
In about 3 out of 4 classrooms, teachers do the same, deemphasizing methods like sounding out words and instead telling students to use context clues or illustrations to guess a word they don’t know while reading.
“We had been teaching kids, ‘guess this letter and look at the picture,’ and now, because of the science of reading, we know that was definitely not what we were supposed to be doing,” said Angela Jackson, an elementary literacy curriculum manager at KIPP.
To truly improve reading in Missouri, Burns said other schools will have to make the same change. “I think we have to really make sure that some of these practices for which there isn't a research base aren't used in schools,” Burns said.
Feldmann said going through the intensive science of reading course has changed her perspective.
“I really enjoy it. It's just a very deep dive into the curriculums that I'm teaching and kind of the why behind everything,” Feldmann said. “It has changed my perspective a lot.”
Missouri education leaders hope more teachers will change their perspectives too.
Copyright 2023 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit St. Louis Public Radio.
|
Lake Tahoe reaches clarity levels not seen since the 1980s
In 2022, Lake Tahoe was especially blue.
Over the last five months of 2022, scientists measuring the lake’s clarity could see down 80.6 feet. It was the clearest the lake has been since the 1980s, according to a report released by the U.C. Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center.
“It’s encouraging to see that water clarity improved in 2022 compared to the year prior. Yet, a better annual average for a single year shouldn’t be taken as a signal that Lake Tahoe’s water clarity is now on a path to recovery,” League to Save Lake Tahoe CEO Darcie Goodman Collins said in a press release. “The data from 2022 tells a nuanced story and reminds us there is much more we need to understand about Lake Tahoe if we hope to keep – and restore – its blueness.”
Measuring Tahoe's clarity
Scientists regularly measure the lake’s clarity by lowering a large, white disk into the water, recording how deep the disk can go before it is no longer visible.
While Tahoe’s clarity peaked in late 2022, its average clarity over the year was just 71.7 feet; much lower than the averages that hovered closer to 100 feet in the 1960s and '70s.
In 2021, the lake’s clarity was just 61 feet.
Since the 1960s, agencies and groups from California and Nevada have worked to restore the lake’s clear water, with the goal of reaching an annual average clarity of 97.4 feet, a depth not seen in roughly half a century.
Zooplankton, invasive shrimp and dog treats
Clarity is affected by the concentration of tiny particles such as silt and clay that come from runoff, and phytoplankton. Other factors can impact it, but a report from the Tahoe Environmental Research Center concluded that the change in zooplankton was the largest contributor toward improving the lake’s clarity.
Zooplankton – microscopic animals – eat the phytoplankton, and in late 2022, there was a significant spike in the number of zooplankton in Tahoe.
Two notable zooplankton returned this past fall and winter – daphnia and bosmina. They had largely disappeared from Tahoe after invasive mysis shrimp were introduced in the 1960s. The shrimp were so abundant in the lake that a California nonprofit group was studying ways to harvest the shrimp and turn them into dog treats.
In 2021, the mysis shrimp population crashed unexpectedly, and a year later, daphnia and bosmina were thriving.
Scientists aren’t sure, but clarity levels could continue to improve this year, returning to levels seen in the 1970s if daphnia and bosmina continue to thrive – despite the large amounts of runoff expected this spring and summer.
And Tahoe fishermen can rejoice – Kokanee salmon, which feed on daphnia, are expected to be larger this season with their bountiful food supply.
But that improvement would likely be short-lived. Mysis shrimp populations are expected to rebound, and, as they consume bosmina and daphnia, clarity would once again decline.
Amy Alonzo covers the outdoors, recreation and environment for Nevada and Lake Tahoe. Reach her <email-pii>.
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Lake Tahoe reaches clarity levels not seen since the 1980s
In 2022, Lake Tahoe was especially blue.
Over the last five months of 2022, scientists measuring the lake’s clarity could see down 80.6 feet. It was the clearest the lake has been since the 1980s, according to a report released by the U.C. Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center.
“It’s encouraging to see that water clarity improved in 2022 compared to the year prior. Yet, a better annual average for a single year shouldn
|
’t be taken as a signal that Lake Tahoe’s water clarity is now on a path to recovery,” League to Save Lake Tahoe CEO Darcie Goodman Collins said in a press release. “The data from 2022 tells a nuanced story and reminds us there is much more we need to understand about Lake Tahoe if we hope to keep – and restore – its blueness.”
Measuring Tahoe's clarity
Scientists regularly measure the lake’s clarity by lowering a large, white disk into the water, recording how deep the disk can go before it is no longer visible.
While Tahoe’s clarity peaked in late 2022, its average clarity over the year was just 71.7 feet; much lower than the averages that hovered closer to 100 feet in the 1960s and '70s.
In 2021, the lake’s clarity was just 61 feet.
Since the 1960s, agencies and groups from California and Nevada have worked to restore the lake’s clear water, with the goal of reaching an annual average clarity of 97.4 feet, a depth not seen in roughly half a century.
Zooplankton, invasive shrimp and dog treats
Clarity is affected by the concentration of tiny particles such as silt and clay that come from runoff, and phytoplankton. Other factors can impact it, but a report from the Tahoe Environmental Research Center concluded that the change in zooplankton was the largest contributor toward improving the lake’s clarity.
Zooplankton – microscopic animals – eat the phytoplankton, and in late 2022, there was a significant spike in the number of zooplankton in Tahoe.
Two notable zooplankton returned this past fall and winter – daphnia and bosmina. They had largely disappeared from Tahoe after invasive mysis shrimp were introduced in the 1960s. The shrimp were so abundant in the lake that a California nonprofit group was studying ways to harvest the shrimp and turn them into dog treats.
In 2021, the mysis shrimp population crashed unexpectedly, and a year later, daphnia and bosmina were thriving.
Scientists aren’t sure, but clarity levels could continue to improve this year, returning to levels seen in the 1970s if daphnia and bosmina continue to thrive – despite the large amounts of runoff expected this spring and summer.
And Tahoe fishermen can rejoice – Kokanee salmon, which feed on daphnia, are expected to be larger this season with their bountiful food supply.
But that improvement would likely be short-lived. Mysis shrimp populations are expected to rebound, and, as they consume bosmina and daphnia, clarity would once again decline.
Amy Alonzo covers the outdoors, recreation and environment for Nevada and Lake Tahoe. Reach her <email-pii>.
|
Dan Frechtling, CEO, Boltive.
How does data privacy, a subject that got very little attention 15 years ago, lay claim to a week-long commemoration from January 24 to 28?
What we now recognize as Data Privacy Week began as Data Privacy Day in 2007. The day grew into a week after the U.S. National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA) wished to spread awareness about online privacy in 2021.
This recognition did not happen overnight. Rather, it culminated from a cadence of data tracking and data protection incidents over the past 20 years.
The Data Tracking Movement
First, let us don our web archaeology hats and examine the rise of data tracking. Why have marketers gathered more and more personal information about individuals?
There are many reasons for this. A primary cause was the redistribution of content on the Web. For example, at the dawn of the consumer internet, people used to browse new cars by visiting auto pages on Yahoo, MSN and AOL. Carmakers placed ads on these sites.
But by 2002, search engines, led by Google, became the starting point for Web surfers. Instead of audiences flocking to the content hubs—as they did in the print world—Web traffic became fragmented. Advertisers needed to work with ad networks and ad tech to aggregate “auto intenders” across many publishers.
Cookies made this possible. In 1994, the first cookie, or unique ID, was born at Netscape when engineer Lou Montulli wanted to remember visitors anonymously and privately. Without cookies, browsers tended to “forget” signed-in users, preferred language and items in shopping carts.
Then the cookie became a “monster.” It turned into a tracker in 1995 as Doubleclick, an internet advertising pioneer, repurposed cookies to follow users from one site to another. With cookies, you did not just see who visited smaller auto sites today but also who visited them in the past 30 days. So, you could find auto intenders in many places and advertise to them.
From these beginnings came more targeting innovations over 20 years. Interest-based ads (IBA) began tracking a user across sites to serve ads to that browser’s interests. By placing an individual in interest categories, advertisers could send relevant messages.
In 2007, the iPhone launch introduced the multi-device era. Then cross-app advertising became the mobile app equivalent of IBA, tracking users across nonaffiliated apps. In 2014, device graphs connected desktop, mobile then later connected TV (CTV). All these nodes made it very profitable to retarget users. Retargeting recycles data collected on one site to show an ad to users on other sites or apps.
The Data Protection Movement
A second trend began blowing in the opposite direction. Data protection intensified like a drumbeat over the past 10 years. For the sake of space, we will concentrate on U.S. developments.
In the last 10 years, the number of exposed records in U.S. data breaches has grown from 419 in 2011 to 1,862 in 2021, the last full year of reporting. That is a compound annual growth rate of 16%.
Among these numbers were high-profile mishaps. There was a series of attacks allegedly out of Russia carried out against Yahoo from 2013 to 2016 in which attackers breached 3 billion user accounts worldwide. The was also the Equifax breach in 201,7 when Chinese hackers gained access to the sensitive data of 147 million Americans.
Beyond these numbers, other events shattered complacency about privacy. The 2013 leak of classified information about NSA surveillance by Edward Snowden eroded trust in our government, and the 2018 Cambridge Analytica manipulation of users’ sensitive data on Facebook eroded trust in Big Tech.
On the one hand, tracking transformed into hyper-targeting, the over-collection of data and the proliferation of third parties. On the other hand, data protection became a security and privacy issue after alarming incidents changed consumer attitudes. The data tracking and data protection movements collided in 2018.
The Global Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) lowered the boom in business practices in mid-2018. GDPR is still regarded as the most comprehensive privacy and security law in the world. It has created a regulatory wave unlike any set of rules before.
Why 2023 Will Be A Banner Year For U.S. Data Privacy
GDPR spawned similar laws in Brazil (LGPD), Japan (APPI) and China (PIPL). We are witnessing the fastest simultaneous change in global regulation in history.
This year, five years after GDPR took effect, we are seeing a shift in the U.S. California’s CPRA amendment took effect on January 1, along with Virginia’s VCDPA. Colorado’s CPA and Connecticut’s CTDPA will be in force on July 1. Utah’s UCPA will go into effect on December 31. Four more states have active bills. In addition, the FTC is engaged in privacy rulemaking, and the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA) sits in the House of Representatives.
With this perspective, Data Privacy Week is a short ceremony. The other 51 weeks of the year, regulators continue to conduct investigations and prosecute non-compliant companies.
Coming out of this week, companies in 2023 will have a choice: They may continue down the path of business as usual. However, both GDPR enforcement and CCPA enforcement trends indicate smaller enterprises are increasingly caught in regulatory sweeps.
A better path, in the best interests of customers as well as regulators, is to implement privacy practices that ensure user data is only shared with user consent. These small steps are accelerated by software that automates self-audits for businesses.
It is time to call it a day on commemorating privacy for only one week in January. Instead, it should be a week-in, week-out pursuit. And customers will thank us.
Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
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Dan Frechtling, CEO, Boltive.
How does data privacy, a subject that got very little attention 15 years ago, lay claim to a week-long commemoration from January 24 to 28?
What we now recognize as Data Privacy Week began as Data Privacy Day in 2007. The day grew into a week after the U.S. National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA) wished to spread awareness about online privacy in 2021.
This recognition did not happen overnight. Rather, it culminated from a cadence of data tracking and data protection incidents over the past 2
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0 years.
The Data Tracking Movement
First, let us don our web archaeology hats and examine the rise of data tracking. Why have marketers gathered more and more personal information about individuals?
There are many reasons for this. A primary cause was the redistribution of content on the Web. For example, at the dawn of the consumer internet, people used to browse new cars by visiting auto pages on Yahoo, MSN and AOL. Carmakers placed ads on these sites.
But by 2002, search engines, led by Google, became the starting point for Web surfers. Instead of audiences flocking to the content hubs—as they did in the print world—Web traffic became fragmented. Advertisers needed to work with ad networks and ad tech to aggregate “auto intenders” across many publishers.
Cookies made this possible. In 1994, the first cookie, or unique ID, was born at Netscape when engineer Lou Montulli wanted to remember visitors anonymously and privately. Without cookies, browsers tended to “forget” signed-in users, preferred language and items in shopping carts.
Then the cookie became a “monster.” It turned into a tracker in 1995 as Doubleclick, an internet advertising pioneer, repurposed cookies to follow users from one site to another. With cookies, you did not just see who visited smaller auto sites today but also who visited them in the past 30 days. So, you could find auto intenders in many places and advertise to them.
From these beginnings came more targeting innovations over 20 years. Interest-based ads (IBA) began tracking a user across sites to serve ads to that browser’s interests. By placing an individual in interest categories, advertisers could send relevant messages.
In 2007, the iPhone launch introduced the multi-device era. Then cross-app advertising became the mobile app equivalent of IBA, tracking users across nonaffiliated apps. In 2014, device graphs connected desktop, mobile then later connected TV (CTV). All these nodes made it very profitable to retarget users. Retargeting recycles data collected on one site to show an ad to users on other sites or apps.
The Data Protection Movement
A second trend began blowing in the opposite direction. Data protection intensified like a drumbeat over the past 10 years. For the sake of space, we will concentrate on U.S. developments.
In the last 10 years, the number of exposed records in U.S. data breaches has grown from 419 in 2011 to 1,862 in 2021, the last full year of reporting. That is a compound annual growth rate of 16%.
Among these numbers were high-profile mishaps. There was a series of attacks allegedly out of Russia carried out against Yahoo from 2013 to 2016 in which attackers breached 3 billion user accounts worldwide. The was also the Equifax breach in 201,7 when Chinese hackers gained access to the sensitive data of 147 million Americans.
Beyond these numbers, other events shattered complacency about privacy. The 2013 leak of classified information about NSA surveillance by Edward Snowden eroded trust in our government, and the 2018 Cambridge Analytica manipulation of users’ sensitive data on Facebook eroded trust in Big Tech.
On the one hand, tracking transformed into hyper-targeting, the over-collection of data and the proliferation of third parties. On the other hand, data protection became a security and privacy issue after alarming incidents changed consumer attitudes. The data tracking and data protection movements collided in 2018.
The Global Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) lowered the boom in business practices in mid-2018. GDPR is still regarded as the most comprehensive privacy and security law in the world. It has created a regulatory wave unlike any set of rules before.
Why 2023 Will Be A Banner Year For U.S. Data Privacy
GDPR spawned similar laws in Brazil (LGPD), Japan (APPI) and China (PIPL). We are witnessing the fastest simultaneous change in global regulation in history.
This year, five years after GDPR took effect, we are seeing a shift in the U.S. California’s CPRA amendment took effect on January 1, along with Virginia’s VCDPA. Colorado’s CPA and Connecticut’s CTDPA will be in force on July 1. Utah’s UCPA will go into effect on December 31. Four more states have active bills. In addition, the FTC is engaged in privacy rulemaking, and the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA) sits in the House of Representatives.
With this perspective, Data Privacy Week is a short ceremony. The other 51 weeks of the year, regulators continue to conduct investigations and prosecute non-compliant companies.
Coming out of this week, companies in 2023 will have a choice: They may continue down the path of business as usual. However, both GDPR enforcement and CCPA enforcement trends indicate smaller enterprises are increasingly caught in regulatory sweeps.
A better path, in the best interests of customers as well as regulators, is to implement privacy practices that ensure user data is only shared with user consent. These small steps are accelerated by software that automates self-audits for businesses.
It is time to call it a day on commemorating privacy for only one week in January. Instead, it should be a week-in, week-out pursuit. And customers will thank us.
Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
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Environmental advocates, regulators at odds over Vermont's pesticide regulations
For the first time in more than 30 years, Vermont is updating its regulations on pesticide use in the state.
After working on the update for years, regulators at the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets have prepared a set of draft rules. But a coalition of environmental advocates say the proposed regulations don’t go far enough to protect Vermont’s environment in light of climate change.
Lawmakers are expected to vote on the new rules this Thursday, Jan. 5.
Vermont Public’s Jenn Jarecki spoke with climate and environment reporter Abagael Giles about the draft regulations. Their conversation below has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Jenn Jarecki: So to get started, how are pesticides regulated in Vermont and what do the rules look like right now?
Abagael Giles: Yeah, so Vermont law defines pesticides as “economic poisons,” which I think is a good place to start.
These are toxic chemicals that our government — and a lot of people in farming — see as necessary for industry.
These rules govern everything from chemicals like atrazine and glyphosate, used in corn fields, to insecticides used on lawns and golf courses, as well as the herbicides and insecticides used for invasive species control (and there is overlap there).
Basically, pesticide sellers have to register their products with the state before they can sell them here. The state sorts them into categories based on how toxic they are. Federal, but also state law, decides a lot of that.
The most toxic pesticides can only be applied by someone with a special certification. And people who apply them have to report to the state how much they use, where they apply them and when.
Mostly these rules deal with all the red tape. Not what pesticides fall into what pot, but how Vermont treats them once they’re there. Who gets to apply them, use them, sell them and what kind of permit, if any, you need to do that. But also who you have to tell when you use them.
So what are the key changes on the table here?
Big picture, these updates are happening to bring Vermont’s regulations up to date with the EPA’s; the federal agency made changes to its rules a few years ago. Vermont has to have regulations that are at least as strict as the federal government’s regulations — though Vermont can also choose to regulate pesticides more aggressively.
Big changes include a requirement that people who apply commercial pesticides notify all landowners about pesticide use on their property.
It also creates a process for towns and nonprofits to apply for a permit to spray for invasive species — think Japanese knotweed — on land that doesn’t belong to them, or in public right of ways. There is a new permit for spraying for adult mosquitos.
And there are also some stricter rules about how companies that use pesticides store them. And a rule that landlords and homeowner associations notify condo residents when they use pesticides there.
What do we know right now about how pesticides are used in Vermont? And is that changing?
Yeah, so this is complicated. Because of the way the current regulations work, some of the pesticides applied on farms — cornfields are a big place where this happens — don’t get reported in the state’s data. That’s because only the chemicals regulators have agreed are the most hazardous have to be reported by private applicators.
For example, atrazine, which is a commonly used weed killer, is in this category. But glyphosate, the big ingredient in Roundup, is also used a lot by Vermont farms. You only have to report that one to the state’s database if you’re a commercial applicator — someone who gets paid to apply it.
But Vermont farmers are contending with new and more prolific pests every year. It’s a problem that’s made worse by climate change. As we see fewer prolonged freeze periods and our winters warm, it makes it easier for pests that couldn’t survive here in the past to get a foothold.
Environmental advocates are worried that climate change will lead to farms using more pesticides unless we create new regulations that push for alternative solutions.
Also, bees are in decline here and globally. A lot of science has shown that pesticides are part of the problem.
What are the biggest objections from the environmental community? What are they asking for?
Yeah, so several environmental groups including Conservation Law Foundation, the Lake Champlain Committee and Rural Vermont signed a letter to lawmakers and the Agency of Agriculture calling for the lawmakers to reject this new set of rules for a couple big reasons.
They say the state should require that people who get a permit to apply the most toxic pesticides also present a plan for how they’ll use less over time and do environmental monitoring.
They feel like the state didn’t present enough scientific evidence to support its decision not to require this as part of every permit it issues to people using regulated pesticides, not just some.
And the environmental groups say without this, the agency’s claims that these new regulations will be a boon for the environment and for climate change just don’t pencil out.
State regulators point out that the current pesticide rules don’t require this sort of tracking or plan as part of any permit. So they see what’s proposed as a big step forward. And they say doing what advocates call for would be tricky from a regulatory standpoint.
Advocates also wanted this bill to include explicit protections for native pollinators.
The current 1991 regulations primarily protect honeybees — and the proposed new regulations would expand protections for honeybees, but not for native bees.
Advocates also want to see more public involvement in decisions about pesticide regulations.
So yeah, the advocates are calling on lawmakers to reject this new rule and for the Agency of Agriculture to delay the process until lawmakers can be more explicit about what they’re looking for in an update. They say the rule as written doesn’t go far enough beyond what’s federally required.
Now, pesticides have come up in the Statehouse a lot in the last few years, especially around the decline of bees and concerns about water quality. Are there any places where this rule deals with policy that lawmakers are still figuring out?
Yeah, there’s growing evidence that PFAS can be spread when people apply pesticides.
These are a class of toxic chemicals that never break down in the natural environment. They’ve been linked to cancer. And this past summer, the EPA proposed designating them as hazardous substances under its superfund program, which is a big deal.
The agency has said that even tiny amounts of these so-called forever chemicals are super toxic for humans. But to the frustration of regulators in a lot of states, the EPA is still working on a plan for what to do about them.
PFAS are often used for waterproofing, and they tend to show up in the containers pesticides are stored in.
This proposed set of regulations doesn’t mention PFAS. Some advocates found that disappointing and say it should be a priority for lawmakers in the coming sessions.
Also last year, lawmakers debated a ban on seeds coated with neonicotinoid pesticides.
This insecticide is a neurologic toxin that is bad for bees. Right now, it’s used by most farmers preventatively to protect seeds and seedlings.
The ban was softened last year after testimony from farmers who said even when they try, it’s hard to find seeds in Vermont that aren’t treated. Lawmakers asked the Agency of Agriculture to adopt best management practices for using neonicotinoid treated seeds instead, and those are still in the works.
More from Vermont Public: Vt.’s housing health & safety system didn’t protect farmworkers, so they created their own program | En Vermont, las regulaciones de alojamiento y seguridad no protegían a los trabajadores agrícolas, entonces crearon su propio programa
Beekeepers in the state have been pushing for stricter regulations for some time. A committee of experts told lawmakers a few years ago that Vermont should be tracking all pesticide use, not just the most dangerous ones. And we should be setting clear targets for reducing our dependence on them.
These are things legislators could revisit and something environmental advocates really wanted these regulations to address.
What’s the next step in the process and how can Vermonters still weigh in?
So again, these regulations were written by regulators at the Agency of Agriculture. Next, a small group of lawmakers from both the House and Senate will get to vote on whether the rules are consistent with Vermont law.
That vote happens Thursday in Montpelier, before the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules.
Now the committee has already had quite a bit of back and forth with the Agency of Agriculture over this rule. So if they vote not to approve it, Vermont law technically allows the agency to adopt the regulations anyway. But the agency says they’d rather not have to.
Still, lawmakers can refer the issue to the committees in both chambers who deal with environmental regulations and agriculture and tell them they want to see some bills that call for updates. What they tell those committees could have a big impact on future policy.
People who want to weigh in can reach out to the lawmakers that sit on the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules, or to their local representatives.
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Environmental advocates, regulators at odds over Vermont's pesticide regulations
For the first time in more than 30 years, Vermont is updating its regulations on pesticide use in the state.
After working on the update for years, regulators at the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets have prepared a set of draft rules. But a coalition of environmental advocates say the proposed regulations don’t go far enough to protect Vermont’s environment in light of climate change.
Lawmakers are expected to vote on the new rules this Thursday, Jan. 5.
Vermont Public’s Jenn Jarecki spoke with climate and environment reporter Abagael Giles about the
|
draft regulations. Their conversation below has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Jenn Jarecki: So to get started, how are pesticides regulated in Vermont and what do the rules look like right now?
Abagael Giles: Yeah, so Vermont law defines pesticides as “economic poisons,” which I think is a good place to start.
These are toxic chemicals that our government — and a lot of people in farming — see as necessary for industry.
These rules govern everything from chemicals like atrazine and glyphosate, used in corn fields, to insecticides used on lawns and golf courses, as well as the herbicides and insecticides used for invasive species control (and there is overlap there).
Basically, pesticide sellers have to register their products with the state before they can sell them here. The state sorts them into categories based on how toxic they are. Federal, but also state law, decides a lot of that.
The most toxic pesticides can only be applied by someone with a special certification. And people who apply them have to report to the state how much they use, where they apply them and when.
Mostly these rules deal with all the red tape. Not what pesticides fall into what pot, but how Vermont treats them once they’re there. Who gets to apply them, use them, sell them and what kind of permit, if any, you need to do that. But also who you have to tell when you use them.
So what are the key changes on the table here?
Big picture, these updates are happening to bring Vermont’s regulations up to date with the EPA’s; the federal agency made changes to its rules a few years ago. Vermont has to have regulations that are at least as strict as the federal government’s regulations — though Vermont can also choose to regulate pesticides more aggressively.
Big changes include a requirement that people who apply commercial pesticides notify all landowners about pesticide use on their property.
It also creates a process for towns and nonprofits to apply for a permit to spray for invasive species — think Japanese knotweed — on land that doesn’t belong to them, or in public right of ways. There is a new permit for spraying for adult mosquitos.
And there are also some stricter rules about how companies that use pesticides store them. And a rule that landlords and homeowner associations notify condo residents when they use pesticides there.
What do we know right now about how pesticides are used in Vermont? And is that changing?
Yeah, so this is complicated. Because of the way the current regulations work, some of the pesticides applied on farms — cornfields are a big place where this happens — don’t get reported in the state’s data. That’s because only the chemicals regulators have agreed are the most hazardous have to be reported by private applicators.
For example, atrazine, which is a commonly used weed killer, is in this category. But glyphosate, the big ingredient in Roundup, is also used a lot by Vermont farms. You only have to report that one to the state’s database if you’re a commercial applicator — someone who gets paid to apply it.
But Vermont farmers are contending with new and more prolific pests every year. It’s a problem that’s made worse by climate change. As we see fewer prolonged freeze periods and our winters warm, it makes it easier for pests that couldn’t survive here in the past to get a foothold.
Environmental advocates are worried that climate change will lead to farms using more pesticides unless we create new regulations that push for alternative solutions.
Also, bees are in decline here and globally. A lot of science has shown that pesticides are part of the problem.
What are the biggest objections from the environmental community? What are they asking for?
Yeah, so several environmental groups including Conservation Law Foundation, the Lake Champlain Committee and Rural Vermont signed a letter to lawmakers and the Agency of Agriculture calling for the lawmakers to reject this new set of rules for a couple big reasons.
They say the state should require that people who get a permit to apply the most toxic pesticides also present a plan for how they’ll use less over time and do environmental monitoring.
They feel like the state didn’t present enough scientific evidence to support its decision not to require this as part of every permit it issues to people using regulated pesticides, not just some.
And the environmental groups say without this, the agency’s claims that these new regulations will be a boon for the environment and for climate change just don’t pencil out.
State regulators point out that the current pesticide rules don’t require this sort of tracking or plan as part of any permit. So they see what’s proposed as a big step forward. And they say doing what advocates call for would be tricky from a regulatory standpoint.
Advocates also wanted this bill to include explicit protections for native pollinators.
The current 1991 regulations primarily protect honeybees — and the proposed new regulations would expand protections for honeybees, but not for native bees.
Advocates also want to see more public involvement in decisions about pesticide regulations.
So yeah, the advocates are calling on lawmakers to reject this new rule and for the Agency of Agriculture to delay the process until lawmakers can be more explicit about what they’re looking for in an update. They say the rule as written doesn’t go far enough beyond what’s federally required.
Now, pesticides have come up in the Statehouse a lot in the last few years, especially around the decline of bees and concerns about water quality. Are there any places where this rule deals with policy that lawmakers are still figuring out?
Yeah, there’s growing evidence that PFAS can be spread when people apply pesticides.
These are a class of toxic chemicals that never break down in the natural environment. They’ve been linked to cancer. And this past summer, the EPA proposed designating them as hazardous substances under its superfund program, which is a big deal.
The agency has said that even tiny amounts of these so-called forever chemicals are super toxic for humans. But to the frustration of regulators in a lot of states, the EPA is still working on a plan for what to do about them.
PFAS are often used for waterproofing, and they tend to show up in the containers pesticides are stored in.
This proposed set of regulations doesn’t mention PFAS. Some advocates found that disappointing and say it should be a priority for lawmakers in the coming sessions.
Also last year, lawmakers debated a ban on seeds coated with neonicotinoid pesticides.
This insecticide is a neurologic toxin that is bad for bees. Right now, it’s used by most farmers preventatively to protect seeds and seedlings.
The ban was softened last year after testimony from farmers who said even when they try, it’s hard to find seeds in Vermont that aren’t treated. Lawmakers asked the Agency of Agriculture to adopt best management practices for using neonicotinoid treated seeds instead, and those are still in the works.
More from Vermont Public: Vt.’s housing health & safety system didn’t protect farmworkers, so they created their own program | En Vermont, las regulaciones de alojamiento y seguridad no protegían a los trabajadores agrícolas, entonces crearon su propio programa
Beekeepers in the state have been pushing for stricter regulations for some time. A committee of experts told lawmakers a few years ago that Vermont should be tracking all pesticide use, not just the most dangerous ones. And we should be setting clear targets for reducing our dependence on them.
These are things legislators could revisit and something environmental advocates really wanted these regulations to address.
What’s the next step in the process and how can Vermonters still weigh in?
So again, these regulations were written by regulators at the Agency of Agriculture. Next, a small group of lawmakers from both the House and Senate will get to vote on whether the rules are consistent with Vermont law.
That vote happens Thursday in Montpelier, before the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules.
Now the committee has already had quite a bit of back and forth with the Agency of Agriculture over this rule. So if they vote not to approve it, Vermont law technically allows the agency to adopt the regulations anyway. But the agency says they’d rather not have to.
Still, lawmakers can refer the issue to the committees in both chambers who deal with environmental regulations and agriculture and tell them they want to see some bills that call for updates. What they tell those committees could have a big impact on future policy.
People who want to weigh in can reach out to the lawmakers that sit on the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules, or to their local representatives.
|
Against all odds, this Black NJ lawyer helped ignite the civil rights movement | Stile
Oliver Randolph, the lone Black delegate to the New Jersey Constitutional Convention, had reason to worry after arriving more than an hour late to the Aug. 13, 1947, deliberations inside the Rutgers University gym.
Before his arrival, opposition had been building all morning to his bold plans to break Jim Crow’s chokehold over the Garden State's public schools and its National Guard.
Some colleagues, while sympathetic to his overall goal, were concerned that his approach was an overreach or redundant. The pushback threatened to defeat Randolph's long effort to forge a progressive and equitable blueprint for New Jersey’s growing Black population. He needed to act quickly.
After thanking the delegates for waiting — a train accident near Elizabeth delayed him from reaching New Brunswick at the session's start — the lawyer and former legislator went on the offensive, relying on a tactic he had used in political battles as a prominent Republican operative in Essex County in the 1920s.
He shamed them.
“The fact is that those discriminated against belong to a race, as you all know, of which a great many young men gave their blood and laid down their lives for this great cause of democracy," Randolph said, referring to the large numbers of Black servicemen who had fought in World War II. “I can’t believe that this convention — the convention which is taking such marvelous strides to present a product that will be a model — I can’t believe that we will allow discrimination in our public schools.”
Haggling continued over the next few days, but Randolph’s fierce appeal to the delegates' duty and their place in history clearly had turned the tide. By the end of the week, the convention ratified Randolph’s bold bid in a lopsided vote.
Stile:Who was Oliver Randolph, New Jersey's civil rights pioneer?
The action would prove to be a major, historic triumph. Three months later, New Jersey voters ratified a modern constitution featuring a streamlined judicial system, a powerful new governor’s role and Randolph’s proposal, formally enshrined as Article 1, Paragraph 5:
"No person shall be denied the enjoyment of any civil or military right, nor be discriminated against in the exercise of any civil or military right, nor be segregated in the militia or in the public schools, because of religious principles, race, color, ancestry or national origin."
New Jersey, a state derided by African American leaders as the "Georgia of the North," was now stamped with distinction as the first in the nation that unequivocally outlawed segregation in both its schools and its National Guard.
Virtually overnight, the Garden State went from a backwater to a progressive exemplar of social justice. Since then, only two other states — Connecticut and Hawaii — have taken similar steps to include anti-segregation clauses in their constitutions, according to John Dinan, a professor of politics and international relations at Wake Forest University, who is an expert on state constitutions.
It was a remarkable feat: A lone Black man determinedly and successfully pursued racial equity roughly a decade before the civil rights movement.
“It took the force of will of someone like Randolph to recognize that the state was not living up to its possibilities," Elise Boddie, a former law professor at Rutgers University-Newark and a civil rights activist, said in an interview last year.
But more than seven decades later, New Jersey is far from realizing those possibilities. Since then, New Jersey public schools remain segregated in largely segregated communities, a reflection of the "white flight" suburbanization that took root after the war.
A lawsuit seeking to crack the segregated patterns has stalled in the face of resistance from the state's liberal governor, Phil Murphy. And the Legislature, controlled by Democrats — moderate-to-socially liberal Democrats, not the Jim Crow segregationists of Randolph's time — has shown little inclination to embrace the experimental aims of the lawsuit.
Still, much of the work we can suppose Randolph dreamed of doing is still undone. New Jersey's record on civil rights, equal rights and segregation has many boxes still to be ticked if Randolph's vision is to be realized. His efforts in 1947 were only a starting point.
'Separate but equal' upended
But Randolph's achievement was remarkable in other ways.
In arguing for his provision, Randolph successfully attacked the pernicious "separate but equal" doctrine — the result of the U.S. Supreme Court's Plessy v. Ferguson ruling — that permitted segregation to flourish in New Jersey schools, despite a 60-year-old law banning the practice. Randolph's effort at Rutgers prevailed — seven years before the lawyers for the NAACP prevailed at the U.S. Supreme Court in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision outlawing segregated public schools across the country.
In a 1997 documentary about the making of the New Jersey Constitution, Clement Price, a Rutgers University-Newark professor and city historian, asserted that the Randolph-drafted provision encouraged the Supreme Court to take its historic leap.
“The court could point to New Jersey as an example of a state that voluntarily desegregated its schools, and it did so without racial … havoc," said Price, who died in 2014.
More:Ruby Bridges tells her story of trailblazing desegregation in children's book
The new anti-segregation clause also ratcheted up pressure on then-President Harry S. Truman to abolish segregation in the U.S. armed forces the next year.
After New Jersey’s decision to integrate its Guard units in February 1948, other states demanded a waiver from Truman’s Defense Department policy to do the same. Truman eventually issued his order five months later.
Little-known in New Jersey history
Still, except among a small community of historians, law professors, journalists and staff at the Newark Public Library who maintain Randolph's papers and associated ephemera, and who work to sustain his memory, Randolph remains a ghost of New Jersey history.
His achievements, sadly, are rarely celebrated.
That may be because Randolph, who died four years after the convention, was not one to boast of his success, said Bernard K. Freamon, a former Seton Hall Law professor who wrote an extensive Rutgers Law Journal article in 2004 about the New Jersey Constitution's anti-segregation clause.
New Jersey:What happened to Phil Murphy's progressive ambition? His second term is moderate, so far
And in a few years, the bus boycotts and protests and the violent tumult of the civil rights movement would quickly dominate the nation’s television screens and its consciousness. By then, New Jersey’s 1947 breakthrough, Randolph's greatest achievement, was already a footnote.
But perhaps the biggest reason we don't better remember Randolph as a giant of Garden State history may be because New Jersey failed to fulfill the spirit and purpose of Article 1, Paragraph 5. Today, the breakthrough clause no longer stands as a source of pride, but can be seen as a benchmark of disappointment.
More than 75 years after its enactment, New Jersey's public schools are ranked as the sixth-most-segregated in the country, according to a 2017 UCLA study.
Although the new state constitution ensured that all public schools would open their doors to anyone, regardless of race, it proved to be no match for the demographic transformation that shaped the suburbanization of post-World War II New Jersey.
And many of those policies slammed the doors on aspiring minorities.
The sweeping G.I. Bill, enacted to help World War II veterans prosper after the war with a range of benefits, including access to higher education and, importantly, guaranteed mortgages, was largely denied to some 1.2 million Black veterans.
The discriminatory “redlining” practice of denying home loans in low-income neighborhoods prevented many Black and minority families from moving into the new neighborhoods. Exclusionary zoning in the suburbs also undermined integration.
The result: Most people of color congregated in urban, low-income areas and sent their children to crumbling, underperforming schools while most whites prospered in the new suburbs and in public schools that became the envy of the nation. A state residency law, requiring students to attend school in the towns where they live, deepened the segregated divide.
In 2023, there's still more to be done
Statewide school enrollment data from 2015 to 2020 paint the portrait of today's status quo, de facto segregation. Nearly half of New Jersey's Black students attended schools that are at least 90% non-white, while nearly 70% of white students attend schools that are three-fourths white, according to the state Department of Education.
In 2018, a coalition of education and civil rights activists sued New Jersey, arguing that the racial divide violated the Randolph-authored clause in the state constitution and that the state Education Department failed in its duty to fix it.
Activists want the New Jersey Supreme Court to strike down the state law requiring students to live in their schools' municipalities and instead let students transfer to neighboring districts or attend “magnet” schools that specialize in a specific discipline or skill.
The 2018 coalition had hoped that a new, progressive governor, Phil Murphy, would be an enthusiastic ally, but just the opposite happened. Murphy has been mum.
Stile:NJ is a bipartisan paradise? Really, Gov. Murphy?
After early settlement discussions collapsed, the state Attorney General’s Office has actively fought the lawsuit; the case remains stalled in Superior Court.
During a hearing last year, Deputy Attorney General Christopher Weber argued that the statistics were insufficient to prove that the state is responsible. He argued that a more “holistic” study of the public school system needed to be conducted before the court could order such dramatic change.
Education advocates "refuse to explore how or why the state defendants may be liable or what the [education] commissioner could or should have done,’’ Weber said.
The aggressive opposition from the Murphy administration has disillusioned many of the activists who were swept into office promising to reform New Jersey into a “stronger, fairer” state.
“I'm perplexed by the Murphy administration's aggressive opposition to this lawsuit, and as a governor who is not only a Democrat, but is a self-styled progressive,” said Boddie, the former Rutgers law professor. “The failure to see that there is an opportunity to do something about it. I can't explain it.”
Tackling New Jersey segregation
Not long after the convention began that June, Randolph began introducing a series of proposals addressing racial discrimination.
And by early August, Randolph had crafted a proposal to ban segregation in the state militia. While most of his colleagues were sympathetic to his aim, some raised concerns that by giving the militia — operating as the New Jersey National Guard — special status, the absence of similar language addressing other areas, like the courts or employment, might be seen as permitting discrimination. Others felt that an anti-discrimination clause in the Bill of Rights would cover everything. That group argued Randolph's language was needlessly redundant.
Randolph forcefully replied that the broad New Jersey Bill of Rights language would not suffice, and that it would only allow the status quo of segregated units to persist. Strong, declarative language, focusing solely on the militia, was needed, he said.
Randolph also issued an implied warning: Failure to clearly desegregate Black soldiers could plant the seeds of social unrest, even violence.
“I just don’t know whether you realize just what mental status it creates among those who are segregated, or whether you want to continue that mental status which breeds hatred, which breeds a great deal of danger in that members of a whole class of citizens begin to think that they are segregated on account of race, color or something else," Randolph warned.
First the Guard, then the schools
The 1947 Constitutional Convention approved Randolph's measure to desegregate New Jersey's militia by a vote of 45-26. Emboldened, Randolph came back two days later with an equally ambitious plan: a provision with similar language to end segregation in public schools.
This time, Randolph had hard evidence to support his argument. In 1881, New Jersey outlawed school segregation, he told his fellow delegates at the convention. But the law was rarely enforced.
At the time of the convention, about 60 school districts maintained segregated, “separate but equal” schools, particularly in rural South Jersey, but also in affluent bastions like Princeton and Englewood. It was a deeply rooted custom.
“We have a very peculiar situation in our state," Randolph said in a floor speech. “In spite of that law, I dare say every delegate knows that we have separation on account of race.”
Yet this time Randolph was rebuffed — his measure was referred back to committee. Freamon, the former Seton Hall law professor, suggests that the issue of school segregation lacked the urgency of providing fair treatment to returning GIs, including Black soldiers, and new recruits.
Instead of retreating, Randolph took an even bolder step. He followed up with a new proposal calling for desegregating school and the militia in the same clause.
As he did earlier, he argued that broad anti-discrimination language in the Bill of Rights would fail to uproot the racist custom. But this time, he had won the backing of Col. George H. Walton, an influential Camden County delegate, who served as Gov. Alfred E. Driscoll’s representative in the delegation.
The committee reported the plan to the full convention, where it was met considerable resistance, some steeped in pragmatism, some in caution, and in one case in sarcastic disdain.
John F. Schenck, a Flemington businessman and a descendant of the Frelinghuysen political dynasty, argued that New Jersey's Bill of Rights would adequately serve the purpose of preventing future discrimination. But then, to make his point, he mocked Randolph’s new proposal as an overreach.
Perhaps, Schenck argued, “Why not include the right to swim in public pools?"
Schenck went on: "I see this is a controversy in New Jersey concerning this point," he said. "Or the right to use the boardwalk at the seashore and the right to sit where you please at the motion pictures?”
Marie Katzenbach, a Rutgers trustee and a leading New Jersey civic figure — and one of only five women delegates dispatched to the 1947 constitutional convention — supported Randolph’s aims. Still, she feared that singling out schools and militia could open doors to other areas of government and civic life that could well be exempted from the protections. She believed that the 1881 law barring school segregation needed to be more aggressive enforced.
"The answer lies in … giving the commissioner of education the power to enforce the law, now so manifestly lacking," said Katzenbach, whose son, Nicholas, would later serve as U.S. attorney general during the heyday of the civil rights movement in the 1960s.
Then Myra C. Hacker, a delegate from Bergen County, suggested that discrimination “is a problem of education and rejuvenation of the spirit that can only be solved by the people themselves, by having the right intellectual, moral and social perspective.”
In other words, Hacker argued that discrimination couldn't be eliminated by legal mandate.
Yet there was evidence that the tide was turning in Randolph's favor.
Judge Francis Stanger, a Cumberland County delegate, stressed his support for the broad Bill of Rights language, but suggested that if Randolph’s latest amendment was cleared by committee, he would reluctantly support it.
Walton, the delegate who collaborated with Randolph to revise the amendment, took to the floor to vigorously defended the plan.
Finally, Randolph made one last appeal. He urged the delegates to "insert a real clause in our constitution which cannot possibly be misconstrued by the courts."
Minutes later, the convention approved the measure, 50-18.
The transcripts of the convention do not offer much insight on how Randolph pulled off such a major triumph that day, but Freamon believes that his conduct, "virtuosity" and ability to persuade the all-white delegates to suspend their own beliefs and peer into the future helped galvanize support.
And the trauma of the war had given Black people a new moral platform to make their case for long-denied enfranchisement in the country they fought for.
“One of his main arguments was that you have all these African Americans coming back from the war, and they weren't in the mood to put up with segregation anymore," Freamon said. “They had risked their lives in World War II and fought for the country, and then to have to come back to a segregated National Guard unit or to send their kids to a segregated school? What's up with that?"
More than 75 years later, many parents are asking a similar question.
Charlie Stile is a veteran New Jersey political columnist. For unlimited access to his unique insights into New Jersey’s political power structure and his powerful watchdog work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
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Against all odds, this Black NJ lawyer helped ignite the civil rights movement | Stile
Oliver Randolph, the lone Black delegate to the New Jersey Constitutional Convention, had reason to worry after arriving more than an hour late to the Aug. 13, 1947, deliberations inside the Rutgers University gym.
Before his arrival, opposition had been building all morning to his bold plans to break Jim Crow’s chokehold over the Garden State's public schools and its National Guard.
Some colleagues, while sympathetic to his overall goal, were concerned that his approach was an overreach or redundant. The pushback threatened
|
to defeat Randolph's long effort to forge a progressive and equitable blueprint for New Jersey’s growing Black population. He needed to act quickly.
After thanking the delegates for waiting — a train accident near Elizabeth delayed him from reaching New Brunswick at the session's start — the lawyer and former legislator went on the offensive, relying on a tactic he had used in political battles as a prominent Republican operative in Essex County in the 1920s.
He shamed them.
“The fact is that those discriminated against belong to a race, as you all know, of which a great many young men gave their blood and laid down their lives for this great cause of democracy," Randolph said, referring to the large numbers of Black servicemen who had fought in World War II. “I can’t believe that this convention — the convention which is taking such marvelous strides to present a product that will be a model — I can’t believe that we will allow discrimination in our public schools.”
Haggling continued over the next few days, but Randolph’s fierce appeal to the delegates' duty and their place in history clearly had turned the tide. By the end of the week, the convention ratified Randolph’s bold bid in a lopsided vote.
Stile:Who was Oliver Randolph, New Jersey's civil rights pioneer?
The action would prove to be a major, historic triumph. Three months later, New Jersey voters ratified a modern constitution featuring a streamlined judicial system, a powerful new governor’s role and Randolph’s proposal, formally enshrined as Article 1, Paragraph 5:
"No person shall be denied the enjoyment of any civil or military right, nor be discriminated against in the exercise of any civil or military right, nor be segregated in the militia or in the public schools, because of religious principles, race, color, ancestry or national origin."
New Jersey, a state derided by African American leaders as the "Georgia of the North," was now stamped with distinction as the first in the nation that unequivocally outlawed segregation in both its schools and its National Guard.
Virtually overnight, the Garden State went from a backwater to a progressive exemplar of social justice. Since then, only two other states — Connecticut and Hawaii — have taken similar steps to include anti-segregation clauses in their constitutions, according to John Dinan, a professor of politics and international relations at Wake Forest University, who is an expert on state constitutions.
It was a remarkable feat: A lone Black man determinedly and successfully pursued racial equity roughly a decade before the civil rights movement.
“It took the force of will of someone like Randolph to recognize that the state was not living up to its possibilities," Elise Boddie, a former law professor at Rutgers University-Newark and a civil rights activist, said in an interview last year.
But more than seven decades later, New Jersey is far from realizing those possibilities. Since then, New Jersey public schools remain segregated in largely segregated communities, a reflection of the "white flight" suburbanization that took root after the war.
A lawsuit seeking to crack the segregated patterns has stalled in the face of resistance from the state's liberal governor, Phil Murphy. And the Legislature, controlled by Democrats — moderate-to-socially liberal Democrats, not the Jim Crow segregationists of Randolph's time — has shown little inclination to embrace the experimental aims of the lawsuit.
Still, much of the work we can suppose Randolph dreamed of doing is still undone. New Jersey's record on civil rights, equal rights and segregation has many boxes still to be ticked if Randolph's vision is to be realized. His efforts in 1947 were only a starting point.
'Separate but equal' upended
But Randolph's achievement was remarkable in other ways.
In arguing for his provision, Randolph successfully attacked the pernicious "separate but equal" doctrine — the result of the U.S. Supreme Court's Plessy v. Ferguson ruling — that permitted segregation to flourish in New Jersey schools, despite a 60-year-old law banning the practice. Randolph's effort at Rutgers prevailed — seven years before the lawyers for the NAACP prevailed at the U.S. Supreme Court in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision outlawing segregated public schools across the country.
In a 1997 documentary about the making of the New Jersey Constitution, Clement Price, a Rutgers University-Newark professor and city historian, asserted that the Randolph-drafted provision encouraged the Supreme Court to take its historic leap.
“The court could point to New Jersey as an example of a state that voluntarily desegregated its schools, and it did so without racial … havoc," said Price, who died in 2014.
More:Ruby Bridges tells her story of trailblazing desegregation in children's book
The new anti-segregation clause also ratcheted up pressure on then-President Harry S. Truman to abolish segregation in the U.S. armed forces the next year.
After New Jersey’s decision to integrate its Guard units in February 1948, other states demanded a waiver from Truman’s Defense Department policy to do the same. Truman eventually issued his order five months later.
Little-known in New Jersey history
Still, except among a small community of historians, law professors, journalists and staff at the Newark Public Library who maintain Randolph's papers and associated ephemera, and who work to sustain his memory, Randolph remains a ghost of New Jersey history.
His achievements, sadly, are rarely celebrated.
That may be because Randolph, who died four years after the convention, was not one to boast of his success, said Bernard K. Freamon, a former Seton Hall Law professor who wrote an extensive Rutgers Law Journal article in 2004 about the New Jersey Constitution's anti-segregation clause.
New Jersey:What happened to Phil Murphy's progressive ambition? His second term is moderate, so far
And in a few years, the bus boycotts and protests and the violent tumult of the civil rights movement would quickly dominate the nation’s television screens and its consciousness. By then, New Jersey’s 1947 breakthrough, Randolph's greatest achievement, was already a footnote.
But perhaps the biggest reason we don't better remember Randolph as a giant of Garden State history may be because New Jersey failed to fulfill the spirit and purpose of Article 1, Paragraph 5. Today, the breakthrough clause no longer stands as a source of pride, but can be seen as a benchmark of disappointment.
More than 75 years after its enactment, New Jersey's public schools are ranked as the sixth-most-segregated in the country, according to a 2017 UCLA study.
Although the new state constitution ensured that all public schools would open their doors to anyone, regardless of race, it proved to be no match for the demographic transformation that shaped the suburbanization of post-World War II New Jersey.
And many of those policies slammed the doors on aspiring minorities.
The sweeping G.I. Bill, enacted to help World War II veterans prosper after the war with a range of benefits, including access to higher education and, importantly, guaranteed mortgages, was largely denied to some 1.2 million Black veterans.
The discriminatory “redlining” practice of denying home loans in low-income neighborhoods prevented many Black and minority families from moving into the new neighborhoods. Exclusionary zoning in the suburbs also undermined integration.
The result: Most people of color congregated in urban, low-income areas and sent their children to crumbling, underperforming schools while most whites prospered in the new suburbs and in public schools that became the envy of the nation. A state residency law, requiring students to attend school in the towns where they live, deepened the segregated divide.
In 2023, there's still more to be done
Statewide school enrollment data from 2015 to 2020 paint the portrait of today's status quo, de facto segregation. Nearly half of New Jersey's Black students attended schools that are at least 90% non-white, while nearly 70% of white students attend schools that are three-fourths white, according to the state Department of Education.
In 2018, a coalition of education and civil rights activists sued New Jersey, arguing that the racial divide violated the Randolph-authored clause in the state constitution and that the state Education Department failed in its duty to fix it.
Activists want the New Jersey Supreme Court to strike down the state law requiring students to live in their schools' municipalities and instead let students transfer to neighboring districts or attend “magnet” schools that specialize in a specific discipline or skill.
The 2018 coalition had hoped that a new, progressive governor, Phil Murphy, would be an enthusiastic ally, but just the opposite happened. Murphy has been mum.
Stile:NJ is a bipartisan paradise? Really, Gov. Murphy?
After early settlement discussions collapsed, the state Attorney General’s Office has actively fought the lawsuit; the case remains stalled in Superior Court.
During a hearing last year, Deputy Attorney General Christopher Weber argued that the statistics were insufficient to prove that the state is responsible. He argued that a more “holistic” study of the public school system needed to be conducted before the court could order such dramatic change.
Education advocates "refuse to explore how or why the state defendants may be liable or what the [education] commissioner could or should have done,’’ Weber said.
The aggressive opposition from the Murphy administration has disillusioned many of the activists who were swept into office promising to reform New Jersey into a “stronger, fairer” state.
“I'm perplexed by the Murphy administration's aggressive opposition to this lawsuit, and as a governor who is not only a Democrat, but is a self-styled progressive,” said Boddie, the former Rutgers law professor. “The failure to see that there is an opportunity to do something about it. I can't explain it.”
Tackling New Jersey segregation
Not long after the convention began that June, Randolph began introducing a series of proposals addressing racial discrimination.
And by early August, Randolph had crafted a proposal to ban segregation in the state militia. While most of his colleagues were sympathetic to his aim, some raised concerns that by giving the militia — operating as the New Jersey National Guard — special status, the absence of similar language addressing other areas, like the courts or employment, might be seen as permitting discrimination. Others felt that an anti-discrimination clause in the Bill of Rights would cover everything. That group argued Randolph's language was needlessly redundant.
Randolph forcefully replied that the broad New Jersey Bill of Rights language would not suffice, and that it would only allow the status quo of segregated units to persist. Strong, declarative language, focusing solely on the militia, was needed, he said.
Randolph also issued an implied warning: Failure to clearly desegregate Black soldiers could plant the seeds of social unrest, even violence.
“I just don’t know whether you realize just what mental status it creates among those who are segregated, or whether you want to continue that mental status which breeds hatred, which breeds a great deal of danger in that members of a whole class of citizens begin to think that they are segregated on account of race, color or something else," Randolph warned.
First the Guard, then the schools
The 1947 Constitutional Convention approved Randolph's measure to desegregate New Jersey's militia by a vote of 45-26. Emboldened, Randolph came back two days later with an equally ambitious plan: a provision with similar language to end segregation in public schools.
This time, Randolph had hard evidence to support his argument. In 1881, New Jersey outlawed school segregation, he told his fellow delegates at the convention. But the law was rarely enforced.
At the time of the convention, about 60 school districts maintained segregated, “separate but equal” schools, particularly in rural South Jersey, but also in affluent bastions like Princeton and Englewood. It was a deeply rooted custom.
“We have a very peculiar situation in our state," Randolph said in a floor speech. “In spite of that law, I dare say every delegate knows that we have separation on account of race.”
Yet this time Randolph was rebuffed — his measure was referred back to committee. Freamon, the former Seton Hall law professor, suggests that the issue of school segregation lacked the urgency of providing fair treatment to returning GIs, including Black soldiers, and new recruits.
Instead of retreating, Randolph took an even bolder step. He followed up with a new proposal calling for desegregating school and the militia in the same clause.
As he did earlier, he argued that broad anti-discrimination language in the Bill of Rights would fail to uproot the racist custom. But this time, he had won the backing of Col. George H. Walton, an influential Camden County delegate, who served as Gov. Alfred E. Driscoll’s representative in the delegation.
The committee reported the plan to the full convention, where it was met considerable resistance, some steeped in pragmatism, some in caution, and in one case in sarcastic disdain.
John F. Schenck, a Flemington businessman and a descendant of the Frelinghuysen political dynasty, argued that New Jersey's Bill of Rights would adequately serve the purpose of preventing future discrimination. But then, to make his point, he mocked Randolph’s new proposal as an overreach.
Perhaps, Schenck argued, “Why not include the right to swim in public pools?"
Schenck went on: "I see this is a controversy in New Jersey concerning this point," he said. "Or the right to use the boardwalk at the seashore and the right to sit where you please at the motion pictures?”
Marie Katzenbach, a Rutgers trustee and a leading New Jersey civic figure — and one of only five women delegates dispatched to the 1947 constitutional convention — supported Randolph’s aims. Still, she feared that singling out schools and militia could open doors to other areas of government and civic life that could well be exempted from the protections. She believed that the 1881 law barring school segregation needed to be more aggressive enforced.
"The answer lies in … giving the commissioner of education the power to enforce the law, now so manifestly lacking," said Katzenbach, whose son, Nicholas, would later serve as U.S. attorney general during the heyday of the civil rights movement in the 1960s.
Then Myra C. Hacker, a delegate from Bergen County, suggested that discrimination “is a problem of education and rejuvenation of the spirit that can only be solved by the people themselves, by having the right intellectual, moral and social perspective.”
In other words, Hacker argued that discrimination couldn't be eliminated by legal mandate.
Yet there was evidence that the tide was turning in Randolph's favor.
Judge Francis Stanger, a Cumberland County delegate, stressed his support for the broad Bill of Rights language, but suggested that if Randolph’s latest amendment was cleared by committee, he would reluctantly support it.
Walton, the delegate who collaborated with Randolph to revise the amendment, took to the floor to vigorously defended the plan.
Finally, Randolph made one last appeal. He urged the delegates to "insert a real clause in our constitution which cannot possibly be misconstrued by the courts."
Minutes later, the convention approved the measure, 50-18.
The transcripts of the convention do not offer much insight on how Randolph pulled off such a major triumph that day, but Freamon believes that his conduct, "virtuosity" and ability to persuade the all-white delegates to suspend their own beliefs and peer into the future helped galvanize support.
And the trauma of the war had given Black people a new moral platform to make their case for long-denied enfranchisement in the country they fought for.
“One of his main arguments was that you have all these African Americans coming back from the war, and they weren't in the mood to put up with segregation anymore," Freamon said. “They had risked their lives in World War II and fought for the country, and then to have to come back to a segregated National Guard unit or to send their kids to a segregated school? What's up with that?"
More than 75 years later, many parents are asking a similar question.
Charlie Stile is a veteran New Jersey political columnist. For unlimited access to his unique insights into New Jersey’s political power structure and his powerful watchdog work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
|
Striped Skunks On The Prowl
Striped Skunks avoid the colder spells of winter by slowing down their metabolism and entering into a state of torpor inside dens they dig themselves or in abandoned dens (often those of foxes). Females often gather together during this time, while males tend to be more solitary. Both have been found cohabiting with opossums and raccoons during the colder months.
In the Northeast, peak breeding season for Striped Skunks is in March and this is when you are most likely to see skunk trails in the snow as they wander in search of a mate. Skunks travel as much as two-and-a-half miles a night, with males entering the den of a female in estrus and mating with her. While females only mate with one male, males attempt to mate with every female on their territory. (Photo: Striped Skunk tracks)
Naturally Curious is supported by donations. If you choose to contribute, you may go to http://www.naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com and click on the yellow “donate” button.
Of course, that’s assuming there’s snow on the ground!! Here on the Cape, no snow. 🙂
March 10, 2023 at 8:11 am
Wouldn’t that be so fun to have a ‘den-cam’ with skunks, possums and raccoons cohabiting…great book for Jan Brett !! I like their distinctive paw-trail. Male skunks are a different story!
March 10, 2023 at 8:18 am
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Striped Skunks On The Prowl
Striped Skunks avoid the colder spells of winter by slowing down their metabolism and entering into a state of torpor inside dens they dig themselves or in abandoned dens (often those of foxes). Females often gather together during this time, while males tend to be more solitary. Both have been found cohabiting with opossums and raccoons during the colder months.
In the Northeast, peak breeding season for Striped Skunks is in March and this is when you are most likely to see skunk trails in the snow as they wander in search of a
|
mate. Skunks travel as much as two-and-a-half miles a night, with males entering the den of a female in estrus and mating with her. While females only mate with one male, males attempt to mate with every female on their territory. (Photo: Striped Skunk tracks)
Naturally Curious is supported by donations. If you choose to contribute, you may go to http://www.naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com and click on the yellow “donate” button.
Of course, that’s assuming there’s snow on the ground!! Here on the Cape, no snow. 🙂
March 10, 2023 at 8:11 am
Wouldn’t that be so fun to have a ‘den-cam’ with skunks, possums and raccoons cohabiting…great book for Jan Brett !! I like their distinctive paw-trail. Male skunks are a different story!
March 10, 2023 at 8:18 am
|
New findings on the "Doomsday Glacier"
The Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica is known as the "doomsday glacier." That's because if it melts, it could raise sea levels by up to 10 feet. Now, new research is changing our understanding of it.
- Plus, Tesla's role in making electric vehicle chargers more available nationwide.
Guests: Axios' Andrew Freedman and Joann Muller.
Credits: Axios Today is produced by Niala Boodhoo, Alexandra Botti, Naomi Shavin, Fonda Mwangi and Alex Sugiura. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893.
- Thwaites Glacier findings give reasons to worry about Antarctic ice melt
- Drastic emissions cuts needed to avert multi-century sea level rise, study finds
- Tesla opening up its chargers could spur electric car adoption
NIALA: Good morning! Welcome to Axios Today!
It’s Thursday, February 16th.
I’m Niala Boodhoo.
Here’s what we’re covering today: making electric vehicle chargers more available nationwide. But first, new findings on the so-called Doomsday Glacier. That’s today’s One Big Thing.
New findings on the "Doomsday Glacier"
NIALA: The Thwaites Glacier is at the top of the list of glaciers that keep polar scientists up at night, says Axios’ Senior Climate and Energy Reporter Andrew Freedman. That’s because if it melts, it could raise sea levels by up to 10 feet. Now, new research is expanding – and complicating - our understanding of this glacier. So how to make sense of it all? Andrew’s here with us for that.
Hey - so Andrew - first - why is Thwaites called “the doomsday glacier”?
ANDREW FREEDMAN: Yeah, so scientists are trying to push back against that term, but it's really very, very true. It's the glacier that could generate the most sea level rise the fastest, at least of the ones that we understand relatively well.
NIALA: So there were two studies just published yesterday about Thwaites. What are the most important things we need to know from those studies?
ANDREW: So those studies were the result of a five-year, $50 million research campaign, which sent scientists, putting robots, underneath the ice. It was some really cool, ambitious work that was done. And, uh, the really important things to know about these two different studies are that the melting that is going on there is complicated. There is a reason for greater concern. The water that's coming into contact with the bottom of the ice sheet is not as warm as we expected, but the glacier is still retreating incredibly fast.
NIALA: So is there anything that can be done to slow or stop the melting of this glacier? Is that even a goal at this point?
ANDREW: There are some studies that show that we have already triggered irreversible loss of the West Antarctic ice sheet. I think most scientists, however, say that what we emit in the next several decades will determine the course of sea level rise for the next several centuries, and that includes West Antarctica. The decisions that we make in the next two decades, especially, uh, may push glaciers like Thwaites over the edge or may contain them.
NIALA: Andrew, you also wrote about another study out this week that had to do with climate change and ice sheet melt, and that study found that human caused global warming must be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius or less in order to avoid a multi-century melting of the ice sheets and a rise in sea levels. Is that goal realistic at this point?
ANDREW: No, that goal is not realistic at this point, you know, we're already at 1.2 C and we're going right now, uh, if all global pledges are met, we would go to 2.4 C. So it, it's not realistic, however, It does illustrate the point that there is so much sensitivity in what we might imagine to be these vast ice sheets that are immovable and we can't imagine that we can have such a big effect on them, but in reality, even relatively low amounts of warming compared to what is possible, would significantly disrupt, both Greenland and Antarctica.
NIALA: Andrew, I feel like you and I often talk about how difficult climate news is to digest, especially when it seems so alarming. So with that in mind, it was especially interesting for me to read that one climate scientist you talked to said they viewed these papers on Thwaites Glacier with a sense of optimism.
ANDREW: The reason there's some optimism about this glacier is because scientists were looking at all of these nightmare scenarios. We literally didn't know if there was gonna be a large collapse of a portion or all of this glacier, tomorrow. And now we go in there and they find this data, and the data doesn't say, oh, it's gonna happen ASAP. It says there's reasons for concern, there's reasons for alarm. We need more studies done and more observations, but it just shows how science works and that, it kind of leads to additional questions, and additional worries. Overall, you know, maybe we'll get a better sense of what the true range is here and it won't be quite as scary.
NIALA: Andrew Freedman is senior climate and energy reporter. Thanks Andrew.
ANDREW: Thanks for having me.
NIALA: In a moment, making EVs a more attractive option for potential buyers.
Tesla’s role in making electric vehicle chargers more available nationwide
NIALA: Welcome back to Axios Today. I'm Niala Boodhoo.
The White House announced yesterday that Tesla will open part of its charging network to other brands of electric vehicles for the first time ever. By the end of 2024, at least 7,500 Tesla chargers will be available for all EVs across the U.S., including along highway corridors, making long-distance travel more accessible.
Axios’ Joann Muller has been covering this, coincidentally from a cross-country trip in an EV. Hey, Joann.
JOANN MULLER: Hi, Niala.
NIALA: So Joann, the Biden administration, has been pushing for a shift away from gasoline powered cars. How does this charging deal with Tesla help that goal?
JOANN: Well look, a lot of people have been reluctant to buy EVs because even though they're gonna charge mostly at home, they're worried about that rare road trip that they wanna have. So it could have a very big impact. So, you know, the chargers are going in and the government is providing the funding for some of it, private companies are spending as well. So I think over the next, uh, two to five years, we're going to see a big explosion in the amount of charging plugs available for EVs.
NIALA: And you know this first hand because you just drove from Michigan to Florida, not in a Tesla. How did that go?
JOANN: Yeah, we drove from, from Michigan to Washington, D.C. and then down to Florida. And we charged mostly at Fast chargers that are owned by, uh, Electrify America and EVgo. And they're, they're similar to Tesla Chargers, but there's just not enough of them across the U.S. yet for everyone to feel comfortable. We didn't have any problems. We didn't have any giant range anxiety. My husband set out first before me. He was a little worried about the cold temperatures draining the battery. So he kept the heat down in the car and just used the seat heater to keep himself warm. You know, we, we found that we were okay, but once you start having a lot of people driving electric vehicles, we're going to need a lot more chargers.
NIALA: And for non Tesla EVs is having Tesla chargers at their disposal actually helpful because how does this work with charging ports? Are they universal?
JOANN: The Tesla network uses a different type of plug, a different connector than everyone else in the industry. What it means is you're going to need an adapter, to charge your car if it's not a Tesla. Now, right now you can buy one of these adapters, it costs like $150. I opted not to buy one because I'm betting on the other networks being sufficient to get me where I need to go.
NIALA: So by 2030, the White House is hoping EVs make up at least half of new car sales given the number of charging stations that are currently available and the rate at which it's growing. How feasible is that?
JOANN: S&P Global Mobility, which studies this space really carefully, they say we're gonna need at least eight times as many chargers as we have today, both Tesla and the non Tesla chargers. But I also think that the White House's goal of seeing 50% of all new car sales being electric by 2030 is rather aggressive. I'm not sure we're going to get there. But really it's a problem, you have to scale the infrastructure at the same time that you grow the sales of EVs. And those things really need to be lined up and potentially the chargers need to get there first in order for people to feel comfortable.
NIALA: Joann Muller covers the future of transportation for Axios. Thanks, Joann.
JOANN: Thank you, Niala.
NIALA: One last thing before we go: I want to take a second to say thank you so much to all of you for writing in your comments, your reactions, your story ideas, today and every day.
Including this, a text from Kara in Philadelphia, in response to our story yesterday about diabetes drugs being used for weight loss.
Kara wrote, “as someone who has a chronic illness related to weight, being on the drug is imperative for my health. On one podcast I listened to, a celebrity says her doctor gives ozempic out like candy. It frustrates me so much that wealthier people have easier access to the drug because they can afford out of pocket costs while I had to jump through so many hoops to get insurance to cover it. Even with it being medically necessary. Also, the side effects are no joke.”
Thanks Kara, and remember you can send me a text too – at (202) 918-4893.
I’m Niala Boodhoo - thanks for listening - stay safe and we’ll see you back here tomorrow morning.
Get more than just the headlines on “Here and Now Anytime,” a new podcast from N-P-R. In fewer than 30 minutes you'll hear the news you need to know today... and the in-depth conversations that will stick with you tomorrow. Listen to “Here and Now Anytime,” from N-P-R and W-B-U-R, wherever you get your podcasts.
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New findings on the "Doomsday Glacier"
The Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica is known as the "doomsday glacier." That's because if it melts, it could raise sea levels by up to 10 feet. Now, new research is changing our understanding of it.
- Plus, Tesla's role in making electric vehicle chargers more available nationwide.
Guests: Axios' Andrew Freedman and Joann Muller.
Credits: Axios Today is produced by Niala Boodhoo, Alexandra Botti, Naomi Shavin, Fonda Mwangi and Alex Sugiura
|
. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893.
- Thwaites Glacier findings give reasons to worry about Antarctic ice melt
- Drastic emissions cuts needed to avert multi-century sea level rise, study finds
- Tesla opening up its chargers could spur electric car adoption
NIALA: Good morning! Welcome to Axios Today!
It’s Thursday, February 16th.
I’m Niala Boodhoo.
Here’s what we’re covering today: making electric vehicle chargers more available nationwide. But first, new findings on the so-called Doomsday Glacier. That’s today’s One Big Thing.
New findings on the "Doomsday Glacier"
NIALA: The Thwaites Glacier is at the top of the list of glaciers that keep polar scientists up at night, says Axios’ Senior Climate and Energy Reporter Andrew Freedman. That’s because if it melts, it could raise sea levels by up to 10 feet. Now, new research is expanding – and complicating - our understanding of this glacier. So how to make sense of it all? Andrew’s here with us for that.
Hey - so Andrew - first - why is Thwaites called “the doomsday glacier”?
ANDREW FREEDMAN: Yeah, so scientists are trying to push back against that term, but it's really very, very true. It's the glacier that could generate the most sea level rise the fastest, at least of the ones that we understand relatively well.
NIALA: So there were two studies just published yesterday about Thwaites. What are the most important things we need to know from those studies?
ANDREW: So those studies were the result of a five-year, $50 million research campaign, which sent scientists, putting robots, underneath the ice. It was some really cool, ambitious work that was done. And, uh, the really important things to know about these two different studies are that the melting that is going on there is complicated. There is a reason for greater concern. The water that's coming into contact with the bottom of the ice sheet is not as warm as we expected, but the glacier is still retreating incredibly fast.
NIALA: So is there anything that can be done to slow or stop the melting of this glacier? Is that even a goal at this point?
ANDREW: There are some studies that show that we have already triggered irreversible loss of the West Antarctic ice sheet. I think most scientists, however, say that what we emit in the next several decades will determine the course of sea level rise for the next several centuries, and that includes West Antarctica. The decisions that we make in the next two decades, especially, uh, may push glaciers like Thwaites over the edge or may contain them.
NIALA: Andrew, you also wrote about another study out this week that had to do with climate change and ice sheet melt, and that study found that human caused global warming must be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius or less in order to avoid a multi-century melting of the ice sheets and a rise in sea levels. Is that goal realistic at this point?
ANDREW: No, that goal is not realistic at this point, you know, we're already at 1.2 C and we're going right now, uh, if all global pledges are met, we would go to 2.4 C. So it, it's not realistic, however, It does illustrate the point that there is so much sensitivity in what we might imagine to be these vast ice sheets that are immovable and we can't imagine that we can have such a big effect on them, but in reality, even relatively low amounts of warming compared to what is possible, would significantly disrupt, both Greenland and Antarctica.
NIALA: Andrew, I feel like you and I often talk about how difficult climate news is to digest, especially when it seems so alarming. So with that in mind, it was especially interesting for me to read that one climate scientist you talked to said they viewed these papers on Thwaites Glacier with a sense of optimism.
ANDREW: The reason there's some optimism about this glacier is because scientists were looking at all of these nightmare scenarios. We literally didn't know if there was gonna be a large collapse of a portion or all of this glacier, tomorrow. And now we go in there and they find this data, and the data doesn't say, oh, it's gonna happen ASAP. It says there's reasons for concern, there's reasons for alarm. We need more studies done and more observations, but it just shows how science works and that, it kind of leads to additional questions, and additional worries. Overall, you know, maybe we'll get a better sense of what the true range is here and it won't be quite as scary.
NIALA: Andrew Freedman is senior climate and energy reporter. Thanks Andrew.
ANDREW: Thanks for having me.
NIALA: In a moment, making EVs a more attractive option for potential buyers.
Tesla’s role in making electric vehicle chargers more available nationwide
NIALA: Welcome back to Axios Today. I'm Niala Boodhoo.
The White House announced yesterday that Tesla will open part of its charging network to other brands of electric vehicles for the first time ever. By the end of 2024, at least 7,500 Tesla chargers will be available for all EVs across the U.S., including along highway corridors, making long-distance travel more accessible.
Axios’ Joann Muller has been covering this, coincidentally from a cross-country trip in an EV. Hey, Joann.
JOANN MULLER: Hi, Niala.
NIALA: So Joann, the Biden administration, has been pushing for a shift away from gasoline powered cars. How does this charging deal with Tesla help that goal?
JOANN: Well look, a lot of people have been reluctant to buy EVs because even though they're gonna charge mostly at home, they're worried about that rare road trip that they wanna have. So it could have a very big impact. So, you know, the chargers are going in and the government is providing the funding for some of it, private companies are spending as well. So I think over the next, uh, two to five years, we're going to see a big explosion in the amount of charging plugs available for EVs.
NIALA: And you know this first hand because you just drove from Michigan to Florida, not in a Tesla. How did that go?
JOANN: Yeah, we drove from, from Michigan to Washington, D.C. and then down to Florida. And we charged mostly at Fast chargers that are owned by, uh, Electrify America and EVgo. And they're, they're similar to Tesla Chargers, but there's just not enough of them across the U.S. yet for everyone to feel comfortable. We didn't have any problems. We didn't have any giant range anxiety. My husband set out first before me. He was a little worried about the cold temperatures draining the battery. So he kept the heat down in the car and just used the seat heater to keep himself warm. You know, we, we found that we were okay, but once you start having a lot of people driving electric vehicles, we're going to need a lot more chargers.
NIALA: And for non Tesla EVs is having Tesla chargers at their disposal actually helpful because how does this work with charging ports? Are they universal?
