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People caused most of California's wildfires over the past 30 years
The vast majority of the more than 250,000 wildfires that blazed through California over the past three decades were caused by people.
Why it matters: With climate change increasing wildfire risk in the West, fires can quickly spread, destroy property and become deadly.
- Changing human behavior could help reduce the devastating threat.
By the numbers: About 86% of wildfires in California between 1992 and 2020 were spurred by human activity, burning 63 acres on average, U.S. Forest Service analysis of wildfire data found.
- Meanwhile, Cal Fire officials say 95% of fires are human-caused currently.
Of note: Lightning strikes accounted for the other fires with known causes, mostly in the northeastern and mountainous parts of the state that border Nevada.
- Lightning strikes were behind California's largest fires, which took place in August 2020, burning more than 2 million acres combined — that's about three-quarters of the size of San Diego County.
Details: The top three human activities known to have led to these blazes were from equipment and vehicles, arson and debris burning, the data shows.
- That includes accidental incidents and neglect, such as leaving a campfire unattended or a malfunctioning catalytic converter spitting a molten substance out of an exhaust pipe.
Between the lines: While firearms and explosives caused 0.2% of wildfires, they led to the largest human-caused blazes, at 380 acres on average.
The big picture: This summer's extreme weather and simultaneous climate disasters are the new reality across North America with unprecedented wildfires, heat waves and storms.
Zoom in: Five wildfires in San Diego County have burned nearly 800 acres so far this year, with three this month.
- The Coyote Fire that burned over 460 acres last week and forced evacuations around Potrero was contained with help from Tropical Storm Hilary.
What they're saying: The San Diego area is particularly fire-prone and susceptible to destructive blazes, partly because there's a lot of rural land in East County, Cal Fire Capt. Mike Cornette told Axios.
- With houses and brush intermixed, it's "more difficult to get in there and defend those homes."
- "And then we get the seasonal Santa Ana winds that can spread those fires very quickly and sometimes outpace firefighters," he said.
Be smart: To help prevent fires, do yard work and agricultural burns with the right tools and avoid hot, dry, windy weather.
More San Diego stories
No stories could be found
Get a free daily digest of the most important news in your backyard with Axios San Diego.
|
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People caused most of California's wildfires over the past 30 years
The vast majority of the more than 250,000 wildfires that blazed through California over the past three decades were caused by people.
Why it matters: With climate change increasing wildfire risk in the West, fires can quickly spread, destroy property and become deadly.
- Changing human behavior could help reduce the devastating threat.
By the numbers: About 86% of wildfires in California between 1992 and 2020 were spurred by human activity, burning 63 acres on average, U.S. Forest Service analysis of wildfire data found.
- Meanwhile, Cal Fire officials say 95% of fires are human-caused currently.
Of note: Lightning strikes accounted for the other fires with known causes, mostly in the northeastern and mountainous parts of the state that border Nevada.
- Lightning strikes were behind California's largest fires, which took place in August 2020, burning more than 2 million acres combined — that's about three-quarters of the size of San Diego County.
Details: The top three human activities known to have led to these blazes were from equipment and vehicles, arson and
|
debris burning, the data shows.
- That includes accidental incidents and neglect, such as leaving a campfire unattended or a malfunctioning catalytic converter spitting a molten substance out of an exhaust pipe.
Between the lines: While firearms and explosives caused 0.2% of wildfires, they led to the largest human-caused blazes, at 380 acres on average.
The big picture: This summer's extreme weather and simultaneous climate disasters are the new reality across North America with unprecedented wildfires, heat waves and storms.
Zoom in: Five wildfires in San Diego County have burned nearly 800 acres so far this year, with three this month.
- The Coyote Fire that burned over 460 acres last week and forced evacuations around Potrero was contained with help from Tropical Storm Hilary.
What they're saying: The San Diego area is particularly fire-prone and susceptible to destructive blazes, partly because there's a lot of rural land in East County, Cal Fire Capt. Mike Cornette told Axios.
- With houses and brush intermixed, it's "more difficult to get in there and defend those homes."
- "And then we get the seasonal Santa Ana winds that can spread those fires very quickly and sometimes outpace firefighters," he said.
Be smart: To help prevent fires, do yard work and agricultural burns with the right tools and avoid hot, dry, windy weather.
More San Diego stories
No stories could be found
Get a free daily digest of the most important news in your backyard with Axios San Diego.
|
ATLVault: Oakland Cemetery is where Atlanta’s history is woven together
Oakland Cemetery cemetery welcomes 105,000 visitors a year.
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Early city officials purchased six acres in 1850 to be a public burial ground for a young-but-fast-growing town of Atlanta.
Originally called Atlanta Graveyard or City Burial Place, this was the beginning of Oakland Cemetery.
It was officially renamed in 1872. By then it had expanded to 48 acres, mainly due to pressures of the Civil War. In the late 19th century, families tended the plots of loved ones, creating an assortment of lovely gardens. Oakland became a popular destination for Sunday carriage rides and picnics.
As the 20th century unfolded, Oakland increasingly was surrounded by residential and industrial development. With the passage of time, many graves went unattended as descendants moved away or lost touch with their antecedents. After years of deferred maintenance and budgetary shortfalls, Oakland became a deteriorating landscape of weed-choked lots and neglected monuments.
LISTEN: Atlanta News First Podcasts, including ATLVault and Discover Georgia
In 1976, Oakland Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and experienced a renewal of interest and attention from “friends” that would eventually take over much of the restoration and maintenance of the cemetery and become the Historic Oakland Foundation.
Through restoration projects, fundraising, willpower, and imagination, Oakland Cemetery and its stories have been saved from obscurity. Today, the cemetery welcomes 105,000 visitors a year who stroll the grounds, attend a tour or special event, and come to learn about Atlanta’s rich history.
- ATLVault: Five Black Atlanta pastors and the U.S. Supreme Court
- ATLVault: Sweet Auburn gave birth to the American civil rights movement
- ATLVault: The legacy of Ebenezer Baptist Church
- ATLVault: The Atlanta Ripper terrorizes the city, 100+ years ago
- ATLVault: Bars, brothels and brawls dominated Atlanta’s first election 175 years ago
Copyright 2023 WANF. All rights reserved.
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|
ATLVault: Oakland Cemetery is where Atlanta’s history is woven together
Oakland Cemetery cemetery welcomes 105,000 visitors a year.
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Early city officials purchased six acres in 1850 to be a public burial ground for a young-but-fast-growing town of Atlanta.
Originally called Atlanta Graveyard or City Burial Place, this was the beginning of Oakland Cemetery.
It was officially renamed in 1872. By then it had expanded to 48 acres, mainly due to pressures of the Civil War. In the late 19th century, families tended the plots of loved ones, creating an assortment of lovely gardens. Oakland became a popular destination for Sunday carriage rides and picnics.
As the 20th century unfolded, Oakland increasingly was surrounded by residential and industrial development. With the passage of time, many graves went unattended as descendants moved away or lost touch with their antecedents. After years of deferred maintenance and budgetary shortfalls, Oakland became a deteriorating landscape of weed-choked lots and neglected monuments.
LISTEN: Atlanta News First Podcasts, including ATLVault and Discover Georgia
In 19
|
76, Oakland Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and experienced a renewal of interest and attention from “friends” that would eventually take over much of the restoration and maintenance of the cemetery and become the Historic Oakland Foundation.
Through restoration projects, fundraising, willpower, and imagination, Oakland Cemetery and its stories have been saved from obscurity. Today, the cemetery welcomes 105,000 visitors a year who stroll the grounds, attend a tour or special event, and come to learn about Atlanta’s rich history.
- ATLVault: Five Black Atlanta pastors and the U.S. Supreme Court
- ATLVault: Sweet Auburn gave birth to the American civil rights movement
- ATLVault: The legacy of Ebenezer Baptist Church
- ATLVault: The Atlanta Ripper terrorizes the city, 100+ years ago
- ATLVault: Bars, brothels and brawls dominated Atlanta’s first election 175 years ago
Copyright 2023 WANF. All rights reserved.
|
Record-setting U.S. heat dome places 126 million under alerts
Editor's note: Read the latest on this record heat wave here.
About 126 million people were under heat alerts Wednesday, as an "extremely dangerous" heat dome lingers over a major swath of the Midwest, South and Southwest.
The big picture: The heat dome's intensity is setting records dating back to at least 1950.
- The strength of this heat dome appears to be beating one that occurred during August 1936, which was in the midst of the notorious "Dust Bowl." (That's despite producing somewhat lower temperatures at the surface this year.)
State of play: The "searing" heat that saw over 100 new records set or tied on Monday alone "will persist across a widespread region spanning from the Central to Southeast U.S. this week," per a National Weather Service (NWS) forecast discussion Wednesday morning.
- Excessive heat warnings, watches and advisories have been issued for 17 states, from Minnesota to Louisiana.
- Multiple major cities with populations above 500,000 people were under extreme heat alerts — including Chicago, Dallas, Twin Cities, Kansas City, Louisville, Nashville and Oklahoma City.
- Millions of people face dangerous heat indices or "feels like" values of 110°F to 120°F or higher on Wednesday and will continue to see them throughout this week, increasing the risk of developing heat illness, which can be deadly.
- Among the worst-affected areas for these high indices was Chicago, where students have this week returned to school.
- In Oklahoma, one observing site in the northeastern part of the state recorded an all-time highest heat index record of 127°F on Monday.
- And in Lawrence, Kansas, the heat index hit 134°F Sunday after the air temperature reached 102°F.
- St. Louis, Missouri, saw a heat index of 115°F on Sunday, which has only happened 14 times before, according to the NWS.
Of note: Overnight minimum temperatures have been staying unusually high in many areas, preventing people from getting some relief.
- In Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for example, the overnight minimum temperature of 81°F early Tuesday tied the record for the hottest such temperature on record, per the NWS.
Threat level: The NWS said in a Wednesday morning forecast discussion that the "searing" heat wave would continue this week "underneath a potent, potentially record breaking upper-level ridge anchored over the Mid-Mississippi Valley, which will drive oppressive heat from the Central to Southeast U.S."
- High temperatures throughout these areas were forecast to hit the "upper 90s and low 100s each day" through the end of the work week.
Yes, but: "When factoring in brutal humidity levels, maximum heat indices could approach 120 degrees," the NWS noted.
- "While it is not uncommon for August to feature dangerous heat, these temperatures are extremely anomalous and likely to break numerous daily and potentially monthly records."
Meanwhile, "very warm overnight temperatures only dropping into the upper 70s and low 80s will compound the impacts associated with this potentially deadly heat wave."
- It tests the limits of power infrastructure nationwide as people turn to air conditioning for cooling, triggering energy demand spikes that raise the potential of brownouts, rolling blackouts or total blackouts.
Zoom out: Over the past 14 days in the U.S. there were at least 3,836 EMS activations in response to heat-related illnesses, including 11 that involved a heat-related death, according to a new federal system for tracking heat sickness.
- The top jurisdictions with the highest rate of heat-EMS activations within that period were Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, the District of Columbia, Oregon, New Mexico, Texas, Nevada and North Carolina, respectively.
Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.
|
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Record-setting U.S. heat dome places 126 million under alerts
Editor's note: Read the latest on this record heat wave here.
About 126 million people were under heat alerts Wednesday, as an "extremely dangerous" heat dome lingers over a major swath of the Midwest, South and Southwest.
The big picture: The heat dome's intensity is setting records dating back to at least 1950.
- The strength of this heat dome appears to be beating one that occurred during August 1936, which was in the midst of the notorious "Dust Bowl." (That's despite producing somewhat lower temperatures at the surface this year.)
State of play: The "searing" heat that saw over 100 new records set or tied on Monday alone "will persist across a widespread region spanning from the Central to Southeast U.S. this week," per a National Weather Service (NWS) forecast discussion Wednesday morning.
- Excessive heat warnings, watches and advisories have been issued for 17 states, from Minnesota to Louisiana.
- Multiple major cities with populations above 500,000 people were under extreme heat alerts — including Chicago, Dallas, Twin Cities, Kansas City
|
, Louisville, Nashville and Oklahoma City.
- Millions of people face dangerous heat indices or "feels like" values of 110°F to 120°F or higher on Wednesday and will continue to see them throughout this week, increasing the risk of developing heat illness, which can be deadly.
- Among the worst-affected areas for these high indices was Chicago, where students have this week returned to school.
- In Oklahoma, one observing site in the northeastern part of the state recorded an all-time highest heat index record of 127°F on Monday.
- And in Lawrence, Kansas, the heat index hit 134°F Sunday after the air temperature reached 102°F.
- St. Louis, Missouri, saw a heat index of 115°F on Sunday, which has only happened 14 times before, according to the NWS.
Of note: Overnight minimum temperatures have been staying unusually high in many areas, preventing people from getting some relief.
- In Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for example, the overnight minimum temperature of 81°F early Tuesday tied the record for the hottest such temperature on record, per the NWS.
Threat level: The NWS said in a Wednesday morning forecast discussion that the "searing" heat wave would continue this week "underneath a potent, potentially record breaking upper-level ridge anchored over the Mid-Mississippi Valley, which will drive oppressive heat from the Central to Southeast U.S."
- High temperatures throughout these areas were forecast to hit the "upper 90s and low 100s each day" through the end of the work week.
Yes, but: "When factoring in brutal humidity levels, maximum heat indices could approach 120 degrees," the NWS noted.
- "While it is not uncommon for August to feature dangerous heat, these temperatures are extremely anomalous and likely to break numerous daily and potentially monthly records."
Meanwhile, "very warm overnight temperatures only dropping into the upper 70s and low 80s will compound the impacts associated with this potentially deadly heat wave."
- It tests the limits of power infrastructure nationwide as people turn to air conditioning for cooling, triggering energy demand spikes that raise the potential of brownouts, rolling blackouts or total blackouts.
Zoom out: Over the past 14 days in the U.S. there were at least 3,836 EMS activations in response to heat-related illnesses, including 11 that involved a heat-related death, according to a new federal system for tracking heat sickness.
- The top jurisdictions with the highest rate of heat-EMS activations within that period were Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, the District of Columbia, Oregon, New Mexico, Texas, Nevada and North Carolina, respectively.
Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.
|
MSU professor, NASA team, discover new planet that could sustain life
EAST LANSING — After more than a year of extra-stellar detective work, a Michigan State University professor has helped NASA confirm the existence of a new planet about 100 light years away that could be capable of supporting life.
The newly confirmed planet, TOI-700e, is the third discovered in the TOI-700 solar system by Joey Rodriguez, an assistant professor in MSU’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, and a team of researchers working with NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, a space-based telescope that observes millions of stars and looks for planets passing in front of the stars.
The team announced the discovery Tuesday at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Seattle. In 2020, Rodriguez and his team first confirmed the existence of the TOI-700 solar system and at the time confirmed the existence of three planets — TOI-700b, TOI-700c, and TOI-700d. But there was some indication that there could be a fourth planet, Rodriguez said.
After another year of observation and studying the TOI-700 star, researchers were able to confirm TOI-700e, the solar system’s fourth-known planet. Because of TOI-700e's location within the star’s habitable zone, Rodriguez and his team believe the newly discovered planet could be capable of supporting life.
“We don’t know a ton about the planet,” Rodriguez said on Friday. “We know how big it is. We know how far away from the star it is. We know how long its year is. It’s at a distance where the energy of the star … that it should be at the temperature for liquid water to exist.”
Liquid water is a crucial ingredient needed to sustain life on a planet, he said, and TOI-700e sits at a distance in proximity to the solar system’s star to where the liquid water could be possible.
One way scientists can confirm their suspicions that the planet can indeed sustain life is by studying the planet’s atmosphere, pressure and looking for biological signatures, like oxygen or other molecules that could confirm that conditions exist on the planet that would allow for life.
It’s an issue Rodriguez expects will be debated for decades. Even if a biological signature is identified in the planet’s atmosphere, which is very difficult to determine, some chemical signatures could be explained by non-biological sources, according to the press release.
“We need to look for the evidence that there’s the right biology on the planet (to conclude that it could sustain life),” Rodriguez said.
Researchers also suspect that TOI-700d could be capable of sustaining life because it too orbits within the star’s habitable zone. Rodriguez compared the two newly discovered planets to Earth and Venus — TOI-700d sits in a similar proximity to its star as Earth does to the sun, and TOI-700e sits similar to where Venus is on the edge of the habitable zone.
There are no signs that the solar system is home to any more planets that have yet to be discovered, but Rodriguez didn’t rule out the possibility as researchers continue to study the TOI-700 system.
“This is one of only a few systems with multiple, small, habitable-zone planets that we know of,” said Emily Gilbert, a postdoctoral fellow at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, who is leading the project, in a press release. “That makes the TOI-700 system an exciting prospect for additional follow-up.”
Neither humans nor satellites will be traveling anywhere close to the new planet any time soon. The technology needed for a 100-light year trip does not yet exist, Rodriguez said, but that won’t keep him and the team of researchers from continuing to study the solar system and the planets they’ve discovered.
Rodriguez, who has been doing this work for 12 years, hopes there are more planets to find.
“There’s so much parameter space and places where planets could exist,” he said. “We’ll probably find more things, but they’ll be more difficult to discover.”
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MSU professor, NASA team, discover new planet that could sustain life
EAST LANSING — After more than a year of extra-stellar detective work, a Michigan State University professor has helped NASA confirm the existence of a new planet about 100 light years away that could be capable of supporting life.
The newly confirmed planet, TOI-700e, is the third discovered in the TOI-700 solar system by Joey Rodriguez, an assistant professor in MSU’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, and a team of researchers working with NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, a space-based telescope that observes millions of stars and looks for planets passing in front of the stars.
