The following pages are returning "404 page not found" consistently, for me at least. (Also, breaks infinite scroll on homepage.) [https://kbin.social/?p=2](https://kbin.social/?p=2) [https://kbin.social/?p=6](https://kbin.social/?p=6) [https://kbin.social/newest](https://kbin.social/newest) (Though, [https://kbin.social/newest?p=1](https://kbin.social/newest?p=1) does seem to to work.) Also not working: [https://kbin.social/all](https://kbin.social/all) [https://kbin.social/active](https://kbin.social/active)

www.gamesradar.com

The first non-Hopoo Risk of Rain game is exactly what many series fans had feared --- > > > A year ago almost to the day, Gearbox Publishing officially acquired the Risk of Rain IP from original developer Hopoo Games after serving as the publisher on runaway hit Risk of Rain 2. At the recent 10-year Risk of Rain anniversary blowout, Gearbox announced Risk of Rain: Hostile Worlds, a new mobile title in the works at developer Frima Studio, best known for the reasonably well-liked action RPG Disciples: Liberation, mobile spinoff Forza Street, and contributions to Fortnite's mobile version. > > > > Hostile Worlds will be the first Risk of Rain game without Hopoo attached. It's an isometric action game explicitly built for Android and iOS devices, currently in regional testing ahead of a proper global launch. The game's been billed as a four-player hero collector which streamlines Risk of Rain's core gameplay loop – shoot, collect items, kill a boss, repeat – and marries it to free-to-play monetization. > >

News uphillbothways • 11 months ago • 94%

www.nbcnews.com

Latest news and live updates on Trump’s civil fraud trial in New York as Ivanka Trump takes the stand. The former president appeared Monday, and his sons spoke last week. --- Further updates and reporting are available here: [https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-us-canada-67288390](https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-us-canada-67288390)

The ability to 'boost' your own comments/threads has been used by a very small number of users in a way that seriously degrades conversation on the platform. These users constantly move their own contributions to the top of the conversation without regard to their value. If allowed to continue it will likely become standard for everyone to do the same and the value of the 'boost' feature will be lessened. I can't see a downside to removing the ability to do so, and it seems like it would be very easy to implement. Though, I am open to discussion on the topic. Thank you. (And, once again, I apologize if there is a thread about this topic already. I searched, but didn't see one.)

Are there plans for a 'hide thread' feature, under 'more'? (next to comment and boost) Just curious. It's not the highest priority by any means, but I've found myself looking for it sometimes. (think it was a reddit option, can't remember for sure) There are occasions when a thread is bothersome or somewhat triggering for one reason or another (maybe the image is a little much) and it would be nice to just not see that individual thread again in my own feed. Thanks in advance. (And, sorry if there's another thread on this. I tried searching and didn't see one.)

News uphillbothways • 11 months ago • 97%

cleantechnica.com

ExxonMobil and Chevron both increased their stake in fossil fuels this month as they plan to continue their destruction of the environment. ---------- > > > ... > As Reuters reports, two weeks ago ExxonMobil agreed to acquire Pioneer Natural Resources for nearly $60 billion. This week, Chevron, the second largest oil company in the world, agreed to pay $53 billion for Hess. The Exxon acquisition is the largest in the company’s history since it acquired Mobil Oil nearly 20 years ago. The driving force behind the Chevron deal is that it gives it access to a new fossil fuels reserves being developed in Guyana, a country in northeast South America between Venezuela and Brazil. > ... > ... This week in Germany, the Munich Regional Court sentenced four climate scientists turned activists to fines totaling €1680 each. If they do not pay the fines, they will be required to serve 105 days of prison. The four were convicted of criminal damage and trespassing during their peaceful protest against Germany’s policy failure regarding the climate crisis last year in Munich. > ... > > archive link: [https://ghostarchive.org/archive/GyX1o](https://ghostarchive.org/archive/GyX1o)

News uphillbothways • 11 months ago • 89%

fortune.com

California has lost over 1,760 square miles—nearly 7%—of its tree cover since 1985, according to a recent study. ---------- > > > ... > Dead pines, firs, and cedars stretch as far as the eye can see. Fire burned so hot that soil was still barren in places more than a year later. Granite boulders were charred and flaked from the inferno. Long, narrow indentations marked the graves of fallen logs that vanished in smoke. > ... > After wildfires in 2020 and 2021 wiped out up to about a fifth of all giant sequoias — once considered almost fireproof — the National Park Service last week embarked on a controversial project to help the mighty trees recover with its largest planting of seedlings a single grove. > ... > > archive link: [https://ghostarchive.org/archive/wJQT6](https://ghostarchive.org/archive/wJQT6)

News uphillbothways • 11 months ago • 98%

www.theguardian.com

Hills and valleys carved by ancient rivers in area the size of Belgium has remained untouched for more than 34m years ---------- > > > .... > Exactly when sunshine last touched this hidden world is difficult to determine, but the researchers are confident it has been at least 14m years. > ... > “We are now on course to develop atmospheric conditions similar to those that prevailed” between 14m and 34m years ago, when it was 3C to 7C warmer than currently, they wrote in the journal Nature Communications. > ... > >

News uphillbothways • 12 months ago • 97%

www.nytimes.com

Earlier this year it was clear Antarctic sea ice levels were low. Now, as the continent enters spring, it’s obvious that “it’s a really exceptional year.” ---------- **Archive:** [https://ghostarchive.org/archive/O3xl6](https://ghostarchive.org/archive/O3xl6) **The Latest** Winter is over in the Southern Hemisphere and sea ice around Antarctica has likely grown as much as it’s going to for 2023, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Antarctic sea ice reached its lowest peak by a wide margin for any year since 1979, when the continuous satellite record began. “The ice this year is so far out of the range of all the other years that it’s a really exceptional year,” said Ariaan Purich, a climate scientist at Monash University in Australia. By Sept. 10, sea ice had grown to cover 6.5 million square miles around the continent, or just under 17 million square kilometers. The difference this year from the 1981 to 2010 average is an area roughly the size of Alaska. **Why It Matters: Sea ice protects the continent’s ice shelf and wildlife.** Antarctica has ice both on land, in the form of its massive continental ice sheet, and in the waters around it, in the form of seasonal sea ice. The ice in the water helps protect the land ice from the warming ocean. Less sea ice could mean that the continental ice sheet melts and breaks faster, contributing to faster sea-level rise around the world. That sea ice supports a whole ecosystem of wildlife, including both Adélie and emperor penguins. Last year, several emperor penguin colonies suffered a widespread loss of their chicks when the ice broke up early. **Background: This year’s record low follows several years of decline.** Antarctic sea ice has been growing sluggishly and staying at record lows for each month since April. “Things got really strange,” said Walt Meier, a senior research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center. “It started diverging from anything we’d seen before.” Satellite data from 1966 showed a similarly low sea ice extent, but Dr. Meier cautioned that this earlier data is less reliable and should not be used as a direct comparison to today’s observations. The departure from previous years is particularly significant right now, but follows several years of declining sea ice. Until 2016, the sea ice around Antarctica had remained relatively stable, unlike ice in the Arctic Ocean, even as the global temperature rose. But in the past seven years, Antarctic sea ice has reached record lows numerous times. **What’s Next: A potential new, unstable era for Antarctic sea ice.** A complicated mix of atmospheric and oceanic factors influence how much sea ice forms around Antarctica each year, and scientists still debate the relative importance of each factor. But ocean warming from global climate change seems to be a growing influence, said Dr. Purich, who published a study in September on trends for this year’s Antarctic sea ice, suggesting that Antarctica and the Southern Ocean may be tipping into a new state with persistently low sea ice. This year’s trends might continue into 2024 thanks to the potential of what’s known as a positive feedback loop. White ice reflects sunlight, while dark ocean water absorbs it. So the less sea ice there is, the more local sea-surface temperatures are likely to rise and melt the ice further, said Marilyn Raphael, a geography professor and director of the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at University of California, Los Angeles. She recently helped reconstruct a longer record of Antarctic sea ice that includes seasonal averages stretching back to 1905 using historical weather observations. The average sea-ice cover from June through August this year was far outside any other winter average even in this longer record. A correction was made on Oct. 5, 2023: An earlier version of this article characterized incorrectly the cycle of melting described by Marilyn Raphael. It is a positive feedback loop (because the product of the reaction leads to an increase in that reaction) not a negative feedback loop.

