%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Flindahall.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F150490229967&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Pietro Tacca Scientist of the Day Pietro Tacca, an Italian... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porcellino#/media/File:PorcellinoFlorence.jpg
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fkarmenu-vella%2Fthe-european-union-steps_b_12043222.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dscience%26ir%3DScience&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 The European Union Steps Up Commitments As Ocean Champion More than ever before, we understand the many ways in which oceans shape our lives: as a source of food, jobs, medicine, energy, comfort - right to the very air we breathe.
Yet if anything, the threats to our oceans have grown. Climate change, ocean acidification, overfishing, pollution - these pressures know no borders, and they are expected to increase. Our previous indifference has come back to haunt us. Now the world needs to act, together, to nurse our oceans back to health.
That is why a vast coalition of ocean champions is coming together in Washington this week, for the third edition of the Our Ocean conference.
Set up by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in 2014, these conferences allow us to share ideas and experiences, to find out what is working and where more needs to be done.
But what makes them stand out is their focus on concrete commitments for action. Delegates are expected to set out how they plan to make our oceans healthier - and, crucially, report back on their progress.
In the European Union, I am proud to say we are well on track. We are making good progress to achieve good environmental status of our waters by 2020. We are halfway to our goal of setting aside 10 percent of our oceans and seas as marine protected areas by 2020. And we are on target to have maritime spatial planning for all EU waters by 2021.
The European Union is also delivering on its commitment to make global fishing more sustainable: in the last 12 months, we have tightened rules for EU fishing vessels above 15 metres, proposed rules to better monitor and control our fishing fleet, and continued to use a budget of 675 million euros - roughly 760 million dollars - to help countries in Africa and Asia fight illegal fishing and develop sustainable fisheries of their own.
But we can do more.
First, we want to share our experiences - and learn from others in return. So we are launching a transatlantic "twinning" project on marine protected areas with countries in Africa, North and South America. Next year, we will co-organise an international conference to work on global guidance on maritime spatial planning.
Second, we want to step up our fight against marine pollution. In December, we proposed ambitious waste targets that address marine litter "upstream", to prevent our waste from even reaching the ocean. The next step is to present a targeted strategy on plastics by 2017, to keep plastic and microplastics from contaminating the marine and coastal environment.
Third, we want to boost ocean research and knowledge. We have more than doubled our initial commitment, setting aside 250 million euros or 280 million dollars until 2020. We are also looking to strengthen scientific cooperation with our transatlantic partners: in spring next year, we will launch a science action plan for the south Atlantic, complementing our excellent cooperation with the United States and Canada.
Finally, we want to ensure a more sustainable use of the oceans and their resources around the globe. This means continuing our fight against illegal fishing, boosting regional fisheries bodies, closing legal gaps, cooperating more effectively, strengthening enforcement - in short, better ocean governance. I intend to launch a major initiative on international ocean governance before the end of the year.
The Our Ocean conferences have created momentum for change. Now we need to keep that momentum. In this spirit, I am proud that the European Union will be hosting the fourth edition of the Our Ocean conference on 5-6 October in Malta next year. In the spirit of Washington and Chile, it will seek new concrete initiatives from around the globe while following up on previously made commitments.
I am also looking forward to engaging more with a sustainable blue business and finance community. Next year in Malta, I would like to hear success stories of investments in the blue economy that helped preserve or restore the marine environment while creating jobs and growth for coastal communities. Let's share some best practices and hear some commitments from the private sector.
The oceans are our common opportunity and our common responsibility. Let's all take good care of them.
This post is part of a series produced by The Huffington Post in partnership with Secretary of State John Kerry's Our Oceanconference and Ocean Unite, an initiative to unite and activate powerful voices for ocean-conservation action. The series is being produced to coincide with the Our Ocean Conference (September 15th, 16th) as 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. The State Department does not endorse the content of this blog. Follow the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #OurOcean #MakeASplash.
-- 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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%feed http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/14/science/hubble-telescope-breaking-comet.html?partner=rss&emc=rss Trilobites: A Cosmic Comet Breakup When astronomers saw Comet 332P/Ikeya-Murakami 150 million miles from the sun last January, it was in two dozen pieces. astronomy
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%feed http://twitter.com/TheEWT/status/776766488430665728 We're counting down to the CITES CoP! The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna... https://t.co/uwJ9eLkup7 https://t.co/uwJ9eLkup7
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2F500px.com%2Fphoto%2F172745621%2Funtitled-by-mario-filmalive&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Untitled by Mario @FilmAlive
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fnatural-capital-coalition-%2Fwhen-it-comes-to-natural_b_12043244.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 When it Comes to Natural Capital, it's Easy to Forget that We're on the Same Team
This article has been submitted as part of the Natural Capital Coalition's series of blogs on natural capital by Mark Gough, Executive Director of the Natural Capital Coalition
We often feel safer when we're surrounded by people with complementary views. In few places is this more obvious than at the IUCN World Conservation Congress, where 10,000 passionate and dedicated individuals come together to rally around the conservation of the natural world.
The event takes place every four years, and allows the IUCN, and the conservation community at large, to build consensus about the direction that conservation should take. As you may imagine, there are many different views as to what should and should not be done, and some fierce debate.
At this year's Congress, the Guardian described a resolution to end the domestic trade in ivory as 'descending into acrimony' as delegates and national representatives fought over the what they believed to be the most effective methods of protecting native elephants populations.
However, an awareness that the closure of legal markets will serve to significantly increase global ivory prices, and may subsequently encourage and embolden poachers - many of whom are desperately poor - may give some reason to take pause.
As with any global challenge, conservation is vastly complex, and answers that may appear clear in one light suddenly become opaque when taken in the context of geo-political issues such as poverty, climate change, and globalization.
Based in Hawaii, this year's Congress sat at a mid-point between the East and the West, (and to some degree, between the North and the South), making it an appropriate venue for a global meeting. The beautiful setting, and its rich biodiversity, serve to remind delegates what's at stake.
I attended this year's Congress to help launch the Natural Capital Protocol to the conservation community. Although the Protocol is aimed predominantly at businesses, it will only be successful if all of nature's stakeholders support it, and the conservation community are a vital piece of this puzzle. Indeed, 35 conservation organizations are part of the Coalition, including the IUCN, Conservation International and the WWF; all three of whom were involved in the Protocol's development process.
While the natural capital movement has progressed significantly over the last couple of years, it was clear at Congress that there are many who still reject the concept. For some, natural capital approaches are not only an ineffective method of protecting nature and the natural environment, but they actually serve to hasten their demise. This is a narrative reflected by some in the media, most recently in a widely shared article from the Conversation, and most famously by British writer George Monbiot.
Much of this distrust stems from the use of the term we have coined for this work, 'capital' and the connections this has to 'capitalism'. More still stems from the suggestion that such approaches split nature into neat little packages, and place isolated monetary 'prices' on each, leaving them open to commodification and privatisation.
The suggestion that we 'put a price on nature', is one I am often confronted with. While these concerns are well-intentioned, I believe the charge is a category error. We don't price nature, we illuminate the value that we already receive from it.
This is a vital distinction. Price and value are not one and the same. You don't pay a price for the air that you breathe, but does that mean that it holds no value? In this way, we can also communicate the value of clean air, without assigning it a price. This is the aim of natural capital in a nutshell.
Translating this value into monetary terms can certainly be very useful. Financial values are understood near-universally, and allow businesses and governments to make decisions using comparable sets of information. However, monetary valuations are one small element in natural capital, qualified or quantified information is often enough to inform our decisions.
It's important to remember that even when monetary values are used, this valuation is not a 'price' for which the natural capital can be 'bought', nor is it 'commodifying nature'. Rather, it is demonstrating the value that we already receive from the natural world, in ways that allow it to be incorporated into traditional decision making frameworks, leading to better outcomes for all.
If a 'price' is used at all, it often reflects the cost of doing nothing. Valuing clean air for instance, does not involve assigning a dollar value to each particle of unpolluted oxygen. It might however value clean air in terms of the financial costs associated with air pollution. If 9,500 people in London die each year from dirty air, the value of clean air should be calculated, (in part), in terms of the financial cost to the NHS. Again, this is not 'pricing nature', but highlighting our dependence on its systems in terms we can all understand.
Of course, these values cannot reflect the true and total intrinsic value of the natural world, this is something that cannot be expressed in words, let alone numbers. What they can do however, is to make one dimension of nature - the dependence on it for successful human societies - discernible to decision makers. Once our dependencies on the natural world are understood in this way, even in the absence of ethical arguments about the innate value of the natural world, the argument for conservation in fantastically strong.
It's also important to remember that it's not the 'separate units' of natural capital that are valued, but the services that they collectively provide. So in natural capital, we don't value an individual bee, or a bee hive, or a collection of bee hives, we value the service of pollination. This works to take ecological complexity into account, by valuing all pollinating insects, their habitats, and the ecosystems (i.e. the other organisms, habitats and phenomena) that allow the pollinating insects to flourish.
I spent a lot of my time at the Congress listening to the concerns of people working on the front line of conservation. We had discussions around the risks of providing numbers for things that are innately priceless, and the need for businesses to fundamentally change their models of working.
It became obvious as we talked through practical examples, that both those applying natural capital approaches, and those challenging them, share, for the most part, largely identical concerns. Although there are challenges, there are also many great opportunities to finally work together across the system, with the goal of conserving and enhancing our natural world.
I came away contemplating an article which argues that (somewhat paradoxically), in this dispute at least, it's possible to be on both sides of the debate.
The author caricatures the debate as it is often seen: as an argument between 'Idealistic Dreamers' & 'Neoliberal Pragmatists'. As he then outlines, this depiction is a fiction.
Proponents from either side of the discussion rarely, if ever, magnetise to one or the other of these poles. Rather, our beliefs, ideals and concerns are often much closer than we think, and this leaves the door open for honest dialogue.
As with many situations in life, the answer to conflict is to sit down, look each other in the eye, and be honest about our fears and aspirations. Often our fears are unfounded, or we come away with different perspectives and understandings. Good communication is probably the best tool we have to address the challenges we face in the world.
As well as being an opportunity for the conservation community to meet and share experiences and solutions, the Congress also provides an opportunity for IUCN members to agree their future mandate.
Last weekend a motion was passed that requires the IUCN Director General to 'establish with urgency an inter-disciplinary and multi-sectoral working group' on natural capital, which will 'explore the conceptual and ethical underpinnings of natural capital approaches and related policies'.
This is a significant step forward for us all, as it formalises the role that the conservation community can play in this work, and will allow them to bring their expertise and concerns into the fold, providing a space for challenges to be addressed, and new partnerships to be formed.
The most astounding thing for me though, was how much support this motion gained. 98% of member governments and 96% of the Non-Governmental Organizations voted in favour.
Quoting a poster I saw in a café in Hawaii, 'The wave is coming. Either drown, or pick up your surf board'.
Disclaimer: Articles in this series are submitted by people who work in organizations who are part of the Natural Capital Coalition, or people who are involved in the natural capital space more generally, the views expressed here do not necessarily represent the views of The Natural Capital Coalition, other Coalition organizations, or the organization that employs the author.
Mark Gough is the Executive Director of the Natural Capital Coalition.
On 13th July 2016, The Natural Capital Coalition launched a standardized framework for business to identify, measure and value their impacts and dependencies on natural capital. This ' Natural Capital Protocol' has been developed through a unique collaborative process; a World Business Council for Sustainable Development consortium led on the technical development and an IUCN consortium led on business engagement and piloting. The Protocol is supported by practically focused 'Sector Guides' on Apparel and Food & Beverage produced by Trucost on behalf of Coalition.
Keep up to date with the Natural Capital Coalition on Twitter: @NatCapCoalition
Keep up to date with our series on natural capital 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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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fkarmenu-vella%2Fthe-european-union-steps_b_12043222.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 The European Union Steps Up Commitments As Ocean Champion More than ever before, we understand the many ways in which oceans shape our lives: as a source of food, jobs, medicine, energy, comfort - right to the very air we breathe.
Yet if anything, the threats to our oceans have grown. Climate change, ocean acidification, overfishing, pollution - these pressures know no borders, and they are expected to increase. Our previous indifference has come back to haunt us. Now the world needs to act, together, to nurse our oceans back to health.
That is why a vast coalition of ocean champions is coming together in Washington this week, for the third edition of the Our Ocean conference.
Set up by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in 2014, these conferences allow us to share ideas and experiences, to find out what is working and where more needs to be done.
But what makes them stand out is their focus on concrete commitments for action. Delegates are expected to set out how they plan to make our oceans healthier - and, crucially, report back on their progress.
In the European Union, I am proud to say we are well on track. We are making good progress to achieve good environmental status of our waters by 2020. We are halfway to our goal of setting aside 10 percent of our oceans and seas as marine protected areas by 2020. And we are on target to have maritime spatial planning for all EU waters by 2021.
The European Union is also delivering on its commitment to make global fishing more sustainable: in the last 12 months, we have tightened rules for EU fishing vessels above 15 metres, proposed rules to better monitor and control our fishing fleet, and continued to use a budget of 675 million euros - roughly 760 million dollars - to help countries in Africa and Asia fight illegal fishing and develop sustainable fisheries of their own.
But we can do more.
First, we want to share our experiences - and learn from others in return. So we are launching a transatlantic "twinning" project on marine protected areas with countries in Africa, North and South America. Next year, we will co-organise an international conference to work on global guidance on maritime spatial planning.
Second, we want to step up our fight against marine pollution. In December, we proposed ambitious waste targets that address marine litter "upstream", to prevent our waste from even reaching the ocean. The next step is to present a targeted strategy on plastics by 2017, to keep plastic and microplastics from contaminating the marine and coastal environment.
Third, we want to boost ocean research and knowledge. We have more than doubled our initial commitment, setting aside 250 million euros or 280 million dollars until 2020. We are also looking to strengthen scientific cooperation with our transatlantic partners: in spring next year, we will launch a science action plan for the south Atlantic, complementing our excellent cooperation with the United States and Canada.
Finally, we want to ensure a more sustainable use of the oceans and their resources around the globe. This means continuing our fight against illegal fishing, boosting regional fisheries bodies, closing legal gaps, cooperating more effectively, strengthening enforcement - in short, better ocean governance. I intend to launch a major initiative on international ocean governance before the end of the year.
The Our Ocean conferences have created momentum for change. Now we need to keep that momentum. In this spirit, I am proud that the European Union will be hosting the fourth edition of the Our Ocean conference on 5-6 October in Malta next year. In the spirit of Washington and Chile, it will seek new concrete initiatives from around the globe while following up on previously made commitments.
I am also looking forward to engaging more with a sustainable blue business and finance community. Next year in Malta, I would like to hear success stories of investments in the blue economy that helped preserve or restore the marine environment while creating jobs and growth for coastal communities. Let's share some best practices and hear some commitments from the private sector.
The oceans are our common opportunity and our common responsibility. Let's all take good care of them.
This post is part of a series produced by The Huffington Post in partnership with Secretary of State John Kerry's Our Oceanconference and Ocean Unite, an initiative to unite and activate powerful voices for ocean-conservation action. The series is being produced to coincide with the Our Ocean Conference (September 15th, 16th) as 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. The State Department does not endorse the content of this blog. Follow the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #OurOcean #MakeASplash.
-- 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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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newscientist.com%2Farticle%2F2106119-arctic-summer-sea-ice-melts-to-second-lowest-level-ever-recorded%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Arctic summer sea ice melts to second lowest level ever recorded The melt follows last year's record low of winter ice that set stage for the summer low. Long term consequences for ecosystems could be dire gaia
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2Fafrica-wild%2F2016%2Fsep%2F16%2Fthe-day-we-collared-tim-the-great-tusker&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 The day we collared Tim, the great tusker
Paula Kahumbu: The latest satellite tracking technology is helping to keep elephants safe from poachers— and away from farmers' crops
On a beautiful sunny day in Amboseli National Park, against the backdrop of snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro, a small group of cars was gathered at a safe distance around the prostrate bull elephant. The elephant lay still in the dust, head on the ground, his enormous tusks and trunk stretched out in front of him. Tension rose among the onlookers as the minutes passed.
Then the huge elephant flapped his ear, got up gently, shook his head vigorously in a vain attempt to dislodge the strange object around his neck, and walked off. We all breathed a sigh of relief. The operation to attach a tracking collar to Tim had gone perfectly.
It is 4.50 pm and the sun is gleaming on his ivory. An audible “aaaaaahhh” emanates from all of us. Tim is truly spectacular. Then Tim notices us and turns. It is as if he is hiding that which we find so beautiful, which too many Chinese are addicted to, and which translates to dollar signs for greedy poachers.
We sit quietly contemplating the giant Tim. I am acutely aware that it is very strange for this elephant I know so well to be so shy. He is usually proud and confident, and loves attention and cameras. And then the bombshell, as we see the sore his left flank, where blood and white clumps of puss are oozing out. This is why Tim is acting so strangely. He is in great pain.
This was my first witness of a collaring of an elephant and I must say that it was an amazing experience. However, there were concerns, because of his age whether he would be able to resuscitate after we put him down but as you can see he is up and gone and it's been very successful.
Today is a joyful day and I am excited and thank God for getting the opportunity to be this up close with an elephant. We care for them from a distance but today on behalf of Oltome Nadupo [the company name means ‘successful elephant' in the Maasai language], we have been fortunate to be involved in the collaring exercise.”
It is now easy for communities to identify Tim and I expect that we will be forewarned of Tim's whereabouts and be trained in how the app and collar works. We value elephants just as much as we value our cows and, in our tradition long ago, elephants were considered women's cows.
I'm just so happy that it turned out so well because there were a few people who said that it was dangerous. For us in Big Life the main thing now is that we've got an extra tool to monitor Tim and address human wildlife conflict in a more advanced and technological way.
To collar a majestic wild animal so that he can live out his life in peace and safety is an unnatural act. To build fences where farms have been allowed to encroach on historic migration paths in order to protect the lives of both settlers and animals—those, too, are unnatural acts. But if that's what it takes to protect our wildlife, I support and encourage all of it.