The team announced the discovery Tuesday at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Seattle. In 2020, Rodriguez and his team first confirmed the existence of the TOI-700 solar system and at the time confirmed the existence of three planets — TOI-700b, TOI-700c, and TOI-700d. But there was some indication that there could be a fourth planet, Rodriguez said.
After another year of observation and studying the TOI-700 star, researchers
|
were able to confirm TOI-700e, the solar system’s fourth-known planet. Because of TOI-700e's location within the star’s habitable zone, Rodriguez and his team believe the newly discovered planet could be capable of supporting life.
“We don’t know a ton about the planet,” Rodriguez said on Friday. “We know how big it is. We know how far away from the star it is. We know how long its year is. It’s at a distance where the energy of the star … that it should be at the temperature for liquid water to exist.”
Liquid water is a crucial ingredient needed to sustain life on a planet, he said, and TOI-700e sits at a distance in proximity to the solar system’s star to where the liquid water could be possible.
One way scientists can confirm their suspicions that the planet can indeed sustain life is by studying the planet’s atmosphere, pressure and looking for biological signatures, like oxygen or other molecules that could confirm that conditions exist on the planet that would allow for life.
It’s an issue Rodriguez expects will be debated for decades. Even if a biological signature is identified in the planet’s atmosphere, which is very difficult to determine, some chemical signatures could be explained by non-biological sources, according to the press release.
“We need to look for the evidence that there’s the right biology on the planet (to conclude that it could sustain life),” Rodriguez said.
Researchers also suspect that TOI-700d could be capable of sustaining life because it too orbits within the star’s habitable zone. Rodriguez compared the two newly discovered planets to Earth and Venus — TOI-700d sits in a similar proximity to its star as Earth does to the sun, and TOI-700e sits similar to where Venus is on the edge of the habitable zone.
There are no signs that the solar system is home to any more planets that have yet to be discovered, but Rodriguez didn’t rule out the possibility as researchers continue to study the TOI-700 system.
“This is one of only a few systems with multiple, small, habitable-zone planets that we know of,” said Emily Gilbert, a postdoctoral fellow at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, who is leading the project, in a press release. “That makes the TOI-700 system an exciting prospect for additional follow-up.”
Neither humans nor satellites will be traveling anywhere close to the new planet any time soon. The technology needed for a 100-light year trip does not yet exist, Rodriguez said, but that won’t keep him and the team of researchers from continuing to study the solar system and the planets they’ve discovered.
Rodriguez, who has been doing this work for 12 years, hopes there are more planets to find.
“There’s so much parameter space and places where planets could exist,” he said. “We’ll probably find more things, but they’ll be more difficult to discover.”
|
The city of Boston has collected more than 1 million artifacts through its Archaeology Program over the past 40 years. Those artifacts — and the process of preserving them — is being done at Boston's newly re-opened Archaeology Lab.
Radio Boston visited the lab to see some of the collection. City archaeologist Joe Bagley and Rev. Mariama White Hammond, Boston's chief of environment, energy and open space, joined us for the conversation.
As part of the tour, Bagley and Hammond showed Radio Boston three artifacts pulled from the archives. They included a cowrie shell, a necklace, and the oldest artifact ever found to date in Boston.
This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
On centering people and purpose in archeology:
Joe Bagley: "We have a saying here that 'It's not about the stuff, it's about the story.' And archaeologists know a lot about what these things are and some of the story, but the story is really only completed when other people have a chance to actually look at it and interpret what we're finding. Because, to me, a ceramic shard can tell me about dates and locations of where trade was happening. But to a ceramicist, they could tell me about what kind of techniques are being used or what kind of technology went into actually firing those pot shirts.
And even today, an artist could look at those same things and then turn them into new art. And so I think that what we're trying to do here is get everything to the point where we have completed what we can say about the story and it can now go out and so more people can add to that story."
"These things come from places and the places are part of that story. It's not just a toothbrush. A toothbrush that was found at the factory where they're made has a totally different story than a toothbrush found in an outhouse at a brothel."
On reckoning with the city's past with slavery:
Rev. Mariama White Hammond: "We have an image of ourselves in Boston as abolitionists, but we have not had accurate understandings of how many enslaved people did live here and contributed to the building of this city ... The team spent lots of time ... to pull out the names of over 2,000 [enslaved residents.] Many of them who are named and some of whom are not ... I knew that there were enslaved people in the city, but I didn't know the extent of how many, nor did I really understand their contributions nor their names."
"One of the things that they discovered is that there were two enslaved potters who were contributing to ceramics in Charlestown. And the question is, 'What was their story? And where did they come from?'"
"One of the reasons we have you out here and wanted to do this is that more people need to know there is power in these artifacts. There is healing in these artifacts. There are tough conversations in these artifacts, but we need to have them. And I believe our city will be richer and better if more of us are leaning in and interacting with this material, even if sometimes it's hard."
On the oldest artifact in the city's collection:
Joe Bagley: "If you looked at Boston's history as a hundred foot long timeline, 1630 happens in the last three feet. So the vast majority of the story that we know of the place we now call Boston happened before 1630. And so one of the things that we've been really trying to make sure is talked about and heard is, is the story of the native community in Boston. In working with the community, we've been asked to use the term 'creation' instead of artifact to keep the humanity of the person that made these things in the storytelling of it."
"This is the base of a spear point or a knife of some kind. It broke probably around the time that it was made ... it became part of the ground and was found during the 1980s during a dig to build some lighting projects in the [Boston] Common ... this is between 5,500 and 7,500 years old. So that means that when this was being made, there were no pyramids in Egypt. There was no Stonehenge. But there were people in Boston living here. And on that 100-foot timeline of the human history of Boston, this is only halfway down. So we still have 5,000 years of history in Boston where we know people are here."
On working with indigenous groups and the changing role of archeology:
Joe Bagley: "Archaeology is an inherently colonial act. Archaeologists, especially back in the day, were like, 'I have every right to go wherever I want and to dig up whatever I'm interested in learning about, regardless of whether people think it should or shouldn't be dug up.' And we're really trying to go back to square one and fundamentally question archaeology: What is archaeology? What should archaeology be?
"Now we have policies where we only dig if there's something going to happen to the site [and] we're working with the tribe to come up with a plan together ... my goal is to more or less make a new archaeology that says when you're doing archaeology of Native things, Native time periods, you're doing that with the Native community. Answering their questions and doing what they ultimately want done with those things if it means putting them right back. Okay. If that means turning them over to the tribe afterwards for curation. Great. But archaeology is now needing to become more of a technical service that can answer questions that communities who's stuff we're digging up actually have, and not just, I'm digging it up because I want to know the story."
This segment aired on January 8, 2024.
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The city of Boston has collected more than 1 million artifacts through its Archaeology Program over the past 40 years. Those artifacts — and the process of preserving them — is being done at Boston's newly re-opened Archaeology Lab.
Radio Boston visited the lab to see some of the collection. City archaeologist Joe Bagley and Rev. Mariama White Hammond, Boston's chief of environment, energy and open space, joined us for the conversation.
As part of the tour, Bagley and Hammond showed Radio Boston three artifacts pulled from the archives. They included a cowrie shell, a necklace, and the oldest artifact ever found to date in Boston.
This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
On centering people and purpose in archeology:
Joe Bagley: "We have a saying here that 'It's not about the stuff, it's about the story.' And archaeologists know a lot about what these things are and some of the story, but the story is really only completed when other people have a chance to actually look at it and interpret what we're finding. Because, to me, a ceramic shard can tell me about dates and locations of where trade was happening. But to a ceramicist, they could tell me about what kind of techniques
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are being used or what kind of technology went into actually firing those pot shirts.
And even today, an artist could look at those same things and then turn them into new art. And so I think that what we're trying to do here is get everything to the point where we have completed what we can say about the story and it can now go out and so more people can add to that story."
"These things come from places and the places are part of that story. It's not just a toothbrush. A toothbrush that was found at the factory where they're made has a totally different story than a toothbrush found in an outhouse at a brothel."
On reckoning with the city's past with slavery:
Rev. Mariama White Hammond: "We have an image of ourselves in Boston as abolitionists, but we have not had accurate understandings of how many enslaved people did live here and contributed to the building of this city ... The team spent lots of time ... to pull out the names of over 2,000 [enslaved residents.] Many of them who are named and some of whom are not ... I knew that there were enslaved people in the city, but I didn't know the extent of how many, nor did I really understand their contributions nor their names."
"One of the things that they discovered is that there were two enslaved potters who were contributing to ceramics in Charlestown. And the question is, 'What was their story? And where did they come from?'"
"One of the reasons we have you out here and wanted to do this is that more people need to know there is power in these artifacts. There is healing in these artifacts. There are tough conversations in these artifacts, but we need to have them. And I believe our city will be richer and better if more of us are leaning in and interacting with this material, even if sometimes it's hard."
On the oldest artifact in the city's collection:
Joe Bagley: "If you looked at Boston's history as a hundred foot long timeline, 1630 happens in the last three feet. So the vast majority of the story that we know of the place we now call Boston happened before 1630. And so one of the things that we've been really trying to make sure is talked about and heard is, is the story of the native community in Boston. In working with the community, we've been asked to use the term 'creation' instead of artifact to keep the humanity of the person that made these things in the storytelling of it."
"This is the base of a spear point or a knife of some kind. It broke probably around the time that it was made ... it became part of the ground and was found during the 1980s during a dig to build some lighting projects in the [Boston] Common ... this is between 5,500 and 7,500 years old. So that means that when this was being made, there were no pyramids in Egypt. There was no Stonehenge. But there were people in Boston living here. And on that 100-foot timeline of the human history of Boston, this is only halfway down. So we still have 5,000 years of history in Boston where we know people are here."
On working with indigenous groups and the changing role of archeology:
Joe Bagley: "Archaeology is an inherently colonial act. Archaeologists, especially back in the day, were like, 'I have every right to go wherever I want and to dig up whatever I'm interested in learning about, regardless of whether people think it should or shouldn't be dug up.' And we're really trying to go back to square one and fundamentally question archaeology: What is archaeology? What should archaeology be?
"Now we have policies where we only dig if there's something going to happen to the site [and] we're working with the tribe to come up with a plan together ... my goal is to more or less make a new archaeology that says when you're doing archaeology of Native things, Native time periods, you're doing that with the Native community. Answering their questions and doing what they ultimately want done with those things if it means putting them right back. Okay. If that means turning them over to the tribe afterwards for curation. Great. But archaeology is now needing to become more of a technical service that can answer questions that communities who's stuff we're digging up actually have, and not just, I'm digging it up because I want to know the story."
This segment aired on January 8, 2024.
|
Thousands of small satellites are being launched into the “lower orbit” of space, just above the stratosphere, by companies like SpaceX, OneWeb, Amazon’s proposed Project Kuiper and more — devices that can provide internet service among other uses. Because the number will soon reach many tens of thousands, concern is growing among atmospheric scientists about how they may harm the protective ozone layer that shields life on Earth from dangerous radiation from the sun.
Most of these low-earth-orbit satellites, sometimes called LEO constellations, are propelled by rockets that are fueled by kerosene. The satellites are mostly made of aluminum and contain numerous electronic parts, batteries, carbon fiber, epoxies and metals, including titanium, cadmium, lithium, nickel and cobalt — materials that may contribute to ozone depletion as they continuously disintegrate in space and descend into the stratosphere.
A recent report published by the U.S. Government Accountability Office said at least 5,500 such satellites are in orbit, but it also questioned why these systems are not subject to environmental scrutiny by the Federal Communications Commission, which licenses such systems in the United States, even as the agency is reviewing applications involving tens of thousands of new satellites.
The United States isn’t alone. In 2021, the United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union received radio frequency applications for various systems worldwide that, if all approved, could total more than 1 million new LEO satellites.
In response to the GAO report, the FCC said its requirements for evaluating environmental concerns are based on the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 — which doesn’t cover these systems. “How NEPA applies to new activities in an outer space environment is a novel issue,” FCC spokesman Will Wiquist told The Post in an email.
Historically, there has been global concern over substances that destroy stratospheric ozone. In 1987, the historic Montreal Protocol greatly restricted the use of chlorofluorocarbons worldwide, after those chemicals, used since the 1920s for refrigeration, air-conditioning, foam and aerosol spray cans, were found to deplete ozone after rising into the stratosphere. Before that, similar concerns were raised in the 1970s regarding supersonic jets, such as the Concorde, which released ozone-destroying emissions directly into the stratosphere, where they flew.
Kerosene produces black carbon, commonly known as soot, which absorbs solar radiation, and would, in large emissions, exert a warming effect on the stratosphere, according to Christopher Maloney, a research scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“This stratospheric warming can in turn impact ozone chemistry,” Maloney told The Post. He recently published a paper on the topic along with fellow NOAA scientists Robert Portmann and Karen Rosenlof, and Martin Ross of the Aerospace Corp., a California-based nonprofit research facility.
The science “is very clear” that stratospheric black carbon emissions could lead to ozone depletion, said Ross, comparing the effect to a “thin black umbrella that shades the Earth’s surface and warms the stratosphere.”
While jet aircraft also use kerosene, Ross notes that soot from airplanes dissipates within a few weeks. But black carbon from rocket engines lasts years. Rockets also emit black carbon directly into the stratospheric ozone layer, whereas most jets fly lower in the stratosphere, below the ozone. Finally, Ross points out that rocket engines produce black carbon at much greater magnitude per kilogram of fuel burned than airplanes – up to a factor of 1,000.
“There is currently an estimated 1 gigagram (Gg) of black carbon emitted into the stratosphere from rockets every year,” said Maloney, “but by 2040, if space traffic increases as proposed, there could be as much as 10 Gg (10,000 metric tons) released per year.”
There’s also concern about emissions during reentry.
LEO satellites have a life span of about five years, yet little thought has been given to what happens during reentry.
“The end-of-life disposal mechanism for geosynchronous satellites is to put them in a graveyard orbit and not think about it,” said Ross. “The end-of-life disposal for these large, lower-orbit constellations is to dump them into the atmosphere.”
An estimated 50 to 90 percent of LEO satellites’ mass will disintegrate into an array of chemicals and metals. Aluminum breaks apart into alumina, which reflects sunlight. This too, could cause ozone loss, by creating a “white umbrella” that cools the Earth, and by providing surfaces for ozone-depleting chemistry to flourish, said Ross.
Scientists want to work with satellite companies to learn what components go into the devices so they can create models to test how the ozone might be affected by a mass amounts of other chemicals.
Meanwhile, satellites are not only exploding in quantity but in size.
John Janka, an executive with Viasat, a manufacturer of satellites and related components, said today’s satellites are eight times bigger than first-generation iterations just a few years ago, expanding from about 250 kilograms to more than 2,000 kg (4,400 pounds).
“This is a paradigm shift in the space industry unlike anything we’ve seen since the 1950s,” says Ross, the researcher from Aerospace. “Instead of a few, huge satellites in geosynchronous orbit, it’s going to become thousands of satellites in the lower orbit — 200 to 1,000 kilometers (124 to 621 miles) above the earth," Janka said. "Those of us who study how aviation affects the stratosphere have always assumed that launch is where the action is, but with these lower-orbit large constellations, reentry will be a larger source of emissions that are much more varied and will have greater potential for impacts. We need to start enlarging our point of view.”
In December, the FCC granted SpaceX conditional approval to “construct, deploy and operate” an initial 7,500 new satellites in a proposed constellation of nearly 30,000 satellites, on the condition that SpaceX takes steps to mitigate excessive “reflected sunlight,” an issue linked to “light pollution" rather than ozone depletion.
SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment. In FCC hearings, SpaceX said its constellations help the public by expanding broadband coverage to rural and underserved areas.
Another company, OneWeb, is also working on launching more satellites. A media representative for the communications firm pointed to its online pledge of responsible practices, which says in part, “OneWeb believes the space industry has a responsibility to work with governments, scientific communities, and enterprise to advance causes in connectivity that have transformational impact.”
Amid additional discussions — beyond ozone depletion and light pollution — about the potential for satellite collisions and crowded radio frequencies, the FCC also recently announced plans to create a new bureau to address spaceflight.
Andrew Von Ah, a director at GAO, predicts some satellite companies will resist government-imposed regulations regarding fuel emissions or components.
“It’s important to remember that space is not solely under the authority of the FCC,” he said. “These companies could go elsewhere to obtain licensing to launch. We want to have appropriate controls, but we don’t want to drive these companies to places where there will be no controls essentially.”
Janka, however, says Viasat welcomes more scientific assessment.
“We believe some governmental oversight is necessary,” he said, adding it’s in the industry’s own interest to address problems before a crisis might force a halt to satellite growth.
“It’s just like we’re trying to do with global warming,” Janka added. “How do we modify our behavior so we can live modern lives without unnecessarily damaging the earth? We’re not saying stop, we’re saying do it in a way that’s not harmful.”
Paul Newman, a NASA physicist and ozone expert, agrees an environmental impact study on low-orbit satellites is important.
“Ozone is that fundamental gas that we need to screen ultraviolet radiation,” he said. “You want to make sure that when you’re putting something into the stratosphere it’s not going to have a negative effect. We learned our lesson with chlorofluorocarbons. Ozone is so important you’d better be darned sure you’re doing the right thing.”
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Thousands of small satellites are being launched into the “lower orbit” of space, just above the stratosphere, by companies like SpaceX, OneWeb, Amazon’s proposed Project Kuiper and more — devices that can provide internet service among other uses. Because the number will soon reach many tens of thousands, concern is growing among atmospheric scientists about how they may harm the protective ozone layer that shields life on Earth from dangerous radiation from the sun.