science uphillbothways • 12 months ago • 97%

**Abstract:** The study aimed to evaluate the potential use of spent coffee powder (SCP) and spent tea powder (STP) as bioactive supplements for sponge cake. To achieve this aim, we initially compared the chemical properties of spent tea and coffee powders with those of their raw forms. Subsequently, three supplemented cake blends were prepared (1, 2, and 3% of SCP and STP) to test the effect of their addition on the chemophysical characteristics, sensory attributes, and shelf life of the final products. Our results indicated that spent tea and coffee are prospective materials for polyphenols. Spent tea powder could retain up to 72% (theaflavin trigallate), while spent coffee powder could retain up to 63.9% (1-caffeoylquinic acid) of the identified compounds compared to the raw materials. Furthermore, spent tea and coffee powders contained high levels of dietary fiber (18.95 and 31.65 g/100 g dry weight) and the elements potassium (254.6 and 1218.2 mg/100 g of DW), phosphorus (189.8 and 161.3 mg/100 g of DW), calcium (904.1 and 237.8 mg/100 g of DW), and magnesium (158.8 and 199.6 mg/100 g of DW). In addition, the fortified samples with SCP and STP significantly enhanced the nutritional values while retaining good sensory qualities compared to those of the control sample. Moreover, cakes fortified with the highest concentrations of SCP and STP (3%) showed a significant decrease in malondialdehyde content (MDA; 17.7 and 18.0 μg/g) and microbiological counts (2.4 and 2.5 log cfu/g) compared to the control cake after 14 days of storage. These findings suggest that incorporating SCP and STP into cakes not only enhances their nutritional value but also extends their shelf life. By utilizing these waste products, we can contribute to a more sustainable and ecofriendly food industry. **Introduction** For many years, human development and population growth have been accompanied by the exhaustion and depletion of natural resources and the generation of a significant amount of agri-food waste due to following the linear economy model of “produce, use, then throw away”. (1) Tea and coffee are the most consumed beverages around the world due to their pleasant aroma, health benefits, and even religious beliefs. (2,3) They are rich in bioactive substances, and their consumption is linked to health benefits, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiviral, antiallergic, anticancer, and cardiovascular benefits. (4,5) Furthermore, they could enhance memory, mood, and cognitive ability. (6,7) For both products, around 10% of the dry weight is extracted during brewing in their infusions while around 90% is finally disposed into landfills. (2,8) However, only low molecular weight components are extracted in their respective infusions while the spent coffee powders and tea leaves still retain considerable amounts of bioactive substances, including polyphenols, fibers, and essential elements. (2,9−11) Currently, the awareness of the general farmers and consumers of terms including sustainable development and circular bioeconomy helped in mitigating this problem, and agri-food waste is now accepted as a valuable resource and re-entered the supply chain via recycling, valorization, energy recovery, and other uses. (2,12−17) In this context, there have been studies on the use of used spent coffee and tea leaves in the field of livestock nutrition, agricultural compost, or production of biogas, or valorized for their bioactive molecules. (2,13,18−21) However, there is a lack of research on the use of spent tea and coffee in the production of novel foods. (22−24) It has been noted that research on natural functional food additives, including those that exhibit high antioxidant activity, has been developing rapidly in recent years. Consumers prefer antioxidants derived from natural plant sources versus possibly hazardous, manufactured chemicals. (25−28) In this context, several studies have explored the effects of fortifying bakery products with coffee, tea, or their extracts on the technological and nutritional properties of the final products. (29−33) However, to our knowledge, less effort is made to incorporate spent tea or Arabic coffee in making sponge cakes and to investigate their effects on the sensorial, technological, and shelf lives of the final products. Therefore, the current study aimed to (I) evaluate the use of byproducts of tea and Arabic coffee as a novel functional food ingredient in bakery goods; (II) study the impact of adding spent tea or Arabic coffee ground on the sensory qualities, nutritional values, and shelf life of the final product; and (III) validate our findings using chemometric methods. All in all, we aimed to provide normal households with easy-to-use methods to reduce their carbon footprint by utilizing their nutrient-rich food wastes to prepare diverse food concepts to their liking, social habits, and lifestyle. ..... **Conclusion and Future Perspectives** In conclusion, evaluating spent coffee and tea powders as bioactive supplements for sponge cake showed promising results. Both spent tea and coffee powders were rich sources of bioactive compounds, including polyphenols, and retained high levels of important dietary elements. By incorporation of spent tea and coffee powders into the sponge cake blend, the nutritional value of the cake can be enhanced, providing additional health benefits to consumers. The presence of bioactive compounds in the powders also contributes to the potential antioxidant activity and reduction of peroxide production and delays microbial growth during storage. Finally, further research could explore the potential applications of leftover coffee and tea powders in other food products such as bread or snacks. Additionally, investigating the economic feasibility of large-scale utilization of these waste products would be beneficial in determining their viability for commercial production.

News uphillbothways • 1 year ago • 100%

www.reuters.com

The International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Tuesday its computer system had been hacked, a breach at one of the world's most high-profile international institutions and one that handles highly sensitive information about war crimes. The ICC said it had detected unusual activity on its computer network at the end of last week, prompting a response that was still ongoing. A spokesperson declined to comment on how serious the hack was, whether it has been fully resolved, or who might be behind it. "Immediate measures were adopted to respond to this cybersecurity incident and to mitigate its impact," the ICC said in a short statement. The ICC is the permanent war crimes tribunal in the Dutch city of The Hague, established in 2002 to try war crimes and crimes against humanity. Prosecutors at the court are currently conducting 17 investigations into situations in Ukraine, Uganda, Venezuela, Afghanistan and the Philippines, among others. In March, the court made headlines when it issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on suspicion of illegally deporting children from Ukraine. The Kremlin rejects the accusations and the court's jurisdiction. Highly sensitive documents at the ICC could include anything from criminal evidence to names of protected witnesses, though the court did not disclose what part of its systems had been accessed. The court said in its statement that it was continuing to "analyse and mitigate the impact of this incident" with the assistance of the Dutch government. It said it was also taking steps to strengthen its cybersecurity. A spokesperson for the Dutch Justice Ministry confirmed the country's National Cyber Security Centre was supporting the investigation but declined further comment. The president of the ICC's bar association, Marie-Hélène Proulx, said lawyers for defendants and victims had been impacted "in the same manner as the court's staff" by unspecified security measures taken in response to the incident. "We commend efforts ... in securing the court's information systems and hope that the situation will be resolved promptly," she said. The Dutch intelligence agency (AIVD) said in its 2022 annual report that the ICC was "of interest to Russia because it is investigating possible Russian war crimes in Georgia and Ukraine". In June 2022, the AIVD disclosed it had found a Russian military agent posing as a Brazilian in an attempt to infiltrate the court. In August 2023, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said that cyber attacks could be part of future war crimes investigations. He warned that the ICC itself could be vulnerable and should strengthen its defences. "Disinformation, destruction, the alteration of data, and the leaking of confidential information may obstruct the administration of justice at the ICC and, as such, constitute crimes within the ICC’s jurisdiction that might be investigated or prosecuted," he wrote in a Foreign Policy Analytics report funded by Microsoft. "But prevention remains better than cure." --- archive: [https://ghostarchive.org/archive/Uj7S1](https://ghostarchive.org/archive/Uj7S1)

News uphillbothways • 1 year ago • 97%

www.wsj.com

International Court of Justice heard arguments on whether Russia’s invasion can be challenged under 1948 treaty. ---------- archive: [https://ghostarchive.org/archive/DaOnS](https://ghostarchive.org/archive/DaOnS) Moscow and Kyiv faced off this week in The Hague over Ukraine’s claim that Russia’s 2022 invasion violates a landmark treaty, the Genocide Convention of 1948. The case before the International Court of Justice, an arm of the United Nations, proceeded decorously as bombs exploded 2,000 miles away and Russia continued to ignore the court’s preliminary orders last year to halt its attacks. Findings by the world court and other international tribunals could influence both allied support for Ukraine and the shape of an eventual peace, meaning the record both sides sought to establish could someday have consequences. Russia argues that however its invasion is characterized—“special military operation” is the Kremlin’s term—it isn’t covered by the Genocide Convention and therefore Ukraine’s complaint should be dismissed. Kyiv argues that Russia violated the treaty by falsely accusing Ukraine of committing genocide in the country’s Donbas region to justify the invasion. “For nine years we have endured lies about genocide from the highest level of the Russian government. For a year and a half we have suffered terrible attacks because of those lies. Today Ukraine is simply asking for its day in court,” Ukrainian Ambassador Anton Korynevych told the court Tuesday. A lawyer for Russia, Alfredo Crosato, said the Kremlin’s political rhetoric about genocide was legally irrelevant. “What this case is really about is the legality of the special military operation and the recognition of the DPR and LPR as states,” Crosato said at Monday arguments, using abbreviations for the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic, puppet states Moscow has recognized in occupied portions of Ukraine. “The legality of these actions [falls] not under the Genocide Convention, but under the U.N. Charter and customary international law,” Crosato said, and therefore outside the world court’s jurisdiction. Proceedings will continue into next week, including arguments from Australia, Canada, the U.K. and 29 other countries that have intervened in support of Ukraine. If the court declines to dismiss the case, a future round will consider the merits of Ukraine’s claim. The U.S. also sought to intervene in support of Ukraine, but the ICJ ruled that Washington was ineligible because it hasn’t itself agreed to be bound by the court’s application of the Genocide Convention. The 15-judge world court hears disputes between nations that consent to its jurisdiction but has no independent enforcement power. Its current president, Joan Donoghue, is a former official with the U.S. State Department. The court issued its March 2022 order for Russia to halt its military operations by a 13-2 vote, with the Russian and Chinese judges dissenting. Russia and its leaders face legal scrutiny from several international bodies, including the International Criminal Court, which in March issued warrants for President Vladimir Putin and a senior Kremlin official, Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, over the forced deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia. A Kremlin spokesman dismissed the ICC warrants as an outrage and said Russia wasn’t subject to the court’s jurisdiction. Like the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court has no police force and must rely on the cooperation of national governments for enforcement of its orders. By Jess Bravin Updated Sept. 19, 2023 2:59 pm ET

