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Uh, So, Giraffes Are Actually Four Different Species  
You would think that giraffes, the tallest land animals in the world, would be hard to overlook. Yet, for centuries scientists may have missed a fundamental fact about these long-necked creatures: They aren't one species , but rather four distinct ones.  
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Time to look after your best friend - the one you never knew you had!  
In this modern era of social media where we end up with many more friends than we ever thought we had, we all know deep down who our best friends are. Friendships have their ups and downs and when we get it wrong, like me, you feel that pang of guilt to make things right. So what if I told you that you had been ignoring one of your best friends - and for years! They were in touch with you from your earliest days, they made sure you were fed, they provided you with great holidays, they can be moody, sometimes even scare you, but at heart they have nurtured you from day one. Of course I am not talking about someone but something - the ocean.

We are all intimately connected to the ocean, but do we really know the scale of that friendship? Just in the last two months whilst researching the impacts of ocean warming for the biggest launch event we will hold at the World Conservation Congress in Hawaii in September, I was staggered to find out just how much the ocean has been helping us of late. Everyone knows about global warming, but fewer of us know about ocean warming, and where exactly all that extra 'greenhouse' heating of the Earth has been going. The reality is truly staggering. If the same amount of heat that has gone into the top 2km of the ocean between 1955 and 2010 had gone into the lower 10km of the atmosphere, then the Earth would have seen a warming of 36°C. Though most of us know that we owe it to the ocean that life goes on, we just might not have realised the degree of that debt.

So how can we repay that debt? Well it is not surprising that this role in shielding us from harm has come at a great cost. Our new best friend is feeling stressed - to put it mildly - so, just as with other friends, we should 'give the ocean some space'. We have been abusing this relationship, taking more out of the ocean than it can stand, and making it accept far more of the damage and impacts from our activities than is good for it.

So the urgency is to protect it, so it can recover. Whilst we have made promises to do so we have not been keeping up our end of the bargain. We promised by 2010 to protect 10% of the ocean but we failed on that, so we just moved the goal posts to 2020. If that was one of your friends, how might you feel? 'Lacking commitment' might be your mildest thought! The reality is we have barely protected 4%, and now even gone in the wrong direction and increased our activities in the remaining 96% to do things like seabed mining - years before we actually have the ability to check what effects this really will have. So what WE do in the coming years will make all the difference. Just as the ocean is made up of many drops of water, so the effort to save it will only come from a commitment from everyone. Politicians still seem surprisingly reluctant to take the lead, so let's create that situation so they want to head the procession.

The solutions are there for everyone to see. We must immediately and dramatically cut our emissions of greenhouse gases that are getting the ocean so hot and bothered. If we don't the ocean won't give up on us, but it will definitely change, and in ways that hold far less attraction and benefits, and many more problems. We need to challenge authorities to stop hiding behind closed doors and tell us what they are doing out on the ocean - how many of you know that an area of the seabed 80% the size of the contiguous United States of America has now been given over to mining companies to explore, just within the last few years? On land there would be an outcry, but in the ocean they are getting away with it. If you must eat fish only buy from truly sustainable and traceable sources. Avoid buying sunscreens and personal care products with the ingredient oxybenzone, as it is shown to damage corals. Don't use plastic bags and throw them away - always reuse and adopt a 'bag for life'. But we must also create many more areas to let the ocean recover - we call them marine protected areas. Join with ocean leaders and key conservation organisations to send clear messages that more must be done to protect the ocean. After all, we know rest and recuperation are some of the best tonics for recovery - so let's extend that hand of friendship to the ocean, and start repaying our debt with gratitude.

This post is part of a series produced by The Huffington Post in partnership with Ocean Unite, an initiative to unite and activate powerful voices for ocean-conservation action. The series is being produced to coincide with the UN's Preparatory Committee Meeting (Aug 26-Sept 9) on an internal legally binding instrument on marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction and is a part of HuffPost's "What's Working" initiative, putting a spotlight on initiatives around the world that are solutions oriented. To read all the posts in the series, read here.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
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North Korea's largest nuclear test still lacks missile capacity  
The nation's fifth atomic test has been revealed by a magnitude 5 earthquake, the strongest to date, but the country may still be far from the ability to mount a strike  
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Our Changing Climate: The True Global Warming Hot Spots  
Climate change is often blamed for environmental problems and natural events, but not always correctly. There are, however, places in the world where global warming is having an effect, as our interactive map shows.  
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http://twitter.com/TheEWT/status/774206029219373057 
We're counting down to the CITES CoP! The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna... https://t.co/NGQhVrA0gj 
https://t.co/NGQhVrA0gj 

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The Maritime Silk Road: China's High Seas Ambitions  
With its Maritime Silk Road, China is tapping the world's oceans for its own strategic purposes. It's a bold plan that is causing unease in India and the United States -- and also has implications for Europe.  
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.@WildlifeAtRisk No legalised trade in ANY endangered species should be permitted. @CITES is failing our #wildlife through commercialism 
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Pacific to make its mark at endangered #species trade talks @CITES #CoP17 https://t.co/CuN8TnRT3y #wildlife https://t.co/0jKzHygbsN 
https://t.co/CuN8TnRT3y 

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http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2016%2Fsep%2F09%2Fbritains-dormice-have-declined-by-a-third-since-2000-report-shows&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Britain's dormice have declined by a third since 2000, report shows  

Effects of habitat loss and climate change mean the future of the tiny native mammal is uncertain

Numbers of Britain's native dormouse have declined by more than a third since 2000, according to the first definitive report on the state of the species.

The tiny, golden-brown animals were once widespread throughout England and Wales, but have become one of Britain's most threatened mammals due to loss and fragmentation of their woodland habitat, changes in land management and a warmer climate.

Related: How the dormouse is returning to England's hedgerows after 100 years

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Genetic analysis uncovers four species of giraffe, not just one  
Up until now, scientists had only recognized a single species of giraffe made up of several subspecies. But, according to the most inclusive genetic analysis of giraffe relationships to date, giraffes actually aren't one species, but four. The unexpected findings highlight the urgent need for further study of the four genetically isolated species and for greater conservation efforts for the world's tallest mammal, the researchers say.  
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The Politics of Dress: Double Standards in the Headscarf Debate  
When cultures clash, women's clothing is often at the center of the debate. While for Western women, the issue is how much skin they should be allowed to show, for Muslims the focus is on how much they must show.  
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Colours of the morning - East London  

Aleem Yousaf posted a photo:

 
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Indigo bunting  

Full Text:

Indigo buntings often migrate by night, using the stars to navigate. The seasonality of bird migration is shifting in response to climate change. As a result, birds in the United States are arriving at their northern breeding grounds earlier in spring -- and may be departing later in fall. Scientists supported by the National Science Foundation made the migration shift discovery thanks to information aggregated from two sources: remote-sensing data from weather surveillance radar and ground-based data collected in citizen science databases.

Image credit: Kyle Horton

 
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Smartphone hacks 3-D printer by measuring 'leaked' energy, acoustic waves  

Full Text:

The ubiquity of smartphones and their sophisticated gadgetry makes them an ideal tool to steal sensitive data from 3-D printers. That's according to a new University at Buffalo study that explores security vulnerabilities of 3-D printing, also called additive manufacturing, which analysts say will become a multibillion-dollar industry employed to build everything from rocket engines to heart valves. Unlike most security hacks, the researchers did not simulate a cyberattack. Instead, the researchers programmed a common smartphone's built-in sensors to measure electromagnetic energy and acoustic waves that emanate from 3-D printers. These sensors can infer the location of the print nozzle as it moves to create the three-dimensional object being printed. According to the researchers, the tests show that smartphones are quite capable of retrieving enough data to put sensitive information at risk.

Image credit: Wenyao Xu

 
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Break Free  

Kieran Williams Photography posted a photo:

 
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east london sunset  

mariusz kluzniak posted a photo:

 
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http://twitter.com/jimkarani/status/774125761292701697 
Kenya tabling proposals to have endangered plant, reptiles, fish, mammals species listed by CITES in SC67 #CoP17 
http://ifttt.com/missing_link?1473401261 

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Boffins ID bug behind London's Great Plague of 1665  

Yersinia pestis fingered as slayer of 10,000 black death victims

Scientists have revealed Yersinia pestis as the bacteria that caused London's 1665 Great Plague.…

 
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Google hover-drones to drop burritos on campus  

Not a half-baked stoner movie: US aviation authorities have signed this off as a trial

It sounds like the plot of a half-baked stoner movie screenplay, but it's actually happening: Google boss company Alphabet and Mexican food chain Chipotle have become the flying burrito brothers under a delivery-by-drone plan that will first target the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech).…

 
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Documents: How Big Oil Pushed to Make Dakota Access-Style Permitting a New Normal  

Cross-Posted from DeSmogBlog

In the two months leading up to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' decision to issue to the Dakota Access pipeline project an allotment of Nationwide 12 permits (NWP) — a de facto fast-track federal authorization of the project — an army of oil industry players submitted comments to the Corps to ensure that fast-track authority remains in place going forward.

This fast-track permitting process is used to bypass more rigorous environmental and public review for major pipeline infrastructure projects by treating them as smaller projects.

Photo Credit: Tony Webster | Flickr

Oil and gas industry groups submitted comments in response to the Corps' June 1 announcement in the Federal Register that it was "requesting comment on all aspects of these proposed nationwide permits" and that it wanted "comments on the proposed new and modified NWPs, as well as the NWP general conditions and definitions." Based on the comments received, in addition to other factors, the Corps will make a decision in the coming months about the future of the use of the controversial NWP 12, which has become a key part of President Barack Obama's climate and energy legacy.

Beyond Dakota Access, the Army Corps of Engineers (and by extension the Obama Administration) also used NWP 12 to approve key and massive sections of both Enbridge's Flanagan South pipeline and TransCanada's southern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline known as the Gulf Coast Pipeline. Comments submitted as a collective by environmental groups, such as the Sierra Club, National Wildlife Federation, several 350.org local chapters, the Center for Biological Diversity, WildEarth Guardians, Corporate Ethics International, and others, allege NWP 12 abuses by the Obama administration.

Image Credit: Regulations.gov

The groups say NWP was never intended to authorize massive pipeline infrastructure projects and that that kind of permitting authority should no longer exist. Instead, they argued in their August 1 comment, federal agencies should be required to issue Clean Water Act Section 404 permits and do a broader environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

"Simply put, the Congress did not intend the NWP program to be used to streamline major infrastructure projects like the Gulf Coast Pipeline, the Flanagan South Pipeline, and the Dakota Access Pipeline," reads their comment. "For the reasons explained herein, we strongly oppose the reissuance of NWP 12 and its provisions that allow segmented approval of major pipelines without any project-specific environmental review or public review process." 

"Oil companies have been using this antiquated fast-track permit process that was not designed to properly address the issues of mega-projects such as the Dakota Access pipeline," Dallas Goldtooth of the Indigenous Environmental Network stated in the environmental groups' press release at the closing of the NWP 12 comment period. "Meanwhile, tribal rights to consultation have been trampled and Big Oil is allowed to put our waters, air and land at immense risk. This cannot continue, it's time for an overhaul."

Industry groups, on the other hand, made their own arguments for the status quo.

Industry: Keep NWP 12 Alive, Presidential Campaign Ties

Many industry groups chimed in on the future of NWP 12. They included the American Petroleum Institute (API), Ohio Oil and Gas Association, West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association, Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, the Baker Botts Texas Industry Project (a who's who of petrochemical corporations such as Halliburton, ExxonMobil, Shell Oil, Chevron, Marathon Petroleum, Kinder Morgan, and BP, as of 2008), coal and natural gas utility company Southern Company, and others.

One of those other commenters was the Domestic Energy Producers Alliance (DEPA), a lobbying and advocacy consortium spearheaded by Harold Hamm, founder and CEO of hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") giant Continental Resources, as well as energy aide to the Donald Trump presidential campaign and potential future U.S. Secretary of Energy.

Continental Resources, as reported by DeSmog, will send some of its oil through Dakota Access and previously signed a shipping contract for the Keystone XL pipeline.

"DEPA applauds the Corps for its efforts to reissue the NWPs as they are an important regulatory vehicle to authorize activities that have minimal individual and cumulative adverse environmental effects under the Clean Water Act, Section 404 Program," wrote DEPA. "These permits are critical to DEPA's members in their day to day operations."

Another commenter was Berkshire Hathaway Energy, a "most of the above" energy sources utility company (including coal and natural gas) owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway holding company. Buffett serves as a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. 

"Berkshire Hathaway Energy supports the Corps' intention to issue NWPs," wrote Berkshire Hathaway Energy. "The continued implementation of the NWPs is essential to the ongoing operation of Berkshire Hathaway Energy's businesses — particularly in circumstances when timely service restoration is critical."

Obama "Climate Test" Guidelines

On August 1, 2016, the day the commenting period closed for the future of NWP 12 and just days after the Army Corps issued a slew of NWP 12 determinations for Dakota Access, the Obama White House's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued a 34-page guidance memorandum, which could have potential implications for the environmental review of projects like Dakota Access. 

That memo, while non-binding, calls for climate change considerations when executive branch agencies weigh what to do about infrastructure projects under the auspices of NEPA.

"Climate change is a fundamental environmental issue, and its effects fall squarely within NEPA's purview," wrote CEQ. "Climate change is a particularly complex challenge given its global nature and the inherent interrelationships among its sources, causation, mechanisms of action, and impacts. Analyzing a proposed action's GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions and the effects of climate change relevant to a proposed action — particularly how climate change may change an action's environmental effects — can provide useful information to decision makers and the public."

NWP 12 does not receive mention in the memo. Neither does Dakota Access, Keystone XL, nor Flanagan South. 

The non-binding guidance, which some have pointed to as an example of the Obama White House applying the "climate test" to the permitting of energy infrastructure projects, has been met with mixed reaction by the fossil fuel industry and its legal counsel. 

The Center for Liquefied Natural Gas, a pro-fracked gas exports group created by API, denounced the CEQ memo. So too did climate change denier U.S. Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), as well as U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY). 

Industry attorneys, however, do not view the guidance with the same level of trepidation, at least not across the board. On one hand, the firms Holland & Knight and K&L Gates — both of which work with industry clients ranging from Chevron and ExxonMobil to Chesapeake Energy and Kinder Morgan — have pointed to the risk of litigation that could arise as a result of the NEPA guidance. On the other end of the spectrum, the firms Squire Patton Boggs and Greenberg Traurig LLP do not appear to be quite as alarmed.

Greenberg Traurig — whose clients include Duke Energy, BP, Arch Coal, and others — jovially pointed out in a memo that CEQ's NEPA guidance does not take lifecycle supply chain greenhouse gas emissions into its accounting. The firm also points out that, with agency deference reigning supreme throughout the memo, "agencies should exercise judgment when considering whether to apply this guidance to the extent practicable to an on-going NEPA process."