Most of these low-earth-orbit satellites, sometimes called LEO constellations, are propelled by rockets that are fueled by kerosene. The satellites are mostly made of aluminum and contain numerous electronic parts, batteries, carbon fiber, epoxies and metals, including titanium, cadmium, lithium, nickel and cobalt — materials that may contribute to ozone depletion as they continuously disintegrate in space and descend into the stratosphere.
A recent report published by the U.S. Government Accountability Office said at least 5,500 such satellites are in orbit, but it also questioned why these systems are not subject to environmental scrutiny by the Federal Communications Commission, which licenses such systems in the United States, even as the agency is reviewing applications involving tens of thousands of new satellites.
The United States isn’t alone. In
|
2021, the United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union received radio frequency applications for various systems worldwide that, if all approved, could total more than 1 million new LEO satellites.
In response to the GAO report, the FCC said its requirements for evaluating environmental concerns are based on the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 — which doesn’t cover these systems. “How NEPA applies to new activities in an outer space environment is a novel issue,” FCC spokesman Will Wiquist told The Post in an email.
Historically, there has been global concern over substances that destroy stratospheric ozone. In 1987, the historic Montreal Protocol greatly restricted the use of chlorofluorocarbons worldwide, after those chemicals, used since the 1920s for refrigeration, air-conditioning, foam and aerosol spray cans, were found to deplete ozone after rising into the stratosphere. Before that, similar concerns were raised in the 1970s regarding supersonic jets, such as the Concorde, which released ozone-destroying emissions directly into the stratosphere, where they flew.
Kerosene produces black carbon, commonly known as soot, which absorbs solar radiation, and would, in large emissions, exert a warming effect on the stratosphere, according to Christopher Maloney, a research scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“This stratospheric warming can in turn impact ozone chemistry,” Maloney told The Post. He recently published a paper on the topic along with fellow NOAA scientists Robert Portmann and Karen Rosenlof, and Martin Ross of the Aerospace Corp., a California-based nonprofit research facility.
The science “is very clear” that stratospheric black carbon emissions could lead to ozone depletion, said Ross, comparing the effect to a “thin black umbrella that shades the Earth’s surface and warms the stratosphere.”
While jet aircraft also use kerosene, Ross notes that soot from airplanes dissipates within a few weeks. But black carbon from rocket engines lasts years. Rockets also emit black carbon directly into the stratospheric ozone layer, whereas most jets fly lower in the stratosphere, below the ozone. Finally, Ross points out that rocket engines produce black carbon at much greater magnitude per kilogram of fuel burned than airplanes – up to a factor of 1,000.
“There is currently an estimated 1 gigagram (Gg) of black carbon emitted into the stratosphere from rockets every year,” said Maloney, “but by 2040, if space traffic increases as proposed, there could be as much as 10 Gg (10,000 metric tons) released per year.”
There’s also concern about emissions during reentry.
LEO satellites have a life span of about five years, yet little thought has been given to what happens during reentry.
“The end-of-life disposal mechanism for geosynchronous satellites is to put them in a graveyard orbit and not think about it,” said Ross. “The end-of-life disposal for these large, lower-orbit constellations is to dump them into the atmosphere.”
An estimated 50 to 90 percent of LEO satellites’ mass will disintegrate into an array of chemicals and metals. Aluminum breaks apart into alumina, which reflects sunlight. This too, could cause ozone loss, by creating a “white umbrella” that cools the Earth, and by providing surfaces for ozone-depleting chemistry to flourish, said Ross.
Scientists want to work with satellite companies to learn what components go into the devices so they can create models to test how the ozone might be affected by a mass amounts of other chemicals.
Meanwhile, satellites are not only exploding in quantity but in size.
John Janka, an executive with Viasat, a manufacturer of satellites and related components, said today’s satellites are eight times bigger than first-generation iterations just a few years ago, expanding from about 250 kilograms to more than 2,000 kg (4,400 pounds).
“This is a paradigm shift in the space industry unlike anything we’ve seen since the 1950s,” says Ross, the researcher from Aerospace. “Instead of a few, huge satellites in geosynchronous orbit, it’s going to become thousands of satellites in the lower orbit — 200 to 1,000 kilometers (124 to 621 miles) above the earth," Janka said. "Those of us who study how aviation affects the stratosphere have always assumed that launch is where the action is, but with these lower-orbit large constellations, reentry will be a larger source of emissions that are much more varied and will have greater potential for impacts. We need to start enlarging our point of view.”
In December, the FCC granted SpaceX conditional approval to “construct, deploy and operate” an initial 7,500 new satellites in a proposed constellation of nearly 30,000 satellites, on the condition that SpaceX takes steps to mitigate excessive “reflected sunlight,” an issue linked to “light pollution" rather than ozone depletion.
SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment. In FCC hearings, SpaceX said its constellations help the public by expanding broadband coverage to rural and underserved areas.
Another company, OneWeb, is also working on launching more satellites. A media representative for the communications firm pointed to its online pledge of responsible practices, which says in part, “OneWeb believes the space industry has a responsibility to work with governments, scientific communities, and enterprise to advance causes in connectivity that have transformational impact.”
Amid additional discussions — beyond ozone depletion and light pollution — about the potential for satellite collisions and crowded radio frequencies, the FCC also recently announced plans to create a new bureau to address spaceflight.
Andrew Von Ah, a director at GAO, predicts some satellite companies will resist government-imposed regulations regarding fuel emissions or components.
“It’s important to remember that space is not solely under the authority of the FCC,” he said. “These companies could go elsewhere to obtain licensing to launch. We want to have appropriate controls, but we don’t want to drive these companies to places where there will be no controls essentially.”
Janka, however, says Viasat welcomes more scientific assessment.
“We believe some governmental oversight is necessary,” he said, adding it’s in the industry’s own interest to address problems before a crisis might force a halt to satellite growth.
“It’s just like we’re trying to do with global warming,” Janka added. “How do we modify our behavior so we can live modern lives without unnecessarily damaging the earth? We’re not saying stop, we’re saying do it in a way that’s not harmful.”
Paul Newman, a NASA physicist and ozone expert, agrees an environmental impact study on low-orbit satellites is important.
“Ozone is that fundamental gas that we need to screen ultraviolet radiation,” he said. “You want to make sure that when you’re putting something into the stratosphere it’s not going to have a negative effect. We learned our lesson with chlorofluorocarbons. Ozone is so important you’d better be darned sure you’re doing the right thing.”
|
It can be annoying to fail. However, it may also encourage you to view issues differently. Fresh approaches also result from this new viewpoint. Great ideas frequently come to mind when there is a specific issue, or when something has failed. Failure can act as a catalyst for advancement if the failure itself motivates you to discover a solution.
Consider the ATM, which was invented as a result of John Shephard-Barron forgetting to pick up some cash from the bank one day. In other words, he was unable to pay his bills on time. However, his failure led to the invention of a brand-new remedy: a cash dispenser that is operational after bank hours.
Failure is a technique to fine-tune complex processes in addition to sparking the development of new solutions, as it enables us to identify the elements of a problem. It is more difficult to fine-tune a process the more sophisticated it is. It is more difficult to pinpoint exactly what went wrong when things are complex.
Say you want to contribute to enhancing education across the African continent. How can you tell if your assistance is having an impact? Since there are too many variables involved, relying solely on grades to provide information is insufficient.
However, it becomes simpler to identify which tactics are effective and then use them on a larger scale by allowing oneself to fail on a small scale. For instance, a group of economists in Kenya wished to raise the standard of the neighborhood schools. They began by keeping track of the grades at various schools and experimenting with different strategies to see if they might raise test scores.
Their initial suggestion was to distribute free textbooks. They soon realized, however, that schools that were not given this assistance performed just as well. So they tried a variety of various strategies. De-worming medication was the final answer they found, and it actually helped raise grades. This kind of small-scale solution can then be tried on a larger scale.
It is not sufficient to know in your head that failure is useful if you want to fully benefit from it. Additionally, you must have a good rapport with it. You will wind up failing more than required if you can’t manage failure or if you choose to avoid it.
In fact, people who are afraid of failing may put up unneeded obstacles to their achievement. For instance, the author remembers several of his classmates who used to go out partying the night before exams since they were the “popular kids.” These pupils chose to take measures to lessen the sting of probable failure because they were so terrified of falling short of expectations. Everything was alright if they performed well on the test. However, if they ended up failing, they might put it down to their drinking binge.
This is obviously a horrible strategy for development. In order to grow, you must be willing to fail and accept responsibility for that failure since it is a great teacher. But if you’re unwilling to listen, no teacher in the entire world can help you.
Spending time and effort reflecting on your errors is the key to learning from failure. Unfortunately, most would prefer to ignore their mistakes than to admit them. This is a serious issue since how we respond to failure typically determines how successful we are.
An experiment conducted by a group of psychologists from Michigan State University provides proof of this. Children who felt they were born brilliant and those who believed they might become smarter with work were split into two groups for the experiment.
Each group had assignments that got harder as they went along, with the intention of making the kids fail. The results of the experiment showed that kids who thought they could become better were able to utilize their mistakes as a springboard for success in later exams. The other kids, who thought their intelligence was predetermined, just gave up.
Admitting to mistakes is challenging. But in order to reach your greatest potential, you must not only accept that you make mistakes but also view them as necessary steps on the road to success. Indeed, there can be no development without failure.
Check out my related post: Why should we be honest about failure?
[…] Check out my related post: Why failure can help you with new solutions? […]
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It can be annoying to fail. However, it may also encourage you to view issues differently. Fresh approaches also result from this new viewpoint. Great ideas frequently come to mind when there is a specific issue, or when something has failed. Failure can act as a catalyst for advancement if the failure itself motivates you to discover a solution.
Consider the ATM, which was invented as a result of John Shephard-Barron forgetting to pick up some cash from the bank one day. In other words, he was unable to pay his bills on time. However, his failure led to the invention of a brand-new remedy: a cash dispenser that is operational after bank hours.
Failure is a technique to fine-tune complex processes in addition to sparking the development of new solutions, as it enables us to identify the elements of a problem. It is more difficult to fine-tune a process the more sophisticated it is. It is more difficult to pinpoint exactly what went wrong when things are complex.
Say you want to contribute to enhancing education across the African continent. How can you tell if your assistance is having an impact? Since there are too many variables involved, relying solely on grades to provide information is insufficient.
However, it becomes simpler to identify which tactics are effective and
|
then use them on a larger scale by allowing oneself to fail on a small scale. For instance, a group of economists in Kenya wished to raise the standard of the neighborhood schools. They began by keeping track of the grades at various schools and experimenting with different strategies to see if they might raise test scores.
Their initial suggestion was to distribute free textbooks. They soon realized, however, that schools that were not given this assistance performed just as well. So they tried a variety of various strategies. De-worming medication was the final answer they found, and it actually helped raise grades. This kind of small-scale solution can then be tried on a larger scale.
It is not sufficient to know in your head that failure is useful if you want to fully benefit from it. Additionally, you must have a good rapport with it. You will wind up failing more than required if you can’t manage failure or if you choose to avoid it.
In fact, people who are afraid of failing may put up unneeded obstacles to their achievement. For instance, the author remembers several of his classmates who used to go out partying the night before exams since they were the “popular kids.” These pupils chose to take measures to lessen the sting of probable failure because they were so terrified of falling short of expectations. Everything was alright if they performed well on the test. However, if they ended up failing, they might put it down to their drinking binge.
This is obviously a horrible strategy for development. In order to grow, you must be willing to fail and accept responsibility for that failure since it is a great teacher. But if you’re unwilling to listen, no teacher in the entire world can help you.
Spending time and effort reflecting on your errors is the key to learning from failure. Unfortunately, most would prefer to ignore their mistakes than to admit them. This is a serious issue since how we respond to failure typically determines how successful we are.
An experiment conducted by a group of psychologists from Michigan State University provides proof of this. Children who felt they were born brilliant and those who believed they might become smarter with work were split into two groups for the experiment.
Each group had assignments that got harder as they went along, with the intention of making the kids fail. The results of the experiment showed that kids who thought they could become better were able to utilize their mistakes as a springboard for success in later exams. The other kids, who thought their intelligence was predetermined, just gave up.
Admitting to mistakes is challenging. But in order to reach your greatest potential, you must not only accept that you make mistakes but also view them as necessary steps on the road to success. Indeed, there can be no development without failure.
Check out my related post: Why should we be honest about failure?
[…] Check out my related post: Why failure can help you with new solutions? […]
|
Remembering the Great Flood of 1913 in Columbus and around Ohio 110 years later
On March 23, 1913, Ohioans were in for an unexpected and tragic weather event, the Great Flood of 1913.
The disaster, considered the most catastrophic weather event in Ohio's history, left behind destruction and loss of life.
The flood lasted from Easter Sunday, March 23, until March 27, and caused the deaths of at least 467 people. Columbus and Dayton suffered the worst from the flood, with 93 and 123 fatalities, respectively. Chillicothe had 22 deaths and Delaware reported 18.
The storm dropped as much as 10 inches of rain, causing streams, creeks and rivers across Ohio to flood and leading to the crumbling of levees in the Miami and Scioto river valleys.
The flood destroyed nearly 500 buildings in Columbus and damaged over 4,000 more, with 15 to 20 feet of water drenching areas west of the Scioto River. The Broad, State and Town street bridges were washed away by the strong currents, separating east from west. Residents were trapped by the floodwaters in their homes or in trees.
The situation was even worse in Dayton, where some streets were topped with more than 20 feet of water. The Dispatch also reported that fires were a significant concern and partly destroyed Dayton's business block.
Throughout Ohio, 40,000 homes were flooded, with infrastructure damage alone estimated at $3 billion in today's dollars.
The tragedy led to the first joint watershed planning and flood-control measures. In the Columbus area, the Franklinton floodwall went up, as well as dams and reservoirs like Delaware Lake and Alum Creek Lake.
Then-Governor James Cox sent out requests for aid to the secretary of war, Pennsylvania's governor, Indiana's governor, and President Woodrow Wilson. He asked for tents, supplies, rations and physicians, stating that "in the name of humanity, see that this is granted at the earliest possible moment." The situation in Dayton was critical, he said, with up to 250,000 people unsheltered.
Although Ohio was hit the worst, flooding stretched from Indiana to Connecticut and along the Mississippi River. An estimated 12 trillion gallons of rain fell from the Midwest into New England, the equivalent of a four-month water flow over Niagara Falls.
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|
Remembering the Great Flood of 1913 in Columbus and around Ohio 110 years later
On March 23, 1913, Ohioans were in for an unexpected and tragic weather event, the Great Flood of 1913.
The disaster, considered the most catastrophic weather event in Ohio's history, left behind destruction and loss of life.
The flood lasted from Easter Sunday, March 23, until March 27, and caused the deaths of at least 467 people. Columbus and Dayton suffered the worst from the flood, with 93 and 123 fatalities, respectively. Chillicothe had 22 deaths and Delaware reported 18.
The storm dropped as much as 10 inches of rain, causing streams, creeks and rivers across Ohio to flood and leading to the crumbling of levees in the Miami and Scioto river valleys.
The flood destroyed nearly 500 buildings in Columbus and damaged over 4,000 more, with 15 to 20 feet of water drenching areas west of the Scioto River. The Broad, State and Town street bridges were washed away by the strong currents, separating east from west.
|
Residents were trapped by the floodwaters in their homes or in trees.
The situation was even worse in Dayton, where some streets were topped with more than 20 feet of water. The Dispatch also reported that fires were a significant concern and partly destroyed Dayton's business block.
Throughout Ohio, 40,000 homes were flooded, with infrastructure damage alone estimated at $3 billion in today's dollars.
The tragedy led to the first joint watershed planning and flood-control measures. In the Columbus area, the Franklinton floodwall went up, as well as dams and reservoirs like Delaware Lake and Alum Creek Lake.
Then-Governor James Cox sent out requests for aid to the secretary of war, Pennsylvania's governor, Indiana's governor, and President Woodrow Wilson. He asked for tents, supplies, rations and physicians, stating that "in the name of humanity, see that this is granted at the earliest possible moment." The situation in Dayton was critical, he said, with up to 250,000 people unsheltered.
Although Ohio was hit the worst, flooding stretched from Indiana to Connecticut and along the Mississippi River. An estimated 12 trillion gallons of rain fell from the Midwest into New England, the equivalent of a four-month water flow over Niagara Falls.
|
America's 10 most endangered rivers 2023: See which waterways are most at-risk
- Advocacy group American Rivers compiles a yearly list of America's most endangered rivers.
- This year's most endangered river is the Colorado River. It's the river's second year topping the list.
- Others include rivers in Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Florida.
Climate change and development projects have put many of America's rivers at risk, but some face greater danger than others, according to a new ranking.
American Rivers, an advocacy group based in Washington D.C. that works with communities to reduce river pollution and create policies that promote clean water and reduce flood risks, compiles a yearly list of the country's most endangered rivers.
This year, the group's report placed special attention on how threats to the rivers disproportionately affect communities of color and Tribal nations.
The organization named the Colorado River the most at-risk in the U.S. The federal government in 2021 declared its first water shortage on the essential Western waterway, which has been the subject of interstate litigation and hundreds of millions in spending.
Here's a list of other rivers the organization deems at risk and what to know about them.
Fact check: In Norway, land is rising faster than sea level is rising
Sea level rise: Southeast US has seen rapid sea level rise since 2010, studies say. Will it keep going?
#1 Colorado River
First on the list is Arizona's Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.
According to the organization, the river has been plagued with outdated water management, over-use and of course, climate change.
This is the river's second time topping the list.