JOANN: The Tesla network uses a different type of plug, a different connector than everyone else in the industry. What it means is you're going to need an adapter, to charge your car if it's not a Tesla. Now, right now you can buy one of these adapters, it costs like $150. I opted not to buy one because I'm betting on the other networks being sufficient to get me where I need to go.
NIALA: So by 2030, the White House is hoping EVs make up at least half of new car sales given the number of charging stations that are currently available and the rate at which it's growing. How feasible is that?
JOANN: S&P Global Mobility, which studies this space really carefully, they say we're gonna need at least eight times as many chargers as we have today, both Tesla and the non Tesla chargers. But I also think that the White House's goal of seeing 50% of all new car sales being electric by 2030 is rather aggressive. I'm not sure we're going to get there. But really it's a problem, you have to scale the infrastructure at the same time that you grow the sales of EVs. And those things really need to be lined up and potentially the chargers need to get there first in order for people to feel comfortable.
NIALA: Joann Muller covers the future of transportation for Axios. Thanks, Joann.
JOANN: Thank you, Niala.
NIALA: One last thing before we go: I want to take a second to say thank you so much to all of you for writing in your comments, your reactions, your story ideas, today and every day.
Including this, a text from Kara in Philadelphia, in response to our story yesterday about diabetes drugs being used for weight loss.
Kara wrote, “as someone who has a chronic illness related to weight, being on the drug is imperative for my health. On one podcast I listened to, a celebrity says her doctor gives ozempic out like candy. It frustrates me so much that wealthier people have easier access to the drug because they can afford out of pocket costs while I had to jump through so many hoops to get insurance to cover it. Even with it being medically necessary. Also, the side effects are no joke.”
Thanks Kara, and remember you can send me a text too – at (202) 918-4893.
I’m Niala Boodhoo - thanks for listening - stay safe and we’ll see you back here tomorrow morning.
Get more than just the headlines on “Here and Now Anytime,” a new podcast from N-P-R. In fewer than 30 minutes you'll hear the news you need to know today... and the in-depth conversations that will stick with you tomorrow. Listen to “Here and Now Anytime,” from N-P-R and W-B-U-R, wherever you get your podcasts.
|
The end of affirmative action in university admissions has been prophesied since 2003, when the Supreme Court issued its decision in Grutter v. Bollinger. In the majority opinion, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote that "25 years from now, the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary to further the interest approved today." That reckoning has now arrived, and five years earlier than predicted: In June, the Supreme Court ruled 6–3 that public universities must stop favoring certain applicants, and disfavoring others, based on their race or ethnicity.
"Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it," Chief Justice John Roberts declared, writing for the majority in Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College. "In other words, the student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual—not on the basis of race."
For everyone who values fairness, individuality, and nondiscrimination, this decision could not have come soon enough. The perniciousness of the admissions system was on full display, thanks to the details of the case. The plaintiff—an advocacy organization that filed suits against Harvard and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC)—persuasively demonstrated that race-based admissions schemes systematically disadvantaged Asian-American students. UNC, for instance, admitted more than 80 percent of its black applicants but less than 70 percent of its white and Asian applicants. (Reason Foundation, the nonprofit that publishes this magazine, submitted an amicus brief in support of the plaintiff.)
At Harvard, discriminatory practices were overt and began with recruitment. Admissions officials would send letters of interest to black and Hispanic high schoolers who received a score of 1100 or more on the SAT. Asian Americans were ignored unless they received at least a 1350. During the actual admissions process, students were sorted into "deciles"—10 levels of academic performance. Asian Americans in the top decile were less likely to get in than black students in the fourth decile.
The plaintiff also submitted evidence that Harvard admissions officers tended to give Asian Americans negative scores on the personality rating, a wholly subjective criterion. Favoritism also extended to white applicants from what Harvard describes as "sparse country": rural states with historically low enrollment numbers. The result was that applicants were judged not solely on the merits of their individual achievements but on immutable characteristics like their race and place of origin.
These schemes, according to the Supreme Court, violated federal law and, in UNC's case, the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. "Many universities have for too long wrongly concluded that the touchstone of an individual's identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned, but the color of their skin," wrote Roberts. "This Nation's constitutional history does not tolerate that choice."
Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits entities that receive federal funding from practicing racial discrimination. But affirmative action—a scheme to benefit racial minorities in hiring, contracting, and school admissions—was viewed as an exception; the idea was to practice discrimination on behalf of historically marginalized groups in order to make amends for past wrongs.
In 2003, a pair of Supreme Court rulings involving the University of Michigan—Gratz v. Bollinger and the aforementioned Grutter—upended that justification. In Gratz, the Court held 6–3 that Michigan's undergraduate admissions program went too far in its consideration of race. The university used a point system, with 100 points guaranteeing admission; belonging to an underrepresented minority group was worth 20 points, while a perfect SAT score was worth only 12 points.
In Grutter, however, the Court permitted Michigan's law school to consider race as one factor among many in admissions decisions, on the grounds that a racially diverse student body was a "compelling interest" of the state. While the decision preserved affirmative action in some form—for perhaps 25 years, per O'Connor's time limit—it forced higher education administrators to change their reasoning: Henceforth, they would have to defend race-based admissions as diversity enhancement programs.
Whether affirmative action actually promotes diversity is up for debate, of course. Schools that engage in racial gerrymandering may succeed in making their campuses more diverse in the most superficial sense without doing anything to improve intellectual, political, socioeconomic, or geographic diversity. No one in a position to defend Harvard's admissions system ever argued that the school needed more conservative or libertarian representation; in practice, the institution's position was simply that it needed fewer Asians.
At a time when the Supreme Court is often accused of being out of touch and counter-majoritarian, it's worth mentioning that Students for Fair Admissions undeniably reflects the will of the people. Race-based admissions systems are opposed by 69 percent of poll respondents, including 58 percent of Democrats, according to The New York Times. Voters in California, a deep-blue state, banned affirmative action twice—in 1996 and again, for good measure, in 2020. Faced with this reality, many defenders of affirmative action are trying to change the subject.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D–N.Y.), for instance, complained that the Supreme Court had ignored a more serious example of unfairness in higher education. "If SCOTUS was serious about their ludicrous 'colorblindness' claims," she wrote on Twitter, "they would have abolished legacy admissions, aka affirmative action for the privileged." Other progressive Democrats, such as Reps. Cori Bush (D–Mo.) and Jamaal Bowman (D–N.Y.), made similar observations.
It should go without saying, but the justices declined to adjudicate legacy admissions because this issue was not before them. That said, legislators do not need to wait for the Court; they can and should abolish the practice within public institutions. The widespread practice of granting preferential treatment to the scions of alumni is unfair and has no place at taxpayer-funded colleges and universities.
The fact that legacy admissions still exist is not a reason to maintain affirmative action; eliminating explicit racial discrimination is a noble goal in and of itself. But to any naysayers who disdain the Supreme Court's ruling because they think legacy admissions should face the same fate: Your terms are acceptable.
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The end of affirmative action in university admissions has been prophesied since 2003, when the Supreme Court issued its decision in Grutter v. Bollinger. In the majority opinion, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote that "25 years from now, the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary to further the interest approved today." That reckoning has now arrived, and five years earlier than predicted: In June, the Supreme Court ruled 6–3 that public universities must stop favoring certain applicants, and disfavoring others, based on their race or ethnicity.
"Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of
|
it," Chief Justice John Roberts declared, writing for the majority in Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College. "In other words, the student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual—not on the basis of race."
For everyone who values fairness, individuality, and nondiscrimination, this decision could not have come soon enough. The perniciousness of the admissions system was on full display, thanks to the details of the case. The plaintiff—an advocacy organization that filed suits against Harvard and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC)—persuasively demonstrated that race-based admissions schemes systematically disadvantaged Asian-American students. UNC, for instance, admitted more than 80 percent of its black applicants but less than 70 percent of its white and Asian applicants. (Reason Foundation, the nonprofit that publishes this magazine, submitted an amicus brief in support of the plaintiff.)
At Harvard, discriminatory practices were overt and began with recruitment. Admissions officials would send letters of interest to black and Hispanic high schoolers who received a score of 1100 or more on the SAT. Asian Americans were ignored unless they received at least a 1350. During the actual admissions process, students were sorted into "deciles"—10 levels of academic performance. Asian Americans in the top decile were less likely to get in than black students in the fourth decile.
The plaintiff also submitted evidence that Harvard admissions officers tended to give Asian Americans negative scores on the personality rating, a wholly subjective criterion. Favoritism also extended to white applicants from what Harvard describes as "sparse country": rural states with historically low enrollment numbers. The result was that applicants were judged not solely on the merits of their individual achievements but on immutable characteristics like their race and place of origin.
These schemes, according to the Supreme Court, violated federal law and, in UNC's case, the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. "Many universities have for too long wrongly concluded that the touchstone of an individual's identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned, but the color of their skin," wrote Roberts. "This Nation's constitutional history does not tolerate that choice."
Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits entities that receive federal funding from practicing racial discrimination. But affirmative action—a scheme to benefit racial minorities in hiring, contracting, and school admissions—was viewed as an exception; the idea was to practice discrimination on behalf of historically marginalized groups in order to make amends for past wrongs.
In 2003, a pair of Supreme Court rulings involving the University of Michigan—Gratz v. Bollinger and the aforementioned Grutter—upended that justification. In Gratz, the Court held 6–3 that Michigan's undergraduate admissions program went too far in its consideration of race. The university used a point system, with 100 points guaranteeing admission; belonging to an underrepresented minority group was worth 20 points, while a perfect SAT score was worth only 12 points.
In Grutter, however, the Court permitted Michigan's law school to consider race as one factor among many in admissions decisions, on the grounds that a racially diverse student body was a "compelling interest" of the state. While the decision preserved affirmative action in some form—for perhaps 25 years, per O'Connor's time limit—it forced higher education administrators to change their reasoning: Henceforth, they would have to defend race-based admissions as diversity enhancement programs.
Whether affirmative action actually promotes diversity is up for debate, of course. Schools that engage in racial gerrymandering may succeed in making their campuses more diverse in the most superficial sense without doing anything to improve intellectual, political, socioeconomic, or geographic diversity. No one in a position to defend Harvard's admissions system ever argued that the school needed more conservative or libertarian representation; in practice, the institution's position was simply that it needed fewer Asians.
At a time when the Supreme Court is often accused of being out of touch and counter-majoritarian, it's worth mentioning that Students for Fair Admissions undeniably reflects the will of the people. Race-based admissions systems are opposed by 69 percent of poll respondents, including 58 percent of Democrats, according to The New York Times. Voters in California, a deep-blue state, banned affirmative action twice—in 1996 and again, for good measure, in 2020. Faced with this reality, many defenders of affirmative action are trying to change the subject.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D–N.Y.), for instance, complained that the Supreme Court had ignored a more serious example of unfairness in higher education. "If SCOTUS was serious about their ludicrous 'colorblindness' claims," she wrote on Twitter, "they would have abolished legacy admissions, aka affirmative action for the privileged." Other progressive Democrats, such as Reps. Cori Bush (D–Mo.) and Jamaal Bowman (D–N.Y.), made similar observations.
It should go without saying, but the justices declined to adjudicate legacy admissions because this issue was not before them. That said, legislators do not need to wait for the Court; they can and should abolish the practice within public institutions. The widespread practice of granting preferential treatment to the scions of alumni is unfair and has no place at taxpayer-funded colleges and universities.
The fact that legacy admissions still exist is not a reason to maintain affirmative action; eliminating explicit racial discrimination is a noble goal in and of itself. But to any naysayers who disdain the Supreme Court's ruling because they think legacy admissions should face the same fate: Your terms are acceptable.
|
A previous version of this article misstated the amount of carbon dioxide U.S. geothermal plants could capture. It is 12.8 million tons, not 12.8 billion tons. The article has been corrected.
The problem with direct air capture, however, has been that it takes energy — a lot of energy. Carbon dioxide only makes up 0.04 percent of ambient air, making the process of its extraction chemically and energy intensive. According to the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, by 2100 the world needs to remove between 100 and 1,000 billion tons of carbon dioxide from the air to meet its most ambitious climate goals — or between 10 and 100 times China’s annual emissions. But if the energy powering that comes from fossil fuels, direct air capture starts to look less like a time machine than an accelerator: a way to emit even more CO2.
Now, however, a company is working to combine direct air capture with a relatively untapped source of energy: Heat from Earth’s crust. Fervo Energy, a geothermal company headquartered in Houston, announced on Thursday that it will design and engineer the first purpose-built geothermal and direct air capture plant. With the help of a grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the company hopes to have a pilot facility online in 3 to 5 years.
If it works, it will be a way to produce carbon-free electricity, while reducing CO2 in the atmosphere at the same time. In short, a win-win for the climate.
“You have to have your energy from a carbon-free source” for direct air capture to make sense, said Timothy Latimer, the CEO of Fervo Energy. “Geothermal is a great match.”
The reason is heat from Earth’s core. The center of the planet, despite Jules Verne’s imaginings, is a molten core with temperatures reaching up to 11,000 degrees Fahrenheit. (According to the Energy Department, just 0.2 percent of Earth’s heat content could supply enough power for all of humanity for 2 million years — if only we could access it.)
Geothermal wells don’t, of course, get anywhere close to Earth’s core, but a geothermal well drilled just 1 to 2 miles into hot rocks below the surface can reach temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees. Water is pumped into the well, heated and returned to the surface, where it can be converted into steam and electricity.
Even after generating electricity, most geothermal plants have a lot of waste heat — often clocking in around 212 degrees. And conveniently, that happens to be the exact temperature needed to pull carbon dioxide out of an air filter and bury it underground.
Hélène Pilorgé, a research associate at the University of Pennsylvania who studies carbon dioxide removal, says that one of the main ways to pull CO2 out of the air is known as the “solid sorbent” method. Big fans draw air into a box with an air filter; the air filter is then heated to around 212 degrees to remove the CO2 for burial. That high temperature “fits well with the energy that geothermal can provide,” Pilorgé said.
Other renewables, like solar and wind, aren’t natural fits. Solar and wind can produce electricity, but they don’t produce high heat easily. (This is also why it’s hard to make things like steel without fossil fuels.) The energy needed for direct air capture, Pilorgé says, is about 80 percent heat and only 20 percent electricity.
According to one study co-authored by Pilorgé, if air capture were combined with all of the geothermal plants currently in the United States, the country could suck up around 12.8 million tons of carbon dioxide every year.
One company already uses geothermal to power its direct air capture: Climeworks, which has one carbon capture plant in Iceland and is building another. Iceland, with its hundreds of volcanoes and hot springs, is already a hot spot for geothermal — 85 percent of homes are currently heated by Earth itself. Climeworks built its carbon capture machinery on top of the already existing Hellisheidi geothermal plant.
By contrast, Latimer says, Fervo Energy will be able to experiment with how to build geothermal energy in a way tailor-made for capturing CO2. “It’s a totally unexplored place,” he said. “What would you do differently in the design of a geothermal power plant if you knew you were pairing it with a direct air capture facility?”
The company plans to design and engineer the plant at one of its demonstration sites — possibly in northwestern Nevada, central Utah, or another spot yet to be announced. It will likely be in the Western United States, where geothermal heat is more easily accessible.
There are still many details to work out. It’s not enough to simply take carbon dioxide out of the air — ideally, it also needs to be stored deep underground, often in porous stones filled with salty water. Pilorgé says that one of the challenges will be placing geothermal plants in areas where such aquifers are readily available.
One potential criticism of the project is that it focuses on drawing carbon out of the air instead of preventing it from getting there in the first place. After all, geothermal energy could play a key role in shifting the electricity grid over to renewables. Unlike wind and solar, a geothermal plant can be on all of the time, producing electricity even when the wind isn’t blowing or the sun isn’t shining.
Latimer says that there is a possibility that a single geothermal plant could have multiple uses. It could produce electricity when needed and suck CO2 out of the atmosphere when wind and solar are dominating the grid. But right now, he added, it’s hard to link geothermal to the electricity grid thanks to long waits to get connected.
There is also much more funding available for direct air capture than there is for geothermal alone. The Energy Department is offering up to $74 million for demonstration projects of new geothermal technologies but a whopping $3.5 billion to establish regional hubs for direct air capture. Geothermal has often been called the “forgotten renewable” — useful, but not as sexy or appealing as solar or wind.
“What we have here is a really compelling way to produce round-the-clock carbon-free electricity and heat,” Latimer said. “The question is what society prioritizes and what policy incentives are put in place.”
Still, if the combination of geothermal and direct air capture works, there will be a kind of poetic symmetry to it. The burning of fossil fuels — pieces of plants and animals crushed under high temperatures and pressure in Earth’s crust for millions of years — has sent planet-warming gases spewing into the atmosphere. It’s only fitting that high temperatures from the crust can pull it back out again.
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A previous version of this article misstated the amount of carbon dioxide U.S. geothermal plants could capture. It is 12.8 million tons, not 12.8 billion tons. The article has been corrected.
The problem with direct air capture, however, has been that it takes energy — a lot of energy. Carbon dioxide only makes up 0.04 percent of ambient air, making the process of its extraction chemically and energy intensive. According to the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, by 2100 the world needs to remove between 100 and 1
|
,000 billion tons of carbon dioxide from the air to meet its most ambitious climate goals — or between 10 and 100 times China’s annual emissions. But if the energy powering that comes from fossil fuels, direct air capture starts to look less like a time machine than an accelerator: a way to emit even more CO2.
Now, however, a company is working to combine direct air capture with a relatively untapped source of energy: Heat from Earth’s crust. Fervo Energy, a geothermal company headquartered in Houston, announced on Thursday that it will design and engineer the first purpose-built geothermal and direct air capture plant. With the help of a grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the company hopes to have a pilot facility online in 3 to 5 years.
If it works, it will be a way to produce carbon-free electricity, while reducing CO2 in the atmosphere at the same time. In short, a win-win for the climate.
“You have to have your energy from a carbon-free source” for direct air capture to make sense, said Timothy Latimer, the CEO of Fervo Energy. “Geothermal is a great match.”
The reason is heat from Earth’s core. The center of the planet, despite Jules Verne’s imaginings, is a molten core with temperatures reaching up to 11,000 degrees Fahrenheit. (According to the Energy Department, just 0.2 percent of Earth’s heat content could supply enough power for all of humanity for 2 million years — if only we could access it.)
Geothermal wells don’t, of course, get anywhere close to Earth’s core, but a geothermal well drilled just 1 to 2 miles into hot rocks below the surface can reach temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees. Water is pumped into the well, heated and returned to the surface, where it can be converted into steam and electricity.
Even after generating electricity, most geothermal plants have a lot of waste heat — often clocking in around 212 degrees. And conveniently, that happens to be the exact temperature needed to pull carbon dioxide out of an air filter and bury it underground.
Hélène Pilorgé, a research associate at the University of Pennsylvania who studies carbon dioxide removal, says that one of the main ways to pull CO2 out of the air is known as the “solid sorbent” method. Big fans draw air into a box with an air filter; the air filter is then heated to around 212 degrees to remove the CO2 for burial. That high temperature “fits well with the energy that geothermal can provide,” Pilorgé said.
Other renewables, like solar and wind, aren’t natural fits. Solar and wind can produce electricity, but they don’t produce high heat easily. (This is also why it’s hard to make things like steel without fossil fuels.) The energy needed for direct air capture, Pilorgé says, is about 80 percent heat and only 20 percent electricity.
According to one study co-authored by Pilorgé, if air capture were combined with all of the geothermal plants currently in the United States, the country could suck up around 12.8 million tons of carbon dioxide every year.
One company already uses geothermal to power its direct air capture: Climeworks, which has one carbon capture plant in Iceland and is building another. Iceland, with its hundreds of volcanoes and hot springs, is already a hot spot for geothermal — 85 percent of homes are currently heated by Earth itself. Climeworks built its carbon capture machinery on top of the already existing Hellisheidi geothermal plant.
By contrast, Latimer says, Fervo Energy will be able to experiment with how to build geothermal energy in a way tailor-made for capturing CO2. “It’s a totally unexplored place,” he said. “What would you do differently in the design of a geothermal power plant if you knew you were pairing it with a direct air capture facility?”
The company plans to design and engineer the plant at one of its demonstration sites — possibly in northwestern Nevada, central Utah, or another spot yet to be announced. It will likely be in the Western United States, where geothermal heat is more easily accessible.
There are still many details to work out. It’s not enough to simply take carbon dioxide out of the air — ideally, it also needs to be stored deep underground, often in porous stones filled with salty water. Pilorgé says that one of the challenges will be placing geothermal plants in areas where such aquifers are readily available.
One potential criticism of the project is that it focuses on drawing carbon out of the air instead of preventing it from getting there in the first place. After all, geothermal energy could play a key role in shifting the electricity grid over to renewables. Unlike wind and solar, a geothermal plant can be on all of the time, producing electricity even when the wind isn’t blowing or the sun isn’t shining.
Latimer says that there is a possibility that a single geothermal plant could have multiple uses. It could produce electricity when needed and suck CO2 out of the atmosphere when wind and solar are dominating the grid. But right now, he added, it’s hard to link geothermal to the electricity grid thanks to long waits to get connected.
There is also much more funding available for direct air capture than there is for geothermal alone. The Energy Department is offering up to $74 million for demonstration projects of new geothermal technologies but a whopping $3.5 billion to establish regional hubs for direct air capture. Geothermal has often been called the “forgotten renewable” — useful, but not as sexy or appealing as solar or wind.
“What we have here is a really compelling way to produce round-the-clock carbon-free electricity and heat,” Latimer said. “The question is what society prioritizes and what policy incentives are put in place.”
Still, if the combination of geothermal and direct air capture works, there will be a kind of poetic symmetry to it. The burning of fossil fuels — pieces of plants and animals crushed under high temperatures and pressure in Earth’s crust for millions of years — has sent planet-warming gases spewing into the atmosphere. It’s only fitting that high temperatures from the crust can pull it back out again.
|
The fast-moving fire that ripped through Maui’s historic town of Lahaina killed more than 90 people, making it the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation, but power equipment in the area is coming under increasing scrutiny.
(Bloomberg) — The fast-moving fire that ripped through Maui’s historic town of Lahaina killed more than 90 people, making it the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation, but power equipment in the area is coming under increasing scrutiny.
Across the nation, wildfires are growing in intensity and frequency as climate change sparks prolonged droughts. The initial cause can vary — a spark from downed electric lines, a lightning strike or a cigarette butt tossed out a car window — but the result is the same: Once vegetation dries out, it can easily ignite.
Here’s a look at recent major US wildfires.
In November 2018, flames leveled the California town of Paradise, killing more than 80 people and destroying more than 18,000 structures. It was the state’s deadliest and most-destructive fire, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.
The fire was blamed on power lines operated by the state’s largest utility, PG&E Corp. The company eventually filed for bankruptcy in 2019, facing $30 billion in liabilities from several devastating wildfires, and in 2020 it pleaded guilty to more than 80 counts of involuntary manslaughter for its role in starting the Camp Fire blaze.
Read More: Why Hawaii’s Power Lines Are Suspect in Maui Fire: QuickTake
August Complex Fire
The August Complex fire, the biggest ever in California, blazed for nearly three months in late 2020 and destroyed more than 1 million acres before it was fully corralled. The blazes were ignited by lightning, according to the US Forest Service.
The fire raged through Mendocino, Humboldt, Trinity, Glenn, Lake and Colusa counties, becoming the second-largest fire in US history, according to the Western Fire Chiefs Association.
Read More: Why California Fire Threats Cut Lights for Millions: QuickTake
More than 1,000 homes burned near Boulder, Colorado, just a few days after Christmas in 2021 after extremely strong winds quickly spread flames in the drought-parched land. It was the most destructive fire in the state’s history.
A sheriff’s report found that two blazes — the first of which spread from scrap wood and tree branches set on fire at a home, while the most likely cause for the second was hot particles from a power line — eventually merged to scorch about 6,000 acres.
Xcel Energy Inc. has said that it strongly disagrees with any suggestion that its power lines caused the second ignition, calling the report’s analyses “flawed” and conclusions “incorrect.”
Read More: Wildfire Expert on What Fed Deadly Flames in Hawaii: Q&A
Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon
The Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon blaze scorched more than 340,000 acres in New Mexico during the late spring and early summer of 2022. The wildfire was the largest in the state’s history and was caused by smoldering debris left over from a controlled burn in January, forest service officials said.
Randy Moore, the chief of the US Forest Service, apologized for his agency’s role in accidentally triggering the flames, saying that the events leading to the fire were “nearly unheard of until recently in the century-plus of experience the Forest Service has in working on these landscapes.”
“Climate change is leading to conditions on the ground we have never encountered,” Moore said last year.
–With assistance from Mark Chediak and Shiyin Chen.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.
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|
The fast-moving fire that ripped through Maui’s historic town of Lahaina killed more than 90 people, making it the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation, but power equipment in the area is coming under increasing scrutiny.
(Bloomberg) — The fast-moving fire that ripped through Maui’s historic town of Lahaina killed more than 90 people, making it the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation, but power equipment in the area is coming under increasing scrutiny.
|
Across the nation, wildfires are growing in intensity and frequency as climate change sparks prolonged droughts. The initial cause can vary — a spark from downed electric lines, a lightning strike or a cigarette butt tossed out a car window — but the result is the same: Once vegetation dries out, it can easily ignite.
Here’s a look at recent major US wildfires.
In November 2018, flames leveled the California town of Paradise, killing more than 80 people and destroying more than 18,000 structures. It was the state’s deadliest and most-destructive fire, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.
The fire was blamed on power lines operated by the state’s largest utility, PG&E Corp. The company eventually filed for bankruptcy in 2019, facing $30 billion in liabilities from several devastating wildfires, and in 2020 it pleaded guilty to more than 80 counts of involuntary manslaughter for its role in starting the Camp Fire blaze.
Read More: Why Hawaii’s Power Lines Are Suspect in Maui Fire: QuickTake
August Complex Fire
The August Complex fire, the biggest ever in California, blazed for nearly three months in late 2020 and destroyed more than 1 million acres before it was fully corralled. The blazes were ignited by lightning, according to the US Forest Service.
The fire raged through Mendocino, Humboldt, Trinity, Glenn, Lake and Colusa counties, becoming the second-largest fire in US history, according to the Western Fire Chiefs Association.
Read More: Why California Fire Threats Cut Lights for Millions: QuickTake
More than 1,000 homes burned near Boulder, Colorado, just a few days after Christmas in 2021 after extremely strong winds quickly spread flames in the drought-parched land. It was the most destructive fire in the state’s history.
A sheriff’s report found that two blazes — the first of which spread from scrap wood and tree branches set on fire at a home, while the most likely cause for the second was hot particles from a power line — eventually merged to scorch about 6,000 acres.
Xcel Energy Inc. has said that it strongly disagrees with any suggestion that its power lines caused the second ignition, calling the report’s analyses “flawed” and conclusions “incorrect.”
Read More: Wildfire Expert on What Fed Deadly Flames in Hawaii: Q&A
Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon
The Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon blaze scorched more than 340,000 acres in New Mexico during the late spring and early summer of 2022. The wildfire was the largest in the state’s history and was caused by smoldering debris left over from a controlled burn in January, forest service officials said.
Randy Moore, the chief of the US Forest Service, apologized for his agency’s role in accidentally triggering the flames, saying that the events leading to the fire were “nearly unheard of until recently in the century-plus of experience the Forest Service has in working on these landscapes.”
“Climate change is leading to conditions on the ground we have never encountered,” Moore said last year.
–With assistance from Mark Chediak and Shiyin Chen.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.
|
The Fourth of July was the hottest day on Earth in as many as 125,000 years—breaking a record set the day before—as the return of the El Niño weather pattern collides with soaring temperatures at the start of summer, researchers say.
The global average temperature Tuesday reached 17.18 degrees Celsius (62.92 degrees Fahrenheit), data from the University of Maine’s Climate Change Institute showed, the hottest ever recorded on any day of any year.
The same record was broken the day before, when July 3 temperatures reached 17.01 degrees Celsius (62.62 degrees Fahrenheit), higher than the previous hottest-day record of 16.92 degrees Celsius held by a tie of two dates, July 24, 2022, and August 14, 2016, according to the University of Maine and the National Centers for Environmental Prediction.
The exact modeling system used to estimate Tuesday’s temperature has only been used since 1979, but scientists are able to estimate average temperatures going back tens of thousands of years by using instrument-based global temperature records, tree rings and ice cores, climate scientist Paulo Ceppi told the Washington Post.
The Washington Post’s heat index forecast said as many as 57 million people across the United States were exposed to dangerous heat on Tuesday.
Excessive heat warnings and advisories remain in effect throughout Florida, parts of the Pacific Northwest, southern Texas and other areas Wednesday, the National Weather Service reports, though a weeks-long heat wave in Texas and other southern states did ultimately subside.
Global temperatures have been on the rise for years due to human-caused climate change, but Tuesday’s scorching temperatures were also driven by the first El Niño weather pattern since 2018-19.The United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization warned Tuesday that billions of people will be impacted as El Niño brings warmer sea surface temperatures and triggers extreme heat both in the ocean and on land. An El Niño pattern weakens trade winds and pushes warm water toward the west coast of the Americas, the National Ocean Service says, causing areas in the northern U.S. and Canada to be dryer and warmer than usual. The U.S. Gulf Coast and Southeast often see wetter weather than usual and have increased flooding. El Niño is expected to increase global temperatures for the next 9 to 12 months, the WMO predicted.
What To Watch For
More broken records. The return of the El Niño weather pattern for the first time in four years means more extreme weather and a quickening of global warming, which would bring more record-breaking heat in the coming year. A WMO report released in May predicted there is a 98% likelihood that at least one of the next five years—and the five-year period as a whole—will be warmest on record.
“Early warnings and anticipatory action . . . are vital to save lives and livelihoods,” WMO Secretary-General professor Petteri Taalas said.
|
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|
The Fourth of July was the hottest day on Earth in as many as 125,000 years—breaking a record set the day before—as the return of the El Niño weather pattern collides with soaring temperatures at the start of summer, researchers say.
The global average temperature Tuesday reached 17.18 degrees Celsius (62.92 degrees Fahrenheit), data from the University of Maine’s Climate Change Institute showed, the hottest ever recorded on any day of any year.
The same record was broken the day before, when July 3 temperatures reached 17.01
|
degrees Celsius (62.62 degrees Fahrenheit), higher than the previous hottest-day record of 16.92 degrees Celsius held by a tie of two dates, July 24, 2022, and August 14, 2016, according to the University of Maine and the National Centers for Environmental Prediction.
The exact modeling system used to estimate Tuesday’s temperature has only been used since 1979, but scientists are able to estimate average temperatures going back tens of thousands of years by using instrument-based global temperature records, tree rings and ice cores, climate scientist Paulo Ceppi told the Washington Post.
The Washington Post’s heat index forecast said as many as 57 million people across the United States were exposed to dangerous heat on Tuesday.
Excessive heat warnings and advisories remain in effect throughout Florida, parts of the Pacific Northwest, southern Texas and other areas Wednesday, the National Weather Service reports, though a weeks-long heat wave in Texas and other southern states did ultimately subside.
Global temperatures have been on the rise for years due to human-caused climate change, but Tuesday’s scorching temperatures were also driven by the first El Niño weather pattern since 2018-19.The United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization warned Tuesday that billions of people will be impacted as El Niño brings warmer sea surface temperatures and triggers extreme heat both in the ocean and on land. An El Niño pattern weakens trade winds and pushes warm water toward the west coast of the Americas, the National Ocean Service says, causing areas in the northern U.S. and Canada to be dryer and warmer than usual. The U.S. Gulf Coast and Southeast often see wetter weather than usual and have increased flooding. El Niño is expected to increase global temperatures for the next 9 to 12 months, the WMO predicted.
What To Watch For
More broken records. The return of the El Niño weather pattern for the first time in four years means more extreme weather and a quickening of global warming, which would bring more record-breaking heat in the coming year. A WMO report released in May predicted there is a 98% likelihood that at least one of the next five years—and the five-year period as a whole—will be warmest on record.
“Early warnings and anticipatory action . . . are vital to save lives and livelihoods,” WMO Secretary-General professor Petteri Taalas said.
|
2,000 ram skulls found in ancient pharaoh's temple in one of Egypt's oldest cities
More than 2,000 decomposed ram skulls unearthed in a newly discovered warehouse in the temple of the ancient pharaoh Ramses II will help archeologists uncover more details about one of the oldest Egyptian cities and its leader.
In an announcement Saturday, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said a mission led by the New York University’s Institute for the Study of the Ancient World discovered the skulls while excavating near the northern precinct of the temple in Abydos, about 270 miles south of Cairo.
The sacred city of Abydos is one of the oldest and most important sites of ancient Egypt, according to the World Monuments Fund, which works to conserve key structures in partnership with the Egyptian antiquities ministry and the American Research Center in Egypt.
"With its valuable inscriptions and numerous funerary monuments, Abydos has perhaps contributed more than any other site in Egypt to our present understanding of the history of state formation, linguistic development, and architecture in Ancient Egypt," the World Monuments Fund said.
The large number of embellished rams, among other discoveries, could provide insight into the life and history of this ancient temple, which was first discovered more than 150 years ago, according to the statement.
Archeologists found the remains of a number of animals, including goats, dogs, cows, deer and an ostrich, perched beside the rams’ heads, according to the statement.
Dr. Sameh Iskander, head of the mission, told CBS News that rams' heads were "obviously offerings that were made to the temple of Ramses during the Ptolemaic period, which shows even 1,000 years after Ramses II, that he was still revered."
Some of the heads were still mummified, while "others could have been mummified, but the wrappings or the covers of mummifications were not there anymore," Iskander told CBS.
The team also found parts of statues, hills, remains of ancient trees, clothing and leather shoes.
Rams were known to be worshiped at an “unprecedented level” in Abydus during Ramses II’s ruling, but the discovery suggests the animals remained significant because skulls were left there a millennium after the pharaoh's rule, the statement said.
The architecture of the newly discovered building is “distinctive and unique” and will contribute to researchers’ understanding of the city, the statement said.
Who was Ramses II?
According to the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, Ramses II, commonly known as “Ramses the Great," is one of the most famous Egyptian pharaohs. Before his death in 1213 BC, ancient Egyptians knew Ramses, who ruled Egypt for about 70 years, as a fierce warrior and keeper of harmony and balance.
More coverage from USA TODAY
- Discovery of once-hidden corridor inside Great Pyramid of Giza
- Where are America's most toxic watersheds that harm human health and the environment?
- Man finds 'big, ugly' 3.29-carat diamond at Arkansas state park: 'It was so shiny'
- What's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day
Camille Fine is a trending visual producer on USA TODAY's NOW team.
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2,000 ram skulls found in ancient pharaoh's temple in one of Egypt's oldest cities
More than 2,000 decomposed ram skulls unearthed in a newly discovered warehouse in the temple of the ancient pharaoh Ramses II will help archeologists uncover more details about one of the oldest Egyptian cities and its leader.
In an announcement Saturday, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said a mission led by the New York University’s Institute for the Study of the Ancient World discovered the skulls while excavating near the northern precinct of the temple in Abydos, about 27
|
0 miles south of Cairo.
The sacred city of Abydos is one of the oldest and most important sites of ancient Egypt, according to the World Monuments Fund, which works to conserve key structures in partnership with the Egyptian antiquities ministry and the American Research Center in Egypt.
"With its valuable inscriptions and numerous funerary monuments, Abydos has perhaps contributed more than any other site in Egypt to our present understanding of the history of state formation, linguistic development, and architecture in Ancient Egypt," the World Monuments Fund said.
The large number of embellished rams, among other discoveries, could provide insight into the life and history of this ancient temple, which was first discovered more than 150 years ago, according to the statement.
Archeologists found the remains of a number of animals, including goats, dogs, cows, deer and an ostrich, perched beside the rams’ heads, according to the statement.
Dr. Sameh Iskander, head of the mission, told CBS News that rams' heads were "obviously offerings that were made to the temple of Ramses during the Ptolemaic period, which shows even 1,000 years after Ramses II, that he was still revered."
Some of the heads were still mummified, while "others could have been mummified, but the wrappings or the covers of mummifications were not there anymore," Iskander told CBS.
The team also found parts of statues, hills, remains of ancient trees, clothing and leather shoes.
Rams were known to be worshiped at an “unprecedented level” in Abydus during Ramses II’s ruling, but the discovery suggests the animals remained significant because skulls were left there a millennium after the pharaoh's rule, the statement said.
The architecture of the newly discovered building is “distinctive and unique” and will contribute to researchers’ understanding of the city, the statement said.
Who was Ramses II?
According to the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, Ramses II, commonly known as “Ramses the Great," is one of the most famous Egyptian pharaohs. Before his death in 1213 BC, ancient Egyptians knew Ramses, who ruled Egypt for about 70 years, as a fierce warrior and keeper of harmony and balance.
More coverage from USA TODAY
- Discovery of once-hidden corridor inside Great Pyramid of Giza
- Where are America's most toxic watersheds that harm human health and the environment?
- Man finds 'big, ugly' 3.29-carat diamond at Arkansas state park: 'It was so shiny'
- What's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day
Camille Fine is a trending visual producer on USA TODAY's NOW team.
|
EPA proposes stronger rules around pesticides on farms
Read the transcript for this report below.
ELIZABETH ARAKELIAN, HOST: This month, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed strengthening the Agricultural Worker Protection Standard. That’s a regulation that aims to reduce pesticide exposure in farming communities. KVPR’s Esther Quintanilla explains what this means.
ESTHER QUINTANILLA: The EPA wants to expand pesticide application exposure zones and establish a standard radius. That includes a 25-foot buffer for medium to large sprays and a 100-foot buffer for fine sprays.
Michal Freedhoff is with the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. She says current regulations are not enough to protect people.
MICHAL FREEDHOFF: This isn't just a worker health issue. It's also about civil rights.
QUINTANILLA: Freedhoff says the proposed regulations can protect against accidental pesticide exposures.
FREEDHOFF: Today's proposal would reinstate all those important protections to keep farm workers safe, because less pesticide exposure keeps workers and communities healthy.
QUINTANILLA: The EPA is also recommending agricultural employers keep workers out of areas where pesticides are being applied to avoid incidents like pesticide drift.
For KVPR News, I’m Esther Quintanilla
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EPA proposes stronger rules around pesticides on farms
Read the transcript for this report below.
ELIZABETH ARAKELIAN, HOST: This month, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed strengthening the Agricultural Worker Protection Standard. That’s a regulation that aims to reduce pesticide exposure in farming communities. KVPR’s Esther Quintanilla explains what this means.
ESTHER QUINTANILLA: The EPA wants to expand pesticide application exposure zones and establish a standard radius. That includes a 25-foot buffer for medium to large sprays and a 100-foot buffer for fine sprays.
Michal Freed
|
hoff is with the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. She says current regulations are not enough to protect people.
MICHAL FREEDHOFF: This isn't just a worker health issue. It's also about civil rights.
QUINTANILLA: Freedhoff says the proposed regulations can protect against accidental pesticide exposures.
FREEDHOFF: Today's proposal would reinstate all those important protections to keep farm workers safe, because less pesticide exposure keeps workers and communities healthy.
QUINTANILLA: The EPA is also recommending agricultural employers keep workers out of areas where pesticides are being applied to avoid incidents like pesticide drift.
For KVPR News, I’m Esther Quintanilla
|
Gen Z’s mental health divide
Older members of Gen Z who are lesbian, gay or bisexual are more anxious and less happy than their straight counterparts, per a Gallup-Walton Family Foundation American Youth Survey released Thursday.
Why it matters: Studies have shown that the cohort born between the late 1990s and early 2010s is experiencing a sustained decline in mental health, but the poll indicates stigma and harassment is placing an extra burden on lesbian, gay and bisexual members.
- That could hinder their ability to go to college or launch careers, researchers wrote.
By the numbers: The survey of more than 800 people ages 18 to 25, conducted from April 24 to May 8, found that most straight adults rate their emotional well-being as "excellent" or "good," but only 38% of lesbian, gay and bisexual adults say the same.
- More than half of LGB adults reported having fair or poor physical health compared to 31% of straight Gen Zers.
- 71% of LGB adults surveyed said they experienced anxiety the prior day compared to 52% of their straight peers.
State of play: The Human Rights Campaign declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the U.S. earlier this month in response to an "unprecedented and dangerous spike in anti-LGBTQ+ legislative assaults sweeping state houses this year."
- The NAACP in May issued a travel advisory for Florida for Black Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals.
- There's also a book-banning movement targeting, in part, books with LGBTQ themes.
What they're saying: Discrimination and harassment can also occur among friends, at work, in school and with family, said lead Gallup researcher Stephanie Marken.
- "It's hard to be physically healthy and well if you're experiencing high levels of anxiety, stress, loneliness, [and] sadness on a day-to-day basis," Marken told Axios.
Of note: Transgender adults were not included in these polling results, but the record-breaking number of anti-trans health care bills has led to record high suicide risk among trans youth.
- This includes Georgia's ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors, which goes into effect on Saturday.
The bottom line: "This is something that's been coming for quite a while," Marken told Axios. "Unfortunately, it's reached a crescendo."
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Gen Z’s mental health divide
Older members of Gen Z who are lesbian, gay or bisexual are more anxious and less happy than their straight counterparts, per a Gallup-Walton Family Foundation American Youth Survey released Thursday.
Why it matters: Studies have shown that the cohort born between the late 1990s and early 2010s is experiencing a sustained decline in mental health, but the poll indicates stigma and harassment is placing an extra burden on lesbian, gay and bisexual members.
- That could hinder their ability to go to college or launch careers, researchers wrote.
By the numbers: The survey of more
|
than 800 people ages 18 to 25, conducted from April 24 to May 8, found that most straight adults rate their emotional well-being as "excellent" or "good," but only 38% of lesbian, gay and bisexual adults say the same.
- More than half of LGB adults reported having fair or poor physical health compared to 31% of straight Gen Zers.
- 71% of LGB adults surveyed said they experienced anxiety the prior day compared to 52% of their straight peers.
State of play: The Human Rights Campaign declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the U.S. earlier this month in response to an "unprecedented and dangerous spike in anti-LGBTQ+ legislative assaults sweeping state houses this year."
- The NAACP in May issued a travel advisory for Florida for Black Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals.
- There's also a book-banning movement targeting, in part, books with LGBTQ themes.
What they're saying: Discrimination and harassment can also occur among friends, at work, in school and with family, said lead Gallup researcher Stephanie Marken.
- "It's hard to be physically healthy and well if you're experiencing high levels of anxiety, stress, loneliness, [and] sadness on a day-to-day basis," Marken told Axios.
Of note: Transgender adults were not included in these polling results, but the record-breaking number of anti-trans health care bills has led to record high suicide risk among trans youth.
- This includes Georgia's ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors, which goes into effect on Saturday.
The bottom line: "This is something that's been coming for quite a while," Marken told Axios. "Unfortunately, it's reached a crescendo."
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By MIKE SCHNEIDER and MORGAN LEE
SANTA FE, N.M (AP) — During the 2020 census, Native American leaders across the U.S. invested time and resources to make sure their members were tallied during the head count, which determines political power and federal funding.
But the detailed data sets from the 2020 census they will receive this month are more limited and less accurate than they were in the previous census — and it isn’t because the COVID-19 pandemic severely limited outreach efforts.
Rather, it’s due to new privacy methods implemented by the U.S. Census Bureau in order to protect the confidentiality of participants, one of which introduces intentional errors, or “noise,” to the data.
At stake is the availability and accuracy of data helping tribal leaders make decisions about where to locate grocery stores or schools and estimate future population growth. Census numbers determine funding for social programs, education, roads and elderly care for tribes that have been historically undercounted.
“It was never clearly articulated to them by the Census Bureau that this would be the case, that they wouldn’t receive the level of data that they received from the previous census,” New Mexico State Demographer Robert Rhatigan said. “In those tribal conversations it was never made clear that the data would not be available, or that it would be so noisy in these smaller areas.”
In fact, more than 80% of tribes in the U.S. won’t receive the full suite of detailed demographic data from the 2020 census at tribal-area levels they had in the 2010 census because of the changes, according to a report released in August by the Center for Indian Country Development, which is part of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
Many leaders in Indian Country are unaware they are going to get fewer tables when the detailed data sets are released Sept. 21, said Brandi Liberty, a consultant who helps tribes get federal and state grants.
“It’s going to be difficult for a lot of tribes when they need the data,” said Liberty, a member of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska.
The 2020 census put the American Indian and Alaska Native alone population at 3.7 million people; it was 9.6 million for those who identified as American Indian and Alaska Native in combination with another race. The Census Bureau provides detailed data for 1,200 American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and villages.
The privacy changes to the detailed census data “will harm the ability of self-governing tribes to meet the needs of their citizens,” the Federal Reserve report said.
The Census Bureau told The Associated Press that it doesn’t comment on outside reports but acknowledged the number of tables for tribes in 2020 were reduced from 2010 because of the privacy concerns.
The privacy changes arrive during heightened sensitivities about who controls data from Indian Country.
“The concept of tribal data sovereignty and just data sovereignty in general has been kind of elevated. In a sense, this is their data,” Rhatigan said. “You can say that it’s a problem for the smaller tribal communities that won’t even get the detailed age data. It’s possible that the bigger problem comes from the tribes that do receive the data. Nobody knows … how inaccurate those data are.”
That’s because of the privacy method, known as “differential privacy,” uses algorithms to create intentional errors to data by adding or subtracting people from the actual count in order to obscure the identity of any given participant in a particular area.
The Census Bureau has said the differential privacy algorithms are needed because, without them, the growth of easily available third-party data combined with modern computing could allow hackers to piece together the identities of participants in its censuses and surveys in violation of the law.
Differential privacy’s impact on accuracy is greatest when population totals are broken down by race, age and sex, making it harder to understand demographic changes in individual tribal areas, the Federal Reserve report said.
Also complicating the availability of detailed tribal census data are new population thresholds by the Census Bureau. The thresholds determine how much data tribes, or racial or ethnic groups, get for a particular area.
In 2010, in order to protect people’s identities, a tribe or a racial or ethnic group in any particular geography like a county needed at least 100 people to get all 71 available data tables. In 2020, “dynamic population thresholds” are being used, with the size of the tribe or racial or ethnic group in a location determining how many data tables they get.
For national or state level data, the 40% of all tribes with less than 500 people across the U.S. will receive only country or state-wide population totals, keeping them from getting the more detailed data they got in 2010. At the tribal-area level, 80% of tribes will only receive population totals instead of breakdowns of age data reported by sex, according to the Federal Reserve report.
In New Mexico, for instance, only the Navajo Nation — the tribe with the largest reservation, extending into Arizona and Utah — will receive the full suite of data with almost two dozen age categories by sex. Sixteen of the state’s 22 populated tribal areas are likely to receive limited data sets breaking down populations into only four age groups per sex. Two Native American pueblos will receive no age breakdowns at all, Rhatigan said.
American Indian or Alaska Native people on reservations were among the most undercounted populations in the 2020 census, with an estimated 5.6% of residents missed, according to an evaluation by the Census Bureau.
The COVID-19 pandemic severely limited the outreach efforts many tribal communities had planned. Many tribes closed their borders in an effort to stop the virus’ spread, severely restricting the ability to get a head count. Plus, the digital divide in some tribal communities made responding to the head count difficult during the first census, in which participants were encouraged to answer census questions online.
It might have been worse. The Census Bureau earlier contemplated eliminating detailed tribal tables altogether, said James Tucker, a voting rights attorney for the Native American Rights Fund.
“It could have been really bad,” said Tucker, who is a former chair of a Census Bureau advisory committee. “But they took it to heart to make the data as accurate as possible while balancing that against the privacy concerns.”
Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at @MikeSchneiderAP
Follow Morgan Lee on Twitter at @MLeeAP
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By MIKE SCHNEIDER and MORGAN LEE
SANTA FE, N.M (AP) — During the 2020 census, Native American leaders across the U.S. invested time and resources to make sure their members were tallied during the head count, which determines political power and federal funding.
But the detailed data sets from the 2020 census they will receive this month are more limited and less accurate than they were in the previous census — and it isn’t because the COVID-19 pandemic severely limited outreach efforts.
Rather, it’s due to new privacy methods implemented
|
by the U.S. Census Bureau in order to protect the confidentiality of participants, one of which introduces intentional errors, or “noise,” to the data.
At stake is the availability and accuracy of data helping tribal leaders make decisions about where to locate grocery stores or schools and estimate future population growth. Census numbers determine funding for social programs, education, roads and elderly care for tribes that have been historically undercounted.
“It was never clearly articulated to them by the Census Bureau that this would be the case, that they wouldn’t receive the level of data that they received from the previous census,” New Mexico State Demographer Robert Rhatigan said. “In those tribal conversations it was never made clear that the data would not be available, or that it would be so noisy in these smaller areas.”
In fact, more than 80% of tribes in the U.S. won’t receive the full suite of detailed demographic data from the 2020 census at tribal-area levels they had in the 2010 census because of the changes, according to a report released in August by the Center for Indian Country Development, which is part of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
Many leaders in Indian Country are unaware they are going to get fewer tables when the detailed data sets are released Sept. 21, said Brandi Liberty, a consultant who helps tribes get federal and state grants.
“It’s going to be difficult for a lot of tribes when they need the data,” said Liberty, a member of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska.
The 2020 census put the American Indian and Alaska Native alone population at 3.7 million people; it was 9.6 million for those who identified as American Indian and Alaska Native in combination with another race. The Census Bureau provides detailed data for 1,200 American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and villages.
The privacy changes to the detailed census data “will harm the ability of self-governing tribes to meet the needs of their citizens,” the Federal Reserve report said.
The Census Bureau told The Associated Press that it doesn’t comment on outside reports but acknowledged the number of tables for tribes in 2020 were reduced from 2010 because of the privacy concerns.
The privacy changes arrive during heightened sensitivities about who controls data from Indian Country.
“The concept of tribal data sovereignty and just data sovereignty in general has been kind of elevated. In a sense, this is their data,” Rhatigan said. “You can say that it’s a problem for the smaller tribal communities that won’t even get the detailed age data. It’s possible that the bigger problem comes from the tribes that do receive the data. Nobody knows … how inaccurate those data are.”
That’s because of the privacy method, known as “differential privacy,” uses algorithms to create intentional errors to data by adding or subtracting people from the actual count in order to obscure the identity of any given participant in a particular area.
The Census Bureau has said the differential privacy algorithms are needed because, without them, the growth of easily available third-party data combined with modern computing could allow hackers to piece together the identities of participants in its censuses and surveys in violation of the law.
Differential privacy’s impact on accuracy is greatest when population totals are broken down by race, age and sex, making it harder to understand demographic changes in individual tribal areas, the Federal Reserve report said.
Also complicating the availability of detailed tribal census data are new population thresholds by the Census Bureau. The thresholds determine how much data tribes, or racial or ethnic groups, get for a particular area.
In 2010, in order to protect people’s identities, a tribe or a racial or ethnic group in any particular geography like a county needed at least 100 people to get all 71 available data tables. In 2020, “dynamic population thresholds” are being used, with the size of the tribe or racial or ethnic group in a location determining how many data tables they get.
For national or state level data, the 40% of all tribes with less than 500 people across the U.S. will receive only country or state-wide population totals, keeping them from getting the more detailed data they got in 2010. At the tribal-area level, 80% of tribes will only receive population totals instead of breakdowns of age data reported by sex, according to the Federal Reserve report.
In New Mexico, for instance, only the Navajo Nation — the tribe with the largest reservation, extending into Arizona and Utah — will receive the full suite of data with almost two dozen age categories by sex. Sixteen of the state’s 22 populated tribal areas are likely to receive limited data sets breaking down populations into only four age groups per sex. Two Native American pueblos will receive no age breakdowns at all, Rhatigan said.
American Indian or Alaska Native people on reservations were among the most undercounted populations in the 2020 census, with an estimated 5.6% of residents missed, according to an evaluation by the Census Bureau.
The COVID-19 pandemic severely limited the outreach efforts many tribal communities had planned. Many tribes closed their borders in an effort to stop the virus’ spread, severely restricting the ability to get a head count. Plus, the digital divide in some tribal communities made responding to the head count difficult during the first census, in which participants were encouraged to answer census questions online.
It might have been worse. The Census Bureau earlier contemplated eliminating detailed tribal tables altogether, said James Tucker, a voting rights attorney for the Native American Rights Fund.
“It could have been really bad,” said Tucker, who is a former chair of a Census Bureau advisory committee. “But they took it to heart to make the data as accurate as possible while balancing that against the privacy concerns.”
Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at @MikeSchneiderAP
Follow Morgan Lee on Twitter at @MLeeAP
|
Earlier this year, people who pay attention to food insecurity in New Hampshire noticed something alarming: The rate of families reporting insufficient food access shot up by more than 10%. By this spring, estimates showed that more than half of Granite State households with children didn’t have enough to eat.
And in the most recent Census pulse survey last month, nearly 200,000 children in the state lived in households that lacked sufficient food. That’s up by nearly 40,000 additional children since January.
While this rise in hunger is troubling, it’s not a complete shock to those who work on the issue. Advocates in the field say many of New Hampshire’s most vulnerable households are trapped in a double bind these days: Continued inflation is pushing the prices of essentials like groceries ever higher, at the same time that several pandemic-era safety net programs have been rolled back. The result? A sharp increase in the number of families in the state who report trouble putting enough food on their table week to week.
Advocates say the rise in food insecurity illustrates the tentative financial state of many families here and the important role that pandemic-era assistance played in improving the quality of life for many.
“The only thing that changed with the pandemic is that we created programs that made it easier for people to survive with the cost of living the way it is,” said Jessica Gorhan, social impact and development director of the non-profit New Hampshire Hunger Solutions.
A rollback of pandemic-era aid
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government made it easier for people to qualify for a range of support programs. Most notably, it increased monthly allotments for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, referred to as SNAP or food stamps, giving low-income people more money to spend on groceries.
The federal government did not end the national public health emergency until May of 2023, but it cut back the additional SNAP support months earlier, issuing the last pandemic allotment in February. The impact in New Hampshire can be seen in the numbers: Families in the state reporting insufficient food leapt from 44% of respondents to 54% between February and April, according to Census pulse data. That’s about 50,000 more households struggling to put enough food on the table.
These rates leveled-off a little but have stayed continually high through the summer.
Gorhan said the expansion of SNAP and other similar aid programs during the pandemic brought about a long-awaited policy change that made food more accessible — even though they did not address the larger structural issues behind food insecurity.
In part due to this additional money, New Hampshire saw lower rates of food insecurity during the pandemic, according to the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute. But now those who work to fight hunger in the state say government policy has not kept up with the reality many residents are still facing, where inflation-related food costs linked to the pandemic persist, but the tools designed to help people stay afloat have suddenly gone away.
Eileen Liponis, who leads the New Hampshire Food Bank, said the cut in the additional funding put a significant strain on food-insecure people. Local advocates estimated the average individual in the state saw a $108 cut and the average family saw a $206 cut in their monthly issuance.
Liponis said demand for the charitable food system has been higher since March, with the Food Bank hosting more frequent mobile food pantries for more households.
“Before COVID, we would do maybe six or 10 [mobile food pantries] a year and they would be targeted and probably have enough for 250 families,” she said. “Now we're doing one a week on average [for] 400 families.”
Alice Farry, a new mom in Nashua, is one of those Granite Staters who has been turning to her local food pantry to make ends meet. Alice works full-time at McDonald’s, earning $15.50 an hour, and her boyfriend works 20 hours a week for the same wage, so they narrowly miss the qualifications to receive SNAP benefits. Still, even as a two-income household and some additional support, they struggle to afford enough nutritious food and anything other than “the most basic of basic stuff.”
She says some of the food bank offerings help a little, but her own dietary restrictions and the limited options result in a lot of the food she receives going to waste.
“The fruits and vegetables are great, but they don't particularly last very long, so if you don't eat them in like a day or two then they go bad,” she said. “The dry goods and the canned goods: Those things are very helpful, but there's just only so much that you can do.”
Hunger advocates say that the charitable food system is not designed to be a long-term solution to food insecurity. Instead, they say programs like SNAP offer a more sustainable alternative since they allow families more consistency and choice.
Gorhan sees the reduction of SNAP allotments as a significant step backwards. “They’ve reversed something that's actually fixed a problem,” she said.
Keeping students fed through the summer
Many food-insecure families with school-aged children rely on programs like free and reduced-price school meals during the academic year, so summer vacation presents a particular challenge for them.
During the pandemic, the federal government provided additional money to help feed school children during the summer months, referred to as pandemic EBT or P-EBT. Beginning next summer, this program – now renamed summer EBT – will become permanent, with qualifying families receiving an extra $40 per month for each child. But this year, the program remains opt-in for each state, and New Hampshire likely won’t be able to distribute the additional money until the end of the year.
The Summer Food Service Program steps in to address the need for food when school is not in session by providing free and nutritious meals for students. These food distribution sites are federally funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and administered on the state-level. During the pandemic, any community – regardless of its food insecurity rates – could offer these sites. But now, only areas that meet USDA criteria based on poverty levels are eligible for reimbursement for their summer meals programs.
Laura Milliken, executive director of New Hampshire Hunger solutions, says this prevents food-insecure families who live in wealthier areas from easily getting to sites.
“If there are poor kids living in those [wealthier] communities, they've got to drive longer distances to get to a program,” she said.
Meanwhile, the demand for meals at these sites is growing. Southern New Hampshire Services, which sponsors sites across Hillsborough and Rockingham counties, said it had served 4,000 more meals by mid-summer compared to the same time last year.
The sites are often more than just a place to get food, serving as a community gathering spot for families. On a recent weekday, Abukar Salat brought his children to pick up food at the Elmwood Park site in Manchester, where between 50% and 60% of children qualify for free and reduced meals.
“It's not the food. It's a lot of people out here that care about each other and kids,” he said.
Esperanza Rivera distributed food at the Hunt’s Pool site in Manchester this summer, where many families went to the splash pad to cool off. She said it is important anti-hunger resources come to places like this to make food as accessible as possible. She said the stigma of accepting something free prevented many people, especially parents, from taking meals from her at the summer’s start, but her daily presence made people more comfortable.
Rivera said she does not agree fully with the USDA’s guidelines for the program, which she said are not conducive to feeding as many hungry people as it should. Earlier in the pandemic, sites like Hunt’s pool were granted a “non-congregant waiver,” which meant it could operate on a grab-and-go model. Now, the department dictates that meal recipients in cities like Manchester eat at their distribution site, which Rivera said could discourage some.
“Some of them are already embarrassed for whatever reason when they shouldn't feel embarrassed,” she said. “But I don't think [the USDA] should put restrictions on those people.”
The sites are designed to feed only children, but Rivera will give anyone, including adults, a meal, no questions asked. When she does this, she doesn’t mark them down, so Southern New Hampshire Services — which oversees the program here — does not receive reimbursement for meals from the USDA.
“There’s so many elderly that are vulnerable, and there's so many other people that are vulnerable that are not children and teens,” she said. “So it's like, how can you pick and choose?”
The New Hampshire Food Bank oversees sites in the North Country, where rates of childhood food insecurity are some of the highest in the state, but barriers to food access there look different than in more urban areas. The USDA allowed the non-congregant waiver to remain in place for rural communities this summer, which local anti-hunger advocates say has been helpful in reducing the stigma around food insecurity.
“It's a lot easier for somebody to take food and not have to be embarrassed,” said Travis Shearer, who handed out meals at Groveton Elementary School this summer.
SNAP outreach a challenge
One of the largest barriers to food access in the state is low-enrollment in the programs that do exist, said Milliken. As of 2021, only 50% of people in New Hampshire who qualify for SNAP and only 44% who qualify for WIC, a program for new mothers and infants, were enrolled. Local advocates say this is in part because the state has lacked a SNAP outreach program since 2017. But advocates are hopeful those numbers will improve soon, since the New Hampshire Food Bank was contracted by the state in May to revive the program.
Another aspect of food insecurity is not just access to enough food but to healthy food. The state offers two programs, Granite State Market Match and Double Up Food Bucks, for SNAP participants designed to offer more nutritious options by doubling the amount of money they can spend on locally grown fruits and vegetables. Still advocates say very few people are even aware that these programs exist and often assume places like farmers markets are too expensive.
Morgan Morani, community engagement programs manager for Seacoast Eat Local, estimated that as low as 1% of SNAP participants partake in Granite State Market Match or Double Up Food Bucks.
“There’s not adequate communication [with] individuals who actually receive SNAP that these benefits are available to them and where they can actually use it,” she said.
Liponis says the Food Bank plans to raise awareness about these additional benefits in its outreach program, which it is still in the process of fully planning and implementing.
Milliken said New Hampshire Hunger Solutions and its partners are advocating to change legislation to more closely resemble the pandemic-era support programs, but in the meantime she emphasized the importance of making sure people know the resources that are out there.
“All of us in the state need to think about what are the resources available? Are we using them efficiently?” Milliken said. “How can we get the word out so that nobody needs to go hungry?”
This story is a production of the New England News Collaborative. It was originally published by New Hampshire Public Radio.
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Earlier this year, people who pay attention to food insecurity in New Hampshire noticed something alarming: The rate of families reporting insufficient food access shot up by more than 10%. By this spring, estimates showed that more than half of Granite State households with children didn’t have enough to eat.
And in the most recent Census pulse survey last month, nearly 200,000 children in the state lived in households that lacked sufficient food. That’s up by nearly 40,000 additional children since January.
While this rise in hunger is troubling, it’s not a complete shock to those who
|
work on the issue. Advocates in the field say many of New Hampshire’s most vulnerable households are trapped in a double bind these days: Continued inflation is pushing the prices of essentials like groceries ever higher, at the same time that several pandemic-era safety net programs have been rolled back. The result? A sharp increase in the number of families in the state who report trouble putting enough food on their table week to week.
Advocates say the rise in food insecurity illustrates the tentative financial state of many families here and the important role that pandemic-era assistance played in improving the quality of life for many.
“The only thing that changed with the pandemic is that we created programs that made it easier for people to survive with the cost of living the way it is,” said Jessica Gorhan, social impact and development director of the non-profit New Hampshire Hunger Solutions.
A rollback of pandemic-era aid
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government made it easier for people to qualify for a range of support programs. Most notably, it increased monthly allotments for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, referred to as SNAP or food stamps, giving low-income people more money to spend on groceries.
The federal government did not end the national public health emergency until May of 2023, but it cut back the additional SNAP support months earlier, issuing the last pandemic allotment in February. The impact in New Hampshire can be seen in the numbers: Families in the state reporting insufficient food leapt from 44% of respondents to 54% between February and April, according to Census pulse data. That’s about 50,000 more households struggling to put enough food on the table.
These rates leveled-off a little but have stayed continually high through the summer.
Gorhan said the expansion of SNAP and other similar aid programs during the pandemic brought about a long-awaited policy change that made food more accessible — even though they did not address the larger structural issues behind food insecurity.
In part due to this additional money, New Hampshire saw lower rates of food insecurity during the pandemic, according to the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute. But now those who work to fight hunger in the state say government policy has not kept up with the reality many residents are still facing, where inflation-related food costs linked to the pandemic persist, but the tools designed to help people stay afloat have suddenly gone away.
Eileen Liponis, who leads the New Hampshire Food Bank, said the cut in the additional funding put a significant strain on food-insecure people. Local advocates estimated the average individual in the state saw a $108 cut and the average family saw a $206 cut in their monthly issuance.
Liponis said demand for the charitable food system has been higher since March, with the Food Bank hosting more frequent mobile food pantries for more households.
“Before COVID, we would do maybe six or 10 [mobile food pantries] a year and they would be targeted and probably have enough for 250 families,” she said. “Now we're doing one a week on average [for] 400 families.”
Alice Farry, a new mom in Nashua, is one of those Granite Staters who has been turning to her local food pantry to make ends meet. Alice works full-time at McDonald’s, earning $15.50 an hour, and her boyfriend works 20 hours a week for the same wage, so they narrowly miss the qualifications to receive SNAP benefits. Still, even as a two-income household and some additional support, they struggle to afford enough nutritious food and anything other than “the most basic of basic stuff.”
She says some of the food bank offerings help a little, but her own dietary restrictions and the limited options result in a lot of the food she receives going to waste.
“The fruits and vegetables are great, but they don't particularly last very long, so if you don't eat them in like a day or two then they go bad,” she said. “The dry goods and the canned goods: Those things are very helpful, but there's just only so much that you can do.”
Hunger advocates say that the charitable food system is not designed to be a long-term solution to food insecurity. Instead, they say programs like SNAP offer a more sustainable alternative since they allow families more consistency and choice.
Gorhan sees the reduction of SNAP allotments as a significant step backwards. “They’ve reversed something that's actually fixed a problem,” she said.
Keeping students fed through the summer
Many food-insecure families with school-aged children rely on programs like free and reduced-price school meals during the academic year, so summer vacation presents a particular challenge for them.
During the pandemic, the federal government provided additional money to help feed school children during the summer months, referred to as pandemic EBT or P-EBT. Beginning next summer, this program – now renamed summer EBT – will become permanent, with qualifying families receiving an extra $40 per month for each child. But this year, the program remains opt-in for each state, and New Hampshire likely won’t be able to distribute the additional money until the end of the year.
The Summer Food Service Program steps in to address the need for food when school is not in session by providing free and nutritious meals for students. These food distribution sites are federally funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and administered on the state-level. During the pandemic, any community – regardless of its food insecurity rates – could offer these sites. But now, only areas that meet USDA criteria based on poverty levels are eligible for reimbursement for their summer meals programs.
Laura Milliken, executive director of New Hampshire Hunger solutions, says this prevents food-insecure families who live in wealthier areas from easily getting to sites.
“If there are poor kids living in those [wealthier] communities, they've got to drive longer distances to get to a program,” she said.
Meanwhile, the demand for meals at these sites is growing. Southern New Hampshire Services, which sponsors sites across Hillsborough and Rockingham counties, said it had served 4,000 more meals by mid-summer compared to the same time last year.
The sites are often more than just a place to get food, serving as a community gathering spot for families. On a recent weekday, Abukar Salat brought his children to pick up food at the Elmwood Park site in Manchester, where between 50% and 60% of children qualify for free and reduced meals.
“It's not the food. It's a lot of people out here that care about each other and kids,” he said.
Esperanza Rivera distributed food at the Hunt’s Pool site in Manchester this summer, where many families went to the splash pad to cool off. She said it is important anti-hunger resources come to places like this to make food as accessible as possible. She said the stigma of accepting something free prevented many people, especially parents, from taking meals from her at the summer’s start, but her daily presence made people more comfortable.
Rivera said she does not agree fully with the USDA’s guidelines for the program, which she said are not conducive to feeding as many hungry people as it should. Earlier in the pandemic, sites like Hunt’s pool were granted a “non-congregant waiver,” which meant it could operate on a grab-and-go model. Now, the department dictates that meal recipients in cities like Manchester eat at their distribution site, which Rivera said could discourage some.
“Some of them are already embarrassed for whatever reason when they shouldn't feel embarrassed,” she said. “But I don't think [the USDA] should put restrictions on those people.”
The sites are designed to feed only children, but Rivera will give anyone, including adults, a meal, no questions asked. When she does this, she doesn’t mark them down, so Southern New Hampshire Services — which oversees the program here — does not receive reimbursement for meals from the USDA.
“There’s so many elderly that are vulnerable, and there's so many other people that are vulnerable that are not children and teens,” she said. “So it's like, how can you pick and choose?”
The New Hampshire Food Bank oversees sites in the North Country, where rates of childhood food insecurity are some of the highest in the state, but barriers to food access there look different than in more urban areas. The USDA allowed the non-congregant waiver to remain in place for rural communities this summer, which local anti-hunger advocates say has been helpful in reducing the stigma around food insecurity.
“It's a lot easier for somebody to take food and not have to be embarrassed,” said Travis Shearer, who handed out meals at Groveton Elementary School this summer.
SNAP outreach a challenge
One of the largest barriers to food access in the state is low-enrollment in the programs that do exist, said Milliken. As of 2021, only 50% of people in New Hampshire who qualify for SNAP and only 44% who qualify for WIC, a program for new mothers and infants, were enrolled. Local advocates say this is in part because the state has lacked a SNAP outreach program since 2017. But advocates are hopeful those numbers will improve soon, since the New Hampshire Food Bank was contracted by the state in May to revive the program.
Another aspect of food insecurity is not just access to enough food but to healthy food. The state offers two programs, Granite State Market Match and Double Up Food Bucks, for SNAP participants designed to offer more nutritious options by doubling the amount of money they can spend on locally grown fruits and vegetables. Still advocates say very few people are even aware that these programs exist and often assume places like farmers markets are too expensive.
Morgan Morani, community engagement programs manager for Seacoast Eat Local, estimated that as low as 1% of SNAP participants partake in Granite State Market Match or Double Up Food Bucks.
“There’s not adequate communication [with] individuals who actually receive SNAP that these benefits are available to them and where they can actually use it,” she said.
Liponis says the Food Bank plans to raise awareness about these additional benefits in its outreach program, which it is still in the process of fully planning and implementing.
Milliken said New Hampshire Hunger Solutions and its partners are advocating to change legislation to more closely resemble the pandemic-era support programs, but in the meantime she emphasized the importance of making sure people know the resources that are out there.
“All of us in the state need to think about what are the resources available? Are we using them efficiently?” Milliken said. “How can we get the word out so that nobody needs to go hungry?”
This story is a production of the New England News Collaborative. It was originally published by New Hampshire Public Radio.
|
When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) blocked the first draft of an Advanced Placement African American studies course, he insisted he did not want to eliminate Black history, but only to control it. It might seem that his campaign has succeeded: The College Board announced a new watered-down curriculum that transformed resistance figures such as Frederick Douglass into “Black Conservatives,” even as they insisted the changes had nothing to do with political blowback.
Yet history tells us these efforts to use Black history to teach a heroic story of White America probably won’t succeed in the long run. For more than a century, conservatives have tried to use history classes to infuse students with, in the words of one 1920s activist, “a patriotic and unswerving loyalty to our United States.” They’ve done this by insisting on a curriculum that twists and distorts the United States’ racial history, turning centuries of struggle and oppression into patriotic tales of American heroism. They fear that a more accurate narrative might diminish students’ love of country.
The results have been poor. It has always been hard enough for students to learn basic facts about America’s past. By making it unacceptable to teach the truth of America’s racial history — even when the historical facts are unambiguous — conservatives have managed to ensure that students learn even less.
As historians like Bethany Bell have pointed out, White Southerners tried to control history textbooks in the former Confederacy beginning almost as soon as the Civil War ended. In the 1920s, White conservatives in organizations such as the American Legion and the Ku Klux Klan expanded this campaign across the entire country. Leaders of both groups were aghast at the content of modern history textbooks, such as David Muzzey’s “An American History” (1917), which emphasized the importance of the first importation of enslaved Africans in 1619 and the “Horrors of the Slave Trade.” Mortified conservatives accused Muzzey of focusing too much on the centrality of conflict in America’s past. They charged him with fomenting “class hatred” and racial division.
States such as Wisconsin, Oregon, New York and New Jersey passed laws or considered bills to ban books like Muzzey’s. The 1923 New Jersey bill stated that no textbook could be adopted that “belittles … noted American patriots” such as the slave-owning Thomas Jefferson or George Washington. If a book “questions the worthiness of their motives” it was not fit for students. In the eyes of conservatives in organizations such as the Daughters of the American Revolution, American Legion and Ku Klux Klan, such questioning was anathema, a treasonous attack on America’s uniquely heroic past.
The right didn’t only try to block and remove objectionable textbooks. They also produced one of their own, one that they hoped would “portray,” in the words of one ambitious conservative, “in colorful outline the heroic incidents” of U.S. history. Leaders of the American Legion contracted with Charles F. Horne, an English professor at City College of New York, to write this kind of American history textbook, one that aimed to inculcate the proper patriotism in students.
Horne had an ambitious vision. His book endeavored to tell a heroic story of America that could unify White people north and south. It included Black history and difficult topics such as slavery and genocide — but in a skewed way. The “horrors” of the slave ships were acknowledged as “unspeakable,” but overall, Horne wrote, slavery was a benefit for Africans and a burden for White leaders. As he put it, “The blight of slavery fell less upon their race than on their masters.”