Francesca Ciliberti-Ayres, one of the Greenberg Traurig memo co-authors, formerly served as legal counsel for pipeline giant El Paso Corporation. 

Similar to Greenberg Traurig, the firm Patton Boggs attempted to quell its clients' fears in its own memo written in response to the CEQ guidance memo. Patton Boggs' clients also have included a number of oil and gas energy companies and lobbying groups, such as API, ConocoPhillips, Halliburton, Marathon Oil, and others. 

"The new guidance has the potential to add substantial time and expense to all environmental reviews for companies and other entities currently undergoing the NEPA process — and for future actions," Patton Boggs' attorneys wrote.

"However, it will likely take some time for agencies to acclimate their review processes to the new requirements. Interested persons and companies would help themselves both by developing internal off the shelf information to accommodate the new review requirements and by working with federal agencies to develop efficient methodologies to expedite consideration on this issue, minimize any additional review time and add clarity to the process."

J. Gordon Arbuckle, a Patton Boggs memo co-author, has previously worked on permitting projects such as the massive Trans-Alaska Pipeline, the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline, the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, and others.

Using NWP 12 to permit major pipeline projects in a quiet and less transparent manner made its debut in the Obama White House. However, it remains unclear whether its use, or the somewhat contradictory NEPA guidelines from CEQ, will ultimately shape Obama's climate legacy in the years to come.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
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OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Mission Launch  
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying NASA's Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft lifts off from Space Launch Complex 41 on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.  
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OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission at the Launch Pad  
The ULA Atlas V rocket with NASA's Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft on board is seen illuminated in the distance in this thirty second exposure on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. OSIRIS-REx is scheduled to launch Sept. 8.  
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The Astrophysicist at the Cutting Edge of Black Holes  
Jedidah Isler studies hyperactive and supermassive black holes (aka blazars). Yes, those are a thing.  
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Yellow or black, large or small? Ant color and body size respond strongly to environment  
A study of ants across three continents has revealed that their color and size is strongly influenced by their environment, and that the dominant color and average body size can change from year to year as temperatures vary. This finding has implications for how ant communities will cope with rising global temperatures.  
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https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/sep/08/rocket-failures-get-autumn-off-bad-start-facebook-satellite-spacewatch  
Two rocket failures get autumn off to a bad start  

Cape Canaveral explosion destroys ‘Facebook satellite', while mystery surrounds fate of Chinese mission

September has not seen a good start for rocket launches, with both US and Chinese failures. At 9.07am EDT on the 1st, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, destroying a $200m Israeli communications satellite called Amos 6.

The accident took place during a practice countdown during which fuel is pumped into the rocket and the engines started to make sure everything is working properly. Clearly they were not.

Related: SpaceX rocket explosion: Mark Zuckerberg laments loss of Internet.org satellite

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Avoiding 'traffic jam' creates impossibly bright 'lighthouse'  
The central energy source of enigmatic pulsating Ultra Luminous X-ray sources (ULX) could be a neutron star according to numerical simulations. ULXs, which are remarkably bright X-ray sources, were thought to be powered by black holes.  
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/08/turkey-to-stay-on-summer-time-all-year-round  
Turkey to stay on summer time all year round  

Clocks will no longer go back in October due to measure introduced to make better use of winter daylight

Turkey will stop turning back its clocks this winter, staying on summer time all year round to make better use of daylight.

The clocks in Turkey went forward one hour on 27 March for summer, in line with the rest of Europe.

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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160907215155.htm  
Ripples in fabric of space-time? Hundreds of undiscovered black holes  
Computer simulations of a spherical collection of stars known as 'NGC 6101' reveal that it contains hundreds of black holes, until now thought impossible. Recent observations already found black hole candidates in similar systems, with this research enabling astrophysicists to map black holes in other clusters. These systems could be the cradle of gravitational wave emission, 'ripples' in the fabric of space-time.  
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160907135150.htm  
Reconciling dwarf galaxies with dark matter  
Dwarf galaxies are enigmas wrapped in riddles. Although they are the smallest galaxies, they represent some of the biggest mysteries about our universe. While many dwarf galaxies surround our own Milky Way, there seem to be far too few of them compared with standard cosmological models, which raises a lot of questions about the nature of dark matter and its role in galaxy formation. New theoretical modeling work offers the most accurate predictions to date about the dwarf galaxies in the Milky Way's neighborhood.  
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160907112347.htm  
Hubble discovers rare fossil relic of early Milky Way  
A fossilized remnant of the early Milky Way harboring stars of hugely different ages has been revealed by an international team of astronomers. This stellar system resembles a globular cluster, but is like no other cluster known. It contains stars remarkably similar to the most ancient stars in the Milky Way and bridges the gap in understanding between our galaxy's past and its present.  
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160906131316.htm  
Detailed age map shows how Milky Way came together  
Using colors to identify the approximate ages of more than 130,000 stars in the Milky Way's halo, astronomers have produced the clearest picture yet of how the galaxy formed more than 13.5 billion years ago.  
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Sunset from my yard  

matokuwapi1 posted a photo:

London, Ontario, Canada.
It's hot and humid late summer night. The day ends with a spectacular sunset from my front yard. Really wished I was down at Grand Bend tonight.

 
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http://insider.si.edu/2016/09/unprecedented-access-cooper-hewitts-collection/  
Unprecedented Access to the Cooper Hewitt's Collection  

More than 200,000 objects are now accessible online via collection.cooperhewitt.org, following an 18-month mass digitization effort, in collaboration with the Smithsonian's Digitization Program Office. The user-friendly interface enables all audiences—casual browsers, designers, curators, educators, students and scholars—to explore and examine one of the most diverse and comprehensive collections of design works in existence.

See how they did it in this short process video. To access the collection visit the website: collection.cooperhewitt.org

The post Unprecedented Access to the Cooper Hewitt's Collection appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

 
culture  

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http://insider.si.edu/2016/09/asteroid-mission-will-carry-student-x-ray-experiment/  
Asteroid Mission carries Student X-ray Experiment  

The post Asteroid Mission carries Student X-ray Experiment appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

 
culture  

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http://movieposteroftheday.tumblr.com/post/150084682492  
US one sheet for CAMERAPERSON (Kirsten Johnson, USA,...  

US one sheet for CAMERAPERSON (Kirsten Johnson, USA, 2016)

Designer: TBD

Poster source: Janus Films

One of the best docs of the year, Cameraperson opens on Friday. 

 
culture  

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https://www.pinterest.com/pin/354095589436313126/  
Ant (Stenamma sp.) c  

Ant (Stenamma sp.) collected in Rouge National Urban Park, Ontario, Canada, and photographed at the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics (sample ID: BIOUG12661-F08; specimen record: http://www.boldsystems.org/index.php/Public_RecordView?processid=SSROA2204-14; BIN: http://www.boldsystems.org/index.php/Public_BarcodeCluster?clusteruri=BOLD:ACN8345)

 
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Pinterest: Maria Bar  
Pinterest: Maria Barroso  
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https://www.pinterest.com/pin/281543706622188/  
Stockholm Public Lib  
Stockholm Public Library, Sweden (© Gallery Stock) 2016-09-08 [www.bing.com/search]  
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https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2016/sep/08/steve-bell-on-the-tories-education-policy-cartoon  
Steve Bell on the Tories' education policy cartoon  
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culture  

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nybooks/~3/yRg4oQDFfjc/  
The People in Retreat: An Interview with Ai Xiaoming  

Ai Xiaoming: I believed in the goodness of human nature. I believe this is naïve. Actually, human nature in this totalitarian society has become very vile. This power has changed Chinese people's psychological makeup. Most people, very many people, are really terrible; they're afraid of losing things.  
culture  

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nybooks/~3/4_ahrTBS0zw/  
‘The Future of Scholarly Knowledge'  
To the Editors: Are we at the edge of a slippery slope on which the production of scholarly knowledge will be shaped by the demand for metric-based accountability? Join us at the New School on October 13 and 14 for our thirty-fifth Social Research Conference, “The Future of Scholarly Knowledge.”  
culture  

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nybooks/~3/H0pLntmyaDA/  
On Translation  
The following letters were written in response to Janet Malcolm's essay on translations of Anna Karenina in the June 23 issue.  
culture  

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nybooks/~3/DF24acM5IOM/  
Attorneys and Brigadiers  
To the Editors: In Judge Rakoff's review of Professor John C. Coffee Jr.'s Entrepreneurial Litigation there are several references to the plural of “attorney general,” rendered there as “attorney generals.” I always have understood the plural to be “attorneys general.” Is this yet another of many instances in which the NYR knows something I do not know? Or is this (gasp!) an error in the NYR?  
culture  

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nybooks/~3/7g706BZcGWU/  
The Birth of Language  
To the Editors: In his review of Robert Berwick and Noam Chomsky, Why Only Us: Language and Evolution , Ian Tattersall concludes that “no other scenario currently available from linguistics fits the archaeological facts better than the essentials of Berwick and Chomsky's vision.” This is a remarkable claim for a “vision” blind to the social context, whatever it was, in which language must have evolved and offering no account whatever of the origin of words.  
culture  

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nybooks/~3/oqUfhp2jSSo/  
The Enigma of the Enigma  
To the Editors: I read in “The Spooky Side of World War II” by Antony Beevor: “Shortly before the war, Polish experts had provided both the British and the French with copies of German Enigma enciphering machines, but the hard-won achievements at Bletchley Park during the Battle of Atlantic could only have happened in the more informal atmosphere of a democracy.” You may know that the Polish government provided France and the UK with “copies of German enciphering machines,” as well as with the fully documented German codes as cracked by three Polish mathematicians: Marian Rejewski, Jerzy Rozycki, and Henryk Zygalski, who did it in a sufficiently “democratic atmosphere” of 1932 Poland.  
culture  

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nybooks/~3/mPZh0h4g584/  
Go Directly to Facebook  
To the Editors: Zoë Heller's latest review [“‘Hot' Sex and Young Girls,” NYR, August 18] is typically incisive and sensible, but in her honorable effort to quell over-the-top assertions about the dangers of social media, she underestimates its distinctive power in girls' lives.  
culture  

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http://heptagram.co/post/150144808091  
buromarks: http://www.studiosouth.co.nz/projects/the-internation...  

buromarks:

http://www.studiosouth.co.nz/projects/the-international

 
art  

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http://heptagram.co/post/150140346148  
lafilleblanc: Giovanni Anselmo, Untitled, 1984 canvas,...  

lafilleblanc:

Giovanni Anselmo,

Untitled, 1984

canvas, granite, steel cord

(via)

 
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/08/egypt-bans-unapproved-statues-botched-jobs-nefertiti-sculpture  
Egypt bans unapproved statues after string of botched jobs  

Prime minister's decree comes after series of amateurish sculptures sprang up across country to be met with anger and scorn

In response to a series of questionable statues that have sprung up in Egypt, the prime minister has banned all public artworks not approved by the ministry of culture.

Sherif Ismail issued the decree after a controversial statue was unveiled in the eastern city of Sohag.

Related: Egypt: sculpture honouring military criticised for portraying sexual harassment

#نفرتيتي لأصحاب قوة الملاحظة ما هو الفرق بين الصورتين ؟؟ pic.twitter.com/XhvfWHbstQ

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http://www.designboom.com/art/annie-leibovitz-women-new-portraits-exhibition-milan-09-08-2016/  
annie leibovitz's women: new portraits exhibition opens at fabrica orobia in milan  

designboom attended the preview of the exhibition to ask leibovitz how the project has evolved in the last ten years, and what changes she has noticed in regards to how women are represented now.

The post annie leibovitz's women: new portraits exhibition opens at fabrica orobia in milan appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

 
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http://www.designboom.com/art/j-mayer-h-xxx-street-furniture-new-york-times-square-new-york-09-08-2016/  
j. mayer h. sets ‘XXX' street furniture in new york's times square  

the pink, X-shaped outdoor loungers custom-built for the area accommodate up to four people each.

The post j. mayer h. sets ‘XXX' street furniture in new york's times square appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

 
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https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/sep/08/curated-history-how-to-tell-a-2-million-year-old-story-with-one-exhibition  
Curated history: how to tell a 2 million-year-old story with one exhibition  

A National Museum of Australia exhibition tells the history of the world in 100 objects mostly sourced from the British Museum, ranging from a counterfeit Chelsea shirt to a stone tool that reaches back to the dawn of humanity

• Ritual sacrifice, ancient insults and sacred fire: 2 million years of history in pictures

The exhibition is billed as “two million years of history in one room”, but Mathew Trinca, director of the National Museum of Australia, describes it simply as “the story of us”.

Sourced from the British Museum with some Antipodean additions, A History of the World in 100 Objects is the National Museum's spring/summer blockbuster exhibition: a collection of objects that show the span of human history, from early stone tools to Javanese shadow puppets to an HSBC sharia-compliant, no-interest credit card.

Related: Ritual sacrifice, ancient insults and sacred fire: 2 million years of history in pictures

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http://heptagram.co/post/150099101702  
ksenijajovisevic:  >> Supervizuelna   

ksenijajovisevic:

 >> Supervizuelna 

 
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http://heptagram.co/post/150094679047  
weissesrauschen: Andy Feltham  

weissesrauschen:

Andy Feltham

 
art  

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nybooks/~3/U6lvEbC2Djs/  
Einstein's Observers  
To the Editors: Priyamvada Natarajan's essay “After Einstein: The Dark Mysteries” is largely devoted to general relativity and its implications. Unfortunately, Professor Natarajan's brief exposition of special relativity suffers from a serious defect.  
culture  

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nybooks/~3/YJUBk8EVguM/  
Panoptics Here & There  
To the Editors: In his insightful article “In the Depths of the Digital Age,” Edward Mendelson refers to Jeremy Bentham's “never-built nineteenth-century panopticon.” This reference is misleading. Bentham's plan for a panopticon—first published in 1786—remained unrealized until after his death, but several panopticons were built in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, in Europe and in the Americas.  
culture  

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nybooks/~3/BejTP-YuJ28/  
The Wonder of Paris  
To the Editors: The greater part of Eamon Duffy's review of my recent book, A History of Balance, 12501375, is thoughtful and attentive. There were, however, a number of claims in the review's final section that surprised me with their sharply dismissive tone.  
culture  

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http://99u.com/videos/54317/cap-watkins-treat-your-life-like-a-user-experience-problem/  
Cap Watkins: Treat Your Life Like a User Experience Problem  

Too often, the product design, product management, and engineering teams are thought of as three separate entities. This divide, according to Cap Watkins, the VP of Design at Buzzfeed, can lead designers to feel undervalued or even defensive when the product managers or engineers attempt to make suggestions to their work. Having realized this battle at Buzzfeed, Watkins proposed the question: “How do we create a culture of empowerment for design?”