Human population growth along with wholesale abuse of the environment have put us at war with wildlife. And it is a war that, if humanity isn't careful, we will win. But it will be a tragic and Pyrrhic victory of epic proportion. Very simply, I worry that a world without animals will be a world we won't want to—or be able to—live in. The last stop on the road to our own extinction.
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2F2016%2F09%2F16%2F494199318%2Fhow-risk-affects-the-way-people-think-about-their-health%3Futm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3Dresearchnews&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 How Risk Affects The Way People Think About Their Health
Researchers found by telling people the risk of HIV is lower than they thought, they get people to act in safer ways. But when people think the risk is very high, they sometimes act less responsibly.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2Fsections%2Fhealth-shots%2F2016%2F09%2F16%2F494139538%2Fstudies-link-cancer-patients-survival-time-to-insurance-status%3Futm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3Dresearchnews&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Studies Link Cancer Patients' Survival Time To Insurance Status
Research on patients with testicular cancer and on others fighting a brain malignancy finds that people who are privately insured are more likely to be diagnosed earlier and survive longer.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FScience360NewsServicePictureOfTheDay%2F%7E3%2FAcGHFtZO8Y4%2Fgeomagnetic-storms-interfere-nations-electric-power-grid-systems&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 How geomagnetic storms can interfere with the nation's electric-power grid systems
Full Text:
The importance of electric power is demonstrated by this view from space of lights across the continental United States at night. A severe geomagnetic storm could disrupt the nation's power grid for months, potentially leading to widespread blackouts. Resulting damage and disruption from such an event could cost more than $1 trillion, with a full recovery time taking months to years. Scientists recently published research -- including maps covering large areas of the United States -- showing how the effects from intense geomagnetic storms are impacted by the Earth's electrical conductivity. This is one of the first steps towards mapping nation-wide "induction hazards."
Image credit: NASA
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%feed http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/jpl/pia20027/infrared-echoes-of-a-black-hole-eating-a-star Infrared Echoes of a Black Hole Eating a Star This illustration shows a glowing stream of material from a star, disrupted as it was being devoured by a supermassive black hole. The feeding black hole is surrounded by a ring of dust. This dust was previously illuminated by flares of high-energy radiation from the feeding black hole, and is now shown re-radiating some of that energy. astronomy
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%feed https://www.pinterest.com/pin/213639576052637601/ I Like It Wild And M I Like It Wild And Mysterious...Always From Micro To Macro Cosmos… pin-gifs
%feed https://www.theguardian.com/science/across-the-universe/gallery/2016/sep/16/insight-astronomy-photographer-of-the-year-2016-winners-in-pictures Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016 winners in pictures
Spectacular views of the universe have been unveiled at the Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016 awards ceremony, held at the Royal Greenwich Observatory
%feed https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/sep/16/avant-garde-alexander-calder-jewellery-to-go-on-show-in-uk-first Avant-garde Alexander Calder jewellery to go on show in UK first
Calder, famous for his mobiles, also created bespoke pieces of jewellery for friends from variety of materials including cutlery
They are avant-garde and often tricky to wear but the 1,800 earrings, bracelets, necklaces and brooches hand made by Alexander Calder are seen as “the pinnacle of art meets jewellery,” according to gallerist Louisa Guinness.
%feed https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/sep/16/vincent-van-gough-exhibition-headlines-national-gallery-of-victoria-2017-program Vincent van Gogh exhibition headlines National Gallery of Victoria 2017 program
More than 60 van Gough artworks, many never shown in Australia before, are the centrepiece of an NGV autumn/winter program that also features Katsushika Hokusai and Festival of Photography
More than 60 artworks by Vincent van Gogh will be coming to the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in 2017, many of which have never been shown in Australia.
The world premiere exhibition, Van Gogh and the Seasons, will be next year's instalment of the NGV's Winter Masterpieces series, comprised of 40 paintings and 25 drawings.
%feed http://www.designboom.com/art/chiharu-shiota-labyrinth-red-yarn-uncertain-journey-blain-southern-gallery-berlin-09-15-2016/ chiharu shiota tethers a labyrinth of red yarn to boat carcasses at blain|southern
the blood red color of the yarn is laden with symbolism, alluding to the interior of the body.
%feed https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/sep/15/edward-burtynsky-photography-interview Edward Burtynsky on his ravaged Earth shots: 'We've reached peak everything'
The great photographer's awesome images taken from drones, propellor planes and a 50ft selfie stick show how industry has drilled and drained our planet
Rectangles of pale blues and greens lie scattered across a sea of grey sand, looking a bit like someone dropped their Farrow & Ball colour swatches in a cat litter tray. The mottled grey background is marked with faded layers of scratches and scribbles, like an endlessly reworked charcoal drawing, from which the little blocks of colour shine out as bright jewels in the dust.
This is what the salt pans of Gujarat in northern India look like, when seen through the painterly bird's-eye lens of Edward Burtynsky. The 61-year-old Canadian photographer has devoted his career to capturing man's impact on the landscape from above, elevating the brutish debris of slag heaps and open-cast mines into sublime wall-sized hymns to how we've made our mark on the surface of the Earth. And he's on a mission to document it all before it's too late.
%feed https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/sep/16/bad-buildings-damage-mental-health-research-anxiety-depression Could bad buildings damage your mental health?
Research has shown city dwellers are more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression but could individual buildings have a negative impact on wellbeing?
Screaming sirens, overcrowding, traffic; life in the city isn't always relaxing.
These stressors aren't simply inconvenient or irritating, though; research has suggested that urban living has a significant impact on mental health. One meta-analysis found that those living in cities were 21% more likely to experience an anxiety disorder mood disorders were even higher, at 39%. People who grew up in a city are twice as likely to develop schizophrenia as those who grew up in the countryside, with a 2005 study suggesting this link may even be causal.
%feed https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/sep/15/smithsonian-national-museum-african-american-history-washington-architecture-review 'A welcome rebuke to dead white men': The Smithsonian's African American museum finally arrives
A century in the making, and now completed by Britain's David Adjaye, the Smithsonian's gleeful, gleaming upturned pagoda more than holds its own against the sombre Goliaths of America's monument heartland
A small circular piggybank stands on display in Washington DC, featuring a drawing of a grand neoclassical edifice, much like the ones that march up and down the city's National Mall, where America's cultural and historical booty is housed. Except this building was to be different. “The National Negro Memorial,” reads the title above the drawing a plan for a monument where “the achievements of the Negro may be placed before the world”.
%feed https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/15/thomas-heatherwick-hudson-yards-vessel-sculpture Controversial British designer behind planned $150m New York sculpture
Thomas Heatherwick, whose planned Garden bridge in London is under investigation, has designed audacious ‘Vessel' sculpture for public plaza
A controversial British designer is behind an audacious $150m public art structure nicknamed the Stairway to Nowhere planned for a new multi-billion dollar commercial development on New York City's west side.
Thomas Heatherwick's design of a giant, free-standing collection of multi-level staircases that will give the public fresh views of the city was unveiled in New York on Wednesday and is currently under construction in Italy.
%feed https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/sep/15/going-underground-crossrails-tunnels-open-to-public-in-open-house-weekend Going underground: Crossrail's tunnels open to public in Open House weekend
Seven sites on rail project will be visited by 900 people as part of London architecture event which sees more than 750 buildings open for free
The giant tunnels of the Crossrail project in London are already feats of global engineering history and, this weekend, the public will have the rare chance to see the subterranean spectacle before the service becomes operational in 2018.
Seven different sites, including Canary Wharf, Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road will be open to 900 members of the public as part of the annual Open House architecture event.
%feed https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/sep/15/peter-blundell-jones-obituary Peter Blundell Jones obituary Historian of architecture who saw the human side of modernism
When the architectural historian Peter Blundell Jones, who has died aged 67 of cancer, was a student, one building that was much in favour was the prize-winning, technology-led Centre Pompidou in Paris (1971). All the services were visible on the outside, and celebrated in form and colour.
This was a prototype of a kind of universal building and a systemic approach to architecture that Peter rejected, because it did not take account of social, historical or physical context.
%feed https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2016/sep/15/philistines-can-keep-london-well-always-have-paris Philistines can keep London we'll always have Paris
Are there a few fag butts on the streets of the Marais? Perhaps, but anyone who thinks London is more culturally vital than the City of Light is deluded
It's midnight in Paris at least according to the British newspapers. A plan to police the French capital with an “incivility brigade” has opened a sewer of schadenfreude as the British media portray the city as a “post-apocalyptic hellhole”. The brigade is a public relations disaster. Its very existence draws attention to cigarette butts and public urination instead of publicising the city's strengths, while the patrols are reported to be largely absent.
%feed https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2016/sep/15/steve-bell-on-hinkley-point-c-cartoon Steve Bell on Hinkley Point C cartoon Continue reading... culture
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%feed http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nybooks/~3/tIf9I9vMYnM/ America's Lost Workers Nicholas Eberstadt's new book Men Without Work is an attack on America's too-generous social net, which he sees as the real culprit for low labor participation. In fact, economic data make clear that few men are “fleeing” work in order to get unemployment insurance, disability insurance, food stamps, and the like. Though he does not acknowledge it, Eberstadt's data suggest a different, far more powerful explanation of the employment gap: there are too few jobs for these men. culture
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%feed https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2016/sep/15/steve-bells-if-on-watson-d2s-deadly-gift-for-jez-bi-wan-corbyn Steve Bell's If ... on Watson-D2's deadly gift for Jez Bi-Wan Corbyn Continue reading... culture
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%feed http://movieposteroftheday.tumblr.com/post/150461425872 French grande for UNIVERSO DI NOTTE (Alessandro Jacovoni, Italy,...
French grande for UNIVERSO DI NOTTE (Alessandro Jacovoni, Italy, 1962)
“Beginning in Las Vegas with a dance of the Bluebells, we are shown a variety, with jugglers, singers, Thai boxing, cock fighting and so on. A Variety taking place in Hong Kong, Manila, New York, Paris, Cremona. The break between an act and the next being a striptease.” IMDb
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%feed http://insider.si.edu/2016/09/truly-seeing-red-sackler-gallery/ Truly seeing red at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Jan Stuart in the exhibit “Red: Ming Dynasty/Mark Rothko” (Image by Freer|Sackler staff.)
Luminous. Luscious. Velvety.
Sensuous adjectives for a dish perhaps, but words used by scholars nonetheless to describe the exquisite glaze of a rare copper-red piece of Chinese ceremonial porcelain made 500 years ago during the Ming Dynasty ( 1368-1644). Crushed raspberries are what the glaze calls to mind for Jan Stuart, the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery's Melvin R. Seiden Curator of Chinese Art. “Pulpy raspberry reds punctuated by little dark seeds,” are what her eyes see. “Certain bits of its color coalesce where you get almost dark speckles.”
Uncanny is how Stuart also describes the visual similarities between this dish and a series of oil and acrylic paintings done by American painter Mark Rothko in 1959, initially planned to decorate a luxury dining room in New York City. In both dish and Rothko paintings, “the unstable, subtly shifting hues touch our imagination, reminding us that color not only results from materials and processes but also transcends time and place,” Stuart writes in the exhibition text.
“The potters, of course, could have never envisioned a Rothko painting and we are all pretty certain Rothko never saw a Chinese copper-red glaze dish,” Stuart adds. (Rothko, a prolific writer, never mentioned anything about ceramics and Chinese ceramics in particular.)
“The similarities are completely coincidental,” Stuart says. Yet nothing is coincidental about the artworks themselves. Both are the work of masters at the peak of their abilities, each consciously striving for control and perfection some 500 years apart, and achieving effects that echo each other.
Juxtaposition
Newly acquired by the Freer and displayed in the conjoined Sackler building, the dish now shares a small room with a single painting by Mark Rothko in the new exhibit “Red: Ming Dynasty/Mark Rothko.” To not distract from the experience, dish and painting are the only objects in the room. Exhibit text is on the walls of a separate entry/exit chamber.
“You can either read the text before, or after, or not at all,” Stuart says. “I very much wanted to separate it in the sense that I wanted people to know you can experience these two objects without even asking yourself when they were made or what they are. It's really your choice, but I want you to have the experience of red.”
Stuart conceived of “Red” after showing the dish to various museum staff and others as it was being considered for acquisition. “On more than one occasion someone said to me they saw Rothko in the glaze,” Stuart recalls. “So it made me start thinking: OK. Is this a way to excite people,” by displaying the dish with a Rothko painting.
She began looking around at Rothko paintings at the National Gallery. “Then suddenly I realized, Perfect. I saw the same palate, exactly the Rothko that some knowledgeable art connoisseurs were seeing.”
She contacted Harry Cooper, head curator at the National Gallery of Art, who reviewed her exhibit proposal juxtaposing the two pieces in a single room. “I was thinking he might say to me ‘Oh no. This is crazy.' But he was just delightful and supportive” Cooper and National Gallery director Earl Powell agreed to lend the Sackler a Rothko painting to be exhibited with the dish.
Dish with copper-red glaze, Ming dynasty, Xuande reign (1426-1435), China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen. (Purchase: Charles Lang Freer Endowment and Friends of the Freer and Sackler Galleries)
Depth and variation
In 1959, Rothko (19031970) was layering red pigments in daring ways, achieving depth and variation that make his flat canvas seem palpable. Rothko believed that color was a portal to emotion and that art could change a viewer. “Rothko was painting very consciously, thinking about the emotional impact of his work, the visual impact of his work…consciously thinking, laboring over every stroke with what effect he's going to get,” Stuart says. “He was concerned with the texture, he wanted shape, he painted the edge of his canvas and never wanted them framed.”
What Rothko was doing consciously is echoed exactly in what the master Ming potters were doing but with a totally different mindset. “What they were creating they did not regard as art,” Stuart explains. “They were carrying out an imperial command to produce a perfect dish to be used in a ritual ceremony. They were concentrating on it, I think, as technology, trying to achieve the single hardest glaze color to make, which is red, and they created a glaze with of depth and texture.”
The potters learned that giving the dish a narrow white rim made the red color pop even more. They were also concerned about shape. “It is just this uncanny parallel of Rothko, and yet not a single thing in their thought process was consciously the same.”
“Red: Ming Dynasty/Mark Rothko” at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. (Photo by Freer/Sackler staff)
Subtle variegation is what gives the glaze of the Ming Dynasty dish its visual depth and reveals the technical mastery of the potters. Using a technique in which nanoparticles of copper oxide colored the glaze, the potters achieved a tone in the bluish end of the vermillion spectrum. “If you look at the glaze under high-powered magnification you see it is a network of bubbles, mostly unbroken. These bubbles are of two types and shades of reds, and form into networks; and the way they are mixing is non-homogeneous, so they're refracting and reflecting the light in a complex way that gives that sense of depth and texture,” Stuart says.
“And if you look really closely at the glaze you will see some tiny, tiny pinprick holes—sometimes described as an orange-peel effect. Those are some of the bubbles that broke, due to the great heat in the kiln. But most are still unbroken and that is what reflects and refracts light in such a complicated pattern. Certain bits of the color coalesce where you get almost dark speckles in it…that's why I always think of crushed raspberries,” Stuart says.
“Sometimes for me I stand in the exhibit and feel like I am almost weeping with the beauty of red,” Stuart reveals. “It's all about all of the different tonalities of red, it's what really brilliantly thought about layering of color tones can do to open your emotions, making you feel happy, sad, everything.”
(Red: Ming Dynasty/Mark Rothko is on view in the Sackler Gallery through Feb. 20, 2017.)
%feed http://www.notimpossiblenow.com/the-latest/use-tech-cut-waste How to Use Tech to Cut Down on Food Waste We live in a world plagued by poverty and widespread hunger, yet about 30% of all food produced ends up wasted. A lot of that waste tends to come from industrialized nations, where food isn't exactly a scarce resource. 5. Buy food that's headed for the landfill.Too Good To Go is an app that ...
%feed https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160915142609.htm Echoes of black holes eating stars discovered A black hole destroying a star, an event astronomers call 'stellar tidal disruption,' releases an enormous amount of energy, brightening the surroundings in an event called a flare. Two new studies characterize tidal disruption flares by studying how surrounding dust absorbs and re-emits their light, like echoes. This approach allowed scientists to measure the energy of flares from stellar tidal disruption events more precisely than ever before. astronomy
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%feed https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160915141950.htm Gaia's billion star maps hints at treasures to come The first catalog of more than a billion stars from ESA's Gaia satellite was just published -- the largest all-sky survey of celestial objects to date. astronomy
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%feed https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160915120520.htm Black hole hidden within its own exhaust New data from ALMA reveal that the black hole at the center of a galaxy named NGC 1068 is actually the source of its own dusty torus of dust and gas, forged from material flung out of the black hole's accretion disk. astronomy
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%feed https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160915120347.htm Starving black hole returns brilliant galaxy to the shadows Many galaxies are found to have an extremely bright core powered by a supermassive black hole. These cores make "active galaxies" some of the brightest objects in the Universe. They are thought to shine so brightly because hot material is glowing fiercely as it falls into the black hole, a process known as accretion. This brilliant light can vary hugely between different active galaxies, so astronomers classify them into several types based on the properties of the light they emit. astronomy
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%feed http://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/29664357826/ Polar Bears Across the Arctic Face Shorter Sea Ice Season
Polar bears already face shorter ice seasons - limiting prime hunting and breeding opportunities.
Nineteen separate polar bear subpopulations live throughout the Arctic, spending their winters and springs roaming on sea ice and hunting. The bears have evolved mainly to eat seals, which provide necessary fats and nutrients in the harsh Arctic environment. Polar bears can't outswim their prey, so instead they perch on the ice as a platform and ambush seals at breathing holes or break through the ice to access their dens. The total number of ice-covered days declined at the rate of seven to 19 days per decade between 1979 and 2014. The decline was even greater in the Barents Sea and the Arctic basin. Sea ice concentration during the summer months — an important measure because summertime is when some subpopulations are forced to fast on land — also declined in all regions, by 1 percent to 9 percent per decade.