To politicians hoping to capitalize on conservative angst about modern history textbooks, Horne’s book was a smashing success. In the words of Oregon’s Klan-backed Gov. Walter Pierce, “It is the finest history of early America that we have ever had.”
Other readers, however, disagreed. One critic called it nothing but the “old moth-eaten, discredited, and dangerous” history, “the placing of the seal of unquestioning historical approval upon the thoughts and deeds of one’s ancestors.”
Horne’s book didn’t only horrify liberals. Even its backers in the American Legion noted that the book was plagued with “misleading statements … [and] inaccuracies.” In 1925, the Legion withdrew its support and the book languished as a conservative never-ran.
The gap in assessments of Horne’s book stemmed from a divergence of goals. Its champions weren’t concerned with providing the most accurate account of the past. Instead, they wanted a version that would leave students with an uncritical love of the United States.
But as they continued to push for history education that might achieve this goal, they did not recognize that their efforts were only leaving students confused about the past. The evidence showed that students did not retain much from their history classes. One 1915 survey from Texas, for example, showed that students could barely identify the key terms of U.S. history. At the low end, students knew about one in five key terms; even the best students still only identified just under half. Similarly, a 1922 survey from Indiana found a slightly better range of scores, but the top grade was still just under 60 percent. By the 1960s, the average score on a national history test administered by the Cooperative Test Service was only about 55 percent.
Moreover, conservative efforts to minimize the ugly, racist chapters of America’s past seemed also to minimize student learning. Questions about racial topics proved more challenging for students to answer. When scholar Dale Whittington combined the results from multiple student surveys between 1933 and 1944, she found that 81 percent of top students could identify Alexander Hamilton and 60 percent of “A” students could handle questions about the Bill of Rights. But only 46 percent of the highest achieving students knew about the Emancipation Proclamation.
Certainly, there were many reasons for students’ lack of knowledge of school history. But conservative efforts to inject a stunted version of Black history into classrooms played a role — even when they didn’t affect curriculum. As one survey of teachers found in 1941, teachers tended to shy away from any topic considered politically divisive, even if there was no controversy among scholars. As one California teacher told the pollsters, “Controversial subjects are dynamite to teachers.”
History education remained skewed with regard to topics of race and racism throughout most of the 20th century. In the 1940s, textbooks by Harold Rugg were burned in bonfires after critics charged they taught children too much about conflict and racial animosity. By the 1970s, conservative activists in organizations such as the Heritage Foundation led boycotts of textbooks that included Black militant writers such as George Jackson and Eldridge Cleaver.
This conservative pressure encouraged publishers to shy away from addressing painful racial topics. And students’ comprehension about the past has continued to reflect it. In recent surveys, only 8 percent of high school seniors could identify slavery as the cause of the Civil War, and only 10 percent of eighth-graders could explain the reasons for the Confederacy’s defeat.
Despite the signs that their version of history education has left students ill-informed about the past, conservatives keep pushing for it. In the waning days of the Trump administration, the 1776 Commission, a hastily assembled group headed by Larry Arnn, the president of Hillsdale College, released a report that hoped to convince students that their country has always been “an example to be admired and emulated by nations of the world that wish to steer their government toward greater liberty and justice.”
Like its 20th-century predecessors, the 1776 Commission’s report included a deeply distorted version of Black history. It conceded that racial slavery was a “brutal, humiliating fact.” But happily, just as we oppose slavery now, the report argued — in stark contradiction to historical facts — the Founding Fathers “condemned it then.” It was only the Founders’ heroism that “started the new nation on a path that would lead to the end of slavery.”
These objectively false statements, like DeSantis’s grandstanding, are not merely blocking students from learning Black history. They are a brash grab for control of it, one that negates the true story of struggle and inequality and turns it into something that proves the fundamental heroism of White leaders. But the data about historical comprehension indicates that this patently saccharine version of the past probably will do little more than confuse students and leave them with a poor understanding of the past.
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When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) blocked the first draft of an Advanced Placement African American studies course, he insisted he did not want to eliminate Black history, but only to control it. It might seem that his campaign has succeeded: The College Board announced a new watered-down curriculum that transformed resistance figures such as Frederick Douglass into “Black Conservatives,” even as they insisted the changes had nothing to do with political blowback.
Yet history tells us these efforts to use Black history to teach a heroic story of White America probably won’t succeed in the long run. For more than a century, conservatives have tried
|
to use history classes to infuse students with, in the words of one 1920s activist, “a patriotic and unswerving loyalty to our United States.” They’ve done this by insisting on a curriculum that twists and distorts the United States’ racial history, turning centuries of struggle and oppression into patriotic tales of American heroism. They fear that a more accurate narrative might diminish students’ love of country.
The results have been poor. It has always been hard enough for students to learn basic facts about America’s past. By making it unacceptable to teach the truth of America’s racial history — even when the historical facts are unambiguous — conservatives have managed to ensure that students learn even less.
As historians like Bethany Bell have pointed out, White Southerners tried to control history textbooks in the former Confederacy beginning almost as soon as the Civil War ended. In the 1920s, White conservatives in organizations such as the American Legion and the Ku Klux Klan expanded this campaign across the entire country. Leaders of both groups were aghast at the content of modern history textbooks, such as David Muzzey’s “An American History” (1917), which emphasized the importance of the first importation of enslaved Africans in 1619 and the “Horrors of the Slave Trade.” Mortified conservatives accused Muzzey of focusing too much on the centrality of conflict in America’s past. They charged him with fomenting “class hatred” and racial division.
States such as Wisconsin, Oregon, New York and New Jersey passed laws or considered bills to ban books like Muzzey’s. The 1923 New Jersey bill stated that no textbook could be adopted that “belittles … noted American patriots” such as the slave-owning Thomas Jefferson or George Washington. If a book “questions the worthiness of their motives” it was not fit for students. In the eyes of conservatives in organizations such as the Daughters of the American Revolution, American Legion and Ku Klux Klan, such questioning was anathema, a treasonous attack on America’s uniquely heroic past.
The right didn’t only try to block and remove objectionable textbooks. They also produced one of their own, one that they hoped would “portray,” in the words of one ambitious conservative, “in colorful outline the heroic incidents” of U.S. history. Leaders of the American Legion contracted with Charles F. Horne, an English professor at City College of New York, to write this kind of American history textbook, one that aimed to inculcate the proper patriotism in students.
Horne had an ambitious vision. His book endeavored to tell a heroic story of America that could unify White people north and south. It included Black history and difficult topics such as slavery and genocide — but in a skewed way. The “horrors” of the slave ships were acknowledged as “unspeakable,” but overall, Horne wrote, slavery was a benefit for Africans and a burden for White leaders. As he put it, “The blight of slavery fell less upon their race than on their masters.”
To politicians hoping to capitalize on conservative angst about modern history textbooks, Horne’s book was a smashing success. In the words of Oregon’s Klan-backed Gov. Walter Pierce, “It is the finest history of early America that we have ever had.”
Other readers, however, disagreed. One critic called it nothing but the “old moth-eaten, discredited, and dangerous” history, “the placing of the seal of unquestioning historical approval upon the thoughts and deeds of one’s ancestors.”
Horne’s book didn’t only horrify liberals. Even its backers in the American Legion noted that the book was plagued with “misleading statements … [and] inaccuracies.” In 1925, the Legion withdrew its support and the book languished as a conservative never-ran.
The gap in assessments of Horne’s book stemmed from a divergence of goals. Its champions weren’t concerned with providing the most accurate account of the past. Instead, they wanted a version that would leave students with an uncritical love of the United States.
But as they continued to push for history education that might achieve this goal, they did not recognize that their efforts were only leaving students confused about the past. The evidence showed that students did not retain much from their history classes. One 1915 survey from Texas, for example, showed that students could barely identify the key terms of U.S. history. At the low end, students knew about one in five key terms; even the best students still only identified just under half. Similarly, a 1922 survey from Indiana found a slightly better range of scores, but the top grade was still just under 60 percent. By the 1960s, the average score on a national history test administered by the Cooperative Test Service was only about 55 percent.
Moreover, conservative efforts to minimize the ugly, racist chapters of America’s past seemed also to minimize student learning. Questions about racial topics proved more challenging for students to answer. When scholar Dale Whittington combined the results from multiple student surveys between 1933 and 1944, she found that 81 percent of top students could identify Alexander Hamilton and 60 percent of “A” students could handle questions about the Bill of Rights. But only 46 percent of the highest achieving students knew about the Emancipation Proclamation.
Certainly, there were many reasons for students’ lack of knowledge of school history. But conservative efforts to inject a stunted version of Black history into classrooms played a role — even when they didn’t affect curriculum. As one survey of teachers found in 1941, teachers tended to shy away from any topic considered politically divisive, even if there was no controversy among scholars. As one California teacher told the pollsters, “Controversial subjects are dynamite to teachers.”
History education remained skewed with regard to topics of race and racism throughout most of the 20th century. In the 1940s, textbooks by Harold Rugg were burned in bonfires after critics charged they taught children too much about conflict and racial animosity. By the 1970s, conservative activists in organizations such as the Heritage Foundation led boycotts of textbooks that included Black militant writers such as George Jackson and Eldridge Cleaver.
This conservative pressure encouraged publishers to shy away from addressing painful racial topics. And students’ comprehension about the past has continued to reflect it. In recent surveys, only 8 percent of high school seniors could identify slavery as the cause of the Civil War, and only 10 percent of eighth-graders could explain the reasons for the Confederacy’s defeat.
Despite the signs that their version of history education has left students ill-informed about the past, conservatives keep pushing for it. In the waning days of the Trump administration, the 1776 Commission, a hastily assembled group headed by Larry Arnn, the president of Hillsdale College, released a report that hoped to convince students that their country has always been “an example to be admired and emulated by nations of the world that wish to steer their government toward greater liberty and justice.”
Like its 20th-century predecessors, the 1776 Commission’s report included a deeply distorted version of Black history. It conceded that racial slavery was a “brutal, humiliating fact.” But happily, just as we oppose slavery now, the report argued — in stark contradiction to historical facts — the Founding Fathers “condemned it then.” It was only the Founders’ heroism that “started the new nation on a path that would lead to the end of slavery.”
These objectively false statements, like DeSantis’s grandstanding, are not merely blocking students from learning Black history. They are a brash grab for control of it, one that negates the true story of struggle and inequality and turns it into something that proves the fundamental heroism of White leaders. But the data about historical comprehension indicates that this patently saccharine version of the past probably will do little more than confuse students and leave them with a poor understanding of the past.
|
Strong leaders with unwavering voices are required for major changes in our society
The U.S. Capitol on Dec. 18, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images).
In times of a major crisis, discord, division or a crossroads situation where a country or society finds itself at the precipice of what will define its future, a committed leader with a commanding voice emerges.
Who will be that leader — that strong, dedicated and unifying voice to lead us to a solution to end senseless mass gun violence?
History is our greatest teacher.
When a society faces crisis situations that can either define its future direction or could destroy it, a leader emerges.
At critical crossroads in American history, Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War or Franklin Delano Roosevelt during the Great Depression come to mind.
But it need not only be a president or powerful person who carves the right path and direction at critical inflection points of a society in crisis.
It could be a caring and committed citizen determined to bring about needed and meaningful change to make things better.
Below are a few examples of familiar leaders that mobilized a concerned public and brought about meaningful change.
At the turn of the 20th Century, it was Susan B. Anthony, Katie Stanton, Ida B. Wells, Mary Church Terrell and others who worked tirelessly in the Suffragist Movement to secure voting rights for American women.
Later in the 1970s, it was Gloria Steinem and Dorothy Pitman Hughes who took up the cause of getting equality for women in the workplace.
It was Sojourner Truth, and a network of abolitionists — white and Black — who risked their lives to free thousands of slaves through the Underground Railroad.
It was Martin Luther King Jr. and a host of freedom fighters who picked up the baton to lead and run yet another leg in the relay race to secure equal rights and protections for Blacks and poor whites.
There have been many other gains made to improve different conditions and causes in American society by opposing political organizations, views, efforts, and movements. But good outcomes emerged. At the end of the day, many of those efforts improved the quality of life we enjoy today.
Public mobilization has been a necessary component of those achievements.
Why would stopping senseless mass gun violence be any different?
America has been known as a leader, trailblazer and conqueror in so many areas. But she is a laggard when it comes to controlling gun violence. Why can’t we stop the wanton killing and carnage of unsuspecting citizens who are simply going about the activities in their daily lives?
The recent shooting in a Louisville, Kentucky, bank shows once again that no place is safe from wanton mass gun violence. Instead of the emergence of a sustained call for change and course corrections, the loudest voice seems to be one of resignation. There are many things that can be done.
Imagine where we would be as a society if resignation and acceptance were the dominant voice when it came to ending unhealthy, oppressive and abusive conditions.
Would we have ever achieved safe spaces and places for women, children, the poor, the disabled and many other vulnerable groups among us? While there is still work to be done, imagine where we would be if we assumed an attitude of acceptance of wretched conditions.
Tackling the causes of mass gun violence — uncontrolled access to AR-15s and other assault weapons, the ongoing infusion and proliferation of guns and mental illness — will require the same steadfast commitment and vigilance.
Where is the leader or leaders? Where are the coalitions of caring citizens and organizations to bring about the needed policies and regulations to stop mass gun violence?
Most major changes or movements begin small with one or a few people. There are often bursts of activities or protests. We have seen it following many of the horrendous school shootings. Some safety measures have been put in place as a result.
But mass shootings are occurring more frequently in all sorts of places. What will it take to stop this deadly acceleration?
Will it take mass boycotts of public places where merchants feel an economic loss?
The COVID-19 pandemic taught us the economic and social costs of the fear of gathering in public places. Must we get to the place where we alter our normal routines and activities for fear of being gunned down?
Such scenes are not as farfetched as one might think if we continue to witness mass gun violence on almost a weekly basis. Can you name a venue where there hasn’t been a mass shooting?
It seems clear that elected officials at the state level or in Congress seem unable or unwilling to take the necessary steps that have been implemented in other countries to abate or stop gun violence.
Perhaps we should be surprised. But we certainly should not continue to count on a change to come without the public demanding it.
In the meantime, there is a lot that local governmental entities and community organizations can do.
Recently, the public and a few legislators came together at the state house in Tennessee to protest gun violence. Could it be the start of something big?
Stopping gun violence in America is possible. Will strong committed leaders and caring citizens please stand up and apply pressure until a real change comes at the national level?
Such sustained pressure has worked before.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics.
|
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Strong leaders with unwavering voices are required for major changes in our society
The U.S. Capitol on Dec. 18, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images).
In times of a major crisis, discord, division or a crossroads situation where a country or society finds itself at the precipice of what will define its future, a committed leader with a commanding voice emerges.
Who will be that leader — that strong, dedicated and unifying voice to lead us to a solution to end senseless mass gun violence?
History is our greatest teacher.
When a society faces crisis
|
situations that can either define its future direction or could destroy it, a leader emerges.
At critical crossroads in American history, Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War or Franklin Delano Roosevelt during the Great Depression come to mind.
But it need not only be a president or powerful person who carves the right path and direction at critical inflection points of a society in crisis.
It could be a caring and committed citizen determined to bring about needed and meaningful change to make things better.
Below are a few examples of familiar leaders that mobilized a concerned public and brought about meaningful change.
At the turn of the 20th Century, it was Susan B. Anthony, Katie Stanton, Ida B. Wells, Mary Church Terrell and others who worked tirelessly in the Suffragist Movement to secure voting rights for American women.
Later in the 1970s, it was Gloria Steinem and Dorothy Pitman Hughes who took up the cause of getting equality for women in the workplace.
It was Sojourner Truth, and a network of abolitionists — white and Black — who risked their lives to free thousands of slaves through the Underground Railroad.
It was Martin Luther King Jr. and a host of freedom fighters who picked up the baton to lead and run yet another leg in the relay race to secure equal rights and protections for Blacks and poor whites.
There have been many other gains made to improve different conditions and causes in American society by opposing political organizations, views, efforts, and movements. But good outcomes emerged. At the end of the day, many of those efforts improved the quality of life we enjoy today.
Public mobilization has been a necessary component of those achievements.
Why would stopping senseless mass gun violence be any different?
America has been known as a leader, trailblazer and conqueror in so many areas. But she is a laggard when it comes to controlling gun violence. Why can’t we stop the wanton killing and carnage of unsuspecting citizens who are simply going about the activities in their daily lives?
The recent shooting in a Louisville, Kentucky, bank shows once again that no place is safe from wanton mass gun violence. Instead of the emergence of a sustained call for change and course corrections, the loudest voice seems to be one of resignation. There are many things that can be done.
Imagine where we would be as a society if resignation and acceptance were the dominant voice when it came to ending unhealthy, oppressive and abusive conditions.
Would we have ever achieved safe spaces and places for women, children, the poor, the disabled and many other vulnerable groups among us? While there is still work to be done, imagine where we would be if we assumed an attitude of acceptance of wretched conditions.
Tackling the causes of mass gun violence — uncontrolled access to AR-15s and other assault weapons, the ongoing infusion and proliferation of guns and mental illness — will require the same steadfast commitment and vigilance.
Where is the leader or leaders? Where are the coalitions of caring citizens and organizations to bring about the needed policies and regulations to stop mass gun violence?
Most major changes or movements begin small with one or a few people. There are often bursts of activities or protests. We have seen it following many of the horrendous school shootings. Some safety measures have been put in place as a result.
But mass shootings are occurring more frequently in all sorts of places. What will it take to stop this deadly acceleration?
Will it take mass boycotts of public places where merchants feel an economic loss?
The COVID-19 pandemic taught us the economic and social costs of the fear of gathering in public places. Must we get to the place where we alter our normal routines and activities for fear of being gunned down?
Such scenes are not as farfetched as one might think if we continue to witness mass gun violence on almost a weekly basis. Can you name a venue where there hasn’t been a mass shooting?
It seems clear that elected officials at the state level or in Congress seem unable or unwilling to take the necessary steps that have been implemented in other countries to abate or stop gun violence.
Perhaps we should be surprised. But we certainly should not continue to count on a change to come without the public demanding it.
In the meantime, there is a lot that local governmental entities and community organizations can do.
Recently, the public and a few legislators came together at the state house in Tennessee to protest gun violence. Could it be the start of something big?
Stopping gun violence in America is possible. Will strong committed leaders and caring citizens please stand up and apply pressure until a real change comes at the national level?
Such sustained pressure has worked before.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics.
|
During WWI, Missouri's white, middle-class Home Guard filled in for the National Guard
The Great War depleted the states’ National Guard troops, sending them overseas. Missouri was one of the states that backfilled the domestic duties with unpaid volunteers.
During World War I, Missouri was among a handful of states that implemented a volunteer, unpaid version of the National Guard.
A new book from a Missouri University of Science and Technology historian examines the little-known Home Guard.
The United States didn’t have much of a standing army when it entered World War I. So every state’s National Guard was sent overseas. That left no one available to handle the domestic duties normally assigned to the guard.
Gov. Frederick Gardner responded by invoking a state law that allowed him to establish a Home Guard.
“There is no one single reason why men joined the Home Guard,” said Petra DeWitt, author of "The Missouri Home Guard: Protecting the Home Front during the Great War" and an associate professor of history and political science at Missouri S&T. “For some it was simply patriotism, the willingness to do one’s best to help in the war effort.”
The men who joined who were too old or exempt from the draft. They found meaning in helping with the war effort through the Home Guard while also garnering respect from the community.
Since the members were unpaid and had to purchase their own uniforms and supplies, they were predominantly upper-middle-class professionals.
“The poor schmuck who was working 14 hours in the factory didn’t have that money, didn’t have that time. And it’s also an expression of masculinity. These men that sit at the desk, they feel kind of weak,” DeWitt said. “Putting on a uniform and drilling and marching through their community made them feel strong.”
The Home Guard was an unarmed force tasked with protecting infrastructure from potential enemy activities and maintaining law and order during labor activism common at the time.
The Missouri Home Guard had broad support across the state, especially in urban areas including Kansas City and St. Louis, DeWitt said. But there were pockets of resistance.
“In the Ozarks there were a dozen counties where there was no support for them, where there was no desire to set up Home Guard companies,” DeWitt said. “Because those were the areas where there was general opposition to government involvement in daily lives.”
DeWitt’s research also showed there was a barrier for Black men joining the Home Guard.
“In newspaper reports, I found that the insistence by African Americans to demonstrate their patriotism through membership in the Home Guard reflected their and the NAACP’s activism of the time period,” said DeWitt. “At the same time, the pushback by white leaders in the Missouri Council of Defense and the state’s adjutant general also reflected the persistence of white opposition to racial equality.”
Missouri women also attempted to support the war efforts and Home Guard but were met with resistance.
While the Home Guard hasn’t been activated since then, the law authorizing the force remains on the books, and the governor could activate the force again.
"The Missouri Home Guard: Protecting the Home Front during the Great War" was published this month by the University of Missouri Press.
Copyright 2022 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit St. Louis Public Radio.
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During WWI, Missouri's white, middle-class Home Guard filled in for the National Guard
The Great War depleted the states’ National Guard troops, sending them overseas. Missouri was one of the states that backfilled the domestic duties with unpaid volunteers.
During World War I, Missouri was among a handful of states that implemented a volunteer, unpaid version of the National Guard.
A new book from a Missouri University of Science and Technology historian examines the little-known Home Guard.
The United States didn’t have much of a standing army when it entered World War I. So every state’s National Guard was sent overseas. That left no one available
|
to handle the domestic duties normally assigned to the guard.
Gov. Frederick Gardner responded by invoking a state law that allowed him to establish a Home Guard.
“There is no one single reason why men joined the Home Guard,” said Petra DeWitt, author of "The Missouri Home Guard: Protecting the Home Front during the Great War" and an associate professor of history and political science at Missouri S&T. “For some it was simply patriotism, the willingness to do one’s best to help in the war effort.”
The men who joined who were too old or exempt from the draft. They found meaning in helping with the war effort through the Home Guard while also garnering respect from the community.
Since the members were unpaid and had to purchase their own uniforms and supplies, they were predominantly upper-middle-class professionals.
“The poor schmuck who was working 14 hours in the factory didn’t have that money, didn’t have that time. And it’s also an expression of masculinity. These men that sit at the desk, they feel kind of weak,” DeWitt said. “Putting on a uniform and drilling and marching through their community made them feel strong.”
The Home Guard was an unarmed force tasked with protecting infrastructure from potential enemy activities and maintaining law and order during labor activism common at the time.
The Missouri Home Guard had broad support across the state, especially in urban areas including Kansas City and St. Louis, DeWitt said. But there were pockets of resistance.
“In the Ozarks there were a dozen counties where there was no support for them, where there was no desire to set up Home Guard companies,” DeWitt said. “Because those were the areas where there was general opposition to government involvement in daily lives.”
DeWitt’s research also showed there was a barrier for Black men joining the Home Guard.
“In newspaper reports, I found that the insistence by African Americans to demonstrate their patriotism through membership in the Home Guard reflected their and the NAACP’s activism of the time period,” said DeWitt. “At the same time, the pushback by white leaders in the Missouri Council of Defense and the state’s adjutant general also reflected the persistence of white opposition to racial equality.”
Missouri women also attempted to support the war efforts and Home Guard but were met with resistance.
While the Home Guard hasn’t been activated since then, the law authorizing the force remains on the books, and the governor could activate the force again.
"The Missouri Home Guard: Protecting the Home Front during the Great War" was published this month by the University of Missouri Press.
Copyright 2022 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit St. Louis Public Radio.
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A familiar scene is unfolding in Florida as officials tally up the damages from the latest tropical storm. Though feared to be worse, Nicole made landfall on Nov. 10 as a Category 1 storm, though it still caused damage in the tens of billions of dollars across Florida and North Carolina. Nicole is the first tropical storm to hit the U.S. in November in almost 40 years. But just two months earlier, Category 4 Hurricane Ian tore through Florida, causing 137 deaths.
Climate change is making hurricanes more frequent and more destructive. Those of us in prison have little agency over how to prepare. In some cases, prisoners can be the proverbial “sitting ducks” in the path of hurricanes, as their relocation inland or to a safer locale depends solely on correctional administrators.
Every incarcerated person interviewed for this article in my South Carolina facility declined to give his name, out of concern that authorities will frown on them for talking to media. Few doubted the reality of climate change, and many felt it is already too late to reverse its effects.
During preparations for Hurricane Ian, in September, one prison maintenance worker told me: “Well, they got us taping windows and puttin’ away anything that the wind might pick up and hurl. There ain’t really a lot you can do if they don’t wanna send the guys upstate,” he said, referring to prisons in the western parts of the Carolinas.
Most facilities, especially in the South Carolina low country, anxiously watch a hurricane’s progress. Typically the storms make landfall in Florida and travel up Interstate 95, as if on a return trip north after a Sunshine State vacation.
But not always. In recent years, hurricanes making landfall in North Carolina have caused heavy damage to prisons. Hurricane Irene’s effects on Pamlico Correctional Institution, near North Carolina’s Pamlico Sound, is one example.
In 2018, a jail in North Carolina near Elizabethtown was affected by a hurricane. According to one man I spoke with who was incarcerated there, prisoners were rushed to evacuate. Most were unable to pack what meager possessions they had been able to maintain in jail.
“We was wading in knee high water jus’ to get outta the unit. It was scary in the dark,” he recalled. “Man, I had enough time to grab my photos and Bible, but nothing else.”
As Hurricane Harvey battered Gulf states in 2017, some Texas prisons were evacuated, but over 8,000 people across four prisons were left in the storm’s path, according to reporting by The Nation. Some people waited out the storm in flooded prisons without sufficient food or water. Ahead of the monster Hurricane Florence, in 2018, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster issued a mandatory evacuation order along the coast. But as The New Yorker detailed, several South Carolina state prisons did not evacuate, despite lying within the mandatory evacuation zone.
It can be scary for prisoners here with family members in the low country, coastal areas and even in Florida. They are naturally worried but helpless to do anything while behind bars. “What can I do?” asked one inmate who just started a 15-year sentence. “I ain’t there, so I can’t help my people. I gotta pray that God will do what I can’t.”
Some incarcerated people feel the preparations facilities do make for natural disasters like hurricanes is too much. When storms loom, rules might prohibit outdoor activities, visitations and meaIs in dining halls. If generators are needed, cooking stops and meals become cold cuts and cereal. Outside medical appointments get canceled too. Inmates in Carolina prisons are just now beginning to see an easing of lockdown restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic, so when these storm preparations are put in place, it feels to some like a return to the isolation of the pandemic days.
“By the time ol’ Ian gets to us, he’ll be nothing more than a little wind and rain,” said one old-timer ahead of the September 2022 hurricane. He feels the prison system tends to have a knee-jerk reaction to such storms.
Whatever the case, for prison populations in the path of increasingly dangerous storms, the choice about how to respond will remain in someone else’s hands.
Disclaimer: The views in this article are those of the author. Prison Journalism Project has verified the writer’s identity and basic facts such as the names of institutions mentioned.
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A familiar scene is unfolding in Florida as officials tally up the damages from the latest tropical storm. Though feared to be worse, Nicole made landfall on Nov. 10 as a Category 1 storm, though it still caused damage in the tens of billions of dollars across Florida and North Carolina. Nicole is the first tropical storm to hit the U.S. in November in almost 40 years. But just two months earlier, Category 4 Hurricane Ian tore through Florida, causing 137 deaths.
Climate change is making hurricanes more frequent and more destructive. Those of us in prison have little agency over how to prepare
|
. In some cases, prisoners can be the proverbial “sitting ducks” in the path of hurricanes, as their relocation inland or to a safer locale depends solely on correctional administrators.
Every incarcerated person interviewed for this article in my South Carolina facility declined to give his name, out of concern that authorities will frown on them for talking to media. Few doubted the reality of climate change, and many felt it is already too late to reverse its effects.
During preparations for Hurricane Ian, in September, one prison maintenance worker told me: “Well, they got us taping windows and puttin’ away anything that the wind might pick up and hurl. There ain’t really a lot you can do if they don’t wanna send the guys upstate,” he said, referring to prisons in the western parts of the Carolinas.
Most facilities, especially in the South Carolina low country, anxiously watch a hurricane’s progress. Typically the storms make landfall in Florida and travel up Interstate 95, as if on a return trip north after a Sunshine State vacation.
But not always. In recent years, hurricanes making landfall in North Carolina have caused heavy damage to prisons. Hurricane Irene’s effects on Pamlico Correctional Institution, near North Carolina’s Pamlico Sound, is one example.
In 2018, a jail in North Carolina near Elizabethtown was affected by a hurricane. According to one man I spoke with who was incarcerated there, prisoners were rushed to evacuate. Most were unable to pack what meager possessions they had been able to maintain in jail.
“We was wading in knee high water jus’ to get outta the unit. It was scary in the dark,” he recalled. “Man, I had enough time to grab my photos and Bible, but nothing else.”
As Hurricane Harvey battered Gulf states in 2017, some Texas prisons were evacuated, but over 8,000 people across four prisons were left in the storm’s path, according to reporting by The Nation. Some people waited out the storm in flooded prisons without sufficient food or water. Ahead of the monster Hurricane Florence, in 2018, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster issued a mandatory evacuation order along the coast. But as The New Yorker detailed, several South Carolina state prisons did not evacuate, despite lying within the mandatory evacuation zone.
It can be scary for prisoners here with family members in the low country, coastal areas and even in Florida. They are naturally worried but helpless to do anything while behind bars. “What can I do?” asked one inmate who just started a 15-year sentence. “I ain’t there, so I can’t help my people. I gotta pray that God will do what I can’t.”
Some incarcerated people feel the preparations facilities do make for natural disasters like hurricanes is too much. When storms loom, rules might prohibit outdoor activities, visitations and meaIs in dining halls. If generators are needed, cooking stops and meals become cold cuts and cereal. Outside medical appointments get canceled too. Inmates in Carolina prisons are just now beginning to see an easing of lockdown restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic, so when these storm preparations are put in place, it feels to some like a return to the isolation of the pandemic days.
“By the time ol’ Ian gets to us, he’ll be nothing more than a little wind and rain,” said one old-timer ahead of the September 2022 hurricane. He feels the prison system tends to have a knee-jerk reaction to such storms.
Whatever the case, for prison populations in the path of increasingly dangerous storms, the choice about how to respond will remain in someone else’s hands.
Disclaimer: The views in this article are those of the author. Prison Journalism Project has verified the writer’s identity and basic facts such as the names of institutions mentioned.
|
It's the biofuel option that you and your car can use, and scientists hope it could soon be coming to a bowser near you.
- Algae can be used for human consumption as well as a fuel source
- Unlike other biofuel crops, algae doesn't compete for space with food farming
- A Queensland sugar mill is planning to use its wastewater to grow algae for biofuel, with hopes it will one day be available to the public at the bowser
While you might recognise algae growing in your fish tank or floating on a lake, it can be transformed into a human food source that can also power your car.
And unlike some other biofuels, growing algae doesn't compete for space with food crops.
"We see agricultural land being used to produce crops specifically for fuel – sugar-type crops or starch-producing crops," Queensland University of Technology biochemistry associate professor Mark Harrison said.
"That's food that could be going into people's mouths instead of fuel tanks."
While eating algae is becoming more popular, such as nori seaweed or algal oil in dietary supplements, Dr Harrison has no doubt algae will also feature at the fuel bowser.
"We will get to a point where you will go to your local petrol bowser and you will fill up your vehicle with biodiesel produced from algae," he said.
With demand for fossils fuels including coal, oil and gas predicted to peak by the end of the decade, the International Energy Agency is asking countries to embrace clean energy technologies.
The first step is to grow the algae.
In an unassuming paddock next to a sugarcane mill in Queensland's Bundaberg region, the sickly sweet and slightly sour smell of crushing cane hangs heavily in the air.
The site at Isis Central Sugar Mill, 300km north of Brisbane, will soon be home to ponds growing algae fed by the mill's wastewater.
"If it works out properly, we should be able to do it at a viable proposition so it assists the growers to be able to put biodiesel into their farm tractors," chief operating officer Craig Wood said.
"This will reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that the whole industry uses in this area."
The term algae refers to a large group of photosynthetic organisms that use light, water and carbon dioxide to grow.
Mr Wood said the mill would harvest the carbon dioxide created when the mill burnt fibre left over from crushing cane to make electricity and use the nutrients in the wastewater to feed the algae.
Timeline and viability
Dr Harrison said using algae to filter wastewater had many positive flow-on effects.
"It potentially allows that water to be reused in a process within the facility," he said.
Water that did run off would be cleaner, reducing the volume of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus reaching rivers and the ocean where they can cause harmful algae blooms.
But Dr Harrison said scaling up to make algal production a viable business or diversification opportunity would be the biggest challenge.
"There's a lot of technical know-how … but the test is going to be how those processes perform through scale-up," he said.
"[The timelines] will primarily be driven, I think, by the capacity to reach sufficient scale where cost of production comes down to a point where it's competitive with existing fuels in the market."
Dr Harrison said it was part of decarbonising the transport system.
"The transformation of algae into biofuels and the integration of those biofuels into our existing liquid fuel network is one of those key opportunities," he said.
"It's not just about how the fuels are produced, it's also about the regulatory and policy environment surrounding that sector."
Fuel as food
Back at the mill, Mr Wood is hopeful the ponds will be under construction by the end of the year.
"Hopefully by next crushing we'll have a good product coming out," he said.
"We've just got to make sure the feasibility is right, but all our prospects at the moment are looking towards it being a good, viable project."
Mr Wood said the mill may also look at using the algae as a human food source down the track.
"The chances of being able to do that are quite good," he said.
"It would be a good diversification for the algae so we're not sustained on one particular type of product.
"There is no reason why we couldn't go to proteins – that will help with food for everybody, everyone can be eating a green hamburger," he laughed.
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It's the biofuel option that you and your car can use, and scientists hope it could soon be coming to a bowser near you.
- Algae can be used for human consumption as well as a fuel source
- Unlike other biofuel crops, algae doesn't compete for space with food farming
- A Queensland sugar mill is planning to use its wastewater to grow algae for biofuel, with hopes it will one day be available to the public at the bowser
While you might recognise algae growing in your fish tank or floating on a lake, it can be transformed into a human food source that can also power
|
your car.
And unlike some other biofuels, growing algae doesn't compete for space with food crops.
"We see agricultural land being used to produce crops specifically for fuel – sugar-type crops or starch-producing crops," Queensland University of Technology biochemistry associate professor Mark Harrison said.
"That's food that could be going into people's mouths instead of fuel tanks."
While eating algae is becoming more popular, such as nori seaweed or algal oil in dietary supplements, Dr Harrison has no doubt algae will also feature at the fuel bowser.
"We will get to a point where you will go to your local petrol bowser and you will fill up your vehicle with biodiesel produced from algae," he said.
With demand for fossils fuels including coal, oil and gas predicted to peak by the end of the decade, the International Energy Agency is asking countries to embrace clean energy technologies.
The first step is to grow the algae.
In an unassuming paddock next to a sugarcane mill in Queensland's Bundaberg region, the sickly sweet and slightly sour smell of crushing cane hangs heavily in the air.
The site at Isis Central Sugar Mill, 300km north of Brisbane, will soon be home to ponds growing algae fed by the mill's wastewater.
"If it works out properly, we should be able to do it at a viable proposition so it assists the growers to be able to put biodiesel into their farm tractors," chief operating officer Craig Wood said.
"This will reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that the whole industry uses in this area."
The term algae refers to a large group of photosynthetic organisms that use light, water and carbon dioxide to grow.
Mr Wood said the mill would harvest the carbon dioxide created when the mill burnt fibre left over from crushing cane to make electricity and use the nutrients in the wastewater to feed the algae.
Timeline and viability
Dr Harrison said using algae to filter wastewater had many positive flow-on effects.
"It potentially allows that water to be reused in a process within the facility," he said.
Water that did run off would be cleaner, reducing the volume of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus reaching rivers and the ocean where they can cause harmful algae blooms.
But Dr Harrison said scaling up to make algal production a viable business or diversification opportunity would be the biggest challenge.
"There's a lot of technical know-how … but the test is going to be how those processes perform through scale-up," he said.
"[The timelines] will primarily be driven, I think, by the capacity to reach sufficient scale where cost of production comes down to a point where it's competitive with existing fuels in the market."
Dr Harrison said it was part of decarbonising the transport system.
"The transformation of algae into biofuels and the integration of those biofuels into our existing liquid fuel network is one of those key opportunities," he said.
"It's not just about how the fuels are produced, it's also about the regulatory and policy environment surrounding that sector."
Fuel as food
Back at the mill, Mr Wood is hopeful the ponds will be under construction by the end of the year.
"Hopefully by next crushing we'll have a good product coming out," he said.
"We've just got to make sure the feasibility is right, but all our prospects at the moment are looking towards it being a good, viable project."
Mr Wood said the mill may also look at using the algae as a human food source down the track.
"The chances of being able to do that are quite good," he said.
"It would be a good diversification for the algae so we're not sustained on one particular type of product.
"There is no reason why we couldn't go to proteins – that will help with food for everybody, everyone can be eating a green hamburger," he laughed.
|
The Zika virus, a mosquito-borne flavivirus, has been a significant public health threat in recent years. While it has low mortality rates, the virus is known to cause symptoms like red eyes, rashes, headache, muscle and joint pain lasting for two to seven days. But one of the most concerning aspects of Zika is its potential impact on pregnant women and their unborn babies.
The virus also results in congenital Zika syndrome, leading to severe birth defects such as microcephaly, where babies are born with abnormally small heads due to incomplete brain development. This threat to maternal and child health raised alarms worldwide, prompting health authorities to intensify efforts to investigate and understand Zika’s implications on public health.
Now, a study has looked at the risks of Zika infections in pregnant females who have contracted dengue before and harbour pre-existing dengue antibodies. Its findings reveal these mothers have a higher chance of giving birth to babies with severe birth defects compared to Zika-infected foetuses from mothers lacking dengue antibodies.
In order to test out their hypothesis, the research team first infected non-human primates with the dengue virus in order to build immunity. Subsequently, the dengue-immune females were bred and exposed to the Zika virus early in gestation. A control group received Zika infection during pregnancy without prior dengue exposure.
The differences in the outcomes were stark: foetuses from dengue-immune mothers infected with Zika displayed severe microcephaly — a birth defect where a baby's head is smaller than expected. They exhibited head circumferences approximately 40% smaller than healthy foetuses throughout pregnancy, while also showing extensive brain abnormalities, including a thinner cerebral cortex, neuronal destruction, haemorrhaging, inflammation, and calcium accumulation — signatures of severe Zika-related damage.
The control group, however, showed mild to no birth defects, underscoring the role of dengue antibodies in Zika infection outcomes during pregnancy.
These findings may explain why Zika infection outcomes in human pregnancy seem to vary dramatically. The study also opens the door to reducing Zika-related birth defects by devising strategies that target harmful maternal antibodies and prevent them from reaching the fetus. Most importantly, it comes at an opportune time for India, with the country experiencing an upward trend in Zika infections lately.
Heightened Zika Surveillance in Maharashtra
The confirmation of the seventh Zika virus case in Maharashtra, specifically in Pune, over the weekend has prompted the state's health department to issue stringent directives for increased surveillance.
The most recent case emerged in Pratik Nagar in Pune’s Yerwada, involving a 64-year-old woman who began exhibiting symptoms on November 5. Subsequently, the individual received a confirmed Zika virus diagnosis at Jehangir Hospital in Pune on November 9. What is encouraging is that the patient has since recovered, and investigations indicate that her five close contacts have displayed no symptoms. Notably, the patient had previously travelled to Kerala in October.
Meanwhile, comprehensive monitoring within a 5-kilometre radius of the Zika patients’ locations, specifically targeting pregnant women, has been ordered. The emphasis extends beyond childbirth, necessitating sustained follow-ups to ensure continued vigilance and care.
Dr Pratapsingh Sarnikar, the joint director of health, highlighted that Maharashtra has recorded a total of ten Zika cases within the past three years, with no significant reports of widespread transmission or severe complications. However, the imperative for heightened surveillance remains particularly critical concerning pregnant women, owing to the potential risks associated with congenital Zika syndrome.
This development in Maharashtra comes in the wake of rising Zika cases in neighbouring Karnataka, intensifying concerns across the region. Both states are taking proactive measures to combat the spread of Zika.
For weather, science, space, and COVID-19 updates on the go, download The Weather Channel App (on Android and iOS store). It's free!
|
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The Zika virus, a mosquito-borne flavivirus, has been a significant public health threat in recent years. While it has low mortality rates, the virus is known to cause symptoms like red eyes, rashes, headache, muscle and joint pain lasting for two to seven days. But one of the most concerning aspects of Zika is its potential impact on pregnant women and their unborn babies.
The virus also results in congenital Zika syndrome, leading to severe birth defects such as microcephaly, where babies are born with abnormally small heads due to incomplete brain development. This threat to maternal and child health raised alarms worldwide, prompting
|
health authorities to intensify efforts to investigate and understand Zika’s implications on public health.
Now, a study has looked at the risks of Zika infections in pregnant females who have contracted dengue before and harbour pre-existing dengue antibodies. Its findings reveal these mothers have a higher chance of giving birth to babies with severe birth defects compared to Zika-infected foetuses from mothers lacking dengue antibodies.
In order to test out their hypothesis, the research team first infected non-human primates with the dengue virus in order to build immunity. Subsequently, the dengue-immune females were bred and exposed to the Zika virus early in gestation. A control group received Zika infection during pregnancy without prior dengue exposure.
The differences in the outcomes were stark: foetuses from dengue-immune mothers infected with Zika displayed severe microcephaly — a birth defect where a baby's head is smaller than expected. They exhibited head circumferences approximately 40% smaller than healthy foetuses throughout pregnancy, while also showing extensive brain abnormalities, including a thinner cerebral cortex, neuronal destruction, haemorrhaging, inflammation, and calcium accumulation — signatures of severe Zika-related damage.
The control group, however, showed mild to no birth defects, underscoring the role of dengue antibodies in Zika infection outcomes during pregnancy.
These findings may explain why Zika infection outcomes in human pregnancy seem to vary dramatically. The study also opens the door to reducing Zika-related birth defects by devising strategies that target harmful maternal antibodies and prevent them from reaching the fetus. Most importantly, it comes at an opportune time for India, with the country experiencing an upward trend in Zika infections lately.
Heightened Zika Surveillance in Maharashtra
The confirmation of the seventh Zika virus case in Maharashtra, specifically in Pune, over the weekend has prompted the state's health department to issue stringent directives for increased surveillance.
The most recent case emerged in Pratik Nagar in Pune’s Yerwada, involving a 64-year-old woman who began exhibiting symptoms on November 5. Subsequently, the individual received a confirmed Zika virus diagnosis at Jehangir Hospital in Pune on November 9. What is encouraging is that the patient has since recovered, and investigations indicate that her five close contacts have displayed no symptoms. Notably, the patient had previously travelled to Kerala in October.
Meanwhile, comprehensive monitoring within a 5-kilometre radius of the Zika patients’ locations, specifically targeting pregnant women, has been ordered. The emphasis extends beyond childbirth, necessitating sustained follow-ups to ensure continued vigilance and care.
Dr Pratapsingh Sarnikar, the joint director of health, highlighted that Maharashtra has recorded a total of ten Zika cases within the past three years, with no significant reports of widespread transmission or severe complications. However, the imperative for heightened surveillance remains particularly critical concerning pregnant women, owing to the potential risks associated with congenital Zika syndrome.
This development in Maharashtra comes in the wake of rising Zika cases in neighbouring Karnataka, intensifying concerns across the region. Both states are taking proactive measures to combat the spread of Zika.
For weather, science, space, and COVID-19 updates on the go, download The Weather Channel App (on Android and iOS store). It's free!
|
For Bobby Schaeffer, observing the weather in Kotzebue is a crucial daily task. In the continuously changing Arctic, the ocean freezes later in recent years, exposing coastal communities to storms. And the warming waters affect seals and birds that locals rely on for subsistence.
Schaeffer is one of the Inupiaq experts who contributed to almost 10,000 observations about the changing environment in a research paper published in May in the journal Arctic Science. The research project was aimed to continue tracking Arctic change, support documenting Indigenous knowledge and nurture the next generation of Indigenous scholars, said the primary author of the paper Donna Hauser. The next step is finding more practical applications for the observations’ database.
“Arctic Alaskans have been stewarding and monitoring the environment since time immemorial,” Hauser said. “Those voices, I think, in science have been underrepresented. ... So how do we center Indigenous perspectives and observations, particularly ones that have been neglected for a long time period?”
The research paper is based on the data gathered between 2006 and 2021, combining earlier databases with observations from the Alaska Arctic Observatory and Knowledge Hub — the partnership between the University of Alaska Fairbanks researchers and Iñupiaq observers.
During the latest step, between 2016 and 2021, observers from Kotzebue, Point Hope, Wainwright, Utqiaġvik and Kaktovik provided regular reports about sea ice, wildlife, weather and coastal waters and collected data on water salinity and temperature.
In the paper, physical measurements — such as water temperature and salinity — were paired with narrative observations to show what that oceanographic data means for the locals’ food security, travel safety and infrastructure, Hauser said.
“That’s where you get the context of what does it mean that it’s been so hot,” she said. “By pairing those with some community observations, we get the broader, long-term, holistic perspective that comes from the Indigenous knowledge of the place and being reliant on the land.”
Bobby Schaeffer joined the Knowledge Hub as an observer in 2018 but he has been in tune with the environmental changes around him long before that.
“I’ve always been observant because my father was very, very alert to the changes. He was always talking about the changes that he had witnessed during his lifetime” Schaeffer said. “He had really big concerns about how they will affect our ability to hunt and be successful.”
Historically, Inupiaq peoples relied on their observations and stories to pass down their knowledge about the environment, Schaeffer said.
“The way to remember was through language and therefore discussing the changes with others and then talking about the changes to their children,” Schaeffer said.
In recent years, paying attention to the changes in the Arctic has become even more important because “the weather changed tremendously,” Schaeffer said. In the Kotzebue area, he said the seasons are shifting, with spring coming a month earlier and fall arriving much later than in September. The changes are speeding up permafrost melts, increasing the number of coastal storms and affecting travel and food security in the Arctic.
“We talk about the weather all the time. It drives everything: It drives stronger storms. It affects the landscape and especially on the coast, where natural erosion is occurring,” he said.
In 2019, the Kotzebue area saw extremely diminishing sea ice and uncharacteristically early breakup, which allowed bearded seal hunters to start hunting earlier that year, Hauser said. In July of the same year, the water in Kotzebue Sound was so hot that when the hunters would normally be fishing for king crabs, the crabs moved to deeper cooler waters.
This past year, Kotzebue and other Arctic communities were battered by storms, including Typhoon Merbok in September 2022, which hit Western Alaska towns south of Kotzebue the hardest but also affected Kotzebue and even Utqiaġvik.
“We’ve never seen water this high before. People’s homes got washed away,” Schaeffer said. “People’s lives were in danger.”
The importance of recording these changes is clear to Schaeffer.
“You see all this happening but the policymakers are slow to react. If we get past that tipping point, we are at a point of no return,” Schaeffer said. “The reason I’m really concerned is, I have children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.”
In the process of collecting data, scientists worked with the observers to understand what changes they are the most concerned about, Roberta Tuurraq Glenn said. Glenn is a Knowledge Hub project coordinator and co-author of the paper who previously published a story map that communicates the effects of climate change from the perspective of local observers.
To address the priorities and needs of the local observers, several projects based on the observations came about — including the whaling trail mapping project in Utqiaġvik and Ocean, Snow and Sea Ice Monitoring project in Kotzebue.
“People are concerned about Kotzebue Sound, the sea ice conditions and how the ocean chemistry is going to affect the sea ice conditions and their hunting for that year,” Glenn said.
“Overall, the Knowledge Hub researchers and observers are now looking for more ways to connect their observations with people and organizations that can utilize the observations in scientific and decision-making contexts. For example, they are looking into how detailed observations of sea ice conditions can inform the National Weather Service and their sea ice data tools, Glenn said.
“Our database of 10,000 observations — that’s a sitting resource that no one has used or been able to use or has thought to use,” Glenn said. “There is a database of observations here that you can just scroll through, and you can get a sense of what’s going on, of what people care about, of what people are observing, and what those observations mean for community equity and safety.”
Focusing on practical applications of the data also reflects the ability of the Indigenous communities to adapt to the changes around them, Glenn said.
“We’re still hunting animals, and we’re still able to carry out our traditional subsistence lifestyles,” Glenn said. “It’s really important for the outside world to know that we are still here, and we’re still thriving.”
|
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For Bobby Schaeffer, observing the weather in Kotzebue is a crucial daily task. In the continuously changing Arctic, the ocean freezes later in recent years, exposing coastal communities to storms. And the warming waters affect seals and birds that locals rely on for subsistence.
Schaeffer is one of the Inupiaq experts who contributed to almost 10,000 observations about the changing environment in a research paper published in May in the journal Arctic Science. The research project was aimed to continue tracking Arctic change, support documenting Indigenous knowledge and nurture the next generation of Indigenous scholars, said the primary author of
|
the paper Donna Hauser. The next step is finding more practical applications for the observations’ database.
“Arctic Alaskans have been stewarding and monitoring the environment since time immemorial,” Hauser said. “Those voices, I think, in science have been underrepresented. ... So how do we center Indigenous perspectives and observations, particularly ones that have been neglected for a long time period?”
The research paper is based on the data gathered between 2006 and 2021, combining earlier databases with observations from the Alaska Arctic Observatory and Knowledge Hub — the partnership between the University of Alaska Fairbanks researchers and Iñupiaq observers.
During the latest step, between 2016 and 2021, observers from Kotzebue, Point Hope, Wainwright, Utqiaġvik and Kaktovik provided regular reports about sea ice, wildlife, weather and coastal waters and collected data on water salinity and temperature.
In the paper, physical measurements — such as water temperature and salinity — were paired with narrative observations to show what that oceanographic data means for the locals’ food security, travel safety and infrastructure, Hauser said.
“That’s where you get the context of what does it mean that it’s been so hot,” she said. “By pairing those with some community observations, we get the broader, long-term, holistic perspective that comes from the Indigenous knowledge of the place and being reliant on the land.”
Bobby Schaeffer joined the Knowledge Hub as an observer in 2018 but he has been in tune with the environmental changes around him long before that.
“I’ve always been observant because my father was very, very alert to the changes. He was always talking about the changes that he had witnessed during his lifetime” Schaeffer said. “He had really big concerns about how they will affect our ability to hunt and be successful.”
Historically, Inupiaq peoples relied on their observations and stories to pass down their knowledge about the environment, Schaeffer said.
“The way to remember was through language and therefore discussing the changes with others and then talking about the changes to their children,” Schaeffer said.
In recent years, paying attention to the changes in the Arctic has become even more important because “the weather changed tremendously,” Schaeffer said. In the Kotzebue area, he said the seasons are shifting, with spring coming a month earlier and fall arriving much later than in September. The changes are speeding up permafrost melts, increasing the number of coastal storms and affecting travel and food security in the Arctic.
“We talk about the weather all the time. It drives everything: It drives stronger storms. It affects the landscape and especially on the coast, where natural erosion is occurring,” he said.
In 2019, the Kotzebue area saw extremely diminishing sea ice and uncharacteristically early breakup, which allowed bearded seal hunters to start hunting earlier that year, Hauser said. In July of the same year, the water in Kotzebue Sound was so hot that when the hunters would normally be fishing for king crabs, the crabs moved to deeper cooler waters.
This past year, Kotzebue and other Arctic communities were battered by storms, including Typhoon Merbok in September 2022, which hit Western Alaska towns south of Kotzebue the hardest but also affected Kotzebue and even Utqiaġvik.
“We’ve never seen water this high before. People’s homes got washed away,” Schaeffer said. “People’s lives were in danger.”
The importance of recording these changes is clear to Schaeffer.
“You see all this happening but the policymakers are slow to react. If we get past that tipping point, we are at a point of no return,” Schaeffer said. “The reason I’m really concerned is, I have children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.”
In the process of collecting data, scientists worked with the observers to understand what changes they are the most concerned about, Roberta Tuurraq Glenn said. Glenn is a Knowledge Hub project coordinator and co-author of the paper who previously published a story map that communicates the effects of climate change from the perspective of local observers.
To address the priorities and needs of the local observers, several projects based on the observations came about — including the whaling trail mapping project in Utqiaġvik and Ocean, Snow and Sea Ice Monitoring project in Kotzebue.
“People are concerned about Kotzebue Sound, the sea ice conditions and how the ocean chemistry is going to affect the sea ice conditions and their hunting for that year,” Glenn said.
“Overall, the Knowledge Hub researchers and observers are now looking for more ways to connect their observations with people and organizations that can utilize the observations in scientific and decision-making contexts. For example, they are looking into how detailed observations of sea ice conditions can inform the National Weather Service and their sea ice data tools, Glenn said.
“Our database of 10,000 observations — that’s a sitting resource that no one has used or been able to use or has thought to use,” Glenn said. “There is a database of observations here that you can just scroll through, and you can get a sense of what’s going on, of what people care about, of what people are observing, and what those observations mean for community equity and safety.”
Focusing on practical applications of the data also reflects the ability of the Indigenous communities to adapt to the changes around them, Glenn said.
“We’re still hunting animals, and we’re still able to carry out our traditional subsistence lifestyles,” Glenn said. “It’s really important for the outside world to know that we are still here, and we’re still thriving.”
|
The US government has received over 350 new reports of what the US government terms “unidentified aerial phenomenon,” commonly known as UFOs, since March of 2021 – roughly half of which are so far unexplained, according to a report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released on Thursday.
According to the report, the Pentagon office responsible for tracking and studying the sightings has preliminarily identified 163 of the reports as “balloon or balloon-entities.” A handful of other reports have been attributed to drones, birds, weather events or airborne debris like plastic bags.
But “initial characterization does not mean positively resolved or unidentified,” the report cautioned. And the remaining 171 reported sightings of UAPs or UFOs continue to be unexplained by the US government.
“Some of these uncharacterized UAP appear to have demonstrated unusual flight characteristics or performance capabilities and require further analysis,” the report found.
In short, the intelligence community and the Pentagon still appear to have no explanation for at least some of a series of mysterious flying objects that have been seen moving through restricted military airspace over the last several decades. The majority of the new reports came from US Navy and Air Force pilots and operators “who witnessed UAP during the course of their operational duties and reported the events,” according to the report.
Although the report warned that UAP “pose a safety of flight and collision hazard to air assets” that could require pilots to “adjust flight patterns,” the report stated that there have been no reported collisions between US aircraft and UAP to date.
The Defense Department, under pressure from Congress to investigate so-called UFO or UAP sightings, has actively encouraged pilots and other personnel to report unexplained sightings. The intelligence community released its first report on the matter in 2021.
That report examined 144 reports of UAPs, only one of which investigators were able to explain by the end of the study. Investigators found no evidence that the sightings represented either extraterrestrial life or a major technological advancement by a foreign adversary like Russia or China, but acknowledge that is a possible explanation.
Congress in its year-end defense spending bill then required the Pentagon and the intelligence community to study and report on the matter.
The Thursday report showed a dramatic increase in reported incidents since the 2021 report was issued, an increase that investigators attribute in part to “a better understanding of the possible threats that UAP may represent, either as safety of flight hazards or as potential adversary collection platforms” and in part due to “reduced stigma surrounding UAP reporting.”
Although some of the 366 newly identified reports cover incidents that occurred in the 17 years prior to March of 2021, 250 of the recorded sightings have taken place since that date.
The Thursday report acknowledged the ongoing possibility that the sightings may represent a foreign intelligence-collection platform, but investigators do not appear to have amassed any evidence to support that conclusion.
“UAP events continue to occur in restricted or sensitive airspace, highlighting possible concerns for safety of flight or adversary collection activity,” the report said. “We continue to assess that this may result from a collection bias due to the number of active aircraft and sensors, combined with focused attention and guidance to report anomalies.”
The Pentagon and the intelligence community “will continue to investigate any evidence of possible foreign government involvement in UAP events,” the report said.
California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, the former House Intelligence Committee chair, welcomed the release of the report.
“I appreciate the effort undertaken by the ODNI to study and characterize unidentified aerial phenomena reports, and their commitment to ensuring transparency by releasing an unclassified summary to the American public. … Unidentified aerial phenomena remain a national security matter, and I will continue to support thorough investigations of all UAP reports and oversight by the Congress.”
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The US government has received over 350 new reports of what the US government terms “unidentified aerial phenomenon,” commonly known as UFOs, since March of 2021 – roughly half of which are so far unexplained, according to a report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released on Thursday.
According to the report, the Pentagon office responsible for tracking and studying the sightings has preliminarily identified 163 of the reports as “balloon or balloon-entities.” A handful of other reports have been attributed to drones, birds, weather events or airborne debris like plastic bags.
But “initial characterization
|
does not mean positively resolved or unidentified,” the report cautioned. And the remaining 171 reported sightings of UAPs or UFOs continue to be unexplained by the US government.
“Some of these uncharacterized UAP appear to have demonstrated unusual flight characteristics or performance capabilities and require further analysis,” the report found.
In short, the intelligence community and the Pentagon still appear to have no explanation for at least some of a series of mysterious flying objects that have been seen moving through restricted military airspace over the last several decades. The majority of the new reports came from US Navy and Air Force pilots and operators “who witnessed UAP during the course of their operational duties and reported the events,” according to the report.
Although the report warned that UAP “pose a safety of flight and collision hazard to air assets” that could require pilots to “adjust flight patterns,” the report stated that there have been no reported collisions between US aircraft and UAP to date.
The Defense Department, under pressure from Congress to investigate so-called UFO or UAP sightings, has actively encouraged pilots and other personnel to report unexplained sightings. The intelligence community released its first report on the matter in 2021.
That report examined 144 reports of UAPs, only one of which investigators were able to explain by the end of the study. Investigators found no evidence that the sightings represented either extraterrestrial life or a major technological advancement by a foreign adversary like Russia or China, but acknowledge that is a possible explanation.
Congress in its year-end defense spending bill then required the Pentagon and the intelligence community to study and report on the matter.
The Thursday report showed a dramatic increase in reported incidents since the 2021 report was issued, an increase that investigators attribute in part to “a better understanding of the possible threats that UAP may represent, either as safety of flight hazards or as potential adversary collection platforms” and in part due to “reduced stigma surrounding UAP reporting.”
Although some of the 366 newly identified reports cover incidents that occurred in the 17 years prior to March of 2021, 250 of the recorded sightings have taken place since that date.
The Thursday report acknowledged the ongoing possibility that the sightings may represent a foreign intelligence-collection platform, but investigators do not appear to have amassed any evidence to support that conclusion.
“UAP events continue to occur in restricted or sensitive airspace, highlighting possible concerns for safety of flight or adversary collection activity,” the report said. “We continue to assess that this may result from a collection bias due to the number of active aircraft and sensors, combined with focused attention and guidance to report anomalies.”
The Pentagon and the intelligence community “will continue to investigate any evidence of possible foreign government involvement in UAP events,” the report said.
California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, the former House Intelligence Committee chair, welcomed the release of the report.
“I appreciate the effort undertaken by the ODNI to study and characterize unidentified aerial phenomena reports, and their commitment to ensuring transparency by releasing an unclassified summary to the American public. … Unidentified aerial phenomena remain a national security matter, and I will continue to support thorough investigations of all UAP reports and oversight by the Congress.”
|
Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more.
India is bidding to become only the fourth country to execute a controlled landing on the moon with the successful launch Friday of its Chandrayaan-3 mission.
Chandrayaan, which means “moon vehicle” in Sanskrit, blasted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Center at Sriharikota in southern Andhra Pradesh state at just after 2:30 p.m. local time (5 a.m. ET).
Crowds gathered at the space center to watch the history-making launch and more than 1 million people tuned in to watch on YouTube.
The Indian Space Research Organization confirmed on Twitter later Friday that Chandrayaan-3 is in “precise orbit” and has “begun its journey to the moon.”
It added that the health of the spacecraft is “normal.”
In response, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: “Chandrayaan-3 scripts a new chapter in India’s space odyssey. It soars high, elevating the dreams and ambitions of a every Indian. This momentous achievement is a testament to our scientists’ relentless dedication. I salute their spirit and ingenuity!”
The craft is expected to land on the moon on August 23.
It’s India’s second attempt at a soft landing, after its previous effort with the Chandrayaan-2 in 2019 failed. Its first lunar probe, the Chandrayaan-1, orbited the moon and was then deliberately crash-landed onto the lunar surface in 2008.
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|
Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more.
India is bidding to become only the fourth country to execute a controlled landing on the moon with the successful launch Friday of its Chandrayaan-3 mission.
Chandrayaan, which means “moon vehicle” in Sanskrit, blasted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Center at Sriharikota in southern Andhra Pradesh state at just after 2:30 p.m. local time (5 a.m. ET).
Crowds gathered at the space center to watch the history-making launch
|
and more than 1 million people tuned in to watch on YouTube.
The Indian Space Research Organization confirmed on Twitter later Friday that Chandrayaan-3 is in “precise orbit” and has “begun its journey to the moon.”
It added that the health of the spacecraft is “normal.”
In response, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: “Chandrayaan-3 scripts a new chapter in India’s space odyssey. It soars high, elevating the dreams and ambitions of a every Indian. This momentous achievement is a testament to our scientists’ relentless dedication. I salute their spirit and ingenuity!”
The craft is expected to land on the moon on August 23.
It’s India’s second attempt at a soft landing, after its previous effort with the Chandrayaan-2 in 2019 failed. Its first lunar probe, the Chandrayaan-1, orbited the moon and was then deliberately crash-landed onto the lunar surface in 2008.
|
Column: In the desert, history blooms as Arizona tops records with a fifth female governor
The state, which has a proud history of going its own way, boasts another, more salutary distinction: When Democrat Katie Hobbs was inaugurated Thursday, it marked the formal installation of Arizona’s fifth female governor, a number that easily surpasses that of any other state.
(Hobbs took the oath of office Monday as required by the state constitution. The public ceremony was delayed for observance of the New Year holiday.)
Kansas and New Hampshire, the runners-up to Arizona, have had three women serve as governor. Oregon will match that number on Monday when Democrat Tina Kotek is sworn in.
A handful of states have had two. Nineteen, including cutting-edge California, have never had a female chief executive.
So what is it about Arizona? Is it something in the water? Or the lack of it?
The answer, it seems, lies in some combination of the state’s frontier history, the rascality of two sordid politicians and, perhaps above all, an unusual line of succession that has made the secretary of state next up when the governor leaves — or is pushed out — early.
Paradoxically, a dash of sexism may have also helped elevate women to the state’s highest office.
The Bay Area’s Jackie Speier is retiring after more than 40 years in public life that began when she was shot five times in a deadly ambush in Guyana.
From its beginning as a state, Arizona has been less wed than others to traditional gender roles. Unlike in the snooty East, with its fixed ways and straitened norms, it was not unusual to find women holding positions of authority in the less-settled West.
“In large part you’re talking about a cowboy culture where women literally held down the fort, or held down the ranch,” said Stacy Pearson, a Democratic strategist in Phoenix.
Indeed, Arizona’s admission to the union was delayed until 1912 due to its push for women’s suffrage. The 19th Amendment, guaranteeing women the right to vote, was not ratified until eight years later.
Still, accustomed as Arizona voters may have been to powerful women, it was not until 1988 that the state got its first female governor, Democrat Rose Mofford. Because Arizona has no lieutenant governor, Mofford, the secretary of state, became governor when Republican Evan Mecham was tried and impeached for obstructing justice and misusing state funds.
That established a pattern of female secretaries of state moving into the top job. (That same year, Arizona voters overwhelmingly passed a ballot measure cleaning up language in the state constitution to make it clear women were eligible to serve as chief executive.)
In 1997, Secretary of State Jane Hull became governor when fellow Republican Fife Symington stepped down after being convicted of fraud. Hull won a full term in 1998 and became one of the “Fabulous Five” — the women who were elected in Arizona that year as governor, secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer and superintendent of public instruction.
It was the first and only time that a state has been run by an all-female slate of top officeholders.
Arizona’s Democratic Atty. Gen. Janet Napolitano was elected its third female governor in 2002, and Secretary of State Jan Brewer, a Republican, became the fourth in 2009 when Napolitano resigned to lead the Department of Homeland Security under President Obama.
Each of those women struck a blow for gender equality. But some less-than-broad-minded thinking may have also helped contribute to Arizona’s record number of female governors.
The word “secretary” in secretary of state suggests an administrative job that many women — either by choice or lack of options — had been successfully holding down for decades. Many voters, consciously or not, were probably predisposed to support a female running for that office, said campaign strategist Chuck Coughlin, a Republican-turned-independent who helped elect Brewer secretary of state and reelect her as governor.
Serving as secretary of state put Mofford, Hull and Brewer in place to become chief executive when the job opened up.
The post also served as a springboard for Hobbs, the overseer of Arizona’s elections, who defeated Republican Kari Lake in November after the TV personality and Trump wannabe turned off voters by shamelessly parroting his election lies.
A falsehood spread in a Bay Area school board race shows how disinformation is being used even in small-bore elections. “It was only a matter of time,” says one expert.
On the same ballot, voters also approved a measure creating the job of lieutenant governor, to be elected on a joint ticket with Arizona’s governor starting in 2026. Going forth, that underling will take over if a governor leaves office early.
By now, though, it seems women don’t need the beneficial line of succession that made Brewer and the others governor. The Hobbs-Lake matchup demonstrated that.
“I think Arizona voters have simply gotten used to having a woman chief executive,” said Napolitano, who headed the University of California system for nearly seven years before stepping down in 2020 to teach public policy at UC Berkeley.
She wondered when California will break its “gubernatorial gender barrier.”
Good question. Maybe 2026?
Get the latest from Mark Z. Barabak
Focusing on politics out West, from the Golden Gate to the U.S. Capitol.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
|
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Column: In the desert, history blooms as Arizona tops records with a fifth female governor
The state, which has a proud history of going its own way, boasts another, more salutary distinction: When Democrat Katie Hobbs was inaugurated Thursday, it marked the formal installation of Arizona’s fifth female governor, a number that easily surpasses that of any other state.
(Hobbs took the oath of office Monday as required by the state constitution. The public ceremony was delayed for observance of the New Year holiday.)
Kansas and New Hampshire, the runners-up to Arizona, have had three women serve as governor. Oregon will match
|
that number on Monday when Democrat Tina Kotek is sworn in.
A handful of states have had two. Nineteen, including cutting-edge California, have never had a female chief executive.
So what is it about Arizona? Is it something in the water? Or the lack of it?
The answer, it seems, lies in some combination of the state’s frontier history, the rascality of two sordid politicians and, perhaps above all, an unusual line of succession that has made the secretary of state next up when the governor leaves — or is pushed out — early.
Paradoxically, a dash of sexism may have also helped elevate women to the state’s highest office.
The Bay Area’s Jackie Speier is retiring after more than 40 years in public life that began when she was shot five times in a deadly ambush in Guyana.
From its beginning as a state, Arizona has been less wed than others to traditional gender roles. Unlike in the snooty East, with its fixed ways and straitened norms, it was not unusual to find women holding positions of authority in the less-settled West.
“In large part you’re talking about a cowboy culture where women literally held down the fort, or held down the ranch,” said Stacy Pearson, a Democratic strategist in Phoenix.
Indeed, Arizona’s admission to the union was delayed until 1912 due to its push for women’s suffrage. The 19th Amendment, guaranteeing women the right to vote, was not ratified until eight years later.
Still, accustomed as Arizona voters may have been to powerful women, it was not until 1988 that the state got its first female governor, Democrat Rose Mofford. Because Arizona has no lieutenant governor, Mofford, the secretary of state, became governor when Republican Evan Mecham was tried and impeached for obstructing justice and misusing state funds.
That established a pattern of female secretaries of state moving into the top job. (That same year, Arizona voters overwhelmingly passed a ballot measure cleaning up language in the state constitution to make it clear women were eligible to serve as chief executive.)
In 1997, Secretary of State Jane Hull became governor when fellow Republican Fife Symington stepped down after being convicted of fraud. Hull won a full term in 1998 and became one of the “Fabulous Five” — the women who were elected in Arizona that year as governor, secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer and superintendent of public instruction.
It was the first and only time that a state has been run by an all-female slate of top officeholders.
Arizona’s Democratic Atty. Gen. Janet Napolitano was elected its third female governor in 2002, and Secretary of State Jan Brewer, a Republican, became the fourth in 2009 when Napolitano resigned to lead the Department of Homeland Security under President Obama.
Each of those women struck a blow for gender equality. But some less-than-broad-minded thinking may have also helped contribute to Arizona’s record number of female governors.
The word “secretary” in secretary of state suggests an administrative job that many women — either by choice or lack of options — had been successfully holding down for decades. Many voters, consciously or not, were probably predisposed to support a female running for that office, said campaign strategist Chuck Coughlin, a Republican-turned-independent who helped elect Brewer secretary of state and reelect her as governor.
Serving as secretary of state put Mofford, Hull and Brewer in place to become chief executive when the job opened up.
The post also served as a springboard for Hobbs, the overseer of Arizona’s elections, who defeated Republican Kari Lake in November after the TV personality and Trump wannabe turned off voters by shamelessly parroting his election lies.
A falsehood spread in a Bay Area school board race shows how disinformation is being used even in small-bore elections. “It was only a matter of time,” says one expert.
On the same ballot, voters also approved a measure creating the job of lieutenant governor, to be elected on a joint ticket with Arizona’s governor starting in 2026. Going forth, that underling will take over if a governor leaves office early.
By now, though, it seems women don’t need the beneficial line of succession that made Brewer and the others governor. The Hobbs-Lake matchup demonstrated that.
“I think Arizona voters have simply gotten used to having a woman chief executive,” said Napolitano, who headed the University of California system for nearly seven years before stepping down in 2020 to teach public policy at UC Berkeley.
She wondered when California will break its “gubernatorial gender barrier.”
Good question. Maybe 2026?
Get the latest from Mark Z. Barabak
Focusing on politics out West, from the Golden Gate to the U.S. Capitol.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
|
Happy Monday! It’s time for Did You Know.
Yesterday marked the beginning of the Chinese New Year celebrations. This is the Year of the Rabbit.
But did you know Chinese New Year and Lunar New Year are the same celebration?
The holiday is referred to as the Lunar New Year because it follows a lunar calendar and the dates of celebration therefore follow the phases of the moon. It begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends on the first full moon of the lunar calendar, 15 days later. Because it is based on the lunar calendar, the date it falls on within the Western Calendar, a solar calendar, can vary from year to year.
Lunar New Year festivals date back thousands of years and are steeped in ancient legends and rituals. But many of the old ways are still practiced today. According to The Encyclopedia Britannica:
Approximately 10 days before the beginning of the new lunar year, houses are thoroughly cleaned to remove any bad luck that might be lingering inside, a custom called “sweeping of the grounds.” Traditionally, New Year’s eve and New Year’s day are reserved for family celebrations, including religious ceremonies honouring ancestors. Also on New Year’s day, family members receive red envelopes (lai see) containing small amounts of money. Dances and fireworks are prevalent throughout the holidays, culminating in the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated on the last day of the New Year’s celebrations. On this night colourful lanterns light up the houses, and traditional foods such as yuanxiao (sticky rice balls that symbolize family unity), fagao (prosperity cake), and yusheng (raw fish and vegetable salad) are served.
The beauty of the Lunar New Year celebration practices, both symbolic and practical, could and should lead one to consider creating their own tradition of celebrating this incredible celestial cycle. In a time of fear, prejudice, and separatism, we should stop to consider the beauty of other cultures.
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Happy Monday! It’s time for Did You Know.
Yesterday marked the beginning of the Chinese New Year celebrations. This is the Year of the Rabbit.
But did you know Chinese New Year and Lunar New Year are the same celebration?
The holiday is referred to as the Lunar New Year because it follows a lunar calendar and the dates of celebration therefore follow the phases of the moon. It begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends on the first full moon of the lunar calendar, 15 days later. Because it is based on the lunar calendar, the date it falls on within the Western Calendar, a solar
|
calendar, can vary from year to year.