In this talk, Watkins provides a step-by-step process to blur the lines between the different product building teams in an effort to get feedback on not only the work being done, but also the process on how that work gets done. Change is complicated and creating the internal partnerships will adjust the way people work, ultimately for the better. “We have to realize that working together doesn't mean we're trying to take each others job,” says Watkins. “We're just trying to be better collaborators.”

Watkins is a product designer living and working in Brooklyn. He is currently the VP of Design at BuzzFeed, as well as a blogger, podcast guest, conference speaker, and lover of start-ups and technology. He believes in thoughtful, holistic design solutions that get out of the way and empower people to accomplish more. His past work includes Etsy, Zoosk, Formspring, and hush-hush stuff at Amazon.

Buzzfeed

@cap

 

 
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https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2016/sep/07/steve-bell-government-brexit-plans-theresa-may-cartoon  
Steve Bell on the government's Brexit plans cartoon  
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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nybooks/~3/p26KHWqh4O4/  
The Candidates and the Doubts  
Trump and Clinton began the post-Labor Day campaign with a number of awkward and major unresolved questions hanging over their candidacies and with only nine weeks for each campaign to convince the country that their candidate should be president. Both major candidates had come into this part of the race with vulnerabilities that threatened to outweigh their strengths. This was quite different from the fresh start to a presidential election that the Labor Day holiday was supposed to mark.  
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http://thenextweb.com/opinion/2016/09/08/we-should-all-applaud-airbnbs-effort-to-stamp-out-discrimination-on-its-platform/  
We should all applaud Airbnb's effort to stamp out discrimination on its platform  

The internet doesn't have a discrimination problem; people on the internet have a discrimination problem. This problem became Airbnb's problem back in May, much like it became the problem of Uber, Facebook, Twitter and hundreds of other tech companies before that. After the hashtag #AirbnbWhileBlack blew up in May, the on-demand housing provider faced escalating backlash from both users and activists claiming it wasn't doing enough to rectify its discrimination problem. Airbnb took the criticism in stride — and possibly on the chin — while working with social justice group Color of Change to address the problem. Today, that collaboration led to a 32…

This story continues at The Next Web  
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http://thenextweb.com/mobile/2016/09/08/airlines-are-warning-passengers-not-to-use-samsung-galaxy-note-7-on-board/  
Airlines are warning passengers not to use Samsung Galaxy Note 7 on board  

Now that Samsung has issued a mass recall for the Galaxy Note 7 , Australian airlines Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia are advising passengers to refrain from using their devices on board. Following numerous reports of exploding batteries, the decision for the ban comes directly from the airlines and not from the country's aviation authorities. While Note 7 owners can still carry their phones with them, Quantas told Reuters it's “requesting passengers who own them not [to] switch on or charge them in flight.” @latikambourke Qantas made announcement on flight today…no charging Samsung Note 7 on plane — Dean Cabena (@dcabena77) September 6, 2016 Australian airlines are not…

This story continues at The Next Web  
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http://thenextweb.com/opinion/2016/09/08/i-wanted-to-want-the-iphone-7-but-my-iphone-6s-plus-is-still-great/  
I wanted to want the iPhone 7, but my iPhone 6s Plus is still great  

I slept, last night, dreaming of a piano black iPhone. Visions of waterproof screens and wireless speakers dominated my slumber, the product of a late-night attempt at finishing the pre-writes for a recap of an event that hadn't happened yet. I poured over the rumors and stuffed my head with half-truths and complete lies. I closed my eyes, convinced that I wasn't purchasing a new iPhone after today's event. Wearily, I drifted to sleep, a long-day's work complete. I woke up this morning, satisfied that none of he rumors we were able to substantiate made buying a new iPhone 7 Plus worth the…

This story continues at The Next Web  
technology  

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDailyGalaxyNewsFromPlanetEarthBeyond/~3/IgE3ejxSyoY/china-may-be-earths-first-nation-to-detect-alien-life-poised-to-flip-the-on-switch-of-worlds-largest.html  
"China May Be Earth's First Nation to Detect Alien Life" --Poised to Flip 'ON' Switch of World's Largest, Most Powerful Radio Telescope  
 
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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDailyGalaxyNewsFromPlanetEarthBeyond/~3/2Q1dpm9ptIc/massive-mysterious-ice-avalanche-in-tibet-observed-from-space-scientists-baffled.html  
Massive, Mysterious Ice Avalanche in Tibet Observed From Space --"Scientists Baffled"  
 
astronomy  

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDailyGalaxyNewsFromPlanetEarthBeyond/~3/wAPEw93wWhw/cosmic-danger-zones-star-cluster-discovered-to-harbor-several-hundred-black-holes-a-phenomenon-thoug.html  
Cosmic Danger Zones: Star Cluster Discovered to Harbor Several Hundred Black Holes --"A Phenomenon Thought Impossible"  
 
astronomy  

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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/09/design-revealed-for-new-arts-venue-at-the-world-trade-center  
Design revealed for new arts venue at the World Trade Center  

The translucent marble and glass cube-shaped Ronald O Perelman Performing Arts Center will open in 2020

A design of translucent marble and glass was unveiled yesterday for a long-stalled performing arts venue at the World Trade Center.

Singer Barbra Streisand is to serve as the chair of the board of the Ronald O Perelman Performing Arts Center, which will be dedicated to new works. The cube-shaped building would aim to commemorate the 9/11 tragedy and reflect the vitality of the city, board members said.

Related: New York's Oculus transit hub soars, but it's a phoenix with a price tag

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design  

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https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/08/parliament-falling-down-move-it-to-birmingham  
Parliament is falling down. Let's move it to Birmingham | John Harris  

The Palace of Westminster is an expensive ruin. The case for shifting at least some of our key institutions out of the capital could not be clearer

Anyone in their right mind would want to move out. Among other problems, the property has leaking roofs, hidden pockets of asbestos, clear fire risks, vulnerability to flooding, and mice. The annual repair bill runs to around £50m. It is also routinely overheated, chintzily furnished and home to an aroma that often suggests last week's school dinners. Small wonder that, since 2012, some of the Palace of Westminster's occupants have been loudly fretting about the place's upkeep.

Related: Cost of moving MPs out of parliament for repairs could exceed £4bn

I know: sketching this out in a political culture as cautious as ours threatens to take one close to La-La land

Related: PMQs verdict: has Theresa May got a new gag writer?

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https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/5-11-september-2016/tiger-releases-stationery-range-designed-david-shrigley/  
Tiger releases stationery range designed by David Shrigley  

Artist David Shrigley has released a series of 30 designs for Danish retail chain, Flying Tiger Copenhagen.

Formerly known as Tiger, the brand commissioned Shrigley to design a number of products based on the theme of Strong Messages, featuring his trademark humorous drawings and messages.

The collection includes a set of drawing pencils covered in messages scrawled in Shrigley's own handwriting; including “words are boring”, “make art not friends” and “I'm illiterate”.

The words “Coloured pencils for making nice drawings of cats, flowers, etc.” feature on a specially designed pencil case that is also adorned with a drawing of a cat.

Shower curtains, trays, socks and bags

Phone and tablet cases include the instruction “kill the computer”, and other products such as shower curtains, trays, socks and bags are all adorned with artworks by Shrigley.

The artist has also released a miniature version of his Really Good statue, which is set to be unveiled at The Fourth Plinth in London later this month.

Concept developer at Flying Tiger Copenhagen, Mai Due Brinch, says: “We want to make art more accessible by making it a part of people's everyday life. Shrigley's works are humorous, dark, delightfully absurd and bizarre, and the emphasis is on the message rather than on technique.”

The post Tiger releases stationery range designed by David Shrigley appeared first on Design Week.

 
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http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPhysicsWorld%2F%7E3%2FPviJxL1eLhQ%2Flight-pushes-liquid-uphill&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Light pushes liquid uphill  
Illuminated polymer tubes could replace pumps in labs-on-a-chip  
science  

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http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fmicrosketch%2F29552003305%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Capital Canvas. London, 2016  

Michael Goldrei (microsketch) posted a photo:

 
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http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2Fm%2Fglobal-identity%3FredirectUrl%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ffeatures.wearemel.com%2Fthe-death-of-the-prostate-exam-3b0cb600fb89&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
The Death Of The Prostate Exam  
Driven to the brink of extinct ion by the cell phone.  
gaia  

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http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2F2016%2F09%2F08%2Fclinton-trump-energy-environment_n_11920666.html&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Where Clinton And Trump Stand On The Environment — In One Simple Graphic  
Poles apart. Night and day. Those are the easiest ways to sum up where Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump stand on environmental issues.
While one major...

Read more: Donald Trump, Elections 2016, Hillary Clinton, Climate Change, Environment, Yale Environment 360, Politics News

 
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http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Ftodd-paglia%2Fstandearth-asks-federal-c_b_11920012.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Stand.earth Asks Federal Court Asked to Dismiss Logging Company's Intimidation Lawsuit  
School is back in session across the country - and right now in some classroom somewhere in the US children are being educated not on math, science or history, but briefly, and importantly, on bullying. There has been, at long last, a revolution in our schools around teaching kids how to deal with bullies, what kids should do if they see it happening, steps for teachers to take to stop it from occurring again. It is a gross practice, a thing done out of fear, anger and insecurity, and it is heartening to see progress on this issue in our schools.

Unfortunately, no such instruction exists for CEOs. Since May 31, Stand.earth has been fighting off an intimidation lawsuit filed by Canada's largest logging company, Resolute Forest Products (NYSE: RFP) (TSX: RFP). Intimidation lawsuits, called Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation ("SLAPP" suits), are often filed by large companies against much smaller nonprofits, usually with negligible hope of success on the merits. But with an army of expensive lawyers the goal is to cost the nonprofit so much in time, money and effort that the huge company wins by waging a war of attrition. This is a tactic only a bully would pursue.

Does Resolute fit this description? The company has more revenue in the first twelve hours of the year than Stand.earth does in 365 days. That can buy a lot of lawyers. Resolute wants us to stop criticizing their destructive logging practices in the Boreal Forest, rather than actually changing what they do, how they treat forests, and how they impact the people and wildlife that depend upon these forests.

Resolute's New York law firm has come up with quite a few outlandish legal theories, including that Stand.earth and Greenpeace operate just like an organized crime syndicate and should be prosecuted under RICO, a set of laws designed to root out organized crime. In other words, a legal theory not very likely to win on substance, but designed it seems to cost a lot of time, money, and effort to defend. Resolute also filed the lawsuit in seemingly the most expensive and least convenient (for us) venue it could find: the Southern District of Georgia where Stand.earth has never had an office, where we have less than 1% of our supporters and revenue and where I have never been. Sounds a lot like a SLAPP suit.

All of which is why today we are filing a motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed against us. These early motions are rarely granted, but we believe ours clearly has merit. Resolute won't easily learn that bullying doesn't work but losing quickly would be a start. We hope that happens -- and not just for ourselves. We need to send a signal to all giant corporations that being a bully doesn't pay.

We have a First Amendment to prevent exactly this kind of abuse. If you agree - join us by signing our letter to Resolute CEO Richard Garneau today.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
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http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fvoices.nationalgeographic.com%2F2016%2F09%2F08%2F30-days-30-rivers-a-kayakers-quest-for-adventure-science%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
30 Days, 30 Rivers: A Kayaker's Quest for Adventure & Science  

My organization, Adventure Scientists, enlists the help of adventurers around the world to collect water samples for our Global Microplastics Initiative. This May, Microplastic Adventure Scientists Gerrit Egnew and Kirra Paulus embarked on a month-long expedition to sample and paddle 30 rivers in 30 days. Their resulting video and story are a call to action to paddlers everywhere to help protect the rivers that give them so much. Words by Gerrit Egnew.

30 Days 30 Rivers from Kirra Kirra on Vimeo.

George and I looked upstream at Skyscraper, a rapid halfway down South Silver Creek, in the mountains near Placerville, CA. Beneath us was an undercut cave; we had been there for a while, scouting and fretting and rationalizing. Kirra scrambled down to us and asked if we planned to run it. I looked at George: “I sure wish someone would come down from behind us and, like, run it. Or set safety. So that we know it's okay.”

Ten minutes later, as we walked back to our boats, a group of six Kiwis materialized from the white roar. “Want to set safety with us on the Teacups?” one asked. Providence.

 
gaia  

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http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedaily.com%2Freleases%2F2016%2F09%2F160908130554.htm&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Genetic analysis uncovers four species of giraffe, not just one  
Up until now, scientists had only recognized a single species of giraffe made up of several subspecies. But, according to the most inclusive genetic analysis of giraffe relationships to date, giraffes actually aren't one species, but four. The unexpected findings highlight the urgent need for further study of the four genetically isolated species and for greater conservation efforts for the world's tallest mammal, the researchers say.  
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Vivid sunset  

cafe_in_space posted a photo:

 
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Horseshoe vortexes 8 Sept 2016  

Sculptor Lil posted a photo:

 
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Horseshoe vortex 8 Sept 2016  

Sculptor Lil posted a photo:

 
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Horseshoe vortexes 8 Sept 2016  

Sculptor Lil posted a photo:

 
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Horseshoe vortexes and crepuscular rays 8 Sept 2016  

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Horseshoe vortexes 8 Sept 2016  

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Horseshoe vortexes 8 Sept 2016  

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In A Changing Climate, We Need Nature To Save Us From Ourselves  
If you lived in Honolulu and suddenly relocated to Minneapolis, it's fair to say you would need to make a few lifestyle adjustments. You would have to buy warmer clothes, learn how to drive in icy conditions, and perhaps even trade in your surfboard for cross-country skis. In short, you would have to adapt to an unfamiliar climate.


Places like Madagascar are experiencing stronger cyclones. Forests can help prevent soil erosion in the country's steep hillsides. Photo Credit: © Shaun Martin

These days, you don't need to move somewhere far away to experience a different climate: a new climate is moving to you. In today's warming world, adapting to climate change is a necessity facing every family, community, industry and nation. Climate change is already affecting where and how we grow our food, how much water we have to drink, and which places are safest to build our homes. We must rethink all of the implications climate change has on our daily lives and if we're equipped to manage situations we haven't experienced before. For example, how will we fight longer and more intense forest fire seasons, manage outbreaks of new diseases and repair homes and property continually damaged by increasingly frequent extreme weather events?

Adapting to climate change is perhaps the greatest test that humankind has ever faced. And, we must use every tool at our disposal to address this global challenge.

One tool that's getting lots of attention here at the IUCN World Conservation Congress is called "ecosystem-based adaptation," or the use of nature to help people adapt to the adverse consequences of climate change. The concept is simple. Anyone who has sought refuge from the heat under a shady tree understands that living things around us can make us more comfortable and safer under unpleasant or threatening circumstances. Similarly, it stands to reason then as we prepare more frequent and intense heat waves, cities might consider increasing green spaces with lots of trees to protect people from exposure to dangerously high temperatures. This simple idea is what ecosystem-based adaptation might look like.