"This year, however, the Grand Canyon is of specific focus due to severe drought," the organization wrote. "As critical decisions are made about water management along the Colorado River, decision makers must recognize the environment as a critical component of human health and public safety – absolutely vital for the 40 million people that depend on the river for drinking water."
Another reason the river topped the list is a smallmouth bass invasion, according to the Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network. Bass that may have slipped through the Glen Canyon Dam’s hydropower turbines from Lake Powell reproduced in the river, making things worse for already threatened humpback chubs in the Grand Canyon.
#2 Ohio River
American Rivers ranked the Ohio River at No. 2 due to pollution and climate change.
The river flows through Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois.
According to the advocacy group, pollution has threatened the lives of the 5 million people who live there and rely on the river for clean water.
The organization cites industrialization and pollution threatening the upper river, exemplified by a Norfolk Southern train carrying almost 900,000 pounds of vinyl chloride, a human carcinogen, that derailed in Ohio and released chemicals into the air.
#3 Pearl River
The Pearl River in Mississippi has been threatened by the One Lake development project, American Rivers said.
According to the Associated Press, the flood project is estimated to cost $345 million and involves the dredging and excavation of the Pearl River to widen, deepen and straighten 7 miles of the river. Waterfront property could also be developed along the new 1,500-acre lake.
The project is supposed to prevent a flood like the Pearl River flood of 1979, which caused millions of dollars in damages, the National Weather Service said.
Locals have pushed back against the development project, the Associated Press reported. Concerned citizens think damming the Pearl River would decrease flow downstream and harm endangered species and oyster production.
American Rivers said the project would worsen urban flooding, exacerbate the ongoing water crisis and take away important resources from marginalized communities.
#4 Snake River
Ranking at No. 4 is the Snake River in Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
Salmon are nearly extinct in the Columbia-Snake River basin, a result of four dams that provide irrigation transportation and hydropower benefits to the Northwest, the group said.
According to the group, dam removal is vital in the protection of fish habitats and honoring commitments to nearby Tribal Nations.
#5 Clark Fork River
The Clark Fork River in Montana came in at No. 5 due to pulp mill pollution.
A former pulp mill has leaked toxic chemicals into the groundwater and increased the risk of catastrophic flooding, American Rivers said, putting public health, fish and wildlife at risk.
According to the Clark Fork Valley Press and Mineral Independent, the Clark Fork River has historically been polluted by hard rock mining, which led to heavy metal contamination in the river including copper, zinc and arsenic.
In 2020, biologist Ladd Knotek told the outlet that local trout fisheries were mostly threatened by pollution, warming water temperature and the introduction of fish like northern pike, smallmouth bass, walleye, yellow perch and sunfish.
#6 Eel River
The Eel River in California is also at risk due to dams, American Rivers said.
Similar to the Snake River, the group pushed for dam removal to protect fish habitats and maintain treaties with Tribal Nations.
Two "obsolete" dams owned by Pacific Gas and Electric harm salmon migration and river habitat, the group says.
Populations of Chinook salmon, steelhead, and Pacific lamprey are in decline on the river, the organization stated.
#7 Lehigh River
Pennsylvania's Lehigh River ranked No. 7 on the list due to what American Rivers calls "poorly planned development" that threatens clean water, fish and wildlife habitat, rural and local communities and open space.
The development turns critical forests and wetlands into hard surfaces such as roofs and parking lots, American Rivers said.
"These impervious surfaces prevent rainwater from soaking into the ground," the group wrote on its website. "Instead, warm, salty, dirty water runs off the pavement directly into the river and its tributaries. These impacts to water quality, and the paving of the remaining open space in the urban stretches in the Lehigh Valley, disproportionately impact downstream communities that have already borne the brunt of environmental degradation and pollution."
#8 Chilkat and Klehini rivers
Ranking at No. 8 are Alaska's Chilkat and Klehini rivers.
According to American Rivers, there is an ongoing development called the Palmer Project and its next phase is set to begin in summer 2023. The plan is to dig a mile-long tunnel under the Saksaia Glacier, directly above the Klehini River.
"The excavation will create huge waste storage piles and contaminated wastewater discharges in an area with extremely high levels of sulfide deposits, rainfall, snowfall, and seismic activity," the advocacy group wrote on its website.
The group said acidic wastewater contaminated with heavy metals, hydrocarbons from vehicles and drilling muds and explosive residues will flow into creeks and the Chilkat and Klehini rivers.
The valley is home to the largest group of bald eagles in the world.
#9 Rio Gallinas
Rio Gallinas in New Mexico ranked No. 9 this year. American Rivers cited climate change as a main perpetrator threatening the river.
The river provides drinking water for 13,000 people in Las Vegas and is also a source of nutrients for plants and wildlife in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
Last year, a wildfire swept through the area and destroyed 341,735 acres, American Rivers said, including part of the upper Rio Gallinas watershed.
"Community-focused, coordinated restoration efforts are imperative in protecting the future of the river," the organization wrote.
#10 Okefenokee Swamp
Last on the list is the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia and Florida.
Since 2019, a company called Twin Pines Minerals, LLC has sought permits to mine titanium less than 3 miles from the edge of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, reported the Savannah Morning News, part of the USA TODAY Network.
Environmental activists have said mining would lower water levels in the swamp, putting its ecosystem even more at risk due to drought and wildfires. The Okefenokee swamp is also part of the ancestral homeland of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, which opposes the mining.
Contributing: Dinah Voyles Pulver
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America's 10 most endangered rivers 2023: See which waterways are most at-risk
- Advocacy group American Rivers compiles a yearly list of America's most endangered rivers.
- This year's most endangered river is the Colorado River. It's the river's second year topping the list.
- Others include rivers in Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Florida.
Climate change and development projects have put many of America's rivers at risk, but some face greater danger than others, according to a new ranking.
American Rivers, an advocacy group based in Washington D.C. that works with communities to reduce river pollution and create policies that promote clean water and reduce flood risks, compiles a yearly list of the country's most endangered rivers.
This year, the group's report placed special attention on how threats to the rivers disproportionately affect communities of color and Tribal nations.
The organization named the Colorado River the most at-risk in the U.S. The federal government in 2021 declared its first water shortage on the essential Western waterway, which has been the subject of interstate litigation and hundreds of millions in spending.
Here's a list of other rivers the organization deems at risk and what to know about them.
Fact check: In Norway,
|
land is rising faster than sea level is rising
Sea level rise: Southeast US has seen rapid sea level rise since 2010, studies say. Will it keep going?
#1 Colorado River
First on the list is Arizona's Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.
According to the organization, the river has been plagued with outdated water management, over-use and of course, climate change.
This is the river's second time topping the list.
"This year, however, the Grand Canyon is of specific focus due to severe drought," the organization wrote. "As critical decisions are made about water management along the Colorado River, decision makers must recognize the environment as a critical component of human health and public safety – absolutely vital for the 40 million people that depend on the river for drinking water."
Another reason the river topped the list is a smallmouth bass invasion, according to the Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network. Bass that may have slipped through the Glen Canyon Dam’s hydropower turbines from Lake Powell reproduced in the river, making things worse for already threatened humpback chubs in the Grand Canyon.
#2 Ohio River
American Rivers ranked the Ohio River at No. 2 due to pollution and climate change.
The river flows through Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois.
According to the advocacy group, pollution has threatened the lives of the 5 million people who live there and rely on the river for clean water.
The organization cites industrialization and pollution threatening the upper river, exemplified by a Norfolk Southern train carrying almost 900,000 pounds of vinyl chloride, a human carcinogen, that derailed in Ohio and released chemicals into the air.
#3 Pearl River
The Pearl River in Mississippi has been threatened by the One Lake development project, American Rivers said.
According to the Associated Press, the flood project is estimated to cost $345 million and involves the dredging and excavation of the Pearl River to widen, deepen and straighten 7 miles of the river. Waterfront property could also be developed along the new 1,500-acre lake.
The project is supposed to prevent a flood like the Pearl River flood of 1979, which caused millions of dollars in damages, the National Weather Service said.
Locals have pushed back against the development project, the Associated Press reported. Concerned citizens think damming the Pearl River would decrease flow downstream and harm endangered species and oyster production.
American Rivers said the project would worsen urban flooding, exacerbate the ongoing water crisis and take away important resources from marginalized communities.
#4 Snake River
Ranking at No. 4 is the Snake River in Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
Salmon are nearly extinct in the Columbia-Snake River basin, a result of four dams that provide irrigation transportation and hydropower benefits to the Northwest, the group said.
According to the group, dam removal is vital in the protection of fish habitats and honoring commitments to nearby Tribal Nations.
#5 Clark Fork River
The Clark Fork River in Montana came in at No. 5 due to pulp mill pollution.
A former pulp mill has leaked toxic chemicals into the groundwater and increased the risk of catastrophic flooding, American Rivers said, putting public health, fish and wildlife at risk.
According to the Clark Fork Valley Press and Mineral Independent, the Clark Fork River has historically been polluted by hard rock mining, which led to heavy metal contamination in the river including copper, zinc and arsenic.
In 2020, biologist Ladd Knotek told the outlet that local trout fisheries were mostly threatened by pollution, warming water temperature and the introduction of fish like northern pike, smallmouth bass, walleye, yellow perch and sunfish.
#6 Eel River
The Eel River in California is also at risk due to dams, American Rivers said.
Similar to the Snake River, the group pushed for dam removal to protect fish habitats and maintain treaties with Tribal Nations.
Two "obsolete" dams owned by Pacific Gas and Electric harm salmon migration and river habitat, the group says.
Populations of Chinook salmon, steelhead, and Pacific lamprey are in decline on the river, the organization stated.
#7 Lehigh River
Pennsylvania's Lehigh River ranked No. 7 on the list due to what American Rivers calls "poorly planned development" that threatens clean water, fish and wildlife habitat, rural and local communities and open space.
The development turns critical forests and wetlands into hard surfaces such as roofs and parking lots, American Rivers said.
"These impervious surfaces prevent rainwater from soaking into the ground," the group wrote on its website. "Instead, warm, salty, dirty water runs off the pavement directly into the river and its tributaries. These impacts to water quality, and the paving of the remaining open space in the urban stretches in the Lehigh Valley, disproportionately impact downstream communities that have already borne the brunt of environmental degradation and pollution."
#8 Chilkat and Klehini rivers
Ranking at No. 8 are Alaska's Chilkat and Klehini rivers.
According to American Rivers, there is an ongoing development called the Palmer Project and its next phase is set to begin in summer 2023. The plan is to dig a mile-long tunnel under the Saksaia Glacier, directly above the Klehini River.
"The excavation will create huge waste storage piles and contaminated wastewater discharges in an area with extremely high levels of sulfide deposits, rainfall, snowfall, and seismic activity," the advocacy group wrote on its website.
The group said acidic wastewater contaminated with heavy metals, hydrocarbons from vehicles and drilling muds and explosive residues will flow into creeks and the Chilkat and Klehini rivers.
The valley is home to the largest group of bald eagles in the world.
#9 Rio Gallinas
Rio Gallinas in New Mexico ranked No. 9 this year. American Rivers cited climate change as a main perpetrator threatening the river.
The river provides drinking water for 13,000 people in Las Vegas and is also a source of nutrients for plants and wildlife in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
Last year, a wildfire swept through the area and destroyed 341,735 acres, American Rivers said, including part of the upper Rio Gallinas watershed.
"Community-focused, coordinated restoration efforts are imperative in protecting the future of the river," the organization wrote.
#10 Okefenokee Swamp
Last on the list is the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia and Florida.
Since 2019, a company called Twin Pines Minerals, LLC has sought permits to mine titanium less than 3 miles from the edge of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, reported the Savannah Morning News, part of the USA TODAY Network.
Environmental activists have said mining would lower water levels in the swamp, putting its ecosystem even more at risk due to drought and wildfires. The Okefenokee swamp is also part of the ancestral homeland of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, which opposes the mining.
Contributing: Dinah Voyles Pulver
|
You’re reading an excerpt from the Today’s WorldView newsletter. Sign up to get the rest free, including news from around the globe and interesting ideas and opinions to know, sent to your inbox every weekday.
This wave of economic uncertainty and subsequent workers’ action has reminded many of the “winter of discontent,” an infamously volatile period in 1978-1979. That phrase, a reference to a line from William Shakespeare’s “Richard III,” was popularized as a way to describe the moment by Larry Lamb, the editor of the popular right-leaning Sun tabloid. It came to summarize the mass disruption that ultimately led to a new government led by Margaret Thatcher — who brought with her radical laissez-faire economic policies that would shatter Britain’s postwar consensus politics.
There are major differences between the winter of discontent 43 years ago and the one Britain is experiencing today. Britain’s unions were still profoundly powerful beasts in the 1970s. Today, their membership has halved and fallen to below 10 percent in some key industries. They have little ability or even will to produce the widespread chaos caused by the original winter of discontent.
For some, this suggests that labor action is a futile exercise. In the Telegraph, historian Simon Heffer wrote that “strikes don’t work now,” adding that innovations such as telework naturally limited the disruptiveness of strikes. “The shrunken unions will find before too long that fighting 21st-century battles with 19th-century weapons simply won’t work,” Heffer wrote.
But that was far from the only thing to have changed. The 1978-1979 strikes, which saw widespread action in favor of higher salaries in the place of government-backed wage caps designed to avoid inflation, were a fatal problem for the union-backed Labour government of James Callaghan. They contributed to the landslide Conservative victory of Thatcher in the summer of 1979. Thatcher, now an icon of the right on both sides of the Atlantic, soon crushed the unions’ power.
This time, however, the Conservatives are already in charge. In fact, they have been for almost 13 years. The power of unions has already been rolled back; academics describe the laws governing British industrial action as already the strictest in Europe. The laissez-faire economic revolution already happened and Britain has been run by austerity budgets, on and off, for over a decade.
Britain’s government has so far tried to repeat Thatcher’s victory over the unions. Last summer, as strikes began to disrupt British life, Grant Shapps, Britain’s business secretary, wrote on Twitter: “We must make union barons think twice before wielding the strike weapon — and complete Margaret Thatcher’s unfinished business.” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak later introduced new “anti-strike” legislation designed to make it harder to take industrial action.
But in the original winter of discontent, as trash piled up on the streets and bodies lay unburied amid strikes, the public lost sympathy for workers. There’s little sign of that happening this time. A Sky News/YouGov poll released this week found that British support for unions had risen two percentage points to 37 percent, while the opposition was falling — 34 percent felt unions’ impact was negative in November; that dropped to 28 percent in January.
As Steven Fielding, emeritus professor of political history at the University of Nottingham, told my colleague Karla Adam, the prime minister appeared to have been caught by surprise. “He’s basically tried a retread of Margaret Thatcher, but that’s not working,” Fielding said.
The strikes aren’t just about wages, but bigger questions of economic fairness and political legitimacy. Another YouGov poll found that there was a “very strong relationship between support for strikes and whether a profession is seen as making a contribution to the country.” Many are particularly sympathetic to the plight of the nurses and ambulance staff who support Britain’s beloved National Health Service, where years of underfunding have left to a very visible crisis.
Union bosses were once condemned in Britain as greedy, unelected bureaucrats. But Sunak’s government suffers from its own democratic credibility problems and far more significant allegations of corruption. The British prime minister never won a national election to occupy that role and, despite the fact his political party is historically underwater in polls, there may not be a general election before 2025.
Sunak himself has enormous personal wealth, with an estimated fortune put at $830 million. That certainly makes it hard for him to argue that a nurse shouldn’t get a significant pay raise (nurses unions have said that due to years of below-inflation pay increases, their real salaries are now one-fifth lower than they were in 2010). And his colleagues make it worse.
On Sunday, Sunak fired the chairman of his Conservative Party, Nadhim Zahawi, following an ethics investigation into Zahawi’s tax affairs. The chairman came under scrutiny for settling a multimillion-dollar tax bill, along with a penalty, while he was Britain’s finance minister.
Former prime minister Boris Johnson has faced yet another scandal recently, with reports that a former banker later appointed to head the BBC by his government had been involved in talks for a loan of up to $990,000 to Johnson. Despite the scandal, the high-profile leader was traveling to Kyiv and Washington this week — with the cost of his security in Ukraine borne by the taxpayer.
The original winter of discontent may be looked back upon fondly by Conservatives, but Sunak should fear this one.
Harvey Wiltshire, an expert on Shakespeare at Royal Holloway University of London, wrote recently for the Conversation that the original meaning has become muddied over time. Uttered by the titular Richard, then the Duke of Gloucester, it’s come to suggest the hard times before a “glorious summer.” But Richard is a tyrant, “hell-bent on securing power” who “increasingly jeopardizes the well-being of his country to serve his own ends,” Wiltshire writes.
The lesson is not of the dangers of a chaotic society, he adds — but of an irresponsible government.
|
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You’re reading an excerpt from the Today’s WorldView newsletter. Sign up to get the rest free, including news from around the globe and interesting ideas and opinions to know, sent to your inbox every weekday.
This wave of economic uncertainty and subsequent workers’ action has reminded many of the “winter of discontent,” an infamously volatile period in 1978-1979. That phrase, a reference to a line from William Shakespeare’s “Richard III,” was popularized as a way to describe the moment by Larry Lamb, the editor of the popular right-leaning Sun tabloid. It came to summarize the mass disruption that ultimately led to a new government led by Margaret Thatcher — who brought with her radical laissez-faire economic policies that would shatter Britain’s postwar consensus politics.
There are major differences between the winter of discontent 43 years ago and the one Britain is experiencing today. Britain’s unions were still profoundly powerful beasts in the 1970s. Today, their membership has halved and fallen to below 10 percent in some key industries. They have little ability or even will to produce the widespread chaos caused by the original winter of discontent.