News uphillbothways • 1 year ago • 100%

www.bbc.com

Plans could include delaying a ban on sales of new petrol cars and the phasing out of gas boilers. ---------- BBC News - Rishi Sunak is considering weakening some of the government's key green commitments in a major policy shift. It could include delaying a ban on the sales of new petrol and diesel cars and phasing out gas boilers, multiple sources have told the BBC. The PM is preparing to set out the changes in a speech in the coming days. Responding to the reported plans, he said the government was committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050 but in a "more proportionate way". The prime minister said: "For too many years politicians in governments of all stripes have not been honest about costs and trade-offs. Instead they have taken the easy way out, saying we can have it all. "This realism doesn't mean losing our ambition or abandoning our commitments. Far from it. "I am proud that Britain is leading the world on climate change." He added that the UK was committed to international climate agreements it had already made. Mr Sunak said he would give a speech later this week "to set out an important long-term decision we need to make so our country becomes the place I know we all want it to be for our children". If he presses ahead with the plan it would represent a significant shift in the Conservative Party's approach to net zero policy, as well as establishing a clear dividing line with the Labour Party. According to multiple sources briefed on Downing Street's thinking, Mr Sunak would use the speech to hail the UK as a world leader on net zero. But he would also argue that Britain has over-delivered on confronting climate change and that other countries need to do more to pull their weight. Some specifics of the speech are still thought to be under discussion, but as it stands it could include as many as seven core policy changes or commitments, documents seen by the BBC suggest. First, the government would push the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars - currently set to come into force in 2030 - back to 2035. The 2030 date has been government policy since 2020. Second, the government would significantly weaken the plan to phase out the installation of gas boilers by 2035, saying that they only want 80% to be phased out by that year. Third, homeowners and landlords would be told that there will be no new energy efficiency regulations on homes. Ministers had been considering imposing fines on landlords who fail to upgrade their properties to a certain level of energy efficiency. Fourth, the 2026 ban on off-grid oil boilers will be delayed to 2035, with only an 80% phase out target at that date. In addition, Britons will be told that there will be no new taxes to discourage flying, no government policies to change people's diets and no measures to encourage carpooling. Mr Sunak is also likely to rule out what he sees as burdensome recycling schemes. The government had reportedly been considering a recycling strategy in which households would have had "seven bins" - with six separate recycling bins plus one for general waste. A Labour spokesperson said: "This is a total farce. The country cannot go on with a Conservative government in total disarray, stumbling from crisis to crisis. "Ministers need to urgently provide clarity on all eight of the policies reportedly up for review." Conservative MP Chris Skidmore, the former chairman of the UK government's net zero review, said diluting green policies would "cost the UK jobs, inward investment, and future economic growth that could have been ours by committing to the industries of the future". "Rishi Sunak still has time to think again and not make the greatest mistake of his premiership, condemning the UK to missing out on what can be the opportunity of the decade to deliver growth, jobs and future prosperity," he said. Former Conservative minister, Sir Alok Sharma, who was president of the COP26 climate summit, said the UK had been a leader on climate action "but we cannot rest on our laurels". "For any party to resile from this agenda will not help economically or electorally," he added. Green Party MP, Caroline Lucas called any rollback on net zero "economically illiterate, historically inaccurate and environmentally bone-headed". But Tory MP Craig Mackinlay, who chairs the net zero scrutiny group, said he was "pleased to see some pragmatism" from Mr Sunak. Moving back dates for net zero targets "will take pie in the sky 'greenwash' measures out of clearly unachievable deadlines". Former Conservative minister Andrea Jenkyns told Sky News she backs weakening green pledges "a million per cent". She said constituents in her red wall seat "don't buy the net zero - it's not only the freedom argument, it's the economic argument". On Thursday, the King will be on a State Visit to France, where he will host what is known as a Climate Mobilisation Forum. The event convenes specialists in climate finance, and aims to help developing economies make adjustments to cut emissions. The King will be accompanied by Foreign Secretary James Cleverly. Reporting By Henry Zeffman & Chris Mason & Brian Wheeler --- archive: [https://ghostarchive.org/archive/xQwhm](https://ghostarchive.org/archive/xQwhm)

News uphillbothways • 1 year ago • 98%

apnews.com

The crash site for a stealth fighter jet that went missing during the weekend after its pilot ejected has been located in rural South Carolina after the military asked the public for help finding an aircraft built to elude detection. ---------- NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — The crash site for a stealth fighter jet that went missing during the weekend after its pilot ejected was located Monday in rural South Carolina after the military asked the public for help finding an aircraft built to elude detection. The debris field was discovered in Williamsburg County, about two hours northeast of Joint Base Charleston. Residents were being asked to avoid the area while a recovery team worked to secure it. “We are transferring incident command to the USMC this evening, as they begin the recovery process,” the base posted Monday on the X social media platform. Authorities had been searching for the jet since the pilot, whose name hasn’t been released, parachuted to safety into a North Charleston neighborhood about 2 p.m. Sunday. He was taken to a hospital, where he was in stable condition, Marines Maj. Melanie Salinas said. “The mishap is currently under investigation, and we are unable to provide additional details to preserve the integrity of the investigative process,” the Marine Corps said in a news release on Monday evening. The Marine Corps announced earlier Monday it was pausing aviation operations for two days after the fighter jet’s crash — the third costly accident in recent weeks. Gen. Eric Smith, the acting commandant of the Marine Corps, ordered the stand-down while authorities searched near two South Carolina lakes for the missing FB-35B Lightning II aircraft. It’s the third event documented as a “Class-A mishap” over the past six weeks, according to a Marine Corps announcement. Such incidents occur when damages reach $2.5 million or more, a Department of Defense aircraft is destroyed, or someone dies or is permanently disabled. Commanders will spend the stand-down reinforcing safe flying policies, practices and procedures with their Marines, according to the Monday release. The announcement gave no details on the two previous incidents. But in August, three U.S. Marines were killed in the crash of a V-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft during a training exercise in Australia, and a Marine Corps pilot was killed when his combat jet crashed near a San Diego base during a training flight. Cpl. Christian Cortez, a Marine with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, said the details of what prompted the pilot to eject from the aircraft Sunday were under investigation. Based on the missing plane’s location and trajectory, the search was initially focused on Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion, said Senior Master Sgt. Heather Stanton at Joint Base Charleston. Both lakes are north of North Charleston. A South Carolina Law Enforcement Division helicopter joined the search after some bad weather cleared in the area, Stanton said. Military officials appealed in online posts Sunday for any help from the public in locating the aircraft. The pilot of a second F-35 returned safely to Joint Base Charleston, Salinas said. The planes and pilots were with the Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing based in Beaufort, near the South Carolina coast. --- archive: [https://ghostarchive.org/archive/FLK1X](https://ghostarchive.org/archive/FLK1X)