Wherever we look, nature can play an important role in preparing us for a changing climate.

If your community is subject to more frequent flooding, wetlands can provide a natural buffer to absorb excess water that would otherwise damage homes and infrastructure. Coastal communities benefit from mangroves that provide protection from storm surges associated with hurricanes and typhoons. And wild plants that are well-suited to hot and dry climates may become more valuable as we seek new sources of food and medicine.

And yet, despite the value these natural systems provide for our health, welfare and public safety, too often we destroy them for short-term gain. We clear forests for agricultural plantations, cut down mangroves for coastal development, dam rivers and drain wetlands. When we degrade these natural systems, not only do we erode nature's ability to sustain itself, these actions increase our own vulnerability to the effects of climate change. In fact, the greatest irony is that the very plantations, coastal development and dams we are creating are themselves at greater risk of failure due to climate change, particularly when nature is no longer available to protect them.

The moral of this tale is simple: protecting nature helps us protect ourselves from the changing climate. Ecosystem-based adaptation is a promising yet largely untapped innovation that can help people prepare for an uncertain future. We can no longer afford to willfully destroy the natural world at a time when we need it more than ever. Nature is our best hope for the future.

This post is part of a series on the World Conservation Congress taking place this week. Held every four years, it brings together about 6,000 people, including heads of state, government officials, business leaders, representatives from indigenous groups, scientists, academics, influencers, educators, artists and NGOs, from all over the world to discuss and decide on solutions to the world's most pressing environmental challenges.


Homes like these in Belize could benefit from the protection of mangrove ecosystems, which help reduce damage from storm surge and strong waves. Photo Credit: © Shaun Martin


The threat of climate change looms large over countries like Madagascar. Nature can help reduce the vulnerability of its people. Photo Credit: © Shaun Martin

Vietnam is at risk for increased flooding with more intense rainfall events. Photo Credit: © Shaun Martin

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The Customer Isn't Always Right: How Consumers Drive Wildlife Crime  
Consumers around the globe are helping fuel a booming illegal wildlife trade that's estimated to be valued at as much as $10 billion per year. In recent years, it's grown to the point that wildlife trafficking is now in the top five illicit activities worldwide - up there with counterfeiting and drugs.


WWF's successful 'Chor Chang Campaign' elicited a significant response from the Thai public. The letter in the Thai alphabet called 'Chor' is the same first letter of the word for elephant, 'Chang'. The campaign asked people to remove the letter 'Chor' from their names to demonstrate what a life without elephants would be, and many responded via social media with their names missing that particular letter. Photo Credit: © WWF-Thailand


Whether naively or deliberately, global consumers are snapping up everything from high-end luxury goods to tourists' trinkets made from elephant ivory, illegally sourced reptile skin and endangered sea turtle shells.

Elephant ivory, for instance, is so coveted in some markets that it's driving a poaching crisis in Africa on an unprecedented scale. As many as 30,000 African elephants are killed every year to supply the illegal ivory market globally, including in the United States.

Fortunately, there is hope. If consumer desire for products like ivory can be changed - and the multibillion-dollar advertising and marketing industry would not exist if consumers couldn't be influenced - then the black market driving elephant poaching dries up. And key governments alarmed at the growth of this wildlife crime have recently made public policy changes that open up important opportunities to change consumer buying.

In one of the biggest wins for elephants, the presidents of China and the United States agreed last year to enact near-total bans on ivory sales in each country. This was an enormous step by two of the world's biggest consumer markets for wildlife products. And other international leaders soon followed suit. Officials from Hong Kong and Singapore joined the global roster of ivory markets committed to ending their domestic trade. Shutting down the legal supply in this way will immediately end some consumer purchasing; to address the rest, it's critical that efforts to influence lingering consumption are ramped up.

The conservation community, including WWF and our partners, as well as funders and governments, are increasing investments in consumer "demand reduction" efforts to do just that. This work is an essential complement to our anti-poaching and anti-trafficking programs. By combining consumer outreach with public policy advocacy, these initiatives are engaging both the general public and targeted consumer groups (from fashion-conscious middle-class buyers in Thailand to high-end investors in China) through increasingly sophisticated approaches to educate and change consumer behavior. A workshop at the IUCN World Conservation Congress on Sept. 4 will explore some of the new approaches being used by conservation organizations to reduce consumers' desire for illegal and unsustainable wildlife products.

Demand reduction is one of the most innovative, creative areas of conservation at the moment. It taps into new-to-this-space psychosocial approaches, adopting commercial marketing techniques and working with consumer research firms to identify attitudes and motivations of buyers. WWF and other groups are deploying digital outreach and advocacy, connecting with consumers at key points like airports and tourist markets, and recruiting influencers from an array of spectrums, from respected business leaders in China to revered Buddhist monks in Thailand.

In Thailand, which until last year had the world's largest unregulated ivory market, WWF combined public policy advocacy - pushing for strengthened laws and enforcement - with public outreach. We launched a campaign that tapped into Thai people's affinity for their national animal to show what a world without elephants would look like. It kicked off a public dialogue for the first time in that country about the connection between buying ivory and poached elephants. At the same time, we worked to amend national legislation to address black market ivory sales. While Thailand still has a way to go - ivory sales are still allowed, unfortunately - its market is no longer completely unfettered.

Today's wildlife trafficking crisis is fueled by consumer choices. The solution can be too.

This post is part of a series on the World Conservation Congress taking place this week. Held every four years, it brings together about 6,000 people, including heads of state, government officials, business leaders, representatives from indigenous groups, scientists, academics, influencers, educators, artists and NGOs, from all over the world to discuss and decide on solutions to the world's most pressing environmental challenges. To read all the posts in this series click here.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
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The Crossroads of Conservation in Latin America  
Saying Latin America and conservation together evokes abundance of wealth and beauty. But all that magnificence also comes with a unique set of risks, threats and challenges.


Photo Credit: Y.-J. Rey-Millet / WWF

I live in Quito, and only a few kilometers -- or few hours -- away, I can appreciate landscapes of immense natural and cultural value. I encounter compact forests that hold hundreds of thousands of species of known and unknown flora and fauna, running water, clean air, living oceans and an environment with a strong heartbeat. And it's not just Quito. So many Latin American cities have similar relationships with nature. In some, you may find it closer to the center of urban life, and in others, you may have to get further away, but the result will almost always be the same.

However, just like you can appreciate the richness of these areas, the risks and threats are also in plain sight, along with the poverty that stems from them. These risks are front and center here at the 2016 World Conservation Congress in Hawaii this week. Our planet is truly at a crossroads and Latin America is no stranger to this condition.

WWF's Living Planet Report highlights the challenges facing Latin America. This part of our planet has had the most dramatic decline in populations of tropical species, a staggering 83 percent. One of eight people lacks access to drinking water. We are the most urbanized region in the world, with 80 percent of Latin Americans living in cities. Changes in consumption patterns and the population growth in the region are causing us to increase our footprint. And, trafficking and illegal trade of wildlife species continues to grow, affecting key ecosystems, water supplies, and other vital natural resources.

At the same time, we are fortunate: regional leaders are accelerating their efforts to ensure development happens sustainably. Many national and local governments understand that their commitment to sustainability can have a positive impact on the economy, quality of life and the efficient and rational use of resources. There are countless companies that are innovating, changing their usual pattern of business and taking risks of opening new fronts to produce and commercialize sustainable and environmentally responsible products and services.

We are strengthening cross-border collaboration on trans-boundary national parks in different places of Latin America. Some financial institutions from the region and abroad are working to adopt more ambitious environmental regulations, while others are initiating their exploration towards a sustainable banking system.

For me, as well as for WWF, my colleagues and other organizations in Latin America, leaving this crossroad implies an enormous challenge. And only if we accelerate the process of conservation and reduce our footprint, we will have the necessary tools to face it.

We must rise to the conservation challenge. We need to ensure clean water, healthy oceans, resilient forests, and economic well-being to fulfill our vision as a vibrant society.

Water unites and brings dynamism to societies. It is at the center of development and the backbone of conservation. Oceans and forests are our pantries, they provide for millions of people and are the habitat of hundreds of thousands of species of flora and fauna. Economic growth is linked to the exploitation of resources like water, and access to resources provided by our oceans and forests. If tapped unsustainably, there will be impacts on the socio-political stability of the region.

The crossroad where we find ourselves, the one that can either make a way to a healthy and sustainable Latin America or pave the way to an unsustainable one, depends on our knowledge of the different visions of conservation within our region. We need our ability to relate the conservation of nature with the agreements of the COP21 in Paris and the goals for sustainable development; and our capacity to communicate with civil society, governments and the corporate sector with a language that resonates, becomes relevant, and motivates everyone to act. We need to make it happen jointly, because juntos es posible.

This post is part of a series on the World Conservation Congress taking place this week. Held every four years, it brings together about 6,000 people, including heads of state, government officials, business leaders, representatives from indigenous groups, scientists, academics, influencers, educators, artists and NGOs, from all over the world to discuss and decide on solutions to the world's most pressing environmental challenges. To read all the posts in this series click here.

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NationSwell: The Big Idea That's Growing Green Business in America  
After a lifetime of eating with disposable knives and forks, Michael Caballero, a 25-year-old industrial engineer at FedEx, looked the plastic cutlery...

Read more: Environment, Sustainability, Eco-Friendly, Eco-Friendly Products, Green Living, Business, Startup Incubator, Impact News

 
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September Moon  

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BA A319 At Sunset.  

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Firefly with a fiery sky.

 
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Watching Kinetic Sand Get Cut With A Knife Will Bring You Eternal Bliss  
Had a rough week of catch up after Labor Day? Looking to carve out your moment of zen for the day? A fan of anything "oddly satisfying?" Well, we've got just the thing for you!  
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An Ocean Perspective For A Planet At The Crossroads  


A conversation between Ocean Conservancy's CEO Andreas Merkl and Nainoa Thompson, president of the Polynesian Voyaging Society and navigator of the iconic Hōkūle'a, as Hawaiʻi hosts the IUCN World Conservation Congress.

With a shared passion for our ocean, Merkl (@AndreasMerkl) and Thompson spoke about experiencing unparalleled beauty on the water, the plague of plastic pollution in our ocean and the importance of bringing people together to find solutions.

The Polynesian Voyaging Society and Ocean Conservancy will be part of an International Coastal Cleanup organized by the U.S. Department of State in James Campbell Wildlife Refuge on September 9, 2016. For over 30 years, Ocean Conservancy has rallied the world's biggest single-day volunteer effort on behalf of the ocean through the International Coastal Cleanup. (Please click here if you'd like to sign-up to cleanup on September 17, 2016.)

The following was edited for clarity and length.

Andreas Merkl: We are both ocean people because we really want to be, but it is rare to see anybody who is as connected as you are. Being as deeply connected to the ocean as you are, how do you square both happiness and sadness when it comes to the issues it faces?

Nainoa Thompson: My draw to the ocean is because I fell in love with it. I fell in love with it because of just the infinite beauty of life itself. It was the definition for me. Through my journey around the world, we're recognizing how much we've hurt the earth. We made a trip to Palmyra, sailing eleven hundred miles, a number of years ago, and we didn't even get a single [fish] bite. It was like an empty ocean. We get a sense of the life not just by what's in the oceans but by what's in the air, the seabirds. It's just clearly diminished.

Andreas: You have that visceral sense that it has been degraded, that there's fewer fish, fewer birds. I've heard this from other sailors as well, lifelong sailors with many crossings, that say that sometimes there's a sense of dread and loneliness that they feel now, because it seems so depleted.

Nainoa: Yet when we got to the southern tip of Madagascar and the coast of South Africa, oh my God, it was one of the most amazing experiences I ever had.

Andreas: It's teeming?

Nainoa: It was like "Avatar" truly. There was so much bioluminescence. You could see so much. You could actually see small fish pass through the waters at night. It was just amazing. Then you get up to Cape Town, and it's just teeming with those super pods of whales. We've seen the brilliance of life, too. We've seen just the amazing, amazing power of the ocean in certain spaces. We've also seen the emptiness.



Andreas: Tell me about what you actually see out there in terms of plastic pollution.

Nainoa: What's good about the deck of the canoe, because we're not sailing with instruments, it requires the navigator to constantly be observing. They're looking at the surface of the oceans all the time. It depends really on the conditions of the ocean to see plastics. If it's windy and rough, they could be there, you just can't see them. I'll tell you, when you come in close to some of these countries, and I don't want to blame any of the countries, but it's pretty appalling, the amount of stuff that's just thrown into the ocean with no regard.

Andreas: The science shows about 8 million metric tons a year going into the ocean. We're putting as much plastic in as we're pulling tuna out. There is already one hundred and fifty million tons in there. In ten years or so there will be two hundred and fifty million tons unless we do something.

You spend a lot of time talking to leaders. I know that you had Ban Ki-moon on your boat. You talk to senior officials in the countries that you go to, and heads of state. Do you also talk to them about really concrete action?

Nainoa: Many times what I do, like with the United Nations, it's really trying to make connections between organizations and working with the leaders to try to bring some kind of larger unity to the movement of things like the Pacific Islands and the health of the ocean, climate change, and all these kinds of issues. I'm trying to convene, and I'm trying to bring people together. I think that's part of the equation to really have success.

Andreas: What is your journey for the next eleven months?

Nainoa: Once we reach Montreal, we will start heading south towards Florida, and once we are in the Caribbean, we're looking for inspiring stories as we make our way toPanama. In the Pacific side of Panama, we're going to go out to at least Cocos Island, Galapagos, probably Ecuador. From Ecuador, we go down to Rapa Nui (Easter Island) to Polynesia. Then we go to Pitcairns, Marquesas. Then down to Tahiti. The voyage home from Tahiti to Hawaiʻi is really a mechanism to unify Pacific leadership around the key issue of protecting the oceans. You need to come with us.

Andreas: I would love to!

Want to join an International Coastal Cleanup on September 17, 2016? Please click here to find a cleanup near you.

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Watching the Power Market Overrun both Coal and EPA  
I'm here to debate (along with Jody Freeman, the Archibald Cox Professor of Law at Harvard) a couple of coal advocates from Texas on the topic, "Has EPA Gone too Far" with its Clean Power Plan.

Our opponents are Charles McConnell, who was Assistant Secretary of Energy for Fossil Fuels in the first Obama Administration, and Michael Nasi, who leads the pro-coal Balanced Energy for Texas Coalition, comprised of coal companies, railroads and coal invested utilities and co-ops.