%feed http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDailyGalaxyNewsFromPlanetEarthBeyond/~3/MUEpZlXuzeI/-china-successfully-launches-spacelab-tiangong-2-international-space-station-and-science-discoveries.html China Successfully Launches SpaceLab Tiangong-2 --International Space Station and Science Discoveries to Follow
China successfully launched space lab the Tiangong-2 Thursday night from the Jiuquan satellite launch center in northwest China. Tiangong-2 will link with Shenzhou-11 manned spaceship, which will be launched later in October. Also piggybacking on the Tiangong-2 launch is a micro satellite that will orbit close to the space lab --its purpose has not been reported. The mission is part of China's ambitious space program to build a permanent manned space station around year 2022.
With the sound of rolling thunder on the vast Gobi dessert, Tiangong-2 space lab blasted off into space propelled by its Long March 2F carrier rocket, shortly after 10pm on Thursday. In just 585 seconds, Tiangong-2 was placed in an orbit about 393 kilometers above the Earth.
The Shenzhou-11 spaceship will ferry two astronauts to dock with the lab and stay in space for 30 days to conduct a range of scientific experiments covering areas such as fundamental physics, biology, fluid mechanics in micro gravity and aerospace medicine. More than 40 space science and application experiments will be conducted aboard Tiangong-2.
Once inside Tiangong-2, the two astronauts will carry out key experiments related to aerospace medicine, space physics and biology as well as on-orbit equipment repairs in areas such as quantum key transmission, space atomic clock and solar storm research.
"The number of experiments carried by Tiangong-2 is the highest so far of all manned space missions," said Wu Ping, deputy director of the manned space engineering office. Its payload includes POLAR, a collaboration between Swiss, Polish and Chinese institutions to study gamma ray bursts. The space cold atomic clock, which scientists say only loses one second about every 30 million years, is expected to make future mobile navigation more accurate.
Many experiments are at the very forefront of space science exploration, and one of them is the world's first in-space cold atomic clock, used to improve time measurements to the equivalent of one second every 30 million years, and will also result in improvements in navigation accuracy.
Lv Congmoin, Deputy director at the technology and engineering center for space utilization, Chinese academy of sciences, says "The synchronization of the navigation system on our mobile phone runs via the internet. But the function of time correction systems all depends on numerous atomic clocks on the ground. If we can maintain the smooth running of the cold atomic clock in space, time synchronization between the earth and space can finally be achieved, thus improving navigation accuracy. "
The new space lab, designed with two modules, offers a larger payload capacity, better living quarters, and new communication technologies on board.
As a major breakthrough in the "three step strategy" proposed by Chinese scientists toward the goal of building a permanent manned space station, the Tiangong2 is expected to further boost the development of China's space exploration.
"Tiangong 2 is the first space vehicle in the second phase of the second step of the strategy," says Chief designer of the Tiangong-2 space lab Zhu Zongpeng. "It's going to dock with Shenzhou-11 this year, and with a cargo vessel next year. Once it has completed missions of long term space stays, facility maintenance, refueling, and space experiments, it will be the end of the phase. If we cannot carry out the mission well, it's going to affect the building of the space station directly. So Tiangong-2 has great significance in the process. "
The manned space engineering office said in March that the orbit of Tiangong-1 will descend gradually over several months until the orbiter eventually burns up in the atmosphere.
%feed http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDailyGalaxyNewsFromPlanetEarthBeyond/~3/XGLaR43C2Yw/seti-astronomers-discuss-epic-discovery-of-nearby-planet-proxima-b-and-mystery-alien-signal-from-the.html SETI Astronomers Discuss Discovery of Nearby Planet Proxima b and Mystery Alien Signal from the Hercules Constellation (VIDEO)
The epic discovery of Proxima b announced last week may represent humanity's best chance to search for life among the stars. But is Proxima b habitable? Is it inhabited? These questions are impossible to answer at this time because we know so little about the planet, but SETI astronomers astrophysicists discuss possible answers with a distinctly French accent!
Last week also brought us a mysterious alien signal from a star system 94 light years from Earth. Picked up by Russian scientists last year, the signal did not come from an advanced extraterrestrial civilization, but from an old Soviet military satellite, said Russian news agency TASS, much to the disappointment of astronomers and alien enthusiasts across the world. But was it?
The originally reported source of the signal HD 164595 is a solar system which is a few billion years older than our own, but is centered on a star of a similar brightness and size to our Sun. The signal was picked up by the RATAN-600 radio telescope in Zelenchukskaya, Russia shown below.
However, significant number of people around our globe are not convinced by TASS' version, believing it is one of the many cover ups aimed at deceiving us regarding the existence of advanced alien life from beyond our Solar System. They question Russia's motives for the denial of the signals validity --you'll have to draw your own conclusions.
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%feed http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDailyGalaxyNewsFromPlanetEarthBeyond/~3/me80LWDBuig/googles-deepmind-ai-creates-a-machine-that-sounds-exactly-like-a-human.html Google's DeepMind AI Creates a Machine That Sounds Exactly Like a Human
Google has announced a new voice synthesis program in WaveNet, powered by deep neural AI. Understanding voice samples has been powering programs like Google Voice Search for quite some time now. However, synthesizing something from those samples is proving to be a challenge. Now, Instead of simply analyzing the audio it's fed, it learns from it.
By working with at least 16,000 samples per second, WaveNet can generate its own raw audio samples with minimal human intervention; it uses statistics to actually predict which audio piece it needs, what it has to 'say' next.
%feed http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDailyGalaxyNewsFromPlanetEarthBeyond/~3/vNevzbjAuKA/china-to-launch-live-in-spacelab-today-will-be-home-to-two-astronauts-for-30-days.html China to Launch Live-In SpaceLab Today --"Will be Home to Two Astronauts for 30 Days"
China will launch its Tiangong-2 space lab from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on a Long March-2F T2 rocket in northwestern China's Gobi desert at 10:04 p.m. Thursday as part of an increasingly ambitious space program that aims for a manned space station by around 2022.
In 2011, U.S. Congress ruled that China is not allowed on the International Space Station because of "national security" concerns. Undeterred, the People's Republic decided to build its own.
"All systems are ready for lift-off," said Wu Ping, deputy director of the manned space engineering office, on Wednesday afternoon. "The launch of Tiangong-2 will lay a solid foundation for the building and operation of a permanent space station in the future," she said.
She said China's manned space program has now entered a "new phase of application and development."
Once in space, the 8.6-tonne Tiangong-2 will maneuver itself into an orbit about 380 kilometers above Earth for initial on-orbit tests.
It will transfer to a slightly higher orbit about 393 kilometers above Earth, a height at which the future Chinese space station will operate, before the Shenzhou-11 manned spaceship ferries two male astronauts into space to dock with the lab in mid-to-late October.
The two astronauts will work in Tiangong-2 for 30 days before reentering Earth's atmosphere.
In April 2017, China's first cargo ship, Tianzhou-1, will also be sent into orbit to dock with Tiangong-2 and provide it with fuel and other supplies.
Wu said experts will verify and evaluate key technologies involved in on-orbit propellant resupply and equipment repairs as well as that related to long-term stays in space by astronauts.
They will also use the lab, which is designed to operate for at least two years, to conduct space science experiments on a relatively large scale compared to China's previous efforts.
Measuring 10.4 meters in length and 3.35 meters in maximum diameter, Tiangong-2 is much like its predecessor Tiangong-1, which was launched in 2011, but its living quarters and life support facilities have been improved to allow for longer stays by astronauts.
Originally built as a backup for Tiangong-1, it can enable two astronauts to live in space for up to 30 days and is capable of receiving manned and cargo spaceships.
Once inside Tiangong-2, the two astronauts will carry out key experiments related to aerospace medicine, space physics and biology as well as on-orbit equipment repairs in areas such as quantum key transmission, space atomic clock and solar storm research.
More than 40 space science and application experiments will be conducted aboard Tiangong-2.
"The number of experiments carried by Tiangong-2 is the highest so far of all manned space missions," Wu said. Its payload includes POLAR, a collaboration between Swiss, Polish and Chinese institutions to study gamma ray bursts. The space cold atomic clock, which scientists say only loses one second about every 30 million years, is expected to make future mobile navigation more accurate.
Also piggybacking on the Tiangong-2 launch will be a micro satellite that will orbit close to the space lab.
Wu said China will share the fruits of its development in its manned space program with all countries, especially developing countries.
Earlier reports said Tiangong-2 will also carry three experiments designed by the winners of a Hong Kong middle school design contest.
Its predecessor, Tiangong-1, which docked with Shenzhou-8, Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10 spacecraft and undertook a series of experiments, was mainly tasked with verifying technology involved in space docking and serving as a platform for a limited number of scientific experiments, Wu said. Tiangong-1 ended its data service earlier this year.
According to Wu, Tiangong-1 is running at an orbit about 370 kilometers above Earth and descending 100 meters every day. It is expected to burn up in Earth's atmosphere in the latter half of 2017.
The Daily Galaxy via http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-09/14/c_135688000.htm
Image credits: China National Space Administration
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%feed http://www.flickr.com/photos/europeanspaceagency/29615540851/ Space for Inspiration 2016
"Space for Inspiration International Space Station and beyond” event at the Science Museum, London, 14-15 September 2016. ESA, industry and experts from many disciplines look at how human spaceflight has changed our daily lives, and what the future holds. Credits: ESAM. Alexander
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%feed https://www.pinterest.com/pin/77124212348873200/ Love - Forever Chang Love - Forever Changes (1967) One of my top 10 favorite albums of all time. pin-art
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%feed http://thenextweb.com/shareables/2016/09/16/google-takes-the-issue-of-bovine-privacy-very-seriously/ Google takes the issue of bovine privacy very seriously Google has a responsibility to protect the privacy of the people its ‘Street View' car captures. But does that responsibility extend to animals? Maybe not, but that doesn't stop its automatic facial recognition technology from playing it safe — even when playing it safe is obstructing the giant head of grazing cattle. A Google Street View car seems to have captured at least two cows grazing alongside a road in the UK. The photo, taken at Coe Fen, a rural area of Cambridge, appears to have blurred the face of one of the noshing cattle while leaving the other unobstructed. It appears the…
%feed http://thenextweb.com/insider/2016/09/16/torrenthound-latest-torrent-site-bite-dust/ TorrentHound is the latest torrent site to bite the dust Around for nearly a decade, TorrentHound announced today that it's done. Just a few hours ago, the site's founder sent TorrentFreak an email with a simple message: “Finito.” TorrentHound leaves behind millions of monthly visitors, although it never quite managed to reach the level of the giants — The Pirate Bay, Torrentz and KickAss Torrents. All three of the major players in the torrent space have been taken down in recent months, although The Pirate Bay is as resilient as ever and just keeps coming back. KickAss Torrents and Torrentz, however, haven't been as lucky. The former went offline in July…
%feed http://thenextweb.com/shareables/2016/09/15/google-requires-5000-times-code-original-space-shuttle/ Google requires 5,000 times more code than the original space shuttle Google owns dozens of Web properties which collectively run on billions of lines of code — two billion, to be exact. The original space shuttle, a relic from 1982, only required 400,000 lines of code to launch a crew and several tons of fuel into orbit. To put that into perspective, your search for dank memes requires 5,000 times more code than it took to launch people into space. Speaking of perspective, Business Insider put together a handy list to show just how much code both modern applications and software relics use. For example, Windows 3.1 used a mere 4.5 million…
%feed http://thenextweb.com/shareables/2016/09/15/high-school-student-hacked-way-free-unlimited-4g/ How a high school student hacked his way to free, unlimited 4G Unlimited, free data is basically the dream, right? Jacob Ajit, a 17-year high school student from Virginia, hacked his way to just that. It all started with boredom, as Ajit explained in a post on Medium: I had a T-Mobile prepaid SIM on a spare phone with no active service, so I came up with a fun challenge: could I somehow get access to the internet without a data plan? That is considerably more ambition than I had at 17, but the crazy thing is, he found a way to actually get this working. Ajit noticed that the T-Mobile website…
%feed https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160915133240.htm Food waste could store solar, wind energy Saving up excess solar and wind energy for times when the sun is down or the air is still requires a storage device. Batteries get the most attention as a promising solution although pumped hydroelectric storage is currently used most often. Now researchers are advancing another potential approach using sugar alcohols — an abundant waste product of the food industry — mixed with carbon nanotubes. technology
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%feed http://thenextweb.com/lifestyle/2016/09/15/indiegogo-sex-toys/ This is Indiegogo's new home for innovative, crowdfunded sex toys If you didn't know, there are a lot of people trying to break into the adult toy market with innovative new products. Indiegogo now has a home for all them. With the launch of Indiegogo After Dark, the website has created a one-stop shop for innovative pleasure makers that are looking for financial backing. There are already a lot of different projects to be found, like the 3FAP that includes three differently textured suction orifices to play around with. It's not just stuff for men, though — the Lioness Vibrator promises you learn things about your body that you've never known before. Unfortunately, crowdfunded…
%feed http://thenextweb.com/apple/2016/09/15/macbook-pro-kill-headphone-jack/ Apple may kill the headphone jack on the MacBook Pro Apple might be going all-in with the wireless revolution as the company is now allegedly considering killing the headphone jack on the MacBook Pro. Users are reporting that as of recently Apple has been asking them to fill in a survey about the way they use their MacBook Pro and one of the questions pertains particularly to the headphone jack. Shared by Blake A. via Twitter, the question reads “Do you ever use the headphone port on your MacBook Pro with Retina display?”, suggesting Apple is exploring going jackless with its laptops in the future. Given the Cupertino company just ditched the audio jack on the iPhone 7,…
%feed http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2016/09/15/in-your-face-google/ Microsoft has more open source contributors on GitHub than Facebook and Google Over the past couple of years, Microsoft has, under the reign of CEO Satya Nadella, embraced open source like never before. It's a remarkable shift for the Redmond giant, which traditionally kept its trade secrets and powerful technologies behind closed doors. One major sign of that is new data from GitHub, which is home to some of the Web's biggest collaborative code projects. The company, which counted more than 5.8 million active users on its platform over the past 12 months, noted that Microsoft topped the list of organizations with the most open source contributors. With 16,419 contributors, Microsoft beat…
%feed http://thenextweb.com/insider/2016/09/15/watch-ubers-high-tech-cabs-drive-pittsburgh/ Watch Uber's high-tech cabs drive themselves in Pittsburgh Last month, Uber announced that it would begin trialing self-driving cabs in Pittsburgh. The pilot program is now in full swing, and you can see these cars in action in the video above. The vehicles specially configured hybrid Ford Fusion sedans are equipped with a large in-dash control panel and also have a human assistant in the front seat to take the wheel in case of an emergency. The company is inviting select customers in the city to take the autonomous cars for a spin. Uber notes that it's still early days for this technology, so there's still…
500px Photo ID: 116592541 - Fin de journée sur Big Ben
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fjenspeter-saul%2Fhow-climate-adaptation-ca_b_12039278.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 How climate adaptation can improve quality of life and save costs This piece is co-authored by Henrik Stener Pedersen, Director, Ramboll Management Consulting
When decision makers and other delegates arrive in New York City to participate in the UN Climate Week 2016, they touchdown in a city that is struggling with the same dilemma as cities all over the world:
How do you protect your citizens from cloudbursts, sea rise and other consequences of climate change without undermining other necessary investments? How do you secure that money spent on future incidents that nobody knows when will occur, does not take too much out of today's budget to citizen's health and other indispensable items? What is the sustainable break-even here - for todays and future generations?
The answer is to do what you do in all other sound budget decisions; you inform yourself through cost-benefit analyses.
Cost-benefit is also about the benefits of life
The tricky part here is that the cost-benefit analysis is even more complicated than when you are calculating pros and cons of traditional climate adaptation, typically enlargement of the sewer system.
Take a blue-green infrastructure project, where rainwater is retained and used on the surface for water areas in parks and other places instead of overloading the sewage system. As cities like Copenhagen have discovered, cost-benefit here means not only the amount of savings in terms of avoided property damage - as the traditional grey sewage extension would. It also considers the extent to which the new green areas will improve resident's health and quality of life - plus the way this increased recreational value will influence on for example real estate prices.
Tackling several challenges at the same time
Copenhagen tries to calculate all these factors with help from Ramboll among others. When the city does climate adaptation projects, the aim is to solve more than one problem at the same time. For example not only preventing the cloudburst water from flooding houses and businesses, but reuse it so you reduce water consumption and at the same time contribute to the recreational value of the city.
Because of the added benefits, this approach is often cheaper than the traditional engineering solution, and this holistic approach has now inspired New York City.
The delegates to the Climate Week arriving in JFK Airport can catch a glimpse of the area in Queens where some of Ramboll's employees right now are conducting the first pilot project using this cost benefit-method. The area has more flooding and sewer backup complaints than any other area of the city, and certain neighborhoods are flooded repeatedly.
We have been hired because of our know-how and experience from especially Copenhagen to conduct a best practice study that determines the most cost-effective ways to reduce flooding while improving water quality; calculating both the environmental, social and economic consequences.
By combining technical and socioeconomic competences, it is possible to optimize investments in climate adaptation - so they are sustainable for the citizens of today as well as for future generations.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fl0nglost%2F29599928422%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Colours of the Morning - Royal Docks
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ozy.com%2Ftrue-story%2Fthe-peasant-who-can-heal-your-aching-bones-with-magic%2F71741&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 The Peasant Who Can Heal Your Aching Bones — With Magic "Only the men of my family can cure, not the women. Don't ask me why." general
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ozy.com%2Frising-stars%2Fthe-feminist-whos-changing-turkey-one-gym-at-a-time%2F70744&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 The Feminist Who's Changing Turkey, One Gym at a Time This feminist entrepreneur has half a million women empowering their bodies and minds. general
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPhysicsWorld%2F%7E3%2FhNk0pqhPwFg%2Fx-rays-yield-ghost-images&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 X-rays yield ghost images New techniques might lead to lower doses for X-ray diagnoses science
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fbrian-kurzel%2Fsportsmen-to-candidates-s_b_12037550.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Sportsmen to Candidates: Stand up for Public Lands In an election season marked by deep divisions, the National Wildlife Federation and 41 other sportsmen's organizations have a suggestion for finding - literally - common ground.
Organizations from across the country have sent letters to all four presidential candidates asking them to publicly commit to keeping our national public lands in public hands. The organizations represent millions of hunters, anglers, hikers, campers, paddlers and wildlife watchers. These people use our public lands and waterways to recreate, sustain family traditions and fill their freezers.