News uphillbothways • 1 year ago • 97%

www.cbsnews.com

Zelenskyy warns Putin could cause World War III if not stopped in Ukraine, says Putin counting on U.S. instability during the 2024 election and says drone strikes will continue if Russia keeps attacking infrastructure. ---------- We met President Zelenskyy as he prepared to depart Kyiv for the United States. This week, he will speak at the U.N. and meet President Biden. It is a critical time. U.S. officials tell us that over nearly 600 days, almost half a million troops have been killed or wounded—both sides, all together—part of the cost, so far, of Vladimir Putin's unprovoked invasion. We spoke to Zelenskyy on Thursday. He told us that his people are dying every day to prevent World War III. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (translated): We're defending the values of the whole world. And these are Ukrainian people who are paying the highest price. We are truly fighting for our freedom, we are dying we are not fiction, we are not a book. We are fighting for real with a nuclear state that threatens to destroy the world. Scott Pelley: The United States has contributed about $70 billion to your war effort, and I wonder if you expect that level of support to continue? Zelenskyy (translated): The United States of America [is] supporting Ukraine financially and I'm grateful for this. I just think they're not supporting only Ukraine alone. If Ukraine falls, Putin will surely go further. What will the United States of America do when Putin reaches the Baltic states? When he reaches the Polish border? He will. This is a lot of money. We have a lot of gratitude. What else must Ukraine do for everyone to measure our huge gratitude? We are dying in this war. (PAUSE) Look, if Ukraine falls, what will happen in ten years? Just think about it. If [the Russians] reach Poland, what's next? A Third World War? Pelley: What will it take? Another $70 billion? Zelenskyy (translated): I don't have an answer. The whole world [has to] decide whether we want to stop Putin, or whether we want to start the beginning of a world war. We can't change Putin. Russian society has [lost] the respect of the world. They elected him, and re-elected him and raised a second Hitler. They did this. We cannot go back in time. But we can stop it here. Ukraine stopped the Russian advance, but at a terrible cost. Ruined cities, millions of refugees, untold thousands of dead, all for Vladimir Putin's nation-building vanity. Today the war is fought on a 700-mile front. The red area is the 20% of Ukraine still occupied by Russia. That is where western donated tanks were supposed to punch through cutting the Russian force in half. But trenches, minefields and artillery stopped the armored advance. Now, it's an artillery duel with each side firing about 40,000 shells a day. Ukrainian infantry is advancing bloody yards at a time. It's World War I with drones. Pelley: How would you describe the fighting at the front? Zelenskyy (translated): It's a difficult question. I will be completely honest with you. We have the initiative. This is a plus. We stopped the Russian offensive and we moved into a counter-offensive. [But] despite that, it's not very fast. It is important that we are moving forward every day and liberating territory. Pelley: You have about six weeks of good weather left, and I wonder, after that point will the front be frozen in place? Zelenskyy (translated): We need to liberate our territory as much as possible and move forward, even if it's less than [half a mile or] a hundred [yards] we must do it. we can't lose time. Forget about the weather, and the like. In places that we can't get through in an armored vehicle - let's fly. If we can't fly – let's send drones. We mustn't give Putin a break. If the front is stationary, Ukrainian drones have vaulted into Russia itself, hitting the Kremlin, warplanes and Moscow high rises. Officially, Ukraine does not acknowledge these attacks. Pelley: The drone strikes in Russia are being done on your orders? Zelenskyy (translated): No. Pelley: Not on your orders? Zelenskyy (translated): Well, you know… Pelley: How was it happening? Zelenskyy (translated): You know that we don't shoot at the territory of the Russian Federation. We decided to try the question another way. Pelley: What message is being sent with these drone strikes in Russia? Zelenskyy (translated): You do know that we use our partners' weapons on the territory of Ukraine only. And this is true. But these are not punitive operations, such as they carry out killing civilians. But Russia needs to know that wherever it is, whichever place they use for launching missiles to strike Ukraine, Ukraine has every moral right to send a response to those places. We are responding to them saying: "Your sky is not as well protected, as you think." Last winter, it was Ukrainian skies that were filled with missiles in a Russian bombardment to destroy powerplants. Millions shivered in the dark. With winter approaching again, Zelenskyy had this warning. Zelenskyy (translated): They must know if you cut off our power, deprive us of electricity, deprive us of water, deprive us of gasoline you need to know we have the right to do it [to you]. Russia takes Zelenskyy seriously now because Putin's mass invasion was a fiasco. The red marks where Ukraine stopped Russia's advance last year. It also marks the stain of Russia's war crimes. Pelley: Mr. President, in traveling around Ukraine for the last year and a half we spoke to people in bombed-out schools in Chernihiv, we've seen destroyed apartment blocks in Borodyanka, a bombed hospital in Izium, civilians in a mass grave in Bucha. These are not military targets. What is Vladimir Putin trying to do? Zelenskyy (translated): To break [us]. And by choosing civilian targets, Putin wanted to achieve exactly this – to break [us]. this person who has made his way with such bloody actions, with everything he has said, cannot be trusted. There is no trust in such a person because he has not been a human being for a long time. Pelley: The Russians have suffered grievous losses without resorting to nuclear weapons, and I wonder if you believe that the threat of nuclear war is now behind us. Zelenskyy (translated): I think he's going to continue threatening. He is waiting for the United States to become less stable. He thinks that's going to happen during the U.S. election. He will be looking for instability in Europe and the United States of America. He will use the risk of using nuclear weapons to fuel that [instability]. He will keep on threatening. That U.S. election he mentioned worries him. His negotiations with President Biden have been contentious at times. But Zelenskyy tends to get what he asks for, even if, in Zelenskyy's opinion, it's generally, six months too late. This week, Zelenskyy will press Mr. Biden for missiles with longer range. Congress is debating another 24 billion dollar package. Zelenskyy (translated): And if Ukraine had enough of these modern systems, we would have already restored the territorial integrity of Ukraine. We would have already done that. These systems exist. We first met Zelenskyy not long after the invasion when his office was a blacked-out bunker. Now a year and a half later, we noticed a difference. As we were setting up the interview, the former actor used his talent to mask the strain. He smiled at a compliment to his wife. And then, instantly, he seemed pulled beneath a depth no one can know. We don't know what he was thinking, it looked like empathy for the lost and for those who might be saved. Our time with Zelenskyy began in silence--a remembrance of the fallen during a ceremony to award medals of valor. Ukrainian officials tell us Ukraine and Russia have lost their professional armies. Now the forces are made up of volunteers, draftees, and, in Russia's case, prison inmates. Zelenskyy counts his dead in casualty reports each morning. Pelley: You are the President, but it must be humbling to meet those men. I wonder what they mean to you? Zelenskyy (translated): First of all, it is a great honor for me. I look into their eyes and it makes me proud that we have such strong people because this is a big risk, a big risk, you can definitely lose your life… for the sake of [saving] other lives. [And] when I say, "other lives", I don't speak in general, I mean my own life, [the] lives of my children and I understand completely what risks are involved. That empathy for life has Volodymyr Zelenskyy reaching out, again, to the United Nations and the United States hoping to convince the allies that the world can be safe only when Ukraine is whole. Pelley: Can you give up any part of Ukraine for peace? Zelenskyy (translated): No. This is our territory. Pelley: You must have it all? Including Crimea? Zelenskyy (translated): Today you and I… you said it to me… you saw me awarding people [medals]. [Well] today is a day like that. A week ago, I gave awards to parents [of soldiers who have been killed]. There were 24 families of the dead. There was a woman. She was with three children. There were parents, very old. They could barely walk and they had had only one son. One of the women was pregnant. She arrived holding a baby in her arms. And she was pregnant. And that baby will never see… what should I tell them? That all of them died so that we could say, "It's okay, [Russia] you can take it all." It's a difficult job. You understand me, right? Giving awards to people whose faces show their whole world has collapsed. And all I can give them, all I can give them – is victory. Produced by Maria Gavrilovic. Associate producer, Alex Ortiz. Broadcast associate, Michelle Karim. Edited by Peter M. Berman. --- archive: [https://ghostarchive.org/archive/UOMle](https://ghostarchive.org/archive/UOMle) original interview: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8qC2tVkGeU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8qC2tVkGeU) [https://piped.video/watch?v=Z8qC2tVkGeU](https://piped.video/watch?v=Z8qC2tVkGeU)

News uphillbothways • 1 year ago • 99%

www.theguardian.com

Search for F-35B Lightning II fighter jet focused on two lakes after Marine Corps pilot ejected over North Charleston for unknown reason ---------- US military officials have appealed to the public for help to find a fighter jet after losing track of it somewhere over South Carolina when the pilot ejected. A Marine Corps pilot safely escaped the F-35B Lightning II jet over North Charleston on Sunday afternoon after a “mishap”, military officials said, and the search for his missing aircraft was now focused on two lakes north of North Charleston. The pilot parachuted safely into North Charleston at about 2pm and was taken to a local hospital, where he was in stable condition, said Maj Melanie Salinas. The pilot’s name has not been released. Based on the missing plane’s location and trajectory, the search for the F-35 Lightning II jet was focused on Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion, said Senior Master Sergeant Heather Stanton at Joint Base Charleston. Both lakes are north of North Charleston. Local congresswoman Nancy Mace said: “How in the hell do you lose an F-35? How is there not a tracking device and we’re asking the public to what, find a jet and turn it in?” A South Carolina Law Enforcement Division helicopter joined the search for the F-35 after some bad weather cleared in the area, Stanton said. Officials are still investigating why the pilot ejected, authorities said. The pilot of a second F-35 returned safely to Joint Base Charleston, Salinas said. The planes and pilots were with the Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 based in Beaufort, not far from South Carolina’s Atlantic coast. --- archive: [https://ghostarchive.org/archive/vNlJ2](https://ghostarchive.org/archive/vNlJ2)