Intelligence Squared, which hosts the debate (watch http://www.intelligencesquaredus.org/debates/climate-change-epa-has-gone-overboard here) uses Oxford Union rules, which means the side which changes the most minds wins. Since most of the audience will probably start out supporting the Clean Power Plan, we're actually the underdog - we won't have as many people to move to our side as McConnell and Nasi.

Based on their previous articles and testimony, we expect the focus to be on cost - somehow replacing coal with clean energy is going to vastly increase consumer energy bills. But we feel well prepared - a day earlier, the nation's most coal dependent regional grid operator, PJM, has said that for a swathe of states from Virginia to Illinois, including the Appalachian coal belt,  complying with the new cleaner electricity rules will have no impact on reliability, and a miniscule 1-3.3% impact on power prices by 2030.
 
Perhaps because of the PJM release, McConnell and Nasi steer away from the economic arguments. McConnell focusses instead on the true (but irrelevant) fact that the CPP by itself does not rely on carbon capture and sequestration as a means of cleaning up coal plants globally (although any utility that chose to use CCS would get full credit for the carbon abatement that resulted.) Nasi trots out the legal arguments against the very flexibility and affordability that EPA has built into the regulations, arguing that in doing so EPA has stretched its authority under the Clean Air Act, which Nasi claims actually requires its clean-up rules to be power plant by power plant, rather than treating an entire state's power sector as the benchmark for measuring emissions.
 
These are the core legal arguments the coal lobby will make before the DC Circuit Court of Appeals on September 27, and they are revealing.
 
The coal lobby doesn't oppose EPA's clean power regulations because they cost too much; it opposes them because they are too economically attractive. They fear these rules will accelerate the shift away from coal that is already sweeping the US power sector. Reliance on coal is down from 50% in 2005 to 32% t his year. As a result, we have already gone half way towards the Clean Power Plan's emission reduction goals for 2030.  And during that period of time what has happened to the price of wholesale electricity? It has dropped 10%.  To reliability?  It has remained steady.
 
And the infamous Obama Administration War on Coal? It's now the junior partner in an alliance with market forces, which are responsible for the fact that coal generation has dropped so far without the CPP even going into effect.
 
In Colorado,  7 of XCEL's 10 coal fired power plants cost more just to operate than the cost of replacing them with brand new wind farms - consumers in Colorado would have lower bills if they just paid XCEL to shut down its plants and substitute renewables. In Indiana, NIPSCO has conceded to state regulators that from a consumer perspective, shutting down all of its plants would be the cheapest option, even though the Clean Power Plan would allow half of them to remain open. In Pennsylvania,  GE Finance a few years ago bought the huge Homer City Power Station at a fire-sale price, and then poured $750 million in retrofitting it with scrubbers. The Sierra Club warned GE that the move was a loser. Three years later the plant is hemorrhaging money, back on the market - and likely to go again for fire sale prices. GE, an otherwise smart company, will take this bath.
 
But Texas, with the nation's biggest coal fleet is the most revealing of all - although neither Nasi nor McConnell is eager to tell the story tonight. Consumer organizations in Texas estimate that market forces alone will lead the state to such heavy reliance on renewables and gas that it will be 88% of the way to its Clean Power Plan goal.  In fact, it looks like they are too cautious. The big news in power circles in Texas this summer is that the owners of coal plants - seven of them - are suing the counties in which those plants are located for massive - up 85% -- reductions in their assessed value for tax purposes. Why? Because they can no longer come close to competing on the Texas power market. The newest of these plants, Sandy Spring, just won a huge jury award in such a case - after arguing that it costs $.06 to generate a kwh of electricity from its coal plant, while the going power rate in Texas, a price set by wind, solar and gas, is only $0.03, half as much.
 
In his closing argument to the jury, the lawyer for Sandy Springs, summed up a coal plant operator's view of the future:

"You've heard a lot about this coal plant being new, with a lot of pollution control equipment, but it's still going to be a coal plant. It's never going to be a gas plant, a wind turbine or a solar plant. Clean energy and natural gas are the future. This plant is never going to be." 
 
I use those as the closing remarks of my debate as well.

To my surprise, we move more of the audience our way than our opponents. McConnell and Nasi start with 18% support and end with 23%. We, as I expected, start with far more supporters, 59%, but end with 72%. For the on-line audience, the results are even stronger. Support for the CPP grows from 49% to 63%. Opposition shrinks, from 42% to 35%.

It's nice to win this debate. But it's even nicer to have the market in my camp.

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US and China Join Paris Agreement, Bringing it Much Closer to Taking Effect  
Last week, the United States and China formally joined the Paris Agreement in a ceremony in Hangzhou, China ahead of the G20 Summit. President Obama and President Xi both deposited their country's official instrument with United Nations Secretary, General Ban-Ki Moon.



This ends the speculation about when the world's two largest greenhouse gas emitters will join the landmark international climate agreement. While 195 countries adopted the Agreement last year, it will actually enter into force when 55 countries accounting for at least 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions join by approving it domestically and submitting their "instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval" to the UN. The U.S.-China move brings the world firmly within range of hitting the 55-55 threshold this year--perhaps as soon as this month.

Why is this announcement important?

The United States and China together account for approximately 38 percent of the world's total greenhouse gas emissions. By swiftly joining the Paris Agreement, the United States and China have turned the page from making commitments to delivering action, and have encouraged other world leaders to follow their lead.

Today's joint statement also deepens the relationship between the two countries on climate change, building on previous joint statements released in November 2014 and September 2015, which helped pave the way for success at COP21 last year. In joining the Paris Agreement together, they have emphasized what can be achieved through cooperation and reconfirmed their responsibility to lead by example.

This is the first-ever G20 to be held in China, and brings together the world's largest economies. Of those attending, Argentina, Australia, Canada and Mexico have all committed to join the Agreement this year, and Brazil appears poised to join soon following the completion of its domestic approval process last week.

Given the strong signal now sent by the United States and China, a number of these countries are expected to follow through on their commitments as early as this month. The UN Secretary General has scheduled a special event on September 21 during the UN General Assembly for countries to join the Agreement by submitting their formal instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval.

How close are we to entry into force?

Entry into force means that the Paris Agreement will be in full force and effect under international law, binding those countries that have joined and catalyzing implementation of their commitments. Reaching entry into force rapidly will also demonstrate strong political commitment to the Agreement and increase the pace of putting its operational elements in place.

27 countries representing 39.08 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions have now joined the Paris Agreement. According to our analysis, a further 31 have either committed to join this year or are extremely likely to, based on national statements and completion of domestic ratification processes.

This would bring us to 58 countries representing 58.42 percent of emissions - well over the 55:55 threshold this year.

What comes next?

If the 55-55 threshold is reached by October 7 this year, the first meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (referred to as "CMA1") will take place in conjunction with COP22 in Morocco this November.

Alternatively, if the threshold is reached later this year, CMA1 would commence at the next major UN climate summit in 2017.

Parties would then need to determine a process for adopting the key procedures and guidelines to implement the Paris Agreement. Such rapid entry into force would continue the momentum created at Paris last year, help spur early implementation, and reinforce the global commitment to building a zero-carbon, climate-resilient future.

Regardless of whether it happens by October 7 or later this year, one thing is certain: The Paris Agreement is destined to become one of the most widely and swiftly ratified international treaties in history. For example, the Kyoto Protocol, the international climate treaty that preceded the Paris Agreement, took seven years to enter into force. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change before it took two years.

How can I monitor progress on ratification of the Paris Agreement?

Follow the progress on WRI's Paris Agreement Tracker, which will be updated in real time as new countries join in the coming weeks.

The Paris Agreement Tracker is now available in six languages: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese and Japanese.

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01 Apr 2011, Alhambra Palace, Granada, Spain --- The Alhambra Palace at sunset, Granada, Granada Province, Andalucia, Spain --- Image by © Doug Pearson/JAI/Corbis

 
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The Story Behind The Haunting 9/11 Photo Of A Man Falling From The Twin Towers  
The photo, taken by Richard Drew in the moments after the September 11, 2001, attacks, is one man's distinct escape from the collapsing buildings, a symbol of individuality against the backdrop of faceless skyscrapers. On a day of mass tragedy, "Falling Man" is one of the only widely seen pictures that shows someone dying.  
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Glacial melting and flooding occurs every year by the Skafta...  

Glacial melting and flooding occurs every year by the Skafta River in Iceland. As the water travels down towards the North Atlantic Ocean, incredible patterns are created on the hillsides. Rising lava, steam vents, or newly opened hot springs can all cause this rapid ice melt, leading to a sizable release of water that picks up sediment as it flows down from the glaciers.

63.7751116, -18.09628

Instagram: bit.ly/2caliFW

 
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Why Are Babies So Dumb If Humans Are So Smart?  
We even run scientific studies on them—and are thinking about re-creating some of those that have gone extinct .  
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'Green News Report' - September 8, 2016  
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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Major earthquake rattles Oklahoma, linked to fracking; Violent confrontation erupts at Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's Dakota Access pipeline protest; Typhoons in Asia now 50 per cent stronger than in the 1970s; PLUS: President Obama in China formally signs the U.S. on to the landmark United Nations Paris Agreement... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Climate change makes major Gulf Coast deluges more likely: study; Battered Coal Companies Courted State AGs to Fight Climate Rules; Lloyd's Fight Over Coverage for Oklahoma Earthquakes to be Heard by New York Court; The Truth Behind The Kochs' New Fossil Fuel PR Campaign; Fish Deaths in Montana's Yellowstone River Tied to Warming Waters; Judge Blocks Central California Oil Development Over Fracking... PLUS: 13 Sperm Whales Found Dead with Stomachs Full of Plastic Trash... and much, MUCH more! ...

'Green News Report' is heard on many fine radio stations around the country. For additional info on stories we covered today, plus today's 'Green News Extra', please click right here to listen!

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Will Japan Stop Whaling and Killing Dolphins in Time for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics?  
Since the International Whaling Commission's moratorium on commercial whaling went into effect in 1986, Japan has repeatedly flaunted the will of the IWC by issuing hundreds of scientific permits to Japan whalers for "research whaling." The scam has been repeatedly denounced by the IWC, by other nations, and was deemed illegal by the World Court in The Hague. Much of the killing, in addition to violating the moratorium, was conducted in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, designated by the IWC as a protected zone for whales.

In 2009, Japan's bloody hunting of dolphins was exposed by the release of the Academy Award-winning documentary "The Cove". The film caused a global sensation. Hundreds of intelligent dolphins - males, females and calves - die each year in the worst way imaginable.

Last winter (the Antarctic summer), Japan killed 333 minke whales for "scientific research" whaling. During the last 6-month dolphin-hunting season in Taiji, Japan, the hunters killed 652 dolphins (while catching another 117 live dolphins to be brokered to aquariums around the world).

Japan remains unmoved. Powerful rural legislators have joined with the Japan Fisheries Agency, the fishing industry and fishermen's unions in opposing any end to whaling and dolphin hunting. 80% of Japan's protein comes from the sea, and Japan is the largest importer of fish in the world. Extreme nationalists have adopted the issues as if Japan's very soul is bound up in the history of whaling and dolphin killing.

In fact, it is all nonsense. Few Japanese eat whale or dolphin meat anymore, despite clumsy Fisheries Agency attempts from time to time to mount pro-eating whale meat advertising and publicity stunts. Frozen whale meat stacks up in warehouses unsold; the meat is turned into jerky and pet food to get rid of it. The claim that whaling and dolphin hunting are "traditions" is very weak, as industrial whaling did not begin in Japan until the beginning of the 20th century (often with opposition from local Japanese fishermen who resented the blood and offal shore whaling stations dumped in fishing ports), with Antarctic trips not starting until the 1930's. Dolphin hunting is even more tenuous: Taiji's "traditional" dolphin drive hunts, depicted in "The Cove", did not begin until 1969.

Japan has bigger fish to fry, if you will excuse the pun. The conservative government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has repeatedly endorsed whaling and issues permits for dolphin hunters like clockwork. They should reconsider.

In 2020, Tokyo will be hosting the summer Olympics. The world will focus on Japan, and Japan will have an extraordinary opportunity on the world stage to restore prestige lost through years of its stagnate economy and reduced global leadership.

On that world stage, the slaughter of innocent whales and dolphins, anathema to most of the world's people and governments, would send a jarring note of Japan's unwillingness to cooperate with world bodies like the World Court and the IWC. This need not be the case.

The Olympics are all about cooperation and celebration. The slaughter of whales and dolphins practiced by Japan are anything but. Killing whales and dolphins is not an Olympic event. Does Japan really need such black marks on their national reputation?

We are told in antiquity that Greek warriors laid down their arms and ceased wars in order to join in the Olympic competitions, upon which our modern Olympics are based. Perhaps it is time for Japan to lay down their harpoons and spikes with which they kill whales and dolphins, and join the rest of the world in ending the exploitation of these intelligent and remarkable beings? Country after country, some having longer "traditions" of whale and dolphin hunting than Japan, have ceased such activities.

The Sept. 1st beginning of another season of dolphin hunting is upon us. In December, the Japanese whaling fleet will set sail again for Antarctic waters. Will the Japan government remain intransigent?

A gesture of international cooperation and goodwill by Japan towards whales and dolphins would have immense global value.

On August 29th, Earth Island's International Marine Mammal Project sent a letter to Prime Minister Abe recommending he end the killing of whales and dolphins by Japan, and offering our help in such a transition for the dolphin hunters of Taiji. We stress in our letter that we do not believe in a boycott of Japan or a boycott of the Olympics in Tokyo.

With four years to go, now is the time for Japan to start phasing out dolphin hunting and whaling.

Thanks to the Oceanic Preservation Society for their frame grab from "The Cove" documentary.

Please sign our petition to Prime Minister Abe.

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From the Front Lines of the Dakota Access Pipeline Protests  

Thousands of Native Americans have set up camp at the confluence of the Cannonball and Missouri Rivers in southern North Dakota to protest the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. This pipeline, if completed, would move 500,000 barrels of oil per day from the lucrative Bakken region in North Dakota across four states to Illinois. Developers contend that it would provide the safest, most cost effective way to deliver oil from North Dakota to the rest of the country.

The location the pipeline will cross the Missouri River causes great concern for the Standing Rock Sioux, however, whose reservation begins immediately downstream. The threat of spills and poisoned water sources has fueled their mass demonstration, attracting Native Americans from all around the continent. Their concerns certainly seem valid, as early plans had the pipeline crossing the Missouri just above North Dakota's capital, Bismark, until it was moved downstream out of fears of the potential for poisoning the city's water supply. Many Native Americans I spoke with felt this was just a continuation of hundreds of years of racism and oppression.