Lunar New Year festivals date back thousands of years and are steeped in ancient legends and rituals. But many of the old ways are still practiced today. According to The Encyclopedia Britannica:
Approximately 10 days before the beginning of the new lunar year, houses are thoroughly cleaned to remove any bad luck that might be lingering inside, a custom called “sweeping of the grounds.” Traditionally, New Year’s eve and New Year’s day are reserved for family celebrations, including religious ceremonies honouring ancestors. Also on New Year’s day, family members receive red envelopes (lai see) containing small amounts of money. Dances and fireworks are prevalent throughout the holidays, culminating in the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated on the last day of the New Year’s celebrations. On this night colourful lanterns light up the houses, and traditional foods such as yuanxiao (sticky rice balls that symbolize family unity), fagao (prosperity cake), and yusheng (raw fish and vegetable salad) are served.
The beauty of the Lunar New Year celebration practices, both symbolic and practical, could and should lead one to consider creating their own tradition of celebrating this incredible celestial cycle. In a time of fear, prejudice, and separatism, we should stop to consider the beauty of other cultures.
|
Climate change and overuse are depleting the Colorado River and threatening the future of the American Southwest. Federal scientists estimate that the river has declined 20 percent over the last century, and they predict it will drop further if the region continues to warm.
Demand for Colorado River water has not dropped to match the dwindling supplies: Cities and suburbs that rely on the river have grown exponentially. Water-hungry industries and a desert region that grows and ships food all over the world continue to expand.
The 20th century was a time for building dams and diverting water across the region to power its growth. Now, water managers and some residents of the Southwest are re-examining our relationship with water to figure out how we can continue to live — and thrive — here with less.
Listen to Parched, a podcast about people who rely on the river that shaped the West – and have ideas to save it.
What if we moved water from the Mississippi River?
As the Colorado River gets overused, replenishing its dwindling water supplies could be as straightforward as piping in water from other U.S. river basins.
This idea of moving water from places where it's considered plentiful to dry regions that need it isn’t new. In the 1960s, a billionaire California industrialist pitched his idea for the North American Power and Water Alliance, which imagined a continent-sized network of water pipelines in the spirit of the U.S. highway system.
There are lots of different versions of this idea proposed to prop up the Colorado River. These include tapping the Missouri River, a tributary of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest or the Bear River in Utah.
But moving water — or floodwater — from the Mississippi River is the idea that has gained the most public attention. It has been touted as a possible solution to accommodate the Colorado River drought by people like comedian Bill Maher and Republican Arizona state legislator Tim Dunn.
Wildfire, water and wolves: Sign up for our weekly Climate newsletter.
The federal government studied some of the water-moving proposals in 2012 and concluded that the two main drawbacks are cost and time.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation estimated it would cost at least $14 billion and take 30 years to build the infrastructure to bring Mississippi River water to the Colorado River Basin. Much of that cost would come from the infrastructure itself, from acquiring the land and rights-of-way to building the pipelines, pumps and other equipment to move water across the country.
But Edie Zagona, a water resources engineer at the University of Colorado, said that was just a guess. Given that it’s been over a decade since the agency released its estimate, Zagona said building a pipeline would likely cost at least $30 billion.
In 2021, Arizona lawmakers, including Dunn, approved a resolution to ask the federal government to resume its formal inquiry into the idea.
Even proponents of this idea acknowledge it would take a long time and couldn’t resolve the short-term possibility that the country’s two largest reservoirs may drop so much they wouldn’t be able to deliver Colorado River water to Arizona and California.
What if we removed salt from seawater?
Humans thirsty for freshwater have always had their eyes on the ocean.
For thousands of years, people have worked to find ways to remove that salt and keep the fresh water. The favored method today is to use membranes that trap salty particles and let the water pass through. With the help of lots of energy to push the water through the membranes, it’s the basic operation behind most modern-day desalination projects worldwide.
The U.S. desalination boom that started in the 1970s has grown to include projects in nearly 36 states. California has embraced it the most. Researchers say desalination could eventually provide as much as half of that state’s potable water, and some people in the regional water planning community hope it could lead California cities to stop using Colorado River water in the future.
But desalination has major downsides.
The first is economic: Desalination plants are expensive to build and maintain, and they need a lot of electricity to power the pumps that push seawater through filters. Ratepayers are usually on the hook for those costs, which disproportionately affect low-income households.
The other major drawback is desalination’s waste problem: The primary desalination byproduct is super salty waste brine that has to be disposed of. Governments and companies that operate desalination plants say this brine can be discharged safely, but environmental groups say the salty plume can kill marine life and disrupt sensitive ecosystems.
However, some proponents say smaller desalination plants and ones built with certain features can offer promising environmental compromises.
In Dana Point, California, the Doheny Ocean Desalination Plant will be built to clean up ocean water for the South Coast Water District. According to plans, the plant will have a smaller footprint and will get 15 percent of its power from a new solar energy project. To prevent the pumps from sucking in and killing marine life, the pipes that draw in seawater will be built under a sandy seabed. Dana Point will also send its salty brine back into the ocean where an already existing wastewater treatment plant does the same.
What if we banned grass lawns?
For ideas on how to cut municipal water use, cities along the Colorado River often look to Las Vegas.
Sin City drew people to this area of the Mojave Desert with the promise of year-round sunny weather and green lawns made of Kentucky bluegrass. It was an oasis in the middle of the desert — except it was unsustainable.
In the late 1980s, when several planned communities were being built, the population in Clark County, where Las Vegas resides, was 700,000. Today, that number is closer to 2.3 million. All of those people need water, which comes almost exclusively from the Colorado River supplies stored in Lake Mead.
By the 1990s, the regional water authority in Las Vegas began paying homeowners and businesses to tear out their grass lawns and replace them with native trees, rocks, cacti and artificial grass. They even created a team of water cops to monitor use throughout the city, which includes educating people and handing out fines. But as Lake Mead has dropped to near-emergency levels, Nevada has had to take more drastic measures.
By 2027, Nevadans won’t be able to use Colorado River water to keep decorative grass alive, according to a state law passed in 2021.
Other cities along the Colorado River are paying attention.
By November 2022, 30 water agencies that supply water from Denver to San Diego committed to removing 30 percent of non-functional grass. But the agreement doesn’t include anything binding. Nevada is still the only state that has banned watering ornamental grass lawns with Colorado River water.
Still, some cities across the Colorado River Basin are realizing that they can do more to save water at a time when every drop counts.
But Vegas’ experience shows the longer those cities wait, the more expensive it’ll be if they do eventually decide to outlaw lawns or require other landscape changes. Since the 1990s, when Nevada first started its cash-for-grass program, the water authority has paid people and businesses close to $300 million to rip out grass.
What if we recycled all of our water?
As freshwater gets scarcer in the Southwest, some people are looking to recycle the water we use in our homes and on farms.
Water recycling, or reuse, is a process that cleans wastewater so that it’s either pristine enough to drink or so it’s at least clean enough to water grass and plants outside.
Just 25 years ago, a federal agency deemed wastewater reuse a “solution of last resort” for our drinking water supplies. In Los Angeles in 2000, public opposition to the idea of drinking wastewater helped shut down a plant that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power had spent $55 million developing.
But since then, at least 15 water utilities in Colorado River states — including in Colorado’s Aurora and Castle Rock — have built facilities that clean their own wastewater to safe drinking standards, and they are sending that water back to taps in people’s homes.
More cities could embrace potable reuse in the years ahead because states are individually passing rules for how the water is cleaned and enacting safety standards for delivering it back to taps.
While only a handful of water utilities in the Colorado River region are actively cleaning wastewater to drinking standards, hundreds of them are recycling wastewater for non-potable uses like outdoor watering, including on golf courses.
Universally, non-potable recycled water comes through pipes and sprinklers that are painted purple to indicate that the water is unsafe to drink. Not every city can afford to lay down the pipes required to deliver non-potable recycled water, nor find customers to pay for the infrastructure, so there are still hundreds of water utilities that are not recycling their water.
In most of the Colorado River region, individual homeowners and multi-family buildings can set up their own reuse systems. Unlike at the citywide level, they can’t reuse all of their wastewater, but they can separate laundry water and bathwater from toilet and kitchen water. The minimally contaminated water is known as greywater, and homeowners can rig up a way to reuse it outside or clean it through a commercial unit to flush toilets or top off pools.
What if we increased the price of water?
Normally when things get scarcer, they get more expensive. But that’s not true with water. Even as climate change makes it less available, we’re not paying a premium price for water.
“Even when you write a check to the local utility, it's not for water. It's for the cost of service,” said Robert Glennon, a water law expert at the University of Arizona. “It's for the cost of the utility to pump the water, treat the water, deliver the water. There is no charge for the commodity of water. None.”
However, there’s evidence that raising the price of water can make people use less. We would have more incentive to conserve or reuse existing water resources if customers had to pay more for a lush lawn.
Tucson, Ariz., experimented with this in the mid-1970s. The city was vastly overusing its groundwater resources and didn’t have access to the Colorado River. It got so bad that the local utility couldn’t guarantee that it could fight fires or deliver water to customers who lived in the hills around town. The sinking water table was also making the ground move, threatening home foundations, sewer pipes, gas lines and anything else buried underground.
This led some members of the City Council in 1976 to raise the price of water. They wanted to encourage conservation and pay for infrastructure to get new water sources.
A few years later, economists at the University of Arizona studied the effects of the change in water rates. They found that people in the city used 45 gallons of water less per day on average. That means people used about a quarter less water than they had before the rates went up.
But the city councilors who had ushered in the changes paid a political price: three were recalled, and a fourth resigned.
“I suspect that what happened to us has scared a lot of people,” said Margot Garcia, who was one of the city officials who was recalled. She surmised that many elected officials are afraid of raising water rates.
Utilities willing to raise water rates need to consider how that might impact low-income residents. One option is to offer subsidies, the way many places do with electricity bills. Another is to keep base rates very low to meet essential water needs. For pricing to effectively influence people’s water use, economists say the prices need to go up precipitously from that base rate to discourage discretionary things like lawns and pools.
Pricing can be a solution not just for cities but for all users of the Colorado River. The biggest user of all — the Imperial Valley farming district in California — is thinking of raising water rates for the first time in decades to nudge farmers to conserve and to raise funds that can be used to modernize irrigation systems to make them more water efficient.
What if we paid farmers to not use their Colorado River water?
Most of the Colorado River’s water is used for agriculture. Farmers and ranchers control some of the basin's oldest and most protected water rights. These two points underscore why some policymakers have endorsed programs that pay farmers and ranchers to keep their water in the river instead of using it for irrigation.
The potential benefits could be substantial, depending on how many farmers volunteer to participate. Enough water could be saved to promote healthy Colorado River flows and preserve water levels in key reservoirs while avoiding mandatory cutbacks in urban and suburban areas.
One key to the success of such a program, advocates say, is ensuring it can pay farmers and ranchers the true value of their water — meaning the payout would need to take into account the financial consequences of getting rid of livestock or letting fields go fallow.
Wildfire, water and wolves: Sign up for our weekly Climate newsletter.
There’s been a lot of interest in this idea recently. The federal government is now allocating millions, and possibly billions of dollars, to programs that pay farmers to pause the use of their water temporarily.
Farmers downstream of Lake Mead can already get paid to keep their water in the reservoir. But many farmers in other areas are reluctant to endorse the idea. This is one reason a proposal for such a program in Colorado and other upper-basin states has failed to gain traction.
Some agricultural producers are also suspicious that these programs have attracted the interest of Wall Street firms that are buying up farmland and water rights. They worry efforts that end up turning water itself into a profitable commodity — instead of the food it grows — could be a long-term threat to farms and surrounding communities.
What if we farmed differently?
A lot of the food eaten in the U.S. comes from farms and ranches in the Southwestern desert. Cantaloupe, lettuce, almonds, dates, cherries and many other types of food are all grown in Arizona and California, which often don’t get more than two inches of precipitation a year.
The water that nourishes these crops comes from the Colorado River through an extensive maze of aqueducts and irrigation ditches that create an agricultural oasis in the desert.
These areas are home to many large-scale farms because they have a lot of sun, and the temperature is steady and ideal for growing crops — all of which add up to a long growing season. Desert farmers, including ones who use Colorado River water, can also control when and how much water their crops get.
Many farmers in the region water their crops by flooding the fields. It’s an irrigation practice that goes back thousands of years and is particularly effective in ensuring the plants get adequate moisture. But it’s not the most efficient form of irrigation, and it uses a lot of water.
In response, some farmers are looking at ways to better use what little rain falls on the area. To do that, they’re employing technology that can determine the best time of day to water crops and reduce evaporation. Other farmers are going one step further and using drip irrigation, which distributes water directly to the crops.
Another way farmers could reduce their water use would be to switch the crops they grow.
One of the Southwest’s most profitable and widely grown crops is alfalfa, and it is notoriously thirsty. Humans don’t consume this variety of the pea plant directly, but dairy and beef cows do, and they eat a lot of it.
The crop is shipped to feed cattle all over the U.S.; it’s even exported to feed cows in Saudi Arabia, which has prohibited growing the hay domestically to preserve its own water resources.
Some farmers are experimenting with growing other types of crops, including Durum wheat, cotton and produce that doesn’t use as much water. Tire companies like Bridgestone have been investing in growing Guayule, which would create a domestic supply of rubber.
Reporting contributed by Michael Elizabeth Sakas
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Climate change and overuse are depleting the Colorado River and threatening the future of the American Southwest. Federal scientists estimate that the river has declined 20 percent over the last century, and they predict it will drop further if the region continues to warm.
Demand for Colorado River water has not dropped to match the dwindling supplies: Cities and suburbs that rely on the river have grown exponentially. Water-hungry industries and a desert region that grows and ships food all over the world continue to expand.
The 20th century was a time for building dams and diverting water across the region to power its growth.
|
Now, water managers and some residents of the Southwest are re-examining our relationship with water to figure out how we can continue to live — and thrive — here with less.
Listen to Parched, a podcast about people who rely on the river that shaped the West – and have ideas to save it.
What if we moved water from the Mississippi River?
As the Colorado River gets overused, replenishing its dwindling water supplies could be as straightforward as piping in water from other U.S. river basins.
This idea of moving water from places where it's considered plentiful to dry regions that need it isn’t new. In the 1960s, a billionaire California industrialist pitched his idea for the North American Power and Water Alliance, which imagined a continent-sized network of water pipelines in the spirit of the U.S. highway system.
There are lots of different versions of this idea proposed to prop up the Colorado River. These include tapping the Missouri River, a tributary of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest or the Bear River in Utah.
But moving water — or floodwater — from the Mississippi River is the idea that has gained the most public attention. It has been touted as a possible solution to accommodate the Colorado River drought by people like comedian Bill Maher and Republican Arizona state legislator Tim Dunn.
Wildfire, water and wolves: Sign up for our weekly Climate newsletter.
The federal government studied some of the water-moving proposals in 2012 and concluded that the two main drawbacks are cost and time.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation estimated it would cost at least $14 billion and take 30 years to build the infrastructure to bring Mississippi River water to the Colorado River Basin. Much of that cost would come from the infrastructure itself, from acquiring the land and rights-of-way to building the pipelines, pumps and other equipment to move water across the country.
But Edie Zagona, a water resources engineer at the University of Colorado, said that was just a guess. Given that it’s been over a decade since the agency released its estimate, Zagona said building a pipeline would likely cost at least $30 billion.
In 2021, Arizona lawmakers, including Dunn, approved a resolution to ask the federal government to resume its formal inquiry into the idea.
Even proponents of this idea acknowledge it would take a long time and couldn’t resolve the short-term possibility that the country’s two largest reservoirs may drop so much they wouldn’t be able to deliver Colorado River water to Arizona and California.
What if we removed salt from seawater?
Humans thirsty for freshwater have always had their eyes on the ocean.
For thousands of years, people have worked to find ways to remove that salt and keep the fresh water. The favored method today is to use membranes that trap salty particles and let the water pass through. With the help of lots of energy to push the water through the membranes, it’s the basic operation behind most modern-day desalination projects worldwide.
The U.S. desalination boom that started in the 1970s has grown to include projects in nearly 36 states. California has embraced it the most. Researchers say desalination could eventually provide as much as half of that state’s potable water, and some people in the regional water planning community hope it could lead California cities to stop using Colorado River water in the future.
But desalination has major downsides.
The first is economic: Desalination plants are expensive to build and maintain, and they need a lot of electricity to power the pumps that push seawater through filters. Ratepayers are usually on the hook for those costs, which disproportionately affect low-income households.
The other major drawback is desalination’s waste problem: The primary desalination byproduct is super salty waste brine that has to be disposed of. Governments and companies that operate desalination plants say this brine can be discharged safely, but environmental groups say the salty plume can kill marine life and disrupt sensitive ecosystems.
However, some proponents say smaller desalination plants and ones built with certain features can offer promising environmental compromises.
In Dana Point, California, the Doheny Ocean Desalination Plant will be built to clean up ocean water for the South Coast Water District. According to plans, the plant will have a smaller footprint and will get 15 percent of its power from a new solar energy project. To prevent the pumps from sucking in and killing marine life, the pipes that draw in seawater will be built under a sandy seabed. Dana Point will also send its salty brine back into the ocean where an already existing wastewater treatment plant does the same.
What if we banned grass lawns?
For ideas on how to cut municipal water use, cities along the Colorado River often look to Las Vegas.
Sin City drew people to this area of the Mojave Desert with the promise of year-round sunny weather and green lawns made of Kentucky bluegrass. It was an oasis in the middle of the desert — except it was unsustainable.
In the late 1980s, when several planned communities were being built, the population in Clark County, where Las Vegas resides, was 700,000. Today, that number is closer to 2.3 million. All of those people need water, which comes almost exclusively from the Colorado River supplies stored in Lake Mead.
By the 1990s, the regional water authority in Las Vegas began paying homeowners and businesses to tear out their grass lawns and replace them with native trees, rocks, cacti and artificial grass. They even created a team of water cops to monitor use throughout the city, which includes educating people and handing out fines. But as Lake Mead has dropped to near-emergency levels, Nevada has had to take more drastic measures.
By 2027, Nevadans won’t be able to use Colorado River water to keep decorative grass alive, according to a state law passed in 2021.
Other cities along the Colorado River are paying attention.
By November 2022, 30 water agencies that supply water from Denver to San Diego committed to removing 30 percent of non-functional grass. But the agreement doesn’t include anything binding. Nevada is still the only state that has banned watering ornamental grass lawns with Colorado River water.
Still, some cities across the Colorado River Basin are realizing that they can do more to save water at a time when every drop counts.
But Vegas’ experience shows the longer those cities wait, the more expensive it’ll be if they do eventually decide to outlaw lawns or require other landscape changes. Since the 1990s, when Nevada first started its cash-for-grass program, the water authority has paid people and businesses close to $300 million to rip out grass.
What if we recycled all of our water?
As freshwater gets scarcer in the Southwest, some people are looking to recycle the water we use in our homes and on farms.
Water recycling, or reuse, is a process that cleans wastewater so that it’s either pristine enough to drink or so it’s at least clean enough to water grass and plants outside.
Just 25 years ago, a federal agency deemed wastewater reuse a “solution of last resort” for our drinking water supplies. In Los Angeles in 2000, public opposition to the idea of drinking wastewater helped shut down a plant that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power had spent $55 million developing.
But since then, at least 15 water utilities in Colorado River states — including in Colorado’s Aurora and Castle Rock — have built facilities that clean their own wastewater to safe drinking standards, and they are sending that water back to taps in people’s homes.
More cities could embrace potable reuse in the years ahead because states are individually passing rules for how the water is cleaned and enacting safety standards for delivering it back to taps.
While only a handful of water utilities in the Colorado River region are actively cleaning wastewater to drinking standards, hundreds of them are recycling wastewater for non-potable uses like outdoor watering, including on golf courses.
Universally, non-potable recycled water comes through pipes and sprinklers that are painted purple to indicate that the water is unsafe to drink. Not every city can afford to lay down the pipes required to deliver non-potable recycled water, nor find customers to pay for the infrastructure, so there are still hundreds of water utilities that are not recycling their water.
In most of the Colorado River region, individual homeowners and multi-family buildings can set up their own reuse systems. Unlike at the citywide level, they can’t reuse all of their wastewater, but they can separate laundry water and bathwater from toilet and kitchen water. The minimally contaminated water is known as greywater, and homeowners can rig up a way to reuse it outside or clean it through a commercial unit to flush toilets or top off pools.
What if we increased the price of water?
Normally when things get scarcer, they get more expensive. But that’s not true with water. Even as climate change makes it less available, we’re not paying a premium price for water.
“Even when you write a check to the local utility, it's not for water. It's for the cost of service,” said Robert Glennon, a water law expert at the University of Arizona. “It's for the cost of the utility to pump the water, treat the water, deliver the water. There is no charge for the commodity of water. None.”
However, there’s evidence that raising the price of water can make people use less. We would have more incentive to conserve or reuse existing water resources if customers had to pay more for a lush lawn.
Tucson, Ariz., experimented with this in the mid-1970s. The city was vastly overusing its groundwater resources and didn’t have access to the Colorado River. It got so bad that the local utility couldn’t guarantee that it could fight fires or deliver water to customers who lived in the hills around town. The sinking water table was also making the ground move, threatening home foundations, sewer pipes, gas lines and anything else buried underground.
This led some members of the City Council in 1976 to raise the price of water. They wanted to encourage conservation and pay for infrastructure to get new water sources.
A few years later, economists at the University of Arizona studied the effects of the change in water rates. They found that people in the city used 45 gallons of water less per day on average. That means people used about a quarter less water than they had before the rates went up.
But the city councilors who had ushered in the changes paid a political price: three were recalled, and a fourth resigned.
“I suspect that what happened to us has scared a lot of people,” said Margot Garcia, who was one of the city officials who was recalled. She surmised that many elected officials are afraid of raising water rates.
Utilities willing to raise water rates need to consider how that might impact low-income residents. One option is to offer subsidies, the way many places do with electricity bills. Another is to keep base rates very low to meet essential water needs. For pricing to effectively influence people’s water use, economists say the prices need to go up precipitously from that base rate to discourage discretionary things like lawns and pools.
Pricing can be a solution not just for cities but for all users of the Colorado River. The biggest user of all — the Imperial Valley farming district in California — is thinking of raising water rates for the first time in decades to nudge farmers to conserve and to raise funds that can be used to modernize irrigation systems to make them more water efficient.
What if we paid farmers to not use their Colorado River water?
Most of the Colorado River’s water is used for agriculture. Farmers and ranchers control some of the basin's oldest and most protected water rights. These two points underscore why some policymakers have endorsed programs that pay farmers and ranchers to keep their water in the river instead of using it for irrigation.
The potential benefits could be substantial, depending on how many farmers volunteer to participate. Enough water could be saved to promote healthy Colorado River flows and preserve water levels in key reservoirs while avoiding mandatory cutbacks in urban and suburban areas.
One key to the success of such a program, advocates say, is ensuring it can pay farmers and ranchers the true value of their water — meaning the payout would need to take into account the financial consequences of getting rid of livestock or letting fields go fallow.
Wildfire, water and wolves: Sign up for our weekly Climate newsletter.
There’s been a lot of interest in this idea recently. The federal government is now allocating millions, and possibly billions of dollars, to programs that pay farmers to pause the use of their water temporarily.
Farmers downstream of Lake Mead can already get paid to keep their water in the reservoir. But many farmers in other areas are reluctant to endorse the idea. This is one reason a proposal for such a program in Colorado and other upper-basin states has failed to gain traction.
Some agricultural producers are also suspicious that these programs have attracted the interest of Wall Street firms that are buying up farmland and water rights. They worry efforts that end up turning water itself into a profitable commodity — instead of the food it grows — could be a long-term threat to farms and surrounding communities.
What if we farmed differently?
A lot of the food eaten in the U.S. comes from farms and ranches in the Southwestern desert. Cantaloupe, lettuce, almonds, dates, cherries and many other types of food are all grown in Arizona and California, which often don’t get more than two inches of precipitation a year.
The water that nourishes these crops comes from the Colorado River through an extensive maze of aqueducts and irrigation ditches that create an agricultural oasis in the desert.
These areas are home to many large-scale farms because they have a lot of sun, and the temperature is steady and ideal for growing crops — all of which add up to a long growing season. Desert farmers, including ones who use Colorado River water, can also control when and how much water their crops get.
Many farmers in the region water their crops by flooding the fields. It’s an irrigation practice that goes back thousands of years and is particularly effective in ensuring the plants get adequate moisture. But it’s not the most efficient form of irrigation, and it uses a lot of water.
In response, some farmers are looking at ways to better use what little rain falls on the area. To do that, they’re employing technology that can determine the best time of day to water crops and reduce evaporation. Other farmers are going one step further and using drip irrigation, which distributes water directly to the crops.
Another way farmers could reduce their water use would be to switch the crops they grow.
One of the Southwest’s most profitable and widely grown crops is alfalfa, and it is notoriously thirsty. Humans don’t consume this variety of the pea plant directly, but dairy and beef cows do, and they eat a lot of it.
The crop is shipped to feed cattle all over the U.S.; it’s even exported to feed cows in Saudi Arabia, which has prohibited growing the hay domestically to preserve its own water resources.
Some farmers are experimenting with growing other types of crops, including Durum wheat, cotton and produce that doesn’t use as much water. Tire companies like Bridgestone have been investing in growing Guayule, which would create a domestic supply of rubber.
Reporting contributed by Michael Elizabeth Sakas
|
- The U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed countries, and seven states have instituted abortion bans while keeping postpartum Medicaid coverage limited to 60 days.
- These states are Arkansas, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin.
- Such a combination could have a devastating effect on maternal mortality rates, experts have told Newsweek.
- States with restrictive abortion bans and laws generally have poorer health outcomes and weaker social safety net programs.
- Studies suggest that 52 percent of pregnancy-related deaths can occur up to a year after birth.
Many U.S. states have for the past year been seeking to extend the healthcare coverage new mothers receive under Medicaid to 12 months after the birth of their child, to protect them during a difficult and vulnerable period.
Some of those states, such as Florida and Georgia, have also legislated to limit or ban abortions following the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court last summer—which experts who spoke to Newsweek have linked to expanding postpartum Medicaid coverage—and many have increased postpartum Medicaid without new limits on abortion being imposed.
However, there are seven states—Arkansas, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin—that have instituted abortion bans while keeping postpartum Medicaid coverage limited to 60 days.
This combination, experts and campaigners believe, will have a devastating effect on maternal mortality rates, and could come to demonstrate why other states have already moved to increase their coverage.
“There is strong evidence that states with restrictive abortion bans and laws have higher maternal mortality rates,” Cat Duffy, a policy analyst at the National Health Law Program (NHLP), told Newsweek.
A 2022 study by the University of Colorado, Boulder, found that a year after a total abortion ban is implemented, the maternal mortality rate is estimated to rise by 24 percent. A similar study by Tulane University in 2021 suggested a 7 percent increase in areas with greater restrictions on abortion access.
As a result of the ban, there would be a greater number of women carrying babies to term, with the risks that go with pregnancy and childbirth—and limited healthcare provision in the months after a child is born makes the period even more dangerous.
“We know that carrying a pregnancy to term has more risks than abortion care,” said Dr. Smita Carroll, an OBGYN in New Mexico and a Physicians for Reproductive Health fellow.
Without extended Medicaid coverage, particularly those from poorer backgrounds, who might struggle to afford medical bills, are less likely to seek care, and health conditions can go untreated.
“The truth of it is, is that when people don’t have access to affordable healthcare, they aren’t seeing doctors—which means they aren’t getting the care that they need, whether it be preventative or not,” said Blair Wallace, a policy and advocacy strategist at the American Civil Liberties Union in Texas.
Why 60 Days of Medicaid Isn’t Always Enough
Even at the most restrictive end of Medicaid coverage, new mothers still have at least 60 days from the birth of their child to seek medical help. However, this is arguably not long enough: a 2020 report by the Commonwealth Fund found 52 percent of pregnancy-related deaths can occur up to a year after birth.
“This potential loss of coverage is important because continuity of health care coverage is critical to catching and treating the health conditions and emergencies that are in part to blame for the United States’ high maternal mortality and morbidity rates,” said Amy Chen, a senior attorney at NHLP.
Carroll said that maternal mortality “is largely preventable,” and maintaining Medicaid coverage for a year allows doctors such as herself to reduce the chance of pregnancy-related deaths, but also treat other medical conditions, such as postpartum depression, diabetes and heart conditions, that can crop up during and after pregnancy.
“Having any barrier to coverage in the postpartum setting is a direct barrier for accessing necessary care,” Carroll told Newsweek.
To compound the issue, “generally it is true that states with the most restrictive abortion laws also tend to have the weakest social safety net programs and poorer health outcomes,” Duffy said, citing a 2022 report by the Center for American Progress, which notes: “States hostile to abortion also have some of the highest rates of uninsured and comprise the majority of those still refusing to expand Medicaid.”
‘In Texas, I Barely Have Reproductive Rights’
For instance, Texas already ranks eighth worst for maternal mortality rates in the U.S., according to the latest figures from World Population Review. Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of federal data shows that half of all births in the state are covered by Medicaid.
“Currently, in Texas, I barely have reproductive rights,” Wallace said. “We are certainly facing a maternal mortality and generally a pregnancy care crisis.”
Wallace said that when she had a child herself, she had to hand over thousands of dollars to get into the hospital to deliver, despite having pregnancy insurance. Without Medicaid supplementing this, she says she would not have been able to afford that care.
“In Texas, there is a long history of the state not putting the money where they say their values are,” she argues. “They say that they value mothers and children, and yet our maternal mortality data does not reflect that.”
A Texas Health and Human Services Commission spokesperson noted that “lawmakers have submitted bills this legislative session to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage to a full year.” As of March 16, it had been left pending in committee. Newsweek reached out to the governor’s office via email for comment on Friday.
Texas proposed extending postpartum Medicaid coverage to just six months in 2021, but was denied approval by the federal government in 2022. While the state government said this would still have had “long-term benefits of improving continuity of care,” the Texas Tribune reported that it had been rejected as the language of the bill appeared to tacitly exclude women who had abortions.
Responding to the proposal in 2022, Jamila Taylor, then-director of health care reform at The Century Foundation think-tank, wrote that while an extension was a good thing, 12-month postpartum coverage was “the ideal and the most evidence-based approach” to avoiding negative health outcomes.
State legislation has been introduced to extend postpartum coverage to 12 months in Idaho in February, and Mississippi and South Dakota in March, respectively, while Wisconsin’s health department proposed a 30-day extension in 2022. A bill to extend Medicaid to a year passed the Missouri senate on March 3, but faces similar issues with wording as Texas’s bill.
However, with abortion bans already in place, the delay in implementing Medicaid extensions poses an immediate problem for pregnant women in the states. Newsweek reached out to the governor’s office and relevant authorities of the six other states, excluding Texas, for comment via email on Saturday.
Similarly, there are other states, such as Utah and Arizona, that have implemented limits on abortion without yet increasing postpartum Medicaid. Arizona submitted an initial application to extend in 2022, while a 2023 legislative effort in Utah was struck down.
Both Chen and Wallace note that maternal mortality rates are disproportionately higher among black and indigenous women. Wallace said: “Black women are two times more likely to die during childbirth than me, as a white woman—that is despicable; there is just no reason for that.” In fact, the Commonwealth Fund found that the rate among black women was 2.5 times higher than white women, and more than double for indigenous women.
According to Chen, there is even disparity in the coverage individual mothers may receive in states with 60-day postpartum Medicaid.
“The technical coverage time is the end of the month in which the 60th day following the end of the pregnancy falls,” she said. “So if your pregnancy ends early in the month it can be closer to 3 months, but if your pregnancy ends later in the month it’s closer to 2 months.”
A Dangerous Time
For states that have instituted anti-abortion laws, to avoid their maternal mortality rates worsening, extending Medicaid coverage provides healthcare workers with a better shot of identifying and treating conditions new mothers may have.
“Having a child is an incredibly transformative period of time,” Carroll said, adding that extended Medicaid “really does help in terms of providing vital care at a really important time of their life.”
Since 2022, Kentucky, Louisiana and Oklahoma have increased post-partum Medicaid coverage to 12 months while instituting full abortion bans. Louisiana has the worst maternal mortality rate of all U.S. states, according to the 2023 figures.
It is as-yet unclear what effect these two interventions will have on maternal mortality rates; due to the coronavirus pandemic, official statistics for 2021 were only released on Thursday.
The Political Dimension
While these states may be viewed as looking to prevent unnecessary deaths as they uphold their anti-abortion stance, Wallace believes it to be cynical.
“Polling goes hand-in-hand with policy, and I think that a lot of these states are realizing that some of the laws they put into effect are wildly unpopular,” she told Newsweek. According to a February Gallup poll, the proportion of Americans dissatisfied with abortion laws has risen significantly, to 46 percent, since 2021.
“In some regards, Republicans are saying, ‘well gosh, what can we do to make us look better in this light?’” Wallace added.
As of February, 47 percent of Texans believe abortion laws should be less strict, according to figures by the University of Texas. In neighboring New Mexico—which has no limits on abortion and 12-month postpartum coverage—since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Carroll says there has been a “large increase” in the number of patients coming to the state from elsewhere, including Texas, seeking abortions.
There are a raft of other states—such as Virginia, California and Hawaii, to name just a few—which have made similar increases in coverage in the past year without changing their abortion laws.
While these changes may not be explicitly linked to the Supreme Court’s ruling on abortion, the U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed countries, of 21 deaths per 100,000 people, according to UNICEF data, making the issue pressing for all states. As studies show, abortion laws are likely to push the nationwide rate higher.
“I would like to think that it’s people just seizing on an opportunity, but also: it’s time,” Wallace said. “There’s just no good reason that our country should have people in these terrible situations where they’re able to go bankrupt… for giving birth.”
The post These Seven States Are Sleepwalking Into a Maternal Mortality Crisis appeared first on Newsweek.
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- The U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed countries, and seven states have instituted abortion bans while keeping postpartum Medicaid coverage limited to 60 days.
- These states are Arkansas, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin.
- Such a combination could have a devastating effect on maternal mortality rates, experts have told Newsweek.
- States with restrictive abortion bans and laws generally have poorer health outcomes and weaker social safety net programs.
- Studies suggest that 52 percent of pregnancy-related deaths can occur up to a year after birth.
Many U.S. states have for the past year been seeking
|
to extend the healthcare coverage new mothers receive under Medicaid to 12 months after the birth of their child, to protect them during a difficult and vulnerable period.
Some of those states, such as Florida and Georgia, have also legislated to limit or ban abortions following the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court last summer—which experts who spoke to Newsweek have linked to expanding postpartum Medicaid coverage—and many have increased postpartum Medicaid without new limits on abortion being imposed.
However, there are seven states—Arkansas, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin—that have instituted abortion bans while keeping postpartum Medicaid coverage limited to 60 days.
This combination, experts and campaigners believe, will have a devastating effect on maternal mortality rates, and could come to demonstrate why other states have already moved to increase their coverage.
“There is strong evidence that states with restrictive abortion bans and laws have higher maternal mortality rates,” Cat Duffy, a policy analyst at the National Health Law Program (NHLP), told Newsweek.
A 2022 study by the University of Colorado, Boulder, found that a year after a total abortion ban is implemented, the maternal mortality rate is estimated to rise by 24 percent. A similar study by Tulane University in 2021 suggested a 7 percent increase in areas with greater restrictions on abortion access.
As a result of the ban, there would be a greater number of women carrying babies to term, with the risks that go with pregnancy and childbirth—and limited healthcare provision in the months after a child is born makes the period even more dangerous.
“We know that carrying a pregnancy to term has more risks than abortion care,” said Dr. Smita Carroll, an OBGYN in New Mexico and a Physicians for Reproductive Health fellow.
Without extended Medicaid coverage, particularly those from poorer backgrounds, who might struggle to afford medical bills, are less likely to seek care, and health conditions can go untreated.
“The truth of it is, is that when people don’t have access to affordable healthcare, they aren’t seeing doctors—which means they aren’t getting the care that they need, whether it be preventative or not,” said Blair Wallace, a policy and advocacy strategist at the American Civil Liberties Union in Texas.
Why 60 Days of Medicaid Isn’t Always Enough
Even at the most restrictive end of Medicaid coverage, new mothers still have at least 60 days from the birth of their child to seek medical help. However, this is arguably not long enough: a 2020 report by the Commonwealth Fund found 52 percent of pregnancy-related deaths can occur up to a year after birth.
“This potential loss of coverage is important because continuity of health care coverage is critical to catching and treating the health conditions and emergencies that are in part to blame for the United States’ high maternal mortality and morbidity rates,” said Amy Chen, a senior attorney at NHLP.
Carroll said that maternal mortality “is largely preventable,” and maintaining Medicaid coverage for a year allows doctors such as herself to reduce the chance of pregnancy-related deaths, but also treat other medical conditions, such as postpartum depression, diabetes and heart conditions, that can crop up during and after pregnancy.
“Having any barrier to coverage in the postpartum setting is a direct barrier for accessing necessary care,” Carroll told Newsweek.
To compound the issue, “generally it is true that states with the most restrictive abortion laws also tend to have the weakest social safety net programs and poorer health outcomes,” Duffy said, citing a 2022 report by the Center for American Progress, which notes: “States hostile to abortion also have some of the highest rates of uninsured and comprise the majority of those still refusing to expand Medicaid.”
‘In Texas, I Barely Have Reproductive Rights’
For instance, Texas already ranks eighth worst for maternal mortality rates in the U.S., according to the latest figures from World Population Review. Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of federal data shows that half of all births in the state are covered by Medicaid.
“Currently, in Texas, I barely have reproductive rights,” Wallace said. “We are certainly facing a maternal mortality and generally a pregnancy care crisis.”
Wallace said that when she had a child herself, she had to hand over thousands of dollars to get into the hospital to deliver, despite having pregnancy insurance. Without Medicaid supplementing this, she says she would not have been able to afford that care.
“In Texas, there is a long history of the state not putting the money where they say their values are,” she argues. “They say that they value mothers and children, and yet our maternal mortality data does not reflect that.”
A Texas Health and Human Services Commission spokesperson noted that “lawmakers have submitted bills this legislative session to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage to a full year.” As of March 16, it had been left pending in committee. Newsweek reached out to the governor’s office via email for comment on Friday.
Texas proposed extending postpartum Medicaid coverage to just six months in 2021, but was denied approval by the federal government in 2022. While the state government said this would still have had “long-term benefits of improving continuity of care,” the Texas Tribune reported that it had been rejected as the language of the bill appeared to tacitly exclude women who had abortions.
Responding to the proposal in 2022, Jamila Taylor, then-director of health care reform at The Century Foundation think-tank, wrote that while an extension was a good thing, 12-month postpartum coverage was “the ideal and the most evidence-based approach” to avoiding negative health outcomes.
State legislation has been introduced to extend postpartum coverage to 12 months in Idaho in February, and Mississippi and South Dakota in March, respectively, while Wisconsin’s health department proposed a 30-day extension in 2022. A bill to extend Medicaid to a year passed the Missouri senate on March 3, but faces similar issues with wording as Texas’s bill.
However, with abortion bans already in place, the delay in implementing Medicaid extensions poses an immediate problem for pregnant women in the states. Newsweek reached out to the governor’s office and relevant authorities of the six other states, excluding Texas, for comment via email on Saturday.
Similarly, there are other states, such as Utah and Arizona, that have implemented limits on abortion without yet increasing postpartum Medicaid. Arizona submitted an initial application to extend in 2022, while a 2023 legislative effort in Utah was struck down.
Both Chen and Wallace note that maternal mortality rates are disproportionately higher among black and indigenous women. Wallace said: “Black women are two times more likely to die during childbirth than me, as a white woman—that is despicable; there is just no reason for that.” In fact, the Commonwealth Fund found that the rate among black women was 2.5 times higher than white women, and more than double for indigenous women.
According to Chen, there is even disparity in the coverage individual mothers may receive in states with 60-day postpartum Medicaid.
“The technical coverage time is the end of the month in which the 60th day following the end of the pregnancy falls,” she said. “So if your pregnancy ends early in the month it can be closer to 3 months, but if your pregnancy ends later in the month it’s closer to 2 months.”
A Dangerous Time
For states that have instituted anti-abortion laws, to avoid their maternal mortality rates worsening, extending Medicaid coverage provides healthcare workers with a better shot of identifying and treating conditions new mothers may have.
“Having a child is an incredibly transformative period of time,” Carroll said, adding that extended Medicaid “really does help in terms of providing vital care at a really important time of their life.”
Since 2022, Kentucky, Louisiana and Oklahoma have increased post-partum Medicaid coverage to 12 months while instituting full abortion bans. Louisiana has the worst maternal mortality rate of all U.S. states, according to the 2023 figures.
It is as-yet unclear what effect these two interventions will have on maternal mortality rates; due to the coronavirus pandemic, official statistics for 2021 were only released on Thursday.
The Political Dimension
While these states may be viewed as looking to prevent unnecessary deaths as they uphold their anti-abortion stance, Wallace believes it to be cynical.
“Polling goes hand-in-hand with policy, and I think that a lot of these states are realizing that some of the laws they put into effect are wildly unpopular,” she told Newsweek. According to a February Gallup poll, the proportion of Americans dissatisfied with abortion laws has risen significantly, to 46 percent, since 2021.
“In some regards, Republicans are saying, ‘well gosh, what can we do to make us look better in this light?’” Wallace added.
As of February, 47 percent of Texans believe abortion laws should be less strict, according to figures by the University of Texas. In neighboring New Mexico—which has no limits on abortion and 12-month postpartum coverage—since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Carroll says there has been a “large increase” in the number of patients coming to the state from elsewhere, including Texas, seeking abortions.
There are a raft of other states—such as Virginia, California and Hawaii, to name just a few—which have made similar increases in coverage in the past year without changing their abortion laws.
While these changes may not be explicitly linked to the Supreme Court’s ruling on abortion, the U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed countries, of 21 deaths per 100,000 people, according to UNICEF data, making the issue pressing for all states. As studies show, abortion laws are likely to push the nationwide rate higher.
“I would like to think that it’s people just seizing on an opportunity, but also: it’s time,” Wallace said. “There’s just no good reason that our country should have people in these terrible situations where they’re able to go bankrupt… for giving birth.”
The post These Seven States Are Sleepwalking Into a Maternal Mortality Crisis appeared first on Newsweek.
|
By Daniel Trotta
(Reuters) – High levels of inflation and increased costs of living are contributing to worldwide hunger, according to a survey of 16 countries commissioned by the humanitarian group World Vision International.
The survey, which comes ahead of World Food Day on Monday, found that 59% of parents surveyed were very concerned about child hunger and malnutrition in their families, with 46% worried about finding the money to buy food.
It also found that 37% of parents said their children fail to receive proper nutrition each day and 21% said their children have gone hungry in the last month.
The percentage of children going to bed hungry rises to 38% in low-income countries. In the United States, 18% of respondents said a child has gone to bed hungry in their home.
“Hunger is a global problem, and it isn’t limited to any one country or part of the globe,” Andrew Morley, the president of World Vision International, said in a statement.
The survey, conducted by Ipsos, polled more than 14,000 people of all income levels.
Among respondents who said their children went to sleep hungry, 46% cited inflation and the cost of living as the main reason. The next two most common reasons cited were low household income (39%) and not enough government focus on ending hunger (25%).
Surging prices have affected economies around the globe due to factors including pandemic-related disruptions to global supply chains and the effects of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Persistently high inflation was the biggest economic concern of economists this year, according to Reuters polls.
The 16 countries included Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, South Korea and the United States where Ipsos surveyed about 1,000 adults in each nation. In Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq and Malawi, it surveyed about 500 people in each country.
Inflation and increased cost of living was the most-cited cause of child hunger in 11 of the 16 countries, reaching a high of 70% in Bangladesh. But wealthy countries such as Canada (68%), Australia (66%) and Britain (66%) also cited higher prices as the main cause.
(This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of Andrew Morley in paragraph 5)
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
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By Daniel Trotta
(Reuters) – High levels of inflation and increased costs of living are contributing to worldwide hunger, according to a survey of 16 countries commissioned by the humanitarian group World Vision International.
The survey, which comes ahead of World Food Day on Monday, found that 59% of parents surveyed were very concerned about child hunger and malnutrition in their families, with 46% worried about finding the money to buy food.
It also found that 37% of parents said their children fail to receive proper nutrition each day and 21% said their children have gone hungry in the last month.
The
|
percentage of children going to bed hungry rises to 38% in low-income countries. In the United States, 18% of respondents said a child has gone to bed hungry in their home.
“Hunger is a global problem, and it isn’t limited to any one country or part of the globe,” Andrew Morley, the president of World Vision International, said in a statement.
The survey, conducted by Ipsos, polled more than 14,000 people of all income levels.
Among respondents who said their children went to sleep hungry, 46% cited inflation and the cost of living as the main reason. The next two most common reasons cited were low household income (39%) and not enough government focus on ending hunger (25%).
Surging prices have affected economies around the globe due to factors including pandemic-related disruptions to global supply chains and the effects of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Persistently high inflation was the biggest economic concern of economists this year, according to Reuters polls.
The 16 countries included Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, South Korea and the United States where Ipsos surveyed about 1,000 adults in each nation. In Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq and Malawi, it surveyed about 500 people in each country.
Inflation and increased cost of living was the most-cited cause of child hunger in 11 of the 16 countries, reaching a high of 70% in Bangladesh. But wealthy countries such as Canada (68%), Australia (66%) and Britain (66%) also cited higher prices as the main cause.
(This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of Andrew Morley in paragraph 5)
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
|
The 15 hottest days, in the world's hottest month
By the end of the week, it is likely that 15 days just this month will have breached an unprecedented global temperature threshold — a clarion wakeup call in the form of extreme weather.
Why it matters: Nearly every facet of the climate system is flashing red this summer, from record-low sea ice extent in Antarctica to hot tub-like ocean waters surrounding South Florida, and all-time high temperature records set in multiple countries on at least three continents.
- And all this is occurring as human-caused emissions of greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels and other sources continue to increase, despite the existence of ever-cheaper technologies to generate electricity and power certain modes of transportation.
Zoom in: Already this month, 14 days have recorded surface air temperatures greater than 17°C (62.6°F) — spikes that have not been seen for roughly 125,000 years.
- In fact, Wednesday marked the 17th straight day with global temperatures hotter than any prior days on record.
Several more records are all but certain to fall in the coming weeks:
- July will be the hottest month on Earth since instrument records began in the 19th century.
- The milestone for the hottest summer worldwide is in jeopardy, according to the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.
- NOAA and the ECMWF has said additional heat waves are likely in coming weeks, particularly if the dominant weather pattern — featuring multiple, stuck heat domes around the hemisphere — is not disrupted.
By the numbers: The heat domes worldwide have been noteworthy for their duration, expansiveness and severity. This is the case even in places famous for hot weather, where people would normally shrug off a hot stretch.
- The overnight minimum temperature Wednesday morning in Phoenix was a sweltering 97°F, an all time high for that location.
- On Friday, the city is forecast to have its record 20th-straight day with a high temperature of 110°F or greater.
- Austin, Texas, has had 10-straight days with a high temperature of 105°F or greater, an unprecedented streak.
Threat level: This heat is not a mere inconvenience or something to power through.
- It is downright deadly, particularly for vulnerable populations including the elderly, young children, those with chronic illnesses and people without access to air conditioning.
- Early figures on heat-related deaths in parts of the U.S., for example, are starting to emerge, and in coming weeks it is likely these will climb.
- A recent study in the journal Nature Medicine found severe heat waves in Europe last summer killed as many as 61,000 people.
The intrigue: The 17°C demarcation line is not a hard climate boundary beyond which ice sheets will melt and the oceans rise inexorably. Rather, it represents yet another warning — a "Stop, turn back" sign on the march to a more treacherous and less familiar planet.
- It is also the product of a modern but not 100% precise method of carefully estimating the planet's temperature on a daily basis.
- It involves computer model reanalysis, in which data from ships, buoys, surface weather stations, satellites and other sources are crunched and calculated in near-real-time.
What they're saying: Forget about the overused expression, "the new normal," to describe our current climate moment. As Friedericke Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London told Axios, "We’re nowhere near a normal."
- "Whenever we stop burning fossil fuels we can begin to figure out what 'normal' means again," Otto said.
- Former NASA climate scientist James Hansen, who rose to prominence by warning the Senate and the American people about the dangers of climate change in the sizzling American summer of 1988, told The Guardian: "We are headed wittingly into the new reality – we knew it was coming."
- He termed humanity "damned fools," saying: "We have to taste it to believe it."
The bottom line: Perhaps this is our taste of the new type of extreme heat, as we transition into even more unstable times. Because this is both one of the hottest summers of our lives, and one of the coolest of the rest of our lives.
|
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The 15 hottest days, in the world's hottest month
By the end of the week, it is likely that 15 days just this month will have breached an unprecedented global temperature threshold — a clarion wakeup call in the form of extreme weather.
Why it matters: Nearly every facet of the climate system is flashing red this summer, from record-low sea ice extent in Antarctica to hot tub-like ocean waters surrounding South Florida, and all-time high temperature records set in multiple countries on at least three continents.
- And all this is occurring as human-caused emissions of greenhouse gases from the burning
|
of fossil fuels and other sources continue to increase, despite the existence of ever-cheaper technologies to generate electricity and power certain modes of transportation.
Zoom in: Already this month, 14 days have recorded surface air temperatures greater than 17°C (62.6°F) — spikes that have not been seen for roughly 125,000 years.
- In fact, Wednesday marked the 17th straight day with global temperatures hotter than any prior days on record.
Several more records are all but certain to fall in the coming weeks:
- July will be the hottest month on Earth since instrument records began in the 19th century.
- The milestone for the hottest summer worldwide is in jeopardy, according to the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.
- NOAA and the ECMWF has said additional heat waves are likely in coming weeks, particularly if the dominant weather pattern — featuring multiple, stuck heat domes around the hemisphere — is not disrupted.
By the numbers: The heat domes worldwide have been noteworthy for their duration, expansiveness and severity. This is the case even in places famous for hot weather, where people would normally shrug off a hot stretch.
- The overnight minimum temperature Wednesday morning in Phoenix was a sweltering 97°F, an all time high for that location.
- On Friday, the city is forecast to have its record 20th-straight day with a high temperature of 110°F or greater.
- Austin, Texas, has had 10-straight days with a high temperature of 105°F or greater, an unprecedented streak.
Threat level: This heat is not a mere inconvenience or something to power through.
- It is downright deadly, particularly for vulnerable populations including the elderly, young children, those with chronic illnesses and people without access to air conditioning.
- Early figures on heat-related deaths in parts of the U.S., for example, are starting to emerge, and in coming weeks it is likely these will climb.
- A recent study in the journal Nature Medicine found severe heat waves in Europe last summer killed as many as 61,000 people.
The intrigue: The 17°C demarcation line is not a hard climate boundary beyond which ice sheets will melt and the oceans rise inexorably. Rather, it represents yet another warning — a "Stop, turn back" sign on the march to a more treacherous and less familiar planet.
- It is also the product of a modern but not 100% precise method of carefully estimating the planet's temperature on a daily basis.
- It involves computer model reanalysis, in which data from ships, buoys, surface weather stations, satellites and other sources are crunched and calculated in near-real-time.
What they're saying: Forget about the overused expression, "the new normal," to describe our current climate moment. As Friedericke Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London told Axios, "We’re nowhere near a normal."
- "Whenever we stop burning fossil fuels we can begin to figure out what 'normal' means again," Otto said.
- Former NASA climate scientist James Hansen, who rose to prominence by warning the Senate and the American people about the dangers of climate change in the sizzling American summer of 1988, told The Guardian: "We are headed wittingly into the new reality – we knew it was coming."
- He termed humanity "damned fools," saying: "We have to taste it to believe it."
The bottom line: Perhaps this is our taste of the new type of extreme heat, as we transition into even more unstable times. Because this is both one of the hottest summers of our lives, and one of the coolest of the rest of our lives.
|
Almost 40% of jobs around the world could be affected by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), a trend that is likely to deepen inequality, according to the International Monetary Fund. In a Sunday blog post, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva called for governments to establish social safety nets and offer retraining programs to counter the impact of AI. “In most scenarios, AI will likely worsen overall inequality, a troubling trend that policymakers must proactively address to prevent the technology from further stoking social tensions,” she wrote ahead of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, where the topic is set to be high on the agenda. The ski resort town of Davos was already bedecked with AI advertisements and branding as the summit got underway Monday. Sam Altman, chief executive of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, and his biggest backer — Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella — will speak at the event later this week as part of a program that includes a debate Tuesday on “Generative AI: Steam Engine of the Fourth Industrial Revolution?” As AI continues to be adapted by more workers and businesses, it’s expected to both help and hurt the human workforce, Georgieva noted in her blog. Echoing previous warnings from other experts, Georgieva said the effects were expected to be felt more deeply in advanced economies than emerging markets, partly because white-collar workers are seen to be more at risk than manual laborers. In more developed economies, for example, as much as 60% of jobs could be impacted by AI. Approximately half of those may benefit from how AI promotes higher productivity, she said. “For the other half, AI applications may execute key tasks currently performed by humans, which could lower labor demand, leading to lower wages and reduced hiring,” wrote Georgieva, citing the IMF’s analysis. “In the most extreme cases, some of these jobs may disappear.” In emerging markets and lower income nations, 40% and 26% of jobs are expected to be affected by AI, respectively. Emerging markets refer to places such as India and Brazil with sustained economic growth, while low-income countries refer to developing economies with per capita income falling within a certain level such as Burundi and Sierra Leone. “Many of these countries don’t have the infrastructure or skilled workforces to harness the benefits of AI, raising the risk that over time the technology could worsen inequality,” noted Georgieva. She warned that the use of AI could increase chances of social unrest, particularly if younger, less experienced workers seized on the technology as a way to help boost their output while more senior workers struggle to keep up. AI became a hot topic at the WEF in Davos last year as ChatGPT took the world by storm. The chatbot sensation, which is powered by generative AI, sparked conversations on how it could change the way people work around the world due to its ability to write essays, speeches, poems and more. Since then, upgrades to the technology have expanded the use of AI chatbots and systems, making them more mainstream and spurring massive investment. Some tech firms have already directly pointed to AI as a reason they are rethinking staffing levels. While workplaces may shift, widespread adoption of AI could ultimately increase labor productivity and boost global GDP by 7% annually over a 10-year period, according to a March 2023 estimate by Goldman Sachs economists. Georgieva, in her blog post, also cited opportunities to boost output and incomes around the world with the use of AI. “AI will transform the global economy,” she wrote. “Let’s make sure it benefits humanity.” Rob North in Davos contributed reporting.
|
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Almost 40% of jobs around the world could be affected by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), a trend that is likely to deepen inequality, according to the International Monetary Fund. In a Sunday blog post, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva called for governments to establish social safety nets and offer retraining programs to counter the impact of AI. “In most scenarios, AI will likely worsen overall inequality, a troubling trend that policymakers must proactively address to prevent the technology from further stoking social tensions,” she wrote ahead of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in
|
Davos, Switzerland, where the topic is set to be high on the agenda. The ski resort town of Davos was already bedecked with AI advertisements and branding as the summit got underway Monday. Sam Altman, chief executive of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, and his biggest backer — Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella — will speak at the event later this week as part of a program that includes a debate Tuesday on “Generative AI: Steam Engine of the Fourth Industrial Revolution?” As AI continues to be adapted by more workers and businesses, it’s expected to both help and hurt the human workforce, Georgieva noted in her blog. Echoing previous warnings from other experts, Georgieva said the effects were expected to be felt more deeply in advanced economies than emerging markets, partly because white-collar workers are seen to be more at risk than manual laborers. In more developed economies, for example, as much as 60% of jobs could be impacted by AI. Approximately half of those may benefit from how AI promotes higher productivity, she said. “For the other half, AI applications may execute key tasks currently performed by humans, which could lower labor demand, leading to lower wages and reduced hiring,” wrote Georgieva, citing the IMF’s analysis. “In the most extreme cases, some of these jobs may disappear.” In emerging markets and lower income nations, 40% and 26% of jobs are expected to be affected by AI, respectively. Emerging markets refer to places such as India and Brazil with sustained economic growth, while low-income countries refer to developing economies with per capita income falling within a certain level such as Burundi and Sierra Leone. “Many of these countries don’t have the infrastructure or skilled workforces to harness the benefits of AI, raising the risk that over time the technology could worsen inequality,” noted Georgieva. She warned that the use of AI could increase chances of social unrest, particularly if younger, less experienced workers seized on the technology as a way to help boost their output while more senior workers struggle to keep up. AI became a hot topic at the WEF in Davos last year as ChatGPT took the world by storm. The chatbot sensation, which is powered by generative AI, sparked conversations on how it could change the way people work around the world due to its ability to write essays, speeches, poems and more. Since then, upgrades to the technology have expanded the use of AI chatbots and systems, making them more mainstream and spurring massive investment. Some tech firms have already directly pointed to AI as a reason they are rethinking staffing levels. While workplaces may shift, widespread adoption of AI could ultimately increase labor productivity and boost global GDP by 7% annually over a 10-year period, according to a March 2023 estimate by Goldman Sachs economists. Georgieva, in her blog post, also cited opportunities to boost output and incomes around the world with the use of AI. “AI will transform the global economy,” she wrote. “Let’s make sure it benefits humanity.” Rob North in Davos contributed reporting.
|
Monitoring California's repeat storms from the Berkeley Snow Lab
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has now put the majority of counties in the state under an emergency proclamation, as an atmospheric river bears down on parts of the state. In some higher-elevation communities, snow is falling on top of huge amounts already burying cars and homes.
Here & Now‘s Celeste Headlee spoke with Andrew Schwartz, lead scientist at the University of California Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab where he lives. It’s nestled in the Central Sierra Nevada in Soda Springs.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
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|
Monitoring California's repeat storms from the Berkeley Snow Lab
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has now put the majority of counties in the state under an emergency proclamation, as an atmospheric river bears down on parts of the state. In some higher-elevation communities, snow is falling on top of huge amounts already burying cars and homes.
Here & Now‘s Celeste Headlee spoke with Andrew Schwartz, lead scientist at the University of California Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab where he lives. It’s nestled in the Central Sierra Nevada in Soda Springs.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2023 NPR
|
. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
|
Teenagers in Ireland are among the best in the world at reading, according to tests taken by 15-year-olds in 81 countries and regions.
The Pisa tests, run by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) every three years, also show Irish teens perform significantly better than average in maths and science.
Overall, 15-year-olds in Ireland score highest for reading (second, up from eighth in 2018) and above average for maths (11th, up from 21st) and science (12th, up from 22nd).
In reading only Singapore ranked higher than Ireland, followed by Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Estonia.
However, the performance of students at maths slipped significantly in Ireland since the last study in 2018. Science improved and reading remained broadly the same.
The fact that many other EU and OECD countries saw declines across these areas resulted in Ireland climbing up the rankings.
The Pisa tests, which were delayed from 2021 due to the pandemic, were carried out by 600,000 15-year-olds across jurisdictions which included 37 developed OECD countries and 26 EU member states. In Ireland, more than 5,500 students in 170 schools participated in the Pisa tests.
Ireland’s broadly positive performance comes despite challenges such as disruption caused by Covid-19 and will also likely be seen as a vote of confidence in highly contested Junior Cycle reforms.
A note of caution, however, has been sounded by statisticians who say the sample number of students in Ireland who completed standardised tests in October and November last year was under the minimum threshold.
This likely led to more higher achievers sitting tests in Ireland compared to previous years which, in turn, may have slightly inflated our results.
One source of concern is that Ireland has significantly fewer high-achieving students in maths and science compared to other developed countries.
This trend has been notable since 2012 and raises questions over whether our most talented students are being challenged enough.
On a positive note, Ireland has a smaller proportion of low-achieving pupils compared to most other countries.
This, say researchers, is likely to be the result of a focus on tackling literacy and numeracy in recent years, as well as investment in disadvantaged or Deis schools.
The variation in performance between schools in Ireland is also lower than many other countries – a sign Irish secondary schools are more equitable compared to other developed countries.
When broken down by gender, the results show girls in Ireland significantly outperform boys in reading. However, boys outperform girls in maths, while there is no sign of a gender gap in science.
Minister for Education Norma Foley welcomed the findings as “extremely positive news for Ireland”.
“We have retained our place among a small set of high achieving countries at a time where particular strain was put on school communities globally due to Covid-19. We have also ensured that the number of low achieving students remains among the lowest in the 81 countries tested,” she said.
Ms Foley added that although the pandemic presented unprecedented challenges, the resilience shown by schools during that time was to be commended.
The global findings show students in east Asian countries such as Singapore, China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong dominate the rankings and outperform most other countries in reading, maths and science.
In maths, Singapore was top, followed by Japan, China and Taiwan, while in science Singapore was also top, followed by Japan, China and Taiwan.
A breakdown of the scores shows these countries have significantly more high achievers than in Ireland.
Department of Education officials say there is scope to make progress on this in Ireland through developments in curriculum, teaching and policy. It has established a working group to develop a policy on students who are exceptionally able or gifted.
On the positive side, officials believe that fact we have fewer low achievers than average is a sign of the success of a range of initiatives such as the Deis system of supports for school in more deprived areas, as well as literacy and numeracy strategies.
The decline in maths performance among Irish students will also raise eyebrows, even if Ireland climbed up the rankings due to poorer scores for students in comparator countries. Officials say policymakers can learn from these results and put measures in place to help to further develop our students’ critical thinking, for example.
The increase in science score for Irish students comes as on the back of changes to the Junior Cycle science curriculum that have proved controversial among some teachers. Officials, however, believe we are seeing the effects of the changes in the system and will continue to see this develop over time.
Try a Pisa question:
This is an example of the kind of problem-solving and critical thinking skills that Pisa aims to measure among 15-year-olds. on a global scale. Can you solve it?
Unlike traditional assessments, Pisa seeks to assess not just students’ ability to reproduce learned material but also their capacity to apply knowledge creatively in unexpected scenarios, think critically across disciplines and demonstrate effective learning strategies.
While some critics argue that Pisa tests are unfair as they present students with unfamiliar problems, the OECD argues that life is full of unforeseen challenges. In the real world, it says, people must solve problems that they have not anticipated; it is not just about remembering lessons in a classroom.
Note: the answer to the triangular pattern question is 40.0%.
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Teenagers in Ireland are among the best in the world at reading, according to tests taken by 15-year-olds in 81 countries and regions.
The Pisa tests, run by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) every three years, also show Irish teens perform significantly better than average in maths and science.
Overall, 15-year-olds in Ireland score highest for reading (second, up from eighth in 2018) and above average for maths (11th, up from 21st) and science (12th, up from 22nd).
In
|
reading only Singapore ranked higher than Ireland, followed by Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Estonia.
However, the performance of students at maths slipped significantly in Ireland since the last study in 2018. Science improved and reading remained broadly the same.
The fact that many other EU and OECD countries saw declines across these areas resulted in Ireland climbing up the rankings.
The Pisa tests, which were delayed from 2021 due to the pandemic, were carried out by 600,000 15-year-olds across jurisdictions which included 37 developed OECD countries and 26 EU member states. In Ireland, more than 5,500 students in 170 schools participated in the Pisa tests.
Ireland’s broadly positive performance comes despite challenges such as disruption caused by Covid-19 and will also likely be seen as a vote of confidence in highly contested Junior Cycle reforms.
A note of caution, however, has been sounded by statisticians who say the sample number of students in Ireland who completed standardised tests in October and November last year was under the minimum threshold.
This likely led to more higher achievers sitting tests in Ireland compared to previous years which, in turn, may have slightly inflated our results.
One source of concern is that Ireland has significantly fewer high-achieving students in maths and science compared to other developed countries.
This trend has been notable since 2012 and raises questions over whether our most talented students are being challenged enough.
On a positive note, Ireland has a smaller proportion of low-achieving pupils compared to most other countries.
This, say researchers, is likely to be the result of a focus on tackling literacy and numeracy in recent years, as well as investment in disadvantaged or Deis schools.
The variation in performance between schools in Ireland is also lower than many other countries – a sign Irish secondary schools are more equitable compared to other developed countries.
When broken down by gender, the results show girls in Ireland significantly outperform boys in reading. However, boys outperform girls in maths, while there is no sign of a gender gap in science.
Minister for Education Norma Foley welcomed the findings as “extremely positive news for Ireland”.
“We have retained our place among a small set of high achieving countries at a time where particular strain was put on school communities globally due to Covid-19. We have also ensured that the number of low achieving students remains among the lowest in the 81 countries tested,” she said.
Ms Foley added that although the pandemic presented unprecedented challenges, the resilience shown by schools during that time was to be commended.
The global findings show students in east Asian countries such as Singapore, China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong dominate the rankings and outperform most other countries in reading, maths and science.
In maths, Singapore was top, followed by Japan, China and Taiwan, while in science Singapore was also top, followed by Japan, China and Taiwan.
A breakdown of the scores shows these countries have significantly more high achievers than in Ireland.
Department of Education officials say there is scope to make progress on this in Ireland through developments in curriculum, teaching and policy. It has established a working group to develop a policy on students who are exceptionally able or gifted.
On the positive side, officials believe that fact we have fewer low achievers than average is a sign of the success of a range of initiatives such as the Deis system of supports for school in more deprived areas, as well as literacy and numeracy strategies.
The decline in maths performance among Irish students will also raise eyebrows, even if Ireland climbed up the rankings due to poorer scores for students in comparator countries. Officials say policymakers can learn from these results and put measures in place to help to further develop our students’ critical thinking, for example.
The increase in science score for Irish students comes as on the back of changes to the Junior Cycle science curriculum that have proved controversial among some teachers. Officials, however, believe we are seeing the effects of the changes in the system and will continue to see this develop over time.
Try a Pisa question:
This is an example of the kind of problem-solving and critical thinking skills that Pisa aims to measure among 15-year-olds. on a global scale. Can you solve it?
Unlike traditional assessments, Pisa seeks to assess not just students’ ability to reproduce learned material but also their capacity to apply knowledge creatively in unexpected scenarios, think critically across disciplines and demonstrate effective learning strategies.
While some critics argue that Pisa tests are unfair as they present students with unfamiliar problems, the OECD argues that life is full of unforeseen challenges. In the real world, it says, people must solve problems that they have not anticipated; it is not just about remembering lessons in a classroom.
Note: the answer to the triangular pattern question is 40.0%.
|
The fast-approaching El Niño transition has sent a chill down the spine of climate scientists worldwide. And for a good reason, too — most models forecast a dangerous level of warming that most nations, if not all, simply aren't prepared for.
The latest report by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) outlines that natural disaster-related events have cost economies upwards of $4 trillion since 1970. However, even this seems like a drop in the ocean compared to the looming price tag that El Niño threatens to impose on the world economy.
A recent study has estimated that as climate change exacerbates future El Niño events, global economies could pay an excruciating $84 trillion by the end of the 21st century, even if the much-needed and elusive carbon reduction goals have been achieved.
We are well aware of how high maintenance El Niño events are, with the two costliest cycles in the last 60 years putting the world economy back by about $4-5 trillion, each. Furthermore, about 56% of all countries had to endure slowed economic development even five years after the event had passed, showing how deep the scars linger.
"We know El Niño is costly. We are showing that these costs are far greater than we understood them to be previously," explains Justin Mankin, one of the study's researchers.
To stress their point, they remark that the average income in Peru would've been $1,246 higher if the 1998 Niño event had not occurred. They even note that while tropical and poorer countries endure the brunt of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phases, even developed superpowers such as the US aren’t spared from dipping economic growth during major cycles.
"There are places like Peru, Ecuador and Indonesia that are experiencing losses that are far larger than the global number," remarks Chris Callahan, another study author. "This includes some of the most vulnerable people on the planet, some of the people that don't have the kind of adaptive capacity that places like the United States and Europe have."
However, the jury is still out on whether these revised estimates will match real numbers. Climate models still need ways to accurately project how global warming pairs up with El Niño in a way. But one thing is crystal: major economic losses await, no matter what.
Stoking warming ocean temperatures
Ghastly economics aside, El Niño still very much remains a weather event affecting entire ecosystems around the globe. As we witness catastrophic climate-frenzied ocean warming, experts reckon there is no question the El Niño transition will only add to the worry.
Our oceans are instrumental in keeping our world from getting too hot by soaking up an astronomical amount of heat from the Sun. However, the extra heat that El Niño will supply could cascade into severe atmospheric tantrums, experts worry.
Since the last El Niño, global ocean temperatures have spiked by about 0.04°C, and the prospect of a strong El Niño phase this time could have disastrous consequences not just for weather unpredictability, but also for marine life living in the world's oceans.
"More than 70% of our planet is covered by the ocean. It plays an enormous role in the climate system. We all know that our climate is warming – but I imagine that most people first think of warmer air temperatures. In fact, our oceans have been soaking up much of this extra heat, keeping the atmosphere relatively cool," explains ESA's lead ocean scientist, Craig Donlon.
"This has come at a cost, and we are now seeing the temperature of our oceans at their hottest since records began."
For weather, science, space, and COVID-19 updates on the go, download The Weather Channel App (on Android and iOS store). It's free!
|
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|
The fast-approaching El Niño transition has sent a chill down the spine of climate scientists worldwide. And for a good reason, too — most models forecast a dangerous level of warming that most nations, if not all, simply aren't prepared for.
The latest report by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) outlines that natural disaster-related events have cost economies upwards of $4 trillion since 1970. However, even this seems like a drop in the ocean compared to the looming price tag that El Niño threatens to impose on the world economy.
A recent study has estimated that as climate change exacerbates future El Niño events
|
, global economies could pay an excruciating $84 trillion by the end of the 21st century, even if the much-needed and elusive carbon reduction goals have been achieved.
We are well aware of how high maintenance El Niño events are, with the two costliest cycles in the last 60 years putting the world economy back by about $4-5 trillion, each. Furthermore, about 56% of all countries had to endure slowed economic development even five years after the event had passed, showing how deep the scars linger.
"We know El Niño is costly. We are showing that these costs are far greater than we understood them to be previously," explains Justin Mankin, one of the study's researchers.
To stress their point, they remark that the average income in Peru would've been $1,246 higher if the 1998 Niño event had not occurred. They even note that while tropical and poorer countries endure the brunt of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phases, even developed superpowers such as the US aren’t spared from dipping economic growth during major cycles.
"There are places like Peru, Ecuador and Indonesia that are experiencing losses that are far larger than the global number," remarks Chris Callahan, another study author. "This includes some of the most vulnerable people on the planet, some of the people that don't have the kind of adaptive capacity that places like the United States and Europe have."
However, the jury is still out on whether these revised estimates will match real numbers. Climate models still need ways to accurately project how global warming pairs up with El Niño in a way. But one thing is crystal: major economic losses await, no matter what.
Stoking warming ocean temperatures
Ghastly economics aside, El Niño still very much remains a weather event affecting entire ecosystems around the globe. As we witness catastrophic climate-frenzied ocean warming, experts reckon there is no question the El Niño transition will only add to the worry.
Our oceans are instrumental in keeping our world from getting too hot by soaking up an astronomical amount of heat from the Sun. However, the extra heat that El Niño will supply could cascade into severe atmospheric tantrums, experts worry.
Since the last El Niño, global ocean temperatures have spiked by about 0.04°C, and the prospect of a strong El Niño phase this time could have disastrous consequences not just for weather unpredictability, but also for marine life living in the world's oceans.
"More than 70% of our planet is covered by the ocean. It plays an enormous role in the climate system. We all know that our climate is warming – but I imagine that most people first think of warmer air temperatures. In fact, our oceans have been soaking up much of this extra heat, keeping the atmosphere relatively cool," explains ESA's lead ocean scientist, Craig Donlon.
"This has come at a cost, and we are now seeing the temperature of our oceans at their hottest since records began."
For weather, science, space, and COVID-19 updates on the go, download The Weather Channel App (on Android and iOS store). It's free!
|
Wildlife saved from extinction as the Endangered Species Act turns 50
What a country chooses to save is what a country chooses to say about itself.
— Mollie Beattie, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director (1993-1996)
On Dec. 28, 1973, President Richard Nixon signed the world’s first Endangered Species Act, a revolutionary piece of legislation whose value has only grown in the half-century since its implementation. The legislation came about after a century of abuse of wildlife.
From the late 1800s, market hunting, poaching, game hogs and using feathers for women’s fashion had brought many species to the edge of extinction:
- The more than 60 million bison that had dominated the Great Plains for thousands of years had been reduced to 541 by 1889.
- The passenger pigeon, more numerous than any other bird in the world, had been reduced from more than 3 billion birds to extinction by 1914.
- The pesticide DDT decimated our nation’s symbol. reducing bald eagle numbers to a relict 417 nesting pairs in the lower 48 states by 1963.