News uphillbothways • 1 year ago • 96%

There’s a warning about a dangerous bacteria that might have infected a local woman who’s still recovering after nearly two months in the hospital. An online fundraising effort says she contracted the bacterial infection after eating fish and is now a quadruple amputee. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued a warning about a bacterial infection that people can get by eating raw or undercooked fish or by exposing an open wound to coastal waters. A friend tells us this San Jose woman likely got this specific infection after eating undercooked tilapia. A San Jose mother’s life is changed forever. Laura Barajas, 40, has had her limbs amputated while battling a bacterial infection. “It’s just been really heavy on all of us. It’s terrible. This could’ve happened to any of us,” said Barajas’ friend Anna Messina. Messina says back in late July Barajas had bought tilapia from a local market for dinner. She cooked it and ate it alone. Within days, she got very ill and was then hospitalized. “She almost lost her life. She was on a respirator,” Messina said. “They put her into a medically induced coma. Her fingers were black, her feet were black her bottom lip was black. She had complete sepsis and her kidneys were failing.” Now, a month and a half later, Barajas is without her arms and legs. Messina believes the infection was caused by Vibrio vulnificus — a bacterial infection the CDC has been warning about. “The ways you can get infected with this bacteria are one-you can eat something that’s contaminated with it the other way is by having a cut or tattoo exposed to water in which this bug lives,” said UCSF Infectious Disease Expert Dr. Natasha Spottiswoode. Spottiswoode says the bacteria is especially concerning for people who are immunocompromised. The CDC says about 150-200 cases of the infections are reported each year and about one in five people with the infection die — sometimes within one to two days of becoming ill. “People should take sensible precautions like if you have a cut avoid getting immersed in water until it’s well healed,” Spottiswoode said. “If you are someone immunocompromised keeping an eye on these things and avoiding those high-risk activities and foods.” Messina says she and Barajas’ family are still waiting to learn more about what happened. She hopes people realize how precious life can be. “Be thankful for what we have right now because it can be taken away so quickly so easily,” Messina said. Messina has set up a GoFundMe to help with her friend’s medical expenses. So far, it has raised more than $20,000. --- archive: [https://ghostarchive.org/archive/iVz5y](https://ghostarchive.org/archive/iVz5y)

News uphillbothways • 1 year ago • 95%

www.theguardian.com

Ukrainian presidential adviser says deaths of civilians ‘the price of a cocktail of ignorance and big ego’ ---------- A senior Ukrainian official has accused Elon Musk of “committing evil” after a new biography revealed details about how the business magnate ordered his Starlink satellite communications network to be turned off near the Crimean coast last year to hobble a Ukrainian drone attack on Russian warships. In a statement on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, which Musk owns, the Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote that Musk’s interference led to the deaths of civilians, calling them “the price of a cocktail of ignorance and big ego”. “By not allowing Ukrainian drones to destroy part of the Russian fleet via Starlink interference, [@elonmusk](https://kbin.social/u/elonmusk) allowed this fleet to fire Kalibr missiles at Ukrainian cities. As a result, civilians, and children are being killed,” Podolyak wrote. “Why do some people so desperately want to defend war criminals and their desire to commit murder? And do they now realise that they are committing evil and encouraging evil?” Musk defended his decision, saying he did not want his SpaceX company to be “explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation”. CNN on Thursday quoted an excerpt from the biography Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson, which described how armed submarine drones were approaching a Russian fleet near the Crimean coast when they “lost connectivity and washed ashore harmlessly”. The biography, due out on Tuesday, alleges Musk ordered Starlink engineers to turn off the service in the area of the attack because of his concern that Vladimir Putin would respond with nuclear weapons to a Ukrainian attack on Russian-occupied Crimea. Musk, who is also the CEO of the Tesla electric car company and SpaceX rocket and spacecraft manufacturer, initially agreed to supply Starlink hardware to Ukraine after Russia’s full-scale invasion disrupted Ukrainian communications. But he reportedly had second thoughts after Kyiv succeeded in repelling the initial Russian assault and began to counterattack. Musk has previously been embroiled in a social media spat with Ukrainian officials including the president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, over his ideas for ending Russia’s invasion. In October last year, Musk proposed a peace deal involving re-running under UN supervision annexation referendums in Moscow-occupied Ukrainian regions, acknowledging Russian sovereignty over the Crimean peninsula and giving Ukraine a neutral status. “Preliminary analysis suggests that the reach and influence of Kremlin-backed accounts has grown further in the first half of 2023, driven in particular by the dismantling of Twitter’s safety standards. The EU has also accused Musk’s X of allowing Russian propaganda about Ukraine to spread on its website. A study released last week by the European Commission, the governing body of the European Union, found that “the reach and influence of Kremlin-backed accounts has grown further in the first half of 2023.” The study said that the increased reach of Russian propaganda online was “largely driven by Twitter, where engagement grew by 36% after CEO Elon Musk decided to lift mitigation measures on Kremlin-backed accounts”. Musk on Friday attempted to refute the EU study, writing on his social media platform: “Where is all this pro-Russian propaganda? We don’t see it.” --- archive: [https://archive.ph/wip/ENe3P](https://archive.ph/wip/ENe3P)

News uphillbothways • 1 year ago • 99%

www.theguardian.com

Study finds ‘direct evidence’ of polar amplification on continent as scientists warn of implications of ice loss ---------- Antarctica is likely warming at almost twice the rate of the rest of the world and faster than climate change models are predicting, with potentially far-reaching implications for global sea level rise, according to a scientific study. Scientists analysed 78 Antarctic ice cores to recreate temperatures going back 1,000 years and found the warming across the continent was outside what could be expected from natural swings. In West Antarctica, a region considered particularly vulnerable to warming with an ice sheet that could push up global sea levels by several metres if it collapsed, the study found warming at twice the rate suggested by climate models. Climate scientists have long expected that polar regions would warm faster than the rest of the planet – a phenomenon known as polar amplification – and this has been seen in the Arctic. Dr Mathieu Casado, of the Laboratoire des Science du Climat et de l’Environnement in France and lead author of the study, said they had found “direct evidence” that Antarctica was also now undergoing polar amplification. “It is extremely concerning to see such significant warming in Antarctica, beyond natural variability,” he said. Antarctica is the size of the continental US and Mexico combined, but has only 23 permanent weather stations and only three of these are away from the coast. Casado and colleagues examined 78 Antarctic ice cores that hold a record of temperature and then compared those temperatures to climate models and observations. The research, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, found Antarctica was warming at a rate of between 0.22C and 0.32C per decade, compared to 0.18C per decade predicted by climate models. Part of the warming in Antarctica is likely being masked by a change in a pattern of winds – also thought to be linked to global heating and the loss of ozone over the continent – that has tended to reduce temperatures. Dr Sarah Jackson, an ice core expert at the Australian National University, who was not involved in the study, said the findings were “deeply concerning”. “All our projections for future sea level rise use these low rates of warming. Our models might be underestimating the loss of ice that we might get,” she said. Dr Danielle Udy, a climate scientist and ice core expert at the University of Tasmania, who was not involved in the paper, said the research was timely “given the extreme events we have been seeing in Antarctica”. Scientists are scrambling to understand why Antarctic sea ice has been at record low levels over the last two years, with some suggesting global heating could now be affecting the region. Thousands of emperor penguin chicks likely died in late 2022 after the usually stable sea ice supporting colonies in West Antarctica melted. Dr Kyle Clem, a scientist at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, has studied recent record high temperatures at one weather station at the south pole. Clem said Antarctica’s climate was subject to large natural swings, but Casado’s study had shown “a detectable change in Antarctic climate and an emergence of anthropogenic polar amplification”. He said the results would be crucial for understanding the future of the continent “as greenhouse gases continue to increase”. “The implications of this study are of particular importance for considering future changes in Antarctic sea ice, terrestrial and marine ecosystems, and potentially even sea level rise,” Clem said. “If anthropogenic polar amplification is already occurring in the Antarctic that exceeds that simulated by climate models, then future warming will likely be greater than that currently projected by climate models.” A warming Antarctic, he said, would also likely lead to further losses of sea ice that would have implications for “ocean warming, global ocean circulation, and marine ecosystems”. “As far as sea level rise, ocean warming is already melting protective ice shelves in West Antarctica and causing the West Antarctic ice sheet to retreat.” Greater warming could also lead to more melting of coastal ice shelves that protect glaciers. “This has already been seen on the Antarctic peninsula in recent decades, and it could become a more widespread occurrence around Antarctica sooner than anticipated in a more strongly warming Antarctic climate,” he said. --- archive: [https://archive.ph/E2yPg](https://archive.ph/E2yPg)