Earlier this week, I joined my friend Tonya Bonitatibus, the Savannah Riverkeeper (who has battled a pipeline in her home watershed) in North Dakota to document through photos and video what was happening. I arrived around midnight and turned on to a dirt road along the Cannonball River to find the Sacred Stone Camp. As soon as I stepped out of the car I felt welcomed and began to understand the massive scale of this movement.

As I talked with the protectors (their preferred title, instead of protesters), the cultural importance of water could not be understated. I repeatedly heard that their creation story begins with water, humans are mostly water, and without water trees cannot grow and we won't have any air to breath. Losing this lifeline is not an option for the people here. Couple that with threats to sacred sites along the pipeline route, already being disturbed as construction begins, and people are ready for a fight.

The next morning we went to visit a camp on the highway where protectors clashed with construction crews days before as bulldozers tore up native burial and other sacred sites. The air was cold and quiet, with people sipping coffee as they kept a lookout. While all seemed calm I could tell there was a powder keg of energy ready to blow. That spark arrived when lookouts reported construction crews had started work on an area of the pipeline about 15 miles away.

We mobilized as dozens of masked people jumped into cars and pickup trucks and tore out. As our convoy sped down the final hill to the site, I could see construction workers sprinting for the safety of their trucks as they abandoned work for the day. Protectors took over the site (with no weapons, just song and prayer, it should be noted), raising flags and signs and even chaining themselves to the construction equipment. The police stood by watching, only trying to keep the road open for traffic.

The protectors occupied the site all day and in what was mostly viewed as a success, construction was halted for another day and no one was hurt.

As the battle continues on the ground, the protectors hope that the court system and government at large will use this as an opportunity to honor treaties and support the original occupants of this country. Here are some ways that you can help make that happen.

Corey Robinson is a National Geographic Young Explorer, photographer and filmmaker whose work focuses on people's connection to land and water. Follow along for more photos and updates on Instagram @coreyrobinson

 
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As Climate Changes Us, We Change Wildlife  
It's easier and easier to understand the impacts a changing climate has on our daily lives: higher temperatures can affect everything from the food we eat, to the bills we pay for air conditioning in the summer and heat in the winter.


Fencing in Siana Conservancy, highlighting the difference in pasture between fenced and unfenced land.

But we're not the only ones affected. Climate change also impacts wildlife and the habitat on which they depend. Changes in climate are altering the timing of life cycles, causing species to shift where they live, and in some cases even leading to extinction.

While the direct correlation between a changing climate and wildlife is increasingly clear, to date there's been less focus on understanding how human responses to climate change also impact wildlife and their habitat. That's where my work comes in.

I recently visited the Siana conservancy in Kenya, part of the Greater Mara ecosystem. This part of the world, home to the Maasai people of Kenya, has one of the most spectacular concentrations of wildlife on the planet, including the famous "Big Five:" lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants and African buffalos. The Maasai people are pastoral, and they and their livestock have coexisted with wildlife for generations. However, successive seasons of failed or erratic rains, particularly during the long rainy season, have plunged much of the region into frequent periods of drought over the last few years.

During my visit, I met with community members and park rangers to understand how changing weather and climate over the last few years have impacted their daily lives. I wanted to find out what they are doing differently. How exactly are they responding to these changes?

In these conversations, I looked for hints of any novel responses that could be adopted elsewhere. And, I looked for examples of how their new "way of life" could be impacting the wildlife that also calls this area home.

I learned quickly that pasture is one of the most important resources in this area. The Maasai need it to feed the livestock that provides the foundation of local livelihoods. But, those large open plains also provide for millions of other grazing animals including wildebeest, zebras, and gazelles, particularly during the peak of the great animal migration across the Mara-Serengeti area - which is when I happened to visit.

In order to conserve pasture for their grazing livestock, the Maasai were erecting fences across large swaths of land, particularly during times of drought. Unfortunately, this fencing disrupts the migration of the native wildlife, and restricts their freedom to roam. This situation is further complicated by climate-driven weather events: rivers which used to flow year round are now seasonal, which is increasing competition for water between wildlife, humans and livestock.

However, there are solutions! During periods of drought, the Maasai are allowed to graze their livestock inside the protected conservancy in specified areas for certain amounts of time. They are investing in more productive livestock breeds and reducing the number of livestock they keep, particularly during lean times. And, communities are also harvesting rainwater, using the roofs of buildings to capture rain, then storing it in above and below ground water tanks for later use.

While this research is moving forward, we are beginning to share what we've learned with colleagues working in Africa and other parts of the world. At this week's IUCN World Conservation Congress, we're talking about these and other human responses to climate change, including the latest research in this emerging field. We're also talking about how WWF's new Climate Crowd initiative is crowdsourcing data to document human responses to climate change across the globe, and how others can use this data to develop interventions that help people and wildlife persist in a changing climate. It's exciting work and we're fortunate to work with incredible collaborators including IUCN, the Peace Corps and the USAID-funded Africa Biodiversity Collaborative Group.

Climate change is already taking a toll on us and also on the wildlife that share this world with us. And, climate change will continue to exacerbate existing threats -- like habitat destruction and overexploitation - for the world's already imperiled wildlife. We can -- we must -- help species adapt to our changing world by ensuring that our own responses to climate change factor in the health and wellbeing of the wildlife and the habitat they depend upon.

This post is part of a series on the World Conservation Congress taking place this week. Held every four years, it brings together about 6,000 people, including heads of state, government officials, business leaders, representatives from indigenous groups, scientists, academics, influencers, educators, artists and NGOs, from all over the world to discuss and decide on solutions to the world's most pressing environmental challenges. To read all the posts in this series click here.

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A tenth of the world's wilderness lost since the 1990s  
Researchers reporting in the journal Current Biology show catastrophic declines in wilderness areas around the world over the last 20 years.  
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Genetic analysis uncovers four species of giraffe, not just one  
Up until now, scientists had only recognized a single species of giraffe made up of several subspecies. But, according to the most inclusive genetic analysis of giraffe relationships to date, giraffes actually aren't one species, but four. The unexpected findings highlight the urgent need for further study of the four genetically isolated species and for greater conservation efforts for the world's tallest mammal, the researchers say.  
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New reptile species from 212 million years ago  
An extinct reptile related to crocodiles that lived 212 million years ago in present day New Mexico has been named as a new species, Vivaron haydeni, report scientists.  
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Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen: 'Green News Report' - September 8, 2016  
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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Major earthquake rattles Oklahoma, linked to fracking; Violent confrontat...

Read more: Barack Obama, Carbon Emissions, China, Climate Change, Climate Change Denial, Conservation, Energy, Environment, Extreme Weather, Fossil Fuels, g20, Global Warming, Global Warming Deniers, Green, Green News, Green News Report, Hawaii, Hurricanes, Oceans, Paris Agreement, Public Lands, Renewable Energy, Video, Hermine, Sea Level Rise, Oklahoma, Earthquake, Fracking, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Dakota Access Pipeline, Protest, Green News

 
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Newly described amphipod species already under threat  
Biologists have described a new amphipod species which is endemic to the Alps. While alpine lakes provide relatively undisturbed habitats for Gammarus alpinus, this species is being displaced by an invasive amphipod in Lake Constance.  
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Why moths are attracted to light  
Light at night changes animals' behavior. A new study shows that moths are attracted to street lamps within a radius of approximately 23 meters. The number of specimens attracted depends on the position of the street lamp: on the border of dark zones, more moths are attracted to the light than in an area's center where many lamps are used. Considering the standard distance between lamp posts in Europe, the nightscape appears fragmented to moths. This causes them to lose valuable time and energy at the lamps, so that increasing lighting may decrease their abundance.  
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Embryonic Stem Cell Therapy Restores Hand Function To Paralyzed Man  
Kris Boesen, a young man paralyzed with a neck injury, has recovered hand and arm function, thanks to an embryonic stem cell research therapy originally funded by California's Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act of 1999.

Today, three months after stem cells were injected into his spine, Boesen is "able to feed himself, use his cell phone, write his name, operate a motorized wheelchair and hug his friends and family..."

Flashback: when my own son Roman Reed was paralyzed in a college football accident, September 10th, 1994, there was literally no hope offered for his recovery -- or anyone else with a spinal cord injury, which were typically described as "devastating."

But Roman had no interest in giving up. He challenged himself and everyone around him. With his inspiration, California passed and renewed a research funding law named after him.



That was just the beginning.

Today, thanks to scientist Hans Keirstead's pioneering work on a Roman Reed Act grant, the efforts of dedicated scientists at Geron, Inc., funding from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM, which sprang from Palo Alto real estate developer Bob Klein's Proposition 71) and the unceasing efforts of too many people to name, a major improvement for the devastating injury has occurred.

Fremont, California is home to both Asterias Biotherapeutics, the company which provided the embryonic stem cells which were converted to the "insulating" oligodendrocyte cells which re-wrapped the damaged spinal cord nerves, and Roman Reed himself, for 21 years massively involved in the quest for cure, including the Roman Reed Foundation, and a new company, StemRemedium.

The first mention of paralysis in history was on the walls of an Egyptian tomb, which said: "Of paralyzed soldiers, deny them water, let them die, there is nothing that can be done."

But on this day, September 7, 2016, that grim outlook is no longer accurate; today, there is something that can be done.

And it all began with a small California law, Assembly Bill 750, (Dutra, D-Fremont), inspired by a young man, age 19, lying in a hospital bed, who refused to accept paralysis.

Don C. Reed is the author of "STEM CELL BATTLES: Proposition 71 and Beyond: How Ordinary People Can Fight Back Against the Crushing Burden of Chronic Disease," available now from Amazon.com.

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WATCH: Bacteria Invade Antibiotics And Transform Into Superbugs  

We know that bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics, but we've never seen it happen. An MIT scientist figured out how to show bacteria surviving antibiotics and invading a giant petri dish.

 
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How Do Ants Find Their Way Home?  
Tiny yellow "blindfolds" helped scientists understand more about the way Cataglyphis ants navigate.

-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com  
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A Boy Story  

Kristen Jarvis was a high-powered lawyer with a six-figure salary in Doha, Qatar. She loved working at a law firm—until she had children. After months of experiencing sexism in the workplace, Jarvis decided to make a radical change. She moved back to the United States and, with the help of her sister, began a Kickstarter campaign to fund a company that makes dolls for boys. “I think that there's been a belief in the toy industry that dolls aren't for boys,” Jarvis says in this documentary by The Atlantic. “We live in a modern society and we have a diverse world around us, but i can't buy a boy doll for my son?”

 
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Using a Rat Balloon to Protest Labor Abuse  

Lenny Anselmo is a union organizer with Laborers Local 79 in New York City. Every day, he lugs a 20-foot inflatable rat around the city to protest at non-union construction sites. The short film Lenny and the Rat follows Anselmo throughout the day as he and other trade union workers call for rights to living wages and benefits. “It's sending a message to developer and contractor, saying we're not just going to stand here and watch you build that building without a fight,” Anselmo says.

The documentary short was directed by Jason Hutt, a Brooklyn-based filmmaker.

 
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http://twitter.com/beatymuseum/status/773957865996447744 
Protect all endangered species, even the awkward and ugly ones https://t.co/7Q8igHnzcu #biodiversity via @flauna_za 
https://t.co/7Q8igHnzcu 

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Photos of the Day: Sept. 8, 2016  

Explore the news of the day with these images from around the world.  
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A View of Earth From The Milky Way  
As a child I was always fascinated with astronomy, the stars, planets, and galaxies.

I can still remember my parents taking me to stargazing events on those clear somewhat-cool Florida "winter" nights. We were members of our local astronomy club.

I can remember staring for hours through a telescope, admiring the beauty within the known universe; but largely seeing what was in our own backyard, within our own galaxy.

The most amazing night sky I can remember was when I was 16 years old, sleeping in the Negev desert of Israel. A close second was at a summer camp in Georgia. That night happened to be a most beautiful shooting star evening.

Now it's been over a decade since I've been able to see more than a handful of stars in the sky. Mainly, because I live in a city with extreme light pollution

However, this past Labor Day weekend, I was in a remote locale, with minimal lights in the area, and was once again able to see a beautiful night-time sky filled with stars and even a glimpse of our own beautiful Milky Way galaxy.

It was then that I felt not only small, but a renewed sense of why it is that I care so deeply about conservation, sustainability, and protecting the species of our planet and, the planet, Earth, itself.

When you peer into the center of the Milky Way you're looking millions of years into the past. It is then that you realize our time on earth is not only short, but completely insignificant in the whole presence of the universe.

Yet, we humans, with our fairly short lives have made dramatic and profoundly significant changes to our home, Earth. In fact, scientists are calling this the Anthropocene period of our planet.

It took Earth billions of years to get to where it is now, with millions of species of animals, plants, algae's, fungi, etc.

It is only in the last few hundred years that humans have started to understand and make sense of our planet and the wildlife around us. But, it is only in the last 50 to 60 years that we have made the largest impact on the planet and its species.

We humans have single-handedly managed to release hundreds of millions of years of stored carbon into our atmosphere, allowing for a domino effect on ocean health, our health, tropical rainforest and habitat health, and the health of many living things.

In this extremely short timeframe, we have managed to cause several species to go extinct or to move closer to extinction.

We have developed toxic chemicals, plastics, and other types of materials that endanger the lives of several species including ourselves.

We have found systematic ways to kill hundreds of millions of animals a year, both domesticated, and wild; sometimes for food, sometimes for a trophy or a trinket, or sometimes even for a piece of art.

We have found systematic ways to kill other humans through genocides, wars, extermination. All of this accomplished in a mere blink of Universal time.

We have organizations such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, the United States Endangered Species Act, and others that are supposedly designed to protect species we deem to be endangered.

Unfortunately, it often feels like these organizations sit at the table and declare the fate of a particular species. But, of course without them, I suppose there would be no oversight or regulation on anything.

The level of discourse seems to have fallen dramatically too recently.

It seems like today, if you disagree with someone, particularly if it's on the Internet, you will receive nasty comments, cruel emails, and phrases that I don't believe people would utter in person. And in fact, some of my blogs about conservation and sustainability have really shown me the power of money and greed.

It pains me to think that we put money, things, ahead of life; any life.

When you look up into a dark night sky, that is not polluted by lights, and see the gorgeous magnificence of our own galaxy with somewhere around 200 to 400 billion stars, you realize that this is all we have.

Earth can rebuild itself, if we let it. Fish stocks can recover, coral reefs can rebuild, rain forests can expand. Wildlife can grow. But, when we continue on the path that we are on, taking from earth faster than she can rebuild, or reproduce, then we truly limit our resources, and those of all the other species on earth

It's always interesting, when you hear about the concept of colonizing another planet, say Mars. At least in my circles, all you hear about are people recolonizing. Nothing is said about all the other animals. The ones we kill for sport, or for amusement parks, or for their ivory.