- The largest North American land bird, the California condor, became extinct in the wild in 1987, and was reduced to 27 individuals sent to captive-breeding sites.
This large-scale loss of wildlife was the context for this new legislation that set out to list, protect and restore endangered and threatened species across the U.S. If the law had a motto, it would be “no more passenger pigeon-style extinctions!”
And over the last five decades, the ESA has been remarkably successful in stabilizing populations of species at risk — preventing the type of wide-scale extinction that occurred in previous centuries and conserving the habitats upon which these species, and the humans who appreciate them, depend.
Perhaps the poster child for this success is the American bald eagle. Nearly wiped out in the 20th century by hunting and toxins, it was finally taken off the endangered species list in 2007 when population recovered sufficiently.
Closer to home, the Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrel was highly endangered. Its habitat was reduced to Maryland by the early 1900s, and finally to only four Eastern Shore counties by 1967. Over the next decades the species was actively restored and translocated, and is recovered and delisted. It can be found on most of the Eastern Shore, and also in Virginia and Delaware.
But my favorite story is the black-footed ferret. Although North America’s only native ferret species once numbered between 500,000 and 1 million, in 1979 the presumed last member of the species died in captivity.
It was reminiscent of the last passenger pigeon, Martha, who died alone in the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914.
But this time there was a different ending.
A black-footed ferret was discovered in 1981 by a rancher’s dog near Meeteetse, Wyo., which launched the Black-Footed Ferret Recovery Program. Today more than 300 ferrets live in the wild scattered throughout their former range, still endangered but, happily, not extinct. The original rediscovered ferret is proudly on display at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, W.Va.
If extinction is forever, then endangered means there is still time. We won’t always get a second chance as we did with the black-footed ferret. But thanks to this far-sighted legislation, we can at least hope that 50 years from now our children’s children enjoy the rich species diversity we are blessed with.
Mark Madison teaches environmental history, environmental ethics and environmental policy at Shepherd University.
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|
Wildlife saved from extinction as the Endangered Species Act turns 50
What a country chooses to save is what a country chooses to say about itself.
— Mollie Beattie, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director (1993-1996)
On Dec. 28, 1973, President Richard Nixon signed the world’s first Endangered Species Act, a revolutionary piece of legislation whose value has only grown in the half-century since its implementation. The legislation came about after a century of abuse of wildlife.
From the late 1800s, market hunting, poaching
|
, game hogs and using feathers for women’s fashion had brought many species to the edge of extinction:
- The more than 60 million bison that had dominated the Great Plains for thousands of years had been reduced to 541 by 1889.
- The passenger pigeon, more numerous than any other bird in the world, had been reduced from more than 3 billion birds to extinction by 1914.
- The pesticide DDT decimated our nation’s symbol. reducing bald eagle numbers to a relict 417 nesting pairs in the lower 48 states by 1963.
- The largest North American land bird, the California condor, became extinct in the wild in 1987, and was reduced to 27 individuals sent to captive-breeding sites.
This large-scale loss of wildlife was the context for this new legislation that set out to list, protect and restore endangered and threatened species across the U.S. If the law had a motto, it would be “no more passenger pigeon-style extinctions!”
And over the last five decades, the ESA has been remarkably successful in stabilizing populations of species at risk — preventing the type of wide-scale extinction that occurred in previous centuries and conserving the habitats upon which these species, and the humans who appreciate them, depend.
Perhaps the poster child for this success is the American bald eagle. Nearly wiped out in the 20th century by hunting and toxins, it was finally taken off the endangered species list in 2007 when population recovered sufficiently.
Closer to home, the Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrel was highly endangered. Its habitat was reduced to Maryland by the early 1900s, and finally to only four Eastern Shore counties by 1967. Over the next decades the species was actively restored and translocated, and is recovered and delisted. It can be found on most of the Eastern Shore, and also in Virginia and Delaware.
But my favorite story is the black-footed ferret. Although North America’s only native ferret species once numbered between 500,000 and 1 million, in 1979 the presumed last member of the species died in captivity.
It was reminiscent of the last passenger pigeon, Martha, who died alone in the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914.
But this time there was a different ending.
A black-footed ferret was discovered in 1981 by a rancher’s dog near Meeteetse, Wyo., which launched the Black-Footed Ferret Recovery Program. Today more than 300 ferrets live in the wild scattered throughout their former range, still endangered but, happily, not extinct. The original rediscovered ferret is proudly on display at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, W.Va.
If extinction is forever, then endangered means there is still time. We won’t always get a second chance as we did with the black-footed ferret. But thanks to this far-sighted legislation, we can at least hope that 50 years from now our children’s children enjoy the rich species diversity we are blessed with.
Mark Madison teaches environmental history, environmental ethics and environmental policy at Shepherd University.
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For the first time in 20 years, nine cases of locally acquired malaria have occurred this summer in the United States: seven in Florida, one in Texas, and one in Maryland. The feverish illness is caused by infection through the bites of mosquitoes carrying protozoan parasites.
The parasites were introduced to the Americas via colonization and the transatlantic slave trade and adapted to local mosquito species. "By 1850 malaria had become established in practically every settlement from New England westward to the Columbia River valley and from the southernmost part of Florida to the inland valleys of California," wrote the Tulane University parasitologist Ernest C. Faust in 1951. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that in 1850, malaria was responsible for 45.7 out of every 1,000 deaths nationally and 7.8 percent of deaths in the South.
The Communicable Disease Center declared malaria eradicated in this country in 1951. Today that entity, now known as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, typically reports around 2,000 cases of malaria annually contracted by travelers returning to the U.S. from abroad. The World Health Organization estimates that there were nearly 250 million cases and 620,000 deaths from malaria in 2021, concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa.
Back in 2014, in my article "Let's Play God," I asked, "Wouldn't it be great if scientists could genetically engineer mosquitoes to be immune to the malaria parasite, thus protecting people from that disease?" Nearly 10 years later, a team of biotechnologists associated with the University of California, Irvine; the University of California, Berkeley; and Johns Hopkins University report that they have achieved just that.
According to the researchers' July article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, their malaria-carrying mosquito species received genes coding for anti-malaria proteins combined with a gene drive to spread the code quickly in wild mosquito populations that mate with the engineered insects. Normally, genes have a 50–50 chance of being inherited, but in this case, the gene drive systems increased the chance of inheriting the anti-malaria genes to upward of 99 percent. Applying an epidemiological model, the researchers calculated releasing the bioengineered mosquitoes to interbreed with wild ones would reduce the incidence of human malaria infections by more than 90 percent within three months.
Unfortunately, various Luddite activist groups seeking a global moratorium on gene drives have managed to tie up research and deployment with red tape, using United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) procedures. A CBD technical committee is supposed to issue a risk assessment report on the technology in 2026, while hundreds of millions already know the real and present risks of life without it.
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For the first time in 20 years, nine cases of locally acquired malaria have occurred this summer in the United States: seven in Florida, one in Texas, and one in Maryland. The feverish illness is caused by infection through the bites of mosquitoes carrying protozoan parasites.
The parasites were introduced to the Americas via colonization and the transatlantic slave trade and adapted to local mosquito species. "By 1850 malaria had become established in practically every settlement from New England westward to the Columbia River valley and from the southernmost part of Florida to the inland valleys of California," wrote the Tulane University parasitologist Ernest C.
|
Faust in 1951. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that in 1850, malaria was responsible for 45.7 out of every 1,000 deaths nationally and 7.8 percent of deaths in the South.
The Communicable Disease Center declared malaria eradicated in this country in 1951. Today that entity, now known as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, typically reports around 2,000 cases of malaria annually contracted by travelers returning to the U.S. from abroad. The World Health Organization estimates that there were nearly 250 million cases and 620,000 deaths from malaria in 2021, concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa.
Back in 2014, in my article "Let's Play God," I asked, "Wouldn't it be great if scientists could genetically engineer mosquitoes to be immune to the malaria parasite, thus protecting people from that disease?" Nearly 10 years later, a team of biotechnologists associated with the University of California, Irvine; the University of California, Berkeley; and Johns Hopkins University report that they have achieved just that.
According to the researchers' July article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, their malaria-carrying mosquito species received genes coding for anti-malaria proteins combined with a gene drive to spread the code quickly in wild mosquito populations that mate with the engineered insects. Normally, genes have a 50–50 chance of being inherited, but in this case, the gene drive systems increased the chance of inheriting the anti-malaria genes to upward of 99 percent. Applying an epidemiological model, the researchers calculated releasing the bioengineered mosquitoes to interbreed with wild ones would reduce the incidence of human malaria infections by more than 90 percent within three months.
Unfortunately, various Luddite activist groups seeking a global moratorium on gene drives have managed to tie up research and deployment with red tape, using United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) procedures. A CBD technical committee is supposed to issue a risk assessment report on the technology in 2026, while hundreds of millions already know the real and present risks of life without it.
|
Yale astronomer helps find two supermassive black holes at closest distance yet
Yale professor and astronomer, Meg Urry, was involved in the discovery of a pair of active supermassive black holes at the center of a nearby galaxy.
Courtesy of ALMA
A paper in The Astrophysical Journal Letters on Jan. 1 outlines the discovery of two active supermassive black holes at the center of a galaxy about 500 million light years away — which is close on the galactic scale.
The galaxy, UGC 4211, was formed by the merger of two different galaxies, each of which had a supermassive black hole — black holes with masses hundreds to billions of times greater than that of our Sun — at its center. The two black holes then gravitated inwards and are now 750 light years away from each other, which is the closest separation of two supermassive black holes that we have conclusive evidence for. The black holes are also “active,” which means that they are currently feeding on the surrounding stellar material and growing. Such active supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies are called active galactic nuclei, or AGN.
“We know that over the billions of years that the universe has been evolving, galaxies have merged and continue to merge,” Meg Urry, an author of the paper, a professor of physics and astronomy and the director of the Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, said. “And, we also know that most galaxies, at least above a certain mass, have a supermassive black hole at their center. So, one of the questions that is not really solved yet is what happens to the two black holes in two galaxies when they merge?”
According to Urry, the plausible theory is that after the galaxy merger, the two black holes slowly sink to the center, form a binary — which are a pair of gravitationally-bound stellar objects in orbit around a common center of mass — and then eventually merge, emitting enormous amounts of gravitational waves in the process. Initially, the black holes sink due to friction with galactic gas and dust. Once the black holes get close to the center, however, the density of galactic material decreases and the pull of friction becomes negligible. If they get really close, they can lose energy and merge by emitting gravitational waves but it remains unclear how the black holes make the leap between friction and gravitational waves.
Such a merger takes millions of years to happen — the two black holes from this study are not expected to merge for at least another 200 million years. Based on this information, we should expect to see more instances of black holes orbiting each other. However, Urry said that such observations have been surprisingly few, which makes this discovery particularly significant.
Michael Koss, an astrophysicist at Eureka Scientific and the principal investigator of this research project, said that the discovery was a culmination of a ten-year endeavor to find AGNs in merged galaxies.
“The weird thing about doing astronomy is that you get a time machine but you only get to see one moment,” Koss said. “The entire timescale of these mergers is over a billion years. We don’t get to watch it play out for a particular system. So, either we can look at a bunch of systems or we can run simulations. And, when I was postdoc in Hawaii, there were these ideas based on simulations of galaxies that as two galaxies come close together, their black holes grow very quickly — become AGNs. So, if those simulations are true, then we should look for AGNs in mergers.”
Thus, Koss began looking for AGNs in galaxies that appeared to have been in mergers, and his team’s finding now provides observational evidence for the simulations.
For this study, Yale supplied telescope time at the Keck Observatory in Hawaii. First, Urry describes, the team used the near-infrared imager NIRC2 to survey the centers of galaxies that looked “disturbed,” which is an indicator of a merger. A large fraction of the observed galaxies had dual sources in the center — an exciting finding since the sources could potentially be two active black holes, but the results were not definitive. Thus, the team followed the survey with near-infrared spectrograph OSIRIS to confirm that in this particular galaxy, the sources were indeed a pair of gravitationally-bound active black holes.
OSIRIS proved two things: first, that the two sources had the same red-shift and thus are at the same distance from us; and second, that the two sources are not the same object distorted by gravitational lensing — the bending of light around mass — since the spectra of the two sources were not identical. In this case, distortion from gravitational lensing could be caused by any cloud of gas and dust between the observing point and the source.
Keck was not the only telescope used for the research, however. The Very Large Telescope, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array and the Hubble Space Telescope all observed the same black hole pair in multiple wavelengths, which means that, unlike past discoveries, this one is highly unlikely to be a false positive.
Locating a supermassive black hole pair in such a close proximity suggests that pairs like this could be quite common in the universe, giving hope that the merging of two supermassive black holes in other systems could be observed and that scientists could detect the gravitational waves emitted from these events.
Since 2015, when the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory detected the first gravitational wave, many such detections have been made but they have all been gravitational waves from mergers of either stellar mass black holes — which are much smaller than their supermassive counterparts — or other astronomical objects, like neutron stars. Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, assistant professor at the University of Connecticut and gravitational-wave astrophysicist, explains that this is because detectors like LIGO can only pick up high-frequency gravitational waves but not the low-frequency ones that would be released when two supermassive black holes collide. These low frequency waves would give rise to a gravitational wave background.
Mingarelli’s current project involves trying to detect this background. Thus, she finds the dual black hole discovery particularly interesting because it has significant implications for the rate of supermassive black hole mergers and the intensity of gravitational wave background.
“This black hole pair is so nearby that either we got really lucky and found it because we are extremely lucky, or we found it because there are lots of them,” Mingarelli said. “We won’t know until we make more such observations, but this particular galaxy could be crucial to understanding the population statistics of black hole mergers and the gravitational wave background.”
The paper was published in Volume 942 of the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
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Yale astronomer helps find two supermassive black holes at closest distance yet
Yale professor and astronomer, Meg Urry, was involved in the discovery of a pair of active supermassive black holes at the center of a nearby galaxy.
Courtesy of ALMA
A paper in The Astrophysical Journal Letters on Jan. 1 outlines the discovery of two active supermassive black holes at the center of a galaxy about 500 million light years away — which is close on the galactic scale.
The galaxy, UGC 4211, was formed by the merger of two different galaxies
|
, each of which had a supermassive black hole — black holes with masses hundreds to billions of times greater than that of our Sun — at its center. The two black holes then gravitated inwards and are now 750 light years away from each other, which is the closest separation of two supermassive black holes that we have conclusive evidence for. The black holes are also “active,” which means that they are currently feeding on the surrounding stellar material and growing. Such active supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies are called active galactic nuclei, or AGN.
“We know that over the billions of years that the universe has been evolving, galaxies have merged and continue to merge,” Meg Urry, an author of the paper, a professor of physics and astronomy and the director of the Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, said. “And, we also know that most galaxies, at least above a certain mass, have a supermassive black hole at their center. So, one of the questions that is not really solved yet is what happens to the two black holes in two galaxies when they merge?”
According to Urry, the plausible theory is that after the galaxy merger, the two black holes slowly sink to the center, form a binary — which are a pair of gravitationally-bound stellar objects in orbit around a common center of mass — and then eventually merge, emitting enormous amounts of gravitational waves in the process. Initially, the black holes sink due to friction with galactic gas and dust. Once the black holes get close to the center, however, the density of galactic material decreases and the pull of friction becomes negligible. If they get really close, they can lose energy and merge by emitting gravitational waves but it remains unclear how the black holes make the leap between friction and gravitational waves.
Such a merger takes millions of years to happen — the two black holes from this study are not expected to merge for at least another 200 million years. Based on this information, we should expect to see more instances of black holes orbiting each other. However, Urry said that such observations have been surprisingly few, which makes this discovery particularly significant.
Michael Koss, an astrophysicist at Eureka Scientific and the principal investigator of this research project, said that the discovery was a culmination of a ten-year endeavor to find AGNs in merged galaxies.
“The weird thing about doing astronomy is that you get a time machine but you only get to see one moment,” Koss said. “The entire timescale of these mergers is over a billion years. We don’t get to watch it play out for a particular system. So, either we can look at a bunch of systems or we can run simulations. And, when I was postdoc in Hawaii, there were these ideas based on simulations of galaxies that as two galaxies come close together, their black holes grow very quickly — become AGNs. So, if those simulations are true, then we should look for AGNs in mergers.”
Thus, Koss began looking for AGNs in galaxies that appeared to have been in mergers, and his team’s finding now provides observational evidence for the simulations.
For this study, Yale supplied telescope time at the Keck Observatory in Hawaii. First, Urry describes, the team used the near-infrared imager NIRC2 to survey the centers of galaxies that looked “disturbed,” which is an indicator of a merger. A large fraction of the observed galaxies had dual sources in the center — an exciting finding since the sources could potentially be two active black holes, but the results were not definitive. Thus, the team followed the survey with near-infrared spectrograph OSIRIS to confirm that in this particular galaxy, the sources were indeed a pair of gravitationally-bound active black holes.
OSIRIS proved two things: first, that the two sources had the same red-shift and thus are at the same distance from us; and second, that the two sources are not the same object distorted by gravitational lensing — the bending of light around mass — since the spectra of the two sources were not identical. In this case, distortion from gravitational lensing could be caused by any cloud of gas and dust between the observing point and the source.
Keck was not the only telescope used for the research, however. The Very Large Telescope, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array and the Hubble Space Telescope all observed the same black hole pair in multiple wavelengths, which means that, unlike past discoveries, this one is highly unlikely to be a false positive.
Locating a supermassive black hole pair in such a close proximity suggests that pairs like this could be quite common in the universe, giving hope that the merging of two supermassive black holes in other systems could be observed and that scientists could detect the gravitational waves emitted from these events.
Since 2015, when the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory detected the first gravitational wave, many such detections have been made but they have all been gravitational waves from mergers of either stellar mass black holes — which are much smaller than their supermassive counterparts — or other astronomical objects, like neutron stars. Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, assistant professor at the University of Connecticut and gravitational-wave astrophysicist, explains that this is because detectors like LIGO can only pick up high-frequency gravitational waves but not the low-frequency ones that would be released when two supermassive black holes collide. These low frequency waves would give rise to a gravitational wave background.
Mingarelli’s current project involves trying to detect this background. Thus, she finds the dual black hole discovery particularly interesting because it has significant implications for the rate of supermassive black hole mergers and the intensity of gravitational wave background.
“This black hole pair is so nearby that either we got really lucky and found it because we are extremely lucky, or we found it because there are lots of them,” Mingarelli said. “We won’t know until we make more such observations, but this particular galaxy could be crucial to understanding the population statistics of black hole mergers and the gravitational wave background.”
The paper was published in Volume 942 of the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
|
Tribes in Shasta, Siskiyou teach students about culture, history of 'resiliency and hope'
Indigenous communities are partnering with a network of educators and writers to teach North State students about their culture and history.
Theirs and similar collaborations offer teachers curriculum they can use to give children and youths a holistic history about their geographic region, an area seldom mentioned in state curriculum, according to educators.
The result is a more complete story of the past and present that includes the "richness of our culture" told in Indigenous people's voices, said Kayla Super, spokesperson for the Quartz Valley Reservation, west of Fort Jones. "I also feel it will give our Tribal Member students a sense of identity and (a) better understanding of what it means to be Indigenous" today, "instead of hearing about Native American history (that) seemed to stop in the 1900s."
This winter, the reservation ― which includes Karuk, Klamath and Shasta peoples ― and the Northern California Writing Project will launch an online resource with lesson plans and other curriculum for kindergarten to high school teachers, and college faculty.
'Voices are still here and deserve to be amplified'
It's the first step in a larger project called "Rebuilding the Humanities at the Quartz Valley Indian Reservation." Future plans include annual culture camps at the Siskiyou County reservation, and an educational website open to everyone, said Project Coordinator Jasmine Corona Alcazar and the Northern California Writing Project, a network of teachers, researchers and writers based in Chico.
Planners invited tribal and community members, and high school and community college students to help create “a comprehensive history of the reservation,” Corona Alcazar said. Topics covered include the Land Back Movement that seeks to place seized land under Indigenous and cooperative governance. Activities include an online scavenger hunt and digital storytelling.
Related:‘America’s dark past’: Emotional scars linger from Indian boarding schools
They hope to roll out the project's online components at the end of February on the reservation's website: qvir.com.
“This website is a testament that their (Indigenous people's) voices are still here and deserve to be amplified and heard,” Corona Alcazar said. It’s a “jumping off point for their amazing story of utter human perseverance and resilience to keep tight to the traditions and knowledge of what makes a community ― thrive in the face of a history that has tried to erase (it).”
Plans also include outreach through the reservation's annual Cultural Camp, offered in July.
"It’s a week long event where cultural knowledge is shared with our youth, families of all ages and surrounding community members," Super said. Attendees learn traditional cooking from salmon to acorns, songs and language; and how to weave baskets and make cultural regalia, drums and cards. Visitors can camp overnight. The reservation serves meals on site.
Tribal history part of Shasta County curriculum
The Quartz Valley Reservation’s is one of several collaborations between North State Tribes and educational institutions, seeking to celebrate Indigenous people’s culture and contributions, and to report historic events accurately.
In 2017, former Shasta Lake mayor and tribal elder Rod Lindsay reached out to the Shasta County Office of Education, according to Director of School and District Support Kelly Rizzi and Learning Community for Native Success Coordinator Cindy Hogue of the Dawnom Wintu Band. The result was the American Indian Advisory, a collaboration of tribal leaders and elders from four local tribes, and representatives from Native American agencies, SCOE and nonprofits.
The consortium works ongoing to give SCOE feedback on curriculum about tribal history for students in grades three, four, five and eight. Each grade level has a team of teachers who work with a cultural consultant from each of the four tribes: Winnemem Wintu, Wintu Tribe of Northern California, Pit River and Redding Rancheria.
Resulting lessons fit state standards, but remain true to tribal culture and history, Hogue and Rizzi said. They're taught in addition ― not as replacements ― to state curriculum already in place, which seldom touches on Shasta County history.
More:Life experiences inspire this North State educator to uplift Native students
Feedback from students, parents and faculty has been positive, Hogue and Rizzi said, because lessons cover local history. Teachers requested local history curriculum for years prior to the introduction of these lessons in their classrooms, they said. Students connect with history when they're learning about the places and communities in which they live.
The North State’s story is one of “resiliency and hope," Rizzi said. "The tribes that are involved in this curriculum have been here since time immemorial and they are still thriving here today.”
Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and entertainment stories. Follow her on Twitter@RS_JSkropanic and onFacebook. Join Jessica in the Get Out! Nor Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work,please subscribe today. Thank you.
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Tribes in Shasta, Siskiyou teach students about culture, history of 'resiliency and hope'
Indigenous communities are partnering with a network of educators and writers to teach North State students about their culture and history.
Theirs and similar collaborations offer teachers curriculum they can use to give children and youths a holistic history about their geographic region, an area seldom mentioned in state curriculum, according to educators.
The result is a more complete story of the past and present that includes the "richness of our culture" told in Indigenous people's voices, said Kayla Super, spokesperson for the Quartz Valley Reservation, west of
|
Fort Jones. "I also feel it will give our Tribal Member students a sense of identity and (a) better understanding of what it means to be Indigenous" today, "instead of hearing about Native American history (that) seemed to stop in the 1900s."
This winter, the reservation ― which includes Karuk, Klamath and Shasta peoples ― and the Northern California Writing Project will launch an online resource with lesson plans and other curriculum for kindergarten to high school teachers, and college faculty.
'Voices are still here and deserve to be amplified'
It's the first step in a larger project called "Rebuilding the Humanities at the Quartz Valley Indian Reservation." Future plans include annual culture camps at the Siskiyou County reservation, and an educational website open to everyone, said Project Coordinator Jasmine Corona Alcazar and the Northern California Writing Project, a network of teachers, researchers and writers based in Chico.
Planners invited tribal and community members, and high school and community college students to help create “a comprehensive history of the reservation,” Corona Alcazar said. Topics covered include the Land Back Movement that seeks to place seized land under Indigenous and cooperative governance. Activities include an online scavenger hunt and digital storytelling.
Related:‘America’s dark past’: Emotional scars linger from Indian boarding schools
They hope to roll out the project's online components at the end of February on the reservation's website: qvir.com.
“This website is a testament that their (Indigenous people's) voices are still here and deserve to be amplified and heard,” Corona Alcazar said. It’s a “jumping off point for their amazing story of utter human perseverance and resilience to keep tight to the traditions and knowledge of what makes a community ― thrive in the face of a history that has tried to erase (it).”
Plans also include outreach through the reservation's annual Cultural Camp, offered in July.
"It’s a week long event where cultural knowledge is shared with our youth, families of all ages and surrounding community members," Super said. Attendees learn traditional cooking from salmon to acorns, songs and language; and how to weave baskets and make cultural regalia, drums and cards. Visitors can camp overnight. The reservation serves meals on site.
Tribal history part of Shasta County curriculum
The Quartz Valley Reservation’s is one of several collaborations between North State Tribes and educational institutions, seeking to celebrate Indigenous people’s culture and contributions, and to report historic events accurately.
In 2017, former Shasta Lake mayor and tribal elder Rod Lindsay reached out to the Shasta County Office of Education, according to Director of School and District Support Kelly Rizzi and Learning Community for Native Success Coordinator Cindy Hogue of the Dawnom Wintu Band. The result was the American Indian Advisory, a collaboration of tribal leaders and elders from four local tribes, and representatives from Native American agencies, SCOE and nonprofits.
The consortium works ongoing to give SCOE feedback on curriculum about tribal history for students in grades three, four, five and eight. Each grade level has a team of teachers who work with a cultural consultant from each of the four tribes: Winnemem Wintu, Wintu Tribe of Northern California, Pit River and Redding Rancheria.
Resulting lessons fit state standards, but remain true to tribal culture and history, Hogue and Rizzi said. They're taught in addition ― not as replacements ― to state curriculum already in place, which seldom touches on Shasta County history.
More:Life experiences inspire this North State educator to uplift Native students
Feedback from students, parents and faculty has been positive, Hogue and Rizzi said, because lessons cover local history. Teachers requested local history curriculum for years prior to the introduction of these lessons in their classrooms, they said. Students connect with history when they're learning about the places and communities in which they live.
The North State’s story is one of “resiliency and hope," Rizzi said. "The tribes that are involved in this curriculum have been here since time immemorial and they are still thriving here today.”
Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and entertainment stories. Follow her on Twitter@RS_JSkropanic and onFacebook. Join Jessica in the Get Out! Nor Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work,please subscribe today. Thank you.
|
This free Manitowoc robotics program is helping inspire and teach kids skills to use later in life
Kids from elementary through high school meet at Lakeshore Robotics Education Center on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays to work on their machines.
MANITOWOC - Frigidly cold January weather didn’t stop kids from venturing out to do their thing at the Lakeshore Robotics Education Center on a recent Monday night.
There wasn’t a cell phone or video game in sight as they excitedly worked within teams of four or five to use a 3D printer to make plastic parts or try different motor parts to make small robots — most on wheels — move, pick up items and drop them on command.
“It’s a lot of fun,” said Katie Ward, 13, who’s on a junior-level team with her brother Josh, 12. Their team spent several weeks watching videos and working out the best wheel shape, size and directional mobility for their robot. And when one version didn’t work as well as they’d hoped, they went back to the drawing board and worked with their adult mentor — and engineer by trade — to make improvements.
“This robot has been through at least four iterations,” Josh Ward said. “If you make a mistake, that means you’re learning.”
Kids meet Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays for a few hours to work on their machines. Participants range in age from early elementary school to high school seniors.
The goal is to build robots as small teams — using their math, engineering and computer skills — to face off in challenges held at the local, state and even national levels.
There’s no cost to participate, which is important to organization president Arrow Guetschow, who works as an engineer and volunteers his time at the robotics center.
“Students want to learn ... if you can make learning fun, everyone wants to learn,” he said. “And it’s important that this is free. We want this to be an economic change engine for any kid, even the disadvantaged ones. This should be something that isn’t just for rich kids, it’s for everybody.”
Elizabeth Rasch, 9, began with the program when she was about 5, mostly because her mom, brother and sister are involved.
“It’s a lot of fun,” she said enthusiastically. “You get to meet and make a lot of new friends.”
She participated in the entry-level of the competitions, working in the Lego League. These kids work on a problem or focus using Lego pieces. Topics are different each year — this year’s focus was on energy, and students built tiny windmills, for example.
Kids in upper levels are working on machines that they use controls to direct to pick up cones, for example, and drop them on pegs along a course.
At the senior level, kids might develop robots with arms that must close in on an object, such as a cone, move it to a second location, and slowly drop it into a specified space.
Often, students must not only build the robot to follow their commands, but also to work independently for a short while.
Guetschow points out that it takes not only computer or mechanical skills, but soft skills such as leadership and communication for students to succeed.
Clint Duescher, 18, a senior at Denmark High School, was helping his team develop a plastic piece using a 3-D printer as part of a robot that can pick up both cubes and cones. With about three weeks until their first scrimmage, the eight young members of his team – ages eighth to 12th grade -- were busy testing different prototypes, some very different than others.
“A friend of mine was doing robotics and I decided to do it too,” he said. “It’s been a lot of fun.”
Having fun while learning robotics is more important than winning competitions, Guetschow said.
“One thing I’ve learned is you're building robots to not to teach, but you’re building robots more to inspire,” he said. “You want them to spend time learning when they’re not with you. You know I’ve had kids at the high school level who have been with me for several years, and it’s really exciting to see when they’ve surpassed me with their programming skills.”
More:Here’s what happens to greasy pizza boxes and other items in recycling bins after they're collected in Manitowoc County
More: Do you prefer 'Port' or Pizza Garden? Here are readers' favorite Manitowoc County pizza places
Mitchell Winrich, 15, said he sees himself using what he’s learned as part of the Robotics First team in a future career in IT.
“I really see it as a gateway to what I want to do in life,” he said. “I can see myself as working at an IT company on their security staff.”
“There’s a lot of things you can apply from this to later in life, such as jobs or scholarships,” said Dylan Cappeloe, 12. “And also, it is a lot of fun.”
Got a tip, question or comment for reporter Patti Zarling? Contact her at <email-pii> or call 920-606-2586. Follow her on Twitter @PGPattiZarling.
|
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This free Manitowoc robotics program is helping inspire and teach kids skills to use later in life
Kids from elementary through high school meet at Lakeshore Robotics Education Center on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays to work on their machines.
MANITOWOC - Frigidly cold January weather didn’t stop kids from venturing out to do their thing at the Lakeshore Robotics Education Center on a recent Monday night.
There wasn’t a cell phone or video game in sight as they excitedly worked within teams of four or five to use a 3D printer to make plastic parts or
|
try different motor parts to make small robots — most on wheels — move, pick up items and drop them on command.
“It’s a lot of fun,” said Katie Ward, 13, who’s on a junior-level team with her brother Josh, 12. Their team spent several weeks watching videos and working out the best wheel shape, size and directional mobility for their robot. And when one version didn’t work as well as they’d hoped, they went back to the drawing board and worked with their adult mentor — and engineer by trade — to make improvements.
“This robot has been through at least four iterations,” Josh Ward said. “If you make a mistake, that means you’re learning.”
Kids meet Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays for a few hours to work on their machines. Participants range in age from early elementary school to high school seniors.
The goal is to build robots as small teams — using their math, engineering and computer skills — to face off in challenges held at the local, state and even national levels.
There’s no cost to participate, which is important to organization president Arrow Guetschow, who works as an engineer and volunteers his time at the robotics center.
“Students want to learn ... if you can make learning fun, everyone wants to learn,” he said. “And it’s important that this is free. We want this to be an economic change engine for any kid, even the disadvantaged ones. This should be something that isn’t just for rich kids, it’s for everybody.”
Elizabeth Rasch, 9, began with the program when she was about 5, mostly because her mom, brother and sister are involved.
“It’s a lot of fun,” she said enthusiastically. “You get to meet and make a lot of new friends.”
She participated in the entry-level of the competitions, working in the Lego League. These kids work on a problem or focus using Lego pieces. Topics are different each year — this year’s focus was on energy, and students built tiny windmills, for example.
Kids in upper levels are working on machines that they use controls to direct to pick up cones, for example, and drop them on pegs along a course.
At the senior level, kids might develop robots with arms that must close in on an object, such as a cone, move it to a second location, and slowly drop it into a specified space.
Often, students must not only build the robot to follow their commands, but also to work independently for a short while.
Guetschow points out that it takes not only computer or mechanical skills, but soft skills such as leadership and communication for students to succeed.
Clint Duescher, 18, a senior at Denmark High School, was helping his team develop a plastic piece using a 3-D printer as part of a robot that can pick up both cubes and cones. With about three weeks until their first scrimmage, the eight young members of his team – ages eighth to 12th grade -- were busy testing different prototypes, some very different than others.
“A friend of mine was doing robotics and I decided to do it too,” he said. “It’s been a lot of fun.”
Having fun while learning robotics is more important than winning competitions, Guetschow said.
“One thing I’ve learned is you're building robots to not to teach, but you’re building robots more to inspire,” he said. “You want them to spend time learning when they’re not with you. You know I’ve had kids at the high school level who have been with me for several years, and it’s really exciting to see when they’ve surpassed me with their programming skills.”
More:Here’s what happens to greasy pizza boxes and other items in recycling bins after they're collected in Manitowoc County
More: Do you prefer 'Port' or Pizza Garden? Here are readers' favorite Manitowoc County pizza places
Mitchell Winrich, 15, said he sees himself using what he’s learned as part of the Robotics First team in a future career in IT.
“I really see it as a gateway to what I want to do in life,” he said. “I can see myself as working at an IT company on their security staff.”
“There’s a lot of things you can apply from this to later in life, such as jobs or scholarships,” said Dylan Cappeloe, 12. “And also, it is a lot of fun.”
Got a tip, question or comment for reporter Patti Zarling? Contact her at <email-pii> or call 920-606-2586. Follow her on Twitter @PGPattiZarling.
|
Sick cats in Cyprus are being given human Covid-19 drugs in an effort to stamp out a lethal feline coronavirus, offering hope of saving the island’s famous feline population from a virus that has already killed thousands of animals and shows little sign of stopping.
Vets began rolling out molnupiravir, an anti-Covid drug marketed as Lagevrio, to Cypriot cats on Tuesday, a day that serendipitously coincided with International Cat Day.
Experts hope the drug, which was originally designed to treat Covid-19 in humans and has been taken from a stockpile meant for that purpose, will help stem an outbreak of feline coronavirus, dubbed FCoV-23, that has been devastating the island’s cats since January.
The virus, which is different from the human virus that causes Covid-19 and cannot be transmitted to humans, is common, spreads through feces and typically causes no symptoms or only mild illness like diarrhea.
Some strains of feline coronavirus can trigger feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), which is almost always fatal without treatment and experts believe a mutated and highly virulent feline coronavirus strain is driving the current outbreak.
Research indicates molnupiravir can help most cats recover from FIP, and Christodoulos Pipis, the government’s veterinary services director, told the Guardian some 2,000 packages of the drug will be distributed to vets in the coming weeks to combat the virus, a total of 80,000 pills.
Officials have said cat owners will be able to get the drug for around $2.74 a pill from veterinarians following a formal examination and diagnosis.
What We Don’t Know
It’s not clear precisely how many cats have died as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. A great deal of this uncertainty stems from the broader uncertainty over how many cats actually live on Cyprus, a result of the significant feral or stray population that the island is well known for. Estimates tend to put the number of cats on Cyprus north of 1 million, meaning there are likely more cats than humans. Activist groups, notably the Cat Protection and Welfare Society, estimate some 300,000 cats—domestic and feral—have died in the outbreak since January. The dramatic figure was based on an estimated 20-30% mortality, according to the Guardian, and has not been independently verified. Local vets told the outlet that while they don’t doubt the severity of the outbreak they do question the veracity of the figure, estimating around 8,000 deaths in the first six months of the year.
What To Watch For
The spread of the mutant coronavirus strain in Cyprus has put vets around the world on alert for similar outbreaks. There are already anecdotal reports from vets of FIP cases ticking up in areas with large feral cat populations such as Lebanon, Turkey and Israel, according to the Guardian.
Costas Himonas, senior pharmacist at the Cyprus health ministry, has said drawing on the human drug stockpile will not compromise the island’s ability to respond should there be a new Covid surge.
|
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Sick cats in Cyprus are being given human Covid-19 drugs in an effort to stamp out a lethal feline coronavirus, offering hope of saving the island’s famous feline population from a virus that has already killed thousands of animals and shows little sign of stopping.
Vets began rolling out molnupiravir, an anti-Covid drug marketed as Lagevrio, to Cypriot cats on Tuesday, a day that serendipitously coincided with International Cat Day.
Experts hope the drug, which was originally designed to treat Covid-19 in humans and has been taken from a stockpile meant for that purpose
|
, will help stem an outbreak of feline coronavirus, dubbed FCoV-23, that has been devastating the island’s cats since January.
The virus, which is different from the human virus that causes Covid-19 and cannot be transmitted to humans, is common, spreads through feces and typically causes no symptoms or only mild illness like diarrhea.
Some strains of feline coronavirus can trigger feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), which is almost always fatal without treatment and experts believe a mutated and highly virulent feline coronavirus strain is driving the current outbreak.
Research indicates molnupiravir can help most cats recover from FIP, and Christodoulos Pipis, the government’s veterinary services director, told the Guardian some 2,000 packages of the drug will be distributed to vets in the coming weeks to combat the virus, a total of 80,000 pills.
Officials have said cat owners will be able to get the drug for around $2.74 a pill from veterinarians following a formal examination and diagnosis.
What We Don’t Know
It’s not clear precisely how many cats have died as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. A great deal of this uncertainty stems from the broader uncertainty over how many cats actually live on Cyprus, a result of the significant feral or stray population that the island is well known for. Estimates tend to put the number of cats on Cyprus north of 1 million, meaning there are likely more cats than humans. Activist groups, notably the Cat Protection and Welfare Society, estimate some 300,000 cats—domestic and feral—have died in the outbreak since January. The dramatic figure was based on an estimated 20-30% mortality, according to the Guardian, and has not been independently verified. Local vets told the outlet that while they don’t doubt the severity of the outbreak they do question the veracity of the figure, estimating around 8,000 deaths in the first six months of the year.
What To Watch For
The spread of the mutant coronavirus strain in Cyprus has put vets around the world on alert for similar outbreaks. There are already anecdotal reports from vets of FIP cases ticking up in areas with large feral cat populations such as Lebanon, Turkey and Israel, according to the Guardian.
Costas Himonas, senior pharmacist at the Cyprus health ministry, has said drawing on the human drug stockpile will not compromise the island’s ability to respond should there be a new Covid surge.
|
Cherokee Nation's long-awaited delegate faces a tribal challenge
Two more Cherokee tribes say they are entitled to a non-voting member of Congress, countering claims by the Cherokee Nation they are the only ones who were promised a seat.
Why it matters: The dispute over a congressional delegate, outlined in a treaty that forcibly removed Cherokees from ancestral homelands, shows how complicated matters evolve when promises aren't kept to Indigenous people for nearly two centuries.
Details: The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of North Carolina challenge the notion that the 1835 Treaty of New Echota applies exclusively to the Cherokee Nation, one of the largest tribal nations in the U.S.
- They say that treaty was signed by the Cherokee people — not the Cherokee Nation — and President Andrew Jackson, then ratified by the Senate.
- The treaty promised a nonvoting House delegate to represent the Cherokees.
Catch up quickly: Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. named Kim Teehee, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, as the tribe's first delegate to the U.S. House in 2019 after he took office.
- The appointment came after years of research by the Cherokee Nation scholars, who concluded they were promised a congressional delegate in the treaty.
- That treaty forced the Cherokee Nation to move from ancestral homelands in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee to present-day Oklahoma. Around 4,000 died along what is known as the "Trail of Tears."
- Despite promises by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for a "path toward welcoming a Delegate from the Cherokee Nation into the People's House," Democrats failed to seat her last year.
What they're saying: "All three of those federally recognized tribes have all of the treaty rights that the United States signed with the Cherokee people," Victoria Holland, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians appointed delegate, told Axios.
- "Oftentimes, there's only one story that's told, and people still think that there is only one Cherokee Nation, but that's not historically accurate."
- Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Principal Chief Richard Sneed said in a statement the tribe also believes they are afforded a delegate and vowed to make it happen.
The intrigue: The tribes could come together and agree on a single delegate or each appointed their own delegates, Holland said.
Yes, but: The Cherokee Nation said the treaty only applied to them and dismissed the claims by the other two Cherokee tribes as false.
- "The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians did not agree to the treaty, nor were they removed from its homeland. In fact, they were not federally recognized until the late 19th century," Hoskin told Axios.
- "Tribes like the United Keetoowah Band, which didn't even exist until the 1950s, also cannot claim (the treaty). It is ours alone."
Sara Hill, Cherokee Nation Attorney General, said the other Cherokee tribes have no evidence to support their claims to the treaty and falsely argue that the original Cherokee Nation died.
- She said the Cherokee Nation has no intention of working with them to decide on a delegate. "That would be like the U.S. government giving up its seat on the (United Nation's) Security Council to another friendly government."
- "They are Cherokee people by language and culture, but they are not the Cherokee Nation."
What to watch: Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has not indicated if he plans to explore seating the Cherokee Nation delegate.
- The Republican-controlled Rules Committee also has not said anything.
|
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Cherokee Nation's long-awaited delegate faces a tribal challenge
Two more Cherokee tribes say they are entitled to a non-voting member of Congress, countering claims by the Cherokee Nation they are the only ones who were promised a seat.
Why it matters: The dispute over a congressional delegate, outlined in a treaty that forcibly removed Cherokees from ancestral homelands, shows how complicated matters evolve when promises aren't kept to Indigenous people for nearly two centuries.
Details: The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of North Carolina challenge the notion that the 1835 Treaty of
|
New Echota applies exclusively to the Cherokee Nation, one of the largest tribal nations in the U.S.
- They say that treaty was signed by the Cherokee people — not the Cherokee Nation — and President Andrew Jackson, then ratified by the Senate.
- The treaty promised a nonvoting House delegate to represent the Cherokees.
Catch up quickly: Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. named Kim Teehee, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, as the tribe's first delegate to the U.S. House in 2019 after he took office.
- The appointment came after years of research by the Cherokee Nation scholars, who concluded they were promised a congressional delegate in the treaty.
- That treaty forced the Cherokee Nation to move from ancestral homelands in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee to present-day Oklahoma. Around 4,000 died along what is known as the "Trail of Tears."
- Despite promises by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for a "path toward welcoming a Delegate from the Cherokee Nation into the People's House," Democrats failed to seat her last year.
What they're saying: "All three of those federally recognized tribes have all of the treaty rights that the United States signed with the Cherokee people," Victoria Holland, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians appointed delegate, told Axios.
- "Oftentimes, there's only one story that's told, and people still think that there is only one Cherokee Nation, but that's not historically accurate."
- Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Principal Chief Richard Sneed said in a statement the tribe also believes they are afforded a delegate and vowed to make it happen.
The intrigue: The tribes could come together and agree on a single delegate or each appointed their own delegates, Holland said.
Yes, but: The Cherokee Nation said the treaty only applied to them and dismissed the claims by the other two Cherokee tribes as false.
- "The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians did not agree to the treaty, nor were they removed from its homeland. In fact, they were not federally recognized until the late 19th century," Hoskin told Axios.
- "Tribes like the United Keetoowah Band, which didn't even exist until the 1950s, also cannot claim (the treaty). It is ours alone."
Sara Hill, Cherokee Nation Attorney General, said the other Cherokee tribes have no evidence to support their claims to the treaty and falsely argue that the original Cherokee Nation died.
- She said the Cherokee Nation has no intention of working with them to decide on a delegate. "That would be like the U.S. government giving up its seat on the (United Nation's) Security Council to another friendly government."
- "They are Cherokee people by language and culture, but they are not the Cherokee Nation."
What to watch: Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has not indicated if he plans to explore seating the Cherokee Nation delegate.
- The Republican-controlled Rules Committee also has not said anything.
|
What to know about COVID, the flu and RSV this fall
This fall, infectious diseases pose a triple threat.
What's happening: A potent flu virus, resurgent COVID-19 and rebounding RSV are combining to prompt new warnings in Colorado about the coming seasons when all three will be circulating.
- Based on case rates in Australia, UCHealth experts are predicting higher-than-average rates here for all three viruses.
- And flu season is arriving early.
What they're saying: "This is why we're encouraging everyone, and especially kids, parents and grandparents, to get their vaccinations early," Michelle Barron, the senior medical director of infection prevention and control at UCHealth, said in a statement.
Of note: UCHealth reported admitting two patients to the hospital for flu in the past week and counted additional cases at outpatient clinics.
What to know: Vaccines for all three are now available or coming soon.
1) Flu: Vaccine available. The virus is expected to circulate widely in October and peak in November, at least a month earlier than normal.
- The CDC recommends everyone older than six months get vaccinated and reports that those immunized were 40-70% less likely to be hospitalized or experience complications.
2) RSV: Vaccine available. The FDA recently approved new vaccines targeted at older adults and others who are immunocompromised, as well as those 8-19 months old.
3) COVID: Vaccine coming soon. Federal officials anticipate updated COVID-19 vaccines will become available to all Americans in mid-September.
- The new doses target the XBB.1.5 Omicron variant, the dominant summer strain, but experts say they will still protect "against the most serious outcomes" of the newer variants.
Be smart: Stay home if you're sick. And wash your hands.
More Denver stories
No stories could be found
Get a free daily digest of the most important news in your backyard with Axios Denver.
|
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What to know about COVID, the flu and RSV this fall
This fall, infectious diseases pose a triple threat.
What's happening: A potent flu virus, resurgent COVID-19 and rebounding RSV are combining to prompt new warnings in Colorado about the coming seasons when all three will be circulating.
- Based on case rates in Australia, UCHealth experts are predicting higher-than-average rates here for all three viruses.
- And flu season is arriving early.
What they're saying: "This is why we're encouraging everyone, and especially kids, parents and grandparents, to get their vaccinations early," Michelle Barron, the
|
senior medical director of infection prevention and control at UCHealth, said in a statement.
Of note: UCHealth reported admitting two patients to the hospital for flu in the past week and counted additional cases at outpatient clinics.
What to know: Vaccines for all three are now available or coming soon.
1) Flu: Vaccine available. The virus is expected to circulate widely in October and peak in November, at least a month earlier than normal.
- The CDC recommends everyone older than six months get vaccinated and reports that those immunized were 40-70% less likely to be hospitalized or experience complications.
2) RSV: Vaccine available. The FDA recently approved new vaccines targeted at older adults and others who are immunocompromised, as well as those 8-19 months old.
3) COVID: Vaccine coming soon. Federal officials anticipate updated COVID-19 vaccines will become available to all Americans in mid-September.
- The new doses target the XBB.1.5 Omicron variant, the dominant summer strain, but experts say they will still protect "against the most serious outcomes" of the newer variants.
Be smart: Stay home if you're sick. And wash your hands.
More Denver stories
No stories could be found
Get a free daily digest of the most important news in your backyard with Axios Denver.
|
Editor’s Note: A version of this article originally appeared in the weekly weather newsletter, the CNN Weather Brief, which is released every Monday. You can sign up here to receive them every week and during significant storms.
The Atlantic hurricane season is headed into uncharted territory with water temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico warmer than they have ever been on record.
Seasonal forecasters are warning it means you need to prepare for a more uncertain forecast for the rest of the season with the potential for more storms and stronger ones.
Warm ocean water is one of the key ingredients for fueling hurricanes and it’s been in abundance so far this year. Scientists first sounded the alarm in April and the ocean warmth has only escalated since. Water in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic has been record warm, especially for this early in the year. It includes off the coast of Florida, where water temperatures in the Florida Keys were close to 97 degrees in some spots last week.
It is important because warm ocean water breeds stronger, bigger and wetter storms. It gives hurricanes the energy they need to grow and sometimes rapidly intensify, something hurricane forecasters told CNN we could see more of this season. Warm oceans can also lead to more evaporation and wring out more rainfall falling from any storms.
But hurricane season predictions involve more than just warm water. It’s just one factor in the birth and survival of tropical cyclones, and it is creating more uncertainty than usual in what could happen the rest of the hurricane season.
“Uncertainty, uncertainty, uncertainty! That’s really the story going forward with this season,” Dr. Phil Klotzbach, a research scientist in the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University told me.
Klotzbach and the team at CSU are some of the pioneers of long-term hurricane season outlooks, and just increased the number of expected hurricanes and major hurricanes in their prediction for this season due to the warmer water in the Atlantic.
What makes this year even more uncertain is we are now under the influence of El Niño which typically suppresses activity in the Atlantic with increased wind shear, the changing of wind direction and speed with height which can blow budding storms to pieces and shred existing storms to death.
Klotzbach said the confluence of these record warm temperatures at the same time as a moderate to strong El Niño hasn’t been “observed historically.”
The million-dollar question right now is which will win out: warm ocean temperatures or El Niño. Early season predictions called for a near-average season, but Klotzbach and team seem to think the warm water will win out and are now calling for “an above-normal Atlantic hurricane season.”
Warm water won in June. According to Klotzbach, June had the lowest wind shear in the southern Atlantic Basin since 1988. Arlene, Bret and Cindy formed as a result.
Wind shear and dry air from Saharan dust picked up in the month of July, suppressing hurricane activity for the most part, but August through October could be different.
“Most climate models are forecasting slightly to somewhat-below normal shear in August, September and even into October,” Klotzbach said. “If that were the case, we would likely have an extremely busy season given how warm the Atlantic is.”
As of now, there’s not much noteworthy on the horizon as far as tropical development goes. Subtropical Storm Don is meandering around the north-central Atlantic but poses no threat to land. Forecast models aren’t picking up any development this week. Forecasts for next week are hinting at some tropical development, but it’s far too early to have confidence in how, if or when this could materialize.
What we do know is hurricane season typically starts ramping up as we head into August. The first hurricane usually forms in early to mid-August. The eight-week span from mid-August through mid-October is when ocean temperatures are nearing their highest levels in the Atlantic, wind shear lessens considerably and when nearly 90% of all hurricane activity in the Atlantic happens.
The bottom line is this season is already unprecedented given the hot ocean temperatures, so forecasting the season in the uncharted territory we’ve entered is a challenge. We’ve got a lot of hurricane season left to go, which means you should prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
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|
Editor’s Note: A version of this article originally appeared in the weekly weather newsletter, the CNN Weather Brief, which is released every Monday. You can sign up here to receive them every week and during significant storms.
The Atlantic hurricane season is headed into uncharted territory with water temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico warmer than they have ever been on record.
Seasonal forecasters are warning it means you need to prepare for a more uncertain forecast for the rest of the season with the potential for more storms and stronger ones.
Warm ocean water is one of the key ingredients for fueling hurricanes and it’s been in
|
abundance so far this year. Scientists first sounded the alarm in April and the ocean warmth has only escalated since. Water in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic has been record warm, especially for this early in the year. It includes off the coast of Florida, where water temperatures in the Florida Keys were close to 97 degrees in some spots last week.
It is important because warm ocean water breeds stronger, bigger and wetter storms. It gives hurricanes the energy they need to grow and sometimes rapidly intensify, something hurricane forecasters told CNN we could see more of this season. Warm oceans can also lead to more evaporation and wring out more rainfall falling from any storms.
But hurricane season predictions involve more than just warm water. It’s just one factor in the birth and survival of tropical cyclones, and it is creating more uncertainty than usual in what could happen the rest of the hurricane season.
“Uncertainty, uncertainty, uncertainty! That’s really the story going forward with this season,” Dr. Phil Klotzbach, a research scientist in the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University told me.
Klotzbach and the team at CSU are some of the pioneers of long-term hurricane season outlooks, and just increased the number of expected hurricanes and major hurricanes in their prediction for this season due to the warmer water in the Atlantic.
What makes this year even more uncertain is we are now under the influence of El Niño which typically suppresses activity in the Atlantic with increased wind shear, the changing of wind direction and speed with height which can blow budding storms to pieces and shred existing storms to death.
Klotzbach said the confluence of these record warm temperatures at the same time as a moderate to strong El Niño hasn’t been “observed historically.”
The million-dollar question right now is which will win out: warm ocean temperatures or El Niño. Early season predictions called for a near-average season, but Klotzbach and team seem to think the warm water will win out and are now calling for “an above-normal Atlantic hurricane season.”
Warm water won in June. According to Klotzbach, June had the lowest wind shear in the southern Atlantic Basin since 1988. Arlene, Bret and Cindy formed as a result.
Wind shear and dry air from Saharan dust picked up in the month of July, suppressing hurricane activity for the most part, but August through October could be different.
“Most climate models are forecasting slightly to somewhat-below normal shear in August, September and even into October,” Klotzbach said. “If that were the case, we would likely have an extremely busy season given how warm the Atlantic is.”
As of now, there’s not much noteworthy on the horizon as far as tropical development goes. Subtropical Storm Don is meandering around the north-central Atlantic but poses no threat to land. Forecast models aren’t picking up any development this week. Forecasts for next week are hinting at some tropical development, but it’s far too early to have confidence in how, if or when this could materialize.
What we do know is hurricane season typically starts ramping up as we head into August. The first hurricane usually forms in early to mid-August. The eight-week span from mid-August through mid-October is when ocean temperatures are nearing their highest levels in the Atlantic, wind shear lessens considerably and when nearly 90% of all hurricane activity in the Atlantic happens.
The bottom line is this season is already unprecedented given the hot ocean temperatures, so forecasting the season in the uncharted territory we’ve entered is a challenge. We’ve got a lot of hurricane season left to go, which means you should prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
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As all good gardeners know late September marks the beginning of the spring-flowering bulb planting season. Pop these fleshy, modified stems in the ground this autumn and you’ll be casting a kind of horticultural spell that will magic up a world of beauty, a form of horticultural alchemy that never ceases to amaze.
But which bulb where? What varieties, for example, are suitable for a window box, or for beneath the shade of tree or shrub? Which will do well in a large pot or in a mixed border? What about mixing different varieties together in the same container or in the ground? Are there any that need a little cosseting or which will grow happily with minimal intervention?
And what about longevity… are all of them properly perennial or are some best discarded after they’ve finished flowering? See below for some useful suggestions.
For a window box: Treat these containers like gardens in miniature, using species/varieties of bulbs that reflect their compact size and scale. Examples include varieties of snowdrops, scilla, chionodoxa, crocus, hyacinths, anemone (varieties of Anemone blanda and Anemone nemorosa), grape hyacinths (Muscari) and compact varieties of daffodils (examples include Narcissus ‘Tete a Tete’, Narcissus ‘Martinette’ and Narcissus ‘Niveth’), as well as dainty reticulate irises (Iris reticulata) and small tulips such as Tulipa saxatilis.
For a decent display plant the bulbs very generously and much more densely than you would if planting in the ground (so almost touching) and use a really good quality multipurpose compost leavened with plenty of horticultural grit or vermiculite for good drainage. For maximum impact limit your choice to no more than three-four different species/varieties, and plant them in layers, with the earliest flowering varieties to the top and the latest flowering to the bottom. Then finish off with some hardy, low-growing bedding plants such as violas, pansies or forget-me-nots, planted tightly together to cover the compost, bearing in mind that the latter’s growth will be minimal in the cold, short winter days to come.
For beneath the shade of a tree or shrub: Not many species of spring-flowering bulbs thrive in the dry, dense, year-round shade cast by evergreen species of trees and shrubs, but it’s a different story when it comes to the more gentle, seasonal shade cast by deciduous species which suits most of them far better. Even then they’ll appreciate a helping hand in the shape of some well-rotted home-made garden compost or leaf mould worked into the soil at planting time.
Suitable species include dainty snowdrops (the native Galanthus nivalis in particular will quickly form substantial clumps, while the stately Galanthus ‘S Arnott’ is always a great choice); crocus (suitable examples include Crocus tommasinianus, and the giant-flowered Crocus ‘Pickwick’; anemones (varieties of Anemone blanda and Anemone nemorosa); golden winter aconites (Eranthis hyemalis), cyclamen (Cyclamen coum); erythronium; snake’s head fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris) and bluebells (seek out bulbs of the native Hyacinthoides non-scripta), all of which are hardy perennials that when left undisturbed will self-seed and naturalise over time to slowly form gentle drifts.
For a sunny or lightly shaded, spring-flowering meadow, or uncut areas of lawn: As long as you can give their bulbs a moist but free-draining soil many kinds of daffodils (examples include Narcissus poeticus var recurvus, Narcissus pseudonarcissus and Narcissus obvallaris), as well as camassia (examples include the blue-flowered Camassia leichtlinii subsp. suksdorfii, deep blue Camassia ‘Orion’ and the white flowered Camassia leichtlinii subsp. suksdorfii ‘Alba’}; late spring-flowering alliums (Allium siculum and Allium hollandicum) and snake’s head fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris), will all do well in these kinds of growing conditions and are large enough to make an impact from afar.
So will certain varieties of tulip including the scarlet-flowered T. ‘Red Shine’, Tulipa sprengeri, and the red-and-yellow T. ‘Cornuta’ (often sold as Tulipa acuminata). Just make sure to plant their bulbs in naturalistic drifts rather than stiff clumps, avoid deadheading the faded blooms after flowering (you want them to set seed) and delay mowing, strimming or scything until the foliage has died back naturally. This way the bulbs can draw down valuable nutrients from the leaves which allows them to properly fatten underground in preparation for the following year.
For a large container: A large pot or tub gives gardeners the opportunity to splurge on some really choice varieties of spring-flowering bulbs without breaking the bank. Container growing is also the best solution if you’re short on growing space or your garden can’t provide the right kind of growing conditions in the ground (it might be too wet, for example, or the soil too poor), or if you’re dealing with destructive, persistent soil diseases such as the dreaded tulip fire.
Use the lasagne method of planting as described above where you plant in layers, making sure that the lowest layer (the first layer of bulbs into the pot but the last to flower) contains one or two tall, late-flowering varieties. Examples include parrot and double-late tulips such as the eternally fashionable T. ‘Belle Epoque’ or the exquisite apricot-pink Tulipa ‘Ridgedale, or for a really large container some crown imperial fritillaries (Fritillaria imperialis). Famed for their statuesque, slightly punk-rock beauty, the latter produces large clusters of tall-stemmed bell-shaped flowers in shades of yellow and deep orange and capped with a sculptural crown of tufted leaves.
Just make sure to handle their large, fleshy, scaled bulbs very gently and plant them slightly on their sides to help prevent them succumbing to winter rot in wet soil. A handful of horticultural grit added into the planting hole will also help to provide the sharp drainage that this species needs to flourish. For extra oomph, combine your late-flowering layer of taller bulbous species with another late flowering but lower-growing bulbous species such as grape hyacinths (Muscari) that will provide the perfect foil, and then finish off with some spring bedding.
Always bear in mind that even in the midst of winter containers can still dry out during a dry, windy spell of weather, so check them regularly and keep them sufficiently watered when required.
In a mixed border: The choice of suitable varieties of spring-flowering bulbs for the border is so huge that it’s truly mind-boggling. Most of the window box varieties mentioned above will work brilliantly along the front edge to give colour, scent and food for early emerging pollinators and can be followed by colourful, taller drifts of tulips, alliums and crown imperial fritillaries where space allows for successional waves of flowers throughout the spring months.
Just bear in mind the fact that the fleshy bulbs of all of these species can be all too easily accidentally damaged by digging or weeding a border in early spring, autumn or winter, injuring their nascent flowers or even killing the plants by unknowingly slicing their bulbs in half with the tip of a sharp spade. To help avoid this happening, as well as to extend the lifetime of bulbous plants, bury them deeply (as much as 15cm when it comes to tulips) and mark their position with a discreet label.
It’s also important to bear in mind that the foliage of spring-flowering bulbs can look unsightly as it naturally dies back after flowering. Plan for this by positioning them in such a way that the freshly-emerging foliage of nearby herbaceous perennials, grasses and ferns (examples include varieties of cranesbill/geranium, hellebore, pulmonaria, matteuccia, euphorbia) and spring bedding plants (forget-me-nots, wallflowers, honesty) will quickly conceal it. Last but not least for maximum impact avoid a jumble of colour and instead concentrate on larger quantities of fewer varieties, almost always the very best way to make any planting scheme sing.
This week in the garden
The weather extremes, early autumn mists, and record rainfall of recent weeks have been challenging and caused a spike in common plant diseases. This is especially true of plants growing in polytunnels and glasshouses, where the increased humidity and abrupt changes of temperature have been very stressful for some species. To keep plants as healthy and vigorous as possible keep these covered spaces well ventilated during the day, and regularly inspect crops for any early signs of damage, decay or disease. Quickly cut off and bag afflicted leaves, flowers and fruit where possible to avoid it spreading.
Order/buy spring-flowering bulbs in the coming weeks while stocks are still high and there’s still an abundant choice of the most desirable varieties. Recommended Irish suppliers include mrmiddleton.com and connectingtonature.ie. Almost all spring-flowering bulbs are best planted as soon as possible, the exception being tulips, planting of which should be delayed until late autumn/early winter when the ground is colder to help prevent disease. For the same reason only plant firm, plump, healthy looking bulbs that are free of obvious blemishes or pitting.
Dates for your diary
Tuesday, September 26th, (7pm), White Sands Hotel, Portmarnock, Co Dublin, D13 W7X2, an illustrated talk by the renowned American plantsman, nurseryman and author Dan Hinkley on behalf of Howth & Sutton Horticultural Society. This ticketed event (€15) must be reserved/booked in advance, see hshs.ie
Dan Hinkley will also be one of the guest speakers at Kells Bay Gardens’ Southern Symposium (Friday, September 29th – Sunday, September 30th), along with Seamus O’Brien, Bleddyn and Sue Wynne-Jones, Jack Aldridge and Ken Cox. To reserve tickets for this three-day event, see kellsgardens.ie
Continuing until October 1st, the Walled Garden, Mutton Ln, Tibradden, Dublin, D16 R972, Mount Venus Nursery’s annual autumn sale with a wide range of exceptional garden plants for sale at reduced prices, see mountvenusnursery.com
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As all good gardeners know late September marks the beginning of the spring-flowering bulb planting season. Pop these fleshy, modified stems in the ground this autumn and you’ll be casting a kind of horticultural spell that will magic up a world of beauty, a form of horticultural alchemy that never ceases to amaze.
But which bulb where? What varieties, for example, are suitable for a window box, or for beneath the shade of tree or shrub? Which will do well in a large pot or in a mixed border? What about mixing different varieties together in the same container or in the ground? Are
|
there any that need a little cosseting or which will grow happily with minimal intervention?
And what about longevity… are all of them properly perennial or are some best discarded after they’ve finished flowering? See below for some useful suggestions.
For a window box: Treat these containers like gardens in miniature, using species/varieties of bulbs that reflect their compact size and scale. Examples include varieties of snowdrops, scilla, chionodoxa, crocus, hyacinths, anemone (varieties of Anemone blanda and Anemone nemorosa), grape hyacinths (Muscari) and compact varieties of daffodils (examples include Narcissus ‘Tete a Tete’, Narcissus ‘Martinette’ and Narcissus ‘Niveth’), as well as dainty reticulate irises (Iris reticulata) and small tulips such as Tulipa saxatilis.
For a decent display plant the bulbs very generously and much more densely than you would if planting in the ground (so almost touching) and use a really good quality multipurpose compost leavened with plenty of horticultural grit or vermiculite for good drainage. For maximum impact limit your choice to no more than three-four different species/varieties, and plant them in layers, with the earliest flowering varieties to the top and the latest flowering to the bottom. Then finish off with some hardy, low-growing bedding plants such as violas, pansies or forget-me-nots, planted tightly together to cover the compost, bearing in mind that the latter’s growth will be minimal in the cold, short winter days to come.
For beneath the shade of a tree or shrub: Not many species of spring-flowering bulbs thrive in the dry, dense, year-round shade cast by evergreen species of trees and shrubs, but it’s a different story when it comes to the more gentle, seasonal shade cast by deciduous species which suits most of them far better. Even then they’ll appreciate a helping hand in the shape of some well-rotted home-made garden compost or leaf mould worked into the soil at planting time.
Suitable species include dainty snowdrops (the native Galanthus nivalis in particular will quickly form substantial clumps, while the stately Galanthus ‘S Arnott’ is always a great choice); crocus (suitable examples include Crocus tommasinianus, and the giant-flowered Crocus ‘Pickwick’; anemones (varieties of Anemone blanda and Anemone nemorosa); golden winter aconites (Eranthis hyemalis), cyclamen (Cyclamen coum); erythronium; snake’s head fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris) and bluebells (seek out bulbs of the native Hyacinthoides non-scripta), all of which are hardy perennials that when left undisturbed will self-seed and naturalise over time to slowly form gentle drifts.
For a sunny or lightly shaded, spring-flowering meadow, or uncut areas of lawn: As long as you can give their bulbs a moist but free-draining soil many kinds of daffodils (examples include Narcissus poeticus var recurvus, Narcissus pseudonarcissus and Narcissus obvallaris), as well as camassia (examples include the blue-flowered Camassia leichtlinii subsp. suksdorfii, deep blue Camassia ‘Orion’ and the white flowered Camassia leichtlinii subsp. suksdorfii ‘Alba’}; late spring-flowering alliums (Allium siculum and Allium hollandicum) and snake’s head fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris), will all do well in these kinds of growing conditions and are large enough to make an impact from afar.
So will certain varieties of tulip including the scarlet-flowered T. ‘Red Shine’, Tulipa sprengeri, and the red-and-yellow T. ‘Cornuta’ (often sold as Tulipa acuminata). Just make sure to plant their bulbs in naturalistic drifts rather than stiff clumps, avoid deadheading the faded blooms after flowering (you want them to set seed) and delay mowing, strimming or scything until the foliage has died back naturally. This way the bulbs can draw down valuable nutrients from the leaves which allows them to properly fatten underground in preparation for the following year.
For a large container: A large pot or tub gives gardeners the opportunity to splurge on some really choice varieties of spring-flowering bulbs without breaking the bank. Container growing is also the best solution if you’re short on growing space or your garden can’t provide the right kind of growing conditions in the ground (it might be too wet, for example, or the soil too poor), or if you’re dealing with destructive, persistent soil diseases such as the dreaded tulip fire.
Use the lasagne method of planting as described above where you plant in layers, making sure that the lowest layer (the first layer of bulbs into the pot but the last to flower) contains one or two tall, late-flowering varieties. Examples include parrot and double-late tulips such as the eternally fashionable T. ‘Belle Epoque’ or the exquisite apricot-pink Tulipa ‘Ridgedale, or for a really large container some crown imperial fritillaries (Fritillaria imperialis). Famed for their statuesque, slightly punk-rock beauty, the latter produces large clusters of tall-stemmed bell-shaped flowers in shades of yellow and deep orange and capped with a sculptural crown of tufted leaves.
Just make sure to handle their large, fleshy, scaled bulbs very gently and plant them slightly on their sides to help prevent them succumbing to winter rot in wet soil. A handful of horticultural grit added into the planting hole will also help to provide the sharp drainage that this species needs to flourish. For extra oomph, combine your late-flowering layer of taller bulbous species with another late flowering but lower-growing bulbous species such as grape hyacinths (Muscari) that will provide the perfect foil, and then finish off with some spring bedding.
Always bear in mind that even in the midst of winter containers can still dry out during a dry, windy spell of weather, so check them regularly and keep them sufficiently watered when required.
In a mixed border: The choice of suitable varieties of spring-flowering bulbs for the border is so huge that it’s truly mind-boggling. Most of the window box varieties mentioned above will work brilliantly along the front edge to give colour, scent and food for early emerging pollinators and can be followed by colourful, taller drifts of tulips, alliums and crown imperial fritillaries where space allows for successional waves of flowers throughout the spring months.
Just bear in mind the fact that the fleshy bulbs of all of these species can be all too easily accidentally damaged by digging or weeding a border in early spring, autumn or winter, injuring their nascent flowers or even killing the plants by unknowingly slicing their bulbs in half with the tip of a sharp spade. To help avoid this happening, as well as to extend the lifetime of bulbous plants, bury them deeply (as much as 15cm when it comes to tulips) and mark their position with a discreet label.
It’s also important to bear in mind that the foliage of spring-flowering bulbs can look unsightly as it naturally dies back after flowering. Plan for this by positioning them in such a way that the freshly-emerging foliage of nearby herbaceous perennials, grasses and ferns (examples include varieties of cranesbill/geranium, hellebore, pulmonaria, matteuccia, euphorbia) and spring bedding plants (forget-me-nots, wallflowers, honesty) will quickly conceal it. Last but not least for maximum impact avoid a jumble of colour and instead concentrate on larger quantities of fewer varieties, almost always the very best way to make any planting scheme sing.
This week in the garden
The weather extremes, early autumn mists, and record rainfall of recent weeks have been challenging and caused a spike in common plant diseases. This is especially true of plants growing in polytunnels and glasshouses, where the increased humidity and abrupt changes of temperature have been very stressful for some species. To keep plants as healthy and vigorous as possible keep these covered spaces well ventilated during the day, and regularly inspect crops for any early signs of damage, decay or disease. Quickly cut off and bag afflicted leaves, flowers and fruit where possible to avoid it spreading.
Order/buy spring-flowering bulbs in the coming weeks while stocks are still high and there’s still an abundant choice of the most desirable varieties. Recommended Irish suppliers include mrmiddleton.com and connectingtonature.ie. Almost all spring-flowering bulbs are best planted as soon as possible, the exception being tulips, planting of which should be delayed until late autumn/early winter when the ground is colder to help prevent disease. For the same reason only plant firm, plump, healthy looking bulbs that are free of obvious blemishes or pitting.
Dates for your diary
Tuesday, September 26th, (7pm), White Sands Hotel, Portmarnock, Co Dublin, D13 W7X2, an illustrated talk by the renowned American plantsman, nurseryman and author Dan Hinkley on behalf of Howth & Sutton Horticultural Society. This ticketed event (€15) must be reserved/booked in advance, see hshs.ie
Dan Hinkley will also be one of the guest speakers at Kells Bay Gardens’ Southern Symposium (Friday, September 29th – Sunday, September 30th), along with Seamus O’Brien, Bleddyn and Sue Wynne-Jones, Jack Aldridge and Ken Cox. To reserve tickets for this three-day event, see kellsgardens.ie
Continuing until October 1st, the Walled Garden, Mutton Ln, Tibradden, Dublin, D16 R972, Mount Venus Nursery’s annual autumn sale with a wide range of exceptional garden plants for sale at reduced prices, see mountvenusnursery.com
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The pace of technological innovation has led to a transformation in many areas of our lives. In 2023, although it is only Spring, the impact of emerging technologies including artificial intelligence/machine learning, 5G, IoT, and quantum are significantly impacting everything connected to the internet.
The introduction of these potentially disruptive technologies do have implications on cybersecurity and the challenges of keeping us safe. In particular, AI is the hot topic of focus as generative artificial intelligence can leverage ChatGPT-powered for code, and ai/machine learning to amplify social engineering capabilities and help identify target vulnerabilities for hackers. These evolving tech trends and statistics are already telling a story for 2023.
As data continues to be produced and stored in greater volumes, and as connectivity greatly expands globally on the internet, the attack surface has become more exploitable with gaps and vulnerabilities for criminal and nation state hackers. And they are taking advantage.
In fact, the global cyber-attacks Rose by 7% already in Q1 2023. “Weekly cyber-attacks have increased worldwide by 7% in Q1 2023 compared to the same period last year, with each firm facing an average of 1248 attacks per week. The figures come from Check Point’s latest research report, which also suggests that the education and research sector experienced the highest number of attacks, rising to an average of 2507 per organization per week (a 15% increase compared to Q1 2022). The Check Point report also shows that 1 in 31 organizations worldwide experienced a ransomware attack weekly over the first quarter of 2023.” Global Cyber Attacks Rise by 7% in Q1 2023 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
In addition, key malware statistics for 2023 are adding to cybersecurity difficulties. It is estimated that 560,000 new pieces of malware are detected every day and that there are now more than 1 billion malware programs circulating. This translates to four companies falling victim to ransomware attacks every minute. A Not-So-Common Cold: Malware Statistics in 2023 (dataprot.net)
To top it off with more alarming statistics, so far almost 340 million people have been affected by publicly-reported data breaches or leaks in 2023 according to a public data breach tracker created by the U.K. news site The Independent. Cyber Security Today, April 28, 2023 – Data on over 340 million people exposed so far this year | IT World Canada News
SECURING DATA AS VULNERABILITIES AND THE GLOBAL INTERNET ATTACK SURFACE GROWS
Last year, global 5G connections increased 76% in 2022 to 1.05B; 5G penetration hit 32% in North America. Global 5G connections are set to reach 1.9B in 2023. For cybersecurity that means less latency and faster attacks by threat actors. Global 5G Connections Set to Hit 1.9B in 2023 | TV Tech (tvtechnology.com)
Both cyber-attacks and vulnerabilities are expanding. A new report, State of Cyber Assets Report (SCAR) shows released by the cyber asset management company JupiterOne, analyzed over 291 million assets, findings, and policies to determine the current state of enterprise cloud assets. The report found that the number of assets organizations manage on average has increased by 133% year-over-year, from 165,000 in 2022 to 393,419 in 2023. The number of security vulnerabilities has grown disproportionately, jumping up 589%. According to the report, data is the most vulnerable type of asset, accounting for nearly 60% of all security findings.