These sportsmen and wildlife advocates, who come from all social, economic and political backgrounds, are worried about being able to keep using public lands. A small but relentless group of state and federal lawmakers keep trying to auction off our public lands, turn them over to states or undermine the federal agencies that manage the lands for all U.S. citizens.
Public Lands Under Assault
During the past two years, sportsmen's and other conservation organizations have helped defeat dozens of bills in state legislatures across the West that attempted to seize control of national public lands. On the federal level, The Center for American Progress found that members of Congress filed at least 44 bills between January 2013 and March of this year to remove or undermine protections for national parks and public lands.
Whether the attempted public-land grabs are one more iteration of the so-called "Sagebrush Rebellion" that's roiled the West for years or are efforts by an elite few to profit from our great American commons, the results of the loss of public lands would be the same. Families would be locked out of fishing, hunting, hiking and camping spots they've enjoyed for generations. Fish and wildlife populations that depend on open rangeland, pristine waterways, forests and mountain sanctuaries for migration, food and shelter would be in jeopardy. The $646 billion outdoor recreation economy that supports 6.1 million direct jobs nationwide would be threatened. Local communities and businesses that benefit from spending by hunters and anglers and visitors to national parks, monuments and forests would lose a vital and sustainable source of revenue.
American Values
Even more fundamental, we as Americans would be robbed of an incredible legacy built by political leaders of both parties and farsighted conservationists. Millions of hunters and anglers rallied at the start of the last century to rebuild wildlife populations that had been depleted by commercial exploitation and disregard for wildlife habitat. They teamed up to conserve wetlands and other habitat and financed advances in fish and wildlife management through license fees and taxes on their gear. We must preserve the gains made over the last century, and to do that you need the vast habitats provided by our public lands.
The loss of our national public lands would cut through the marrow of something that connects all Americans. The lands we all share, no matter who we are or where we live, are a uniquely American tradition. They embody our democratic principles. They keep alive that spirit of exploration and discovery that underlies our optimism and our best entrepreneurial impulses.
And they are the places we go with our families and friends to build togetherness and memories. This summer, I traveled to Yellowstone National Park and the Gallatin National Forest with my 5- and 8-year-old to introduce them to some of our nation's crown jewels. After bathing in the Lamar River and watching bison and grizzly roam from our campsite, a fundamental piece of America has now been ingrained in my children's psyche as Americans. And that American right needs to be preserved for all.
Conserving our national public lands is not a partisan issue; it's an American issue. The 42 organizations calling on all the presidential campaigns to keep these lands in public hands hope candidates remember that much more binds us together than drives us apart. The National Wildlife Federation and its state affiliates are also asking other candidates of all parties across the country to join us in publicly committing to keeping our proud public-lands heritage intact.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fstephanie-r-caudle%2Fwhales-continue-to-disapp_b_12012012.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Whales Continue to Disappear and You May Be The Problem Everyone enjoys looking at cute animals. It has become increasingly popular to visit national animal attractions such as aquariums and even fun and exciting places that make it easy for you to enjoy whale watching in San Diego. Watching whales can become therapeutic in a lot of ways. Unfortunately, many Americans don't have the luxury to enjoy animals such as whales because of the extinction of most of them.
So what exactly is causing the extinction of one of America's most fascinating animals? In many cases, humans are the main cause of this extinction for several reasons:
Pollution
Chemical pollution is a real thing especially in our oceans. As oil spills and garbage pollutes the ocean it has a direct effect on whale populations. While whales suffer the most intensely due to pollution dolphins also face threats.
Overfishing
Not familiar with overfishing? You may be a part of the problem. Over fishing is when a group of people continue to fish in a certain area even though they know they are causing harm to a certain population of fish. It also impacts many animals' food supply who may often rely on certain mammals as their food sources.
Construction
While Construction can be a sign of something new or monumental for whales, it can be a sign of danger. Certain construction projects separate animals and keep them from being able to join with their families. In some cases, some construction scenes also impact food supply.
Whale Hunting
Several countries allow commercial whaling which is essentially hunting. For the most part this practice continues to decline however; there is still known whale hunting in areas that still have populations of whales that exist.
Boating
Believe it or not many whales and other fish are often struck by passing boats. The more boaters you have in the water the higher the chances are of one or many being seriously killed.
What other reasons do you think can explain the disappearance of whales
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2F92781918%40N02%2F29081568724%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Sunset over London
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2F500px.com%2Fphoto%2F172833559%2Fthe-sound-of-silence-by-dave-brosha&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 The Sound of Silence by Dave Brosha
"The Sound of Silence" Today, we arrived after a six-hour boat ride with our group to a moody Disko Island, off the coast of mainland Greenland. Our string of colourful sunsets gave way to a dark and somewhat stormy night...which gave its own special breed of beauty. Sigma F/4.5 12-24MM Lens F/13, 2-second exposure.
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Frex-burkholder%2Fmore-than-ever-our-kids_b_11994914.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dscience%26ir%3DScience&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 More Than Ever, Our Kids Need Bullshit Meters You've seen the surveys:
Less than half of Americans think climate change is a serious threat.
Depending on the survey, between 40 and 50% of Americans disagree with the scientific concept of evolution.
Too many of us choose to believe in fantasies, in magic. We would rather ignore the facts that science has discovered. We refuse to get involved in politics. We resist changing our way of life even it means millions of people will die and we may even go extinct as a species along with millions of other organisms.
How do we protect our children from ignorance, charlatans and quacks? Give them bullshit meters. Also known as critical thinking skills. In my state, we've done this for almost 60 years through what we call Outdoor School. Sending classrooms of middle school students to the woods for a week to study science. To ask Questions about life, natural systems and natural resources. In the words one of the founders of Outdoor School: "We teach kids how to think, not what to think."
After years of cuts to school budgets and the loss of this tremendous program in much of Oregon, a grassroots coalition--the Oregon Outdoor Education Coalition--came together to fix this. Their work led to the passage of a law establishing a statewide goal of universal Outdoor School and this fall the ballot measure they collected 140,000 signatures to qualify will be before voters.
Measure 99 sets aside $22 million a year to ensure 50,000 Oregon children get to attend a full week of Outdoor School. A small price for a lifetime Bullshit Meter.
Check out this TedTalk by me on why our society needs more critical thinking and the special way that taking kids outside to learn engages them as people, as citizens and as stewards.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fdouglas-anthony-cooper%2Fpit-bulls-montreals-hero-_b_12030348.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Pit Bulls? Hero Mayor Affirms: I'm With Stupid In the debate over whether pit bulls should be banned, Montreal's mayor has demonstrated rare grit. It takes backbone to stand firmly against every professional organization on the continent, and to embrace heroic ignorance. I stress: Mayor Denis Coderre is not rejecting "some" expert groups. He's not sneering at "the majority." He's rejecting every single one. Every. Single. One.
Bravo, mayor. Short may you prosper.
Ah, but the mayor laughs -- Ha! Je ris! -- at specialists who have studied the matter, and who have concluded that Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) does absolutely nothing to reduce dog bites, and means the slaughter of thousands of innocent pets.
When local citizens oppose these worthless measures, they too are treated with royal contempt. I urge you to watch the video below. It's disgraceful. An animal behavior consultant, Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, stands at an open hearing to confront the mayor with the proven fact that breed bans have worked literally nowhere in the world. Coderre's democratic response (midway through the argument) is: "Coupe le micro."
If you're français-deprived, that means: "Cut the mic." And the mic is duly cut. Thank you, Mayor. You're a peach. May your silenced constituents vote you into oblivion.
Sure, but what kind of mayor listens to mere citizens? That's hardly his job. So let's revisit those expert organizations, shall we. By "experts," I don't mean pompous pseudo-scientists who hate pit bulls, but qualified professionals who rely on peer-reviewed articles written by actual scientists and published in major international journals. Perhaps you require names? Well, I've written about this recently, but to recap and expand, the legislation Mayor Coderre is forcing down the collective throat of his city has been scorned by the following (and this is by no means a complete list):
1. Ordre des médecins vétérinaires du Québec 2, Canadian Veterinary Medical Association 3. SPCA Montréal 4. Humane Society International/Canada 5. Ontario Health and Safety Board 6. Toronto Humane Society 7. Canadian Kennel Club 8. National Animal Control Association 9. National Animal Interest Alliance 10. National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors 11. International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants 12. International Association of Canine Professionals 13. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 14. Best Friends Animal Society 15. Humane Society of the United States 16. American College of Veterinary Behaviorists 17. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals 18. Association of Pet Dog Trainers 19. Animal Behavior Society 20. American Kennel Club 21. American Humane 22. American Bar Association 23. American Dog Owners Association 24. American Veterinary Medical Association 25. American Working Dog Federation 26. American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior 27. The, uh, White House
Eyes glazed yet? Sorry, but sometimes ennui is instructive. Note that I'm restricting myself to a select group of North Americans here -- I'd hate to bore you even further with a more comprehensive list, but you're welcome to Google the entire civilized world.
Oh, come on: isn't there even one prominent group in Canada or the U.S. in favor of banning pit bulls? Not one? Okay, it's only fair to note that there is one. Not a professional organization, by any stretch, but famous. In the way that Kim Kardashian is famous. This would be PETA: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
PETA's argument isn't based upon anything remotely scientific, of course, but it's deeply felt. And that's what matters. Their caring founder goes further in the way of Breed Specific Legislation than most: she has called for every living pit bull taking refuge in a shelter to leave that safe haven in a body bag. (She's big on animals leaving shelters in body bags. It's more than just a hobby for her; you might say that it's a calling.) So, if you're the kind of person -- a sterling, Coderre-like type -- who stands firm with the vile, the confused, and the famous, you might wish to take this into account: PETA's on your side.
Don't get me wrong. I have a great vat of admiration for this mayor. A brimming trough, even. Let's face it: there's an unprincipled bias, worldwide, in favor of science. Far too many people have kneejerk respect for intelligence and rigor. It takes fortitude to lift the executive schnozz in disdain at those "science whores," and to insist that the city swallow mayor-approved medicine, even if it won't make constituents any safer, will seize and kill many of their pets, and will put a significant dent in the municipal budget. Hey, who cares about mere dollars? Or dogs? Or humans? What matters is to be stout, unwavering, righteously deaf, and benthically ignorant.
-- 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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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fsteve-horn%2Fdid-a-front-group-use-pro_b_12032484.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Did a Front Group Use Pro-Dakota Access Pipeline Fake Accounts on Twitter, Led by GOP-Tied Firm?
A DeSmog investigation has revealed the possibility that a front group supporting the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) — the Midwest Alliance for Infrastructure Now (MAIN) — may have created fake Twitter profiles, known by some as "sock puppets," to convey a pro-pipeline message over social media. And MAIN may be employing the PR services of the firm DCI Group, which has connections to the Republican Party, in order to do so.
DeSmog tracked down at least 16 different questionable Twitter accounts which used the #NoDAPL hashtag employed by protesters, in order to claim that opposition to the pipeline kills jobs, that those protesting the pipeline at the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's encampment use violence, and that the pipeline does not pose a risk to water sources or cross over tribal land.
On September 13, people began to suspect these accounts were fake, calling them out on Twitter, and by September 14, most of the accounts no longer existed.
The Dakota Access Pipeline is set to carry oil obtained via hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") from the Bakken Shale basin in North Dakota across the Dakotas, Iowa, and Illinois. Its owner, Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), says it plans to talk to the Obama administration and "reiterate [its] commitment to bring the Dakota Access Pipeline into operation." It will do so despite the administration requesting that the company halt construction "voluntarily — particularly around the contested sacred tribal sites located 20 miles east and west of Lake Oahe and the Missouri River — until further notice."
In his memorandum announcing his company's plans to do so, ETP CEO Kelcy Warren espoused many of the same arguments that were deployed by the Twitter sock puppets, which calls into question whether his company helped spearhead the social media campaign behind the scenes in order to create the appearance of grassroots support, a technique known as "astroturfing."
In that memo, Warren said his company plans to engage more aggressively in the PR sphere.
"It has not been my preference to engage in a media/PR battle," wrote Warren. "However, misinformation has dominated the news, so we will work to communicate with the government and media more clearly in the days to come."
Vicki Granado, a spokesperson for the company, did not respond to a request for comment.
In the meantime, as all stakeholders in the debate await a definitive next move from the Obama administration, protests both on-site and nationwide have continued, with a militarized police presence at the Sacred Stone Camp intensifying. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) spoke at a September 13 Washington, DC protest against the pipeline, while U.S. Representatives Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and Raul Ruiz (D-CA) that same day called for a congressional oversight investigation of the hotly contested permitting issues which have arisen in the ongoing saga over the pipeline's future.
With that backdrop, in came the "sock puppets" for their own September 13 day of action on Twitter — and with MAIN likely pulling the strings.
The Sock Puppets
The sock puppet profiles had names such as Ashley Lovinggood, Garnett Vreeken, Yong Fetner, and Ying Baars, and all of the profile pictures featured women. Besides tweets promoting the Dakota Access Pipeline, what links all of the bogus profiles together is that they all "follow" (similar to "liking" a page on Facebook) the company Hootsuite.
Hootsuite serves as a social media platform management tool which allows an administrator for many different social media accounts, such as Facebook and Twitter, to toggle quickly between accounts and send out posts in the form of tweets and other status updates. One of those accounts, that of Angla Dullea, formerly followed MAIN — and like all of the other pages — also followed Hootsuite; that is, until the account became suspended.
Dullea's profile photo bore an identical resemblance to the Twitter profile for Palma Mackerl, another bare-bones Twitter account.
Dullea also retweeted a tweet from a group called Standing Rock Fact Checker, which on its website describes itself as a project of MAIN. The website also states it is "dedicated to promoting the truth" and battling "misinformation about the approved — and nearly complete — Dakota Access project." Five other suspicious Twitter profiles also shared Fact Checker tweets.
MAIN members include the South Dakota Petroleum and Propane Marketers Association, North Dakota Petroleum Council, Petroleum Marketers, Convenience Stores of Iowa, and others.
Reverse photo searches on Google revealed that the pictures used for other sock puppet profiles also appeared on a dermatologist website, a mail order bride website, and a hairstyle website featuring a photo of Eva Longoria, as well as images of Chinese model Crystal Wang Xi Ran, singer Keri Hilson, and the late singer Amy Winehouse.
Eva Longoria doppelgänger; Photo Credit: Twitter | Oliver Keyes
The use of political bots and sock puppets is nothing new and in fact, has become normalized by political factions worldwide, explained Norah Abokhodair of the Political Bots research program based at the University of Washington and Oxford University.
"There are many ways in which social bots can disrupt or influence online discourse, such as, spamming, phishing, distributed denial of service attacks (DDoS), or other nefarious activities," Abokhodair explained, pointing to examples such as the Syrian CivilWar bots and bots used in Turkey. "They can also be deployed for sophisticated activities like astroturfing, misdirection (botnet that tries to get the audience to attend to other content by spamming the hashtag) and smoke screening (serves to hide or provide cover for or obscure some type of activity)."
MAIN and DCI Group
MAIN was the only industry group to issue a press release in response to the Obama administration's September 9 announcement halting construction on a portion of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Its press release contained a statement attributed to spokesperson Craig Stevens. Stevens also recently did an interview with KVLY-TV, the NBC and CBS affiliate for Fargo, North Dakota. When on TV, however, he was billed as the "spokesperson for a pipeline sort of group, if you will" by segment host Chris Berg.
Despite the lack of disclosure by KVLY and Berg, it turns out that Craig Stevens actually works as Media Affairs and Crisis Management Lead for DCI Group. His DCI Group contact information is listed for MAIN's profile page on the website PR Newswire.
DCI is a PR firm tied to the GOP and with roots in creating front groups on behalf of Big Tobacco, spearheading the modern Tea Party movement, and representing oppressive dictatorial regimes such as that of Burma and oil- and gas-soaked Azerbaijan. Stevens formerly worked for the George W. Bush presidential campaign, served as spokesperson for U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman for the George W. Bush Administration, and also worked on Mitt Romney's 2012 Republican Party presidential campaign.
Jim Murphy, the political director for Donald Trump's Republican Party presidential campaign, formerly served as President and Managing Partner for DCI Group. Beyond the DCI Group connection, Continental Resources — whose founder and CEO Harold Hamm is one of Donald Trump's top energy advisers and a potential candidate for U.S. Secretary of Energy under a Trump presidency — said in a recent investor statement that a significant chunk of the company's Bakken oil will flow through Dakota Access.
Before DCI Group began working on Standing Rock-related projects for MAIN, it appears the PR firm LS2Group maintained the PR account for Dakota Access. A MAIN press release from November 2015 lists LS2's Kayla Day as the contact person and her LS2 work number is also listed, while metadata for the press release's PDF shows the document was last saved by former LS2 staffer Alex Shaner.
DCI's Role
As DeSmog has previously revealed, LS2 also did PR work in support of TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline. The group Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement published emails from 2014 (obtained via a public records request) showing LS2 also doing advocacy work in support of Dakota Access.
LS2's Day told DeSmog that LS2 still does some work on behalf of MAIN, but declined to comment further on how the work is divvied up between LS2 and DCI Group. Stevens was first listed as a spokesperson for MAIN in a September 6 press release, two days after the now-infamous dog biting incident took place at the protesting Standing Rock Siuox Tribe's Sacred Stone Camp. The Standing Rock Fact Checker website was registered the day before, and it also sent out its first tweet that same day.
Image Credit: WhoIs.net
Stevens declined to comment on who funds MAIN, referring to the membership list and confirming he was brought on in the past couple weeks to do PR work on behalf of the coalition, "as the whole public discussion has increased and been elevated" surrounding the pipeline. He also confirmed he runs the Fact Checker portal.
Asked about whether his firm or MAIN had anything to do with the sock-puppet tweets, Stevens denied he or MAIN had any involvement.
"It's frustrating to me because we're working to be respectful in tone and fact-based and any tactics like these are a distraction for what we're trying to do and that's to bring facts and contexts to this discussion," Stevens said. "I don't know about the tactics themselves and I don't know who or what is behind it, but as someone who's trying to get facts out and trying to be respectful in tone, it was incredibly frustrating that this was going on. As far as I know, and think I know, the MAIN Coalition had nothing to do with them."