It saddens me to think that while we evolved from other apes; our technology, our greed, and some of our desires destroy almost everything natural and unique about our blue planet

So, when I looked into the night sky this Labor Day weekend, and for the first time in almost 20 years could see thousands of stars and our gorgeous Milky Way, I didn't just see beauty, I didn't just see vastness, I didn't just see our smallness in our galaxy in our universe, or even on our planet. No, I saw all that we were and all that we have managed to take away from earth in just a few short years.

While I believe that these organizations are necessary to try and protect whatever wildlife we can, I desire a world where we don't need these organizations. I desire a world where I don't need to pray for six months of the year that dolphins will swim far and swim deep to escape murder. I desire a world where we don't need articles describing how many species are at the risk of extinction because of our ill will.

I desire a world where we and other wildlife can coexist in peace and harmony.

And, finally, I desire a world where I don't need to be writing this article.


Twitter: recipe4survival
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PlanetExperts: http://www.planetexperts.com/author/danahunnes/

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Paradise lost: we've destroyed most of the world's wilderness  
World's truly wild regions could be gone altogether by the end of the century if current trend of decline continues  
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Turning To Baby Boomers To Save The Next Generation From Alzheimer's  
Today, more than 46 million people worldwide live with dementia, and Alzheimer's Disease International estimates that number will increase to more than 130 million people by 2050. Now imagine within the next 10 years that we're able to alter the trajectory of Alzheimer's disease and find a treatment that could stave off symptoms before we lose another generation. We would avoid the pain and suffering of the hundreds of millions of people impacted by Alzheimer's and the economic cost of the disease, which is estimated to be nearly $1 trillion dollars -- the value of Apple and Google, combined.

This is exactly what we aim to do with the Alzheimer's Prevention Initiative (API) Generation Study, which launched this month.

After decades in medicine, I have seen first-hand the devastating impact that Alzheimer's disease can have on patients and family members. I have witnessed patients lose their identities and their ability to function as the disease takes hold. Families are often at a loss, struggling to understand and adapt to the confusing changes that happen to their loved ones. It is a heartbreaking journey.

Unfortunately, these stories are only becoming more prevalent. The World Health Organization sees Alzheimer's disease as a public health priority. Simply put, the disease will overwhelm us unless we do something to end it.

The Generation Study is testing whether either or both of two investigational compounds -- an active immunotherapy and an oral medication -- compared to placebo might prevent or delay the emergence of Alzheimer's symptoms in people who are at particularly high risk for developing the disease at older ages because of a relatively uncommon genetic profile they inherited from both parents.

Our study will enroll individuals in the Baby Boomer generation, specifically those people who are 60 to 75 years of age and currently show no signs of cognitive impairment -- and who also inherited two copies of the e4 type of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene, the major genetic risk factor for developing Alzheimer's disease at older ages. Only about 2 percent of the world's population carries two copies of the APOE4 gene.

The Generation Study is unique in being the first trial to require participants to learn whether they carry none, one or two copies of the APOE4 gene. Learning one's genetic status can be emotionally wrenching, so we will provide genetic counseling to those willing to participate. Individuals will speak with a healthcare provider, such as a genetic counselor, to discuss their APOE results and address their questions and concerns.

The Generation Study is among several API efforts intended to find faster ways to test promising new treatments by focusing on people at high risk for developing Alzheimer's because of their age and genetic status. Thanks to the altruism of our volunteer participants, we are able to avoid the costs and time associated with testing investigational drugs in much larger population samples, which would inevitably include people who are at minimal risk of developing Alzheimer's and whose results would provide little insight on a potential treatment.

If we find that either or both of these investigational compounds are successful in preventing or delaying the development of Alzheimer's symptoms in high-risk individuals, this would be a huge win for all of us. And it would also open the door to other studies with even greater reach.

Almost 25 percent of the world's population carries one copy of the APOE4 gene, and they account for almost two-thirds of all persons with Alzheimer's disease. Can success in the Generation Study lead to success in other people at risk? That's a very exciting question.

Even if this research only results in our ability to delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease by five years, the impact could be enormous. Some estimates indicate that even a short delay could reduce the number of Alzheimer's cases by 50 percent. That's quite a legacy for Baby Boomers to leave future generations.

If you'd like to learn more about participating in the Generation Study, visit GeneMatch (www.endALZnow.org/GeneMatch), a tool that we're using to recruit potential study participants.

Dr. Pierre Tariot is the co-principal investigator for the Generation Study. He is the director of the Banner Alzheimer's Institute and a board-certified physician in internal medicine and geriatric psychiatry. After intensive training in developing new treatments for Alzheimer's disease at the National Institutes of Health, he spent 20 years as a professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, where he directed a program dedicated to the care and study of people with Alzheimer's. He has devoted his career to helping patients and families cope with the effects of dementia and is a recognized leader in the development of new Alzheimer's treatments. He has published hundreds of scientific articles, is a widely sought-after speaker and consultant, and has won numerous awards for his service and research.

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What is Aleppo? This is Aleppo. (24 photos)  

Earlier today, the Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson was asked by journalist Mike Barnicle “What would you do, if you were elected, about Aleppo?” Johnson  replied with his own question: "What is Aleppo?" Aleppo is Syria's largest city, an urban battlefield in the brutal Syrian Civil War since 2012. Reporters and photojournalists have been covering the conflict for years, documenting the belligerents as well as the tragic circumstances of those civilians caught up in the multifaceted war. When Barnicle asked “What would you do about Aleppo?” he was asking what would the candidate do to stop the horrors made visible to us by the photojournalists below. (Thanks to Corinne Perkins for the title and idea.) Editor's note: Many of the following images are graphic in nature.

 
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Hi by Harry Young  

Hi by Harry Young

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Harry Young: Photos

 
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Catastrophic Declines in Earth's Remaining Wilderness Over the Last 20 Years, Study Finds  

Only 23 Percent of Wilderness Remains

Researchers reporting in the journal Current Biology show catastrophic declines in wilderness areas around the world over the last 20 years, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) said today.

“They demonstrate alarming losses comprising a tenth of global wilderness since the 1990s an area twice the size of Alaska and half the size of the Amazon. The Amazon and Central Africa have been hardest hit,” the New York-based WCS added in a statement released at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Hawaii.

“The findings underscore an immediate need for international policies to recognize the value of wilderness areas and to address the unprecedented threats they face,” the researchers say.

“Globally important wilderness areas—despite being strongholds for endangered biodiversity, for buffering and regulating local climates, and for supporting many of the world's most politically and economically marginalized communities—are completely ignored in environmental policy,” says James Watson of the University of Queensland in Australia and the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York. “Without any policies to protect these areas, they are falling victim to widespread development. International policy mechanisms must recognize the actions needed to maintain wilderness areas before it is too late. We probably have one to two decades to turn this around.”

 

Losing Entire Ecosystems

Watson says much policy attention has been paid to the loss of species, but comparatively little was known about larger-scale losses of entire ecosystems, especially wilderness areas which tend to be relatively understudied. To fill that gap, the researchers mapped wilderness areas around the globe, with “wilderness” being defined as biologically and ecologically intact landscapes free of any significant human disturbance. The researchers then compared their current map of wilderness to one produced by the same methods in the early 1990s.

Losses have occurred primarily in South America, which has experienced a 30 percent decline in wilderness, and Africa, which has experienced a 14 percent loss.

This comparison showed that a total of 30.1 million km² (around 20 percent of the world's land area) now remains as wilderness, with the majority being located in North America, North Asia, North Africa, and the Australian continent. However, comparisons between the two maps show that an estimated 3.3 million km² (almost 10 percent) of wilderness area has been lost in the intervening years. Those losses have occurred primarily in South America, which has experienced a 30 percent decline in wilderness, and Africa, which has experienced a 14 percent loss.

 

 

Losing the Last Jewels in Nature's Crown

“The amount of wilderness loss in just two decades is staggering,” says Dr Oscar Venter of the University of Northern British Colombia. “We need to recognize that wilderness areas, which we've foolishly considered to be de-facto protected due to their remoteness, is actually being dramatically lost around the world. Without proactive global interventions we could lose the last jewels in nature's crown. You cannot restore wilderness, once it is gone, and the ecological process that underpin these ecosystems are gone, and it never comes back to the state it was. The only option is to proactively protect what is left.”

 

“We have a duty to act for our children and their children.” — James Watson

Watson says that the United Nations and others have ignored globally significant wilderness areas in key multilateral environmental agreements and this must change.

“If we don't act soon, there will only be tiny remnants of wilderness around the planet, and this is a disaster for conservation, for climate change, and for some of the most vulnerable human communities on the planet,” Watson says. “We have a duty to act for our children and their children.”

 

“It should not be surprising that the wild and natural areas of the world are being altered and even destroyed so rapidly.” — Peter Raven, President Emeritus of the Missouri Botanical Garden.

“Given the fact that we have already converted a third of the world's land surface to agriculture of some kind, and that we are changing the atmosphere so rapidly that unless we start taking truly effective action now, it should not be surprising that the wild and natural areas of the world are being altered and even destroyed so rapidly,” said Peter Raven, Chairman of the National Geographic Committee for Research and Exploration and President Emeritus of the Missouri Botanical Garden. (Dr. Raven did not participate in the study.)

“Given the inequalities between nations, however, and our reluctance to help one another much with conservation, there is no particular reason to think the future will be that much better than the past.  To solve these problems we would need a level population that the Earth could support indefinitely; equitable consumption based on social justice around the world; the empowerment of women and children, so that everyone could use the gifts that they have for our common good; and a mutual understanding based on understanding and even loving one another as dwellers on a single finite planet.”

Human Population Increases by 250,000 a Day

Raven noted that we live in a world in which the human population has grown from one billion people two centuries ago, when all of the land was being divided into nations and colonies for the first time, to 7.4 billion people today. With 250,000 people net being added every day, the total global population is expected to increase by 2.4 billion additional people during the next 34 years, by mid-century (2050), he said.

“There are already three times as many people on Earth as when I was born in the mid-1930s.  The Global Footprint Network estimates that we are using 1.64 times the sustainable capacity of the Earth, up from 70 percent percent in 1970.  What is most alarming about our situation, though is the exceedingly uneven division of consumption between the different countries on Earth, given that we are already well over the top in consuming productivity.”

Raven recalled that a half century ago, Adlai Stevenson, addressing a committee of the United Nations at a time when the human population and consumption were about half of what they are now, said:

“We travel together, passengers on a little spaceship, dependent upon its vulnerable reserves of air and soil, all committed for our safety to its security and peace; preserved from annihilation only by the care, the work, and, I will say, the love we give our fragile craft. We cannot maintain it half fortunate, half miserable, half confident, half despairing, half slave to the ancient enemies of man, half free in a liberation of resources undreamed of until this day. No craft, no crew can travel safely with such vast contradictions. On their resolution depends the survival of us all.”

Racing to Consume the Most Possible

More than 200 million people have been killed in wars since countries began to vie with one another in earnest, Raven added.  The U.S. has about 7,000 nuclear tipped warheads, and Russia 7,700.  “Everyone wants to win the race to consume the most possible, whatever the cost to global stability, and conservation will not really become possible until we regain our collective sanity.

“The current article offers continuing proof that we are still a long way away from where we need to be.  I hope that it and the other signs evident everywhere might inspire us to overcome our inherited instincts and find a way to preserve the world in a way of which we could be proud.”

More About the Research Article

Watson et al.: “Catastrophic Declines in Wilderness Areas Undermine Global Environment Targets”http://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(16)30993-9 /

 
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Humans have destroyed a tenth of Earth's wilderness in 25 years - study  

Experts warn there may be no unspoilt places left within a century as report shows an area twice the size of Alaska has been lost since 1993

Humans have destroyed a tenth of Earth's remaining wilderness in the last 25 years and there may be none left within a century if trends continue, according to an authoritative new study.

Researchers found a vast area the size of two Alaskas 3.3m square kilometres had been tarnished by human activities between 1993 and today, which experts said was a “shockingly bad” and “profoundly large number”.

Continue reading...  
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Human activity means sharks are disappearing from the North Sea  
A two month survey of marine sites in the North Sea has found few long-living species in the water, and other signs that the ecosystems there are changing  
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PHOTOS: Explore the Largest Protected Area on Earth  
On Aug. 26, President Barack Obama created the largest protected area on Earth when he expanded the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands to a total 582,578 square miles (1.5 million square kilometers)--an area more than twice the size of Texas. Expansion of the monument will help conserve one of the most biologically and culturally significant places on the planet.

Papahānaumokuākea harbors over 7,000 species, a quarter of which are found nowhere else. It provides habitat for rare species such as the threatened green turtle, the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, and the false killer whale, as well as 14 million seabirds representing 22 different species. In the first half of 2016, scientists exploring the area discovered a new type of ghost octopus, nicknamed "Casper," and three new species of fish.

The world's oldest known living organism--a deep-water black coral estimated to be as old as the Pyramids--is found in the monument's expanded boundaries.

President Obama's announcement builds on actions by six previous U.S. presidents--three Republicans and three Democrats--to conserve the ecosystems and wildlife of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. In fact the original monument designation was made by President George W. Bush with the strong support of his wife Laura.

Explore the images below for a view of Papahānaumokuākea.


Photo: Robin Baird/NOAA

False killer whales, like the two shown here, are among 24 species of marine mammals found in Papahānaumokuākea. As top predators, these whales reproduce only every six or seven years and birth only one calf each pregnancy. The expansion of the monument will benefit the species, along with endangered marine mammals such as the blue whale, fin whale, and sei whale.




Photo: Image courtesy of NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Hohonu Moana 2016.

Bamboo coral thrives in deep water, including on some of the 110 seamounts (underwater mountains) in the area covered by the Papahānaumokuākea expansion. Seamounts host the majority of the known biodiversity in the deep sea--which reaches depths greater than 1,000 meters (3,281 feet)--where creatures grow slowly and reproduce late in life, making them highly vulnerable to fishing and other intrusions by man.




Photo: Mark Sullivan, NMFS Permit 10137-07/NOAA

The monk seal is the most endangered of the seal species in U.S. waters, with only 1,100 remaining in the wild. The expanded Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument provides important foraging ground for 97 percent of the population of the monk seal, the only marine mammal wholly dependent on coral reefs.




Photo: Lee Gillenwater/The Pew Charitable Trusts

The endangered green turtle, above, is among the many species of marine and terrestrial life found in Papahānaumokuākea. Two other species of sea turtle--the leatherback and loggerhead--are declining in number, in part because they are often accidentally caught by commercial fishermen. Pacific leatherbacks experienced a 95 percent decline in the last two decades of the 20th century.




Photo: Jim Abernethy/The Pew Charitable Trusts

Marine scientists are hopeful that oceanic whitetip sharks, above, and silky sharks will use the expanded Papahānaumokuākea monument as a sanctuary to rebuild their populations. Numbers of both species have dropped considerably since industrial longline fishing became prevalent in the Pacific Ocean in the 1950s; fishermen are barred from targeting either species, but both frequently end up hooked as unintentional catch and are often returned to the water dead or dying.