“The report also highlighted the challenges that security teams are facing, showing that, on average, a security team is responsible for 393,419 assets and attributes, 830,639 potential security risks, and 55,473 policies. This has led to security fatigue and staffing shortages in many organizations. ” Report: Cyber vulnerabilities skyrocket 589%, underscoring importance of cybersecurity | WRAL TechWire
While many industry sectors have been the target of cyber-attacks, including financial, education, and retail, the healthcare industry still is in the cross hairs of criminal hackers. This makes sense as many health institutions still lack the proper investment and expertise in cybersecurity because their funding goes to medical equipment and operations. Criminal hackers tend to go for the low hanging fruit. In the case of healthcare, the liability risks make ransomware a logical means of extortion.
HEALTHCARE STILL HINDERED BY CYBER ATTACKS
“According to the IBM 2022 Cost of a Data Breach report, the healthcare industry is still the costliest industry for a breach — at $10.1 million on average — for the twelfth year in a row. Fortified Health found that 78% of data breaches in 2022 were from hacking and IT incidents, an increase from 45% in 2018. Unauthorized access — the second leading cause — accounted for 38% of incidents in 2018 and now is only responsible for 16%. Other causes noted were theft, loss and improper data disposal.”
“Attackers often set their sights on healthcare organizations because breaches and incidents have a high impact. Because healthcare is an essential service, organizations are more likely to pay ransoms to provide continuous care when business disruptions can have devastating consequences. Additionally, healthcare organizations possess high-value data, such as personal and financial information. Attackers can often resell records for high prices on the dark web.” Hacking Caused 80% of Healthcare Data Breaches in 2022 (securityintelligence.com)
BE CAREFUL ON WHAT YOU CLICK ON
Phishing is still one of the preferred methods used by criminal hackers. Why, because it is easy to do and successful, especially now that many of the attacks are being automated.
New research shows that up to a half of all HTML email attachments are malicious. “This rate of malicious HTML prevalence is double compared to what it was last year and doesn't appear to be the result of mass attack campaigns that send the same attachment to a large number of people.”
“Barracuda used its telemetry to perform an analysis in May 2022 and found that 21% of the HTML attachments its products scanned that month were malicious. This was by far the highest malicious-to-clean ratio of any file type sent via email, but it progressively got worse since then, reaching 45.7% in March this year.So, for anyone who receives an HTML attachment via email right now there's a one in two chance it's malicious”Attacks increasingly use malicious HTML email attachments | CSO Online
RANSOMWARE, THE SCOURGE CONTINUES
Emerging technologies combined with the ability to be paid in cryptocurrencies that are hard to trace has accelerated ransomware attacks in recent years. The trend continues, ransom demands, recovery times, payments and breach lawsuits all on the rise.
“In 2022, we saw increases in average ransom demands, average ransom payments, and average recovery times in most industries,” the report authors wrote. “The lull in ransomware that marked the start of the year is over. Ransomware groups have resumed attacks, and organizations must redouble their efforts to defend themselves against increasing attacks.”
Baker Hostetlet’s Digital Assets and Data Management examined over 1,160 incidents from 2022. While many organizations have bolstered security and resilience, the data shows that threat actors continue to adapt and find footholds onto the network through evasive malware, social engineering, “multi-factor authentication bombing”, and credential stuffing.”
The average time to recover from ransomware rose in nearly every sector, “and in most cases, significantly.” In 2021, the average recovery time for all sectors was just over a week. Last year, the retail, restaurant, and hospitality sectors saw an increase in the average recovery time from 7.8 days in 2021 to 14.9 days in 2022, or a 91% increase.
Healthcare saw a 69% rise in the length of recovery, followed by a 54% uptick for the energy and technology sectors, and 46% in the government industry segments. These increases mirrored a spike in ransom demands in 6 out of 8 industries, with an average payment of $600,688.” Ransom demands, recovery times, payments and breach lawsuits all on the rise | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
For a detailed examination of the ransomware threat, please see my FORBES article Ransomware on A Rampage:
THE SUPPLY CHAIN NEEDS CYBERSECURITY BOLSTERING
One of the biggest vulnerabilities for cyber-attacks has been on the supply chain. This was highlighted by the Colonial Pipeline and Solar Winds breaches and many others. It is a formidable task to protect any business or organization from the bast array of cyber- attacks, but when they are part of a supply chain with other parties or vendors, it becomes even a larger challenge. The reality is that 9 out of 10 companies have recently detected software supply chain security risks.
“Reversing Labs Software Supply Chain Risk Survey found that nearly 90% of technology professionals detected significant risks in their software supply chain in the last year. More than 70% said that current application security solutions aren't providing necessary protections. More than 300 global executives, technology and security professionals at all seniority levels directly responsible for software at enterprise companies, were surveyed for the study.”
“Nearly all respondents (98%) recognized that software supply chain issues pose a significant business risk, citing concerns beyond code with vulnerabilities, secrets exposures, tampering and certificate misconfigurations. Interestingly, more than half of technology professionals (55%) cited secrets leaked through source code as a serious business risk followed by malicious code (52%) and suspicious code (46%).”9 out of 10 companies detected software supply chain security risks | Security Magazine
And data released from Black Kite’s 2023 Ransomware Landscape Report finds the number of ransomware victims announced in March 2023 was nearly double that of April 2022 and 1.6 times higher than the peak month in 2022. Other key findings from April 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023, include:
- The top targeted industries were Manufacturing (19.5%), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (15.3%), and Educational Services (6.1%).
- The United States was the top targeted country, accounting for 43% of victim organizations, followed by the UK (5.7%) and Germany (4.4%).
- Ransomware groups tend to target companies with annual revenues of around $50M to $60M, with third-party vendors often being targeted for client information extortion.
- The top ransomware groups during the analysis period included Lockbit (29%), AlphaVM (BlackCat) (8.6%), and Black Basta (7.2%).
HIDING BREACHES IS A DANGEROUS POLICY
Because company reputations and stock prices can be impacted by a breach disclosure, that is often a reluctance to report an incursion to the public. New laws that require disclosure, especially in the banking and financial community are on the books and should help to quell this trend, but apparently it has not taken root yet.
“New research released by cybersecurity vendor Bitdefender today surveyed over 400 IT and security professionals who work in companies with 1,000 or more employees. Bitdefender found that 42% of IT and security professionals surveyed had been told to keep breaches confidential — i.e., to cover them up — when they should have been reported. ”
“Perhaps even more shockingly, 29.9% of respondents admitted to actually keeping a breach confidential instead of reporting it. This research highlights that an alarming number of organizations are willing to ignore their obligations to report data breaches to regulators and customers, in an attempt to avoid legal and financial penalties.” A third of organizations admit to covering up data breaches | VentureBeat
MITIGATING THE EMERGING THREATS
While the threats are more sophisticated and capable, there are some basic cyber-hygiene measures that any company or individual can do to make themselves less of a target. They include:
Multi-factor authentication (MFA): MFA helps limit the possibility of unauthorized access. Enforcing “always-on” MFA through additional physical controls or temporary secondary codes makes life for a cybercriminal more difficult.
Identity and access management: Identity and access management (“IAM”) ensures that only the right people and job roles in your organization can access the tools they need to do their jobs. Through single sign on applications, your organization can manage employee apps without having them log into each app as an administrator.
Strong password management: There are practical remedies to get beyond that bad habit of using easy passwords to crack. Do not use default passwords on your devices and when you do create passwords make them complicated. Consider making them long or using phrases with letters, numbers, and characters.
Protective Tools: for better protection also consider using firewalls, and adding antivirus & intrusion detection software to your devices.
Update and Backup: be sure to update and patch your network in a timely manner and maintain a robust backup program that segments and encrypts sensitive data.
Finally have an Incident Response Plan, anyone in the growing and sophisticated cyber universe can become a victim and attackers always have an asymmetrical advantage.
This is just a small snapshot of some of the trends and statistics that are emerging on the cyber ecosystem in 2023. It is more important than ever to be vigilant and cyber-aware as there is much to be worried about on the cyber-threat horizon.
About The Author:
Chuck Brooks is a globally recognized thought leader and subject matter expert Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies. Chuck is also an Adjunct Faculty at Georgetown University’s Graduate Cybersecurity Risk Management Program where he teaches courses on risk management, homeland security technologies, and cybersecurity. LinkedIn named Chuck as one of “The Top 5 Tech People to Follow on LinkedIn.” He was named “Cybersecurity Person of the Year for 2022” by The Cyber Express, and as one of the world’s “10 Best Cyber Security and Technology Experts” by Best Rated, as a “Top 50 Global Influencer in Risk, Compliance,” by Thompson Reuters, “Best of The Word in Security” by CISO Platform, and by IFSEC, and Thinkers 360 as the “#2 Global Cybersecurity Influencer.” He was featured in the 2020, 2021, and 2022 Onalytica "Who's Who in Cybersecurity" He was also named one of the Top 5 Executives to Follow on Cybersecurity by Executive Mosaic, He is a GovCon Expert for Executive Mosaic/GovCon Wire, He is also a Cybersecurity Expert for “The Network” at the Washington Post, Visiting Editor at Homeland Security Today, and a Contributor to Skytop Media, and to FORBES. He has an MA in International relations from the University of Chicago, a BA in Political Science from DePauw University, and a Certificate in International Law from The Hague Academy of International Law.
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The pace of technological innovation has led to a transformation in many areas of our lives. In 2023, although it is only Spring, the impact of emerging technologies including artificial intelligence/machine learning, 5G, IoT, and quantum are significantly impacting everything connected to the internet.
The introduction of these potentially disruptive technologies do have implications on cybersecurity and the challenges of keeping us safe. In particular, AI is the hot topic of focus as generative artificial intelligence can leverage ChatGPT-powered for code, and ai/machine learning to amplify social engineering capabilities and help identify target vulnerabilities for hackers. These evolving tech trends
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and statistics are already telling a story for 2023.
As data continues to be produced and stored in greater volumes, and as connectivity greatly expands globally on the internet, the attack surface has become more exploitable with gaps and vulnerabilities for criminal and nation state hackers. And they are taking advantage.
In fact, the global cyber-attacks Rose by 7% already in Q1 2023. “Weekly cyber-attacks have increased worldwide by 7% in Q1 2023 compared to the same period last year, with each firm facing an average of 1248 attacks per week. The figures come from Check Point’s latest research report, which also suggests that the education and research sector experienced the highest number of attacks, rising to an average of 2507 per organization per week (a 15% increase compared to Q1 2022). The Check Point report also shows that 1 in 31 organizations worldwide experienced a ransomware attack weekly over the first quarter of 2023.” Global Cyber Attacks Rise by 7% in Q1 2023 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
In addition, key malware statistics for 2023 are adding to cybersecurity difficulties. It is estimated that 560,000 new pieces of malware are detected every day and that there are now more than 1 billion malware programs circulating. This translates to four companies falling victim to ransomware attacks every minute. A Not-So-Common Cold: Malware Statistics in 2023 (dataprot.net)
To top it off with more alarming statistics, so far almost 340 million people have been affected by publicly-reported data breaches or leaks in 2023 according to a public data breach tracker created by the U.K. news site The Independent. Cyber Security Today, April 28, 2023 – Data on over 340 million people exposed so far this year | IT World Canada News
SECURING DATA AS VULNERABILITIES AND THE GLOBAL INTERNET ATTACK SURFACE GROWS
Last year, global 5G connections increased 76% in 2022 to 1.05B; 5G penetration hit 32% in North America. Global 5G connections are set to reach 1.9B in 2023. For cybersecurity that means less latency and faster attacks by threat actors. Global 5G Connections Set to Hit 1.9B in 2023 | TV Tech (tvtechnology.com)
Both cyber-attacks and vulnerabilities are expanding. A new report, State of Cyber Assets Report (SCAR) shows released by the cyber asset management company JupiterOne, analyzed over 291 million assets, findings, and policies to determine the current state of enterprise cloud assets. The report found that the number of assets organizations manage on average has increased by 133% year-over-year, from 165,000 in 2022 to 393,419 in 2023. The number of security vulnerabilities has grown disproportionately, jumping up 589%. According to the report, data is the most vulnerable type of asset, accounting for nearly 60% of all security findings.
“The report also highlighted the challenges that security teams are facing, showing that, on average, a security team is responsible for 393,419 assets and attributes, 830,639 potential security risks, and 55,473 policies. This has led to security fatigue and staffing shortages in many organizations. ” Report: Cyber vulnerabilities skyrocket 589%, underscoring importance of cybersecurity | WRAL TechWire
While many industry sectors have been the target of cyber-attacks, including financial, education, and retail, the healthcare industry still is in the cross hairs of criminal hackers. This makes sense as many health institutions still lack the proper investment and expertise in cybersecurity because their funding goes to medical equipment and operations. Criminal hackers tend to go for the low hanging fruit. In the case of healthcare, the liability risks make ransomware a logical means of extortion.
HEALTHCARE STILL HINDERED BY CYBER ATTACKS
“According to the IBM 2022 Cost of a Data Breach report, the healthcare industry is still the costliest industry for a breach — at $10.1 million on average — for the twelfth year in a row. Fortified Health found that 78% of data breaches in 2022 were from hacking and IT incidents, an increase from 45% in 2018. Unauthorized access — the second leading cause — accounted for 38% of incidents in 2018 and now is only responsible for 16%. Other causes noted were theft, loss and improper data disposal.”
“Attackers often set their sights on healthcare organizations because breaches and incidents have a high impact. Because healthcare is an essential service, organizations are more likely to pay ransoms to provide continuous care when business disruptions can have devastating consequences. Additionally, healthcare organizations possess high-value data, such as personal and financial information. Attackers can often resell records for high prices on the dark web.” Hacking Caused 80% of Healthcare Data Breaches in 2022 (securityintelligence.com)
BE CAREFUL ON WHAT YOU CLICK ON
Phishing is still one of the preferred methods used by criminal hackers. Why, because it is easy to do and successful, especially now that many of the attacks are being automated.
New research shows that up to a half of all HTML email attachments are malicious. “This rate of malicious HTML prevalence is double compared to what it was last year and doesn't appear to be the result of mass attack campaigns that send the same attachment to a large number of people.”
“Barracuda used its telemetry to perform an analysis in May 2022 and found that 21% of the HTML attachments its products scanned that month were malicious. This was by far the highest malicious-to-clean ratio of any file type sent via email, but it progressively got worse since then, reaching 45.7% in March this year.So, for anyone who receives an HTML attachment via email right now there's a one in two chance it's malicious”Attacks increasingly use malicious HTML email attachments | CSO Online
RANSOMWARE, THE SCOURGE CONTINUES
Emerging technologies combined with the ability to be paid in cryptocurrencies that are hard to trace has accelerated ransomware attacks in recent years. The trend continues, ransom demands, recovery times, payments and breach lawsuits all on the rise.
“In 2022, we saw increases in average ransom demands, average ransom payments, and average recovery times in most industries,” the report authors wrote. “The lull in ransomware that marked the start of the year is over. Ransomware groups have resumed attacks, and organizations must redouble their efforts to defend themselves against increasing attacks.”
Baker Hostetlet’s Digital Assets and Data Management examined over 1,160 incidents from 2022. While many organizations have bolstered security and resilience, the data shows that threat actors continue to adapt and find footholds onto the network through evasive malware, social engineering, “multi-factor authentication bombing”, and credential stuffing.”
The average time to recover from ransomware rose in nearly every sector, “and in most cases, significantly.” In 2021, the average recovery time for all sectors was just over a week. Last year, the retail, restaurant, and hospitality sectors saw an increase in the average recovery time from 7.8 days in 2021 to 14.9 days in 2022, or a 91% increase.
Healthcare saw a 69% rise in the length of recovery, followed by a 54% uptick for the energy and technology sectors, and 46% in the government industry segments. These increases mirrored a spike in ransom demands in 6 out of 8 industries, with an average payment of $600,688.” Ransom demands, recovery times, payments and breach lawsuits all on the rise | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
For a detailed examination of the ransomware threat, please see my FORBES article Ransomware on A Rampage:
THE SUPPLY CHAIN NEEDS CYBERSECURITY BOLSTERING
One of the biggest vulnerabilities for cyber-attacks has been on the supply chain. This was highlighted by the Colonial Pipeline and Solar Winds breaches and many others. It is a formidable task to protect any business or organization from the bast array of cyber- attacks, but when they are part of a supply chain with other parties or vendors, it becomes even a larger challenge. The reality is that 9 out of 10 companies have recently detected software supply chain security risks.
“Reversing Labs Software Supply Chain Risk Survey found that nearly 90% of technology professionals detected significant risks in their software supply chain in the last year. More than 70% said that current application security solutions aren't providing necessary protections. More than 300 global executives, technology and security professionals at all seniority levels directly responsible for software at enterprise companies, were surveyed for the study.”
“Nearly all respondents (98%) recognized that software supply chain issues pose a significant business risk, citing concerns beyond code with vulnerabilities, secrets exposures, tampering and certificate misconfigurations. Interestingly, more than half of technology professionals (55%) cited secrets leaked through source code as a serious business risk followed by malicious code (52%) and suspicious code (46%).”9 out of 10 companies detected software supply chain security risks | Security Magazine
And data released from Black Kite’s 2023 Ransomware Landscape Report finds the number of ransomware victims announced in March 2023 was nearly double that of April 2022 and 1.6 times higher than the peak month in 2022. Other key findings from April 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023, include:
- The top targeted industries were Manufacturing (19.5%), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (15.3%), and Educational Services (6.1%).
- The United States was the top targeted country, accounting for 43% of victim organizations, followed by the UK (5.7%) and Germany (4.4%).
- Ransomware groups tend to target companies with annual revenues of around $50M to $60M, with third-party vendors often being targeted for client information extortion.
- The top ransomware groups during the analysis period included Lockbit (29%), AlphaVM (BlackCat) (8.6%), and Black Basta (7.2%).
HIDING BREACHES IS A DANGEROUS POLICY
Because company reputations and stock prices can be impacted by a breach disclosure, that is often a reluctance to report an incursion to the public. New laws that require disclosure, especially in the banking and financial community are on the books and should help to quell this trend, but apparently it has not taken root yet.
“New research released by cybersecurity vendor Bitdefender today surveyed over 400 IT and security professionals who work in companies with 1,000 or more employees. Bitdefender found that 42% of IT and security professionals surveyed had been told to keep breaches confidential — i.e., to cover them up — when they should have been reported. ”
“Perhaps even more shockingly, 29.9% of respondents admitted to actually keeping a breach confidential instead of reporting it. This research highlights that an alarming number of organizations are willing to ignore their obligations to report data breaches to regulators and customers, in an attempt to avoid legal and financial penalties.” A third of organizations admit to covering up data breaches | VentureBeat
MITIGATING THE EMERGING THREATS
While the threats are more sophisticated and capable, there are some basic cyber-hygiene measures that any company or individual can do to make themselves less of a target. They include:
Multi-factor authentication (MFA): MFA helps limit the possibility of unauthorized access. Enforcing “always-on” MFA through additional physical controls or temporary secondary codes makes life for a cybercriminal more difficult.
Identity and access management: Identity and access management (“IAM”) ensures that only the right people and job roles in your organization can access the tools they need to do their jobs. Through single sign on applications, your organization can manage employee apps without having them log into each app as an administrator.
Strong password management: There are practical remedies to get beyond that bad habit of using easy passwords to crack. Do not use default passwords on your devices and when you do create passwords make them complicated. Consider making them long or using phrases with letters, numbers, and characters.
Protective Tools: for better protection also consider using firewalls, and adding antivirus & intrusion detection software to your devices.
Update and Backup: be sure to update and patch your network in a timely manner and maintain a robust backup program that segments and encrypts sensitive data.
Finally have an Incident Response Plan, anyone in the growing and sophisticated cyber universe can become a victim and attackers always have an asymmetrical advantage.
This is just a small snapshot of some of the trends and statistics that are emerging on the cyber ecosystem in 2023. It is more important than ever to be vigilant and cyber-aware as there is much to be worried about on the cyber-threat horizon.
About The Author:
Chuck Brooks is a globally recognized thought leader and subject matter expert Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies. Chuck is also an Adjunct Faculty at Georgetown University’s Graduate Cybersecurity Risk Management Program where he teaches courses on risk management, homeland security technologies, and cybersecurity. LinkedIn named Chuck as one of “The Top 5 Tech People to Follow on LinkedIn.” He was named “Cybersecurity Person of the Year for 2022” by The Cyber Express, and as one of the world’s “10 Best Cyber Security and Technology Experts” by Best Rated, as a “Top 50 Global Influencer in Risk, Compliance,” by Thompson Reuters, “Best of The Word in Security” by CISO Platform, and by IFSEC, and Thinkers 360 as the “#2 Global Cybersecurity Influencer.” He was featured in the 2020, 2021, and 2022 Onalytica "Who's Who in Cybersecurity" He was also named one of the Top 5 Executives to Follow on Cybersecurity by Executive Mosaic, He is a GovCon Expert for Executive Mosaic/GovCon Wire, He is also a Cybersecurity Expert for “The Network” at the Washington Post, Visiting Editor at Homeland Security Today, and a Contributor to Skytop Media, and to FORBES. He has an MA in International relations from the University of Chicago, a BA in Political Science from DePauw University, and a Certificate in International Law from The Hague Academy of International Law.
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The French historian Fernand Braudel remarks in Out of Italy that “decadence” is what occurs in a civilization when it rejects the ideas and ideals responsible for its origin and growth. In her recently published book, Astrotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race, Mary-Jane Rubenstein, Professor of Religion and Science in Society at Wesleyan University, offers just such a bold rejection of everything that Western humanist civilization stands for or has ever stood for. If you think that the world has had quite enough of freedom, progress, science, and reason, this is the book for you.
Professor Rubenstein opens her book with an attack on space entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, whom she describes as representing the leading edge of a new tribe of robber barons planning to exploit and ruin the pristine solar system for their own greedy ends. However, her real target is not the corporate space race but the very idea that the development of other planets—or indeed our own planet—to meet human needs constitutes a positive goal.
In making this critique, Rubenstein draws from some of the later writings of the medieval historian Lynn White Jr. (1907–1987). White was a follower of the school of thought pioneered by earlier historian Charles Homer Haskins (1870–1937), who, in his seminal 1927 work The Renaissance of the 12th Century soundly refuted the commonly accepted Enlightenment conceit that the period between the fall of the western Roman Empire and the Italian Renaissance was a “dark age” during which little progress in the arts, literature, or anything else of much interest occurred. White backed up Haskin’s arguments for medieval cultural advances with detailed studies of extensive medieval progress in the invention and application of practical technology—including crop rotation, the lateen sail, the stirrup, the wheelbarrow, the spinning wheel, the hand crank, water-driven mills, and windmills—that advanced medieval Europeans far beyond anything achieved by the ancients.
But White took matters further in his seminal April 1940 Speculum article “Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages,” ascribing Western theology's “activist” tradition, its “implicit assumption of the infinite worth of even the most degraded human personality,” and its “repugnance towards subjecting any man to monotonous drudgery” to the West’s primacy in technology. It was these Christian ideas, White said, that drove medieval Europeans to their unprecedented feats of technological wizardry. “The chief glory of the later Middle Ages was not its cathedrals or its epics or its scholasticism: it was the building for the first time in history of a complex civilization which rested not on the backs of sweating slaves or coolies but primarily on non-human power.”
These insights were profound. But in 1967, White switched sides. Jumping aboard the growing environmental movement, he published a new essay, “The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis,” in which he argued that it was precisely such Christian humanist–driven technological progress that was the problem:
We would seem to be headed toward conclusions unpalatable to many Christians … modern technology is at least partly to be explained as an Occidental, voluntarist realization of the Christian dogma of man’s transcendence of, and rightful mastery over nature. But … science and technology … joined to give mankind powers which, to judge by many of the ecologic effects, are out of control. If so, Christianity bears a huge burden of the guilt.
Rubenstein picks up on White’s call to abandon the Judeo-Christian idea of human dominion over nature, but she is far braver than White in taking his rejection of human worth to its logical conclusion. White proposed an alternative ethic based on the notion of “the equality of all God’s creatures.” I don’t think that could work. As my then 10-year-old daughter, Rachel, once brought to my attention, “Everything we eat was once alive.” But, no matter. Rubenstein insists we need to not only avoid harming other living creatures but also inanimate matter as well.
“As the philosopher Holmes Rolston III puts it, we keep asking how to make outer space into ‘resources’ which is to say how ‘this astronomical world can belong to us,’ when what we should be asking is ‘how we belong to it,’ and ‘whether it belongs to itself.’
“How we belong to it [italics in original]. How we might live thoughtfully in our tiny place in the infinite cosmos. How might we ask what it needs from us rather than what we want from it.
“Whether it belongs to itself. Whether asteroids might prefer that we core them out for profit. Whether Mars and the Moon might not, in fact, be up for grabs. Whether rocks themselves have rights.”
If rocks have rights, then surely erosion is a crime. How can Nature be held accountable for such misdeeds? According to Herodotus, the Persian King Xerxes reportedly whipped the waters of the Hellespont when they misbehaved. Yet the efficacy of such action is doubtful.
Rubenstein is aware that some people might not be on board with her train of thought on these matters, and she singles out yours truly as a representative of the opposing school.
“To someone like Zubrin,” she says, “this sort of thinking is insane. The Moon, he says, has no ‘right to remain unchanged.’ In fact it has no rights at all, because ‘clearly the Moon is a dead rock. It cannot do anything, or desire to do anything.’”
I have to give it to Professor Rubenstein; her summary of my view on this issue is 100 percent accurate. However, her refutation of my view seems weak to me. According to Rubenstein, the personhood of the Moon is demonstrated by the fact that its rocks contain records of past events, and its dust can harm astronauts. Therefore the Moon has both memory and agency. “In fact, the Moon might even desire things,” she says. “Considering the respiratory trouble it’s given our astronauts and the functional trouble it’s given their machines, the Moon might well be expressing a geologic desire that human beings remain on their home planet.”
It would indeed be impressive if this were so, as it would require the Moon to have not only memory, agency, and desire, but also the foresight to have developed its anti-respiratory dust defense system billions of years before humans evolved on Earth. But I don’t think Rubenstein’s theory holds together. After all, if the Moon were so smart as to do that, why did it choose to position itself so close to Earth, making itself an easy target for invasion? It just doesn’t make sense.
Rubenstein claims to care about the cause of social justice and attacks the effort to open the space frontier, from the Apollo program onward, as being in opposition to that goal. Yet her claims do not bear scrutiny, and not only because, in point of fact, America achieved its greatest advances in racial equality since the Civil War precisely during the period of its reach for the Moon. The greater problem with Rubenstein’s argument is that the idea of the special worth of humans—whether in religious guise as the image or children of God or stated in secular terms as natural law without the use of a theistic hypothesis—that she so ardently attacks is the foundation for the very concept of fundamental human rights.
If humans are not held to be of infinitely greater worth than animals, let alone microbes or rocks, then there is no moral reason why they cannot be oppressed without limit by anyone forceful enough to do so. Disturbingly, Rubenstein repeatedly and favorably quotes the proto-Nazi philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who won the approval of the genocidal masters of the Third Reich precisely because he dismissed such ethical constraints as mere mystical chains that inferior people would put on their superiors. How anyone can claim to be for social justice while denying the intrinsic value of human beings is beyond me.
The idea of the divine nature of the human spirit that Rubenstein holds in such contempt is also the basis of science. As the great Renaissance astronomer Johannes Kepler said, “Geometry is one and eternal, a reflection out of the mind of God. That mankind shares in it is one reason to call man the image of God.” The entire scientific enterprise is based on a conviction that the human mind has the capacity to discover the laws of causality governing the universe using the power of reason. Rubenstein rejects this, holding that non-causal ad hoc explanations and superstitions regarding natural phenomena, which she dignifies with the term “Indigenous Knowledge,” are of equal value to science.
Rubenstein also makes a number of factual errors in her book. For example, she states repeatedly that humans have destroyed the Earth. This can’t be true. I know this because I have been to Earth—in fact, I’m there right now, and have been for the past 71 years—and I am willing to testify under oath that it has not been destroyed. Not only that, it is a much nicer place to live today than it was when I first arrived.
This vast improvement in living conditions across almost the entire Earth can be demonstrated in every relevant metric, including not only human material wellbeing, environmental cleanliness, public health, personal liberty, and, yes, most especially, gender and racial equity.
Strange to say, but this was accomplished through the continued pursuit of human knowledge of and dominion over nature, precisely the program of building a “complex civilization which rests not on the backs of sweating slaves or coolies but primarily on non-human power” that Rubenstein chooses to condemn.
Musk, Bezos, and all the rest of us trying to establish new creative branches of human civilization on other worlds may or may not succeed. But we are carrying the banner of a noble cause—one responsible for creating humanity’s greatest cultural, political, scientific, and technical achievements. Rubenstein calls that cause a “dangerous religion.”
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The French historian Fernand Braudel remarks in Out of Italy that “decadence” is what occurs in a civilization when it rejects the ideas and ideals responsible for its origin and growth. In her recently published book, Astrotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race, Mary-Jane Rubenstein, Professor of Religion and Science in Society at Wesleyan University, offers just such a bold rejection of everything that Western humanist civilization stands for or has ever stood for. If you think that the world has had quite enough of freedom, progress, science, and reason, this is the book for you.
Professor Rubenstein opens
|
her book with an attack on space entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, whom she describes as representing the leading edge of a new tribe of robber barons planning to exploit and ruin the pristine solar system for their own greedy ends. However, her real target is not the corporate space race but the very idea that the development of other planets—or indeed our own planet—to meet human needs constitutes a positive goal.
In making this critique, Rubenstein draws from some of the later writings of the medieval historian Lynn White Jr. (1907–1987). White was a follower of the school of thought pioneered by earlier historian Charles Homer Haskins (1870–1937), who, in his seminal 1927 work The Renaissance of the 12th Century soundly refuted the commonly accepted Enlightenment conceit that the period between the fall of the western Roman Empire and the Italian Renaissance was a “dark age” during which little progress in the arts, literature, or anything else of much interest occurred. White backed up Haskin’s arguments for medieval cultural advances with detailed studies of extensive medieval progress in the invention and application of practical technology—including crop rotation, the lateen sail, the stirrup, the wheelbarrow, the spinning wheel, the hand crank, water-driven mills, and windmills—that advanced medieval Europeans far beyond anything achieved by the ancients.
But White took matters further in his seminal April 1940 Speculum article “Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages,” ascribing Western theology's “activist” tradition, its “implicit assumption of the infinite worth of even the most degraded human personality,” and its “repugnance towards subjecting any man to monotonous drudgery” to the West’s primacy in technology. It was these Christian ideas, White said, that drove medieval Europeans to their unprecedented feats of technological wizardry. “The chief glory of the later Middle Ages was not its cathedrals or its epics or its scholasticism: it was the building for the first time in history of a complex civilization which rested not on the backs of sweating slaves or coolies but primarily on non-human power.”
These insights were profound. But in 1967, White switched sides. Jumping aboard the growing environmental movement, he published a new essay, “The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis,” in which he argued that it was precisely such Christian humanist–driven technological progress that was the problem:
We would seem to be headed toward conclusions unpalatable to many Christians … modern technology is at least partly to be explained as an Occidental, voluntarist realization of the Christian dogma of man’s transcendence of, and rightful mastery over nature. But … science and technology … joined to give mankind powers which, to judge by many of the ecologic effects, are out of control. If so, Christianity bears a huge burden of the guilt.
Rubenstein picks up on White’s call to abandon the Judeo-Christian idea of human dominion over nature, but she is far braver than White in taking his rejection of human worth to its logical conclusion. White proposed an alternative ethic based on the notion of “the equality of all God’s creatures.” I don’t think that could work. As my then 10-year-old daughter, Rachel, once brought to my attention, “Everything we eat was once alive.” But, no matter. Rubenstein insists we need to not only avoid harming other living creatures but also inanimate matter as well.
“As the philosopher Holmes Rolston III puts it, we keep asking how to make outer space into ‘resources’ which is to say how ‘this astronomical world can belong to us,’ when what we should be asking is ‘how we belong to it,’ and ‘whether it belongs to itself.’
“How we belong to it [italics in original]. How we might live thoughtfully in our tiny place in the infinite cosmos. How might we ask what it needs from us rather than what we want from it.
“Whether it belongs to itself. Whether asteroids might prefer that we core them out for profit. Whether Mars and the Moon might not, in fact, be up for grabs. Whether rocks themselves have rights.”
If rocks have rights, then surely erosion is a crime. How can Nature be held accountable for such misdeeds? According to Herodotus, the Persian King Xerxes reportedly whipped the waters of the Hellespont when they misbehaved. Yet the efficacy of such action is doubtful.
Rubenstein is aware that some people might not be on board with her train of thought on these matters, and she singles out yours truly as a representative of the opposing school.
“To someone like Zubrin,” she says, “this sort of thinking is insane. The Moon, he says, has no ‘right to remain unchanged.’ In fact it has no rights at all, because ‘clearly the Moon is a dead rock. It cannot do anything, or desire to do anything.’”
I have to give it to Professor Rubenstein; her summary of my view on this issue is 100 percent accurate. However, her refutation of my view seems weak to me. According to Rubenstein, the personhood of the Moon is demonstrated by the fact that its rocks contain records of past events, and its dust can harm astronauts. Therefore the Moon has both memory and agency. “In fact, the Moon might even desire things,” she says. “Considering the respiratory trouble it’s given our astronauts and the functional trouble it’s given their machines, the Moon might well be expressing a geologic desire that human beings remain on their home planet.”
It would indeed be impressive if this were so, as it would require the Moon to have not only memory, agency, and desire, but also the foresight to have developed its anti-respiratory dust defense system billions of years before humans evolved on Earth. But I don’t think Rubenstein’s theory holds together. After all, if the Moon were so smart as to do that, why did it choose to position itself so close to Earth, making itself an easy target for invasion? It just doesn’t make sense.
Rubenstein claims to care about the cause of social justice and attacks the effort to open the space frontier, from the Apollo program onward, as being in opposition to that goal. Yet her claims do not bear scrutiny, and not only because, in point of fact, America achieved its greatest advances in racial equality since the Civil War precisely during the period of its reach for the Moon. The greater problem with Rubenstein’s argument is that the idea of the special worth of humans—whether in religious guise as the image or children of God or stated in secular terms as natural law without the use of a theistic hypothesis—that she so ardently attacks is the foundation for the very concept of fundamental human rights.
If humans are not held to be of infinitely greater worth than animals, let alone microbes or rocks, then there is no moral reason why they cannot be oppressed without limit by anyone forceful enough to do so. Disturbingly, Rubenstein repeatedly and favorably quotes the proto-Nazi philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who won the approval of the genocidal masters of the Third Reich precisely because he dismissed such ethical constraints as mere mystical chains that inferior people would put on their superiors. How anyone can claim to be for social justice while denying the intrinsic value of human beings is beyond me.
The idea of the divine nature of the human spirit that Rubenstein holds in such contempt is also the basis of science. As the great Renaissance astronomer Johannes Kepler said, “Geometry is one and eternal, a reflection out of the mind of God. That mankind shares in it is one reason to call man the image of God.” The entire scientific enterprise is based on a conviction that the human mind has the capacity to discover the laws of causality governing the universe using the power of reason. Rubenstein rejects this, holding that non-causal ad hoc explanations and superstitions regarding natural phenomena, which she dignifies with the term “Indigenous Knowledge,” are of equal value to science.
Rubenstein also makes a number of factual errors in her book. For example, she states repeatedly that humans have destroyed the Earth. This can’t be true. I know this because I have been to Earth—in fact, I’m there right now, and have been for the past 71 years—and I am willing to testify under oath that it has not been destroyed. Not only that, it is a much nicer place to live today than it was when I first arrived.
This vast improvement in living conditions across almost the entire Earth can be demonstrated in every relevant metric, including not only human material wellbeing, environmental cleanliness, public health, personal liberty, and, yes, most especially, gender and racial equity.
Strange to say, but this was accomplished through the continued pursuit of human knowledge of and dominion over nature, precisely the program of building a “complex civilization which rests not on the backs of sweating slaves or coolies but primarily on non-human power” that Rubenstein chooses to condemn.
Musk, Bezos, and all the rest of us trying to establish new creative branches of human civilization on other worlds may or may not succeed. But we are carrying the banner of a noble cause—one responsible for creating humanity’s greatest cultural, political, scientific, and technical achievements. Rubenstein calls that cause a “dangerous religion.”
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Despite the fact that Sunday was Superbowl XLVII, one of the top trends on twitter Monday was Richard III. Beginning Monday morning at 10am GMT, a press conference at University of Leicester revealed that the bones that were discovered last September in a car parking lot in the British Midlands were indeed those of Richard III.
Richard III was king of England from 1483 to 1485 through a series of potential shady proclamations regarding the marriage of Edward IV and the birthright of Edward V. Supporters of Edward IV rebelled against this accession. This was part of a series of fights between the House of York and House of Lancaster for control of the throne of England, known as the War of the Roses. In 1485, Richard III faced Henry Tudor on the battlefield at Bosworth. It was the final battle in the War of the Rose. During the battle, Richard III was knocked off of his horse, and suffered numerous blows to the head causing his death at age 32.
It was unknown for five centuries what happened to his body. That is until last September when an archaeological excavation in a car park revealed the remains of the Grey Friars church, thought to be his final resting place. Further excitement began when the remains of an adult male with scoliosis and multiple traumas was found in a nearby. The individual was dated from 1455 to 1540, died in his late 20’s or early 30’s and had a more gracile body (consistent with descriptions of Richard). The spine had an unnatural curvature suggesting scoliosis, one of the major defining traits of the late king. The skeleton had ten major wounds that were received around the time of death including 8 to the head suggesting that his helmet was lost. The skull showed that a blade had hacked away the rear of the cranium, a potential cause of death. Given the consistent age, body shape and the battle wounds, Jo Appleby, the osetoarchaeologist on the project, argued that a fairly conclusive case could be made for his identity. Facial reconstruction further added to the case for his identity since it was done without knowledge of who he actually was and with the help of computer modeling to produce an unbiased image.
Monday they announced the results of the DNA testing. Michael Ibsen is a Canadian-born citizen and a direct descendant of Richard III’s eldest sister, Anne of York. It was his DNA that was compared against the possible king. The DNA showed it was in fact a male and was related to Michael Ibsen. Richard Buckley, lead archaeologist on the project, stated that “beyond reasonable doubt the individual exhumed at Grey Friars on September 12th is indeed Richard III, the last Plantagenet king of England“.
Immediately this led to discussion on Twitter and the website that was live-updating on the report. There were questions of the historical significance and whether the hype regarding the identification was necessary. As the day wore on, there were questions over the interpretation and results. One argument is that this will aid in renewing interest into the period and will help combat Shakepeare’s version of the story, which is slightly misleading and portrays Richard III as the only criminal during the war (As one comment notes in a Time article, even the author doesn’t differentiate the play and reality). There is debate over where he should be buried, with the current location set at St Martin’s Cathedral in Leicester, but arguments for a rightful burial in Westminster Abbey or Windsor Castle with other monarchs.
There is also the question of the accuracy of the DNA test. Comparing mtDNA means that there would be similarities between Ibsen and Richard III if their mothers were related. However, the more generations you go back the higher likelihood there may not be direct relatedness. Two people can have the same mtDNA type by chance, it doesn’t always mean common ancestor. The question then is how rare is this type of DNA, and is the test accurate- something we will only find out when they publish the complete academic journal article.
Personally, I’d have to agree with Kristina Killgrove. The evidence appears to stand up to scrutiny, they definitely have a lot of different lines of evidence to back up their arguments, and until we see the final paper we can’t really draw final conclusions. However, until the publication is released, you’ll just have to enjoy the great responses that people are having to this event on Twitter.
And this music video from Horrible Histories.
|
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Despite the fact that Sunday was Superbowl XLVII, one of the top trends on twitter Monday was Richard III. Beginning Monday morning at 10am GMT, a press conference at University of Leicester revealed that the bones that were discovered last September in a car parking lot in the British Midlands were indeed those of Richard III.
Richard III was king of England from 1483 to 1485 through a series of potential shady proclamations regarding the marriage of Edward IV and the birthright of Edward V. Supporters of Edward IV rebelled against this accession. This was part of a series of fights between
|
the House of York and House of Lancaster for control of the throne of England, known as the War of the Roses. In 1485, Richard III faced Henry Tudor on the battlefield at Bosworth. It was the final battle in the War of the Rose. During the battle, Richard III was knocked off of his horse, and suffered numerous blows to the head causing his death at age 32.
It was unknown for five centuries what happened to his body. That is until last September when an archaeological excavation in a car park revealed the remains of the Grey Friars church, thought to be his final resting place. Further excitement began when the remains of an adult male with scoliosis and multiple traumas was found in a nearby. The individual was dated from 1455 to 1540, died in his late 20’s or early 30’s and had a more gracile body (consistent with descriptions of Richard). The spine had an unnatural curvature suggesting scoliosis, one of the major defining traits of the late king. The skeleton had ten major wounds that were received around the time of death including 8 to the head suggesting that his helmet was lost. The skull showed that a blade had hacked away the rear of the cranium, a potential cause of death. Given the consistent age, body shape and the battle wounds, Jo Appleby, the osetoarchaeologist on the project, argued that a fairly conclusive case could be made for his identity. Facial reconstruction further added to the case for his identity since it was done without knowledge of who he actually was and with the help of computer modeling to produce an unbiased image.
Monday they announced the results of the DNA testing. Michael Ibsen is a Canadian-born citizen and a direct descendant of Richard III’s eldest sister, Anne of York. It was his DNA that was compared against the possible king. The DNA showed it was in fact a male and was related to Michael Ibsen. Richard Buckley, lead archaeologist on the project, stated that “beyond reasonable doubt the individual exhumed at Grey Friars on September 12th is indeed Richard III, the last Plantagenet king of England“.
Immediately this led to discussion on Twitter and the website that was live-updating on the report. There were questions of the historical significance and whether the hype regarding the identification was necessary. As the day wore on, there were questions over the interpretation and results. One argument is that this will aid in renewing interest into the period and will help combat Shakepeare’s version of the story, which is slightly misleading and portrays Richard III as the only criminal during the war (As one comment notes in a Time article, even the author doesn’t differentiate the play and reality). There is debate over where he should be buried, with the current location set at St Martin’s Cathedral in Leicester, but arguments for a rightful burial in Westminster Abbey or Windsor Castle with other monarchs.
There is also the question of the accuracy of the DNA test. Comparing mtDNA means that there would be similarities between Ibsen and Richard III if their mothers were related. However, the more generations you go back the higher likelihood there may not be direct relatedness. Two people can have the same mtDNA type by chance, it doesn’t always mean common ancestor. The question then is how rare is this type of DNA, and is the test accurate- something we will only find out when they publish the complete academic journal article.
Personally, I’d have to agree with Kristina Killgrove. The evidence appears to stand up to scrutiny, they definitely have a lot of different lines of evidence to back up their arguments, and until we see the final paper we can’t really draw final conclusions. However, until the publication is released, you’ll just have to enjoy the great responses that people are having to this event on Twitter.
And this music video from Horrible Histories.
|
The Colorado River has shaped life as we know it in the southwestern United States. Its water has allowed for explosive population growth and agricultural development in some of the driest parts of the country. But due to overallocation and climate change, the river is drying up.
What that means for the future of life in the southwestern U.S. depends, in large part, on how the seven states that rely on the river renegotiate the 1922 Colorado River Compact, and whether they finally allow tribal nations a seat at the bargaining table. In April, the federal government released options for how the states and tribes could cut their use of the river. The states and tribes have until May 30th to comment on the options before federal officials announce a decision.
Over the past year, CPR news worked on “Parched,” a podcast about the Colorado River and some of the brightest and boldest ideas to save it. We looked at the history of the river, the 1922 compact, and how the rover has allowed millions of people to live in the West.
How long is the Colorado River and where does it start?
The river is 1,450 miles long and originates near Grand Lake, Colorado, in Rocky Mountain National Park. It starts as snowfall, then melts and travels southwest through Colorado past Moab, Utah, and then continues on through Lake Powell, on the border of Utah and Arizona. In Arizona, the river continues west and reaches Lake Mead on the Nevada border, before turning south towards California and Mexico. Along the way it blends with other rivers, and collects precipitation.
What is an acre-foot of water?
Simply put, it’s the amount of water that covers one acre of land, one foot deep. It’s about enough for two to three households for a year.
How many people depend on the Colorado River?
The Colorado River system supplies tens of millions of people across the West with water to drink, shower, and work, and it irrigates around 5 million acres of farmland. In addition to that, tens of millions of people visit this region annually, and tourism has become an increasingly large economic driver for the region.
Some proposed housing developments, particularly in Arizona and southern Utah, are being held up because of water shortages. It’s a strong indication that in the near future, the drought will dictate where people can live, how much homes are worth, and where companies and their employees can locate.
Is the Colorado River drying up?
In short, yes. The 1922 compact apportions 15 million acre feet of water a year, divided up among the states. In the current drought, which started in 2000, far less water than that is coming down the river – only about 12 million acre feet a year. It’s been even less in the past three years. That’s why collectively, we’re draining our savings in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, as well as in smaller reservoirs.
Over time, climate change means scientists expect the river will keep delivering less water. How much less is the subject of debate, but it’s predicted to be in the range of 10-45 percent less water by 2050.
What is the Colorado River Compact?
In 1922, seven western U.S. states signed an agreement about how they would use the water in the Colorado River. The states in the upper river basin – Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico – agreed to keep a certain amount of water in the river to ensure the flow reaches states in the lower basin – Arizona, California and Nevada.
That agreement was amended in the 1940s to ensure river water also reached Mexico.
Crucially, the states excluded the voices of tribal nations that live in the upper and lower river basins when they wrote the agreement.
While populations in the West have boomed, we are using more water than is currently available, in part because the region is in a megadrought that has severely reduced how much snowmelt and rain is available in the river for our use.
As the 100-year anniversary of the compact approached in 2022, the seven states, as well as tribal leaders, worked to negotiate a new agreement on who gets to use the water that’s available. However, they missed several deadlines imposed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to decide on cuts that would conserve water. The current rules that divvy up the river expire in 2026, so that’s the deadline for them to come to a new agreement.
What are the water levels in Lake Powell and Lake Mead?
Lake Mead sits at 1,046 feet – near its lowest point since the 1930s, and about a quarter of its capacity.
When CPR News staff reported there in October 2022, we could see parts of the lake that had disappeared as the reservoir filled up, that no one thought they would see again. Hoover Dam, which creates Lake Mead by stopping up the Colorado River, has spillways for when the water level gets too high for the dam. The spillways haven’t been used since the 1980s.
Lake Powell is at 3,524.9 feet at the time of publication – also a near-historic low. But both are expected to rise this year because of strong snowpack this past winter.
The big, pressing fear in the current drought is that both Lake Powell and Lake Mead will get too low to keep delivering water to downstream states (Arizona, California and Nevada) and Indigenous tribes, as well as Mexico – and that the dams that create these reservoirs will stop producing power, which supplies more than 1.3 million people.
Before water gets below those critical levels – known as deadpool – the federal government and the states will take steps to bolster the lakes’ levels. But it’s a delicate dance to see how far the reservoirs need to drop before states will be willing to take drastic steps to reduce water use, or create more water supplies from other sources like desalination.
Why doesn’t Colorado keep more Colorado River water in this state, instead of sending it downstream to other southwestern states and tribal communities?
Collectively, Colorado and the other upper basin states (Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah) are legally allowed to use 7.5 million acre feet of Colorado River water. But they don’t use that full share, so the upper basin states do have a legal argument to build more reservoirs to store and use more water.
But climate change has messed with that equation. There isn’t enough in the river for all the states and tribes to get all the water they are legally entitled to. And Nevada, Arizona and California also have the right to use 7.5 million acre feet.
If Colorado and the other upper basin states were to start using or storing more water, that would mean less for the downstream states. That would challenge an agreement made in 1922 that said the upper basin states wouldn’t deplete the river, to allow a set amount of water to flow downstream to meet the needs of Arizona, Nevada, California and Mexico.
Nevertheless, as recently as this year, some political leaders in Colorado have proposed building more reservoirs to store more water here, instead of letting it flow out of state. But doing so would likely result in lawsuits, and would present permitting and community challenges that could delay it for decades. For example, for the past 20 years, the utility Northern Water has been trying to build a reservoir and pipeline in northern Colorado, and it is not yet cleared to happen.
Some people have set up greywater reuse as an at-home solution. Is this something Colorado would require?
In Colorado, most cities don’t allow greywater reuse.
Greywater is lightly contaminated wastewater, which can come from our showers, bathtubs or laundry machines. It can be reused for outdoor watering if a homeowner separates it from other wastewater, like from toilets or kitchen sinks, and if it’s cleaned it can be used to flush toilets.
Because of concerns about health and safety, at-home greywater reuse was illegal in most of the region until the 1990s, when states started changing their rules to make it possible. But states largely still leave it up to cities to decide how permissive they want to be.
Starting in 2015, Colorado health and environment regulators made it legal for cities to allow at-home greywater reuse, but only a few have created rules to allow it.
Legal restrictions haven’t stopped some people from rigging up systems at home, though. And in some cities that don’t allow at-home greywater reuse, the local water utility has invested in reusing wastewater for outdoor irrigation at a much bigger scale. Cities can use treated wastewater for watering golf courses and city parks, for example. The Denver Zoo uses it for large animal habitats, among other things.
More on the Colorado River
- Why we made ‘Parched,’ a podcast about the Colorado River crisis
- How drought is changing the Colorado River and the lives of the people who depend on it
- US floats options to reduce water pulled from Colorado River
- If the Colorado River keeps drying up, a century-old agreement to share the water could be threatened. No one is sure what happens next.
You want to know what is really going on these days, especially in Colorado. We can help you keep up. The Lookout is a free, daily email newsletter with news and happenings from all over Colorado. Sign up here and we will see you in the morning!
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The Colorado River has shaped life as we know it in the southwestern United States. Its water has allowed for explosive population growth and agricultural development in some of the driest parts of the country. But due to overallocation and climate change, the river is drying up.
What that means for the future of life in the southwestern U.S. depends, in large part, on how the seven states that rely on the river renegotiate the 1922 Colorado River Compact, and whether they finally allow tribal nations a seat at the bargaining table. In April, the federal government released options for how the states and tribes could cut their
|
use of the river. The states and tribes have until May 30th to comment on the options before federal officials announce a decision.
Over the past year, CPR news worked on “Parched,” a podcast about the Colorado River and some of the brightest and boldest ideas to save it. We looked at the history of the river, the 1922 compact, and how the rover has allowed millions of people to live in the West.
How long is the Colorado River and where does it start?
The river is 1,450 miles long and originates near Grand Lake, Colorado, in Rocky Mountain National Park. It starts as snowfall, then melts and travels southwest through Colorado past Moab, Utah, and then continues on through Lake Powell, on the border of Utah and Arizona. In Arizona, the river continues west and reaches Lake Mead on the Nevada border, before turning south towards California and Mexico. Along the way it blends with other rivers, and collects precipitation.
What is an acre-foot of water?
Simply put, it’s the amount of water that covers one acre of land, one foot deep. It’s about enough for two to three households for a year.
How many people depend on the Colorado River?
The Colorado River system supplies tens of millions of people across the West with water to drink, shower, and work, and it irrigates around 5 million acres of farmland. In addition to that, tens of millions of people visit this region annually, and tourism has become an increasingly large economic driver for the region.
Some proposed housing developments, particularly in Arizona and southern Utah, are being held up because of water shortages. It’s a strong indication that in the near future, the drought will dictate where people can live, how much homes are worth, and where companies and their employees can locate.
Is the Colorado River drying up?
In short, yes. The 1922 compact apportions 15 million acre feet of water a year, divided up among the states. In the current drought, which started in 2000, far less water than that is coming down the river – only about 12 million acre feet a year. It’s been even less in the past three years. That’s why collectively, we’re draining our savings in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, as well as in smaller reservoirs.
Over time, climate change means scientists expect the river will keep delivering less water. How much less is the subject of debate, but it’s predicted to be in the range of 10-45 percent less water by 2050.
What is the Colorado River Compact?
In 1922, seven western U.S. states signed an agreement about how they would use the water in the Colorado River. The states in the upper river basin – Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico – agreed to keep a certain amount of water in the river to ensure the flow reaches states in the lower basin – Arizona, California and Nevada.
That agreement was amended in the 1940s to ensure river water also reached Mexico.
Crucially, the states excluded the voices of tribal nations that live in the upper and lower river basins when they wrote the agreement.
While populations in the West have boomed, we are using more water than is currently available, in part because the region is in a megadrought that has severely reduced how much snowmelt and rain is available in the river for our use.
As the 100-year anniversary of the compact approached in 2022, the seven states, as well as tribal leaders, worked to negotiate a new agreement on who gets to use the water that’s available. However, they missed several deadlines imposed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to decide on cuts that would conserve water. The current rules that divvy up the river expire in 2026, so that’s the deadline for them to come to a new agreement.
What are the water levels in Lake Powell and Lake Mead?
Lake Mead sits at 1,046 feet – near its lowest point since the 1930s, and about a quarter of its capacity.
When CPR News staff reported there in October 2022, we could see parts of the lake that had disappeared as the reservoir filled up, that no one thought they would see again. Hoover Dam, which creates Lake Mead by stopping up the Colorado River, has spillways for when the water level gets too high for the dam. The spillways haven’t been used since the 1980s.
Lake Powell is at 3,524.9 feet at the time of publication – also a near-historic low. But both are expected to rise this year because of strong snowpack this past winter.
The big, pressing fear in the current drought is that both Lake Powell and Lake Mead will get too low to keep delivering water to downstream states (Arizona, California and Nevada) and Indigenous tribes, as well as Mexico – and that the dams that create these reservoirs will stop producing power, which supplies more than 1.3 million people.
Before water gets below those critical levels – known as deadpool – the federal government and the states will take steps to bolster the lakes’ levels. But it’s a delicate dance to see how far the reservoirs need to drop before states will be willing to take drastic steps to reduce water use, or create more water supplies from other sources like desalination.
Why doesn’t Colorado keep more Colorado River water in this state, instead of sending it downstream to other southwestern states and tribal communities?
Collectively, Colorado and the other upper basin states (Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah) are legally allowed to use 7.5 million acre feet of Colorado River water. But they don’t use that full share, so the upper basin states do have a legal argument to build more reservoirs to store and use more water.
But climate change has messed with that equation. There isn’t enough in the river for all the states and tribes to get all the water they are legally entitled to. And Nevada, Arizona and California also have the right to use 7.5 million acre feet.
If Colorado and the other upper basin states were to start using or storing more water, that would mean less for the downstream states. That would challenge an agreement made in 1922 that said the upper basin states wouldn’t deplete the river, to allow a set amount of water to flow downstream to meet the needs of Arizona, Nevada, California and Mexico.
Nevertheless, as recently as this year, some political leaders in Colorado have proposed building more reservoirs to store more water here, instead of letting it flow out of state. But doing so would likely result in lawsuits, and would present permitting and community challenges that could delay it for decades. For example, for the past 20 years, the utility Northern Water has been trying to build a reservoir and pipeline in northern Colorado, and it is not yet cleared to happen.
Some people have set up greywater reuse as an at-home solution. Is this something Colorado would require?
In Colorado, most cities don’t allow greywater reuse.
Greywater is lightly contaminated wastewater, which can come from our showers, bathtubs or laundry machines. It can be reused for outdoor watering if a homeowner separates it from other wastewater, like from toilets or kitchen sinks, and if it’s cleaned it can be used to flush toilets.
Because of concerns about health and safety, at-home greywater reuse was illegal in most of the region until the 1990s, when states started changing their rules to make it possible. But states largely still leave it up to cities to decide how permissive they want to be.
Starting in 2015, Colorado health and environment regulators made it legal for cities to allow at-home greywater reuse, but only a few have created rules to allow it.
Legal restrictions haven’t stopped some people from rigging up systems at home, though. And in some cities that don’t allow at-home greywater reuse, the local water utility has invested in reusing wastewater for outdoor irrigation at a much bigger scale. Cities can use treated wastewater for watering golf courses and city parks, for example. The Denver Zoo uses it for large animal habitats, among other things.
More on the Colorado River
- Why we made ‘Parched,’ a podcast about the Colorado River crisis
- How drought is changing the Colorado River and the lives of the people who depend on it
- US floats options to reduce water pulled from Colorado River
- If the Colorado River keeps drying up, a century-old agreement to share the water could be threatened. No one is sure what happens next.
You want to know what is really going on these days, especially in Colorado. We can help you keep up. The Lookout is a free, daily email newsletter with news and happenings from all over Colorado. Sign up here and we will see you in the morning!
|
In the hills of Rio de Janeiro's Complexo do Alemão stands a cable car that once ferried passengers from the favela to the city. It cut a trip that originally took hours down to just 16 minutes.
Now, it sits disused and decaying, useful only as a symbol of the massive social inequality that besets Brazil's second largest city.
Opened to much fanfare in 2011, the Teleférico was part of a massive city-wide urban renewal program launched in the lead-up to the 2016 Olympics.
The 3.4-kilometre, six-station service provided much-needed public transport to the residents of some of the Brazilian city's poorest favelas.
Today, however, Rio's Teleférico is defunct, out of operation since the Olympics ended and the government withdrew its funding in 2016.
The aerial lift is a "typical Olympic ruin", according to Mariana Cavalcanti, an associate professor with the Institute of Social and Political Studies at the State University of Rio de Janeiro.
"It's not the only one," she tells ABC RN's Return Ticket.
"But it's a story that will help us understand a lot of what happened in the run-up to the Olympics here."
A divided city
Rio is famous for its postcard views, glorious beaches, beautiful people — known as Cariocas — and, of course, the party to end all parties: the annual Carnival.
"It's magnificent," says Flávia Bellieni Zimmermann, an international relations analyst at the University of Western Australia. "It's beauty and chaos."
However, Dr Cavalcanti says that's a view that only represents a "tiny portion of the city".
In reality, Rio is a city riven by inequality, a longstanding problem across Brazil.
In 2021, the richest 10 per cent of Brazilians earned 41.5 per cent of the nation's income. The poorest 20 per cent of the population earned just 3.3 per cent.
Six per cent of the Brazilian population live in favelas, informal settlements often located on the outskirts of large metropolitan areas. In Rio, one-fifth of locals reside in these neighbourhoods.
Many of Rio's favelas were connected to the electricity grid and received municipal services such as garbage collection as part of big infrastructure improvement programs in the 80s and 90s. However, many still lack essential services such as transport and sanitation.
In these poor communities, drug trafficking is rife, and hundreds of favelas are under the control of criminal gangs.
Rio's residential apartment towers, home to wealthier middle- and upper-class Cariocas, gaze across to the hillside favelas.
The effect is a juxtaposition of privilege and poverty that can be jarring, Dr Bellieni Zimmermann says.
"You are in your amazing luxurious apartment, and you have the level of sophistication and luxury you would find in Europe," he says.
"And then you look across the street, and there is this shanty town where people are living below the poverty line."
The people who live in Rio's favelas — known as favelados — tend to be non-white and working class.
"The more European looking you are, the richer you are in Brazil," Dr Bellieni Zimmermann says.
This disparity is rooted in Rio's colonial past.
Between the 16th and 19th centuries, nearly four million Africans were brought to Brazil as part of the slave trade. Brazil abolished slavery in 1888, the last nation in the Americas to do so.
"There is still this mentality of master and slave culture in Brazil," Dr Bellieni Zimmermann says.
"In the favela, you have the descendants of African slaves … [for many privileged Cariocas, the favelados] are just there to do the menial jobs that the white middle class doesn't want to do."
An urban renewal success story
Nearly 8,000 kilometres away is Medellín, Colombia, a city that shares Rio's hilly topography.
A cable car is credited with transforming Medellín's hillside barrios that were once known as no-go zones of poverty and violent crime.
The barrios — or neighbourhoods — were former strongholds of the Medellín cartel, led by notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar, who drove a wave of violence throughout the 80s and 90s. In 1991, the city's murder rate peaked at 380 deaths per 100,000 people.
In response to the lawlessness in the underprivileged barrios, city authorities developed an urban renewal plan in the 90s, which featured the Metrocable as a key piece of infrastructure.
Built in the early 2000s, the cable car connected Medellín's poorest neighbourhoods to the city's metro system.
The local government took steps to ensure the project's success, conducting extensive community outreach and committing to a public investment program, promising to build schools, libraries and parks in the barrios.
The approach paid off. While the cable car did not solve all Medellín's problems, the city's barrios have seen a raft of benefits since it opened in 2004: cuts to travel time and cost, increases in land values and business activity, and a fall in crime.
Today, Medellín's murder rate has fallen to 16 deaths per 100,000 people, representing a dramatic turnaround for a city once known as the murder capital of the world.
Rio's white elephant
In 2009, the announcement that Rio had won its bid for the 2016 Olympics put favela renewal back on the national agenda in Brazil.
The Brazilian government launched a massive infrastructure program, hoping "to convey to the public that Rio was a city that would be able to host an event of the dimension of the Summer Olympics," Dr Cavalcanti says.
These large-scale infrastructure projects served a symbolic purpose, signalling to the public that "the state had taken over the favelas".
Keen to replicate the success of the Medellín Metrocable, the government announced plans to construct a cable car to service the Complexo do Alemão, a group of favelas located in Rio's North Zone.
However, while the Medellín Metrocable was developed in close consultation with the community, Rio's Teleférico was not.
Many argued the R$210 million (around A$121 million in 2011) cost to build the cable car could be better spent on other much-needed infrastructure.
"If they had gone into the favelas and asked the [people] … what they wanted, their response would have been, 'we want a sewage network'," Dr Cavalcanti says.
"But the sewage network is the complete opposite of the gondola cable car system, which is extremely visible … You can see it from the airport, you can see it from all the major expressways in the city.
"What the people wanted was something completely invisible. They wanted sewage networks. They'd already built the water distribution network. What they needed was something that would help these favelas deal with rains and floods and the drainage they needed."
While it wasn't top of the favelados' infrastructure wishlist, the Teleférico cut commuting times to the city and offered new employment opportunities to residents.
However, any benefits were short-lived. In September 2016, just one month after the Olympics ended, the consortium behind Teleférico shut it down after the government withdrew funding.
"It was all about the pictures," Dr Cavalcanti says. "Within a year, things had gone back to normal in the favela Alemão."
Today, the cable car stations lie abandoned.
"This is another failure … [that] makes people's relationship with the state in this area even more difficult," Dr Cavalcanti says.
An Olympic hangover
The Teleférico isn't Rio's only Olympics-era white elephant.
Seven years after the Olympics, which cost Brazil at least US$13.1 billion, the residents of Rio de Janeiro are yet to see the economic benefits promised to them when their city won the bid for the Games.
Many Olympics infrastructure projects remained unfinished, and others have fallen into disrepair.
However, there is some good news. In 2022, work finally started on a key pillar of the Olympic Legacy Plan: the construction of four state schools in Rio's West Zone using materials repurposed from the dismantled Handball Arena.
Dr Bellieni Zimmermann has "mixed feelings" about Rio's Olympic legacy.
"It had a lot of potential … but the living conditions of people in the favelas didn't improve. Law and order is still a major issue," she says.
The question remains, she says: "Where did the money go?"
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In the hills of Rio de Janeiro's Complexo do Alemão stands a cable car that once ferried passengers from the favela to the city. It cut a trip that originally took hours down to just 16 minutes.
Now, it sits disused and decaying, useful only as a symbol of the massive social inequality that besets Brazil's second largest city.
Opened to much fanfare in 2011, the Teleférico was part of a massive city-wide urban renewal program launched in the lead-up to the 2016 Olympics.
The 3.4-kilometre, six-station
|
service provided much-needed public transport to the residents of some of the Brazilian city's poorest favelas.
Today, however, Rio's Teleférico is defunct, out of operation since the Olympics ended and the government withdrew its funding in 2016.
The aerial lift is a "typical Olympic ruin", according to Mariana Cavalcanti, an associate professor with the Institute of Social and Political Studies at the State University of Rio de Janeiro.
"It's not the only one," she tells ABC RN's Return Ticket.
"But it's a story that will help us understand a lot of what happened in the run-up to the Olympics here."
A divided city
Rio is famous for its postcard views, glorious beaches, beautiful people — known as Cariocas — and, of course, the party to end all parties: the annual Carnival.
"It's magnificent," says Flávia Bellieni Zimmermann, an international relations analyst at the University of Western Australia. "It's beauty and chaos."
However, Dr Cavalcanti says that's a view that only represents a "tiny portion of the city".
In reality, Rio is a city riven by inequality, a longstanding problem across Brazil.
In 2021, the richest 10 per cent of Brazilians earned 41.5 per cent of the nation's income. The poorest 20 per cent of the population earned just 3.3 per cent.
Six per cent of the Brazilian population live in favelas, informal settlements often located on the outskirts of large metropolitan areas. In Rio, one-fifth of locals reside in these neighbourhoods.
Many of Rio's favelas were connected to the electricity grid and received municipal services such as garbage collection as part of big infrastructure improvement programs in the 80s and 90s. However, many still lack essential services such as transport and sanitation.
In these poor communities, drug trafficking is rife, and hundreds of favelas are under the control of criminal gangs.
Rio's residential apartment towers, home to wealthier middle- and upper-class Cariocas, gaze across to the hillside favelas.
The effect is a juxtaposition of privilege and poverty that can be jarring, Dr Bellieni Zimmermann says.
"You are in your amazing luxurious apartment, and you have the level of sophistication and luxury you would find in Europe," he says.
"And then you look across the street, and there is this shanty town where people are living below the poverty line."
The people who live in Rio's favelas — known as favelados — tend to be non-white and working class.
"The more European looking you are, the richer you are in Brazil," Dr Bellieni Zimmermann says.
This disparity is rooted in Rio's colonial past.
Between the 16th and 19th centuries, nearly four million Africans were brought to Brazil as part of the slave trade. Brazil abolished slavery in 1888, the last nation in the Americas to do so.
"There is still this mentality of master and slave culture in Brazil," Dr Bellieni Zimmermann says.
"In the favela, you have the descendants of African slaves … [for many privileged Cariocas, the favelados] are just there to do the menial jobs that the white middle class doesn't want to do."
An urban renewal success story
Nearly 8,000 kilometres away is Medellín, Colombia, a city that shares Rio's hilly topography.
A cable car is credited with transforming Medellín's hillside barrios that were once known as no-go zones of poverty and violent crime.
The barrios — or neighbourhoods — were former strongholds of the Medellín cartel, led by notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar, who drove a wave of violence throughout the 80s and 90s. In 1991, the city's murder rate peaked at 380 deaths per 100,000 people.
In response to the lawlessness in the underprivileged barrios, city authorities developed an urban renewal plan in the 90s, which featured the Metrocable as a key piece of infrastructure.
Built in the early 2000s, the cable car connected Medellín's poorest neighbourhoods to the city's metro system.
The local government took steps to ensure the project's success, conducting extensive community outreach and committing to a public investment program, promising to build schools, libraries and parks in the barrios.
The approach paid off. While the cable car did not solve all Medellín's problems, the city's barrios have seen a raft of benefits since it opened in 2004: cuts to travel time and cost, increases in land values and business activity, and a fall in crime.
Today, Medellín's murder rate has fallen to 16 deaths per 100,000 people, representing a dramatic turnaround for a city once known as the murder capital of the world.
Rio's white elephant
In 2009, the announcement that Rio had won its bid for the 2016 Olympics put favela renewal back on the national agenda in Brazil.
The Brazilian government launched a massive infrastructure program, hoping "to convey to the public that Rio was a city that would be able to host an event of the dimension of the Summer Olympics," Dr Cavalcanti says.
These large-scale infrastructure projects served a symbolic purpose, signalling to the public that "the state had taken over the favelas".
Keen to replicate the success of the Medellín Metrocable, the government announced plans to construct a cable car to service the Complexo do Alemão, a group of favelas located in Rio's North Zone.
However, while the Medellín Metrocable was developed in close consultation with the community, Rio's Teleférico was not.
Many argued the R$210 million (around A$121 million in 2011) cost to build the cable car could be better spent on other much-needed infrastructure.
"If they had gone into the favelas and asked the [people] … what they wanted, their response would have been, 'we want a sewage network'," Dr Cavalcanti says.
"But the sewage network is the complete opposite of the gondola cable car system, which is extremely visible … You can see it from the airport, you can see it from all the major expressways in the city.
"What the people wanted was something completely invisible. They wanted sewage networks. They'd already built the water distribution network. What they needed was something that would help these favelas deal with rains and floods and the drainage they needed."
While it wasn't top of the favelados' infrastructure wishlist, the Teleférico cut commuting times to the city and offered new employment opportunities to residents.
However, any benefits were short-lived. In September 2016, just one month after the Olympics ended, the consortium behind Teleférico shut it down after the government withdrew funding.
"It was all about the pictures," Dr Cavalcanti says. "Within a year, things had gone back to normal in the favela Alemão."
Today, the cable car stations lie abandoned.
"This is another failure … [that] makes people's relationship with the state in this area even more difficult," Dr Cavalcanti says.
An Olympic hangover
The Teleférico isn't Rio's only Olympics-era white elephant.
Seven years after the Olympics, which cost Brazil at least US$13.1 billion, the residents of Rio de Janeiro are yet to see the economic benefits promised to them when their city won the bid for the Games.
Many Olympics infrastructure projects remained unfinished, and others have fallen into disrepair.
However, there is some good news. In 2022, work finally started on a key pillar of the Olympic Legacy Plan: the construction of four state schools in Rio's West Zone using materials repurposed from the dismantled Handball Arena.
Dr Bellieni Zimmermann has "mixed feelings" about Rio's Olympic legacy.
"It had a lot of potential … but the living conditions of people in the favelas didn't improve. Law and order is still a major issue," she says.
The question remains, she says: "Where did the money go?"
RN in your inbox
Get more stories that go beyond the news cycle with our weekly newsletter.
|
Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 75 – time to move beyond the politics of a ‘bygone age’
Just like Jamaica and other states began to make human rights an integral part of détente when faced with the threat of nuclear disaster during the 1960s, we should consider returning to human rights as part of a global détente to mobilise a divided and self-harming global community to stop needless disputes, and instead act in ways that can seriously begin to ensure truly committed and coordinated action to prevent and mitigate the escalating effects of climate and inequalities breakdown.
Our world is on the brink.
Climate crisis. Biodiversity crisis. Pandemic crisis. Inequality crisis. Renewed threats of nuclear warfare. Protracted humanitarian crisis. Corruption crisis. Forever wars. We barely need to exemplify this reality. We know we are on the brink. We feel it. We live it – even if the impacts are unevenly distributed, like so much else in the world.
It may seem like an awkward time to commemorate and celebrate a 75-year-old declaration, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations in 1948. Nevertheless, there are a lot of reasons to do exactly this.
One reason is that we are not the only age or generation who have had to manage life on the brink of disaster. Previous generations have faced a similar reality. Part of their response to what appeared as insurmountable challenges was an emphasis on human rights.
This is the case for the generations that emerged from the ashes – quite literally ashes – of World War 2. As the scholar of religion Jenna Reinbold beautifully argues in her 2017 book, “Seeing the Myth in Human Rights”, there was a deeper narrative structure at play in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
“The framers of the Declaration aspired to create a narrative with the power to transition its global audience from an epoch of, as the Preamble puts it, ‘barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind’ to an epoch of ‘freedom, justice and peace in the world’. In doing so they [the drafters] endeavoured to do what mythmakers have aspired to do for millennia: to narrate into existence a world that is less capricious, less cruel, and more humane than it frequently appears to be.”