News uphillbothways • 1 year ago • 100%

www.reuters.com

North Korea has launched its first operational "tactical nuclear attack submarine" and assigned it to the fleet that patrols the waters between the Korean peninsula and Japan, state media said on Friday. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who attended the launch ceremony on Wednesday, said arming the navy with nuclear weapons was an urgent task and promised to transfer more underwater and surface vessels equipped with tactical nuclear weapons to the naval forces, news agency KCNA reported. "The submarine-launching ceremony heralded the beginning of a new chapter for bolstering up the naval force of the DPRK," KCNA said, using the initials of the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Submarine No. 841 -- named Hero Kim Kun Ok after a North Korean historical figure -- will perform its combat mission as "one of core underwater offensive means of the naval force" of North Korea, Kim said. North Korea plans to turn its existing submarines into nuclear weapons-armed attack submarines, and accelerate its push to build nuclear-powered submarines, Kim said. "Achieving a rapid development of our naval forces ... is a priority that cannot be delayed given ... the enemies' recent aggressive moves and military acts," the North Korean leader said in a speech, apparently referring to the United States and South Korea. Analysts first spotted signs that at least one new submarine was being built in 2016, and in 2019 state media showed Kim inspecting a previously unreported submarine that was built under "his special attention" and that would be operational in the waters off the east coast. State media at the time did not describe the submarine's weapons systems or say where and when the inspection took place, but analysts said the apparent size of the new vessel indicated it was designed to carry missiles. It was not immediately clear what missiles the new submarine would be armed with. North Korea has test-fired a number of submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) and cruise missiles that can be fired from submarines. It is also unclear whether North Korea has fully developed the miniaturised nuclear warheads needed to fit on such missiles. Analysts say that perfecting smaller warheads would most likely be a key goal if the North resumes nuclear testing. North Korea has a large submarine fleet but only the experimental ballistic missile submarine 8.24 Yongung (August 24th Hero) is known to have launched a missile. "This is likely intended to field the navalized version of the KN23, which they've acknowledged as a delivery system for their compact nuclear warhead," said Ankit Panda of the U.S.-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, citing the short-range SLBM that the North has test-fired. Tal Inbar, a senior research fellow at the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, said the submarine's huge sail appeared to have room for both ballistic and cruise missiles. "It won't be long before we will see it launch missiles," he said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. The launching ceremony comes as North Korea is set to mark the 75th anniversary of its founding day on Saturday and follows reports that Kim plans to travel to Russia this month to meet President Vladimir Putin to discuss weapons supplies to Moscow. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Jakarta, and asked Beijing to do more as a U.N. Security Council member to address North Korea's nuclear threat. --- archive: [https://archive.ph/23A1X](https://archive.ph/23A1X)

News uphillbothways • 1 year ago • 97%

‘Season of simmering’ in planet’s warmest June to August period since documentation began in 1940 ---------- ``` Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found at https://www.ft.com/tour. https://www.ft.com/content/d8feb379-4427-4b52-94f8-af21b01d7221 The world has experienced its hottest season on record, the EU earth observation agency reported, as heat records in the 2023 northern hemisphere summer were “not just broken but smashed”, scientists said. ``` The June to August period was the planet’s warmest since records began in 1940, according to data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service. UN secretary-general António Guterres said the planet had “just endured a season of simmering” and called on global leaders to take urgent action. “Climate breakdown has begun,” he warned. “Our climate is imploding faster than we can cope with extreme weather events hitting every corner of the planet.” The global average temperature was 16.77C, or 0.66C higher than the 1990- 2020 average. This beat the previous record set in 2019 by 0.3C, with an average temperature of 16.48C. Every fraction of a degree of warming of the planet has an exponential effect. Extreme weather patterns have concerned experts who fear it indicates an acceleration of global warming.  “Global temperature records continue to tumble in 2023, with the warmest August following on from the warmest July and June leading to the warmest boreal summer in our data record going back to 1940,” said Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the Copernicus. “The scientific evidence is overwhelming — we will continue to see more climate records and more intense and frequent extreme weather events impacting society and ecosystems, until we stop emitting greenhouse gases.” This year could yet be the hottest on record, with the first eight months of the year ranking as the second-warmest, just .01C below 2016 as the warmest year so far, according to Copernicus. In Europe the temperature was 0.83C above average making it the fifth warmest summer season, although it has suffered among the most fatalities and losses with Greece and Spain suffering deadly wildfires and floods. Mark Maslin, professor of climatology at University College London, said: “2023 is the year that climate records were not just broken but smashed.” “With record heatwaves in Europe, America and China, record ocean temperature and extreme melting of Antarctic sea ice we are now feeling the full impacts of climate change.” Copernicus said there was above-average rainfall also over most of western Europe and Turkey, as well as in western and north-eastern North America, parts of Asia, Chile and Brazil, and north-western Australia, which in some cases led to flooding. However, Iceland, northern Scandinavia, central Europe, large parts of Asia, Canada, southern North America and most of South America experienced drier-than-average conditions, it said, with these dry conditions leading to significant wildfires in some regions where it was unusual. Following the same trend as in June and July, the month August was estimated to have been about 1.5C warmer than the preindustrial average for 1850-1900. A temporary rise of 1.5C in the average global temperature is distinct from the Paris Agreement goal of limiting long-term global warming to 1.5C by 2100. On that long-term basis, temperatures have risen at least 1.1C, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said. During August, Antarctic sea ice extent was at a record low level for the time of year. Friederike Otto, senior lecturer in climate science at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change, said: “Breaking heat records has become the norm in 2023. Global warming continues because we have not stopped burning fossil fuels.” --- archive: [https://archive.ph/XJT7Y](https://archive.ph/XJT7Y)

News uphillbothways • 1 year ago • 100%

scitechdaily.com

Photocatalytic process enables water to be activated. ---------- Hydrogen is often touted as a future energy solution, especially when generated through environmentally friendly methods. Beyond its energy potential, hydrogen plays a crucial role in producing active ingredients and various essential compounds. To generate hydrogen, water (H2O) can be transformed into hydrogen gas (H2) through a sequence of chemical reactions. However, as water molecules are very stable, splitting them into hydrogen and oxygen presents a big challenge to chemists. For it to succeed at all, the water first has to be activated using a catalyst – then it reacts more easily. A team of researchers led by Prof. Armido Studer at the Institute of Organic Chemistry at Münster University (Germany) has developed a photocatalytic process in which water, under mild reaction conditions, is activated through triaryl phosphines and not, as in most other processes, through transition metal complexes. This strategy, which was recently published in the journal Nature, will open a new door in the highly active field of research relating to radical chemistry, says the team. Radicals are, as a rule, highly reactive intermediates. The team uses a special intermediate – a phosphine-water radical cation – as activated water, from which hydrogen atoms from H2O can be easily split off and transferred to a further substrate. The reaction is driven by light energy. “Our system,” says Armido Studer, “offers an ideal platform for investigating unresearched chemical processes that use the hydrogen atom as a reagent in synthesis.” Dr. Christian Mück-Lichtenfeld, who analyzed the activated water complexes using theoretical methods, says, “The hydrogen-oxygen bond in this intermediate is extraordinarily weak, making it possible to transfer a hydrogen atom to various compounds.” Dr. Jingjing Zhang, who carried out the experimental work, adds: “The hydrogen atoms of the activated water can be transferred to alkenes and arenes under very mild conditions, in so-called hydrogenation reactions.” Hydrogenation reactions are enormously important in pharmaceutical research, in the agrochemical industry, and in materials sciences. Reference: “Photocatalytic phosphine-mediated water activation for radical hydrogenation” by Jingjing Zhang, Christian Mück-Lichtenfeld and Armido Studer, 28 June 2023, Nature. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06141-1 --- archive: [https://archive.ph/wip/3tKcx](https://archive.ph/wip/3tKcx)