However, noted environmental advocate and co-founder of climate group 350.org, Bill McKibben, doubts the authenticity of such claims from PR firms with a record like DCI, saying:
"There's a word for this kind of thing, and that word is: lying. The invention of fake people to make fake arguments perfectly exemplifies the tactics Big Oil has been reduced to. They can't win an argument on the merits, so they've given up trying. Instead, they literally make things up. The contrast with the steadfast straightforwardness of the tribes, and of the climate scientists, couldn't be more stark."
-- 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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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2F64999554%40N02%2F29076773364%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 By the River - Tower Bridge
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fbrad-friedman-and-desi-doyen%2Fgreen-news-report---septe_b_12032130.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 'Green News Report' - September 15, 2016 The Green News Report is also available via...
IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: New analysis finds Dakota Access pipeline fails Obama's climate test; U.S. House Science Committee chair investigating states who are investigating Exxon Mobil; Lead paint manufacturers got legal immunity in Wisconsin after big campaign donations; PLUS: Louisiana floods now the third costliest disaster in U.S. history... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.
IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Wind, solar and electric cars are booming. Too bad that's not enough to stop climate change; Wind, solar and electric cars are booming. Too bad that's not enough to stop climate change; Bayer and Monsanto to merge in mega-deal that could reshape world's food supply; Reducing runoff pollution by making spray droplets less bouncy; What the sixth extinction will look like in the oceans; Obama designates the first-ever marine monument off the East Coast, in New England; New Research Documents That Sugar Industry's Playbook Goes Way Back... PLUS: Reducing runoff pollution by making spray droplets less bouncy... 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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California Gnatcatcher on Buckwheat at UCI Eco Preserve this morning.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fmariel-vilella%2Fzero-waste-cities-at-the_b_12029704.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Zero Waste Cities: At The Forefront Of The Sustainable Development Goals Agenda A call to rethink our relationship with the stuff that we use and discard is fundamental to the sustainability agenda.
Making "cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable" will prove to be one of the most critically important SDGs of this century. In particular, SDG 11.6 commits us all "by 2030, [to] reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality, municipal and other waste management".
Badly managed municipal solid waste contributes to resource depletion, economic lock-in, air pollution, and public health impacts such as diarrhoea, asthma, dengue fever, and other serious health effects such as cancer. Moreover, cities account for 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions if a consumption-based method is used (that is, accounting for all goods consumed by residents, irrespective from their origin), so a call to rethink our relationship with the stuff that we use and discard is, clearly, fundamental to the sustainability agenda.
Facing up to the waste challenge can hold the key to the transformation of our relationship with resources and provide practical, bottom-up and decentralised strategies for reducing climate pollution, conserving energy and natural resources, and present enormous opportunities for the development of local economies.
Fortunately, the transition towards a more resource-efficient society has already begun: Zero Waste strategies currently implemented around the world by visionary local leaders, recyclers cooperatives, and innovative practitioners, provide some of the necessary building blocks for a 'sustainable city'.
In Europe, the Zero Waste Municipalities network has grown rapidly and it now counts on more than 350 members and municipalities in more than 7 EU countries. The keys for success have proven to be a combination of strong political will, community leadership and engagement, and a locally-adapted strategy.
Zero waste is both a goal and a plan of action. The goal is to ensure resource recovery and protect scarce natural resources by progressively minimising and ultimately ending waste disposal in incinerators, cement plants, dumps, and landfills. Experience shows that these costly end-of-pipe options do not address the underlying problems with the throw-away society, lead to the destruction of resources, and create issues regarding the disposal of the considerable and often highly toxic ash that remains, air pollution, and the destruction of livelihoods in local recycling economies.
The plan encompasses people-led programs for waste reduction, reuse and repair programs, composting, recycling, changes in consumption habits, redesign and toxic-free production. Being rooted in community participation, zero waste policies are both far-sighted and inclusive, they pave the way toward sustainable waste management systems that work for both communities and the environment. Ultimately, zero waste is a revolution in the relationship between waste and people, a new way of thinking that aims to safeguard the health and improve the lives of everyone who produces, handles, works with, or is affected by waste--in other words, all of us.
Cities engaging in raising their mark on sustainability can look at the innovative experiences around the world that today are already making real progress towards compliance with the SDGs for urban sustainability:
In 2015 Ljubljana, Slovenia, became the first 'Zero Waste Capital' in Europe implementing a wide range of zero waste practices into the fabric of the city. Also in Slovenia, 5 other municipalities, among which the very touristic town of Bled have taken the path toward Zero Waste, with now 1 in 5 inhabitants of the country living in a Zero Waste city.
These experiences show that solving the waste problem in line with the creation of sustainable cities requires more than technical fixes: it is part of a larger web of decisions about health, equity, power, poverty, and development, including policy decisions and governance.
At its heart, how cities deal with the stuff its residents make, use and discard, will determine the effectiveness of strategies for climate mitigation, clean air, clean water, clean energy, healthy food, healthy people, healthy wildlife, and the availability of resources for future generations.
These are the kind of commitments that we need to be making for a truly sustainable city to be achieved. That is, zero waste strategies are essential if we are serious about the creation and development of sustainable cities.
This post is part of a series produced by The Huffington Post to mark the occasion of the one-year anniversary of the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, or, officially, "Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development"). The SDGs represent an historic agreement -- a wide-ranging roadmap to sustainability covering 17 goals and 169 targets -- but stakeholders must also be held accountable for their commitments. To see all the posts in the series, visit 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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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: New analysis finds Dakota Access pipeline fails Obama's climate test; U.S...
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Ftheatlantic%2Finfocus%2F%7E3%2Fc0S35eB14Ps%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Building a 13th-Century Castle in the 21st Century (21 photos)
Guedelon Castle is a project started in 1997 by Michel Guyot and Maryline Martin in the Burgundy region of France. The castle is styled on typical French medieval chateau-fort, modeled on designs from the 13th century, and is being built using techniques and materials available to masons and builders 800 years ago. The Guedelon project has now become a tourist destination, and employs dozens of workers. The castle is due to be completed in 2023.
A view of the construction site of the Chateau de Guedelon near Treigny in the Burgundy region of France, on September 13, 2016. (Jacky Naegelen / Reuters) images
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2F500px.com%2Fphoto%2F172745621%2Funtitled-by-mario-ledesma-martinez&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Untitled by Mario Ledesma - Martinez
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2F500px.com%2Fphoto%2F172649939%2Funtitled-by-mikel-sajeras-perez-moreno&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Untitled by Mikel Sajeras Perez Moreno
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fconservation-x-labs%2Fwho-are-tomorrows-leaders_b_12031010.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Who Are Tomorrow's Leaders in Ocean Conservation? By Julia Luthringer, Conservation Innovation Fellow at Conservation X Labs
While these solutions pinpoint awe-inspiring success, they are usually local in scope. Where are today's global-scale, transformative ocean solutions?
"Our Problems are exponential, but our solutions have been linear. We need to increase the speed, scale, efficacy, and sustainability of our conservation interventions," explains Alex Dehgan, the co-founder and CEO of the DC-based tech startup Conservation X Labs. "Conservation science must continue its shift from being a descriptive, discovery-based science to a transdisciplinary field that seeks to also engineer solutions. While conservation science can help define the problems, it alone does not possess the solutions. However, powerful new tools for conservation exist and offer hope." Dehgan previously worked as the chief scientist for USAID, where he created the Global Development Lab, a space for social-based innovators and entrepreneurs to create and scale solutions in public health. Realizing a need for similar, transformative solutions in conservation, Dehgan, along with Paul Bunje of Xprize, created Conservation X Labs.
The organization aims to create and utilize technologies to transform the field of conservation in a number of ways, focusing on "revolutionary solutions rather than evolutionary ones." Conservation X Labs is building their own technologies, like the world's first DNA Barcode Scanner, a tool that can be used to slow illegal wildlife and timber trafficking and trade.
Australia's innovationXchange within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is funding an AU$3 million global challenge, The Blue Economy Challenge, to source new solutions and engage new solvers to rethink the future of aquaculture to improve both food security and enhance sustainability. Conservation X Labs partnered with the innovationXchange as well as SecondMuse and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to implement the challenge, as it is a great opportunity to source transformative solutions for ocean conservation. The Blue Economy Challenge seeks innovative solutions that will reduce the burden on the environment and improve food security in developing countries of the Indian Ocean for three issues in aquaculture: highly nutritional fish-free aquaculture feed replacements; new ocean products; and, new technology and practices for aquaculture farmers to improve the efficiency and environmental and economic sustainability of aquaculture farms. The winners of the Challenge will be announced at Our Ocean, and the top 20 innovators are featured in this blog post, From Sea Cucumbers to Spirulina: Meet the 20 Finalists.
This fall, Conservation X Labs and WWF will launch Ocean X Labs: an accelerator that will bring transformative, ocean-based conservation innovations to scale. Oceans X Labs will provide entrepreneurs, innovators, problem-solvers, and scientists access to lessons in business and finance, guidance and mentorship from industry leaders, and time and resources to continue building and prototyping their products. The program is also building a web platform to be used as a virtual co-working space, so that people from many disciplines and backgrounds can collaborate to solve the wicked problems our oceans face today.
Enter our ocean heroines and heroes: ordinary people with big ideas for conservation.
Small, start-up companies have already begun to pepper the market. A number of them submitted their ideas in The Blue Economy Challenge. New Wave Foods has created shrimp-free, kosher, and vegan shrimp that is made from algae in an effort to stop mangrove forest degradation associated with shrimp farming. Coral Vita farms corals to rebuild reefs that are resilient and hearty for both ecotourism and habitat restoration. MicroSynbiotiX is growing algae for fish feeds containing vaccinations for common diseases in aquaculture to reduce fish mortality.
#OceanOptimism lies with these unique thinkers and dreamers who have the capacity to revolutionize ocean conservation by drawing on their own, diverse experiences and knowledge. It's an exciting time for conservation--there is great potential for creative, positive and transformational change.
Julia Luthringer is a Conservation Innovation Fellow at Conservation X Labs and a 2017 NOAA Knauss Finalist. She's a recent and proud graduate of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, where she studied marine policy and sustainable fisheries management.
This post is part of a series produced by The Huffington Post in partnership with Secretary of State John Kerry's Our Oceanconference and Ocean Unite, an initiative to unite and activate powerful voices for ocean-conservation action. The series is being produced to coincide with the Our Ocean Conference (September 15th, 16th) as 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. The State Department does not endorse the content of this blog. Follow the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #OurOcean #MakeASplash.
-- 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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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdotearth.blogs.nytimes.com%2F2016%2F09%2F15%2Fhow-digital-tracking-of-rogue-fishing-can-safeguard-vast-ocean-reserves%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 How Digital Tracking of Rogue Fishing Can Safeguard Vast Ocean Reserves It's one thing to expand marine reserves and another to protect them. Now an online tool for tracking global fishing fleets is on the case. gaia
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fvoices.nationalgeographic.com%2F2016%2F09%2F15%2Funiting-against-organized-wildlife-crime%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Uniting Against Organized Wildlife Crime
Law enforcement agencies, NGOs, and business leaders gathered from across the world in Washington this week to share information and expertise and organize a concerted strategy to combat the global scourge of wildlife trafficking.
The unprecedented collaboration was heralded at the National Geographic Society's headquarters on Tuesday, at an event held against the backdrop of recent news of a catastrophic plunge in the last wild populations of African elephants and other species. The meeting also set the stage for CITES CoP17, a world wildlife conference in Johannesburg at the end of this month that will bring more than a hundred governments together to review the planet's biggest wildlife challenges and opportunities.
Stories From the Front Line: Exploring Global Law Enforcement in the New Age of Wildlife Trafficking — the title of the event hosted by the National Geographic Society and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) was attended also by officials and conservation experts from 11 African nations on the frontline of poaching of elephants, rhinos, and other iconic species.
The National Geographic/FWS event coincided with the publication of the October 2016 issue of National Geographic magazine, which features a report on the rhino horn trade and rhino farming in South Africa, written by Bryan Christy, the Society's wildlife crimes investigator.
Human-Wildlife Conflict Likely to Grow
“You are on the front line every single day, making a difference as we try to tell your stories to inspire others to take action,” National Geographic Society President and CEO Gary E. Knell said in his welcome address to the law enforcement officials. “You are not alone. This is no longer the problem of the few, of one protected place or one country,” he added. Photograph by David Claypool
The human population is expected to grow to nine billion people by 2050, one billion more in Africa alone in the next 35 years, said National Geographic Society President and CEO Gary E. Knell, at the opening of the event. “The chances of human-wildlife conflict are going to grow, whether we like it or not. We've got to come up with solutions, whether they're in Yellowstone National Park ecosystems, or whether it's in Gorongosa [National Park in Mozambique], or in Kenya or Cameroon. We have to find ways to find a balance and figure out ways to protect the natural habitats of wildlife, and at the same time protect the human needs for survival, food, housing, education, energy, and for all the things which we deserve in human rights.”
Bryan Christy's work on wildlife crime has been cited as one of ten ways National Geographic is changing the world, Knell said. Christy, head of the Society's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) team and 2014 NG Explorer of the Year, is an award-winning journalist and a true champion for wildlife and wild places, he added. “With dedication, courage and conviction [Christy] has already produced astounding results, exposing the criminals of wildlife trafficking and sharing these stories in print, television, digital media, Facebook. That's how we can make his work amplified. That work has put elephants and the illegal trade in elephants on the priority list of many countries, including our own, and has led to numerous Internet petitions and campaigns to stop the illegal ivory trade.”
Enforcement Is Key — But not Enough
David J. Hayes, Chair of the U.S. Wildlife Trafficking Alliance and Vice Chair of the President's Advisory Council on Wildlife Trafficking, said enforcement was key, both domestically in the U.S. and in Africa. “It is so fantastic that the FWS is training you all together to have an effective force,” he told the dozens of wildlife protection and law enforcement officers at the event. “But enforcement is not enough; we have to reduce the demand. As long as there are tremendous dollars chasing illegal products, it's going to be impossible for you guys to completely win,” he said.
David J. Hayes is a Distinguished Visiting Lecturer in Law at the Stanford Law School where teaches courses focused on renewable and conventional energy, wildlife trafficking, and climate change. Photograph by David Claypool
Hayes said there was a need to develop international cooperation and public-private partnerships. “The government can't reduce demand by itself. We need all of civil society to come together. We need all of the big nonprofits in this space to not compete against each other, but to work together. And we need to recruit the corporate sector. We need new voices in this debate. We need companies that are being abused by traffickers, to step up, make sure that their supply chains are not being polluted by trafficked goods, and use their communications channels to deliver a broad message to consumers [to] ‘Watch out, don't buy this stuff. You may be the unwitting purchaser of it.'”
Hayes said the Advisory Council on Wildlife Trafficking went first to National Geographic to form a broad organization, “and with National Geographic, the World Wildlife Fund, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and the African Wildlife Foundation…we brought them under the U.S. Wildlife Trafficking Alliance banner. Then we went to the corporate world and said, we need your help…we're a nongovernmental temporary coalition bringing together the nonprofit community with the corporate community. We looked at leading companies in important sectors that traffickers were using. The e-commerce sector for example.”
Secret Sauce
The broad coalition of companies and NGOs under one umbrella speaks with one voice to help American consumers make better decisions, Hayes said.
But there's a secret sauce in this, he added. “You might say, why are you spending so much time in the U.S. consumer world when we know that the largest demand is coming from Southeast Asia. If we get global big name companies like Google, E-bay, Ralph Lauren, and others taking up this cause, communicating with their customers about the importance of this issue, that's going to affect international commerce, too. We're already seeing it happening. If we can get it done in the U.S., we think it will take fire globally as well.”
“All of society needs to help you do your job,” Hayes told the law enforcement gathering. “And with National Geographic's voice, with the impetus of companies and NGOs working together, we can address this issue and we must.”
Daniel M, Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Photograph by David Claypool
Engagement Key to Success
“National Geographic's work gives us inspiration and helps us see what's possible in a world of challenge that often seems impossible,” Daniel M. Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, told the meeting. “If we are going to solve this crisis, this epidemic of wildlife trafficking, engaging people is the key ingredient in success.”
Photo Ark: A Reminder of What's at Stake
“Things like [the National Geographic project] Photo Ark with its 6,000 images, all of them a reminder of what's at stake,” was an example of engagement, Ashe said. “Iconic creatures like African elephant and black rhino and Sumatran tiger, but also the thousands of less charismatic creatures that form the foundation and the sinews that connect this global ecosystem on which we depend. The decline of all of these species, the great and small, the loved and obscure, is an ominous sign for the health of the planet and the billions of people that it sustains — and there will more people in the future, which reminds us that we need to do more and better.”
As we think about the future of prosecuting this effort, we can't just catch the poachers and the middlemen, Hayes added. “We have to go after the people who are making the money, so that we take wildlife trafficking from a high-profit, low-risk endeavor toward a lower profit, higher risk endeavor.”
Operation Crash
The success of Operation Crash [an ongoing nationwide criminal investigation led by the FWS Office of Law Enforcement, focusing on the illegal trade in rhinoceros horn and elephant ivory in response to international poaching and smuggling syndicates] was a key reason why the FWS was working to position senior agents around the globe to facilitate these efforts, Ashe said. The agency had recently selected a special agent to serve in Libreville, Gabon, joining five other attaches stationed in embassies in China, Thailand, Tanzania, Botswana, and Peru. “Hopefully before the end of the year, we will have attaches placed in three more key embassies around the world, because we've seen the tremendous value that these agents provide in improving our collaboration and information-sharing. They are dramatically expanding the reach and effectiveness of our law enforcement efforts and communication among law enforcement agencies across the globe,” Ashe said.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe (left) used the event at National Geographic to present the highest award the Service can bestow on an employee, the Distinguished Service Award, to Special Agent In Charge James Gale. “Over more than two decades in wildlife law enforcement, first as a Game Warden for the State of Virginia and then as a special agent for the Fish and Wildlife Service, Jim has led dozens of investigations and secured hundreds of convictions of criminals here and across the world,” Ashe said. Gale currently serves as the Chief of the USFWS Special Investigations Unit. He personally led Operation Crash, a global, ongoing investigation of rhino horn smuggling that has led to 41 arrests, 30 convictions, and seizure of ivory horn and elephant ivory with street values exceeding U.S. $75 million, Ashe said. Photograph by David Claypool
Long Time Coming
Introducing a panel discussion, Bryan Christy noted that the gathering of an international group of law enforcement officials had been a long time coming.