The Universal Declaration was a remarkable intellectual, moral and political achievement as well as a unique form of human storytelling that, in its own way, combined a grand vision with a survival strategy.
It was also the beginning of a larger global story about the post-1945 world and a vision of internationalism informed by human rights.
It would not be unfair to say that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights operated on a slow burn after its adoption on 10 December 1948. Surely that was the case throughout the 1950s.
However, during the early 1960s, things started to change. This was during a moment in history when the international community was again aware of living on the brink, namely with the realistic threat of nuclear war and disaster hanging over people’s heads.
The year 1962 proved to be a turning point for human rights internationally.
The leading role of Jamaica
It happened in the context of the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962. The world was on alert. The risk scenarios were dramatic. High-level diplomacy was operating through hotlines and back channels. Enter here: a Caribbean island state only 144km from the epicentre of the global nuclear weapons crisis, namely Jamaica.
Jamaica entered the United Nations shortly after its independence in August 1962. In its maiden speech to the UN General Assembly in October 1962, the country re-established human rights on the international agenda.
It came through a critique of political neglect, a vision for a better world and the direction that had to be taken, and a strategic reading of international affairs at a time when the world was on the brink of nuclear war.
The Jamaican government elaborated on this later point in their next speech to the UN General Assembly in 1963 when stating:
“Often in the history of nations and civilisations a whole generation lives out its little life by the rules and standards of a bygone age, oblivious of the fact that the current of history and the march of ideas have passed it by. Let it not be said that in this generation one nation continued to dispute with the other about areas of national sovereignty, about means of protecting national security, ignorant of the fact that the hydrogen bomb has eliminated the resort to force as a means of settling international disagreements.”
That global outlook reflected the mindset that underpinned Jamaica’s stated ambition to work for an international legal order with human rights as a key element – an ambition they pursued and for which they became the global leader at the United Nations for the remainder of the 1960s, with some remarkable and undervalued successes achieved in the process.
However, that quote from 60 years ago is also a description of us today. Our global politics is living out its life by the standards of a bygone age. The current of history has passed or is passing us by.
Many of the dominant ideas and behaviours that have shaped national and international politics – and the exercise of power in these contexts – remain ignorant to the fact that the climate crisis has eliminated the resort to war, corruption, widening global inequalities, indifference in the face of pandemics as tolerable political means on a heating, burning and over-flooding planet where natural disasters are increasingly rife.
Just like Jamaica and other states began to make human rights an integral part of détente when faced with the threat of nuclear disaster during the 1960s, we should consider returning to human rights as part of a global détente to mobilise a divided and self-harming global community to stop needless disputes and instead act in ways that can seriously begin to ensure truly committed and coordinated action to prevent and mitigate the escalating effects of climate and inequalities breakdown.
That is an ambition and a half right there.
We urgently need to move beyond the politics of our own bygone age.
This has, however, to be done with some key values intact. Enter human rights again. Let us therefore look in closer detail at the political vision and global project that Jamaica initiated back in 1962 to potentially learn some lessons for an international human rights strategy of today.
Political vision for a global project
First, in their inaugural speech to the United Nations in October 1962, Jamaica called for “a worldwide human rights campaign”. This endeavour had a clear political aim. It should work towards “the end that the total world would be concerned with the total world”.
Universality was key from the outset.
Second, the campaign mobilised the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in a novel way. The campaign would culminate with an international human rights year held in 1968, thereby coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the Universal Declaration. This turned the legacy of the Declaration into a political target for international action.
The intention was to use the period from 1962 to 1968 to complete the unfinished human rights legal projects, establish a system of monitoring mechanisms, and mobilise new ideas and initiatives to be completed by the 20th anniversary when these efforts would be evaluated and a new programme of action post-1968 would be developed.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was thereby awarded a not insignificant role in the reconstruction of global values that took place during the 1960s.
It was made into a target to assist the international community to move away from the brink of nuclear war which was the starting point at the beginning of the decade.
Third, Jamaica developed a powerful narrative of moving away from the failed politics of the past and present to pave the way for a new politics fit for a new era and generation – as witnessed from the above-mentioned quote.
Fourth, Jamaica developed in 1964 the first foreign policy strategy that integrated human rights into such a document.
Human rights were placed in direct connection with two other global priorities, namely, advancing peacekeeping, and reform of international aid and trade.
The human rights vision made clear that the prevention of war and investment in peacekeeping was critical to ensure a system of collective security based on a legal order.
Human rights also required reforming international arrangements around trade and development aid linking human rights directly to how the international economy was organised in order to tackle “the ills of poverty, starvation and disease”.
Fifth, from 1962 to 1968, Jamaica directly took on the human rights resistance by the two superpowers – the Soviet Union and the United States – and charged a course in international diplomacy that focused on developing human rights accountability mechanisms at national, regional and international levels, elevating human rights inside the UN’s institutional structures, expanding the project to ensure greater engagement of civil society worldwide and advancing legal techniques that could monitor violations and counter the widespread appetite for war-making as a political tool or a strategy for wider domination.
Sixth, the 20th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1968 proved a culmination where it was clear that considerable achievements had been made in the human rights field while the seeds of new beginnings were also sown throughout the year (such as Amnesty International integrating torture into its mandate, inspired by the Jamaican international human rights year initiative).
The mobilising potential of the Universal Declaration had proved its worth. It reflected an agenda for political transition comparable to that of the drafters from 1948.
It was also a year where the international community faced a new set of political crises and challenges with wars and violent conflicts in Vietnam, Biafra, across southern Africa, and with the aftermath of the June 1967 war in the Middle East that had begun to weigh heavily on the renewed international human rights project, undermining its momentum in the process.
These developments would spark a new sense of international crisis as the world entered the 1970s. This led everyone to overlook what had been built and what had been achieved through the strategic clarity, alliance building, diplomatic skills and determination of a small Caribbean nation that had guided the international community away from the brink of one pending disaster to survive into another era.
Drawing the lessons
We can draw lessons from this global process for our own age.
The step-by-step approach that the Jamaicans developed can inform how we organise ourselves today and think about human rights strategising both internationally and nationally.
The start-up vision from 1962 that “the total world would be concerned with the total world” is as relevant today as it was back then. This is the political value that we should nurture and that we should expect – even demand – from political leaders and the states that are the key actors in the multilateral system.
We can also draw a lesson about the untapped – and still unexplored – potentials of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international human rights project that it birthed 75 years ago this month.
It is time to begin exploring this potential and define this work again.
We need a new transformative international politics that can help us survive into a new epoch. This is the renewed role for human rights in the future. It is human rights as grand strategy version 21st century.
There is still a path back from the brink. We just need to learn to live out our little lives by the rules and standards of a new age.
P.S. It should be mentioned that a seventh component of the Jamaican human rights strategy can rightfully be added: Enter Bob Marley and the Wailers emerging from Trench Town, writing the soundtrack to the international human rights movement from the 1970s and forward: Get up, Stand up! DM
Steven L. B. Jensen is a prize-winning human rights historian. He is the author of The Making of International Human Rights. The 1960s, Decolonization and the Reconstruction of Global Values (Cambridge UP 2016) and editor of Social Rights and the Politics of Obligation in History (Cambridge UP 2022). He holds a PhD in History and is a Senior Researcher at The Danish Institute for Human Rights. He is a regular contributor to Open Global Rights. He is currently working on a history of social and economic human rights in 20th-century international politics.
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Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 75 – time to move beyond the politics of a ‘bygone age’
Just like Jamaica and other states began to make human rights an integral part of détente when faced with the threat of nuclear disaster during the 1960s, we should consider returning to human rights as part of a global détente to mobilise a divided and self-harming global community to stop needless disputes, and instead act in ways that can seriously begin to ensure truly committed and coordinated action to prevent and mitigate the escalating effects of climate and inequalities breakdown.
Our world is on the brink.
Climate
|
crisis. Biodiversity crisis. Pandemic crisis. Inequality crisis. Renewed threats of nuclear warfare. Protracted humanitarian crisis. Corruption crisis. Forever wars. We barely need to exemplify this reality. We know we are on the brink. We feel it. We live it – even if the impacts are unevenly distributed, like so much else in the world.
It may seem like an awkward time to commemorate and celebrate a 75-year-old declaration, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations in 1948. Nevertheless, there are a lot of reasons to do exactly this.
One reason is that we are not the only age or generation who have had to manage life on the brink of disaster. Previous generations have faced a similar reality. Part of their response to what appeared as insurmountable challenges was an emphasis on human rights.
This is the case for the generations that emerged from the ashes – quite literally ashes – of World War 2. As the scholar of religion Jenna Reinbold beautifully argues in her 2017 book, “Seeing the Myth in Human Rights”, there was a deeper narrative structure at play in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
“The framers of the Declaration aspired to create a narrative with the power to transition its global audience from an epoch of, as the Preamble puts it, ‘barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind’ to an epoch of ‘freedom, justice and peace in the world’. In doing so they [the drafters] endeavoured to do what mythmakers have aspired to do for millennia: to narrate into existence a world that is less capricious, less cruel, and more humane than it frequently appears to be.”
The Universal Declaration was a remarkable intellectual, moral and political achievement as well as a unique form of human storytelling that, in its own way, combined a grand vision with a survival strategy.
It was also the beginning of a larger global story about the post-1945 world and a vision of internationalism informed by human rights.
It would not be unfair to say that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights operated on a slow burn after its adoption on 10 December 1948. Surely that was the case throughout the 1950s.
However, during the early 1960s, things started to change. This was during a moment in history when the international community was again aware of living on the brink, namely with the realistic threat of nuclear war and disaster hanging over people’s heads.
The year 1962 proved to be a turning point for human rights internationally.
The leading role of Jamaica
It happened in the context of the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962. The world was on alert. The risk scenarios were dramatic. High-level diplomacy was operating through hotlines and back channels. Enter here: a Caribbean island state only 144km from the epicentre of the global nuclear weapons crisis, namely Jamaica.
Jamaica entered the United Nations shortly after its independence in August 1962. In its maiden speech to the UN General Assembly in October 1962, the country re-established human rights on the international agenda.
It came through a critique of political neglect, a vision for a better world and the direction that had to be taken, and a strategic reading of international affairs at a time when the world was on the brink of nuclear war.
The Jamaican government elaborated on this later point in their next speech to the UN General Assembly in 1963 when stating:
“Often in the history of nations and civilisations a whole generation lives out its little life by the rules and standards of a bygone age, oblivious of the fact that the current of history and the march of ideas have passed it by. Let it not be said that in this generation one nation continued to dispute with the other about areas of national sovereignty, about means of protecting national security, ignorant of the fact that the hydrogen bomb has eliminated the resort to force as a means of settling international disagreements.”
That global outlook reflected the mindset that underpinned Jamaica’s stated ambition to work for an international legal order with human rights as a key element – an ambition they pursued and for which they became the global leader at the United Nations for the remainder of the 1960s, with some remarkable and undervalued successes achieved in the process.
However, that quote from 60 years ago is also a description of us today. Our global politics is living out its life by the standards of a bygone age. The current of history has passed or is passing us by.
Many of the dominant ideas and behaviours that have shaped national and international politics – and the exercise of power in these contexts – remain ignorant to the fact that the climate crisis has eliminated the resort to war, corruption, widening global inequalities, indifference in the face of pandemics as tolerable political means on a heating, burning and over-flooding planet where natural disasters are increasingly rife.
Just like Jamaica and other states began to make human rights an integral part of détente when faced with the threat of nuclear disaster during the 1960s, we should consider returning to human rights as part of a global détente to mobilise a divided and self-harming global community to stop needless disputes and instead act in ways that can seriously begin to ensure truly committed and coordinated action to prevent and mitigate the escalating effects of climate and inequalities breakdown.
That is an ambition and a half right there.
We urgently need to move beyond the politics of our own bygone age.
This has, however, to be done with some key values intact. Enter human rights again. Let us therefore look in closer detail at the political vision and global project that Jamaica initiated back in 1962 to potentially learn some lessons for an international human rights strategy of today.
Political vision for a global project
First, in their inaugural speech to the United Nations in October 1962, Jamaica called for “a worldwide human rights campaign”. This endeavour had a clear political aim. It should work towards “the end that the total world would be concerned with the total world”.
Universality was key from the outset.
Second, the campaign mobilised the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in a novel way. The campaign would culminate with an international human rights year held in 1968, thereby coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the Universal Declaration. This turned the legacy of the Declaration into a political target for international action.
The intention was to use the period from 1962 to 1968 to complete the unfinished human rights legal projects, establish a system of monitoring mechanisms, and mobilise new ideas and initiatives to be completed by the 20th anniversary when these efforts would be evaluated and a new programme of action post-1968 would be developed.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was thereby awarded a not insignificant role in the reconstruction of global values that took place during the 1960s.
It was made into a target to assist the international community to move away from the brink of nuclear war which was the starting point at the beginning of the decade.
Third, Jamaica developed a powerful narrative of moving away from the failed politics of the past and present to pave the way for a new politics fit for a new era and generation – as witnessed from the above-mentioned quote.
Fourth, Jamaica developed in 1964 the first foreign policy strategy that integrated human rights into such a document.
Human rights were placed in direct connection with two other global priorities, namely, advancing peacekeeping, and reform of international aid and trade.
The human rights vision made clear that the prevention of war and investment in peacekeeping was critical to ensure a system of collective security based on a legal order.
Human rights also required reforming international arrangements around trade and development aid linking human rights directly to how the international economy was organised in order to tackle “the ills of poverty, starvation and disease”.
Fifth, from 1962 to 1968, Jamaica directly took on the human rights resistance by the two superpowers – the Soviet Union and the United States – and charged a course in international diplomacy that focused on developing human rights accountability mechanisms at national, regional and international levels, elevating human rights inside the UN’s institutional structures, expanding the project to ensure greater engagement of civil society worldwide and advancing legal techniques that could monitor violations and counter the widespread appetite for war-making as a political tool or a strategy for wider domination.
Sixth, the 20th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1968 proved a culmination where it was clear that considerable achievements had been made in the human rights field while the seeds of new beginnings were also sown throughout the year (such as Amnesty International integrating torture into its mandate, inspired by the Jamaican international human rights year initiative).
The mobilising potential of the Universal Declaration had proved its worth. It reflected an agenda for political transition comparable to that of the drafters from 1948.
It was also a year where the international community faced a new set of political crises and challenges with wars and violent conflicts in Vietnam, Biafra, across southern Africa, and with the aftermath of the June 1967 war in the Middle East that had begun to weigh heavily on the renewed international human rights project, undermining its momentum in the process.
These developments would spark a new sense of international crisis as the world entered the 1970s. This led everyone to overlook what had been built and what had been achieved through the strategic clarity, alliance building, diplomatic skills and determination of a small Caribbean nation that had guided the international community away from the brink of one pending disaster to survive into another era.
Drawing the lessons
We can draw lessons from this global process for our own age.
The step-by-step approach that the Jamaicans developed can inform how we organise ourselves today and think about human rights strategising both internationally and nationally.
The start-up vision from 1962 that “the total world would be concerned with the total world” is as relevant today as it was back then. This is the political value that we should nurture and that we should expect – even demand – from political leaders and the states that are the key actors in the multilateral system.
We can also draw a lesson about the untapped – and still unexplored – potentials of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international human rights project that it birthed 75 years ago this month.
It is time to begin exploring this potential and define this work again.
We need a new transformative international politics that can help us survive into a new epoch. This is the renewed role for human rights in the future. It is human rights as grand strategy version 21st century.
There is still a path back from the brink. We just need to learn to live out our little lives by the rules and standards of a new age.
P.S. It should be mentioned that a seventh component of the Jamaican human rights strategy can rightfully be added: Enter Bob Marley and the Wailers emerging from Trench Town, writing the soundtrack to the international human rights movement from the 1970s and forward: Get up, Stand up! DM
Steven L. B. Jensen is a prize-winning human rights historian. He is the author of The Making of International Human Rights. The 1960s, Decolonization and the Reconstruction of Global Values (Cambridge UP 2016) and editor of Social Rights and the Politics of Obligation in History (Cambridge UP 2022). He holds a PhD in History and is a Senior Researcher at The Danish Institute for Human Rights. He is a regular contributor to Open Global Rights. He is currently working on a history of social and economic human rights in 20th-century international politics.
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The inscription of Psalm 92 declares it to be a song for the Sabbath day. It was sung to direct the worshipper’s mind upward to God with a spirit of thankfulness. Though the author is unknown, many ascribe the psalm to David as one can readily see his life unfold throughout these verses.
The theme of the psalm is found in the first two verses. Three avenues of thankfulness are mentioned. First, the reciter of this psalm is encouraged to “give thanks to the Lord” (1). How often do we as God’s children go into the throne room of the Father and thank Him for our daily bread, our earthly provisions and spiritual blessings?
Second, singing praises to His name is a means of giving thanks (1). Christians likewise are to be “…speak(ing) to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…” (Eph. 5:19-20). David said, “I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised…” (Ps. 18:13). How likely are we to use the means of singing to praise our God?
Third, the singer of this psalm is encouraged to “declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night” (2). The word “declare” means to “show forth, tell or make known”. What is one to “make known”? Two things from this verse are found: God’s lovingkindness and faithfulness. When are these attributes of God to be made known? “Morning” and “Evening” (2). How often do we as Christians find ourselves making known to others God’s lovingkindness and faithfulness? That is a challenge for us all, is it not?
The psalmist’s thankfulness is based upon the workings of God. References to God’s works are mentioned three times in verses four and five. The entirety of Psalm 8 is a testimony to God’s workings. Verse one states, “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth, who have set Your glory above the heavens!” Likewise, the study of God’s hand in the affairs of men to bring into the world our Savior Jesus Christ is truly awe-inspiring.
In order to praise God with one’s whole heart, people must open their eyes and see what God has done. Forgetful hearers will never arise to the full heights of praise they are capable of offering. Thus, the psalmist states, “A senseless man does not know, nor does a fool understand this” (6). Only the wise man with the understanding of what God has done will offer praise that is acceptable to Him.
The psalmist then focuses on two areas that should cause us to garner praise. First, God’s dealings with the wicked should garner praise (7-11). Even though the wicked and workers of iniquity seem to prosper and though they seem to be rewarded for their evil doings, God has a way of turning things back upon their heads. God’s providential hand is awesome as it works in the affairs of men.
God’s work in the matters of the great king Nebuchadnezzar is only one example of many. His pride over the great city of Babylon shut his eyes to the one true God. It was declared to him, “And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses” (Dan. 4:32).
If God can humble the great king Nebuchadnezzar, what can He do with the average man? We too need to open our eyes to the world around us as to how the mighty have fallen. Psalm 1 declares the familiar passage, “The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous” (4-5).
Second, God’s dealings with the righteous should garner praise. When the unrighteous seem to “flourish” (7), it is the righteous who truly do. “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon” (12). Such is reminiscent of Psalm 1:3 which states, “He shall be like a tree
planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” The location of the place the righteous will be blessed is found in verse 13: “in the house of the LORD” and “in the courts of our God.” The righteous know as Paul declared, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3). All spiritual blessings are found in Him and that is where the wise make their dwelling place.
After observing God’s dealings with the righteous and unrighteous the psalmist concludes by affirming “He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him” (15). Here he points out God’s strength and character. God is a rock because there is no unrighteousness in Him. James professed that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17). Whereas men falter in their character, God does not nor ever will. God is the forever true One who is worthy of our praise and for that we can be thankful.
The theme of Psalm 92 never grows old as Christians are called to manifest a life of thankfulness. The apostle Paul brings this point home when he declares, “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful” (Col. 3:15).
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The inscription of Psalm 92 declares it to be a song for the Sabbath day. It was sung to direct the worshipper’s mind upward to God with a spirit of thankfulness. Though the author is unknown, many ascribe the psalm to David as one can readily see his life unfold throughout these verses.
The theme of the psalm is found in the first two verses. Three avenues of thankfulness are mentioned. First, the reciter of this psalm is encouraged to “give thanks to the Lord” (1). How often do we as God’s children go into the throne room of the Father and thank Him
|
for our daily bread, our earthly provisions and spiritual blessings?
Second, singing praises to His name is a means of giving thanks (1). Christians likewise are to be “…speak(ing) to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…” (Eph. 5:19-20). David said, “I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised…” (Ps. 18:13). How likely are we to use the means of singing to praise our God?
Third, the singer of this psalm is encouraged to “declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night” (2). The word “declare” means to “show forth, tell or make known”. What is one to “make known”? Two things from this verse are found: God’s lovingkindness and faithfulness. When are these attributes of God to be made known? “Morning” and “Evening” (2). How often do we as Christians find ourselves making known to others God’s lovingkindness and faithfulness? That is a challenge for us all, is it not?
The psalmist’s thankfulness is based upon the workings of God. References to God’s works are mentioned three times in verses four and five. The entirety of Psalm 8 is a testimony to God’s workings. Verse one states, “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth, who have set Your glory above the heavens!” Likewise, the study of God’s hand in the affairs of men to bring into the world our Savior Jesus Christ is truly awe-inspiring.
In order to praise God with one’s whole heart, people must open their eyes and see what God has done. Forgetful hearers will never arise to the full heights of praise they are capable of offering. Thus, the psalmist states, “A senseless man does not know, nor does a fool understand this” (6). Only the wise man with the understanding of what God has done will offer praise that is acceptable to Him.
The psalmist then focuses on two areas that should cause us to garner praise. First, God’s dealings with the wicked should garner praise (7-11). Even though the wicked and workers of iniquity seem to prosper and though they seem to be rewarded for their evil doings, God has a way of turning things back upon their heads. God’s providential hand is awesome as it works in the affairs of men.
God’s work in the matters of the great king Nebuchadnezzar is only one example of many. His pride over the great city of Babylon shut his eyes to the one true God. It was declared to him, “And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses” (Dan. 4:32).
If God can humble the great king Nebuchadnezzar, what can He do with the average man? We too need to open our eyes to the world around us as to how the mighty have fallen. Psalm 1 declares the familiar passage, “The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous” (4-5).
Second, God’s dealings with the righteous should garner praise. When the unrighteous seem to “flourish” (7), it is the righteous who truly do. “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon” (12). Such is reminiscent of Psalm 1:3 which states, “He shall be like a tree
planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” The location of the place the righteous will be blessed is found in verse 13: “in the house of the LORD” and “in the courts of our God.” The righteous know as Paul declared, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3). All spiritual blessings are found in Him and that is where the wise make their dwelling place.
After observing God’s dealings with the righteous and unrighteous the psalmist concludes by affirming “He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him” (15). Here he points out God’s strength and character. God is a rock because there is no unrighteousness in Him. James professed that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17). Whereas men falter in their character, God does not nor ever will. God is the forever true One who is worthy of our praise and for that we can be thankful.
The theme of Psalm 92 never grows old as Christians are called to manifest a life of thankfulness. The apostle Paul brings this point home when he declares, “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful” (Col. 3:15).
|
Author David Wedd takes readers on an extraordinary journey back in time to witness the birth of an independent African nation in his captivating new book, "The Sunshine Land: Ghana at Fifty: Memories of Independence, 1957."
In this vivid and engaging account, Wedd, a former young army officer, provides a first-hand perspective on the historic transition of the Gold Coast into Ghana, marking the first black African colony to gain independence from British rule. The book offers an exciting, funny, and poignant portrayal of this monumental change from the unique vantage point of someone "on the inside."
Readers will be introduced to a rich tapestry of characters, including European and African soldiers in Wedd's Battalion, traders, market women, religious leaders, and even witch doctors. He brings to life sportsmen, teachers, musicians, and political leaders, including Ghana's first Prime Minister, Kwame Nkrumah.
The narrative takes an exciting twist as Wedd shares his experiences as an intelligence officer in the nascent nation. He embarks on an enthralling journey through the rainforest, painting a lush picture of exotic scenery and wildlife. Wedd's adventures continue as he travels north, venturing through Burkina Faso and Mali, finally reaching the Sahara Desert and the ancient town of Timbuktu.
Throughout the pages of "The Sunshine Land," Wedd's deep affection for West Africa shines through. He portrays the region's diverse landscapes and, above all, its vibrant people, who played an integral role in shaping the destiny of a nation.
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Author David Wedd takes readers on an extraordinary journey back in time to witness the birth of an independent African nation in his captivating new book, "The Sunshine Land: Ghana at Fifty: Memories of Independence, 1957."
In this vivid and engaging account, Wedd, a former young army officer, provides a first-hand perspective on the historic transition of the Gold Coast into Ghana, marking the first black African colony to gain independence from British rule. The book offers an exciting, funny, and poignant portrayal of this monumental change from the unique vantage point of someone "on the inside."
Readers will be introduced
|
to a rich tapestry of characters, including European and African soldiers in Wedd's Battalion, traders, market women, religious leaders, and even witch doctors. He brings to life sportsmen, teachers, musicians, and political leaders, including Ghana's first Prime Minister, Kwame Nkrumah.
The narrative takes an exciting twist as Wedd shares his experiences as an intelligence officer in the nascent nation. He embarks on an enthralling journey through the rainforest, painting a lush picture of exotic scenery and wildlife. Wedd's adventures continue as he travels north, venturing through Burkina Faso and Mali, finally reaching the Sahara Desert and the ancient town of Timbuktu.
Throughout the pages of "The Sunshine Land," Wedd's deep affection for West Africa shines through. He portrays the region's diverse landscapes and, above all, its vibrant people, who played an integral role in shaping the destiny of a nation.
|
DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. – This Saturday is World Bee Day, but our global bee population is facing daunting challenges. Here in South Florida, though, residents are stepping up to protect bees, and urban hives are on the rise.
These days the city of Deerfield Beach is all abuzz.
It is one of 12 South Florida cities and towns with micro-apiaries on public land as a response to the dramatic decline in the nation’s bee population.
“There are needs everywhere,” said Hillary Silverstone, Sustainability Coordinator for Deerfield Beach. “The issue in South Florida is that there’s no space, and so we had a space, we had an opportunity.”
That’s why the DFBee Apiary was created as a refuge for rescued bees on the central city campus of Deerfield Beach.
“We just thought it was the perfect sanctuary for our bees to come and thrive,” said Silverstone.
The man who made it happen is urban beekeeper John Coldwell.
“All we’re doing is we’re going into Deerfield Beach and pulling bees out of places where they don’t belong,” he said.
Coldwell brings feral colonies he rescues to the DFBee Apiary where he cares from them after saving them from extermination. He loves bees so much that for the past 12 years he and his wife Teresa have made this their passion project.
“It’s like this Zen ethereal moment when you open that box up,” he said. “I watch what they’re doing on the comb, I can tell if they’re strong, I can tell if they’re healthy, I can tell how old they are, and you can just watch every one of them doing their job. It’s just amazing.”
Bees are one of the planet’s most prolific pollinators. About one-third of the food we eat comes from flowers and plants that bees pollinate, representing billions of dollars in agriculture each year.
When their numbers around the world began to rapidly decline in 1990, alarm bells went off.
Dr. William Kern is a honey bee expert at the University of Florida. He said since 2008, the state has seen an 800% increase in the number of registered beekeepers, with many of them small scale backyard beekeepers.
“Many of our native bees are suffering because of habitat loss, it is the main problem, but honeybees are actually doing okay in Florida,” said Kern. “We’ve also increased the number of hives in Florida by 400% in that same period, so I think we’re now over half a million hives, I think 600,000 hives in the state of Florida.”
That’s good news for our honeybees, which are facing increasing threats due to climate change, habitat loss, pesticides and the invasive Varroa mite from China, which is infecting and killing whole hives with a deadly virus.
It is the backyard beekeeper who is saving our bees.
“You’d be amazed how many backyard beekeepers there are, like 6000 in the state of Florida,” said Caldwelll. “Probably 25 to 30% of them are from Lake (Okeechobee) down.”
That is the goal of these urban apiaries like the DFBee, to inspire and educate future beekeepers who will make sure our Florida hives continue to thrive.
There is even a livestream camera inside the apiary to show residents what the buzz is all about. It’s Bee TV.
The public is also encouraged to visit in person, no matter what age.
“At first kids are very nervous to come out, but we give them veils to put on and then once they get out here, they love it,” said Silverstone. “They think it’s so cool, and it is so cool.”
One well-managed hive can produce 40 lbs. of honey a year.
There are about 15 thriving colonies at the DFBee Apiary, home to some 350,000 honeybees that are pollinating trees, plants and flowers within a three mile radius.
“These bees from South Florida will end up and all of Florida will end up throughout the entire country, pollinating the food that ends up back in your grocery store,” said Caldwell, who said now, more than ever, it’s time more Floridians step up to help our bees.
“If you want to be a beekeeper, come here, and we’ll teach you to be a good beekeeper,” he said. “And we’ll help you make strong healthy bees.”
Even if beekeeping is not for you, there are things we can all do every day to help our bees, such as planting native plants, flowers and trees that bees like in our yards and gardens.
South Floridians can also cut back on pesticides or use organic ones that are bee friendly.
Most importantly, don’t kill bees. If you have a bee infestation, contact a licensed beekeeper that can try to save the hive and not exterminate it.
For more information on bee keeping, the University of Florida offers a crash course with their bee college. To visit their website, click here.
Florida Department of Agriculture: Honey Bee Protection in Florida
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DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. – This Saturday is World Bee Day, but our global bee population is facing daunting challenges. Here in South Florida, though, residents are stepping up to protect bees, and urban hives are on the rise.
These days the city of Deerfield Beach is all abuzz.
It is one of 12 South Florida cities and towns with micro-apiaries on public land as a response to the dramatic decline in the nation’s bee population.
“There are needs everywhere,” said Hillary Silverstone, Sustainability Coordinator for Deerfield Beach. “The issue in South Florida is that there’s
|
no space, and so we had a space, we had an opportunity.”
That’s why the DFBee Apiary was created as a refuge for rescued bees on the central city campus of Deerfield Beach.
“We just thought it was the perfect sanctuary for our bees to come and thrive,” said Silverstone.
The man who made it happen is urban beekeeper John Coldwell.
“All we’re doing is we’re going into Deerfield Beach and pulling bees out of places where they don’t belong,” he said.
Coldwell brings feral colonies he rescues to the DFBee Apiary where he cares from them after saving them from extermination. He loves bees so much that for the past 12 years he and his wife Teresa have made this their passion project.
“It’s like this Zen ethereal moment when you open that box up,” he said. “I watch what they’re doing on the comb, I can tell if they’re strong, I can tell if they’re healthy, I can tell how old they are, and you can just watch every one of them doing their job. It’s just amazing.”
Bees are one of the planet’s most prolific pollinators. About one-third of the food we eat comes from flowers and plants that bees pollinate, representing billions of dollars in agriculture each year.
When their numbers around the world began to rapidly decline in 1990, alarm bells went off.
Dr. William Kern is a honey bee expert at the University of Florida. He said since 2008, the state has seen an 800% increase in the number of registered beekeepers, with many of them small scale backyard beekeepers.
“Many of our native bees are suffering because of habitat loss, it is the main problem, but honeybees are actually doing okay in Florida,” said Kern. “We’ve also increased the number of hives in Florida by 400% in that same period, so I think we’re now over half a million hives, I think 600,000 hives in the state of Florida.”
That’s good news for our honeybees, which are facing increasing threats due to climate change, habitat loss, pesticides and the invasive Varroa mite from China, which is infecting and killing whole hives with a deadly virus.
It is the backyard beekeeper who is saving our bees.
“You’d be amazed how many backyard beekeepers there are, like 6000 in the state of Florida,” said Caldwelll. “Probably 25 to 30% of them are from Lake (Okeechobee) down.”
That is the goal of these urban apiaries like the DFBee, to inspire and educate future beekeepers who will make sure our Florida hives continue to thrive.
There is even a livestream camera inside the apiary to show residents what the buzz is all about. It’s Bee TV.
The public is also encouraged to visit in person, no matter what age.
“At first kids are very nervous to come out, but we give them veils to put on and then once they get out here, they love it,” said Silverstone. “They think it’s so cool, and it is so cool.”
One well-managed hive can produce 40 lbs. of honey a year.
There are about 15 thriving colonies at the DFBee Apiary, home to some 350,000 honeybees that are pollinating trees, plants and flowers within a three mile radius.
“These bees from South Florida will end up and all of Florida will end up throughout the entire country, pollinating the food that ends up back in your grocery store,” said Caldwell, who said now, more than ever, it’s time more Floridians step up to help our bees.
“If you want to be a beekeeper, come here, and we’ll teach you to be a good beekeeper,” he said. “And we’ll help you make strong healthy bees.”
Even if beekeeping is not for you, there are things we can all do every day to help our bees, such as planting native plants, flowers and trees that bees like in our yards and gardens.
South Floridians can also cut back on pesticides or use organic ones that are bee friendly.
Most importantly, don’t kill bees. If you have a bee infestation, contact a licensed beekeeper that can try to save the hive and not exterminate it.
For more information on bee keeping, the University of Florida offers a crash course with their bee college. To visit their website, click here.
Florida Department of Agriculture: Honey Bee Protection in Florida
|
Journalist James Richardson discusses his book, which is the journal of his ancestor, George Richardson, an abolitionist who participated in the Underground Railroad, served as a chaplain in a USCT regiment in Tennessee, and after the war taught in a school for freed people in Texas. He makes a couple of, let’s say questionable, statements, such as saying Galena was the most important city in Illinois before the Civil War [more important than Springfield, the state’s capital?]. Another questionable statement is his claim that Nathan Bedford Forrest was one of the founders of the KKK. He wasn’t, though he was an early leader of the terrorist organization. Mr. Richardson also talks about George’s wife, Caroline, and her diary.
The video’s description reads, “Author James Richardson shared his family’s abolitionist story, starting with the journal of a relative who served as Chaplain to a Black Union regiment in the Civil War. Beer’s Books in Sacramento, California, hosted this event.”
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Journalist James Richardson discusses his book, which is the journal of his ancestor, George Richardson, an abolitionist who participated in the Underground Railroad, served as a chaplain in a USCT regiment in Tennessee, and after the war taught in a school for freed people in Texas. He makes a couple of, let’s say questionable, statements, such as saying Galena was the most important city in Illinois before the Civil War [more important than Springfield, the state’s capital?]. Another questionable statement is his claim that Nathan Bedford Forrest was one of the founders of the KKK. He wasn’t, though he was an early leader of
|
the terrorist organization. Mr. Richardson also talks about George’s wife, Caroline, and her diary.
The video’s description reads, “Author James Richardson shared his family’s abolitionist story, starting with the journal of a relative who served as Chaplain to a Black Union regiment in the Civil War. Beer’s Books in Sacramento, California, hosted this event.”
|
How weather impacts air travel
Listen to Science Behind the Forecast with Meteorologist Tawana Andrew every Friday on 89.3 WFPL at 7:45 a.m. and on Spotify
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Could a changing climate make air travel more difficult? So far, the answer has been yes.
Hotter temperatures can make it harder for planes to take off. Air becomes less dense as the thermometer rises, forcing an aircraft to generate more lift to take off. If temperatures are high enough, there may not be enough runway available at certain airports to achieve the speed necessary for liftoff.
Once the temperature rises above 100°F, the tarmac can soften, causing airplane wheels to get stuck (this happened in 2012 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport).
Cold weather leads to another set of challenges. Extreme cold causes an aircraft’s different metals to contract at varying rates. Cold temperatures can cause rubber and plastic parts to become brittle, while lubricants are no longer effective. Once ice and snow accumulate or accrete on wings, lift is difficult to generate; anti-freeze and de-icing protocols are vital to limiting this but can cause delays.
Turbulence is another potential threat to airlines. Wind shear is a change in wind speed or direction with height. An increase in wind shear above 15,000 feet and within a jet stream can lead to turbulence. Since 1979, wind shear within the upper-level jet stream over the North Atlantic has increased by 15 percent.
While turbulence is often associated with storms (which pilots are trained to avoid), clear-air turbulence is also an issue. It is invisible and not detectable by radar, so pilots often only know it’s there once it causes a problem. Planes can withstand turbulence well, but humans inside the aircraft can’t. Turbulence caused one-third of injuries on aircraft from 2009 to 2018, according to the US National Transportation Safety Board. The Federal Aviation Administration said only 34 domestic passengers and 129 crew had “serious turbulence injuries” between 2009 and 2022. These only covers the most serious situations; general turbulence injuries are not tracked by the FAA.
By 2050, the amount of reported clear-air turbulence is expected to double while the strength of that turbulence is expected to increase 10 to 40% by this time. Severe turbulence could also become two to three times more likely at cruising altitude.
Shifts in the jet stream and overall wind patterns can alter the length of flights. Stronger easterly winds (including in the jet stream) can shorten flights from the US to Europe while slowing down return flights west. The jet stream fluctuations could lead to rerouted flights, lead to more fuel burning and potential refueling, and push the costs of trips higher.
Copyright 2023 WAVE. All rights reserved.
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How weather impacts air travel
Listen to Science Behind the Forecast with Meteorologist Tawana Andrew every Friday on 89.3 WFPL at 7:45 a.m. and on Spotify
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Could a changing climate make air travel more difficult? So far, the answer has been yes.
Hotter temperatures can make it harder for planes to take off. Air becomes less dense as the thermometer rises, forcing an aircraft to generate more lift to take off. If temperatures are high enough, there may not be enough runway available at certain airports to
|
achieve the speed necessary for liftoff.
Once the temperature rises above 100°F, the tarmac can soften, causing airplane wheels to get stuck (this happened in 2012 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport).
Cold weather leads to another set of challenges. Extreme cold causes an aircraft’s different metals to contract at varying rates. Cold temperatures can cause rubber and plastic parts to become brittle, while lubricants are no longer effective. Once ice and snow accumulate or accrete on wings, lift is difficult to generate; anti-freeze and de-icing protocols are vital to limiting this but can cause delays.
Turbulence is another potential threat to airlines. Wind shear is a change in wind speed or direction with height. An increase in wind shear above 15,000 feet and within a jet stream can lead to turbulence. Since 1979, wind shear within the upper-level jet stream over the North Atlantic has increased by 15 percent.
While turbulence is often associated with storms (which pilots are trained to avoid), clear-air turbulence is also an issue. It is invisible and not detectable by radar, so pilots often only know it’s there once it causes a problem. Planes can withstand turbulence well, but humans inside the aircraft can’t. Turbulence caused one-third of injuries on aircraft from 2009 to 2018, according to the US National Transportation Safety Board. The Federal Aviation Administration said only 34 domestic passengers and 129 crew had “serious turbulence injuries” between 2009 and 2022. These only covers the most serious situations; general turbulence injuries are not tracked by the FAA.
By 2050, the amount of reported clear-air turbulence is expected to double while the strength of that turbulence is expected to increase 10 to 40% by this time. Severe turbulence could also become two to three times more likely at cruising altitude.
Shifts in the jet stream and overall wind patterns can alter the length of flights. Stronger easterly winds (including in the jet stream) can shorten flights from the US to Europe while slowing down return flights west. The jet stream fluctuations could lead to rerouted flights, lead to more fuel burning and potential refueling, and push the costs of trips higher.
Copyright 2023 WAVE. All rights reserved.
|
Oregon on Monday became the 10th state in the U.S. to ban polystyrene foam food containers, dealing another blow to a plastic whose chemical components have been linked to cancer and nervous system damage.
Starting in 2025, a new law signed by Governor Tina Kotek will ban the production, sale, and distribution of polystyrene foam cups and takeout food containers — as well as coolers and packing peanuts — anywhere in Oregon. It's part of a broader legislative effort in the Beaver State to replace single-use plastics with reusable alternatives.
The polystyrene law also bans toxic "forever chemicals" in food packaging, and a second bill signed by Kotek will make it legal for consumers to bring their own reusable takeout containers to restaurants.
The legislation was "a long time coming," said Oregon state Senator Janeen Sollman, a Democrat who cosponsored both bills. Banning polystyrene foam, in particular, had been a longtime priority for her, and she said it took a bipartisan coalition of legislators to finally push the measure through.
Polystyrene foam, a kind of plastic made from fossil fuels and synthetic chemicals, has long been considered a scourge to public health and the environment. Its primary building block, styrene, is a probable human carcinogen that can leach from the material over time, or when polystyrene is exposed to high heat. Because polystyrene foam is nonrecyclable, it often winds up on beaches or in the ocean, where it breaks into smaller fragments called microplastics that can harm marine life.
Hundreds of cities across the country have already banned polystyrene foam — including Portland, Oregon, where the material has been outlawed since 1990 — and state-level restrictions have gained steam in recent years. Besides Oregon, nine other states and the District of Columbia have banned polystyrene foam food containers, and Hawai'i and California have de facto bans. Many of those bans, like Oregon's, also include coolers and polystyrene packing peanuts.
Oregon's legislation also goes beyond polystyrene to prohibit per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, from being intentionally added to plates, bowls, cups, and other foodware. Tara Brock, Pacific counsel for the nonprofit Oceana, said this was important to ensure that polystyrene isn't replaced with "regrettable alternatives," since many foodware products made from paper or other types of plastic are treated with PFAS to give them water- and oil-repellent properties. PFAS, known colloquially as "forever chemicals," do not break down naturally over time and have been found in the bloodstreams of 97 percent of Americans and hundreds of nonhuman animal species. They've been linked to cancer, high blood pressure, and elevated cholesterol.
Oregon is now the 12th state to ban PFAS from food packaging, following Washington, California, New York, Vermont, and others.
Under Oregon's law, people who sell or distribute polystyrene packing peanuts or foodware treated with PFAS after January 1, 2025, may incur a civil penalty of up to $500 a day. Food vendors distributing polystyrene foam food containers will be liable for a smaller penalty of up to $100 a day.
Oregon state Representative Maxine Dexter, a Democrat, said the bans on PFAS and polystyrene are part of a more holistic effort to move beyond single-use foodware altogether, since most plastic is not recyclable and disposable alternatives made of paper or metal come with their own environmental impacts. The second law signed by Kotek directs the Oregon Health Authority to adopt rules by June 30, 2024, allowing consumers to bring their own containers to restaurants so they can be filled with food. The state's Department of Agriculture adopted similar rules for grocery stores, which often sell staples like rice and beans in bulk bins, in February.
"We can't recycle our way out of this issue; we absolutely have to use less," Dexter told Grist. A big part of that is reduced plastic production, which Oregon is pursuing through a 2021 law that will make companies financially responsible for the waste they generate starting in 2025. But Dexter said new laws are also needed to shift consumer behavior, encouraging more people to carry reusable containers with them on a daily basis.
Oregon's new reuse law could also protect those who are already familiar with refilling their own jars, tins, and tubs. "A lot of Oregonians have been doing this reuse behavior" and didn't know it wasn't allowed under the health code, according to Brock. "I've always been that person who brings my old yogurt container to the restaurant to take home my leftovers … We just want to make sure we're doing it in a way that is safe for consumers."
Brock said she's eager for more states to follow Oregon's lead, and potentially for federal lawmakers to take action to reduce single-use plastics — an objective that's supported by three-quarters of American voters, according to a recent Ipsos poll conducted for Oceana. The Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, a bill proposed in 2021, is the strongest example of such a federal policy, and it's expected to be reintroduced this legislative session. If passed, the act would ban most single-use plastics and place a moratorium on new or expanded plastic production facilities.
This article originally appeared in Grist at https://grist.org/regulation/oregon-bans-plastic-foam-and-pfas-in-food-containers-promotes-reusable-alternatives/.
Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Learn more at Grist.org
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Oregon on Monday became the 10th state in the U.S. to ban polystyrene foam food containers, dealing another blow to a plastic whose chemical components have been linked to cancer and nervous system damage.
Starting in 2025, a new law signed by Governor Tina Kotek will ban the production, sale, and distribution of polystyrene foam cups and takeout food containers — as well as coolers and packing peanuts — anywhere in Oregon. It's part of a broader legislative effort in the Beaver State to replace single-use plastics with reusable alternatives.
The polystyrene law also bans toxic "forever chemicals" in food
|
packaging, and a second bill signed by Kotek will make it legal for consumers to bring their own reusable takeout containers to restaurants.
The legislation was "a long time coming," said Oregon state Senator Janeen Sollman, a Democrat who cosponsored both bills. Banning polystyrene foam, in particular, had been a longtime priority for her, and she said it took a bipartisan coalition of legislators to finally push the measure through.
Polystyrene foam, a kind of plastic made from fossil fuels and synthetic chemicals, has long been considered a scourge to public health and the environment. Its primary building block, styrene, is a probable human carcinogen that can leach from the material over time, or when polystyrene is exposed to high heat. Because polystyrene foam is nonrecyclable, it often winds up on beaches or in the ocean, where it breaks into smaller fragments called microplastics that can harm marine life.
Hundreds of cities across the country have already banned polystyrene foam — including Portland, Oregon, where the material has been outlawed since 1990 — and state-level restrictions have gained steam in recent years. Besides Oregon, nine other states and the District of Columbia have banned polystyrene foam food containers, and Hawai'i and California have de facto bans. Many of those bans, like Oregon's, also include coolers and polystyrene packing peanuts.
Oregon's legislation also goes beyond polystyrene to prohibit per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, from being intentionally added to plates, bowls, cups, and other foodware. Tara Brock, Pacific counsel for the nonprofit Oceana, said this was important to ensure that polystyrene isn't replaced with "regrettable alternatives," since many foodware products made from paper or other types of plastic are treated with PFAS to give them water- and oil-repellent properties. PFAS, known colloquially as "forever chemicals," do not break down naturally over time and have been found in the bloodstreams of 97 percent of Americans and hundreds of nonhuman animal species. They've been linked to cancer, high blood pressure, and elevated cholesterol.
Oregon is now the 12th state to ban PFAS from food packaging, following Washington, California, New York, Vermont, and others.
Under Oregon's law, people who sell or distribute polystyrene packing peanuts or foodware treated with PFAS after January 1, 2025, may incur a civil penalty of up to $500 a day. Food vendors distributing polystyrene foam food containers will be liable for a smaller penalty of up to $100 a day.
Oregon state Representative Maxine Dexter, a Democrat, said the bans on PFAS and polystyrene are part of a more holistic effort to move beyond single-use foodware altogether, since most plastic is not recyclable and disposable alternatives made of paper or metal come with their own environmental impacts. The second law signed by Kotek directs the Oregon Health Authority to adopt rules by June 30, 2024, allowing consumers to bring their own containers to restaurants so they can be filled with food. The state's Department of Agriculture adopted similar rules for grocery stores, which often sell staples like rice and beans in bulk bins, in February.
"We can't recycle our way out of this issue; we absolutely have to use less," Dexter told Grist. A big part of that is reduced plastic production, which Oregon is pursuing through a 2021 law that will make companies financially responsible for the waste they generate starting in 2025. But Dexter said new laws are also needed to shift consumer behavior, encouraging more people to carry reusable containers with them on a daily basis.
Oregon's new reuse law could also protect those who are already familiar with refilling their own jars, tins, and tubs. "A lot of Oregonians have been doing this reuse behavior" and didn't know it wasn't allowed under the health code, according to Brock. "I've always been that person who brings my old yogurt container to the restaurant to take home my leftovers … We just want to make sure we're doing it in a way that is safe for consumers."
Brock said she's eager for more states to follow Oregon's lead, and potentially for federal lawmakers to take action to reduce single-use plastics — an objective that's supported by three-quarters of American voters, according to a recent Ipsos poll conducted for Oceana. The Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, a bill proposed in 2021, is the strongest example of such a federal policy, and it's expected to be reintroduced this legislative session. If passed, the act would ban most single-use plastics and place a moratorium on new or expanded plastic production facilities.
This article originally appeared in Grist at https://grist.org/regulation/oregon-bans-plastic-foam-and-pfas-in-food-containers-promotes-reusable-alternatives/.
Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Learn more at Grist.org
|
- In short: A recent discovery is giving scientists hope that Tasmanian devil numbers can survive well into the future
- What's next? They say devils now being trapped for research appear to indicate they are trying to adapt to the disease and persist in spite of it
A tall man with a flowing salt-and-pepper ponytail blends into the surrounding bush and watches quietly as a PhD student kneels on soggy winter ground somewhere near Cradle Mountain and gently opens the top of a hessian sack.
A flash of black and white fur leaps out into the crisp air, scurrying away into the scrub.
It's not the Tasmanian devil he was hoping for, but it doesn't surprise Dr Rodrigo Hamede.
"Another quoll … at least they had a good meal," his research assistant Elise Ringwaldt says brightly, throwing the bag back in a muddy ute.
Her volunteer companion Jack Ashby, who has taken a short break from his day job as the assistant director of Cambridge University's zoology museum, cheerfully scrubs poo and mud off the trap before resetting it with a fresh slab of meat.
For more than a week the team has been out monitoring 40 devil traps scattered throughout a remote plantation forest in north-west Tasmania.
Reset and repeat
Check, scan, record, release, clean, reset, repeat.
It's just a snapshot of an important, gruelling scientific journey that started nearly two decades ago — a journey that has unfolded in a series of questions and unexpected turns.
Among all that change, repetition has been key.
Every year, four times a year, for 10 days at a time, a team of volunteers and researchers head to the exact same patch of forest to track and collect information on a deadly cancer called Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD).
For some volunteers, it's the winters that prove the most challenging – early starts on freezing cold mornings, icy winds, days of miserable rain.
For Dr Hamede, it's the summer trips.
The sound of buzzing blowflies, the nostril-burning stench of rotting meat, the sight of maggots crawling through devils' disease-ravaged faces.
This fieldwork, he explains, forms a rigorous backbone for an evolving, unique research project that has garnered interest from labs all over the world, including France and the United States.
But that's not how it all started.
"We wanted to follow the epidemic frontline of the DFTD," Dr Hamede explained.
That was the early 2000s, and the cancer had only been detected about 10 years prior.
"We wanted to … follow how fast populations were declining after the disease's arrival," he said.
To Dr Hamede's surprise, it took years and 104 healthy devils before he caught his first animal with a tumour.
"Before that I was thinking I need to pack up my trailer with all the traps and move another 20, 25 kilometres to the east."
The disease had already gutted devil populations elsewhere in the state, triggering the Tasmanian government to list the species as endangered in 2008, closely followed by the federal government in 2009.
Since then, Dr Hamede's research has morphed multiple times, but continued to rely on the data collected on 68 (and counting) trips to the spot about 300km from Hobart.
"The most important reason why we keep coming here is because one of the great assets and values of science is repetition, and is consistency," he said.
"You find that there's a bit of a beauty … every time you repeat something — whether you see a different animal, whether there was a fantastic rainbow, whether you saw a devil for the first time, or a mother with pups, or the pups of that mother that you caught two years ago.
"It also allows you to answer questions that you wouldn't be able to answer otherwise."
In that time, the wildlife biologist has watched the population decline to less than 40 per cent of what it was, because of the contagious cancer.
He's also watched, stunned, as both tumour and animal have "somehow" evolved at incredible speed to co-exist.
"In the past we have observed genetic adaptations in the devil, which have allowed them to persist despite the deadly cancer", he said.
"Now we have evidence that, through natural selection, the tumour is fine tuning its optimal virulence, a trade-off between transmission rate and disease-induced mortality".
"This means that DFTD is very unlikely to drive the devil to extinction, but it also means the disease will not disappear, it's an evolutionary deal between the two to coexist with each other."
The findings, published this year in the journal Evolutionary Applications, have been eyed off by labs around the world, who hope the unique study may contain learnings for cancer in humans.
But Dr Hamede's research also points to a more immediate application — conservation, and not just of those small pockets of devils that may not have cancer.
"I think it's very fair to assume that the DFTD is now, in practical terms, spread throughout Tasmania," he said.
"We have a population that has been suffering from the DFTD for 17 years, for almost nine generations and has managed to come up, fight back and try to adapt to this disease and persist in spite of it.
"We can try to protect those … I think that's our responsibility. And that's where we should put most of our efforts."LoadingLoading...
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- In short: A recent discovery is giving scientists hope that Tasmanian devil numbers can survive well into the future
- What's next? They say devils now being trapped for research appear to indicate they are trying to adapt to the disease and persist in spite of it
A tall man with a flowing salt-and-pepper ponytail blends into the surrounding bush and watches quietly as a PhD student kneels on soggy winter ground somewhere near Cradle Mountain and gently opens the top of a hessian sack.
A flash of black and white fur leaps out into the crisp air, scurrying away into
|
the scrub.
It's not the Tasmanian devil he was hoping for, but it doesn't surprise Dr Rodrigo Hamede.
"Another quoll … at least they had a good meal," his research assistant Elise Ringwaldt says brightly, throwing the bag back in a muddy ute.
Her volunteer companion Jack Ashby, who has taken a short break from his day job as the assistant director of Cambridge University's zoology museum, cheerfully scrubs poo and mud off the trap before resetting it with a fresh slab of meat.
For more than a week the team has been out monitoring 40 devil traps scattered throughout a remote plantation forest in north-west Tasmania.
Reset and repeat
Check, scan, record, release, clean, reset, repeat.
It's just a snapshot of an important, gruelling scientific journey that started nearly two decades ago — a journey that has unfolded in a series of questions and unexpected turns.
Among all that change, repetition has been key.
Every year, four times a year, for 10 days at a time, a team of volunteers and researchers head to the exact same patch of forest to track and collect information on a deadly cancer called Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD).
For some volunteers, it's the winters that prove the most challenging – early starts on freezing cold mornings, icy winds, days of miserable rain.
For Dr Hamede, it's the summer trips.
The sound of buzzing blowflies, the nostril-burning stench of rotting meat, the sight of maggots crawling through devils' disease-ravaged faces.
This fieldwork, he explains, forms a rigorous backbone for an evolving, unique research project that has garnered interest from labs all over the world, including France and the United States.
But that's not how it all started.
"We wanted to follow the epidemic frontline of the DFTD," Dr Hamede explained.
That was the early 2000s, and the cancer had only been detected about 10 years prior.
"We wanted to … follow how fast populations were declining after the disease's arrival," he said.
To Dr Hamede's surprise, it took years and 104 healthy devils before he caught his first animal with a tumour.
"Before that I was thinking I need to pack up my trailer with all the traps and move another 20, 25 kilometres to the east."
The disease had already gutted devil populations elsewhere in the state, triggering the Tasmanian government to list the species as endangered in 2008, closely followed by the federal government in 2009.
Since then, Dr Hamede's research has morphed multiple times, but continued to rely on the data collected on 68 (and counting) trips to the spot about 300km from Hobart.
"The most important reason why we keep coming here is because one of the great assets and values of science is repetition, and is consistency," he said.
"You find that there's a bit of a beauty … every time you repeat something — whether you see a different animal, whether there was a fantastic rainbow, whether you saw a devil for the first time, or a mother with pups, or the pups of that mother that you caught two years ago.
"It also allows you to answer questions that you wouldn't be able to answer otherwise."
In that time, the wildlife biologist has watched the population decline to less than 40 per cent of what it was, because of the contagious cancer.
He's also watched, stunned, as both tumour and animal have "somehow" evolved at incredible speed to co-exist.
"In the past we have observed genetic adaptations in the devil, which have allowed them to persist despite the deadly cancer", he said.
"Now we have evidence that, through natural selection, the tumour is fine tuning its optimal virulence, a trade-off between transmission rate and disease-induced mortality".
"This means that DFTD is very unlikely to drive the devil to extinction, but it also means the disease will not disappear, it's an evolutionary deal between the two to coexist with each other."
The findings, published this year in the journal Evolutionary Applications, have been eyed off by labs around the world, who hope the unique study may contain learnings for cancer in humans.
But Dr Hamede's research also points to a more immediate application — conservation, and not just of those small pockets of devils that may not have cancer.
"I think it's very fair to assume that the DFTD is now, in practical terms, spread throughout Tasmania," he said.
"We have a population that has been suffering from the DFTD for 17 years, for almost nine generations and has managed to come up, fight back and try to adapt to this disease and persist in spite of it.
"We can try to protect those … I think that's our responsibility. And that's where we should put most of our efforts."LoadingLoading...
|
Previous presidents have declined to use the 14th Amendment to prevent a federal default on the national debt. But May 9, President Joe Biden cracked open the door to deploying an untested legal strategy involving the amendment best known for granting citizenship to enslaved Black Americans following the Civil War.
Biden faces a standoff with House Republicans over a looming breach of the debt limit and proposed spending cuts from Republicans that he considers untenable. Although President Barack Obama considered using the 14th Amendment during a debt ceiling standoff in 2011, he decided against it, questioning the move’s ability to withstand legal challenge.
In court, the government could argue that it faces two irreconcilable laws: the debt limit, and the requirement to pay the bills it owes. It could point to the 14th Amendment and say that the concept of a debt limit runs afoul of the Constitution.
“I have been considering the 14th Amendment,” Biden told reporters following a meeting with congressional leaders. He said a legal scholar he trusts, Laurence H. Tribe of Harvard University, has recently come out in favor of using the amendment to head off default.
Biden added that internal discussions have been underway, but he acknowledged that the legality of such a move “would have to be litigated,” making the tactic’s usefulness dependent on the courts’ agreement.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen echoed Biden’s caution at a meeting of finance ministers and central bankers in Japan, saying it was “legally questionable whether that’s a viable strategy.”
The debt limit is a statutory dollar figure that constrains how much debt the federal government can carry at a given time to pay for its operations. The debt ceiling now in effect is projected to be breached as soon as early June, which would mean the government couldn’t pay its bills, including payments to employees, contractors, and most urgently, bondholders whose confidence in the solvency of the U.S. government undermines the international economy.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and congressional Republicans narrowly passed a bill that would return funding for federal agencies to fiscal 2022 levels and limit government spending’s future growth. But Biden has argued the debt limit must be addressed on its own, with future spending negotiated over Congress’ annual spending bills.
McCarthy has said he opposes Biden using the 14th Amendment to skirt this dispute.
So, how could using the 14th Amendment shape the battle over the debt limit? Here’s a rundown.
What’s in the 14th Amendment?
The 14th Amendment enshrined the concept of “equal protection.” But one of its provisions, Section 4, also addresses debts on the government’s books. The debt clause was initially intended to ensure the formerly Confederate states would not shrink from shouldering Union debts, and that the U.S. would not have to pay reparations to people who had enslaved others.
The relevant part of Section 4 for the current debt battle is: “The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law … shall not be questioned.”
How would a president use the 14th Amendment in the debt limit fight?
Some legal experts see the 14th Amendment as a way to void the debt limit. This would curb the increasingly routine use of the debt limit as leverage in government spending debates and would ease the risks to the broader economy that a purposeful or even an accidental default could cause.
A president would argue in court that the 14th Amendment invalidates the statute that limits the federal debt’s size. If the courts declare the debt limit statute unconstitutional, the U.S. could keep paying its bills indefinitely, thus preventing a potential default and the resulting economic damage.
What do supportive scholars say?
Legal scholar Neil H. Buchanan of the University of Florida told PolitiFact that because the debt limit and the government’s obligation to pay debts are both law, Biden would have to choose which takes precedence — “and there’s no baseline that he could point to.”
Michael C. Dorf of Cornell Law School, who has written with Buchanan about this option, wrote in 2021 that borrowing beyond the debt limit would be the “least bad” option.
Tribe’s views on the issue have evolved. In 2011, when the U.S. nearly defaulted during a debt-limit fight, Tribe urged Obama not to invoke the 14th Amendment. Tribe now urges Biden to use the amendment.
The question, Tribe wrote in a New York Times op-ed, “is whether Congress — after passing the spending bills that created these debts in the first place — can invoke an arbitrary dollar limit to force the president and his administration to do its bidding. There is only one right answer to that question, and it is no. And there is only one person with the power to give Congress that answer: the president of the United States.”
Tribe cited President Abraham Lincoln’s brief override of civil liberties in 1861 to save the Union, telling Congress, “Are all the laws, but one, to go unexecuted, and the government itself go to pieces, lest that one be violated?”
Why haven’t presidents used the 14th Amendment in previous debt-limit battles?
In 2011, former President Bill Clinton said that if he were still president, he’d invoke the 14th Amendment at once and “force the courts to stop me.” But Obama, then the president, demurred. The parties instead hashed out a spending agreement that both chambers approved and the president signed, though the close call still led to a downgrade in some firms’ U.S. credit ratings.
It remains unclear what legal advice presidents have received, then or now. The Office of Legal Counsel, a Justice Department office tasked with providing advice on constitutional law, has not released its reasoning.
There’s wide agreement that using the 14th Amendment to end the debt dispute entails legal risk.
“The only case remotely on point is Perry vs. United States,” which was decided in 1935, Dorf told PolitiFact. In that case, Supreme Court justices ruled 5-4 that a bondholder had to be paid the dollar amount of the bond, not the original weight of gold used in dollars at the time of purchase (which had been reduced by the time the lawsuit was filed).
In that case, the majority wrote that although the 14th Amendment’s debt provision stemmed from Civil War realities, it possesses a “broader connotation.” The justices said it applies to government bonds at issue in the case “and to others duly authorized by the Congress.”
The 1935 court interpretation could encourage people who would like Biden to use a 14th Amendment argument.
But Buchanan cautioned that Perry v. United States “did not directly rule on the question. So as it stands, there is no binding precedent either way.”
The debt limit fight could land in court either way: If the government is forced to stop paying its bills, an unpaid creditor could sue for not getting paid.
Using the 14th Amendment would be “a pretty significant gamble on the part of the president,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told Reuters. “But that’s probably his best option if you get into that scenario.”
By Louis Jacobson, PolitiFact staff writer
Politifact Copy Chief Matthew Crowley and Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.
|
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Previous presidents have declined to use the 14th Amendment to prevent a federal default on the national debt. But May 9, President Joe Biden cracked open the door to deploying an untested legal strategy involving the amendment best known for granting citizenship to enslaved Black Americans following the Civil War.
Biden faces a standoff with House Republicans over a looming breach of the debt limit and proposed spending cuts from Republicans that he considers untenable. Although President Barack Obama considered using the 14th Amendment during a debt ceiling standoff in 2011, he decided against it, questioning the move’s ability to
|
withstand legal challenge.
In court, the government could argue that it faces two irreconcilable laws: the debt limit, and the requirement to pay the bills it owes. It could point to the 14th Amendment and say that the concept of a debt limit runs afoul of the Constitution.
“I have been considering the 14th Amendment,” Biden told reporters following a meeting with congressional leaders. He said a legal scholar he trusts, Laurence H. Tribe of Harvard University, has recently come out in favor of using the amendment to head off default.
Biden added that internal discussions have been underway, but he acknowledged that the legality of such a move “would have to be litigated,” making the tactic’s usefulness dependent on the courts’ agreement.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen echoed Biden’s caution at a meeting of finance ministers and central bankers in Japan, saying it was “legally questionable whether that’s a viable strategy.”
The debt limit is a statutory dollar figure that constrains how much debt the federal government can carry at a given time to pay for its operations. The debt ceiling now in effect is projected to be breached as soon as early June, which would mean the government couldn’t pay its bills, including payments to employees, contractors, and most urgently, bondholders whose confidence in the solvency of the U.S. government undermines the international economy.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and congressional Republicans narrowly passed a bill that would return funding for federal agencies to fiscal 2022 levels and limit government spending’s future growth. But Biden has argued the debt limit must be addressed on its own, with future spending negotiated over Congress’ annual spending bills.
McCarthy has said he opposes Biden using the 14th Amendment to skirt this dispute.
So, how could using the 14th Amendment shape the battle over the debt limit? Here’s a rundown.
What’s in the 14th Amendment?
The 14th Amendment enshrined the concept of “equal protection.” But one of its provisions, Section 4, also addresses debts on the government’s books. The debt clause was initially intended to ensure the formerly Confederate states would not shrink from shouldering Union debts, and that the U.S. would not have to pay reparations to people who had enslaved others.
The relevant part of Section 4 for the current debt battle is: “The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law … shall not be questioned.”
How would a president use the 14th Amendment in the debt limit fight?
Some legal experts see the 14th Amendment as a way to void the debt limit. This would curb the increasingly routine use of the debt limit as leverage in government spending debates and would ease the risks to the broader economy that a purposeful or even an accidental default could cause.
A president would argue in court that the 14th Amendment invalidates the statute that limits the federal debt’s size. If the courts declare the debt limit statute unconstitutional, the U.S. could keep paying its bills indefinitely, thus preventing a potential default and the resulting economic damage.
What do supportive scholars say?
Legal scholar Neil H. Buchanan of the University of Florida told PolitiFact that because the debt limit and the government’s obligation to pay debts are both law, Biden would have to choose which takes precedence — “and there’s no baseline that he could point to.”
Michael C. Dorf of Cornell Law School, who has written with Buchanan about this option, wrote in 2021 that borrowing beyond the debt limit would be the “least bad” option.
Tribe’s views on the issue have evolved. In 2011, when the U.S. nearly defaulted during a debt-limit fight, Tribe urged Obama not to invoke the 14th Amendment. Tribe now urges Biden to use the amendment.
The question, Tribe wrote in a New York Times op-ed, “is whether Congress — after passing the spending bills that created these debts in the first place — can invoke an arbitrary dollar limit to force the president and his administration to do its bidding. There is only one right answer to that question, and it is no. And there is only one person with the power to give Congress that answer: the president of the United States.”
Tribe cited President Abraham Lincoln’s brief override of civil liberties in 1861 to save the Union, telling Congress, “Are all the laws, but one, to go unexecuted, and the government itself go to pieces, lest that one be violated?”
Why haven’t presidents used the 14th Amendment in previous debt-limit battles?
In 2011, former President Bill Clinton said that if he were still president, he’d invoke the 14th Amendment at once and “force the courts to stop me.” But Obama, then the president, demurred. The parties instead hashed out a spending agreement that both chambers approved and the president signed, though the close call still led to a downgrade in some firms’ U.S. credit ratings.
It remains unclear what legal advice presidents have received, then or now. The Office of Legal Counsel, a Justice Department office tasked with providing advice on constitutional law, has not released its reasoning.
There’s wide agreement that using the 14th Amendment to end the debt dispute entails legal risk.
“The only case remotely on point is Perry vs. United States,” which was decided in 1935, Dorf told PolitiFact. In that case, Supreme Court justices ruled 5-4 that a bondholder had to be paid the dollar amount of the bond, not the original weight of gold used in dollars at the time of purchase (which had been reduced by the time the lawsuit was filed).
In that case, the majority wrote that although the 14th Amendment’s debt provision stemmed from Civil War realities, it possesses a “broader connotation.” The justices said it applies to government bonds at issue in the case “and to others duly authorized by the Congress.”
The 1935 court interpretation could encourage people who would like Biden to use a 14th Amendment argument.
But Buchanan cautioned that Perry v. United States “did not directly rule on the question. So as it stands, there is no binding precedent either way.”
The debt limit fight could land in court either way: If the government is forced to stop paying its bills, an unpaid creditor could sue for not getting paid.
Using the 14th Amendment would be “a pretty significant gamble on the part of the president,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told Reuters. “But that’s probably his best option if you get into that scenario.”
By Louis Jacobson, PolitiFact staff writer
Politifact Copy Chief Matthew Crowley and Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.
|
Since you are not a real gardener unless you grow something from seed, and since we are approaching seed-starting season, the one thing we all need is good starting soil. There are a few things to keep in mind.
First, there is a difference between a potting mix and a starting mix. The potting formulas are heavier and don’t drain as quickly. Sure you can use them to germinate things, but since you don’t want your seedlings to dampen off, it is better to use a starter mix which will drain better.
Second, since we want to be the most environmentally conscious gardeners we can, we need to consider ingredients and look for those that are the most sustainable and cause the least amount of damage to the environment.
So, the first thing to consider is what to use as a basic substrate. For my money, compost is the key. Not only does it have the right pH for starting plants, it retains moisture. Most important, compost contains the microbial community necessary to convert organic matter into nutrients for seedlings and to create soil structure. You can use your own or you can purchase a bag or two of organic compost (not “natural” which ensures nothing at all).
Some folks substitute coco coir for compost. This is the fibrous stuff that covers the nut of a coconut. It is becoming more and more sustainable as North American supplies are developed. Oddly, these fibers hold more water (and the nutrients it contains) than peat which is a good thing.
Next, you need to consider what to add for drainage and aeration. Peat comes from special wetlands and takes hundreds and hundreds of years to replace. The new, thinking gardener no longer uses peat moss for anything. It is mined, and its production isn’t sustainable.
Traditionally, perlite and vermiculite have filled this role are added to these mixes. These are minerals, heated and expanded in size. They are not made with chemicals, but both are mined, which is a downside (though we have almost unlimited supplies).
Vermiculite is a mica-like volcanic glass that is super heated until it pops. It used to be mined along with asbestos so it really wasn’t safe. The short story is if you want to use it today, make sure it was manufactured post-1990, and only U.S. made. You don’t want to inhale asbestos fibers. Better to skip it altogether.
Then there is perlite, also mined and heated. It is natural but not very biodegradable, and its water retention and drainage properties will last after the plants are transplanted. This bothers some, though if I had clay soil I might want the extra drainage.
Anyhow, since the coir and compost will hold enough water for your seedlings, all you really need is drainage. For the money, sand works great. Sure it makes containers heavier, but come on! Or, you can use rice hulls if you can find them.
A good starting mix is one part coconut coir, one part sand or rice hulls and one part compost. If you think your compost is too “heavy,” add more sand or add more coir and less compost. This is one area where you are allowed a bit of “art” since your ingredients follow the science.
The bottom line is you can buy seed-starting soil and there are plenty of different kinds out there. It makes sense to look at ingredients, however, and it makes even more sense to make your own. Either way, the seed germination season approaches.
Jeff’s Alaska Gardening Calendar
Alaska Botanical Garden: It is time to join. This is a must for area gardeners. Lots of benefits for very little cost.
Spring Garden Conference: It runs from March 8-11. Make reservations now while you can. This event always sells out. Again, it is another must-do event.
Houseplants: Clean yours up
|
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Since you are not a real gardener unless you grow something from seed, and since we are approaching seed-starting season, the one thing we all need is good starting soil. There are a few things to keep in mind.
First, there is a difference between a potting mix and a starting mix. The potting formulas are heavier and don’t drain as quickly. Sure you can use them to germinate things, but since you don’t want your seedlings to dampen off, it is better to use a starter mix which will drain better.
Second, since we want to be the most environmentally conscious gardeners we can, we
|
need to consider ingredients and look for those that are the most sustainable and cause the least amount of damage to the environment.
So, the first thing to consider is what to use as a basic substrate. For my money, compost is the key. Not only does it have the right pH for starting plants, it retains moisture. Most important, compost contains the microbial community necessary to convert organic matter into nutrients for seedlings and to create soil structure. You can use your own or you can purchase a bag or two of organic compost (not “natural” which ensures nothing at all).
Some folks substitute coco coir for compost. This is the fibrous stuff that covers the nut of a coconut. It is becoming more and more sustainable as North American supplies are developed. Oddly, these fibers hold more water (and the nutrients it contains) than peat which is a good thing.
Next, you need to consider what to add for drainage and aeration. Peat comes from special wetlands and takes hundreds and hundreds of years to replace. The new, thinking gardener no longer uses peat moss for anything. It is mined, and its production isn’t sustainable.
Traditionally, perlite and vermiculite have filled this role are added to these mixes. These are minerals, heated and expanded in size. They are not made with chemicals, but both are mined, which is a downside (though we have almost unlimited supplies).
Vermiculite is a mica-like volcanic glass that is super heated until it pops. It used to be mined along with asbestos so it really wasn’t safe. The short story is if you want to use it today, make sure it was manufactured post-1990, and only U.S. made. You don’t want to inhale asbestos fibers. Better to skip it altogether.
Then there is perlite, also mined and heated. It is natural but not very biodegradable, and its water retention and drainage properties will last after the plants are transplanted. This bothers some, though if I had clay soil I might want the extra drainage.
Anyhow, since the coir and compost will hold enough water for your seedlings, all you really need is drainage. For the money, sand works great. Sure it makes containers heavier, but come on! Or, you can use rice hulls if you can find them.
A good starting mix is one part coconut coir, one part sand or rice hulls and one part compost. If you think your compost is too “heavy,” add more sand or add more coir and less compost. This is one area where you are allowed a bit of “art” since your ingredients follow the science.