Photo: NOAA

Scientists say a specimen of black coral, like the one above, found in the monument is the oldest living organism on the planet, at 4,265 years; a gold coral specimen also found within the expanded reserve is 2,742 years old. The enlarged Papahānaumokuākea protects legions of deep-sea coral communities, which are thought to be more diverse than tropical shallow reef systems, according to a study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In some areas of deep-sea coral, more than 90 percent of the resident fish are found only there. Marine reserves can safeguard deep-sea organisms from practices such as bottom trawling, which has been shown to destroy reefs that took thousands of years to grow.




Photo: Kiah Walker, volunteer/ U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

These Laysan albatrosses, like more than 98 percent of their species, nest on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The bird on the left, named Wisdom, was banded by scientists in 1956 and returned to Midway Atoll in 2016 to hatch a chick. At least 65 years old, Wisdom is thought to be the world's oldest living bird and the oldest to successfully hatch a chick.




Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands provide refuge for 14 million tropical birds from 22 different species, and in Midway Atoll, Laysan Island, and Nihoa Island an estimated 5.5 million breed there annually. The expanded Papahānaumokuākea protects more foraging area than the original boundaries of the monument for boobies (including red-footed boobies, above), shearwaters, albatrosses, and petrels.




Photo: Jérôme Petit/The Pew Charitable Trusts

These two traditional sailing canoes , the Hōkūle'a, left, and the Hikianalia, departed Hawaii in 2013 for a four-year voyage around the globe as part of the Polynesian Voyaging Society's effort to promote ocean conservation. Some young-adult Hawaiians are reviving the practice of voyaging, which includes navigating solely from environmental cues, and are using the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as their training grounds. The earliest inhabitants of Hawaii voyaged there from Polynesia as early as the sixth century A.D.




Photo: Derek Wang/NOAA

In 2006, the establishment of the initial Papahānaumokuākea monument inspired a movement to protect large ocean spaces and challenged world leaders to safeguard ever-larger areas of ocean. In the past 18 months, more of the ocean has been set aside for protection than at any other comparable time period in history, with new marine reserves announced by Chile, New Zealand, Palau, the U.K., and the U.S. The expansion of Papahānaumokuākea adds protection for vulnerable, endangered, and critically endangered species, and raises the bar for the size of future marine reserves around the world.

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White killer whales were a legend now they are everywhere  
White orcas are so rare, there was once only one. Now they are being spotted more frequently and the reason is not good news  
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The Maritime Silk Road: China's High Seas Ambitions  
With its Maritime Silk Road, China is tapping the world's oceans for its own strategic purposes. It's a bold plan that is causing unease in India and the United States -- and also has implications for Europe.  
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Ride-by by Solihin Suhaimi  

Ride-by by Solihin Suhaimi

Solihin Suhaimi: Photos

 
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《卫报》为何要用中文报道大象的生存危机？  

在接下来的一年，英国《卫报》将与中外对话联合推出大象保护与拯救的系列报道。翻译：金枝 (中外对话/chinadialogue)

从早先欧美的象牙收藏热，到近来亚洲地区对象牙高涨的需求，一波又一波的屠杀已经将非洲大象逼向灭绝的边缘。过去十年，为了满足人们对象牙不灭的热情，非法狩猎活动猖獗，导致非洲大象数量灾难性下降。

Related: 事实上，大象已经濒临灭绝

Related: Why the Guardian is publishing its elephant reporting in Chinese

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Why the Guardian is publishing its elephant reporting in Chinese  

A new partnership with chinadialogue will bring a year of in-depth reporting, expert opinion and features to a crucial audience of consumers and readers China

Wave after wave of elephant slaughter, driven first by European and US ivory collectors and more recently by demand in Asia, has brought the African elephant to its knees. A catastrophic decline in the past decade is primarily due to poaching to feed a continuing passion for ivory.

The poachers are mainly Africans, but their clients are often criminal gangs based in Asia who smuggle the tusks on planes and ships to countries where demand for ivory continues to grow. The largest of these is China.

Related: 《卫报》为何要用中文报道大象的生存危机？

Related: 事实上，大象已经濒临灭绝

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事实上，大象已经濒临灭绝  

目前全球大象种群处境危急。卡尔·马蒂森 就将向我们解释，为何大象即将迎来前所未有的生死攸关时刻。

翻译: Estelle/中外对话/chinadialogue

作为陆地上体积最大的野生动物，声音如雷、体重可达六吨的大象可谓是生物演化史上的一个奇迹。除了它们那有着10万块肌肉的灵活无比的鼻子，和能帮助它们驱走热量的特大号耳朵之外，大象族群还有着复杂的母系社会结构，它们甚至还会在同伴逝去之后恸哭哀痛。而大象的另外一个特征就是长长的象牙，这本来应该是它们保护自己的防卫武器，然而却最终成为了族群濒危的导火索。

Related: 《卫报》为何要用中文报道大象的生存危机？

Related: Elephants on the path to extinction - the facts

Related: Why the Guardian is publishing its elephant reporting in Chinese

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Whale Sushi and Overpriced Fish: New Report Shows Need for Strong Policies to Fight Seafood Fraud  


The U.S. imports as much as 90 percent of its seafood, and it is vital for consumers to know where all this food is coming from. Seafood fraud - the mislabeling or species substitution of seafood products - is a global problem that cheats customers, poses a threat to consumer health, and hinders conservation efforts around the world. This week, a new report released by Oceana (Deceptive Dishes: Seafood Swaps Found Worldwide, Sept. 7) illustrates just how common seafood fraud is; a review of more than 200 published studies across 55 countries found that, on average, one in every five samples of seafood tested was mislabeled. This finding underscores the need for concrete action to put in place full boat to plate traceability for all U.S. seafood (whether domestic or imported) to protect U.S. consumers and businesses from seafood fraud.

The study found that, as in the U.S., seafood fraud globally is frequently driven by economic incentives, including the sale of illegally caught fish as well as driving up the price of cheap fish through dishonest labeling. For example, researchers found that farmed Asian catfish - a common, inexpensive fish - was dishonestly sold as 18 different types of fish that are typically sold at higher prices.

In addition, Oceana's report found that the global prevalence of seafood fraud is undermining the efforts of consumers who want to make responsible seafood choices. Without strict traceability rules and informative consumer labeling in place, protected or even endangered species may be unknowingly purchased by consumers. A study of Italian seafood products found that 82 percent of the 200 grouper, perch and swordfish samples tested were mislabeled. Of those samples, almost half of the substituted fish were species that are considered threatened with extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). In California, a since-closed sushi restaurant was caught selling whale sushi - including meat from the endangered sei whale - which had been labeled as "fatty tuna" to illegally import it. Consumers will only be able to eat seafood responsibly if they are provided with the information they need to make informed choices at the seafood counter and in restaurants.

Fortunately, it is possible to effectively combat the problem of seafood fraud. For example, the European Union has moved to implement new policies designed to limit illegal fishing and improve transparency and accountability in the seafood supply chain. Oceana's research suggests that these measures are working, showing a steady decrease in EU seafood mislabeling rates, particularly in those species and sectors of the seafood supply chain covered by regulations. The 2015 fraud rate was found to be 8 percent - less than half what it was during the 2003-2011 time period.

The U.S. should follow the example of the European Union and put in place policies that will ensure that the seafood Americans eat is safe, legally caught and honestly labeled. The Obama administration's Presidential Task Force on Combating IUU Fishing and Seafood Fraud released a proposed rule earlier this year that would require traceability to the first point of entry into U.S. commerce for certain species considered "at risk" of seafood fraud. This is an encouraging first step, but the final rule needs to go further. As world leaders head to Washington for the Our Ocean conference next week, the administration should take this opportunity to create the strongest rule possible by expanding the documentation requirements to all seafood and extending traceability throughout the entire seafood supply chain. Such a rule will protect American consumers and promote responsible stewardship of the oceans worldwide.

You can read more about Oceana's research at www.oceana.org/seafoodfraud, and an interactive map of global seafood fraud cases and studies compiled by Oceana can be found at www.oceana.org/seafoodfraudmap.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
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Robert Fludd Scientist of the DayRobert Fludd, an English...  

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Robert Fludd Scientist of the Day

Robert Fludd, an English physician and Hermetic philosopher, died Sep. 8, 1637, at age 63.

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Flash Physics: Dyson award for 'Einstein's fridge', Australian Centres of Excellence, mapping our galaxy's age  
Today's selection of need-to-know updates from the world of physics  
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A billion pixels, a billion stars  
Gerry Gilmore and Floor van Leeuwen explain how the precise data from the Gaia mission will revolutionize our view of the galaxy  
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London  

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View from the AquaShard restaurant, Floor 31 of the Shard, London, UK.

 
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Humpbacks From Above - 1 by Simon Svensson  

Humpbacks From Above - 1 by Simon Svensson

Got the opportunity to go up in a spotter plane (to locate whales, whale sharks, sharks and manta rays for the tour boats) in Coral Bay, and was lucky enough to see a mother and her calf on the inside of the reef. Such amazing animals!

Simon Svensson: Photos

 
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Renewables Trump Fossil Fuels  
Let me get this out right up front: I'm not a fan of Donald Trump and I won't be voting for him. Over the past year, I've been both captivated and repulsed by the Republican presidential candidate's bullying tactics, outlandish lies, and seeming joy in stirring up deep-seated hatred and fear. And when it comes to my area of professional expertise, clean tech, I've been equally frustrated and confounded. As a firm believer in the need to apply advanced technologies and smart policies in the battle against human-caused pollution and climate change, I am dismayed (though not surprised) that Trump, and the Republican Party's national platform, would take such an oppositional stance toward clean-energy solutions.

In an atmosphere of record-setting global temperatures, uncontrollable flooding and fires, and a growing chorus of business, religious, policymaker, and public support for a clean-energy transition, it makes the Republicans (at the presidential and national level at least) look antiquated and deeply out of touch.

Here are some highlights of the two major party candidates and their respective platforms on clean energy and climate change.

Hillary Clinton

• Like the vast majority of scientists, believes that climate change is real and that humans are having an impact on the global climate
• 
  
  
• Supports the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan to reduce greenhouse gases
• 
  
  
• Embraces solar and wind energy and wants to turn the U.S. into a "renewable energy superpower"
• 
  
  
• Proposes the expansion of solar power by 700% by the end of her first term
• 
  
  
• Calls on the U.S. to generate enough electricity from renewable sources to power every American home within ten years of taking office
• 
  
  
• Has suggested the creation of a60 billion competitive grant program to incentivize states, cities and rural communities to become clean-energy leaders
• 
  
  
• Calls for the elimination of billions of dollars in tax subsidies to oil and gas companies and to instead invest in clean energy

Donald Trump

• Doesn't believe in climate change, has called it a hoax
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• Plans to rescind many of Obama's executive actions including the Climate Action Plan
• 
  
  
• Claims he will save the coal industry if he's president
• 
  
  
• Has attacked the wind industry for bird deaths, without acknowledging that buildings (like the ones with his name on them) are responsible for far more bird deaths than the wind industry
• 
  
  
• Promises to ask TransCanada to renew its permit application for the Keystone pipeline
• 
  
  
• Says he will cancel the Paris Climate Agreement and stop all payments of U.S. tax dollars to U.N. programs addressing global warming
• 
  
  
• Repeatedly talks about how "expensive" solar and wind power are, seemingly unaware of the fact that these technologies have reached cost parity across diverse geographies

Talk about an ideological chasm.

Back in 2012, Clint Wilder and I published our second book, Clean Tech Nation, which focused on how the U.S. could remain competitive in the global race toward a clean-tech future, and in which we outlined a Seven-Point Action Plan for the country. At the time, we reached out to a diverse group of politicians, businesspeople, investors, and others to provide early reviews, including those on the left, right, and in between. We were thrilled when former President Bill Clinton offered up the following assessment: "Clean Tech Nation dares to imagine a country in which bipartisanship reigns, green energy is our nation's greatest national resource, and our competitive edge in the global economy is restored."

Clinton's quote perfectly reflected some of the key themes and aspirations in our book:

Bipartisanship:
Clean energy should be treated not as a partisan divide, but as the unifying force that it is. In my June column, I highlighted the fact that red and blue states equally comprised the Top 10 states for solar and wind deployment in 2015. In polling, Americans of all political stripes and affiliations overwhelmingly support renewables. It's time that our political parties caught up with the rest of the nation.

National Resource:
The U.S. possesses a rich and diverse clean-energy resource base, spanning solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, biomass, and more. Last year, for example, solar and wind represented more than 60% of new electricity capacity additions. And for 2016, the EIA projects that utility-scale solar (not including distributed on-site solar generation) will outpace both natural gas and wind power in terms of total capacity additions, with a projected 9 GW installed. Talk about a national resource!

Economic Competitiveness:
At Clean Edge, we firmly believe that the U.S. economy remains intricately linked to breakthroughs and deployment in green buildings, renewable energy, energy storage, advanced agriculture, electrified transportation, and other emerging clean-tech sectors. China, Germany, Japan, and other nations are aggressively pursuing these industries as well, and we ignore these opportunities, from an economic perspective, at our peril.

Below is a slightly updated Seven-Point Action Plan from our 2012 book. I believe this plan still offers a strong blueprint (and insights) for a potential national clean-energy strategy.

1. Enact a National Renewable Electricity Standard of 50% by 2040
2. Create and Fund a National Smart Infrastructure Bank
3. Leverage Proven Investment Tools from Oil, Gas, and Real Estate Sectors (such as MLPs, REITs, etc.)
4. Phase out all Energy Subsidies within 10 Years (to Level the Playing Field)
5. Foster Open-Source Collaboration to Set Clean-Tech Standards
6. Fund Military Initiatives on Energy and Water Security
7. Launch Federally Backed Prizes for Clean-Tech and Climate Innovation

Based on their statements and positions, it's obvious which of the current major party candidates will support the clean-energy aspirations of the majority of Americans - Democratic, Republican, Independent, Libertarian, Green, or other. My advice: if you want to ensure that renewables continue to trump fossil fuels, vote for Hillary Clinton.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
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Red Panda  

Mathias Appel posted a photo:

Jang is a very photogenic panda!

 
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Get inside the collective mind of a genius superorganism  
The amazing bridges and scaffolds that ants build using their own bodies can teach us a thing or two about robotics, engineering and cooperation  
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Public masturbation not a crime declares Italy's top court  

Though tossing more than coins in the Trevi fountain could still merit a fine

A 61-year-old Italian convicted of public masturbation has had the threat of hard time lifted, after judges declared the dirty old goat's favoured pastime isn't actually a crime in the country.…

 
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