“To have a room full of law enforcement, people fighting on the front lines, leading policymakers, gathered together from multiple jurisdictions, is extraordinary,” said Bryan Christy (far left). Photograph by David Claypool
“Wildlife crime is organized crime…something that funds terrorist organizations operating in central Africa. It is violent…militarized…mechanized. And one of the advantages that it has is that law enforcement is not violent most of the time, not as well-funded, and, from the international perspective, not historically organized.
“You as law enforcement officers have restrictions that criminals don't; you have diplomatic restrictions on the ability cross borders, you have funding limitations, and you are outfitted with outdated technology occasionally. Criminals are not. Organized criminals are not, especially. So what's exciting to me about tonight is that this represents organized crime fighters.”
Christy noted that he had created the National Geographic Special Investigations Unit with specific goals: “To allow me to work on long investigations, give voice to the work that you do, have a platform for law-enforcement, and to profile endangered species and species we don't hear enough about — and then to empower communities on the ground, talk to journalists in developing countries where wildlife exists, and to law enforcement in those places.”
Following the Story No One Else Can Tell
National Geographic stories about investigations into wildlife crime had led to action and results, Bryan Christy (left) said at the event. “Stories that empower and make a difference on the ground and get government leaders involved and take the pressure off them, so that they are no longer initiating on their own, there is a community behind them.“ Photograph by David Claypool
“I tell law enforcement, if you share your story with me I will follow it,” Christy said. “I know you can't follow it…because of funding and so on. We have had great success doing that. And the success comes from sharing that story, sharing the work that you're doing, the work being done in other countries, pulling that together. And the impact can be pretty impressive.”
Curtis Brown: “It takes a lot of work, money and patience to allow for conservation work to happen, especially undercover work. It takes a long time for these cases to actually develop. And it costs a lot of money. So we appreciate everyone's support in that endeavor.
At a national association of conservation law enforcement chiefs meeting we will be trying to collaborate better, share information better, have better intelligence. We are going to get together and do a better job of sharing trafficking intelligence and work better together as investigators. Talking across borders is critical. Any time you share data it's always hard, but if you sit down and share information in conversation, that is valuable information.
Julius Kamwendwit Cheptei, Assistant Director, Kenya Wildlife Service, Parks and Reserves. Photograph by David Claypool
Julius Kamwendwit Cheptei: Kenya is divided into eight conservation areas. One of those is the area I am responsible for, in the southern part of the country, 31,000 square kilometers, the equivalent of Israel. I have about 600 foot soldiers charged with the responsibility to ensure the survival of elephants, rhinos, and all other species. A big challenge is conflict between wildlife and community, but our primary responsibility is to ensure that wildlife survives.
Mike Cenci: We have 130 very dedicated Fish and Wildlife police officers and a small cadre of detectives that focus on trafficking and crimes related to natural resources. Some of you may be wondering what does this state agency have to do with the trafficking of species, particularly at the international level. Well, as a state, we've experienced our own natural resources being trafficked on a global scale. We're often the source…there's a lot of diversity in the Pacific Northwest…and our resources that are in relative abundance are highly valued worldwide, so we understand what some of these other nations are facing. If we are going to be concerned about our challenges, we have to show a lot of concern for their challenges. We know that wildlife trafficking is global and it requires a global response, and that requires that it be coordinated worldwide.
Christopher Fominyam Njoh Tangi, Director, Kimbi-Fungom National Park, Cameroon. Photograph by David Claypool
Chrstopher Fominyam Njoh Tangi: Responsible for the latest national park created in Cameroon (2015). We have a problem of bush meat, and our greatest problem is cross-border poaching from Nigeria. We also have a problem with the small trophy that comes out of our park, the buffalo horn, which is used as a drinking cup in our tradition. One of our greatest ways of handling wildlife crime is working with our local people. We have a lot of wildlife, but we need to do research to know what we have in the park. The park is enclaved, with no roads, so we have to work with the local people.
The wildlife criminals from Nigeria use the local people as their accomplices to get to what they want. We educate the local people to not be accomplices. In our culture, local people may take a little bush meat for their cultural use, but they may not sell it. But they always abuse this, so we have to discipline them. We have to work with them, get their support to track and find Nigerian trans-boundary poachers.
We don't have the technology, manpower, money, but we work with the local population. But what we hear from them is, “What is the alternative, if we don't work with these people who are paying us to show them where to get these animals, what are we going to do?” The challenge is to find partners who can come into these communities and help with alternative livelihoods, so they can have a better life and turn away from these poachers.
We must look at habitat to improve it. If the animals have a place to hide, they will outsmart the poachers by using the camouflage of the forest. Where we have deforested, the animals are exposed and can be shot from a long distance away. The restored forest is not friendly to poachers; more friendly to animals that can hide there. That's the planned aspect of our work…give animals places to hide and better security.
Timothy J. Santel, Resident Agent in Charge, Special Investigations Unit, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service-Office of Law Enforcement. Photograph by David Claypool
Tim Santel: We kicked off Operation Crash in 2011 with a team of special agents. I can say five years later, I am very proud of the results that our team put together. [Operation Crash is the centerpiece of Bryan Christy's rhino story in the October 2016 issue of National Geographic.] It is an extraordinary case that shows at multiple level the challenges for law enforcement and the impact of the U.S. Government.
John Webb, Member of the Federal Advisory Council on Wildlife Trafficking, and U.S. Department of Justice prosecutor (retired): We need well trained, well prepared investigators, and to be effective across borders requires those same investigators to cooperate among themselves. Two other important players in effective interdiction and enforcement: prosecutors and judges. How do we get that group of dedicated prosecutors that will take our effective investigations and turn them into successful prosecutions? How do we ensure that we have judges that take our cases seriously and are not corrupt? We have a trilogy of players, all of who must be on the same page for us to have effective wildlife crime fighting.
More than three dozen officers from U.S. conservation Agencies and as many senior African conservation officers attended the “Stories from the Frontline” conference. The african countries represented were Botswana, Cameroon, Gabon, Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia. The conference was hosted by the National Geographic Society and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The audience included Federal, State and African officers, NGOs, donors, and conservation organizations. Photograph by David Claypool gaia
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fjorge-madrid%2Feastside-sol-celebrates-c_b_12030484.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 VIDEO: Eastside Sol Celebrates Community, Culture, and Clean Energy in Los Angeles
By: Luis Gutierrez, Senior Associate, Leadership for Urban Renewal Network (LURN) and Jorge Madrid, CA Campaign Director, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)
It's a warm, sunny day in August at the iconic Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights, California. More than 400 local residents have come together to dance to the classic tunes of Selenamos and the cumbia-rock fusion of El Conjunto Nueva Ola - the entire stage powered by solar. They're enjoying delicious vegan treats, participating in a live mural art project, and screen printing their own reusable tote bags. Many are collecting free shade trees to plant at home, learning about bicycle safety and receiving free helmets, and discovering information about a new vehicle trade-in program that allows Californians to swap out their older vehicles for a new or used electric car. So what exactly is this celebration of music, art, culture, and clean energy? It's Eastside Sol.
Event organizers Jorge Madrid and Luis Gutierrez reflect on the origins of Eastside Sol, its driving principles, and what's in store for the future.
How did the idea for Eastside Sol come about?
Jorge:I started working in clean energy policy during the peak of the economic recession, around 2008. Many advocates, myself included, believed clean energy could combat climate change, reduce local air pollution, and alleviate some of the economic malaise that hit low-income communities of color first and worst. Problem was, very few of these new clean energy technologies and programs were showing up in neighborhoods like the one I grew up in, on the Eastside of Los Angeles. This needed to change. I knew I wanted to do something to celebrate the culture and community where I grew up and introduce new technologies and programs that could help folks save money, access jobs and resources, and breathe cleaner air. But I had no idea how to pull it off until I met the folks at REPOWER LA and LURN.
Luis:LURN was working on several projects related to land use and local economic development, including a citywide effort to legalize street vending, a project to reimagine vacant lots throughout South Los Angeles, a healthy foods purchasing-cooperative for small businesses, and a campaign to utilize art in combatting gentrification and displacement in Boyle Heights. When Jorge approached us with this wild idea, we thought it fit perfectly with our style of projects.
How has this event evolved since the first Eastside Sol last year?
Jorge:The first Eastside Sol focused on solar access and equity issues. It was a great success, only because of the amazing community partners and residents who came to support. This year, we wanted to expand the scope of the event and provide residents with more, because we know there are complex challenges facing our neighborhood. Intersectional challenges need intersectional solutions.
Boyle Heights ranks among the top 5 percent most environmentally burdened neighborhoods in the state. Simultaneously, the community is dealing with a lead contamination disaster and major pollution from freeways and heavy industry. The neighborhood is 70 percent renters and the median income is $33,000. Boyle Heights is also on the front lines of gentrification and displacement, a growing concern in Los Angeles and many major U.S. cities.
We believe clean energy, like solar power and electric vehicles, can help families in Boyle Heights and similar neighborhoods. It can create local, well-paying jobs, lower energy bills, reduce pollution impacts and health costs like asthma, and create more affordable mobility options. California, and cities like Los Angeles, are rolling out programs that can help residents access these technologies and make them more affordable.
Clean energy is not a silver bullet to address all the challenges facing the Eastside, but we are confident it can be part of the solution.
What have you learned from Eastside Sol about community building?
Luis:To pull off the delicate balance between entertainment, information, and engagement, we discovered five values while planning our 2015 event and refined them this year:
• Fun - If people aren't having a good time, they're not going to grab onto the ideas we're sharing and they're certainly not going to share their opinions and advice. So, to get people to see the entire event, we turned it into a game of "loteria." Visiting different stations allowed you to collect stamps on a card. Once attendees reached a certain number, they traded in their cards for a food ticket. The awesome music during the event helped keep people happy and moving! • Culture - We worked closely with community organizations and members to ensure the event was an extension of local culture and values. Everything - from the food to the messaging and music - was planned and coordinated collectively. We wanted folks in the neighborhood to feel like it was their space. • Local leadership - This event was a success because we worked closely with community leaders and organizations. We asked for their help in leading the planning and identifying the themes for the event. • Tradition and history - We started Eastside Sol knowing the community was already doing a lot for the environment - re-using plastic containers, repurposing water for gardens, etc. Knowing this, we sought to introduce residents to services and resources that would help augment those existing practices. • Accountability - Large agencies, such as LA Metro and utility companies, were critical in the development and execution of Eastside Sol. However, very early in the process we opened consistent and clear lines of communication to ensure their participation served community needs and the spirit of Eastside Sol. We also knew we had to hold ourselves accountable to community needs and concerns.
What's next for Eastside Sol?
Luis:We want to return to Mariachi Plaza next year and produce an even bigger event with more resources for the community. Additionally, we may replicate our model in other neighborhoods and cities throughout Los Angeles and California. We want to work with as many impacted communities as possible to ensure they are at the table where important environmental, transportation, and land-use decisions happen. This, to us, is one of the best ways of engaging underrepresented communities - through fun, art and culture, and collaborative community spaces.
-- 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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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fandrew-sharpless%2Foceana-unveils-global-fis_b_12030462.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Oceana unveils Global Fishing Watch At Oceana, we fight for national policies in key countries around the world. We win key victories for the oceans that stop overfishing, reduce bycatch, limit pollution, preserve habitat and protect wildlife. But responsible policies like those we advocate for depend upon effective monitoring and enforcement to be successful. Today, at the 2016 Our Ocean Conference, Oceana helped unveil a powerful new tool that will make these prerequisites easier to achieve: Global Fishing Watch.
Global Fishing Watch is the result of a partnership between Oceana, SkyTruth and Google. It is the first-ever technology platform that enables anyone with an internet connection to see global fishing activity and track commercial fishing vessels in near real-time - for free.
With Global Fishing Watch, users can visualize the global fishing fleet in space and time to reveal the intensity of fishing activity around the world. Users can track and measure both near real-time and historical commercial fishing activity using the Global Fishing Watch heat map. They can also view individual vessel tracks, exclusive economic zones, marine protected areas and other features.
Hundreds of millions of people depend on the ocean for their livelihoods and approximately 3 billion rely on it as a primary food source. However, the world's oceans are threatened by global overfishing, illegal fishing and habitat destruction. These threats could undermine the many benefits the oceans provide us with. Governments face a challenge in managing oceans sustainably. Sharing information more transparently on how our oceans are being used is essential to keeping our oceans healthy and bringing back abundance.
Global Fishing Watch can drive science and innovation, and improve decision-making about the effective management of the world's fisheries and oceans. It will harness the power of citizen engagement to help rebuild and maintain abundant oceans and provide a powerful tool to show consumers where and by whom their fish are being caught.
Together, the uses of Global Fishing Watch will promote healthier oceans and more effective policymaking around the world.
This exciting new tool is live and available now. Try it out for yourself at www.globalfishingwatch.org.
-- 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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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fjorge-madrid%2Feastside-sol-celebrates-c_b_12030484.html&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Jorge Madrid: VIDEO: Eastside Sol Celebrates Community, Culture, and Clean Energy in Los Angeles EAST SIDE SOL 2016 from Youth Speak Media Solutions on Vimeo.
By: Luis Gutierrez, Senior Associate, Leadership for Urban Renewal Network (LURN) and ...
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fandrew-sharpless%2Foceana-unveils-global-fis_b_12030462.html&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Andrew Sharpless: Oceana unveils Global Fishing Watch At Oceana, we fight for national policies in key countries around the world. We win key victories for the oceans that stop overfishing, reduce bycatch...
The Thames Barrier spans 520 metres across the River Thames near Woolwich, and it protects 125 square kilometres of central London from flooding caused by tidal surges. It has 10 steel gates that can be raised into position across the River Thames. When raised, the main gates stand as high as a 5-storey building and as wide as the opening of Tower Bridge. Each main gate weighs 3,300 tonnes. The barrier is closed under storm surge conditions to protect London from flooding from the sea. It may also be closed during periods of high flow over Teddington Weir to reduce the risk of river flooding in some areas of west London including Richmond and Twickenham. The Thames Barrier will then remain closed over high water until the water level downstream of the Thames Barrier has reduced to the same level as upstream. This is a managed process to provide for different circumstances, and takes about 5 hours. The Thames Barrier is then opened, allowing the water upstream to flow out to sea with the outward-bound tide.
Information taken from gov.uk website.
HDR image made by tone-mapping 3 exposures at -2EV, 0EV and +2EV.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdailyoverview.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F150452329924&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 I'm heading to San Francisco for DigitalGlobe's...
I'm heading to San Francisco for DigitalGlobe's WorldView-4 satellite launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base on Friday! Here's a shot from their most advanced satellite currently in orbit, WorldView-3. The satellite was a remarkable 800 miles away over the Pacific Ocean when this Overview of Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge, and downtown San Francisco was captured. As you may have noticed, DigitalGlobe provides the raw imagery that makes Daily Overview possible, so we're super excited to see their constellation expanding!
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fmattcattell%2F29619608211%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Red Deer beneath a Sycamore
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fyacqueline-montecinos%2Fblue-whale-and-salmon-far_b_12029230.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Blue Whale And Salmon Farm In Southern Chile With its wealth of temperate rain forest, freshwater, and marine ecosystems, Southern Chile is a global conservation priority place that stands out for its high levels of endemism and marine biodiversity. Chile has one of the world's longest coastlines, stretching close to 4,300 km along the Pacific Ocean, and close to 80,000 km of shoreline around channels, fjords and coastal islands. It is home to unique species, including the endangered blue whale. However, a range of pressures on natural marine resources, including unsustainable exploitation, habitat degradation and other human induced impacts continue to be considerable threats to the marine biodiversity along the Pacific coast of southern Chile.
The blue whale is the world´s largest animal on the planet and moves around Northern Chilean Patagonia during their feeding season in Austral waters, every summer. This area is also heavily used for salmon aquaculture, and this sharing of habitat is the crux of the problem. In order to contribute to the long-term protection of this important marine species, WWF Chile's Marine Program launched a campaign to create a positive change in the salmon industry, to work with producers and aid the industry in improving their approach to environmental and social issues.
During the last Our Ocean Conference celebrated in Chile, a partnership was developed among the Environmental Ministry, Consejo Nacional de Producción Limpia, WWF Chile, Blue Whale Center (BWC), Universidad Austral de Chile, Los Fiordos, Aquachile, Blumar, Pesquera Camanchaca, Ventisquero and Multiexport commited to evaluate and mitigate the potential impact of the salmon industry on the blue whale habitat. Since then, a number of activities have been taking place according to the time table developed. These activities included one day navigation for blue whale sighting and tagging procedures observations in charge of the BWC experts and cetaceans sighting training courses. The identification of salmon farm installation that would be involved in the impact evaluation, allowed the development of whales and dolphin sighting training courses for all salmon farm workers. With the aim of making them part of a cetacean sighting network. During a blue whale tagging expedition, 3 animals were tagged in Chiloé inner waters. As result of this, it has been possible to see the whales mainly moving up north area in the Gulf of Ancud. Area highly used with salmon farm installations.
Saving this iconic species is essential as it will be used as umbrella, flagship, and environmental species for promoting general conservation and management actions for the entire marine biodiversity. This specific partnership is part of a holistic approach for marine conservation, which includes effective implementation of Marine Protected Areas, science and stakeholder involvement, keeping at the same time sustainable development options open for local inhabitants, and the implementation of better practices from the private productive sector, such as aquaculture.
This post is part of a series produced by The Huffington Post in partnership with Secretary of State John Kerry's Our Oceanconference and Ocean Unite, an initiative to unite and activate powerful voices for ocean-conservation action. The series is being produced to coincide with the Our Ocean Conference (September 15th, 16th) as 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. The State Department does not endorse the content of this blog. Follow the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #OurOcean #MakeASplash.