For some, this suggests that labor action is a
|
futile exercise. In the Telegraph, historian Simon Heffer wrote that “strikes don’t work now,” adding that innovations such as telework naturally limited the disruptiveness of strikes. “The shrunken unions will find before too long that fighting 21st-century battles with 19th-century weapons simply won’t work,” Heffer wrote.
But that was far from the only thing to have changed. The 1978-1979 strikes, which saw widespread action in favor of higher salaries in the place of government-backed wage caps designed to avoid inflation, were a fatal problem for the union-backed Labour government of James Callaghan. They contributed to the landslide Conservative victory of Thatcher in the summer of 1979. Thatcher, now an icon of the right on both sides of the Atlantic, soon crushed the unions’ power.
This time, however, the Conservatives are already in charge. In fact, they have been for almost 13 years. The power of unions has already been rolled back; academics describe the laws governing British industrial action as already the strictest in Europe. The laissez-faire economic revolution already happened and Britain has been run by austerity budgets, on and off, for over a decade.
Britain’s government has so far tried to repeat Thatcher’s victory over the unions. Last summer, as strikes began to disrupt British life, Grant Shapps, Britain’s business secretary, wrote on Twitter: “We must make union barons think twice before wielding the strike weapon — and complete Margaret Thatcher’s unfinished business.” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak later introduced new “anti-strike” legislation designed to make it harder to take industrial action.
But in the original winter of discontent, as trash piled up on the streets and bodies lay unburied amid strikes, the public lost sympathy for workers. There’s little sign of that happening this time. A Sky News/YouGov poll released this week found that British support for unions had risen two percentage points to 37 percent, while the opposition was falling — 34 percent felt unions’ impact was negative in November; that dropped to 28 percent in January.
As Steven Fielding, emeritus professor of political history at the University of Nottingham, told my colleague Karla Adam, the prime minister appeared to have been caught by surprise. “He’s basically tried a retread of Margaret Thatcher, but that’s not working,” Fielding said.
The strikes aren’t just about wages, but bigger questions of economic fairness and political legitimacy. Another YouGov poll found that there was a “very strong relationship between support for strikes and whether a profession is seen as making a contribution to the country.” Many are particularly sympathetic to the plight of the nurses and ambulance staff who support Britain’s beloved National Health Service, where years of underfunding have left to a very visible crisis.
Union bosses were once condemned in Britain as greedy, unelected bureaucrats. But Sunak’s government suffers from its own democratic credibility problems and far more significant allegations of corruption. The British prime minister never won a national election to occupy that role and, despite the fact his political party is historically underwater in polls, there may not be a general election before 2025.
Sunak himself has enormous personal wealth, with an estimated fortune put at $830 million. That certainly makes it hard for him to argue that a nurse shouldn’t get a significant pay raise (nurses unions have said that due to years of below-inflation pay increases, their real salaries are now one-fifth lower than they were in 2010). And his colleagues make it worse.
On Sunday, Sunak fired the chairman of his Conservative Party, Nadhim Zahawi, following an ethics investigation into Zahawi’s tax affairs. The chairman came under scrutiny for settling a multimillion-dollar tax bill, along with a penalty, while he was Britain’s finance minister.
Former prime minister Boris Johnson has faced yet another scandal recently, with reports that a former banker later appointed to head the BBC by his government had been involved in talks for a loan of up to $990,000 to Johnson. Despite the scandal, the high-profile leader was traveling to Kyiv and Washington this week — with the cost of his security in Ukraine borne by the taxpayer.
The original winter of discontent may be looked back upon fondly by Conservatives, but Sunak should fear this one.
Harvey Wiltshire, an expert on Shakespeare at Royal Holloway University of London, wrote recently for the Conversation that the original meaning has become muddied over time. Uttered by the titular Richard, then the Duke of Gloucester, it’s come to suggest the hard times before a “glorious summer.” But Richard is a tyrant, “hell-bent on securing power” who “increasingly jeopardizes the well-being of his country to serve his own ends,” Wiltshire writes.
The lesson is not of the dangers of a chaotic society, he adds — but of an irresponsible government.
|
January 31, 2023 News Editor Spotlight Comments Offon Worst Bird Flu Outbreak in U.S. History Kills Millions
RIVERDALE, Maryland, January 31, 2023 (ENS) – Wild birds and commercially raised chickens alike are dropping dead from bird flu by the millions across the United States. Red-tailed hawks and great horned owls in Wyoming, American and Canadian wild birds along the Atlantic coast and across the Midwest, and 58.2 million birds in commercial and backyard poultry flocks in 47 states have died in the past year, reports the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
That number of 58.2 million birds affected is way over the largest previous bird flu outbreak in the United States in 2015 that affected 50.5 million birds in just 21 states.
Domestic poultry that can be affected include chickens; turkeys; ring-necked pheasants; ducks; geese; common, Japanese, or bobwhite quail; Indian peafowl; chukar or grey partridge; pigeons; ostrich; and guinea fowl.
The National Chicken Council, a U.S. trade association, assures consumers that the food supply is safe, saying, “All U.S. flocks are tested year-round for avian influenza, and if a single bird in a flock were to test positive for avian flu, then none of those birds would be allowed to enter the food supply.”
Wild turkeys, ducks and geese are at greater risk than some other species, it appears. Confirmed cases of the avian flu have killed wild waterfowl in Brevard, Volusia and Indian River counties, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission first announced in February 2022.
Bird flu is caused by influenza Type A viruses. Avian-origin influenza viruses have combinations of two groups of proteins on the surface of the influenza A virus – hemagglutinin or “H” proteins, of which there are 16 (H1-H16), and neuraminidase or “N” proteins, of which there are nine (N1-N9).
Avian influenza viruses are classified as either “low pathogenic” or “highly pathogenic” based on their genetic features and the severity of the disease they cause in poultry. Most viruses are of low pathogenicity, meaning they cause no signs or only minor clinical signs of inflection in poultry.
But the bird flu now sweeping the country is H5N1, considered to be a highly pathogenic avian influenza, HPAI – and it is not confined to birds.
Bird Flu Spreads to Mammals
Scientists have documented the first cases in wild grizzly bears. The three juvenile bears, which were euthanized last fall in Montana, later tested positive for the virus, the state’s Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department announced January 17.
These were the first documented cases of HPAI in grizzly bears, but on Alaska’s Kodiak Island an infected Kodiak bear was found last December.
Harbor seals have been found with the disease in Maine; a bottlenose dolphin became sick in Florida; skunks, opossums, raccoons, coyotes, and bobcats have been reported sick with avian influenza across the country, and foxes have been infected with the virus in Michigan, Alaska, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and New York.
“We suspect these mammals probably get the virus from consuming infected birds,” said Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks veterinarian Jennifer Ramsey.
Infection may cause illness, including severe disease and death in some cases.
Yes, Bird Flu Can Jump to Unwary Humans
As of January 5, 2023, a total of 240 cases of human infection with the H5N1 bird flu virus have been reported from four countries within the Western Pacific Region since January 2003. Of these cases, 135 were fatal, resulting in a case fatality rate of 56 percent.
On January 10, Ecuador reported its first case of human transmission of avian influenza.
Although the overall risk to the general public from the current bird flu outbreaks remains low, health officials say, it is important that people take preventive measures around infected or potentially infected wild birds and poultry to prevent the spread of bird flu viruses to themselves or to other birds and other animals, including pets.
This applies not just to workplace or wildlife settings but potentially to household settings where people have backyard flocks or pet birds with potential exposures to wild or domestic infected birds.
To prevent infection, people should avoid unprotected contact with wild or domestic birds and poultry that look sick or have died.
Bird flu infections in people happen most often after close, prolonged, and unprotected contact with infected birds or surfaces contaminated with bird flu viruses.
If contact cannot be avoided, people should minimize contact with wild birds or sick or dead poultry by taking the following precautions:
- – Wear personal protective equipment, PPE, like disposable gloves, boots, an N95 respirator if available, or if not available, wear a well-fitting facemask, such as a surgical mask, and eye protection. Specific CDC and U.S. Department of Agriculture PPE recommendations are available at “Backyard Flock Owners: Take Steps to Protect Yourself from Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)”. To access, click here.
- – Don’t touch sick or dead birds, their feces or litter, or any surface or water source such as ponds, waterers, buckets, pans, and troughs that might be contaminated with their bodily fluids without wearing personal protective equipment.
- – While cleaning and disinfecting contaminated premises, avoid stirring up dust, bird waste, and feathers to prevent virus from dispersing into the air.
- – Avoid touching your mouth, nose, or eyes during and after contact with birds or surfaces that may be contaminated with saliva, mucous or feces from wild or domestic birds/poultry.
- – Wash your hands with soap and water after touching birds/poultry.
- – Change your clothes before contact with healthy domestic poultry and after handling wild birds, captive wild birds, farmed birds, and other pet birds. Then, throw away the gloves and facemask, and wash your hands with soap and water.
U.S. Preparing a New Environmental Impact Statement
On January 18, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced its intention to prepare an environmental impact statement, EIS, to examine the potential environmental effects of the agency’s response activities to HPAI outbreaks in commercial and backyard poultry operations in the United States.
APHIS is requesting public comment to further define the scope of the EIS, identify reasonable alternatives and potential issues, as well as relevant information, studies, and/or analyses that APHIS should consider in the EIS.
Additional information on this action can be found here.
HPAI Felt Around the World
New Outbreaks in Poultry
The most recent report from the World Organisation for Animal Health, WOAH, based in Paris shows that during the five weeks between December 2, 2022 and January 5, 2023 a total of 288 new outbreaks in poultry were reported by 17 countries: Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Niger, Poland, South Korea, Spain, United Kingdom and United States.
New Outbreaks in Wild Birds
During the five-week period covered by WOAH’s latest report, a total of 139 outbreaks in non-poultry were reported by 24 countries and territories: Austria, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, France, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and United States.
The current HPAI epidemic season continues with about 290 outbreaks being reported in poultry and about 140 in nonpoultry birds over the five weeks covered by the report, mainly in Europe, and also in the Americas, Asia and Africa.
Many of the countries in these regions are experiencing a larger number of outbreaks than occurred last year at the same time. Outbreaks are also spreading further to Central and South American countries.
WOAH points out that the first occurrence of HPAI in Panama, Honduras, Venezuela and the recurrence in Chile after 20 years of absence happened during these five weeks, all in nonpoultry birds. In Peru, the disease was reported in poultry during the period covered by this report, in addition to nonpoultry infections previously reported.
Over 10 million birds died or were culled worldwide during the five week period between December 2, 2022 and January 5, 2023.
Featured image: Wood duck drake and a flock of mallards overwintering on a small creek in South Dakota, 2014, the year before the bird flu wave of 2015. (Photo by Tom Koerner courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Environment News Service (ENS) © 2023 All Rights Reserved.
Reblogged this on Exposing the Big Game.
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January 31, 2023 News Editor Spotlight Comments Offon Worst Bird Flu Outbreak in U.S. History Kills Millions
RIVERDALE, Maryland, January 31, 2023 (ENS) – Wild birds and commercially raised chickens alike are dropping dead from bird flu by the millions across the United States. Red-tailed hawks and great horned owls in Wyoming, American and Canadian wild birds along the Atlantic coast and across the Midwest, and 58.2 million birds in commercial and backyard poultry flocks in 47 states have died in the past year, reports the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
That number of 58.2 million birds affected is way over the largest previous bird flu outbreak in the United States in 2015 that affected 50.5 million birds in just 21 states.
Domestic poultry that can be affected include chickens; turkeys; ring-necked pheasants; ducks; geese; common, Japanese, or bobwhite quail; Indian peafowl; chukar or grey partridge; pigeons; ostrich; and guinea fowl.
The National Chicken Council, a U
|
.S. trade association, assures consumers that the food supply is safe, saying, “All U.S. flocks are tested year-round for avian influenza, and if a single bird in a flock were to test positive for avian flu, then none of those birds would be allowed to enter the food supply.”
Wild turkeys, ducks and geese are at greater risk than some other species, it appears. Confirmed cases of the avian flu have killed wild waterfowl in Brevard, Volusia and Indian River counties, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission first announced in February 2022.
Bird flu is caused by influenza Type A viruses. Avian-origin influenza viruses have combinations of two groups of proteins on the surface of the influenza A virus – hemagglutinin or “H” proteins, of which there are 16 (H1-H16), and neuraminidase or “N” proteins, of which there are nine (N1-N9).
Avian influenza viruses are classified as either “low pathogenic” or “highly pathogenic” based on their genetic features and the severity of the disease they cause in poultry. Most viruses are of low pathogenicity, meaning they cause no signs or only minor clinical signs of inflection in poultry.
But the bird flu now sweeping the country is H5N1, considered to be a highly pathogenic avian influenza, HPAI – and it is not confined to birds.
Bird Flu Spreads to Mammals
Scientists have documented the first cases in wild grizzly bears. The three juvenile bears, which were euthanized last fall in Montana, later tested positive for the virus, the state’s Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department announced January 17.
These were the first documented cases of HPAI in grizzly bears, but on Alaska’s Kodiak Island an infected Kodiak bear was found last December.
Harbor seals have been found with the disease in Maine; a bottlenose dolphin became sick in Florida; skunks, opossums, raccoons, coyotes, and bobcats have been reported sick with avian influenza across the country, and foxes have been infected with the virus in Michigan, Alaska, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and New York.
“We suspect these mammals probably get the virus from consuming infected birds,” said Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks veterinarian Jennifer Ramsey.
Infection may cause illness, including severe disease and death in some cases.
Yes, Bird Flu Can Jump to Unwary Humans
As of January 5, 2023, a total of 240 cases of human infection with the H5N1 bird flu virus have been reported from four countries within the Western Pacific Region since January 2003. Of these cases, 135 were fatal, resulting in a case fatality rate of 56 percent.
On January 10, Ecuador reported its first case of human transmission of avian influenza.
Although the overall risk to the general public from the current bird flu outbreaks remains low, health officials say, it is important that people take preventive measures around infected or potentially infected wild birds and poultry to prevent the spread of bird flu viruses to themselves or to other birds and other animals, including pets.
This applies not just to workplace or wildlife settings but potentially to household settings where people have backyard flocks or pet birds with potential exposures to wild or domestic infected birds.
To prevent infection, people should avoid unprotected contact with wild or domestic birds and poultry that look sick or have died.
Bird flu infections in people happen most often after close, prolonged, and unprotected contact with infected birds or surfaces contaminated with bird flu viruses.
If contact cannot be avoided, people should minimize contact with wild birds or sick or dead poultry by taking the following precautions:
- – Wear personal protective equipment, PPE, like disposable gloves, boots, an N95 respirator if available, or if not available, wear a well-fitting facemask, such as a surgical mask, and eye protection. Specific CDC and U.S. Department of Agriculture PPE recommendations are available at “Backyard Flock Owners: Take Steps to Protect Yourself from Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)”. To access, click here.
- – Don’t touch sick or dead birds, their feces or litter, or any surface or water source such as ponds, waterers, buckets, pans, and troughs that might be contaminated with their bodily fluids without wearing personal protective equipment.
- – While cleaning and disinfecting contaminated premises, avoid stirring up dust, bird waste, and feathers to prevent virus from dispersing into the air.
- – Avoid touching your mouth, nose, or eyes during and after contact with birds or surfaces that may be contaminated with saliva, mucous or feces from wild or domestic birds/poultry.
- – Wash your hands with soap and water after touching birds/poultry.
- – Change your clothes before contact with healthy domestic poultry and after handling wild birds, captive wild birds, farmed birds, and other pet birds. Then, throw away the gloves and facemask, and wash your hands with soap and water.
U.S. Preparing a New Environmental Impact Statement
On January 18, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced its intention to prepare an environmental impact statement, EIS, to examine the potential environmental effects of the agency’s response activities to HPAI outbreaks in commercial and backyard poultry operations in the United States.
APHIS is requesting public comment to further define the scope of the EIS, identify reasonable alternatives and potential issues, as well as relevant information, studies, and/or analyses that APHIS should consider in the EIS.
Additional information on this action can be found here.
HPAI Felt Around the World
New Outbreaks in Poultry
The most recent report from the World Organisation for Animal Health, WOAH, based in Paris shows that during the five weeks between December 2, 2022 and January 5, 2023 a total of 288 new outbreaks in poultry were reported by 17 countries: Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Niger, Poland, South Korea, Spain, United Kingdom and United States.
New Outbreaks in Wild Birds
During the five-week period covered by WOAH’s latest report, a total of 139 outbreaks in non-poultry were reported by 24 countries and territories: Austria, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, France, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and United States.
The current HPAI epidemic season continues with about 290 outbreaks being reported in poultry and about 140 in nonpoultry birds over the five weeks covered by the report, mainly in Europe, and also in the Americas, Asia and Africa.
Many of the countries in these regions are experiencing a larger number of outbreaks than occurred last year at the same time. Outbreaks are also spreading further to Central and South American countries.
WOAH points out that the first occurrence of HPAI in Panama, Honduras, Venezuela and the recurrence in Chile after 20 years of absence happened during these five weeks, all in nonpoultry birds. In Peru, the disease was reported in poultry during the period covered by this report, in addition to nonpoultry infections previously reported.
Over 10 million birds died or were culled worldwide during the five week period between December 2, 2022 and January 5, 2023.
Featured image: Wood duck drake and a flock of mallards overwintering on a small creek in South Dakota, 2014, the year before the bird flu wave of 2015. (Photo by Tom Koerner courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Environment News Service (ENS) © 2023 All Rights Reserved.