The bottom line is you can buy seed-starting soil and there are plenty of different kinds out there. It makes sense to look at ingredients, however, and it makes even more sense to make your own. Either way, the seed germination season approaches.
Jeff’s Alaska Gardening Calendar
Alaska Botanical Garden: It is time to join. This is a must for area gardeners. Lots of benefits for very little cost.
Spring Garden Conference: It runs from March 8-11. Make reservations now while you can. This event always sells out. Again, it is another must-do event.
Houseplants: Clean yours up
|
Climate change is crushing winter fun
For many Americans, winter means ice skating, building snowmen and going skiing. But this year, many are missing out on the fun as the temperature stays stubbornly higher than normal.
Why it matters: Warming winters tied to human-caused climate change pose an existential threat to seasonal activities and sports, which require sustained cold temperatures and often snow.
- In parts of Wyoming and Montana, for instance, the snowmobiling and cross-country skiing seasons are expected to shrink by 20%-60% by the end of the century under one warming scenario, per Sarah Blount, the program director of research and evaluation at the National Environmental Education Foundation.
State of play: Cold-weather communities across the U.S. are finding themselves affected by the unusually warm temperatures, forcing some events and traditions to be modified or canceled.
- Climate change is warming up winters over the long term, but specific weather patterns, namely El Niño, also contributed to this winter's particularly warm temperatures.
Details: Minneapolis' Loppet Foundation, a nonprofit that organizes outdoor activities for the public, has found itself unable to host its usual array of events — like snowshoeing and tubing, executive director Claire Wilson tells Axios.
- "People are sad," Wilson says. "They're bereft, really, because it's part of our culture. It's how you get through the long winter, through the dark days."
- The foundation is slated to help host the Cross-Country World Cup later this month. It's trying to maintain a man-made ski loop until then, as the city experiences its warmest winter in recorded history.
- When the group has been able to hold winter events this year, "the joy was palpable," Wilson says.
Plus: The ice at Colorado's Evergreen Lake outside of Denver — which describes itself as the "world's largest Zamboni-groomed outdoor ice rink" — wasn't thick enough for skating until late December, and couldn't support the Zamboni for another two weeks beyond that, manager Krista Emrich told Axios' Emma Hurt.
- Syracuse, New York's annual Pond Hockey Classic had to be moved from Hiawatha Lake to a man-made rink downtown, also due to thin ice.
- Officials at New Hampshire's Alton Bay Seaplane Base — which boasts the only ice runway in the Lower 48 states — said last week that the ice remained too thin and the runway would likely remain closed to planes this season.
- "Long-term records show a 25% decrease in basin-wide ice cover as well as a trend toward fewer frozen days across the Great Lakes since 1973," the group found.
The bottom line: Shrinking winter recreation seasons will have a massive impact on host communities, where winter sports represent multimillion-dollar industries that drive tourism and generate economic revenue, Blount says.
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Climate change is crushing winter fun
For many Americans, winter means ice skating, building snowmen and going skiing. But this year, many are missing out on the fun as the temperature stays stubbornly higher than normal.
Why it matters: Warming winters tied to human-caused climate change pose an existential threat to seasonal activities and sports, which require sustained cold temperatures and often snow.
- In parts of Wyoming and Montana, for instance, the snowmobiling and cross-country skiing seasons are expected to shrink by 20%-60% by the end of the century under one warming scenario, per Sarah Blount, the
|
program director of research and evaluation at the National Environmental Education Foundation.
State of play: Cold-weather communities across the U.S. are finding themselves affected by the unusually warm temperatures, forcing some events and traditions to be modified or canceled.
- Climate change is warming up winters over the long term, but specific weather patterns, namely El Niño, also contributed to this winter's particularly warm temperatures.
Details: Minneapolis' Loppet Foundation, a nonprofit that organizes outdoor activities for the public, has found itself unable to host its usual array of events — like snowshoeing and tubing, executive director Claire Wilson tells Axios.
- "People are sad," Wilson says. "They're bereft, really, because it's part of our culture. It's how you get through the long winter, through the dark days."
- The foundation is slated to help host the Cross-Country World Cup later this month. It's trying to maintain a man-made ski loop until then, as the city experiences its warmest winter in recorded history.
- When the group has been able to hold winter events this year, "the joy was palpable," Wilson says.
Plus: The ice at Colorado's Evergreen Lake outside of Denver — which describes itself as the "world's largest Zamboni-groomed outdoor ice rink" — wasn't thick enough for skating until late December, and couldn't support the Zamboni for another two weeks beyond that, manager Krista Emrich told Axios' Emma Hurt.
- Syracuse, New York's annual Pond Hockey Classic had to be moved from Hiawatha Lake to a man-made rink downtown, also due to thin ice.
- Officials at New Hampshire's Alton Bay Seaplane Base — which boasts the only ice runway in the Lower 48 states — said last week that the ice remained too thin and the runway would likely remain closed to planes this season.
- "Long-term records show a 25% decrease in basin-wide ice cover as well as a trend toward fewer frozen days across the Great Lakes since 1973," the group found.
The bottom line: Shrinking winter recreation seasons will have a massive impact on host communities, where winter sports represent multimillion-dollar industries that drive tourism and generate economic revenue, Blount says.
|
Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more.
Scientists have detected a surprising amount of a rare version of helium, called helium-3, in volcanic rocks on Canada’s Baffin Island, lending support to the theory that the noble gas is leaking from Earth’s core — and has been for millennia.
The research team also detected helium-4 within the rocks.
While helium-4 is common on Earth, helium-3 is more readily found elsewhere in the cosmos, which is why scientists were surprised to detect a larger amount of the element than had been previously reported from the rocks on Baffin Island. A study describing the discovery published recently in the journal Nature.
“At the most basic level, there is little 3He (helium-3) in the universe compared to 4He (helium-4),” said lead study author Forrest Horton, associate scientist in the department of geology and geophysics at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, in an email.
“3He is rare in Earth because it has not been produced in or added to the planet in significant quantities and it is lost to space,” Horton added. “As Earth’s rocky portion stirs and convects like hot water on a stove top, material ascends, cools, and sinks.
During the cooling stage, helium is lost to the atmosphere and then to space.”
Detecting elements that leak from Earth’s core can help scientists unlock insights into how our planet formed and evolved over time, and the new findings provide evidence to bolster an existing hypothesis about how our planet came to be.
A trove of ‘scientific treasures’
Baffin Island, located in the territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada. It’s also the fifth-largest island in the world.
A high ratio of helium-3 to helium-4 was first detected in Baffin Island volcanic rocks by Solveigh Lass-Evans as part of her doctoral studies under the supervision of University of Edinburgh scientist Finlay Stuart. Their findings were published in Nature in 2003.
The composition of a planet is a reflection of the elements that formed it, and previous research found that trace amounts of helium-3 leaking from Earth’s core supports the popular theory that our planet originated in a solar nebula — a cloud of gas and dust that likely collapsed due to the shock wave of a nearby supernova — which contained the element.
Horton and his colleagues took it a step further when they conducted research on Baffin Island in 2018, studying the lava that erupted millions of years ago when Greenland and North America split apart, making way for a new seafloor. They wanted to investigate the rocks that may contain insights about the contents locked within Earth’s core and mantle, the mostly solid layer of Earth’s interior located beneath its surface.
The researchers traveled by helicopter to reach the remote, otherworldly landscape of the island, where lava flows have formed towering cliffs, giant icebergs float by and polar bears stalk the coastline. Local organizations, including the Qikiqtani Inuit Association and Nunavut Research Institute, provided the researchers with access, advice and protection from the bears, Horton said.
“This area on Baffin Island holds special importance both as sacred lands for the local communities and as a scientific window into the deep Earth,” he said.
The Arctic rocks that Horton and his team investigated revealed surprisingly higher measurements of helium-3 and helium-4 than was reported by previous research, and the measurements varied among the samples they collected.
“Many of the lavas are full of bright green olivine (also known as the gemstone peridot), so breaking off fresh pieces with a rock hammer was as thrilling as breaking apart geodes as a kid: each rock was a treasure to be discovered,” Horton said. “And what scientific treasures they turned out to be!”
Only about one helium-3 atom exists for every million helium-4 atoms, Horton said. The team measured about 10 million helium-3 atoms per gram of olivine crystals.
“Our high 3He/4He measurements imply that gases, presumably inherited from the solar nebula during solar system formation, are better preserved in Earth than previously thought,” he said.
Tracing Earth’s history
But how did the helium-3 end up in the rocks in the first place?
The answer may begin as far back as the big bang, which, when it created the universe, also released an abundance of hydrogen and helium. These elements were incorporated into the formation of galaxies over time.
Scientists believe our solar system formed 4.5 billion years ago within a solar nebula. As the dust cloud collapsed from a nearby supernova event, the resulting material formed a spinning disk that eventually gave rise to our sun and the planets, according to NASA.
Helium inherited from the solar nebula likely became locked in Earth’s core as the planet formed, making the core a reservoir of noble gases. As helium-3 leaked from the core, it ascended to the surface through the mantle in the form of magma plumes that eventually erupted on Baffin Island.
“During the eruption, the vast majority of the gases in the magma escaped to the atmosphere,” Horton said. “Only the olivine crystals that grew prior to eruption trapped and preserved the helium from the deep Earth.”
The new research supports the idea that helium-3 is leaking from Earth’s core and has been for some time, but the researchers aren’t entirely sure when this process began.
“The lavas are about 60 million years old, and the ascent of the mantle plume took perhaps tens of millions of years,” Horton said. “So, the helium we measured in these rocks would have escaped the core perhaps 100 million years ago or possibly much earlier.”
Helium leaking from Earth’s core doesn’t affect our planet or have any negative implications, he said. The noble gas does not chemically react with matter, so it won’t have an impact on humanity or the environment.
Next, the research team wants to investigate whether the core is a storehouse of other light elements, which could account for the why Earth’s outer core is less dense than expected.
“Is the core a major repository of elements like carbon and hydrogen, which are so important in terms of planetary habitability? If so, have fluxes of these elements from the core over (Earth’s) history influenced planetary evolution? I am excited to investigate links between helium and other light elements,” Horton said. “Perhaps helium can be used to track other elements across the core-mantle boundary.”
Clarification: This story has been updated to reflect the solar system formed from a collapsed dust cloud that had resulted from a nearby supernova event.
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Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more.
Scientists have detected a surprising amount of a rare version of helium, called helium-3, in volcanic rocks on Canada’s Baffin Island, lending support to the theory that the noble gas is leaking from Earth’s core — and has been for millennia.
The research team also detected helium-4 within the rocks.
While helium-4 is common on Earth, helium-3 is more readily found elsewhere in the cosmos, which is why scientists were surprised to detect a larger amount of the element
|
than had been previously reported from the rocks on Baffin Island. A study describing the discovery published recently in the journal Nature.
“At the most basic level, there is little 3He (helium-3) in the universe compared to 4He (helium-4),” said lead study author Forrest Horton, associate scientist in the department of geology and geophysics at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, in an email.
“3He is rare in Earth because it has not been produced in or added to the planet in significant quantities and it is lost to space,” Horton added. “As Earth’s rocky portion stirs and convects like hot water on a stove top, material ascends, cools, and sinks.
During the cooling stage, helium is lost to the atmosphere and then to space.”
Detecting elements that leak from Earth’s core can help scientists unlock insights into how our planet formed and evolved over time, and the new findings provide evidence to bolster an existing hypothesis about how our planet came to be.
A trove of ‘scientific treasures’
Baffin Island, located in the territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada. It’s also the fifth-largest island in the world.
A high ratio of helium-3 to helium-4 was first detected in Baffin Island volcanic rocks by Solveigh Lass-Evans as part of her doctoral studies under the supervision of University of Edinburgh scientist Finlay Stuart. Their findings were published in Nature in 2003.
The composition of a planet is a reflection of the elements that formed it, and previous research found that trace amounts of helium-3 leaking from Earth’s core supports the popular theory that our planet originated in a solar nebula — a cloud of gas and dust that likely collapsed due to the shock wave of a nearby supernova — which contained the element.
Horton and his colleagues took it a step further when they conducted research on Baffin Island in 2018, studying the lava that erupted millions of years ago when Greenland and North America split apart, making way for a new seafloor. They wanted to investigate the rocks that may contain insights about the contents locked within Earth’s core and mantle, the mostly solid layer of Earth’s interior located beneath its surface.
The researchers traveled by helicopter to reach the remote, otherworldly landscape of the island, where lava flows have formed towering cliffs, giant icebergs float by and polar bears stalk the coastline. Local organizations, including the Qikiqtani Inuit Association and Nunavut Research Institute, provided the researchers with access, advice and protection from the bears, Horton said.
“This area on Baffin Island holds special importance both as sacred lands for the local communities and as a scientific window into the deep Earth,” he said.
The Arctic rocks that Horton and his team investigated revealed surprisingly higher measurements of helium-3 and helium-4 than was reported by previous research, and the measurements varied among the samples they collected.
“Many of the lavas are full of bright green olivine (also known as the gemstone peridot), so breaking off fresh pieces with a rock hammer was as thrilling as breaking apart geodes as a kid: each rock was a treasure to be discovered,” Horton said. “And what scientific treasures they turned out to be!”
Only about one helium-3 atom exists for every million helium-4 atoms, Horton said. The team measured about 10 million helium-3 atoms per gram of olivine crystals.
“Our high 3He/4He measurements imply that gases, presumably inherited from the solar nebula during solar system formation, are better preserved in Earth than previously thought,” he said.
Tracing Earth’s history
But how did the helium-3 end up in the rocks in the first place?
The answer may begin as far back as the big bang, which, when it created the universe, also released an abundance of hydrogen and helium. These elements were incorporated into the formation of galaxies over time.
Scientists believe our solar system formed 4.5 billion years ago within a solar nebula. As the dust cloud collapsed from a nearby supernova event, the resulting material formed a spinning disk that eventually gave rise to our sun and the planets, according to NASA.
Helium inherited from the solar nebula likely became locked in Earth’s core as the planet formed, making the core a reservoir of noble gases. As helium-3 leaked from the core, it ascended to the surface through the mantle in the form of magma plumes that eventually erupted on Baffin Island.
“During the eruption, the vast majority of the gases in the magma escaped to the atmosphere,” Horton said. “Only the olivine crystals that grew prior to eruption trapped and preserved the helium from the deep Earth.”
The new research supports the idea that helium-3 is leaking from Earth’s core and has been for some time, but the researchers aren’t entirely sure when this process began.
“The lavas are about 60 million years old, and the ascent of the mantle plume took perhaps tens of millions of years,” Horton said. “So, the helium we measured in these rocks would have escaped the core perhaps 100 million years ago or possibly much earlier.”
Helium leaking from Earth’s core doesn’t affect our planet or have any negative implications, he said. The noble gas does not chemically react with matter, so it won’t have an impact on humanity or the environment.
Next, the research team wants to investigate whether the core is a storehouse of other light elements, which could account for the why Earth’s outer core is less dense than expected.
“Is the core a major repository of elements like carbon and hydrogen, which are so important in terms of planetary habitability? If so, have fluxes of these elements from the core over (Earth’s) history influenced planetary evolution? I am excited to investigate links between helium and other light elements,” Horton said. “Perhaps helium can be used to track other elements across the core-mantle boundary.”
Clarification: This story has been updated to reflect the solar system formed from a collapsed dust cloud that had resulted from a nearby supernova event.
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The number of drug overdose deaths in the United States is still increasing every month, according to new data, but the pace appears to be slowing.
New estimates from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics projects that more than 112,000 people died from a drug overdose in the 12-month period ending in May, an increase of more than 2,700 from the previous year.
There were 112,024 overdose deaths in the 12-month period ending in May, compared with 109,261 in the 12-month period ending in May 2022, a 2.5% increase.
Dr. Katherine Keyes, a professor of epidemiology at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, noted that the increase is leveling off.
“We still have an extraordinary number of overdose deaths that is orders of magnitude higher than we’ve seen in previous years,” she said. However, “the increase that we [saw] in 2021 has slowed down.”
These month-to-month increases are gradual, and Keyes notes that the latest increase in deaths is still lower than the jumps in drug overdose deaths seen during the early years of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Overdose deaths spiked 30% between 2019 and 2020 and rose another 15% between 2020 and 2021, according to the CDC.
“There were extraordinary increases in 2020 and 2021 that have started to flatten out in 2022 – now going into 2023. They’re not declining yet,” Keyes said. “But the pace of the increase is certainly slowing.
So that is both good news and indicative of a continuing public health crisis.”
Keyes highlights that these small accumulation of overdose deaths are still putting 2023 on track to be another devastating year amid the drug epidemic.
“It’s still slightly higher than previous 12-month periods. So, it certainly still indicates just a devastating impact on population health,” she said.
Certain states – particularly in the western United States – have seen steep increases in deaths in comparison with national totals.
Washington had the highest increase: more than 37% from the year ending May 2022 to the year ending this May, from 2,373 to 3,254.
Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids were involved in the vast majority of overdose deaths, according to the provisional data, followed by psychostimulants such as methamphetamine.
“Fentanyl is an unpredictable product, and people who use too much can rapidly have an overdose,” Keyes said, adding that the drug is particularly dangerous for people who don’t know they are consuming it.
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“Many people who use drugs are more tolerant to fentanyl and prefer it,” she said. “Other people use it without knowing it, and that can be very dangerous because people who don’t have a tolerance to opioids who are exposed to fentanyl only need a very small amount of exposure to rapidly induce an overdose.”
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the first over-the-counter version of naloxone, or Narcan, a drug used to reverse opioid overdose.
The nasal spray is now available in stores and online. But Keyes says putting naloxone out there is simply not enough to get a handle on the opioid epidemic. Rather, she likened it to someone going to the hospital with a broken leg,
“If someone breaks their leg, we want them to be able to go to the hospital and get treated, but we also want to make sure that people don’t break their legs,” she said. “Naloxone is a really important tool to reverse an overdose, and its expansion and availability is a critical leg of an overdose prevention effort. But it’s certainly not the only one. We want to make sure that we’re helping people all along that road to an overdose so that we can engage in prevention efforts.”
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The number of drug overdose deaths in the United States is still increasing every month, according to new data, but the pace appears to be slowing.
New estimates from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics projects that more than 112,000 people died from a drug overdose in the 12-month period ending in May, an increase of more than 2,700 from the previous year.
There were 112,024 overdose deaths in the 12-month period ending in May, compared with 109,261 in the 1
|
2-month period ending in May 2022, a 2.5% increase.
Dr. Katherine Keyes, a professor of epidemiology at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, noted that the increase is leveling off.
“We still have an extraordinary number of overdose deaths that is orders of magnitude higher than we’ve seen in previous years,” she said. However, “the increase that we [saw] in 2021 has slowed down.”
These month-to-month increases are gradual, and Keyes notes that the latest increase in deaths is still lower than the jumps in drug overdose deaths seen during the early years of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Overdose deaths spiked 30% between 2019 and 2020 and rose another 15% between 2020 and 2021, according to the CDC.
“There were extraordinary increases in 2020 and 2021 that have started to flatten out in 2022 – now going into 2023. They’re not declining yet,” Keyes said. “But the pace of the increase is certainly slowing.
So that is both good news and indicative of a continuing public health crisis.”
Keyes highlights that these small accumulation of overdose deaths are still putting 2023 on track to be another devastating year amid the drug epidemic.
“It’s still slightly higher than previous 12-month periods. So, it certainly still indicates just a devastating impact on population health,” she said.
Certain states – particularly in the western United States – have seen steep increases in deaths in comparison with national totals.
Washington had the highest increase: more than 37% from the year ending May 2022 to the year ending this May, from 2,373 to 3,254.
Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids were involved in the vast majority of overdose deaths, according to the provisional data, followed by psychostimulants such as methamphetamine.
“Fentanyl is an unpredictable product, and people who use too much can rapidly have an overdose,” Keyes said, adding that the drug is particularly dangerous for people who don’t know they are consuming it.
Get CNN Health's weekly newsletter
Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta every Tuesday from the CNN Health team.
“Many people who use drugs are more tolerant to fentanyl and prefer it,” she said. “Other people use it without knowing it, and that can be very dangerous because people who don’t have a tolerance to opioids who are exposed to fentanyl only need a very small amount of exposure to rapidly induce an overdose.”
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the first over-the-counter version of naloxone, or Narcan, a drug used to reverse opioid overdose.
The nasal spray is now available in stores and online. But Keyes says putting naloxone out there is simply not enough to get a handle on the opioid epidemic. Rather, she likened it to someone going to the hospital with a broken leg,
“If someone breaks their leg, we want them to be able to go to the hospital and get treated, but we also want to make sure that people don’t break their legs,” she said. “Naloxone is a really important tool to reverse an overdose, and its expansion and availability is a critical leg of an overdose prevention effort. But it’s certainly not the only one. We want to make sure that we’re helping people all along that road to an overdose so that we can engage in prevention efforts.”
|
Psychedelic drugs may be helpful in addressing anorexia: UCSD study
Psychedelic drugs may help address eating disorders, according to new research from UC San Diego (UCSD) that saw patients taking a synthetic version of the drug found in mushrooms.
Psilocybin is the hallucinogen found in some mushrooms that temporarily alters someone’s consciousness. Past research has shown promise in the drug helping people with depression, alcoholism and post-traumatic stress disorder. A UCSD study published in Nature said it could also help people with anorexia nervosa. The condition causes people to substantially reduce their food intake and have a distorted view of their body.
"We really don’t have treatments that treat from the inside out — that reverse core psychological symptoms," said Stephanie Knatz Peck, a psychologist and UCSD professor who worked on the study.
Knatz Peck said because there are no proven treatments, anorexia can be deadly and patients are looking for answers.
"I’ve treated enough people with anorexia to know that there’s a desperation there," Knatz Peck said. "When you’ve tried the same treatment four times or you’ve been in the hospital five times or been in a day treatment program seven times — you want something new and different."
Knatz Peck and Dr. Walter Kaye from UC San Diego’s Eating Disorders Center decided to try something new. They gave a high dose of synthetic psilocybin to 10 people to see if a psychedelic trip combined with supportive therapy could change the way they thought about themselves.
"You’d see us encouraging people to put on eyeshades, headphones with music and just be with memories that come up, emotions that come up, and really focus on the inward not the outward," Knatz Peck said describing how peoples' 'trip' went. "Lots of people came out of the experience saying like, 'I spent so much time and energy thinking that my whole self worth was based on what I looked like or needing to be this weight otherwise I was worthless, and I have this reprioritization of what’s important for me — that’s not my full identity.'"
Four out of the 10 study participants showed significant drops in their eating disorder symptoms and the trend continued after three months.
"We’re not actually saying, 'Oh you have to eat — this is the way we’re getting you better,'" Knatz Peck said. "It’s more like how can we help your brain change in a way that might make it easier to change."
The study did not find a statistically significant effect on participants' body max index (BMI), but the psychological results were encouraging.
"More research is needed to replicate (the study) in a larger, controlled trial, but that’s a really promising finding compared to what we currently have available for people," Knatz Peck said.
Kaye said one goal of the study was to see if psilocybin was safe for patients diagnosed with anorexia. He said it generally was — with some reporting minor side effects. Psilocybin is illegal in U.S. so special licenses had to be obtained for this research. Kaye is hoping the FDA will soon allow easier access for similar studies.
"I think this is promising enough that — I’ve been doing this for many years and we haven’t found much that (has) really changed thinking in people with anorexia," Kaye said.
Researchers said it was unclear during the early stages if one trip with supportive therapy was enough to make a lasting impact. Nine out of 10 people said they felt one dose was not enough. Researchers are currently part of a larger trial to find some of those answers, and they are looking for more participants.
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|
Psychedelic drugs may be helpful in addressing anorexia: UCSD study
Psychedelic drugs may help address eating disorders, according to new research from UC San Diego (UCSD) that saw patients taking a synthetic version of the drug found in mushrooms.
Psilocybin is the hallucinogen found in some mushrooms that temporarily alters someone’s consciousness. Past research has shown promise in the drug helping people with depression, alcoholism and post-traumatic stress disorder. A UCSD study published in Nature said it could also help people with anorexia nervosa. The condition causes people to substantially reduce their food intake
|
and have a distorted view of their body.
"We really don’t have treatments that treat from the inside out — that reverse core psychological symptoms," said Stephanie Knatz Peck, a psychologist and UCSD professor who worked on the study.
Knatz Peck said because there are no proven treatments, anorexia can be deadly and patients are looking for answers.
"I’ve treated enough people with anorexia to know that there’s a desperation there," Knatz Peck said. "When you’ve tried the same treatment four times or you’ve been in the hospital five times or been in a day treatment program seven times — you want something new and different."
Knatz Peck and Dr. Walter Kaye from UC San Diego’s Eating Disorders Center decided to try something new. They gave a high dose of synthetic psilocybin to 10 people to see if a psychedelic trip combined with supportive therapy could change the way they thought about themselves.
"You’d see us encouraging people to put on eyeshades, headphones with music and just be with memories that come up, emotions that come up, and really focus on the inward not the outward," Knatz Peck said describing how peoples' 'trip' went. "Lots of people came out of the experience saying like, 'I spent so much time and energy thinking that my whole self worth was based on what I looked like or needing to be this weight otherwise I was worthless, and I have this reprioritization of what’s important for me — that’s not my full identity.'"
Four out of the 10 study participants showed significant drops in their eating disorder symptoms and the trend continued after three months.
"We’re not actually saying, 'Oh you have to eat — this is the way we’re getting you better,'" Knatz Peck said. "It’s more like how can we help your brain change in a way that might make it easier to change."
The study did not find a statistically significant effect on participants' body max index (BMI), but the psychological results were encouraging.
"More research is needed to replicate (the study) in a larger, controlled trial, but that’s a really promising finding compared to what we currently have available for people," Knatz Peck said.
Kaye said one goal of the study was to see if psilocybin was safe for patients diagnosed with anorexia. He said it generally was — with some reporting minor side effects. Psilocybin is illegal in U.S. so special licenses had to be obtained for this research. Kaye is hoping the FDA will soon allow easier access for similar studies.
"I think this is promising enough that — I’ve been doing this for many years and we haven’t found much that (has) really changed thinking in people with anorexia," Kaye said.
Researchers said it was unclear during the early stages if one trip with supportive therapy was enough to make a lasting impact. Nine out of 10 people said they felt one dose was not enough. Researchers are currently part of a larger trial to find some of those answers, and they are looking for more participants.
|
Testing AI or Not: How Well Does an AI Image Detector Do Its Job?
You may recall earlier this year when many social media users were convinced pictures of a “swagged out” Pope Francis—fitted with a white puffer jacket and low-hanging chain worthy of a Hype Williams music video—were real (they were not).
These images were the product of Generative AI, a term that refers to any tool based on a deep-learning software model that can generate text or visual content based on the data it is trained on. Of particular concern for open source researchers are AI-generated images.
DALL-E, Stable Diffusion, and Midjourney—the latter was used to create the fake Francis photos—are just some of the tools that have emerged in recent years, capable of generating images realistic enough to fool human eyes. AI-fuelled disinformation will have direct implications for open source research—a single undiscovered fake image, for example, could compromise an entire investigation.
Earlier this year, the New York Times tested five tools designed to detect these AI-generated images. The tools analyse the data contained within images—sometimes millions of pixels—and search for clues and patterns that can determine their authenticity. The exercise showed positive progress, but also found shortcomings—two tools, for example, thought a fake photo of Elon Musk kissing an android robot was real.
Bellingcat sought to repeat this experiment with open source research in mind. We tested one of these tools- AI of Not – on 200 images: half of them real, half AI-generated. In particular we wanted to understand how effective the tool was at detecting images with watermarks and images which have been compressed – two specific challenges often faced by open source researchers:. The results show a technology suited to navigating watermarks but that struggles with images that have been compressed.
The tool is called AI or Not. Developed by Optic, an American tech company founded by former Google product director Andrey Doronichev, it “uses advanced algorithms and machine learning techniques to analyse images and detect signs of AI generation.” It has been trained on DALL-E, Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, generative adversarial networks and face image generators.
The company states that the tool is designed to provide highly accurate results.
For the test, Bellingcat fed 100 real images and 100 Midjourney-generated images into AI or Not. The real images consisted of different types of photographs, realistic and abstract paintings, stills from movies and animated films and screenshots from video games. The Midjourney-generated images consisted of photorealistic images, paintings and drawings. Midjourney was programmed to recreate some of the paintings used in the real images dataset.
AI or Not was highly accurate during the first round of identifications.
It was particularly adept at identifying AI-generated images — both photorealistic images and paintings and drawings.
AI or Not successfully identified visually challenging images as having been created by AI.
For example, someone without professional art training might struggle with correctly identifying this modernist-style mural as having been generated by Midjourney:
AI or Not was also successful at identifying more photorealistic Midjourney-generated images, such as this photorealistic aerial image of what is supposed to be a frozen Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada.
It also successfully identified AI-generated realistic paintings and drawings, such as the below Midjourney recreation of the famous 16th-century painting The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein the Younger.
The real painting is exhibited in the National Gallery in London, UK.
Overall, AI or Not correctly detected all 100 Midjourney-generated images it was originally given.
The tool also maintained a high detection rate for real images although it also produced false positives: incorrectly identifying real images as having been generated by AI.
AI or Not successfully identified the following real images:
- 20 images taken by Bellingcat contributor Dennis Kovtun
- 20 paintings by various artists from the Renaissance period
- 19 out of 20 abstract paintings
- 10 of 10 movie stills
- 10 out of 10 animation stills
- 10 out 10 video game screenshots from the late 2000s and early 2010s
AI or Not produced some false positives when given 20 photos produced by photography competition entrants. Out of 20 photos, it mistakenly identified six as having been generated by AI, and it could not make a determination for the seventh.
All the photographs that AI or Not mistakenly identified as AI-generated were winners or honourable mentions of the 2022 and 2021 Canadian Photos of the Year contest that is run by Canadian Geographic magazine. It was not immediately clear why some of these images were incorrectly identified as AI.
Generally, the photos had a high resolution, were really sharp, had striking bright colours and contained a lot of detail. Several had unusual lighting or a large depth of field, and one was taken using long exposure.
Based on the above test, we concluded that AI or Not is quite good at identifying real images — it successfully identified real paintings and drawings and most real photographs, though it may struggle with some high-quality photos.
While AI or Not is, at first glance, successful at identifying AI images, there’s a caveat to consider as to its reliability.
AI or Not: Compressed and Watermarked Images
Every digital image contains millions of pixels, each containing potential clues about the image’s origin.
But what happens if a chunk of this valuable data is lost or distorted? During the first round of tests on 100 AI images, AI or Not was fed all of these images in their original format (PNG) and size, which ranged between 1.2 and about 2.2 megabytes. When open-source researchers work with images, they often deal with significantly smaller images that are compressed.
When an image is resized or distorted, or when its resolution is lowered, the pixels in it are altered and the “digital signal” that helps a detector identify the origins of the image is lost, Kevin Guo, the founder of image detection tool Hive, told the New York Times.
Hive provides deep-learning models for companies that want to use them for content generation and analysis, which include an AI image detector. It also has a free browser extension, but the extension’s utility for open-source work is limited. It was “unable to fetch results” on Telegram, while a small pop-up window showing the probability that an image is AI-generated did not open on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter. The window did open on Facebook.
To test how well AI or Not can identify compressed AI images, Bellingcat took ten Midjourney images used in the original test, reduced them in size to between 300 and 500 kilobytes and then fed them again into the detector.
This produced mixed results. AI or Not falsely identified seven of ten images as real, even though it identified them correctly as AI-generated when uncompressed.
For example, when compressed, this Midjourney-generated photorealistic image of a grain silo appears to be real to the detector.
Out of ten compressed images, seven were photorealistic. AI or Not was particularly unimpressive with them — it falsely identified all seven as the work of a human. It fared better with drawings and paintings: when given three, correctly identified them, even when compressed.
With real compressed images, AI or Not fared better. It incorrectly identified two out of three paintings as AI-generated. However, it successfully identified six out of seven photographs as having been generated by a human. It could not determine whether an AI or a human-generated the seventh image.
Bellingcat also tested how well AI or Not fares when an image is distorted but not compressed. In open source research, one of the most common types of image distortions is a watermark on an image. An image downloaded from a Telegram channel, for example, may feature a prominent watermark.
Bellingcat took ten images from the same 100 AI image dataset, applied prominent watermarks to them, and then fed the modified images to AI or Not. The images were not compressed.
AI or Not successfully identified all ten watermarked images as AI-generated. The watermarks did not throw the detector off.
Based on this sample set it appears that image distortions such as watermarks do not significantly impact the ability of AI or Not to detect AI images. Compression, on the other hand, plays a significant role. The larger the image’s file size and the more data the detector can analyse, the higher its accuracy.
Great or Dud?
AI or Not appeared to work impressively well when given high-quality, large AI images to analyse. Its performance seems to be unaffected by watermarks.
It maintained a good success rate with real images, with the possible exception of some high-quality photos. It also worked well with compressed real images.
However, the positive results with real images are tempered by a comparatively unimpressive performance with compressed AI images. This point in particular is relevant to open source researchers, who seldom have access to high-quality, large-size images containing lots of data that would make it easy for the AI detector to make its determination.
Instead, they often work with significantly compressed images. The fact that AI or Not had a high error rate when it was identifying compressed AI images, particularly photorealistic images, considerably reduces its utility for open-source researchers. While AI or Not is a significant advancement in the area of AI image detection, it’s far from being its pinnacle.
Bellingcat is a non-profit and the ability to carry out our work is dependent on the kind support of individual donors. If you would like to support our work, you can do so here. You can also subscribe to our Patreon channel here. Subscribe to our Newsletter and follow us on Twitter here and Mastodon here.
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Testing AI or Not: How Well Does an AI Image Detector Do Its Job?
You may recall earlier this year when many social media users were convinced pictures of a “swagged out” Pope Francis—fitted with a white puffer jacket and low-hanging chain worthy of a Hype Williams music video—were real (they were not).
These images were the product of Generative AI, a term that refers to any tool based on a deep-learning software model that can generate text or visual content based on the data it is trained on. Of particular concern for open source researchers are AI-generated images.
DALL-E, St
|
able Diffusion, and Midjourney—the latter was used to create the fake Francis photos—are just some of the tools that have emerged in recent years, capable of generating images realistic enough to fool human eyes. AI-fuelled disinformation will have direct implications for open source research—a single undiscovered fake image, for example, could compromise an entire investigation.
Earlier this year, the New York Times tested five tools designed to detect these AI-generated images. The tools analyse the data contained within images—sometimes millions of pixels—and search for clues and patterns that can determine their authenticity. The exercise showed positive progress, but also found shortcomings—two tools, for example, thought a fake photo of Elon Musk kissing an android robot was real.
Bellingcat sought to repeat this experiment with open source research in mind. We tested one of these tools- AI of Not – on 200 images: half of them real, half AI-generated. In particular we wanted to understand how effective the tool was at detecting images with watermarks and images which have been compressed – two specific challenges often faced by open source researchers:. The results show a technology suited to navigating watermarks but that struggles with images that have been compressed.
The tool is called AI or Not. Developed by Optic, an American tech company founded by former Google product director Andrey Doronichev, it “uses advanced algorithms and machine learning techniques to analyse images and detect signs of AI generation.” It has been trained on DALL-E, Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, generative adversarial networks and face image generators.
The company states that the tool is designed to provide highly accurate results.
For the test, Bellingcat fed 100 real images and 100 Midjourney-generated images into AI or Not. The real images consisted of different types of photographs, realistic and abstract paintings, stills from movies and animated films and screenshots from video games. The Midjourney-generated images consisted of photorealistic images, paintings and drawings. Midjourney was programmed to recreate some of the paintings used in the real images dataset.
AI or Not was highly accurate during the first round of identifications.
It was particularly adept at identifying AI-generated images — both photorealistic images and paintings and drawings.
AI or Not successfully identified visually challenging images as having been created by AI.
For example, someone without professional art training might struggle with correctly identifying this modernist-style mural as having been generated by Midjourney:
AI or Not was also successful at identifying more photorealistic Midjourney-generated images, such as this photorealistic aerial image of what is supposed to be a frozen Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada.
It also successfully identified AI-generated realistic paintings and drawings, such as the below Midjourney recreation of the famous 16th-century painting The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein the Younger.
The real painting is exhibited in the National Gallery in London, UK.
Overall, AI or Not correctly detected all 100 Midjourney-generated images it was originally given.
The tool also maintained a high detection rate for real images although it also produced false positives: incorrectly identifying real images as having been generated by AI.
AI or Not successfully identified the following real images:
- 20 images taken by Bellingcat contributor Dennis Kovtun
- 20 paintings by various artists from the Renaissance period
- 19 out of 20 abstract paintings
- 10 of 10 movie stills
- 10 out of 10 animation stills
- 10 out 10 video game screenshots from the late 2000s and early 2010s
AI or Not produced some false positives when given 20 photos produced by photography competition entrants. Out of 20 photos, it mistakenly identified six as having been generated by AI, and it could not make a determination for the seventh.
All the photographs that AI or Not mistakenly identified as AI-generated were winners or honourable mentions of the 2022 and 2021 Canadian Photos of the Year contest that is run by Canadian Geographic magazine. It was not immediately clear why some of these images were incorrectly identified as AI.
Generally, the photos had a high resolution, were really sharp, had striking bright colours and contained a lot of detail. Several had unusual lighting or a large depth of field, and one was taken using long exposure.
Based on the above test, we concluded that AI or Not is quite good at identifying real images — it successfully identified real paintings and drawings and most real photographs, though it may struggle with some high-quality photos.
While AI or Not is, at first glance, successful at identifying AI images, there’s a caveat to consider as to its reliability.
AI or Not: Compressed and Watermarked Images
Every digital image contains millions of pixels, each containing potential clues about the image’s origin.
But what happens if a chunk of this valuable data is lost or distorted? During the first round of tests on 100 AI images, AI or Not was fed all of these images in their original format (PNG) and size, which ranged between 1.2 and about 2.2 megabytes. When open-source researchers work with images, they often deal with significantly smaller images that are compressed.
When an image is resized or distorted, or when its resolution is lowered, the pixels in it are altered and the “digital signal” that helps a detector identify the origins of the image is lost, Kevin Guo, the founder of image detection tool Hive, told the New York Times.
Hive provides deep-learning models for companies that want to use them for content generation and analysis, which include an AI image detector. It also has a free browser extension, but the extension’s utility for open-source work is limited. It was “unable to fetch results” on Telegram, while a small pop-up window showing the probability that an image is AI-generated did not open on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter. The window did open on Facebook.
To test how well AI or Not can identify compressed AI images, Bellingcat took ten Midjourney images used in the original test, reduced them in size to between 300 and 500 kilobytes and then fed them again into the detector.
This produced mixed results. AI or Not falsely identified seven of ten images as real, even though it identified them correctly as AI-generated when uncompressed.
For example, when compressed, this Midjourney-generated photorealistic image of a grain silo appears to be real to the detector.
Out of ten compressed images, seven were photorealistic. AI or Not was particularly unimpressive with them — it falsely identified all seven as the work of a human. It fared better with drawings and paintings: when given three, correctly identified them, even when compressed.
With real compressed images, AI or Not fared better. It incorrectly identified two out of three paintings as AI-generated. However, it successfully identified six out of seven photographs as having been generated by a human. It could not determine whether an AI or a human-generated the seventh image.
Bellingcat also tested how well AI or Not fares when an image is distorted but not compressed. In open source research, one of the most common types of image distortions is a watermark on an image. An image downloaded from a Telegram channel, for example, may feature a prominent watermark.
Bellingcat took ten images from the same 100 AI image dataset, applied prominent watermarks to them, and then fed the modified images to AI or Not. The images were not compressed.
AI or Not successfully identified all ten watermarked images as AI-generated. The watermarks did not throw the detector off.
Based on this sample set it appears that image distortions such as watermarks do not significantly impact the ability of AI or Not to detect AI images. Compression, on the other hand, plays a significant role. The larger the image’s file size and the more data the detector can analyse, the higher its accuracy.
Great or Dud?
AI or Not appeared to work impressively well when given high-quality, large AI images to analyse. Its performance seems to be unaffected by watermarks.
It maintained a good success rate with real images, with the possible exception of some high-quality photos. It also worked well with compressed real images.
However, the positive results with real images are tempered by a comparatively unimpressive performance with compressed AI images. This point in particular is relevant to open source researchers, who seldom have access to high-quality, large-size images containing lots of data that would make it easy for the AI detector to make its determination.
Instead, they often work with significantly compressed images. The fact that AI or Not had a high error rate when it was identifying compressed AI images, particularly photorealistic images, considerably reduces its utility for open-source researchers. While AI or Not is a significant advancement in the area of AI image detection, it’s far from being its pinnacle.
Bellingcat is a non-profit and the ability to carry out our work is dependent on the kind support of individual donors. If you would like to support our work, you can do so here. You can also subscribe to our Patreon channel here. Subscribe to our Newsletter and follow us on Twitter here and Mastodon here.
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The majestic Bengal tigers of India seem to have developed a taste for hiking high-altitude mountains, perhaps inspired after watching human adventurers taking the path less trodden. However, rather than pure recreation, their actions might be driven more by a desperate need to survive.
Recently, camera traps set up in various locations in the mountains of Sikkim have captured the apex predators at elevations they have no business being in. Rarely seen before at these altitudes, including a staggering 3,966 metres, the tigers are clearly venturing into uncharted territory. And while this will no doubt look great on their dating profiles, the sightings raise concerns about the impact of climate change and human pressure on their traditional hunting grounds.
Researchers believe a combination of factors is driving the unprecedented migration in tigers. Rising temperatures due to climate change are making the lower foothills less hospitable. "It may be a range shift of tigers," said Pranabesh Sanyal, a geologist and a leading tiger expert in Kolkata. "In the past two decades, temperatures at high altitudes have warmed faster than at altitudes below 2,000 metres. Due to climate change, tiger migration is taking place."
Human encroachment is further shrinking available habitat. Competition for food and territory within the dwindling tiger population also plays a role. Experts believe that the younger tigers are forcing the older ones to corner, leaving them little choice but to find alternate habitats.
Despite their preference for lower-altitude forested valleys, tigers exhibit remarkable tolerance for colder temperatures."Climbing of the mountains by the tigers proves that they are under pressure," said conservation biologist Qamar Qureshi, noting both an "increasing human population, along with the increasing number of tigers".
Unfortunately for the tigers, their exotic looks made them a favourite of poachers, resulting in their populations declining massively since the time of India’s independence. Population explosion in humans and less availability of prey only made it harder for these wildcats to survive.
While India's tiger population has seen a remarkable comeback in recent years, the upward trend faces new threats. Protected areas, though expanded, remain isolated "islands" amidst unsustainable land use practices.
Conservation efforts must address not only habitat protection but also human-wildlife conflict and the impact of development projects on crucial corridors. The story of tigers in these high-altitude mountains is a stark reminder of the interconnectedness of our planet. It's a race against time to mitigate climate change, protect biodiversity, and ensure the long-term survival of these magnificent creatures.
For weather, science, space, and COVID-19 updates on the go, download The Weather Channel App (on Android and iOS store). It's free!
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The majestic Bengal tigers of India seem to have developed a taste for hiking high-altitude mountains, perhaps inspired after watching human adventurers taking the path less trodden. However, rather than pure recreation, their actions might be driven more by a desperate need to survive.
Recently, camera traps set up in various locations in the mountains of Sikkim have captured the apex predators at elevations they have no business being in. Rarely seen before at these altitudes, including a staggering 3,966 metres, the tigers are clearly venturing into uncharted territory. And while this will no doubt look great on
|
their dating profiles, the sightings raise concerns about the impact of climate change and human pressure on their traditional hunting grounds.
Researchers believe a combination of factors is driving the unprecedented migration in tigers. Rising temperatures due to climate change are making the lower foothills less hospitable. "It may be a range shift of tigers," said Pranabesh Sanyal, a geologist and a leading tiger expert in Kolkata. "In the past two decades, temperatures at high altitudes have warmed faster than at altitudes below 2,000 metres. Due to climate change, tiger migration is taking place."
Human encroachment is further shrinking available habitat. Competition for food and territory within the dwindling tiger population also plays a role. Experts believe that the younger tigers are forcing the older ones to corner, leaving them little choice but to find alternate habitats.
Despite their preference for lower-altitude forested valleys, tigers exhibit remarkable tolerance for colder temperatures."Climbing of the mountains by the tigers proves that they are under pressure," said conservation biologist Qamar Qureshi, noting both an "increasing human population, along with the increasing number of tigers".
Unfortunately for the tigers, their exotic looks made them a favourite of poachers, resulting in their populations declining massively since the time of India’s independence. Population explosion in humans and less availability of prey only made it harder for these wildcats to survive.
While India's tiger population has seen a remarkable comeback in recent years, the upward trend faces new threats. Protected areas, though expanded, remain isolated "islands" amidst unsustainable land use practices.
Conservation efforts must address not only habitat protection but also human-wildlife conflict and the impact of development projects on crucial corridors. The story of tigers in these high-altitude mountains is a stark reminder of the interconnectedness of our planet. It's a race against time to mitigate climate change, protect biodiversity, and ensure the long-term survival of these magnificent creatures.
For weather, science, space, and COVID-19 updates on the go, download The Weather Channel App (on Android and iOS store). It's free!
|
Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte was called on to resign during a heated parliamentary debate that heard allegations that his government went ahead with gas extraction in the north of the country despite knowing that earthquakes were likely to result.
At 2.8 billion cubic metres, the Groningen gasfield is the largest in Europe and one of the biggest in the world. But the scale and frequency of earthquakes in the region are forcing the Dutch to shut it down completely by October 1st, despite pressure on European Union gas supplies due to the war in Ukraine.
Only as “a last resort” would the field by kept open for one additional year, according to mining minister Hans Vijlbrief. That would happen, he said, only if supplies of gas to Dutch households ran out, perhaps after a particularly severe winter which exhausted all other European options.
The Groningen field was discovered in 1959. Production began in 1963, managed by NAM, a joint venture between Shell and Exxon Mobil. It has generated €363 billion for the exchequer over 60 years.
But the minister said the end was in sight. “It’s very simple. Everyone who has knowledge of earthquake danger tells me its really very dangerous to keep producing here. I’m convinced it’s wise to close it down.”
The gas extraction is believed to have led to subsidence which, from 1986 onwards, also led to what are known as “induced earthquakes”.
About 1,600 earthquakes have hit the region since then, damaging some 85,000 buildings, many of them private homes that householders have had to abandon, and a large number of which still haven’t been made safe.
The worst earthquake was in 2018 when a tremor measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale struck the small town of Huizinge, in Groningen province, and could be felt at least 10km away.
As of December 31st there was a total of 267,466 legal claims for damage.
The government has promised to spend €22 billion over the next 30 years as a “debt of honour” – although it has been slated for persistent and unnecessary delays.
Protesters from Groningen gathered outside parliament, rejecting Mr Rutte’s contention that he did not know the full scale of the problem until 2018.
“You lied and trampled the rights of the people of Groningen underfoot back then and it still continues”, Labour MP Henk Nijboer told Mr Rutte.
“Why won’t you take responsibility for what happened,” Socialist MP Sandra Beckerman asked him, adding: “Why don’t you resign?”
Despite scathing criticism, Mr Rutte survived a confidence motion. In retrospect, he said, he should have intervened sooner. His absolute conviction now was to be “part of the way forward”.
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|
Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte was called on to resign during a heated parliamentary debate that heard allegations that his government went ahead with gas extraction in the north of the country despite knowing that earthquakes were likely to result.
At 2.8 billion cubic metres, the Groningen gasfield is the largest in Europe and one of the biggest in the world. But the scale and frequency of earthquakes in the region are forcing the Dutch to shut it down completely by October 1st, despite pressure on European Union gas supplies due to the war in Ukraine.
Only as “a last resort” would the field by kept open for one additional year, according
|
to mining minister Hans Vijlbrief. That would happen, he said, only if supplies of gas to Dutch households ran out, perhaps after a particularly severe winter which exhausted all other European options.
The Groningen field was discovered in 1959. Production began in 1963, managed by NAM, a joint venture between Shell and Exxon Mobil. It has generated €363 billion for the exchequer over 60 years.
But the minister said the end was in sight. “It’s very simple. Everyone who has knowledge of earthquake danger tells me its really very dangerous to keep producing here. I’m convinced it’s wise to close it down.”
The gas extraction is believed to have led to subsidence which, from 1986 onwards, also led to what are known as “induced earthquakes”.
About 1,600 earthquakes have hit the region since then, damaging some 85,000 buildings, many of them private homes that householders have had to abandon, and a large number of which still haven’t been made safe.
The worst earthquake was in 2018 when a tremor measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale struck the small town of Huizinge, in Groningen province, and could be felt at least 10km away.
As of December 31st there was a total of 267,466 legal claims for damage.
The government has promised to spend €22 billion over the next 30 years as a “debt of honour” – although it has been slated for persistent and unnecessary delays.
Protesters from Groningen gathered outside parliament, rejecting Mr Rutte’s contention that he did not know the full scale of the problem until 2018.
“You lied and trampled the rights of the people of Groningen underfoot back then and it still continues”, Labour MP Henk Nijboer told Mr Rutte.
“Why won’t you take responsibility for what happened,” Socialist MP Sandra Beckerman asked him, adding: “Why don’t you resign?”
Despite scathing criticism, Mr Rutte survived a confidence motion. In retrospect, he said, he should have intervened sooner. His absolute conviction now was to be “part of the way forward”.
|
Verbs are about the most important part in any language. It is one of the four Universal Absolutes in Languages (meaning it is found in all languages). Verbs are called ‘क्रियापद’ (kriyapad) in Nepali.
Nepali is a verb final language. That means, the verb will always appear in the end. Now, that verb that appears in the end will always be the main verb and hence it will give a complete meaning to the sentence. However, one note is that, unless the sentence is a conjoined sentence with two verbs of equal importance, then the final verb is considered to be the true verb)
Verbs in Nepali is divided into three primary tenses and some other forms which denote Probability, Desire, Wishes, Command etc. Anything other than that is not a true verb. Take the following sentence:
बेन्जमिन भात खाएर सुत्यो (benjamin bhat khaera sutyo)
= Benjamin ate Rice and Slept.
Now, it seems a bit obvious that ’ate’ and ’slept’ are both verbs in that sentence. Here, the word ‘खाएर’ (khaera) is somewhat equivalent to ‘ate’. Now, the interesting thing is, the word खाएर (khaera) is not a verb! Although it is derived from the verb खानु (khanu), it doesn’t function as a verb but rather as an adverb. That is one of the seemingly crazy things in learning Nepali! How can a word derived from a verb act as an adverb?
In Fact, in can. This might seem an initially crazy idea, but Verbs are about the most flexible part of Nepali. Verbs perform the biggest function in Nepali, however some words derived from verbs belong to a category which is known as ’Pseudo-Verbs’; Words that look like verbs (or its conjugations), are derived from verbs but are not real verbs. (P.S: They are also known as Verbals, but I will call them pseudo verbs because it sounds science-y… yeah…)
So, what are the pseudo-verbs which we can derive from Verbs and what are their respective Functions?
PSEUDO-VERBS THAT FUNCTIONS AS NOUNS
The ’-Nu’ Form
You probably already know about the nu form from the Lesson ‘Infinitives in Nepali’. Just in short, the nu form functions as a noun…well the section’s name should make it obvious! It is also the basic form of verb but it functions as a noun. You can head over to that lesson about infinitives to know more about the nu form!
The ’-Ai’ Form
No, not the japanese word ‘Love’. The ’Ai’ (आइ/ spelt like ‘i’ of ice) form also functions as a noun. However, it doesn’t function like the nu form. That is because, the ’nu’ form is a type of infinitive; this one isn’t. It is more like ’studies’ in the sentence ‘Focus on your studies’. Kind of like ’gerunds’.
To convert a verb into the ai form, we extract the root from the basic form of verb and then add आइ (ai) to the root. To get the root, remove ’nu’ from the list of basic verbs. For example:
पढ्नु (padhnu /to study/ )
1. Remove the ‘nu’ (नु) -> पढ् (padh)
2. Now add ‘ai’ (आइ) -> पढ् (padh) + आइ (ai) -> पढाइ (padhai)
पढाइ (padhai) = Studies (noun)
However, it is not possible to conjugate all verbs into the ’ai’ form; for example, खाआइ (kha’ai) doesn’t exist. Such verbs take only take ’i’.
Certain verbs like पढ्नु (padhnu /to study/), भन्नु (bhannu /to say/), हेर्नु (hernu /to watch/), पिट्नु (pitnu /to beat up/) etc. take up this ’ai’ form. The general rule of thumb is, if the verb is more than 2 characters long, then it will take the ’ai’ form, if not, then ‘i’ form. However, there are exceptions, particularly with the ones that ends with ’-उनु’ (-unu). Such ’-उनु’ (-unu) verbs usually take up the ‘i’ form, which replaces the ’u’:
खुवाउनु (khuwaunu) = To feed
खुवाउ (khuwau) is the root, in which we add ‘इ’ (i) ->
खुवाउ (khuwau) + इ (i)
= खुवाइ (khuwai) [Feeding] [‘ई’ replaces ‘उ’]
Since these words function as nouns, you can treat it as such when applying it to conjugations:
पढाइले मान्छेलाई ठूलो बनाउँछ (padhai le manche lai thulo banaaucha)
= Studying makes a person great.
PSEUDO-VERBS THAT FUNCTIONS AS ADJECTIVES
The ’-eko’ form
The ’-eko’ form (-एको) is the base for making perfect (aspect) sentences; however its function is not limited to that only. The -eko form of verb functions as an adjective. Sometimes, the -eko form is used as perfectives, that is by dropping the suffixal ’cha’, ’thiyo’ or ’hunecha’ and is normally limited to conversations. That means, you sometimes drop off the ‘cha’ or ‘thiyo’ etc. while conversing, when you talk in perfective.
To convert a verb into -eko form, just add ’eko’ to the root (note that consonant + vowel = consonant with that vowel’s diacritic) :
पढ् (padh) + एको (eko)
As you might be aware, the ‘ko’ can be inflected into ki or ka, depending on the status of the object. You can read more on this on the lesson ’Particle: Ko’ otherwise the lesson ‘Adjective Order’.
So, what meaning does it carry?
When you say: -eko form + X (X is a noun or a pronoun)
X who/which is ’-eko form’ (-eko denotes things in the past tense)
’-eko form’ X
सुकेको माछा (sukeko machha) means ’Dried Fish’ (Fish which is dry).
Do note that, the word ’Dried’ behaves as an adjective which describes the Fish. Basically, when you translate ‘eko Form + X’, you get:
Past Form of the corresponding verb + X
सुकेको (sukeko) stems from सुक्नु (suknu) which means ‘To dry’. Since सुकेको (sukeko) corresponds to the past form of verb in English, hence, सुकेको (sukeko) means ’Dried’ and not ’Drying’ or ’Dries’.
Similarly, पकाएको खाना (pakaaeko khana) means ‘Cooked Food’ (Food which is cooked). The -eko form usually dictate things that happened in the past. So, पकाएको खाना (pakaaeko khana) doesn’t mean ‘Food which is cooking’.
The ’-ne’ Form
The ’ने’ (ne) form is actually very similar to the –eko form, but it denotes things that are done in the present or shows habitual action (present). IT can also To convert a verb into the ’-ne’ form, simply add “ने’ (ne) to the verb root. For example:
सुत्नु (sutnu /to sleep/) -> सुत् (sut) [ROOT]
सुत् (sut) + ने (ne) -> सुत्ने (sutne)
The format of the -ne form is slightly different that the -eko form. It is something like this:
X + -ne form + Y (X and Y are Nouns or Pronouns)
Which roughly means:
Y which/who (-ne form action) X
This might seem a bit complicated, but if we replace it with realistic objects, then it makes sense. For example:
भात खाने मान्छे (bhat khane manche) means ‘Person who eats Rice’. As you can see, the structure is:
X = भात (bhat /rice/)
ne form = खाने (khane) [Stems from ’khanu’ /to eat/]
Y = मान्छे (manche /person/)
[ bhat + khane + manche ] = [ bhat (Y) + khane (-ne form) + manche (X)]
So, it wasn’t that difficult to know what it means, right? Another Sentence:
भात पकाउने भाँडा (bhat pakaaune bhada)
= Utensil that cooks Rice
Note: The ’-ne’ form is used to some extent as an adverb. However, this is limited to only one verb, that too to only one form. Did you guess? The ’-ne’ form as an adverb only functions as one when it is kept before ‘हो ’ (ho) or its conjugations. When done so, it gives a meaning of ’Shall/ Should’:
यो गर्ने हो ? (yo garne ho)
= Should we do it?
However, ’-ne’ form doesn’t go with any other verb, not even with ’chha’.
PSEUDO-VERBS THAT FUNCTIONS AS ADVERBS
The -Daa Form
Now comes a bizarre part; verb forms that function as adverbs. Sounds crazy, right? Perhaps, not so. An adverb is just an adjective of a verb; adverbs describe the verb’s action with more detail. As such, adverbs are always kept before the verb they modify. Here, we will look at the -daa form. (-दा)
To convert into the –daa form, add -दा (daa) to the root of the verb. For example:
लेख्नु (lekhnu /to write/ ) -> लेख् (lekh) [ROOT]
लेख् (lekh) + दा (daa) -> लेख्दा (lekhdaa)
The -daa form denotes an incomplete action that was being done before another action. That means, the action of –daa was being done, but was left incomplete to do another task. That is, is –daa was X and the main verb was Y, then it would mean that X was being done when Y event happened. As such, it usually appears in this format:
-daa + Y (where the Y is the main verb)
It usually means:
Y happened while doing ’-daa form’.
\Or in other words\
–daa form was happening when Y started
Y happened while doing –daa form
Note that the ’-daa’ action remains incomplete when Y is being done. As such, when translating the –daa part, it gets converted into the continuative form of verb (in English). The translation form can look like this too:
Y while (-daa form) [-daa corresponds as a continuative form]
This example should make it clear:
ऊ लेख्दा रुन्छ (u lekhda runcha)
= He cries while writing.
As you can see, the ’lekhda’ corresponds to ’writing’ whereas ’runcha’ corresponds as ’cries’. Did you get it? The task ’writing’ remained incomplete, or is in the process of being completed when the main task ’cries’ happened.
Do not confuse this form with the ’-dai’ form (दै). The ’-dai’ form is the basis for making continuative form, and they are pivotal in making Continuative Form of verb. While removal of the ’-daa’ form still makes sense, removal of ’-dai’ form will render the sentence illegible. For example:
He is eating while doing dishes.
A sentence that makes sense, right? Now, remove the ’while doing dishes’ part. The resulting sentence still makes sense, right? However, when you remove the ‘is eating’ part, the sentence doesn’t make much sense right?
The ‘is eating’ part corresponds to that ’-dai’ form, because it is a VERB. However, the part ‘while doing dishes’ corresponds to ’-daa’ form, for it is an ADVERB and is describing or giving more information.
There is nothing to be confused on this matter.
The -Era Form
The era (-एर) form is very similar to -daa form, however it denotes complete action. The format is same as the -daa form, that is:
’-era’ form + X
= X happened after doing (-era form)
= X after (-era form)
To convert a verb into the -era form, just add ‘एर’ (era) to the root of the verb. For example:
खानु (khanu /to eat/) -> खा (kha) [ROOT]
खा (kha) + एर (era) -> खाएर (khaera)
So, as you saw above, the ’era’ form denotes complete action instead. When translating, the –era form is usually translated into ‘after + continuative form’. Why continuative form? Because it makes sense that way in English. For example:
He slept after (Read / reading)
Which made more sense, read or reading? Exactly! When we translate to and forth, that ‘era’ form takes the ‘after (continuative)’ form.
Take this sentence:
ऊ सुतेर उठ्यो (u sutera uthyo)
= He woke up after sleeping.
Did you get it? The ’-era’ form correspond to the ‘after sleeping’ part. After sleeping, he woke up (the main verb is to wake up). When you remove the ’after sleeping’ information, the sentence still makes sense but not so when you remove the ’woke up’ part.
The ’-na’ form
You can learn more about this in the lesson ‘Infinitives in Nepali’, where it has been discussed thoroughly.
Those are the common Pseudo Verbs you will encounter while learning Nepali. I really hope this will fill a major gap in mastering Nepali, for the language is full of these pseudo-verbs!
There are still some more, but they are not so important to learn right now. In fact, their meaning even coincide with some! However, if you want them listed, you can contact me and request for one. I will gladly add it!
Finally, if you have any queries related to this, then you can ask anytime.
A. TRANSLATE THE FOLLOWING
1. राम भात पकाएर बाहिर गयो (ram bhat pakaaera bahira gayo)
2. मासु काट्ने छुरी (masu katne churi)
B. MAKE YOUR OWN SENTENCES USING THESE WORDS
A. 1. Ram went outside after cooking rice.
A. 2. Meat cutting Knife (or Knife that cuts meat)
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Verbs are about the most important part in any language. It is one of the four Universal Absolutes in Languages (meaning it is found in all languages). Verbs are called ‘क्रियापद’ (kriyapad) in Nepali.
Nepali is a verb final language. That means, the verb will always appear in the end. Now, that verb that appears in the end will always be the main verb and hence it will give a complete meaning to the sentence. However, one note is that, unless the sentence is a conjoined sentence with two verbs of equal importance, then the final verb
|
is considered to be the true verb)
Verbs in Nepali is divided into three primary tenses and some other forms which denote Probability, Desire, Wishes, Command etc. Anything other than that is not a true verb. Take the following sentence:
बेन्जमिन भात खाएर सुत्यो (benjamin bhat khaera sutyo)
= Benjamin ate Rice and Slept.
Now, it seems a bit obvious that ’ate’ and ’slept’ are both verbs in that sentence. Here, the word ‘खाएर’ (khaera) is somewhat equivalent to ‘ate’. Now, the interesting thing is, the word खाएर (khaera) is not a verb! Although it is derived from the verb खानु (khanu), it doesn’t function as a verb but rather as an adverb. That is one of the seemingly crazy things in learning Nepali! How can a word derived from a verb act as an adverb?
In Fact, in can. This might seem an initially crazy idea, but Verbs are about the most flexible part of Nepali. Verbs perform the biggest function in Nepali, however some words derived from verbs belong to a category which is known as ’Pseudo-Verbs’; Words that look like verbs (or its conjugations), are derived from verbs but are not real verbs. (P.S: They are also known as Verbals, but I will call them pseudo verbs because it sounds science-y… yeah…)
So, what are the pseudo-verbs which we can derive from Verbs and what are their respective Functions?
PSEUDO-VERBS THAT FUNCTIONS AS NOUNS
The ’-Nu’ Form
You probably already know about the nu form from the Lesson ‘Infinitives in Nepali’. Just in short, the nu form functions as a noun…well the section’s name should make it obvious! It is also the basic form of verb but it functions as a noun. You can head over to that lesson about infinitives to know more about the nu form!
The ’-Ai’ Form
No, not the japanese word ‘Love’. The ’Ai’ (आइ/ spelt like ‘i’ of ice) form also functions as a noun. However, it doesn’t function like the nu form. That is because, the ’nu’ form is a type of infinitive; this one isn’t. It is more like ’studies’ in the sentence ‘Focus on your studies’. Kind of like ’gerunds’.
To convert a verb into the ai form, we extract the root from the basic form of verb and then add आइ (ai) to the root. To get the root, remove ’nu’ from the list of basic verbs. For example:
पढ्नु (padhnu /to study/ )
1. Remove the ‘nu’ (नु) -> पढ् (padh)
2. Now add ‘ai’ (आइ) -> पढ् (padh) + आइ (ai) -> पढाइ (padhai)
पढाइ (padhai) = Studies (noun)
However, it is not possible to conjugate all verbs into the ’ai’ form; for example, खाआइ (kha’ai) doesn’t exist. Such verbs take only take ’i’.
Certain verbs like पढ्नु (padhnu /to study/), भन्नु (bhannu /to say/), हेर्नु (hernu /to watch/), पिट्नु (pitnu /to beat up/) etc. take up this ’ai’ form. The general rule of thumb is, if the verb is more than 2 characters long, then it will take the ’ai’ form, if not, then ‘i’ form. However, there are exceptions, particularly with the ones that ends with ’-उनु’ (-unu). Such ’-उनु’ (-unu) verbs usually take up the ‘i’ form, which replaces the ’u’:
खुवाउनु (khuwaunu) = To feed
खुवाउ (khuwau) is the root, in which we add ‘इ’ (i) ->
खुवाउ (khuwau) + इ (i)
= खुवाइ (khuwai) [Feeding] [‘ई’ replaces ‘उ’]
Since these words function as nouns, you can treat it as such when applying it to conjugations:
पढाइले मान्छेलाई ठूलो बनाउँछ (padhai le manche lai thulo banaaucha)
= Studying makes a person great.
PSEUDO-VERBS THAT FUNCTIONS AS ADJECTIVES
The ’-eko’ form
The ’-eko’ form (-एको) is the base for making perfect (aspect) sentences; however its function is not limited to that only. The -eko form of verb functions as an adjective. Sometimes, the -eko form is used as perfectives, that is by dropping the suffixal ’cha’, ’thiyo’ or ’hunecha’ and is normally limited to conversations. That means, you sometimes drop off the ‘cha’ or ‘thiyo’ etc. while conversing, when you talk in perfective.
To convert a verb into -eko form, just add ’eko’ to the root (note that consonant + vowel = consonant with that vowel’s diacritic) :
पढ् (padh) + एको (eko)
As you might be aware, the ‘ko’ can be inflected into ki or ka, depending on the status of the object. You can read more on this on the lesson ’Particle: Ko’ otherwise the lesson ‘Adjective Order’.
So, what meaning does it carry?
When you say: -eko form + X (X is a noun or a pronoun)
X who/which is ’-eko form’ (-eko denotes things in the past tense)
’-eko form’ X
सुकेको माछा (sukeko machha) means ’Dried Fish’ (Fish which is dry).
Do note that, the word ’Dried’ behaves as an adjective which describes the Fish. Basically, when you translate ‘eko Form + X’, you get:
Past Form of the corresponding verb + X
सुकेको (sukeko) stems from सुक्नु (suknu) which means ‘To dry’. Since सुकेको (sukeko) corresponds to the past form of verb in English, hence, सुकेको (sukeko) means ’Dried’ and not ’Drying’ or ’Dries’.
Similarly, पकाएको खाना (pakaaeko khana) means ‘Cooked Food’ (Food which is cooked). The -eko form usually dictate things that happened in the past. So, पकाएको खाना (pakaaeko khana) doesn’t mean ‘Food which is cooking’.
The ’-ne’ Form
The ’ने’ (ne) form is actually very similar to the –eko form, but it denotes things that are done in the present or shows habitual action (present). IT can also To convert a verb into the ’-ne’ form, simply add “ने’ (ne) to the verb root. For example:
सुत्नु (sutnu /to sleep/) -> सुत् (sut) [ROOT]
सुत् (sut) + ने (ne) -> सुत्ने (sutne)
The format of the -ne form is slightly different that the -eko form. It is something like this:
X + -ne form + Y (X and Y are Nouns or Pronouns)
Which roughly means:
Y which/who (-ne form action) X
This might seem a bit complicated, but if we replace it with realistic objects, then it makes sense. For example:
भात खाने मान्छे (bhat khane manche) means ‘Person who eats Rice’. As you can see, the structure is:
X = भात (bhat /rice/)
ne form = खाने (khane) [Stems from ’khanu’ /to eat/]
Y = मान्छे (manche /person/)
[ bhat + khane + manche ] = [ bhat (Y) + khane (-ne form) + manche (X)]
So, it wasn’t that difficult to know what it means, right? Another Sentence:
भात पकाउने भाँडा (bhat pakaaune bhada)
= Utensil that cooks Rice
Note: The ’-ne’ form is used to some extent as an adverb. However, this is limited to only one verb, that too to only one form. Did you guess? The ’-ne’ form as an adverb only functions as one when it is kept before ‘हो ’ (ho) or its conjugations. When done so, it gives a meaning of ’Shall/ Should’:
यो गर्ने हो ? (yo garne ho)
= Should we do it?
However, ’-ne’ form doesn’t go with any other verb, not even with ’chha’.
PSEUDO-VERBS THAT FUNCTIONS AS ADVERBS
The -Daa Form
Now comes a bizarre part; verb forms that function as adverbs. Sounds crazy, right? Perhaps, not so. An adverb is just an adjective of a verb; adverbs describe the verb’s action with more detail. As such, adverbs are always kept before the verb they modify. Here, we will look at the -daa form. (-दा)
To convert into the –daa form, add -दा (daa) to the root of the verb. For example:
लेख्नु (lekhnu /to write/ ) -> लेख् (lekh) [ROOT]
लेख् (lekh) + दा (daa) -> लेख्दा (lekhdaa)
The -daa form denotes an incomplete action that was being done before another action. That means, the action of –daa was being done, but was left incomplete to do another task. That is, is –daa was X and the main verb was Y, then it would mean that X was being done when Y event happened. As such, it usually appears in this format:
-daa + Y (where the Y is the main verb)
It usually means:
Y happened while doing ’-daa form’.
\Or in other words\
–daa form was happening when Y started
Y happened while doing –daa form
Note that the ’-daa’ action remains incomplete when Y is being done. As such, when translating the –daa part, it gets converted into the continuative form of verb (in English). The translation form can look like this too:
Y while (-daa form) [-daa corresponds as a continuative form]
This example should make it clear:
ऊ लेख्दा रुन्छ (u lekhda runcha)
= He cries while writing.
As you can see, the ’lekhda’ corresponds to ’writing’ whereas ’runcha’ corresponds as ’cries’. Did you get it? The task ’writing’ remained incomplete, or is in the process of being completed when the main task ’cries’ happened.
Do not confuse this form with the ’-dai’ form (दै). The ’-dai’ form is the basis for making continuative form, and they are pivotal in making Continuative Form of verb. While removal of the ’-daa’ form still makes sense, removal of ’-dai’ form will render the sentence illegible. For example:
He is eating while doing dishes.
A sentence that makes sense, right? Now, remove the ’while doing dishes’ part. The resulting sentence still makes sense, right? However, when you remove the ‘is eating’ part, the sentence doesn’t make much sense right?
The ‘is eating’ part corresponds to that ’-dai’ form, because it is a VERB. However, the part ‘while doing dishes’ corresponds to ’-daa’ form, for it is an ADVERB and is describing or giving more information.
There is nothing to be confused on this matter.
The -Era Form
The era (-एर) form is very similar to -daa form, however it denotes complete action. The format is same as the -daa form, that is:
’-era’ form + X
= X happened after doing (-era form)
= X after (-era form)
To convert a verb into the -era form, just add ‘एर’ (era) to the root of the verb. For example:
खानु (khanu /to eat/) -> खा (kha) [ROOT]
खा (kha) + एर (era) -> खाएर (khaera)
So, as you saw above, the ’era’ form denotes complete action instead. When translating, the –era form is usually translated into ‘after + continuative form’. Why continuative form? Because it makes sense that way in English. For example:
He slept after (Read / reading)
Which made more sense, read or reading? Exactly! When we translate to and forth, that ‘era’ form takes the ‘after (continuative)’ form.
Take this sentence:
ऊ सुतेर उठ्यो (u sutera uthyo)
= He woke up after sleeping.
Did you get it? The ’-era’ form correspond to the ‘after sleeping’ part. After sleeping, he woke up (the main verb is to wake up). When you remove the ’after sleeping’ information, the sentence still makes sense but not so when you remove the ’woke up’ part.
The ’-na’ form
You can learn more about this in the lesson ‘Infinitives in Nepali’, where it has been discussed thoroughly.
Those are the common Pseudo Verbs you will encounter while learning Nepali. I really hope this will fill a major gap in mastering Nepali, for the language is full of these pseudo-verbs!
There are still some more, but they are not so important to learn right now. In fact, their meaning even coincide with some! However, if you want them listed, you can contact me and request for one. I will gladly add it!
Finally, if you have any queries related to this, then you can ask anytime.
A. TRANSLATE THE FOLLOWING
1. राम भात पकाएर बाहिर गयो (ram bhat pakaaera bahira gayo)
2. मासु काट्ने छुरी (masu katne churi)
B. MAKE YOUR OWN SENTENCES USING THESE WORDS
A. 1. Ram went outside after cooking rice.
A. 2. Meat cutting Knife (or Knife that cuts meat)
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