-- 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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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fsilvia-camporesi%2Fshortage-of-organs-for-tr_b_11978456.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dscience%26ir%3DScience&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Shortage Of Organs For Transplantation -- Is More Research on Human-Animal Chimeras the Right Approach? This piece was originally published on Bionews and co-authored with Giulia Cavaliere. You can read the original piece here.
Insoo Hyun, a bioethicist at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio, followed with a perspective piece in PLOS Biology, stating that the benefits of this kind of research are so great that we should no longer hesitate to fund it.
The piece by Hyun addresses traditional concerns in animal ethics, such as safety, the moral status of the non-human animal (in this case, the human/non-human chimera) and the exploitation of non-human animals in research. We agree with his precautionary stance which, is consistent with the existent ethical standards for chimera research developed by the Internal Society for Stem Cell Research in 2007, and with more emphasis on animal welfare than on speculative concerns about moral humanization of the human/non-human animal chimera. Ultimately, we find that Hyun's conclusions that 'most, if not all, of these [traditional] concerns can be reasonably addressed' are plausible. However, Hyun fails to address the elephant in the room: why should we invest significant resources in the creation of humanised animal models in the first place?
Let's take a look at the two main assumptions in Hyun's piece. First assumption:
'The shortage of human organs for donation is a pressing problem worldwide.' (Hyun 2016, 2)
He adds: 'The humanitarian importance of this research is both apparent and urgent. There is currently a dire shortage of organs for transplantation in the United States, leading to approximately 22 deaths per day among patients waiting for organs.' (Hyun 2016, 2).
Hyun is right about the numbers, but we believe that the urgency of the research is not by any means self-evident. What he fails to examine is whether the creation of humanised animal models is the best way to address this pressing matter, and he fails to acknowledge the existence of viable alternatives, such as opt-out policies to increase organ donation from human to human, (one example notable is Austria with an organ donation rate higher than 90 %; and in the UK a similar law was approved in Wales in December 2015.
Second assumption:
'Given the noble aims of this research, it is puzzling to some why the NIH is so nervous about providing federal funds to researchers with a track record of success in this area.' (Hyun, p. 2)
When put in this way, it is difficult to object to research that aims to save lives and relieve suffering. The argument goes - We have the opportunity to save lives and we should do that. If we fail to do that, we are equally morally responsible (acts and omissions are morally equivalent). Such beneficence-based arguments are common patterns of moral argumentation about new and emerging science and technologies, but they risk to uncritically accept scientists' assumptions. In this case, the assumption being that the research has the noble aim of solving the shortage of human organs, and as along as precautionary measures are taken to ensure safety, and respect for the welfare the animals, then research should be allowed to go ahead.
In the UK, any research of this kind would need a specific licence granted on a case-by-case basis from the HFEA. In 2007, two research groups in the UK (the Stem Cell Biology Laboratory directed by Dr Stephen Minger at King's College London, and the group headed by Dr Lyle Armstrong at Newcastle) applied independently for a license to the HFEA to carry out interspecies somatic cellular nuclear transfer for the creation of 'cybrids', which were eventually granted after a period of deliberation and public consultation.
These applications, and the research itself, were motivated by the need to create to develop patient-specific stem embryonic stem-cell lines through interspecies somatic cellular transfer using oocytes derived from non-human animals (rabbits or cows), to avoid the scarcity of human oocytes. According to HFEA rules, research on 'human admixed embryos' can only be conducted in vitro, and these embryos cannot be placed in non-human animals or humans. In spite of the high hopes, and of the HFEA approval, however, the cybrid experiments did not yield the expected results, in part because of lack of funding, and in part because another more promising technology came about - namely, induced pluripotent stem cells, discovered by Nobel-prize winner Japanese Shinya Yamanaka in 2007.
It remains to be seen how much funding research groups working on humanised animal models for organ transplants will be able to attract. But at these early stages of deliberation, it is important to reflect that investing in this research is a deliberate choice that will shape our collective future. By choosing to invest in this kind of research, we are actively deciding how to allocate scarce resources to address the social problem of shortage of human organs for transplants.
While we do not necessarily believe that the existence of viable alternatives should be used to ban humanised animal models outright, it is certainly a matter that deserves ethical attention. We need reflect on the fact that, by ignoring other potential solutions - or at least prematurely supporting one solution over another - we are actively privileging a medical/scientific solution over a political solution of devising and implementing policies to facilitate human-to-human transplants.
Historical reasons to be skeptical of scientific/medical solutions to a social problem abound. The appealing trend of using technology to fix a social problem, (e.g. sterilization of parts of populations considered a burden to society instead of investing of disability accommodations; the widespread use of Ritalin and Adderall to manage unruly children in schools instead of investing more resources in education; the use of high-income countries pharmaceutical solutions to epidemics in low-income countries which could be solved with basic public health measures) is problematic and needs further critical reflection. Technical feasibility alone should never be driving a change in law and policy.
-- 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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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.seattletimes.com%2Fnation-world%2Fphotos-of-the-day-sept-15-2016%2F%3Futm_source%3DRSS%26utm_medium%3DReferral%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_photos-of-the-day&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Photos of the Day: Sept. 15, 2016 Explore the news of the day with these images from around the world. images
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2F500px.com%2Fphoto%2F172764397%2Frobinson-by-sofi-buzakova&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Robinson by Sofi Buzakova
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fgay-browne%2Fwomen-living-with-green-h_b_12029144.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Women Living With Green Hearts
I had the privilege of attending the first Women in Green Forum in 2010. This conference is the brainchild of Jamie Nack, the President of Three Squares, Inc, a consulting firm specializing in developing sustainability plans, the mission of the conference has been to promote women's leadership across green industry and develop future solutions to the environmental crises facing our planet. Jamie's team does this by curating fabulous speakers, informative workshops and break-out sessions that always leave me inspired and is the reason why I try and attend every year. This year she might have outdone herself.
The theme was "Business as (Un)Usual: Where Purpose Meets Profit" and included an assembly of renowned female professionals from the energy, technology, transportation, consumer products, professional services, and nonprofit sectors. We heard from leaders including Luanna Huber, Director, Environment & Conservation, TDM & Environmentality Integration at The Walt Disney Company, Rose Mckinney-James, Board Member at MGM Resorts International, Michelle Moore, CEO at Groundswell and Dr. Lisa Dyson, CEO at Kiverdi as to how they are addressing sustainability within their organizations. We even learned some practical feng shui tips from Lori Tierney, President and CEO of Tierney Management on how to keep the energy in your environment in balance.
There were several awards presented including the Women in Green Forum Trailblazer Award which went to Dolores Huerta, Activist and President of the Dolores Huerta Foundation for her work. And since there are no coincidences in my life, it was my friend Lora O'Connor who presented the clip of a documentary film on Dolores's life that has been submitted to Sundance.
But what stood out the most for me was listening to what Natalie Mindrum, Director of Environmental Strategy at United Airlines had to say about their Eco-Skies commitment to protect the environment.
You might be surprised to know that a global airline has a strategy, much less a person to direct it, but increasingly companies are adding titles as high as Chief Sustainability Officer to their hierarchy. What really got my attention is that in addition to having a four-pillar commitment to the environment, which includes fuel efficiency and carbon management, sustainable travel products and services, alternative fuels, and partners in sustainability, United is the first airline to use biofuels - fuels produced directly or indirectly from organic material including plant and animal waste - to power their flights out of LAX.
They've partnered with AltAir Fuels, who took an idle commercial oil refinery in Paramount, California and retrofitted it to produce biofuel. Not only is the 30/70 blend of biofuel with traditional jet fuel expected to reduce carbon emissions by 60%, but it also created over fifty new jobs! I found it very impressive that an airline in a difficult economic period, would continue to make the environment a priority.
There has been so much progress made in sustainability since the Women's Green Forum started in 2010 and since I launched Greenopia in 2006, but there is also so much more to do. As always happens when I find myself in a room full of smart women passionate about building and creating sustainable businesses I leave with fresh, new ideas. The first is to work with Jaime Nack to help take this event to the global stage.
The second is to make everyone aware that green initiatives don't need the budget of a United Airlines behind them to make a difference. Changes can be made, no matter how small your business, to make green thinking a part of your company's culture. They include choosing LED lighting over incandescent and fluorescent which contain mercury and other toxic gases, installing a water infiltration system to eliminate the use of plastic bottles and save money in the long run, using recycled paper, stocking non-toxic cleaning supplies, choosing green vendors to do business with (Greenopia has great listings!) and serving healthy and organic food at meetings.
What's so wonderful about taking these small steps is that in addition to helping the greater good, you are creating a safer work environment, which means healthier employees, greater mental alertness, and more productivity - what Jaime called purpose with profit at the Women's Green Forum- and what I call living with a green heart.
-- 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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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theatlantic.com%2Fvideo%2Findex%2F500048%2Fegg-freezing-superspecialization%2F%3Futm_source%3Dfeed&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 A Clinic That Only Freezes Eggs
While Facebook, Google, and a few other companies have agreed to cover the costs of egg freezing for employees, the $10,000 to $15,000 cost isn't practical for most people. A new fertility clinic in New York City is promising to cut the cost by focusing solely on egg freezing. They promise a $4,990 “all-inclusive” price (though this does not include the costs of hormone treatments and egg storage, which are a few thousand more). Can specialization and competition actually drive down the price of this procedurewithout compromising safety? And should it? In this episode of If Our Bodies Could Talk, senior editor James Hamblin visits Extend Fertility to learn more about the idea.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spiegel.de%2Finternational%2Fworld%2Fuprising-in-kashmir-india-criticized-for-use-of-pellet-guns-a-1112282.html%23ref%3Drss&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Uprising in Kashmir: 'If We Protest, the Soldiers Will Shoot at Us' The killing by Indian security forces of a 15-year-old boy in Kashmir has become a rallying point for human rights groups over India's controversial use of pellet guns. The recent death is only the latest in a long-brewing independence battle in the contested region. general
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spiegel.de%2Finternational%2Feurope%2Feu-parliament-president-trump-a-problem-for-the-whole-world-a-1112505.html%23ref%3Drss&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 EU Parliament President: 'Trump Is a Problem for the Whole World' With Europe falling ever-deeper into crisis, European Parliament President Martin Schulz is warning of the further advance of right-wing populism. In an interview, he also says he fears the possibility of a President Trump. general
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%feed http://twitter.com/PLSDE/status/776451201500057600 CITES was established in 1973 to regulate the international trade in endangered species. At present, more than 183 countries are members! http://ifttt.com/missing_link?1473955484
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%feed http://twitter.com/ALDEgroup/status/776451064690249729 #CITES: EP adopts ambitious proposals to counter illegal trade in endangered species. More: https://t.co/Ak7Le5m4n8 https://t.co/Qk2kWKBEjE https://t.co/Ak7Le5m4n8
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%feed http://twitter.com/PLSDE/status/776450596501065729 CITES wildlife conference: European Parliament adopts ambitious proposals to counter illegal trade in endangered species:excesiva ambigüedad http://ifttt.com/missing_link?1473955484
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2Fsections%2Fhealth-shots%2F2016%2F09%2F15%2F493920785%2Fdont-kiss-that-kitty-cat-scratch-fever-is-making-people-sicker%3Futm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3Dresearchnews&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Don't Kiss That Kitty: Cat-Scratch Fever Is Making People Sicker
Doctors have long thought that cat-scratch fever is no big deal, but an analysis finds that more people are getting sicker from it. Small children are especially at risk, as are people in the South.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPhysicsWorld%2F%7E3%2FP38YKrd_7qk%2Fflash-physics-superfluid-helium-dark-matter-detector-hinkley-c-will-go-ahead-why-nanotubes-are-different&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Flash Physics: Superfluid helium dark-matter detector, Hinkley C will go ahead, why nanotubes are different Today's selection of need-to-know updates from the world of physics science
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPhysicsWorld%2F%7E3%2FPIZSBFK1Llk%2Fthe-risks-and-rewards-of-radiation&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 The risks and rewards of radiation Timothy Jorgensen's book greatly contributes to removing the mystery and misunderstanding that surrounds radiation, writes reviewer Jun Deng science
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPhysicsWorld%2F%7E3%2FAGIuMsR4nQ8%2Fthe-risks-and-rewards-of-radiation&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 The risks and rewards of radiation Timothy Jorgensen's book greatly contributes to removing the mystery and misunderstanding that surrounds radiation, writes reviewer Jun Deng science
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPhysicsWorld%2F%7E3%2FFt6ltuZM2nw%2Ffighting-science-denial&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Fighting science denial Robert P Crease on how to fight “science denial” in light of the upcoming US election science
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2F500px.com%2Fphoto%2F172731231%2F%25D0%25A0%25D0%25B0%25D0%25B7%25D0%25BC%25D0%25B0%25D0%25B6%25D1%258C-%25D1%2581%25D0%25BF%25D0%25B5%25D1%2580%25D0%25BC%25D1%2583-%25D0%25BF%25D0%25BE-%25D0%25B6%25D0%25B8%25D0%25B2%25D0%25BE%25D1%2582%25D1%2583-%25D0%25B2%25D1%2581%25D0%25B5%25D0%25BB%25D0%25B5%25D0%25BD%25D0%25BD%25D0%25BE%25D0%25B9-by-marat-safin&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Размажь сперму по животу вселенной by Marat Safin
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2F500px.com%2Fphoto%2F172724025%2Fvalle-de-lago-ii-by-carlos-f-turienzo&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Valle de Lago II by Carlos F Turienzo
Another one from that beautiful place of Asturias called Valle de Lago. In this case leaving the confort zone with the ultra wide lens and using a 50mm prime lens to capture that sun rays appearing in the clouds. More works at https://carlosfturienzo.com Learn how to edit photos like this one with my online workshop https://carlosfturienzo.com/en/workshop Aprende a editar fotos como esta con mi formación online https://carlosfturienzo.com/taller
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2F500px.com%2Fphoto%2F172706265%2Fthe-boy-with-painted-nails-by-felicia-simion&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 The boy with painted nails by Felicia Simion
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2F500px.com%2Fphoto%2F172677099%2Fng-by-nikolay-tikhomirov&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 NG by Nikolay Tikhomirov
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2F500px.com%2Fphoto%2F172630819%2Fsan-manuel-by-mike-olbinski&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 San Manuel by Mike Olbinski
What a fantastic chase on Monday. I hung around the Marana area for a lot of the afternoon, but when a new cluster of storms blew up southwest of Casa Grande, I raced up there hoping they would do something great. And wow they did. I'll post more pictures later, but when I arrived south of Picacho, I time-lapsed a gorgeous storm as it slowly grew in strength and became weakly supercellular. The dusty outflow was intense and I cannot wait to get those time-lapses edited! I raced back ahead of it and by this time the storm was picking up speed and it was tough to stay in front. As I neared Oracle Junction, a new cell blew up and essentially merged with the old one and now a shelf cloud was rapidly forming. A slow truck kept me from racing as far ahead as I wanted, but by the time I got to the San Manuel Airport, the shelf cloud had turned into easily one of the top 3 I've seen here in Arizona. It was stunning, moving fast and behind it, golf ball sized hail was falling in places. Such a blast of a day...so rare here to chase a long-track storm. This guy essentially blew up near Chuichu and died east of San Manuel. Almost 80 miles. Wow.
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2F500px.com%2Fphoto%2F172619983%2Ffushimi-inari-taisha-by-nikk-la&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Fushimi Inari-Taisha by Nikk La
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fjavier-goyeneche%2Fupcycling-the-oceans--wit_b_12027178.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Upcycling the Oceans - With Style! Ecoalf was founded in 2010 by Javier Goyeneche, whose idea was to create a fashion brand that is truly sustainable.
The concept arose out of his frustration at the excessive use of the world's natural resources and the amount of waste produced by industrialized countries, especially by the fashion industry. He embarked on a mission to create an entirely new concept that would combine his design sensibility and understanding of the fashion consumer with the latest in recycled materials. In 2012 he launched Ecoalf, named after his son Alfredo. The goal was to create the first generation of recycled products with the same quality, design and technical properties as the best non-recycled products. That way, Javier could demonstrate that there is no need to use natural resources in a careless way.
The small amount of recycled fabrics that Javier found on the market at that time were not fashionable, were of poor quality, and had only a small recycled %, so first he partnered up with manufacturers to develop suitable fabrics. It is for this reason that Ecoalf still designs and develops its own fabrics every season: it currently has 14 joint ventures around the world (Korea, Japan, Portugal, Taiwan, Spain...) where it recycles all different types of waste (such as discarded fishing nets, PET bottles, used tyres, coffee, post-industrial cotton and wool) to create yarn to produce all kind of fabrics, linings, straps, outsoles, etc.
Working with fishermen to clean-up the oceans In 2016, Ecoalf embarked upon its most ambitious project to date: UPCYCLING THE OCEANS, an unprecedented worldwide adventure that is helping remove waste from the oceans thanks to the support of fishermen. The main objective of this revolutionary project, which Ecoalf aims to replicate in other parts of the world, is to recover the trash that is destroying the Mediterranean Sea and transform it into top-quality yarn to produce fabrics to tailor clothes and accessories.
Through the Ecoalf Foundation, funded by HAPfoundation, Ecoalf has begun to remove waste from the seabed with the participation of the fishermen of the Spanish Levante Coast. To be rolled-out in different phases, this great project intends to prove that not only is ocean clean-up possible but that part of the recovered waste can, indeed, be converted into pellets, yarn, fabrics and products - where others see trash, Ecoalf sees raw, premium-quality materials.
However, this project faces a great challenge because of the low and inconsistent quality of the debris recovered by the fishermen as a consequence of its exposure to sun light, salt and water. Now, more than ever, investment in R&D is crucial to the attainment of a quality of product in line with Ecoalf's standards. Once again, its goal is to succeed in obtaining 100% recycled products of high technical quality and textures and in tune with current trends but without using more of the planet's natural resources.