Reblogged this on Exposing the Big Game.
|
Rethinking Quindaro: A Kansas ACLU report shines a new light on a 'truly democratic place'
Quindaro in Wyandotte County was once a thriving, multiracial community, inextricably linked to the region’s history before, during and after the Civil War. This week, the ACLU of Kansas is releasing a carefully curated, more than 40-page analysis of the former township.
The ACLU of Kansas is asking people to study the history of Quindaro to envision a more just and equitable Kansas.
Quindaro, the organization argues, is more than a site of historic significance, known mostly as a stop along the Underground Railroad on the Kansas bank of the Missouri River in what is now Wyandotte County.
Quindaro was an idea.
The organization is releasing “Quindaro Report: Same Water Coming ‘Round,” a carefully curated, more than 40-page analysis of the former township. Quindaro was once a thriving, multiracial community, inextricably linked to the region’s history before, during and after the Civil War.
“The fact is that they were able to come together to share this common vision of a truly democratic place that tells us that it can be done, and it gives us a model to look to,” said Micah Kubic, executive director of the ACLU of Kansas.
Every city in the nation likely has such a marker, a moment in time when more equitable thinking and action prevailed, offering a chance for a fairer, more just society to evolve.
For this region, Quindaro was determined to be that place.
“Quindaro was really that metaphor for a way of thinking about how the state started, how it’s gone and where we should go,” Kubic said.
The report was authored by Mark McCormick, deputy director of strategic initiatives for the ACLU of Kansas.
Quindaro’s struggles are documented, offering insight into the many factors that undermined and fractured the township. Key factors include the highway that divided it, legal segregation and economic isolation.
Many of the impacts fall under what’s often noted as engrained systemic racism.
The project’s genesis came while Kubic was reading The 1619 Project and began thinking about what a similar framework for this region would be.
The 1619 Project is a Pulitzer Prize-winning body of work produced by The New York Times magazine. The date 1619 denotes when the first ship carrying enslaved Africans arrived in Virginia and when the people were later sold to colonists.
At its core, it’s a framework for seeing the nation through the consequences of slavery, for documenting the importance of the contributions of enslaved people in creating this country’s wealth and all that followed for their descendants.
“We’re putting it out there as a way of hoping to sort of shape the debate and the conversation and to get people thinking about what Kansas can be,” Kubic said of the report.
Eventually, a symposium might be organized around the history of Quindaro, Kubic said.
But at this point, the ACLU will ensure that Quindaro, its original goals, are infused with the organization’s work.
Included in the report are descriptions of previous efforts, and many of its recent legal filings seeking to ensure voting rights are upheld in Kansas.
The establishment of Quindaro predated the state’s founding by five years.
Initially, Quindaro flourished, growing to more than 1,000 residents with thriving businesses to serve their needs.
Today, it is an archaeological site, often referred to as “ruins.”
But the site’s history is a way to also study the importance of the Fugitive Slave Act, the Missouri Compromise and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Each had a role in the Civil War.
Also discussed are the accomplishments of people who were instrumental to Quindaro’s story.
There was Abelard Guthrie and his wife, Nancy Quindaro Guthrie, the town’s namesake.
More recent history is also covered, such as the building of Interstate 635, which came about in the 1960s, cutting through the area.
Kubic spoke to the bravery of Quindaro’s original inhabitants and their vision of their community and this country as a “free and equal multiracial democracy.”
“If we’re talking about the future, we’ve got to think about the past,” Kubic said.
In many ways, it’s a conversation that has already begun.
Across the state line, the city of Kansas City has embarked on a study to decide what it could hold itself responsible for in terms of reparations. A mayor’s commission has been appointed to study the issue and make recommendations.
The city’s work began after years of similar study led by the local chapter of the National Black United Front in Kansas City.
The ACLU is not shying away from the fact that the 1619 Project – indeed any aspect of studying U.S. history – has become controversial. One common argument is that studying slavery and racism, in general, makes white people feel bad or places blame.
Making people think deeply often does come with some resistance, Kubic noted.
“I think the challenge for white people is to understand this history, to know the history, to know the way that privilege and systemic racism and structures have created the outcomes that we have today.”
This story was originally published by Flatland, a fellow member of the KC Media Collective.
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Rethinking Quindaro: A Kansas ACLU report shines a new light on a 'truly democratic place'
Quindaro in Wyandotte County was once a thriving, multiracial community, inextricably linked to the region’s history before, during and after the Civil War. This week, the ACLU of Kansas is releasing a carefully curated, more than 40-page analysis of the former township.
The ACLU of Kansas is asking people to study the history of Quindaro to envision a more just and equitable Kansas.
Quindaro, the organization argues, is more than a site of historic significance, known mostly as a stop along the Underground Railroad on the Kansas bank of the Missouri River in what is now Wyandotte County.
Quindaro was an idea.
The organization is releasing “Quindaro Report: Same Water Coming ‘Round,” a carefully curated, more than 40-page analysis of the former township. Quindaro was once a thriving, multiracial community, inextricably linked to the region’s history before, during and after the Civil War.
“The fact is that they were able to come together to share this common vision of a truly democratic place that tells us that it can be done
|
, and it gives us a model to look to,” said Micah Kubic, executive director of the ACLU of Kansas.
Every city in the nation likely has such a marker, a moment in time when more equitable thinking and action prevailed, offering a chance for a fairer, more just society to evolve.
For this region, Quindaro was determined to be that place.
“Quindaro was really that metaphor for a way of thinking about how the state started, how it’s gone and where we should go,” Kubic said.
The report was authored by Mark McCormick, deputy director of strategic initiatives for the ACLU of Kansas.
Quindaro’s struggles are documented, offering insight into the many factors that undermined and fractured the township. Key factors include the highway that divided it, legal segregation and economic isolation.
Many of the impacts fall under what’s often noted as engrained systemic racism.
The project’s genesis came while Kubic was reading The 1619 Project and began thinking about what a similar framework for this region would be.
The 1619 Project is a Pulitzer Prize-winning body of work produced by The New York Times magazine. The date 1619 denotes when the first ship carrying enslaved Africans arrived in Virginia and when the people were later sold to colonists.
At its core, it’s a framework for seeing the nation through the consequences of slavery, for documenting the importance of the contributions of enslaved people in creating this country’s wealth and all that followed for their descendants.
“We’re putting it out there as a way of hoping to sort of shape the debate and the conversation and to get people thinking about what Kansas can be,” Kubic said of the report.
Eventually, a symposium might be organized around the history of Quindaro, Kubic said.
But at this point, the ACLU will ensure that Quindaro, its original goals, are infused with the organization’s work.
Included in the report are descriptions of previous efforts, and many of its recent legal filings seeking to ensure voting rights are upheld in Kansas.
The establishment of Quindaro predated the state’s founding by five years.
Initially, Quindaro flourished, growing to more than 1,000 residents with thriving businesses to serve their needs.
Today, it is an archaeological site, often referred to as “ruins.”
But the site’s history is a way to also study the importance of the Fugitive Slave Act, the Missouri Compromise and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Each had a role in the Civil War.
Also discussed are the accomplishments of people who were instrumental to Quindaro’s story.
There was Abelard Guthrie and his wife, Nancy Quindaro Guthrie, the town’s namesake.
More recent history is also covered, such as the building of Interstate 635, which came about in the 1960s, cutting through the area.
Kubic spoke to the bravery of Quindaro’s original inhabitants and their vision of their community and this country as a “free and equal multiracial democracy.”
“If we’re talking about the future, we’ve got to think about the past,” Kubic said.
In many ways, it’s a conversation that has already begun.
Across the state line, the city of Kansas City has embarked on a study to decide what it could hold itself responsible for in terms of reparations. A mayor’s commission has been appointed to study the issue and make recommendations.
The city’s work began after years of similar study led by the local chapter of the National Black United Front in Kansas City.
The ACLU is not shying away from the fact that the 1619 Project – indeed any aspect of studying U.S. history – has become controversial. One common argument is that studying slavery and racism, in general, makes white people feel bad or places blame.
Making people think deeply often does come with some resistance, Kubic noted.
“I think the challenge for white people is to understand this history, to know the history, to know the way that privilege and systemic racism and structures have created the outcomes that we have today.”
This story was originally published by Flatland, a fellow member of the KC Media Collective.
|
Sausalito was once known for its shipbuilding prowess when hundreds of steel transport vessels, known as Liberty Ships, splashed into its waters during World War II.
But the nearly silent splash that occasioned the launching of Amana, or Seven Seas, was an entirely different affair Saturday afternoon.
The 30-foot, hand-built boat—made from tule reeds collected in California’s Lake County by a Pomo man—slipped from the ways of Sausalito’s Galilee Harbor into San Francisco Bay with its builder aboard as a crowd looked on.
For the past several weeks, Jin Ishikawa, a Japanese explorer, has been building the prototype vessel as part of his mission to sail a similar 60-foot boat to Hawaii in 2025.
“We want to re-create the navigation system of ancient Californians,” Ishikawa said aboard the tightly bound reed craft, as it swayed in the water at its new berth.
His plan is mostly to drift with the tides and use the stars to make his way to the islands, once he has built the larger boat.
“California has had the technology to build and move boats for 13,000 years. And, if you ride the winds and ocean currents, you can easily reach Hawaii. We will re-create the ancient reed boats used in California and examine the possibility of a new ocean route for Hawaiian immigration,” Ishikawa’s website, Expedition Amana, explained.
He’s no stranger to adverse conditions in out-of-the-way corners of the world. Although Ishikawa was born in Chiba prefecture and studied English literature, once he’d crossed the Sahara desert alone at 23, he said he couldn't go back to normal life. He’s spent the last 30 years working and fundraising to pay for his adventures, which have included a solo canoe trip down South American rivers and a Pacific Ocean crossing in another, similar reed boat.
His latest plan was hatched more than four years ago, but the pandemic put a halt to the boat’s construction.
That idea and the boat have precedents.
Thor Heyerdahl, a notable Norwegian explorer, built a number of similar vessels to prove that ancient societies could cross oceans and hence potentially have links.
Called Kon-Tiki, Heyerdahl’s vessel sailed from South America to Polynesia in 1947. He later sailed a balsa wood raft across the Atlantic from Africa to the Caribbean. Many of his adventures were documented in films and books, although his theories have come under criticism from anthropologists who say there is ample evidence Polynesia was populated from east to west.
Ishikawa, who wants to prove only that ancient peoples had the technology for such journeys, has a connection to the Norwegian explorer that is more than theoretical. Kitín Muñoz—his mentor and the man who taught him to build reed boats—made a number of voyages similar to Heyerdahl's. Ishikawa joined one such voyage across the Pacific in 1999, he said. He also participated in a similar journey across the Atlantic.
Ishikawa said he has been drawn to empty, distant places like the sea and the desert because he finds that he is closer with the natural world in such locales.
But any connection to the open ocean will have to wait, as he’s first got to spend months traversing the San Francisco Bay in his prototype. Ishikawa’s summer will be spent on board tweaking everything from the boat’s sail size and position to its rudder location.
In 2025, he plans to build the real boat in Sausalito and then set sail with six others to Hawaii on a roughly 75-day voyage, all without modern navigation techniques.
“He just wants to prove that it’s possible,” Expedition Amana coordinator Stan Teng said.
Jonah Owen Lamb can be reached at <email-pii>
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Sausalito was once known for its shipbuilding prowess when hundreds of steel transport vessels, known as Liberty Ships, splashed into its waters during World War II.
But the nearly silent splash that occasioned the launching of Amana, or Seven Seas, was an entirely different affair Saturday afternoon.
The 30-foot, hand-built boat—made from tule reeds collected in California’s Lake County by a Pomo man—slipped from the ways of Sausalito’s Galilee Harbor into San Francisco Bay with its builder aboard as a crowd looked on.
For the past several weeks, Jin Ishikawa, a Japanese explorer, has been building the prototype vessel as part of his mission to sail a similar 60-foot boat to Hawaii in 2025.
“We want to re-create the navigation system of ancient Californians,” Ishikawa said aboard the tightly bound reed craft, as it swayed in the water at its new berth.
His plan is mostly to drift with the tides and use the stars to make his way to the islands, once he has built the larger boat.
“California has had the technology to build and move boats for 13,000 years. And, if you ride the winds and ocean currents,
|
you can easily reach Hawaii. We will re-create the ancient reed boats used in California and examine the possibility of a new ocean route for Hawaiian immigration,” Ishikawa’s website, Expedition Amana, explained.
He’s no stranger to adverse conditions in out-of-the-way corners of the world. Although Ishikawa was born in Chiba prefecture and studied English literature, once he’d crossed the Sahara desert alone at 23, he said he couldn't go back to normal life. He’s spent the last 30 years working and fundraising to pay for his adventures, which have included a solo canoe trip down South American rivers and a Pacific Ocean crossing in another, similar reed boat.
His latest plan was hatched more than four years ago, but the pandemic put a halt to the boat’s construction.
That idea and the boat have precedents.
Thor Heyerdahl, a notable Norwegian explorer, built a number of similar vessels to prove that ancient societies could cross oceans and hence potentially have links.
Called Kon-Tiki, Heyerdahl’s vessel sailed from South America to Polynesia in 1947. He later sailed a balsa wood raft across the Atlantic from Africa to the Caribbean. Many of his adventures were documented in films and books, although his theories have come under criticism from anthropologists who say there is ample evidence Polynesia was populated from east to west.
Ishikawa, who wants to prove only that ancient peoples had the technology for such journeys, has a connection to the Norwegian explorer that is more than theoretical. Kitín Muñoz—his mentor and the man who taught him to build reed boats—made a number of voyages similar to Heyerdahl's. Ishikawa joined one such voyage across the Pacific in 1999, he said. He also participated in a similar journey across the Atlantic.
Ishikawa said he has been drawn to empty, distant places like the sea and the desert because he finds that he is closer with the natural world in such locales.
But any connection to the open ocean will have to wait, as he’s first got to spend months traversing the San Francisco Bay in his prototype. Ishikawa’s summer will be spent on board tweaking everything from the boat’s sail size and position to its rudder location.
In 2025, he plans to build the real boat in Sausalito and then set sail with six others to Hawaii on a roughly 75-day voyage, all without modern navigation techniques.
“He just wants to prove that it’s possible,” Expedition Amana coordinator Stan Teng said.
Jonah Owen Lamb can be reached at <email-pii>
|
For half a century Canadians have told polls they worry about the environment.
In 1970, in a Gallup poll, 63 per cent thought “the dangers of pollution” were “very serious.” In 1989, pollster Angus Reid asked the public, “Would you support a political party that made protection of the environment its primary objective?”
Across the country, 19 per cent said they “definitely” would consider that party; another 52 per cent would “seriously consider it.” In Ontario, 23 per cent said they would definitely support that party, and 48 per cent seriously consider it.
Yet, wherever the Green Party runs, in federal or provincial elections, its support dramatically lags the voters’ avowed concern for the environment.
In an Ipsos poll before last year’s Ontario election, only 13 per cent of voters who said the environment was one of their most important issues intended to vote for a Green Party candidate. In the election the Greens got 6 per cent. In a Vector Poll in January this year 8 per cent supported the Greens. In April, in an Angus Reid Institute poll only 6 per cent were “most likely” to vote Green.
Those who resisted legislation to curb fossil fuels shrewdly framed the choice facing voters as jobs or the environment. Possibly the first poll on the tradeoff was a 1990 Gallup survey asking Canadians, “What do you think is more important — to create jobs or to protect the environment?”
The poll found that 58 per cent said protect the environment, 29 per cent said create jobs (13 per cent had no opinion). But this strong verdict in favour of the environment was misleading. Canadians want a painless, inexpensive transition to a green economy.
In an Innovative Research Group poll last year, 38 per cent agreed “putting a price on pollution is one of the best ways to lower carbon consumption and to fight climate change” But 45 per cent agreed, “The carbon pricing policy is just another tax grab that hinders the economic development of the country and does nothing for the environment.”
The same poll underscores the public’s ambivalence: 41 per cent agreed “fossil fuels should be phased out as quickly as possible to speed up the shift to a lower-carbon future even if it means job losses or paying more for energy, ” but 57 per cent agreed “it is critical to Canada’s ongoing prosperity that we responsibly develop and export our oil and gas resources.”
This year, 60 per cent said no when Ipsos asked, “Are you prepared to pay more in taxes to help fight climate change?” In March, 37 per cent told Ipsos that lowering taxes should be federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s priority in her recent budget, while only 12 per cent said “spending to support the transition to greener energy.”
Like other Green Party leaders, Ontario’s Mike Schreiner wants voters to see the Greens as more than a single-issue party.
“We’re demanding better care for patients,” says a recent Green Party fundraising letter. A new donor appeal from the Ontario NDP says, “We can invest in and grow our public health care system….” Greens are “standing up for young people who need an affordable place to call home.”
The diversification strategy is failing because the more the Greens campaign on different issues the more they become indistinguishable from other parties. Instead, the Greens should double down on the environment to engage environmental voters.
Schreiner could promise a Green government will use the $6 billion a year Ontario spends to subsidize hydro prices to give cash rewards to individuals and businesses who reduce their energy consumption.
He could pledge to get thousands of CO2-emitting vehicles off the road by giving drivers financial incentives to buy or lease an electric car, provided they scrap a fossil-fuel-burning vehicle.
He could promise a Green government will replace — one-for-one — any job eliminated by the shift to a low-carbon economy.
Every business faces the choice to specialize or diversify its products, customers or services. For the Greens diversifying isn’t working. They need to specialize.
|
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For half a century Canadians have told polls they worry about the environment.
In 1970, in a Gallup poll, 63 per cent thought “the dangers of pollution” were “very serious.” In 1989, pollster Angus Reid asked the public, “Would you support a political party that made protection of the environment its primary objective?”