News uphillbothways • 1 year ago • 64%

www.zmescience.com

Wolves on an Alaskan island are showing a remarkable adaptation. ---------- Pleasant Island in Alaska is not exactly befitting of its name. The frigid, 20-square-mile island is uninhabited by humans, but it hosts a remarkably large and rich ecosystem that features deer, otters, red squirrels, and even brown bears. But in 2013, the island got a new addition: wolves. When wolves colonized the island in 2013, it set up a natural experiment. "This provided a great opportunity to study predator-prey dynamics of wolves and deer," says Roffler Gretchen. "We were interested in seeing how the newly colonizing wolf population would impact the deer population and predicted that the wolves might eat all the deer, and then leave the island as it is only separated from the mainland by 1.5 km." The first part of the prediction came true. The deer population of around 120-200 deer plummeted. But instead of moving to greener pastures, the wolves remained on an island and shifted their diet to unexpected prey: sea otters. Sea otters are themselves a top predator in the near-shore ecosystem, while wolves are an apex predator in the terrestrial area. -- so it's pretty surprising that you end up with a dynamic where one eats the other, says Taal Levi, an associate professor at Oregon State. "You have top predators feeding on a top predator," Levi says. Gretchen, Levi, and colleagues were studying the wolf diets throughout southeast Alaska, as these wolves are petitioned for listing under the Endangered Species Act -- so knowing more about their feeding ecology was important. They tracked some of the wolves with GPS collars and analyzed their scat. They found that in 2015, deer were the primary food of wolves, representing 75% of their diet. By 2017, wolves transitioned to eating primarily sea otters (57% of their diet), while deer only made up 7% of their diet. The pattern held through to 2020, when the study ended. Otters themselves have had a rough history in the area. During the 19th and 20th centuries, sea otters in the region were hunted by fur traders and basically wiped out from the region. Local wolves were not hunted to extinction, unlike wolves in other parts of the US. But it was only in recent decades, thanks to the legal protection granted to sea otters, that the two populations overlapped. But researchers weren't expecting wolves, a terrestrial species, to become so proficient at eating sea otters -- which, as the name implies, spend most of their time at sea. "They are both scavenging otters and hunting them when the sea otters haul on land. Sea otters are very unlikely to be vulnerable to wolves in the ocean," notes Levi. Wolves were often seen patrolling the shoreline of Pleasant Island and investigating rocky outcrops. The GPS data confirmed that they spent a lot of time in the intertidal zone as if looking for something -- and indeed they were: they were looking for otters to ambush. Sea otters haul out on rocks to conserve energy, says Roffler. But this makes them more vulnerable to predation as they are slow and awkward on land -- and wolves are quick to take their chance. "We have collected evidence of wolves killing sea otters by ambush when they haul out on land or are in shallow water," Gretchen adds. This new twist to the ecosystem makes for a very interesting case study, Gretchen continues. "Previously there have been investigations into the effects of marine predators on sea otter populations, but until now very little attention has been paid to the impact of terrestrial predators on sea otters, or how sea otters may be an abundant marine prey to terrestrial predators. This interaction was unexpected, but has had profound effects, at least on Pleasant Island." For now, it's not clear how the otters are adapting to this (or if they are adapting at all). The biggest effect might be a behavioral change that forces them to spend more time at sea, even when it would be beneficial to them to conserve energy on land -- the effects of this could be stressful in the long term, but this is something that warrants future research, Levi says. But overall, the researchers don't expect that wolves will have a big effect on the sea otter population. The more important ecosystem implication is that wolf population dynamics can be decoupled from the large mammals that make up their typical prey. "This allows wolves to remain abundant even as they cause large herbivore populations to decline. That is, sea otters may allow wolves to maintain large herbivores at lower densities, which has implications for vegetation and the animals that depend on it (bees, birds, bears for floral and berry resources, for example), across a huge coastline that will be eventually occupied by sea otters as their recovery continues," Levi adds. This surprising finding of wolf diets definitely warrants more studies to better understand the interactions in this ecosystem -- and Levi says they're working exactly on that. "We are now increasingly following up on the wolf-sea otter story with additional field studies, including one by PhD student Ellen Dymit, comparing mainland study areas with and without sea otters along the colonizing front of sea otter population expansion." The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. --- archive: [https://archive.ph/wip/wgO64](https://archive.ph/wip/wgO64)

News uphillbothways • 1 year ago • 100%

www.wired.com

The Vibrio vulnificus pathogen thrives in hot coastal waters, and beachgoers can contract it via a small cut or scrape. It can also kill them in two days. ---------- If you were planning on a shore vacation this year, you might have kept track of great white sharks. The apex predator made famous by Jaws (and, OK, by The Meg and Sharknado) has been spotted on East Coast beaches from South Carolina up past Cape Cod, leaving potential beachcombers worried by accounts of close encounters and attacks. But many marine biologists are worried about a much smaller—in fact, microscopic—threat. They are tracking an unprecedented surge in ocean-going bacteria known as Vibrio, which recently killed three people and sickened a fourth in Connecticut and New York, at least two of them after swimming in the coastal waters of Long Island Sound. For swimmers and fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico, Vibrio is a known summer foe. It is one of the reasons for the old saying that you shouldn't eat oysters in months that don’t have an R in their name: Warmer water encourages bacterial growth, and oysters accumulate these organisms when they feed. The bacteria is also an infection hazard for anyone who gets a cut while cleaning up soaked debris after a hurricane. But Vibrio appearing in the waters of the upper East Coast is a new and unfamiliar problem, fueled by the rapid ocean warming of climate change. Researchers worry Vibrio is going to become a persistent threat to whether people can safely enjoy the beach—and physicians who work in areas where it is already common wonder whether their northern colleagues will be alert to its potentially fatal risks. “We are used to certain diseases in our area, but they are something that clinicians in the Northeast, for example, may not be as familiar with,” says Cesar Arias, a professor and chief of infectious diseases at Houston Methodist Hospital. “All these changes in climate that we are seeing, including the tremendous heating of the oceans, is making the geography of infectious diseases change.” Already, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there may be 80,000 illnesses and 100 deaths caused by Vibrio species in the US each year; about 52,000 of them come from eating seafood. But because shellfish safety is tightly policed by federal agencies, it’s the other portion of Vibrio infections, caused by the species Vibrio vulnificus, that is raising so much concern right now. These infections happen when bacteria-laden seawater infiltrates a break in the skin. In an average year there are believed to be 28,000 cases, but that’s widely considered an undercount. Those infections can be treated, if people get antibiotics quickly. But without rapid attention, they can cause necrotizing fasciitis—flesh-eating disease—that can only be arrested by amputation, and also can put people into septic shock in as few as two days. The bacteria can enter the body through very minor injuries: a cut from stepping on a shell, a pinch from a crab’s claws, water touching the incision created by a new piercing or tattoo. Up to one-fifth of those who contract vibriosis from wound infections die. The risk is serious enough that, on Friday afternoon, the CDC sent out an alert to health departments and physicians, urging them to consider the possibility of V. vulnificus if they learn of wound infections in anyone who has been in the water in the Gulf of Mexico or on the East Coast. The alert emphasizes how fast these infections turn septic and asks doctors to send cultures to a lab—but it also urges them to start patients on antibiotics immediately, without waiting for lab results or consultation with a specialist. Vibrio are on the move. In March, a research team based at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom used records of diagnoses combined with models of climate warming to define the situation in the US now and forecast what might come next. They found that, just for V. vulnificus wound infections, cases increased eightfold between 1988 and 2018. Every year, they were recorded about 30 miles (48 kilometers) further north. Then, using several computer models based on predicted levels of greenhouse gas emissions combined with population movements, the group plotted the bacterium’s possible further shift. Under a conservative low-emissions scenario, they found that Vibrio—already present in the Chesapeake Bay—might extend its range to the middle of the New Jersey shore by 2060. In the outer bound of a high-emissions scenario, it might move as far north as the coast of southern Maine by 2100. Elizabeth Archer, an environmental scientist who led the work as a doctoral student, says it was a mild shock to discover, via news of the recent Connecticut and New York cases, that V. vulnificus had already reached the edge of New England. “Our model had predicted that area to be in the main distribution of infections by mid-century,” she says. “So it was perhaps a bit surprising that it came so soon—but also not surprising, given the trends in ocean warming and air temperatures.” In a few scientific circles, there has been concern for years that temperature anomalies are permitting Vibrio to surge out of its historic areas. Bacterial surges have been documented on the coasts of the Netherlands and Poland, and isolated from tidal flats in northern California—all places where the water ought to be too cold for Vibrio to grow. And over the past decade, Vibrio has increased in Atlantic coastal waters off Florida and the Carolinas, not only contaminating seafood but also posing a hazard to people who fish or boat in marshes and in-shore waterways. This year, the unprecedented warming of ocean water, which fueled the rapid intensification of Hurricane Idalia the night before it struck Florida’s Big Bend, is changing marine environments all the way up the Atlantic Coast. Both Long Island Sound—where two of the Connecticut victims were apparently infected—and waters off New England have reached record-high temperatures in the past few years. “V. vulnificus is only active at a temperature that's above 13 degrees Celsius, and then it becomes more prevalent up until the temperature reaches 30 degrees Celsius, which is 86 Fahrenheit,” says Karen Knee, who is an associate professor and water-quality expert at American University and an open-water swimmer accustomed to ocean conditions. “I was looking at the sea surface temperature maps, and everywhere south of Cape Cod is getting into territory that's above 20 degrees Celsius, which is when [Vibrio] really starts to become more infectious. And that's most of the swimming waters on the East Coast.” There’s more going on than just temperature shifts. Geoffrey Scott, the chair of environmental sciences at the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health who leads a research consortium on oceans and climate change, says changes in water quality are whomping up Vibrio’s ability to cause severe illness. Those changes are driven by people relocating to coasts, which increases nutrient flows into the ocean via wastewater. Vibrio used to be a late-summer hazard, but is now turning up earlier—and also later— in the year. “We've gone from them being mainly an issue from late July through early October, to being present April through November,” says Scott, who formerly supervised several coastal laboratories in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “And in some cases, they have been seen overwintering in North Carolina, around the Outer Banks.” To the problems of V. vulnificus being more virulent, in more places, for longer, you can add that more people may be exposed: first, because hot weather naturally sends more people to the beach, and second, because some of those people may not realize how vulnerable they are. “[Vulnificus] predominantly seems to impact people who have liver disease much harder than those who do not,” says Scott Roberts, an infectious-disease physician and assistant professor at the Yale School of Medicine. “And in general, being in an immunocompromised state. That could be from age, could be from chemotherapy, or if there's some sort of underlying disease.” Many people won’t know they are in danger. Every state with a shellfish industry participates in the National Shellfish Sanitation Program run by the Food and Drug Administration, which dictates standards for every aspect of shellfish production, including screening for contamination by Vibrio. That’s out of self-interest: Any hint of the organism’s presence can shut down a state’s shellfish economy. (In fact, since the recent deaths, the home page of the Connecticut Department of Agriculture has been topped by a highlighted banner declaring “Connecticut shellfish have never been associated with Vibrio vulnificus infections.”) But there’s no national program that can warn swimmers or surfers of Vibrio’s presence in the ocean; no testing regime like ones that look for coastal E. coli; no system of flags like the ones that announce strong surf and rip tides. These hazards are local knowledge, shared among people who have lived alongside them. “People down here may have a buddy who got cut on a shell or while fishing, and their finger’s a little red and swollen, and somebody will be like, ‘Don't sleep on that. I had a buddy who waited till the next morning and he lost his hand,’” says Brett Froelich, a microbiologist and assistant professor at George Mason University in Virginia. “Other people in other locations don't know that. They will absolutely think, ‘Well, I hope it gets better in the morning,’ and in the morning, their hand is black.” This poses a problem: How to make the public in newly endemic areas conscious of their new risks. No one—especially not researchers at publicly funded universities—wants to be perceived as hurting coastal tourism. “We don’t want to scare people away from beaches,” Froelich says. “You don't need to avoid [them]. You just need to be aware.” --- archive: [https://archive.ph/VvI1h](https://archive.ph/VvI1h)