Currently 160 trawler boats from the 10 main ports of Levante are collaborating with Upcycling the Oceans. Every day each boat recovers approximately 4 kg of waste from the Mediterranean seabed. Ecoalf has enabled the necessary infrastructure (non-existent until now) for trash collection by installing specific containers on ships and harbours. All the marine waste collected (PET bottles, glass, cans, etc) is deposited each day in the special containers placed in each port, which are collected every week and transported to a treatment plant where the debris is cleaned with water and separated. The material is then sent to the various specific recycling channels, leaving just the PET plastic bottles, which are separated, stocked and transformed into flakes and pellets through sophisticated technological processes.
As mentioned above, due to the inequality and low quality of the waste that has been recovered from the oceans, Ecoalf's great innovation challenge is to obtain pellets with the required purity conditions so it can use them to achieve a thread yarn that meets its high quality standards. After the success of its Spanish trial, the Ecoalf Foundation is working hard to expand and replicate the project all around the Mediterranean coast. It will also start a trial test in the US thanks to the support of the Henry Pincus Foundation. Furthermore, the Thailand government has just signed a contract with Ecoalf Foundation to start replicating Upcycling the Oceans in the south (Phuket), starting October 2016.
This post is part of a series produced by The Huffington Post in partnership with Secretary of State John Kerry's Our Oceanconference and Ocean Unite, an initiative to unite and activate powerful voices for ocean-conservation action. The series is being produced to coincide with the Our Ocean Conference (September 15th, 16th) as 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. The State Department does not endorse the content of this blog. Follow the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #OurOcean #MakeASplash.
-- 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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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Ftom-engelhardt%2Fdonald-trump-climate-change-golf_b_12026804.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 The Donald's Climate Change Exception: Golf Cross-posted with TomDispatch.com
The man who might be president insists that climate change is an elaborate, "very expensive hoax," even possibly a "Chinese" one meant to undermine the American economy. It's "bullshit" and "pseudoscience" (on which, it seems, he's an expert). He's said this sort of thing numerous times, always mockingly, always dismissively. Only recently in his Phoenix speech on immigration, on his love of Mexicans, and on what suckers they'll be when it comes to paying for his future wall, he put it this way: "Only the out-of-touch media elites think the biggest problems facing America... it's not nuclear, and it's not ISIS, it's not Russia, it's not China, it's global warming." Those fools! They know nothing. They don't even know that there's a crucial footnote, a lone exception, to The Donald's climate change position: golf.
Though the heating of the planet via fossil fuels couldn't be more of a fantasy, while saving the coal industry, building pipelines, and reversing anything Barack Obama did in the White House to promote alternative energy systems will be the order of the day, it turns out that climate change does threaten one thing. And it's something crucial to human life as we know it: playing 18 holes on a coastal golf course. For that, protection is obviously in order. This is undoubtedly why the man with no fears about drowning coastal communities has, through his company Trump International Golf Links & Hotel Ireland, applied for permission to build "a coastal protection works to prevent erosion at his seaside golf resort in County Clare," based on... yep... the danger of rising sea levels. We're talking about "200,000 tons of rock distributed along two miles of beach." And if permission is finally granted, the result will surely be a "great wall," a "beautiful wall" that will not let a drop of sea water emigrate onto Irish soil.
One small hint for Mr. Trump, should he become president. From the Oval Office, he might consider granting similar wall-building exemptions to key parts of coastal Florida already experiencing a serious rise in what's called "sunny-day flooding." Such walls would protect crucial coastal properties like Mar-a-Lago, his top-of-the-line private club in Palm Beach, which could otherwise find itself "under at least a foot of water for 210 days a year because of tidal flooding" within three decades. It's that or develop a sport called aquatic golf.
As for the rest of us for whom such walls assumedly won't be built, there's always flight inland where we might become... gulp... climate refugees. (In that case, you know what Trump is likely to say about the necessity for our extreme vetting). And while you're waiting for the floodwaters, I suggest that you consider what TomDispatch's invaluable energy expert Michael Klare has to say about the rise of versions of The Donald globally and what that means for the health of our world in "Will Trumpism, Brexit, and Geopolitical Exceptionalism Sink the Planet?"
-- 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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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fmichael-t-klare%2Ftrump-brexit-climate-change_b_12026586.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Will Trumpism, Brexit, And Geopolitical Exceptionalism Sink The Planet? The Mounting Threat to Climate Progress
In a year of record-setting heat on a blistered globe, with fast-warming oceans, fast-melting ice caps, and fast-rising sea levels, ratification of the December 2015 Paris climate summit agreement -- already endorsed by most nations -- should be a complete no-brainer. That it isn't tells you a great deal about our world. Global geopolitics and the possible rightward lurch of many countries (including a potential deal-breaking election in the United States that could put a climate denier in the White House) spell bad news for the fate of the Earth. It's worth exploring how this might come to be.
The delegates to that 2015 climate summit were in general accord about the science of climate change and the need to cap global warming at 1.5 to 2.0 degrees Celsius (or 2.6 to 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit) before a planetary catastrophe ensues. They disagreed, however, about much else. Some key countries were in outright conflict with other states (Russia with Ukraine, for example) or deeply hostile to each other (as with India and Pakistan or the U.S. and Iran). In recognition of such tensions and schisms, the assembled countries crafted a final document that replaced legally binding commitments with the obligation of each signatory state to adopt its own unique plan, or “nationally determined contribution” (NDC), for curbing climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions.
As a result, the fate of the planet rests on the questionable willingness of each of those countries to abide by that obligation, however sour or bellicose its relations with other signatories may be. As it happens, that part of the agreement has already been buffeted by geopolitical headwinds and is likely to face increasing turbulence in the years to come.
That geopolitics will play a decisive role in determining the success or failure of the Paris Agreement has become self-evident in the short time since its promulgation. While some progress has been made toward its formal adoption -- the agreement will enter into force only after no fewer than 55 countries, accounting for at least 55% of global greenhouse gas emissions, have ratified it -- it has also encountered unexpected political hurdles, signaling trouble to come.
On the bright side, in a stunning diplomatic coup, President Obama persuaded Chinese President Xi Jinping to sign the accord with him during a recent meeting of the G-20 group of leading economies in Hangzhou. Together, the two countries are responsible for a striking 40% of global emissions. “Despite our differences on other issues,” Obama noted during the signing ceremony, “we hope our willingness to work together on this issue will inspire further ambition and further action around the world.”
Brazil, the planet's seventh largest emitter, just signed on as well, and a number of states, including Japan and New Zealand, have announced their intention to ratify the agreement soon. Many others are expected to do so before the next major U.N. climate summit in Marrakesh, Morocco, this November.
On the dark side, however, Great Britain's astonishing Brexit vote has complicated the task of ensuring the European Union's approval of the agreement, as European solidarity on the climate issue -- a major factor in the success of the Paris negotiations -- can no longer be assured. “There is a risk that this could kick EU ratification of the Paris Agreement into the long grass,” suggests Jonathan Grant, director of sustainability at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The Brexit campaign itself was spearheaded by politicians who were also major critics of climate science and strong opponents of efforts to promote a transition from carbon-based fuels to green sources of energy. For example, the chair of the Vote Leave campaign, former Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson, is also chairman of the Global Warming Policy Foundation, a think-tank devoted to sabotaging government efforts to speed the transition to green energy. Many other top Leave campaigners, including former Conservative ministers John Redwood and Owen Paterson, were also vigorous climate deniers.
In explaining the strong link between these two camps, analysts at the Economistnoted that both oppose British submission to international laws and norms: “Brexiteers dislike EU regulations and know that any effective action to tackle climate change will require some kind of global cooperation: carbon taxes or binding targets on emissions. The latter would be the EU writ large and Britain would have even less say in any global agreement, involving some 200 nations, than in an EU regime involving 28.”
Keep in mind as well that Angela Merkel and François Hollande, the leaders of the other two anchors of the European Union, Germany and France, are both embattled by right-wing anti-immigrant parties likely to be similarly unfriendly to such an agreement. And in what could be the deal-breaker of history, this same strain of thought, combining unbridled nationalism, climate denialism, fierce hostility to immigration, and unwavering support for domestic fossil fuel production, also animates Donald Trump's campaign for the American presidency.
In his first major speech on energy, delivered in May, Trump -- who has called global warming a Chinese hoax -- pledged to “cancel the Paris climate agreement” and scrap the various measures announced by President Obama to ensure U.S. compliance with its provisions. Echoing the views of his Brexit counterparts, he complained that “this agreement gives foreign bureaucrats control over how much energy we use on our land, in our country. No way.” He also vowed to revive construction of the Keystone XL pipeline (which would bring carbon-heavy Canadian tar sands oil to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast), to reverse any climate-friendly Obama administration acts, and to promote the coal industry. “Regulations that shut down hundreds of coal-fired power plants and block the construction of new ones -- how stupid is that?” he said, mockingly.
In Europe, ultra-nationalist parties on the right are riding a wave of Islamaphobia, anti-immigrant sentiment, and disgust with the European Union. In France, for instance, former president Nicolas Sarkozy announced his intention to run for that post again, promising even more stringent controls on migrants and Muslims and a greater focus on French “identity.” Even further to the right, the rabidly anti-Muslim Marine Le Pen is also in the race at the head of her National Front Party. Like-minded candidates have already made gains in national elections in Austria and most recently in a state election in Germany that stunned Merkel's ruling party. In each case, they surged by disavowing relatively timid efforts by the European Union to resettle refugees from Syria and other war-torn countries. Although climate change is not a defining issue in these contests as it is in the U.S. and Britain, the growing opposition to anything associated with the EU and its regulatory system poses an obvious threat to future continent-wide efforts to cap greenhouse gas emissions.
Elsewhere in the world, similar strands of thinking are spreading, raising serious questions about the ability of governments to ratify the Paris Agreement or, more importantly, to implement its provisions. Take India, for example.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has indeed voiced support for the Paris accord and promised a vast expansion of solar power. He has also made no secret of his determination to promote economic growth at any cost, including greatly increased reliance on coal-powered electricity. That spells trouble. According to the Energy Information Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy, India is likely to double its coal consumption over the next 25 years, making it the world's second largest coal consumer after China. Combined with an increase in oil and natural gas consumption, such a surge in coal use could result in a tripling of India's carbon dioxide emissions at a time when most countries (including the U.S. and China) are expected to experience a peak or decline in theirs.
Prime Minister Modi is well aware that his devotion to coal has generated resentment among environmentalists in India and elsewhere who seek to slow the growth of carbon emissions. He nonetheless insists that, as a major developing nation, India should enjoy a special right to achieve economic growth in any way it can, even if this means endangering the environment. “The desire to improve one's lot has been the primary driving force behind human progress,” his government affirmed in its emissions-reduction pledge to the Paris climate summit. “Nations that are now striving to fulfill this ‘right to grow' of their teeming millions cannot be made to feel guilty [about] their development agenda as they attempt to fulfill this legitimate aspiration.”
Russia is similarly likely to put domestic economic needs (and the desire to remain a great power, militarily and otherwise) ahead of its global climate obligations. Although President Vladimir Putin attended the Paris summit and assured the gathered nations of Russian compliance with its outcome, he has also made it crystal clear that his country has no intention of giving up its reliance on oil and natural gas exports for a large share of its national income. According to the Energy Information Administration, Russia's government relies on such exports for a staggering 50% of its operating revenue, a share it dare not jeopardize at a time when its economy -- already buffeted by European Union and U.S. sanctions -- is in deep recession. To ensure the continued flow of hydrocarbon income, in fact, Moscow has announced multibillion dollar plans to develop new oil and gas fields in Siberia and the Arctic, even if such efforts fly in the face of commitments to reduce future carbon emissions.
From Reform and Renewal to Rivalry
Such nationalistic exceptionalism could become something of the norm if Donald Trump wins in November, or other nations join those already eager to put the needs of a fossil fuel-based domestic growth agenda ahead of global climate commitments. With that in mind, consider the assessment of future energy trends that the Norwegian energy giant Statoil recently produced. In it is a chilling scenario focused on just this sort of dystopian future.
The second-biggest producer of natural gas in Europe after Russia's Gazprom, Statoil annually issues Energy Perspectives, a report that explores possible future energy trends. Previous editions included scenarios labeled “reform” (predicated on coordinated but gradual international efforts to shift from carbon fuels to green energy technology) and “renewal” (positing a more rapid transition). The 2016 edition, however, added a grim new twist: “rivalry.” It depicts a realistically downbeat future in which international strife and geopolitical competition discourage significant cooperation in the climate field.
According to the document, the new section is “driven” by real-world developments -- by, that is, “a series of political crises, growing protectionism, and a general fragmentation of the state system, resulting in a multipolar world developing in different directions. In this scenario, there is growing disagreement about the rules of the game and a decreasing ability to manage crises in the political, economic, and environmental arenas.”
In such a future, Statoil suggests, the major powers would prove to be far more concerned with satisfying their own economic and energy requirements than pursuing collaborative efforts aimed at slowing the pace of climate change. For many of them, this would mean maximizing the cheapest and most accessible fuel options available -- often domestic supplies of fossil fuels. Under such circumstances, the report suggests, the use of coal would rise, not fall, and its share of global energy consumption would actually increase from 29% to 32%.
In such a world, forget about those “nationally determined contributions” agreed to in Paris and think instead about a planet whose environment will grow ever less friendly to life as we know it. In its rivalry scenario, writes Statoil, “the climate issue has low priority on the regulatory agenda. While local pollution issues are attended to, large-scale international climate agreements are not the chosen way forward. As a consequence, the current NDCs are only partly implemented. Climate finance ambitions are not met, and carbon pricing to stimulate cost-efficient reductions in countries and across national borders are limited.”
Coming from a major fossil fuel company, this vision of how events might play out on an increasingly tumultuous planet makes for peculiar reading: more akin to Eaarth -- Bill McKibben's dystopian portrait of a climate-ravaged world -- than the usual industry-generated visions of future world health and prosperity. And while “rivalry” is only one of several scenarios Statoil's authors considered, they clearly found it unnervingly convincing. Hence, in a briefing on the report, the company's chief economist Eirik Wærness indicated that Great Britain's looming exit from the EU was exactly the sort of event that would fit the proposed model and might multiply in the future.
Climate Change in a World of Geopolitical Exceptionalism
Indeed, the future pace of climate change will be determined as much by geopolitical factors as technological developments in the energy sector. While it is evident that immense progress is being made in bringing down the price of wind and solar power in particular -- far more so than all but a few analysts anticipated until recently -- the political will to turn such developments into meaningful global change and so bring carbon emissions to heel before the planet is unalterably transformed may, as the Statoil authors suggest, be dematerializing before our eyes. If so, make no mistake about it: we will be condemning Earth's future inhabitants, our own children and grandchildren, to unmitigated disaster.
As President Obama's largely unheralded success in Hangzhou indicates, such a fate is not etched in stone. If he could persuade the fiercely nationalistic leader of a country worried about its economic future to join him in signing the climate agreement, more such successes are possible. His ability to achieve such outcomes is, however, diminishing by the week, and few other leaders of his stature and determination appear to be waiting in the wings.
To avoid an Eaarth (as both Bill McKibben and the Statoil authors imagine it) and preserve the welcoming planet in which humanity grew and thrived, climate activists will have to devote at least as much of their energy and attention to the international political arena as to the technology sector. At this point, electing green-minded leaders, stopping climate deniers (or ignorers) from capturing high office, and opposing fossil-fueled ultra-nationalism is the only realistic path to a habitable planet.
Michael T. Klare, aTomDispatch regular, is a professor of peace and world security studies at Hampshire College and the author, most recently, ofThe Race for What's Left. A documentary movie version of his book Blood and Oil is available from the Media Education Foundation. Follow him on Twitter at @mklare1.
-- 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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%feed http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/09/14/493916062/the-troubled-galaxy-note-7-leaves-some-samsung-customers-frustrated?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=technology The Troubled Galaxy Note 7 Leaves Some Samsung Customers Frustrated
U.S. users trying to take part in Samsung's unofficial recall find themselves winding through a network of stores and unclear guidelines. The government has yet to announce a formal recall.
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%feed http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/09/14/493919532/trying-to-get-the-kids-to-put-down-those-phones-heres-help?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=technology Trying To Get The Kids To Put Down Those Phones? Here's Help
You can nudge your kids' relationship with digital technology in a more healthful direction, but warning: It's going to require parents to change, too.
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%feed http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/09/14/493823483/self-driving-cars-take-to-the-streets-of-pittsburgh-courtesy-of-uber?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=technology What It's Like To Ride In A (Nearly) Self-Driving Uber
Uber is deploying a fleet of self-driving cars Wednesday in Pittsburgh. Employees will be in the front seats, but they will try to let technology do the driving. We went for a ride.
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%feed http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/09/14/493881325/video-gamers-head-to-the-gym-to-enhance-competitive-edge?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=technology Video Gamers Head To The Gym To Enhance Competitive Edge
Video games are big business with high stakes for pro players. To help perform better, personal trainers are tailoring their services for gamers. Routines including yoga, weight lifting and cardio.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Flindahall.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F150444353676&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Joannes Jonston Scientist of the Day Joannes Jonston,... http://lhldigital.lindahall.org/cdm/ref/collection/nat_hist/id/35701
A team of chemists has developed a method to yield highly detailed, 3-D images of the insides of batteries. The technique, based on magnetic resonance imaging, offers an enhanced approach to monitor the condition of these power sources in real time.
Image credit: Andrew J. Ilott and Alexej Jerschow, Chemistry Department, New York University
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Nicholas Eberstadt's new book Men Without Work is an attack on America's too-generous social net, which he sees as the real culprit for low labor participation. In fact, economic data make clear that few men are “fleeing” work in order to get unemployment insurance, disability insurance, food stamps, and the like. Though he does not acknowledge it, Eberstadt's data suggest a different, far more powerful explanation of the employment gap: there are too few jobs for these men.![]("http://chimpfeedr.com/img/?url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fnybooks%2F%7E4%2FtIf9I9vMYnM&width=540&mix=42dfe-culture")
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With Europe falling ever-deeper into crisis, European Parliament President Martin Schulz is warning of the further advance of right-wing populism. In an interview, he also says he fears the possibility of a President Trump. ![]("https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=493920785"){kind=tracking}
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