Across the country, 19 per cent said they “definitely” would consider that party; another 52 per cent would “seriously consider it.” In Ontario, 23 per cent said they would definitely support that party, and 48 per cent seriously consider it.
Yet, wherever the Green Party runs, in federal or provincial elections, its support dramatically lags the voters’ avowed concern for the environment.
In an Ipsos poll before last year’s Ontario election, only 13 per cent of voters who said the environment was one of their most important issues intended to vote for a Green Party candidate. In the election the Greens got 6 per cent. In a Vector Poll in January this year 8 per cent supported the Greens. In April, in an Angus Reid Institute poll only 6 per cent were “most likely” to vote Green.
Those
|
who resisted legislation to curb fossil fuels shrewdly framed the choice facing voters as jobs or the environment. Possibly the first poll on the tradeoff was a 1990 Gallup survey asking Canadians, “What do you think is more important — to create jobs or to protect the environment?”
The poll found that 58 per cent said protect the environment, 29 per cent said create jobs (13 per cent had no opinion). But this strong verdict in favour of the environment was misleading. Canadians want a painless, inexpensive transition to a green economy.
In an Innovative Research Group poll last year, 38 per cent agreed “putting a price on pollution is one of the best ways to lower carbon consumption and to fight climate change” But 45 per cent agreed, “The carbon pricing policy is just another tax grab that hinders the economic development of the country and does nothing for the environment.”
The same poll underscores the public’s ambivalence: 41 per cent agreed “fossil fuels should be phased out as quickly as possible to speed up the shift to a lower-carbon future even if it means job losses or paying more for energy, ” but 57 per cent agreed “it is critical to Canada’s ongoing prosperity that we responsibly develop and export our oil and gas resources.”
This year, 60 per cent said no when Ipsos asked, “Are you prepared to pay more in taxes to help fight climate change?” In March, 37 per cent told Ipsos that lowering taxes should be federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s priority in her recent budget, while only 12 per cent said “spending to support the transition to greener energy.”
Like other Green Party leaders, Ontario’s Mike Schreiner wants voters to see the Greens as more than a single-issue party.
“We’re demanding better care for patients,” says a recent Green Party fundraising letter. A new donor appeal from the Ontario NDP says, “We can invest in and grow our public health care system….” Greens are “standing up for young people who need an affordable place to call home.”
The diversification strategy is failing because the more the Greens campaign on different issues the more they become indistinguishable from other parties. Instead, the Greens should double down on the environment to engage environmental voters.
Schreiner could promise a Green government will use the $6 billion a year Ontario spends to subsidize hydro prices to give cash rewards to individuals and businesses who reduce their energy consumption.
He could pledge to get thousands of CO2-emitting vehicles off the road by giving drivers financial incentives to buy or lease an electric car, provided they scrap a fossil-fuel-burning vehicle.
He could promise a Green government will replace — one-for-one — any job eliminated by the shift to a low-carbon economy.
Every business faces the choice to specialize or diversify its products, customers or services. For the Greens diversifying isn’t working. They need to specialize.
|
Scoop: Phoenix kept working on shelter site even after ground risks were discovered
The city of Phoenix knew in January that "environmental work was needed" at the site where it planned to build a homeless shelter but continued onsite work through June, when methane gas was discovered, according to records obtained by Axios Phoenix.
Why it matters: The homeless campus was supposed to open this summer to provide more than 200 people with indoor shelter during the dangerous heat. Instead, the city is starting from scratch to find a new location.
Catch up quick: City spokesperson Kristin Couturier tells Axios Phoenix the city knew the site was used for illegal dumping in the past. A geotechnical report produced in January found a significant amount of construction debris and trash, confirming previous dumping.
- The report recommended the city and its contractor remove the entire 15- to 30-foot-deep layer of fill that was not native to the area to mitigate environmental and structural issues.
- The city ultimately agreed to remove just the top 5 feet of fill to "limit earthwork."
Of note: The city did not test the soils for methane gas or other environmental hazards at that time, even though the January report noted the presence of organic material that could be "problematic."
- Methane is produced when organic materials decompose, which is why it's commonly found at landfills and dumping sites.
- High levels of methane can cause explosions or asphyxiation, per the National Institute of Health.
What they're saying: Couturier tells Axios the city realized "additional environmental work was needed" after reviewing the January report but had to "work within scheduling constraints and availability of contractors and equipment" to complete it.
Yes, but: That didn't stop the city from moving forward with potholing, fire hydrant line demolition and other pre-construction work, according to city emails.
Reality check: "If the city intends to put human beings on top of a trash pile it definitely mandates [an environmental] study," Peter Petrovsky, a civil engineer and environmental testing expert, tells us.
- "They shouldn't even start a project without taking those fundamental steps."
The intrigue: According to emails reviewed by Axios Phoenix, representatives from the city's homeless solutions office, planning and development department and street transportation department discussed conducting an environmental assessment in February but decided it wasn't needed.
- The first soil test was conducted in May, but the city thought there were quality control issues with the testing, so it ordered a new environmental assessment that was completed in June.
- The assessment found methane at high enough levels that could produce "acute physical hazards during site construction activities, as well as potential long-term physical hazards."
The latest: The scrapped homeless campus was supposed to include a structure large enough for 200 beds and four prefabricated shelters with private rooms made from shipping containers.
- One of the shipping container projects was deployed outside St. Vincent de Paul's Washington Street shelter last week, but the city has not found locations for the other structures yet.
More Phoenix stories
No stories could be found
Get a free daily digest of the most important news in your backyard with Axios Phoenix.
|
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Scoop: Phoenix kept working on shelter site even after ground risks were discovered
The city of Phoenix knew in January that "environmental work was needed" at the site where it planned to build a homeless shelter but continued onsite work through June, when methane gas was discovered, according to records obtained by Axios Phoenix.
Why it matters: The homeless campus was supposed to open this summer to provide more than 200 people with indoor shelter during the dangerous heat. Instead, the city is starting from scratch to find a new location.
Catch up quick: City spokesperson Kristin Couturier tells Axios Phoenix the city knew the site was used for illegal dumping in the past. A geotechnical report produced in January found a significant amount of construction debris and trash, confirming previous dumping.
- The report recommended the city and its contractor remove the entire 15- to 30-foot-deep layer of fill that was not native to the area to mitigate environmental and structural issues.
- The city ultimately agreed to remove just the top 5 feet of fill to "limit earthwork."
Of note: The city did not test the soils for methane gas or other environmental hazards at that time, even though the January report noted the presence of organic material that
|
could be "problematic."
- Methane is produced when organic materials decompose, which is why it's commonly found at landfills and dumping sites.
- High levels of methane can cause explosions or asphyxiation, per the National Institute of Health.
What they're saying: Couturier tells Axios the city realized "additional environmental work was needed" after reviewing the January report but had to "work within scheduling constraints and availability of contractors and equipment" to complete it.
Yes, but: That didn't stop the city from moving forward with potholing, fire hydrant line demolition and other pre-construction work, according to city emails.
Reality check: "If the city intends to put human beings on top of a trash pile it definitely mandates [an environmental] study," Peter Petrovsky, a civil engineer and environmental testing expert, tells us.
- "They shouldn't even start a project without taking those fundamental steps."
The intrigue: According to emails reviewed by Axios Phoenix, representatives from the city's homeless solutions office, planning and development department and street transportation department discussed conducting an environmental assessment in February but decided it wasn't needed.
- The first soil test was conducted in May, but the city thought there were quality control issues with the testing, so it ordered a new environmental assessment that was completed in June.
- The assessment found methane at high enough levels that could produce "acute physical hazards during site construction activities, as well as potential long-term physical hazards."
The latest: The scrapped homeless campus was supposed to include a structure large enough for 200 beds and four prefabricated shelters with private rooms made from shipping containers.
- One of the shipping container projects was deployed outside St. Vincent de Paul's Washington Street shelter last week, but the city has not found locations for the other structures yet.
More Phoenix stories
No stories could be found
Get a free daily digest of the most important news in your backyard with Axios Phoenix.
|
The initiative to reintroduce cheetah to a former range state following the local extinction of this iconic species due to overhunting and loss of habitat in the last century is being carried out following the request received from the Centre.
Officials said that this multi-disciplinary international programme is being coordinated by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) in collaboration with the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), South African National Parks (SANParks), the Cheetah Range Expansion Project, and the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) in South Africa together with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII).
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Reintroduction of Cheetah to India facilitates cooperation between the parties to establish a viable and secure cheetah population in India, promotes conservation and ensures that expertise is shared and exchanged, and capacity is built, to promote cheetah conservation. This includes human-wildlife conflict resolution, capture and translocation of wildlife and community participation in conservation in the two countries.
In terms of the MoU, the countries will collaborate and exchange best practices in large carnivore conservation through the transfer of technology, training of professionals in management, policy, and science, and establishing a bilateral custodianship arrangement for cheetah translocated between the two countries. The terms of the MoU will be reviewed every five years to ensure it remains relevant, said officials.
The above article has been published from a wire source with minimal modifications to the headline and text.
|
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|
The initiative to reintroduce cheetah to a former range state following the local extinction of this iconic species due to overhunting and loss of habitat in the last century is being carried out following the request received from the Centre.
Officials said that this multi-disciplinary international programme is being coordinated by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) in collaboration with the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), South African National Parks (SANParks), the Cheetah Range Expansion Project, and the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) in South Africa together with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII).
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Reintroduction of Cheetah to India facilitates cooperation between the parties to establish a viable and secure cheetah population in India, promotes conservation and ensures that expertise is shared and exchanged, and capacity is built, to promote cheetah conservation. This includes human-wildlife conflict resolution, capture and translocation of wildlife and community participation in conservation in the two countries.
In terms of the MoU, the countries will collaborate and exchange best practices in large carnivore conservation through the transfer of technology,
|
training of professionals in management, policy, and science, and establishing a bilateral custodianship arrangement for cheetah translocated between the two countries. The terms of the MoU will be reviewed every five years to ensure it remains relevant, said officials.
The above article has been published from a wire source with minimal modifications to the headline and text.
|
Letters to the Editor: Technology has a place in the classroom. Chatbots don’t
To the editor: I can only guess that the experts in adolescent character development and computer science who wrote the op-ed article, “Don’t ban chatbots in classrooms — use them to change how we teach,” have never served as classroom teachers who assign and grade essays. They claim that that artificial intelligence provided by chatbots will provide the knowledge that encourages students to think.
The process these authors envision is a student approaching an essay writing assignment thirsting for knowledge, using the knowledge-providing chatbot and then starting to think. As a longtime college teacher, I know that this perception is far from reality.
Normally, a student’s first reaction is fear of failure. Most students will then start the process of writing by thinking. Those few who want to take shortcuts will first consult Google, Wikipedia or a professional essay writing service. These forms of high-tech cheating relieve the fear of failure and bypasses the desired process of thinking.
The op-ed writers cite Socrates, who eschewed writing out of fear that it encourages forgetfulness. Fortunately for us, the wisdom of Socrates has indeed not been forgotten because it has been passed down through the ages by means of the written word.
The process of thinking as the road to learning is fundamentally a human process, one that should use technology as a resource rather than a crutch.
Stephen Sloane, Lomita
To the editor: Thank you for publishing the piece by Angela Duckworth and Lyle Ungar, who obviously have never taught K-12 students to read or write.
As one who has and was a fellow of the UCI Writing Project, I agree with them on this statement: “Writing a good essay still requires lots of human thought and work. Indeed, writing is thinking, and authentically good writing is authentically good thinking.”
Teaching writing is time consuming and difficult. So, why go through this technological mess? The process of writing demands thinking, drafting, revision and feedback. I believe that no technological advance can circumvent this process.
Gail McClain, Laguna Beach
To the editor: Although I agree that chatbots need to be integrated into the learning environment, I strongly disagree with the authors’ claim that today’s students know less but think better than students of a previous era.
Online education during the pandemic has sucked knowledge from the brains of students and diminished their ability to think.
Duckworth and Ungar mention the common use of calculators in calculus. Calculators have at best a minimal role in teaching calculus and mathematics in general. An argument could be made that calculators should be permitted only when students have mastered arithmetic. Computers, however, have a vital and increasing role in the teaching of mathematics.
I think teachers of the humanities will find chatbots a challenge. Thankfully, I teach math, and in-class tests will tell me who knows the material and who doesn’t.
James Stein, Redondo Beach
The writer is a professor emeritus of mathematics and statistics at Cal State Long Beach.
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Letters to the Editor: Technology has a place in the classroom. Chatbots don’t
To the editor: I can only guess that the experts in adolescent character development and computer science who wrote the op-ed article, “Don’t ban chatbots in classrooms — use them to change how we teach,” have never served as classroom teachers who assign and grade essays. They claim that that artificial intelligence provided by chatbots will provide the knowledge that encourages students to think.
The process these authors envision is a student approaching an essay writing assignment thirsting for knowledge, using the knowledge-providing chatbot and then starting to think. As a longtime college teacher, I know that this perception is far from reality.
Normally, a student’s first reaction is fear of failure. Most students will then start the process of writing by thinking. Those few who want to take shortcuts will first consult Google, Wikipedia or a professional essay writing service. These forms of high-tech cheating relieve the fear of failure and bypasses the desired process of thinking.
The op-ed writers cite Socrates, who eschewed writing out of fear that it encourages forgetfulness. Fortunately for us, the wisdom of Socrates has indeed not been forgotten because it has been passed down through the ages by means of the
|
written word.
The process of thinking as the road to learning is fundamentally a human process, one that should use technology as a resource rather than a crutch.
Stephen Sloane, Lomita
To the editor: Thank you for publishing the piece by Angela Duckworth and Lyle Ungar, who obviously have never taught K-12 students to read or write.
As one who has and was a fellow of the UCI Writing Project, I agree with them on this statement: “Writing a good essay still requires lots of human thought and work. Indeed, writing is thinking, and authentically good writing is authentically good thinking.”
Teaching writing is time consuming and difficult. So, why go through this technological mess? The process of writing demands thinking, drafting, revision and feedback. I believe that no technological advance can circumvent this process.
Gail McClain, Laguna Beach
To the editor: Although I agree that chatbots need to be integrated into the learning environment, I strongly disagree with the authors’ claim that today’s students know less but think better than students of a previous era.
Online education during the pandemic has sucked knowledge from the brains of students and diminished their ability to think.
Duckworth and Ungar mention the common use of calculators in calculus. Calculators have at best a minimal role in teaching calculus and mathematics in general. An argument could be made that calculators should be permitted only when students have mastered arithmetic. Computers, however, have a vital and increasing role in the teaching of mathematics.
I think teachers of the humanities will find chatbots a challenge. Thankfully, I teach math, and in-class tests will tell me who knows the material and who doesn’t.
James Stein, Redondo Beach
The writer is a professor emeritus of mathematics and statistics at Cal State Long Beach.
|
Recognition for Black pioneers Nathaniel Sargent, Rodney White moves forward at state level
A state committee endorsed the plan to adopt Nathaniel Sargent Lake and Rodney White Slough to honor Black pioneers.
A proposal to rename two natural features in Mason County after early Black settlers has taken another step forward, after gaining approval from the Washington State Committee on Geographic Names last week. The plan to honor Kitsap County pioneers Rodney White and Nathaniel Sargent now will be presented to the state's Board of Natural Resources and then the U.S. Board of Geographic Names for federal approval.
In October the state's Department of Natural Resources announced a plan to rename an 18-acre Mason County wetland for Rodney White, a Black pioneer whose homestead there was branded as a racial slur for decades after his death. White is believed to have arrived in Mason County in 1890, as reported in the Kitsap Sun last fall, went on to farm and build roads in the Tahuya River Valley and died in 1913. The proposed Rodney White Slough had been formerly known by the N-word, which was included on maps in later years, because White lived there.
The second proposal that was approved by the committee will rename Grass Lake, a 10.5-acre body of water north of Tahuya that was called Negro Slough through the 1990s and a slur prior to that, Nathaniel Sargent Lake. Sargent was a Black man born into slavery in Kentucky, who eventually moved to Kitsap and ranched 248 acres. He was elected justice of the peace in 1894 and died in 1954.
In addition to approving the two name changes of Mason County landmarks, the committee on Thursday also adopted proposals to rename two features that had been known by a derogatory term that refers to Indigenous women, according to a news release. A spring in Garfield County will be renamed South Tucannon Spring upon approval, after the Tucannon River, and a two-mile long creek in Okanogan County will be renamed Gooseberry Creek.
Also, a new name for the passage between Marrowstone Island and Indian Island in Jefferson County was proposed, and will be considered by the Committee on Geographic Names at an upcoming meeting. The passage would be called A Passage Through, a translation of a Clallam language word and recognizing the traditional name used by S'Klallam and Chemacum people. The waterway was block by a causeway for around 100 years, according to a news release from the committee, before reopening in 2019 to connect Kilisut Harbor with Oak Bay.
Kitsap Sun archives were used in reporting this story.
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|
Recognition for Black pioneers Nathaniel Sargent, Rodney White moves forward at state level
A state committee endorsed the plan to adopt Nathaniel Sargent Lake and Rodney White Slough to honor Black pioneers.
A proposal to rename two natural features in Mason County after early Black settlers has taken another step forward, after gaining approval from the Washington State Committee on Geographic Names last week. The plan to honor Kitsap County pioneers Rodney White and Nathaniel Sargent now will be presented to the state's Board of Natural Resources and then the U.S. Board of Geographic Names for federal approval.
In October the state's Department of Natural Resources announced a plan to rename an 18-acre Mason County wetland for Rodney White, a Black pioneer whose homestead there was branded as a racial slur for decades after his death. White is believed to have arrived in Mason County in 1890, as reported in the Kitsap Sun last fall, went on to farm and build roads in the Tahuya River Valley and died in 1913. The proposed Rodney White Slough had been formerly known by the N-word, which was included on maps in later years, because White lived there.
The second proposal that was approved by the committee will rename Grass Lake,
|
a 10.5-acre body of water north of Tahuya that was called Negro Slough through the 1990s and a slur prior to that, Nathaniel Sargent Lake. Sargent was a Black man born into slavery in Kentucky, who eventually moved to Kitsap and ranched 248 acres. He was elected justice of the peace in 1894 and died in 1954.
In addition to approving the two name changes of Mason County landmarks, the committee on Thursday also adopted proposals to rename two features that had been known by a derogatory term that refers to Indigenous women, according to a news release. A spring in Garfield County will be renamed South Tucannon Spring upon approval, after the Tucannon River, and a two-mile long creek in Okanogan County will be renamed Gooseberry Creek.
Also, a new name for the passage between Marrowstone Island and Indian Island in Jefferson County was proposed, and will be considered by the Committee on Geographic Names at an upcoming meeting. The passage would be called A Passage Through, a translation of a Clallam language word and recognizing the traditional name used by S'Klallam and Chemacum people. The waterway was block by a causeway for around 100 years, according to a news release from the committee, before reopening in 2019 to connect Kilisut Harbor with Oak Bay.
Kitsap Sun archives were used in reporting this story.
|
People with mental illness have the body of a person up to two years older than they actually are, a study has revealed.
People with anxiety, bipolar and depression have long been known to also suffer from worse physical health and now scientists may have found evidence to suggest this is because mental health is linked to accelerated ageing.
Dr Julian Mutz, a postdoctoral researcher at King’s College London, led a project which analysed data on 168 different blood metabolites (products of metabolism) from 110,780 participants in the UK Biobank study.
The profile of markers in the blood revealed people with mental health conditions resembled a person older than the patient’s actual age, the data show.
“We examined biological ageing in people with bipolar disorder, depression or anxiety disorder,” Dr Mutz told the Telegraph.
“We found that across these diagnoses, people with a history of mental illness had an older biological age than their actual age.
More age-related diseases
“The differences were largest for people with bipolar disorder, smallest for people with anxiety disorder and depression was somewhere in between.
“We observed the largest difference between biological age and actual age in people with bipolar disorder, a mean difference of about two years.
“For depression the corresponding difference was about one year and for anxiety disorder was 0.7 years.
“The finding that these differences were greatest in people with bipolar disorder is something that we also observed for other measures of biological ageing, for example when looking at frailty.”
According to the researchers, their findings may go some way to explaining why people with mental health problems tend to have shorter lifespans and more age-related diseases than the general population.
“It is now possible to predict people’s age from blood metabolites,” Dr Mutz said.
“We found that, on average, those who had a lifetime history of mental illness had a metabolite profile which implied they were older than their actual age.”
‘Mutually reinforcing process’
The study was presented at the European Congress of Psychiatry in Paris and Dr Mutz told the Telegraph that while the data did not prove causation, it opened up avenues for future research.
“There are several plausible pathways linking psychiatric disorders to accelerated biological ageing,” he said.
“For example, lifestyle (e.g., physical inactivity, higher rates of smoking), biology (e.g., overactivation of the autonomic nervous system, chronic low-grade inflammation) and psychosocial factors (social isolation, loneliness) in people with mental illness likely negatively impact biological ageing and their health, highlighted by the higher prevalence of age-related diseases and lower life expectancy compared to the general population.
“I would speculate that it is a mutually reinforcing process, i.e. mental illness negatively impacts ageing, and faster biological ageing and poor health in turn negatively impacts mental health.
“However, we need more data to repeatedly measure biological age over time.”
He added that the study has not yet been published in a journal but the team is hoping to submit the work for publication in the next few months.
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People with mental illness have the body of a person up to two years older than they actually are, a study has revealed.
People with anxiety, bipolar and depression have long been known to also suffer from worse physical health and now scientists may have found evidence to suggest this is because mental health is linked to accelerated ageing.
Dr Julian Mutz, a postdoctoral researcher at King’s College London, led a project which analysed data on 168 different blood metabolites (products of metabolism) from 110,780 participants in the UK Biobank study.
The profile of markers in the blood revealed people with mental health conditions resembled a person older than the patient’s actual age, the data show.
“We examined biological ageing in people with bipolar disorder, depression or anxiety disorder,” Dr Mutz told the Telegraph.
“We found that across these diagnoses, people with a history of mental illness had an older biological age than their actual age.
More age-related diseases
“The differences were largest for people with bipolar disorder, smallest for people with anxiety disorder and depression was somewhere in between.
“We observed the largest difference between biological age and actual age in people with bipolar disorder, a mean difference of about two years.
“For depression the corresponding difference was about one year and for anxiety disorder
|
was 0.7 years.
“The finding that these differences were greatest in people with bipolar disorder is something that we also observed for other measures of biological ageing, for example when looking at frailty.”
According to the researchers, their findings may go some way to explaining why people with mental health problems tend to have shorter lifespans and more age-related diseases than the general population.
“It is now possible to predict people’s age from blood metabolites,” Dr Mutz said.
“We found that, on average, those who had a lifetime history of mental illness had a metabolite profile which implied they were older than their actual age.”
‘Mutually reinforcing process’
The study was presented at the European Congress of Psychiatry in Paris and Dr Mutz told the Telegraph that while the data did not prove causation, it opened up avenues for future research.
“There are several plausible pathways linking psychiatric disorders to accelerated biological ageing,” he said.
“For example, lifestyle (e.g., physical inactivity, higher rates of smoking), biology (e.g., overactivation of the autonomic nervous system, chronic low-grade inflammation) and psychosocial factors (social isolation, loneliness) in people with mental illness likely negatively impact biological ageing and their health, highlighted by the higher prevalence of age-related diseases and lower life expectancy compared to the general population.
“I would speculate that it is a mutually reinforcing process, i.e. mental illness negatively impacts ageing, and faster biological ageing and poor health in turn negatively impacts mental health.
“However, we need more data to repeatedly measure biological age over time.”
He added that the study has not yet been published in a journal but the team is hoping to submit the work for publication in the next few months.
|
These are the wee hours of Winter’s long night. Each day the sunlight grows stronger, winter’s icy grip begins to slip just a bit, and the promise of spring, though weeks away, can be heard in the whispers of a less frigid wind.
This moon cycle, starting with the new moon on January 20, contains the sabbat of Imbolc. In some traditions this is the Milky Moon. Imbolc means in the belly of the Mother and oimelc means ewe’s milk—this was the time of year many herd animals gave birth and began producing milk. Milk was an import source of nourishment, not only for the animal babes, but also for the community as winter stores were running out. The creation of life-giving and life-renewing milk was a cause for celebration.
This moon is also known as Snow Moon, Hunger Moon, Storm Moon, Quickening Moon and other names evocative of the season, depending on tradition. But as this new moon dawns we are still in the time of high winter, a time of waiting and anticipation, watching for early signs of reassurance that winter will soon be taking its leave.
This is the moon for divining the time of Spring’s arrival. If the groundhog sees its shadow, winter will have a long farewell. It’s ironic that a clear, bright blue sky and sunshine on Ground Hog Day, after so many overcast gray days of winter, is really just a “save the date” sent from Spring, an announcement of arrival at some distant time in the future.
If you have difficulty remembering whether sun or clouds predict the early arrival of spring, this rhyme may help ~
If Candlemas Day be sunny and bright
Then winter shall have another flight.
But if it be dark, with clouds and rain,
Winter is gone and will not come again.
Candlemas has its origins in the Christian church, both as a time to honor the purification of Mary and presentation of Jesus in the temple, and as the day when the candles that will be used in mass throughout the year are blessed in the church— thus Candle Mass.
Imbolc, Groundhog Day, or Candlemas, February 2nd* marks the continuation of the growing light that will reach full apex in June, on the Summer Solstice. As a pagan observation, Imbolc marks the first stirring of spring, deep below ground, like the quickening of a child growing in the womb.
While some cultures associate this moon with purification, the energy of this moon also includes planing and preparation. These two aspects compliment one another, especially at the time of the dark into new moon.
Think of it like Persephone in the Underworld with Hades, tidying, organizing, pulling the suitcases down, preparing for her trip back to the surface. This “quickening” energy is also reflected in the nesting behaviors of mothers about to give birth.
After being closed in for the dark winter months, take this in-between time to clean house—literally. Sweep away the dust and cobwebs of winter, get into the corners and under the beds, organize the closets and cupboards.
Magically, tap into Winter’s waning cycle to perform spells and rituals of release and banishing. Then, as the moon visibly grows in the sky from first quarter until full illumination, work your magic to manifest supporting structures for your desires.
During this season, beneath this Milky Moon, is the time to start feeding your personal goals. Think about what lies ahead, where you’re going, what you’ll need and want for the journey, and how to lay the groundwork.
What seeds do you want to plant, nurture and grow to fruition? How will you achieve your desires? What tools and strategies will you use? What and how can you adapt for a greater chance of success? Direct your magical workings to these outcomes.
*Astrological Imbolc falls on February 3 this year.
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|
These are the wee hours of Winter’s long night. Each day the sunlight grows stronger, winter’s icy grip begins to slip just a bit, and the promise of spring, though weeks away, can be heard in the whispers of a less frigid wind.
This moon cycle, starting with the new moon on January 20, contains the sabbat of Imbolc. In some traditions this is the Milky Moon. Imbolc means in the belly of the Mother and oimelc means ewe’s milk—this was the time of year many herd animals gave birth and began producing milk. Milk was an import source of nourishment, not only for the animal babes, but also for the community as winter stores were running out. The creation of life-giving and life-renewing milk was a cause for celebration.
This moon is also known as Snow Moon, Hunger Moon, Storm Moon, Quickening Moon and other names evocative of the season, depending on tradition. But as this new moon dawns we are still in the time of high winter, a time of waiting and anticipation, watching for early signs of reassurance that winter will soon be taking its leave.
This is the moon for divining the time of Spring’s arrival.
|
If the groundhog sees its shadow, winter will have a long farewell. It’s ironic that a clear, bright blue sky and sunshine on Ground Hog Day, after so many overcast gray days of winter, is really just a “save the date” sent from Spring, an announcement of arrival at some distant time in the future.
If you have difficulty remembering whether sun or clouds predict the early arrival of spring, this rhyme may help ~
If Candlemas Day be sunny and bright
Then winter shall have another flight.
But if it be dark, with clouds and rain,
Winter is gone and will not come again.
Candlemas has its origins in the Christian church, both as a time to honor the purification of Mary and presentation of Jesus in the temple, and as the day when the candles that will be used in mass throughout the year are blessed in the church— thus Candle Mass.
Imbolc, Groundhog Day, or Candlemas, February 2nd* marks the continuation of the growing light that will reach full apex in June, on the Summer Solstice. As a pagan observation, Imbolc marks the first stirring of spring, deep below ground, like the quickening of a child growing in the womb.
While some cultures associate this moon with purification, the energy of this moon also includes planing and preparation. These two aspects compliment one another, especially at the time of the dark into new moon.
Think of it like Persephone in the Underworld with Hades, tidying, organizing, pulling the suitcases down, preparing for her trip back to the surface. This “quickening” energy is also reflected in the nesting behaviors of mothers about to give birth.
After being closed in for the dark winter months, take this in-between time to clean house—literally. Sweep away the dust and cobwebs of winter, get into the corners and under the beds, organize the closets and cupboards.
Magically, tap into Winter’s waning cycle to perform spells and rituals of release and banishing. Then, as the moon visibly grows in the sky from first quarter until full illumination, work your magic to manifest supporting structures for your desires.
During this season, beneath this Milky Moon, is the time to start feeding your personal goals. Think about what lies ahead, where you’re going, what you’ll need and want for the journey, and how to lay the groundwork.
What seeds do you want to plant, nurture and grow to fruition? How will you achieve your desires? What tools and strategies will you use? What and how can you adapt for a greater chance of success? Direct your magical workings to these outcomes.
*Astrological Imbolc falls on February 3 this year.
|
Scientists at Osaka University in Japan have just created baby mice with two dads. That’s right: these mice have two parents, and both parents are males.
How did they do it, and what might this mean for humans?
Well, as reported recently in the journal Nature, it wasn’t easy. The scientists fertilized 630 eggs to get just seven mouse pups, but all seven mouse pups appeared normal and grew into fertile adults.
Let’s dig into the process just a little bit. The research team, led by biologist Katsuhiko Hayashi, first took cells from male mice, and they had to somehow re-program the cells to create egg cells.
One thing about egg cells in mammals: they are always female. Or to be more precise, they have two copies of the X chromosome. Males have one X and one Y chromosome, and the male mouse cells in this experiment started out that way too.
Hayashi’s team first took cells from male mice and turned them into pluripotent stem cells–a special type of cell that can then be turned into many other types of cells, including eggs. Then they grew these cells in Petri dishes until some of them spontaneously lost their Y chromosomes. Now the cells had 1 copy of the X chromosome, but no Y.
That only got the scientists part of the way to where they needed to be. The team then used another genetic trick that induced some of these cells to pick up an extra X chromosome while they were replicating. At that point, they had created mouse cells with two X chromosomes: in other words, the cells were genetically female.
The next step was to convince these XX cells to turn into egg cells. They did that using additional genetic techniques to coax the pluripotent cells to divide and form egg cells, each of which had just one copy of every chromosome (as egg cells do), including the X chromosome.
Those were the hard parts. Once they had the egg cells, the scientists fertilized them with sperm from other males, and then implanted 630 fertilized eggs in female mice. It wasn’t a very efficient process, but it worked: seven of the embryos successfully matured into baby mice, which grew into normal, fertile adults. (Note that mice only take 3-6 months to reach maturity.)
You might be wondering if all mice (or other mammals) with two male parents would have to be males. Well no, not at all. Sperm cells, which come from males, have either an X or a Y chromosome. After fertilizing the eggs, which all have X, the result is either XX (female) or XY (male), depending on which chromosome the sperm carried.
The scientists who did this work emphasized that we’re still a long way from making it work in humans. Among other things, we’d have to be sure that all of the steps involved in turning the male cell into an egg didn’t create harmful mutations elsewhere.
You might also ask if this means that we can also create babies using two female parents. Well, probably yes, but not using the process described here: to create a baby from two females, we’d need to take a female cell (any cell would do) and then turn it into a sperm cell. This is possible too! As it happens, a 2021 paper from Emory University described how scientists have recently created sperm cells from pluripotent cells in rhesus macaques. If viable sperm cells can be created, then they can be used to fertilize eggs, which would give us offspring with two female parents. (In this case, all of the babies would be female.)
But at least in principle, it may soon be possible for two men to have a child where both of them are the child’s genetic father.
|
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|
Scientists at Osaka University in Japan have just created baby mice with two dads. That’s right: these mice have two parents, and both parents are males.
How did they do it, and what might this mean for humans?
Well, as reported recently in the journal Nature, it wasn’t easy. The scientists fertilized 630 eggs to get just seven mouse pups, but all seven mouse pups appeared normal and grew into fertile adults.
Let’s dig into the process just a little bit. The research team, led by biologist Katsuhiko Hayashi, first took cells from male mice, and they had to somehow re-program the cells to create egg cells.
One thing about egg cells in mammals: they are always female. Or to be more precise, they have two copies of the X chromosome. Males have one X and one Y chromosome, and the male mouse cells in this experiment started out that way too.
Hayashi’s team first took cells from male mice and turned them into pluripotent stem cells–a special type of cell that can then be turned into many other types of cells, including eggs. Then they grew these cells in Petri dishes until some of them spontaneously lost their Y chromosomes. Now the cells had 1 copy
|
of the X chromosome, but no Y.
That only got the scientists part of the way to where they needed to be. The team then used another genetic trick that induced some of these cells to pick up an extra X chromosome while they were replicating. At that point, they had created mouse cells with two X chromosomes: in other words, the cells were genetically female.
The next step was to convince these XX cells to turn into egg cells. They did that using additional genetic techniques to coax the pluripotent cells to divide and form egg cells, each of which had just one copy of every chromosome (as egg cells do), including the X chromosome.
Those were the hard parts. Once they had the egg cells, the scientists fertilized them with sperm from other males, and then implanted 630 fertilized eggs in female mice. It wasn’t a very efficient process, but it worked: seven of the embryos successfully matured into baby mice, which grew into normal, fertile adults. (Note that mice only take 3-6 months to reach maturity.)
You might be wondering if all mice (or other mammals) with two male parents would have to be males. Well no, not at all. Sperm cells, which come from males, have either an X or a Y chromosome. After fertilizing the eggs, which all have X, the result is either XX (female) or XY (male), depending on which chromosome the sperm carried.
The scientists who did this work emphasized that we’re still a long way from making it work in humans. Among other things, we’d have to be sure that all of the steps involved in turning the male cell into an egg didn’t create harmful mutations elsewhere.
You might also ask if this means that we can also create babies using two female parents. Well, probably yes, but not using the process described here: to create a baby from two females, we’d need to take a female cell (any cell would do) and then turn it into a sperm cell. This is possible too! As it happens, a 2021 paper from Emory University described how scientists have recently created sperm cells from pluripotent cells in rhesus macaques. If viable sperm cells can be created, then they can be used to fertilize eggs, which would give us offspring with two female parents. (In this case, all of the babies would be female.)
But at least in principle, it may soon be possible for two men to have a child where both of them are the child’s genetic father.
|
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