News uphillbothways • 1 year ago • 94%

www.barrons.com

For food companies, it will be a balancing act between raising prices and losing customers. For the agriculture business, it may be a boon. ---------- First, there was the intense heat. Then, the wildfires and violent storms followed. This summer is on track to be the hottest recorded on Earth. But the impact goes far beyond keeping cool: Extreme high temperatures are creating risks to food production. Heat waves destroy crops and threaten to drive up food prices. Food insecurity is the ‘new normal’ with climate change pointing to recurring crises and structurally higher agricultural commodity prices, wrote J.P. Morgan’s chair of global research Joyce Chang in a recent research note. Big packaged-food companies such as Mondelez International (ticker: MDLZ), Unilever (UL) and Nestlé (NESN.Switzerland) could face an increasing struggle to pass on price increases while not driving away customers. However, price volatility could bring benefits for companies such as agricultural equipment supplier Deere (DE) and commodities trader Bunge (BG). The standout example of how extreme weather can drive up food prices is olive oil. The Mediterranean staple has more than doubled over the last 12 months to $8,000 a metric ton, a record high according to statistics tracked by the International Monetary Fund back to 1990. Extreme heat was the culprit as Spain, the world’s largest producer, was hard hit by drought. The impact on privately owned Dave’s Gourmet offers a snapshot into what some of America’s biggest food producers could face in the future. The Dallas-based specialty food company sources olive oil from a producer in the south of Spain. Dave’s Gourmet marketing director Jade Steger told Barron’s that its supplier raised prices by 20% to cover additional costs. “Half of the Spanish olive groves are not in irrigated plantations,” Steger said. “Our partner relies on an efficient water irrigation system which significantly reduces the risk, but unfortunately it can’t be removed entirely.” Olive oil has a relatively limited knock on effect in the food chain, although fans of Starbucks ’s (SBUX) range of olive-oil infused coffees might need to brace themselves for a price increase. However, a whole range of major food ingredients are at risk. Argentina’s soybean crop fell by more than half this year due to prolonged drought, according to the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange. Kansas had its smallest wheat crop since 1966 this summer after dry conditions caused many fields to be abandoned. [https://archive.ph/9fFye/f28f40cc00aa2bc0fa7527a59e435d8eb017292c.png](https://archive.ph/9fFye/f28f40cc00aa2bc0fa7527a59e435d8eb017292c.png) Government-imposed measures to tackle food inflation pose the most immediate threat to corporations. The French government said in June that it had reached a deal with dozens of food producers to lower their prices, with a minister subsequently naming Unilever as one of the companies which wasn’t doing enough to bring down costs. Unilever declined to comment on the French government’s comments but told Barron’s its pricing decisions are always taken very carefully and it is investing in regenerative agriculture practices to secure the food-supply chain. Unilever CEO Hein Schumacher told analysts on a recent earnings call that agricultural commodities were still highly volatile, citing the drought in Southern Europe, and said the company had been facing prolonged negotiations with retailers. That was also a theme picked up by Oreo maker Mondelez, which said that its volumes of sales in Europe were down in the second quarter due to contentious negotiations with grocers, which included its products being temporarily removed from some supermarkets. At the moment, the effects look manageable. Unilever’s underlying sales rose 7.9% in the second quarter of the year from the same period a year earlier, while Mondelez‘s organic net revenue was up 16%, both boosted by price increases. Unilever’s U.S.-listed shares are flat this year so far while Mondelez is up 4.2%. Price increases are slowing now, after hitting a peak in July last year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused a global crisis. However, climate change is increasing the chances of sharp swings in food prices in the future. Over the next few years that could be exacerbated by the El Niño weather pattern, which tends to raise temperatures and bring more extreme weather conditions. “Sugar, cocoa, coffee are very much at risk and so are the grains,” said Kathy Kriskey, a Commodities ETF strategist at Invesco. Cocoa prices hit a 12-year high in New York trading this summer with harvests in West Africa hit by extreme wet weather. Higher prices for cocoa and coffee pose challenges for companies such as Nestlé, although the the effects can be complex. Higher prices could drive consumers to Nestlés instant coffee products. Nestlé shares are down 2.8% this year so far, after it reported organic sales growth of 8.7% for the first half of the year. Another example of a vulnerable staple is wheat. Researchers at Tufts University found that heat waves that only had a probability of happening once every hundred years based on conditions in 1981 are now likely to happen once every six years in the Midwestern U.S. and once every 16 years in Northeastern China, both key wheat-producing areas. That could have an effect on agricultural equipment suppliers such as Deere. They generally benefit from rising crop prices, which leave farmers with more profit to spend on tractors and other machinery. Drier conditions can therefore be helpful in supporting crop prices and farming profits but only if they don’t tip over into severe drought. For this year, Deere executives said they expect sales of large agricultural equipment in the U.S. and Canada, its largest markets, to be up approximately 10% as drier weather conditions supported commodity prices. Deere shares are down 2.8% this year so far and it trades at a forward price-to-earnings multiple of 12.5 times, below its five-year average of 16.0 times according to FactSet. One company hoping to profit from volatile weather swings is grain trader and oilseed processor Bunge. Earlier this year it struck a deal to buy fellow grain merchant Viterra for $8.2 billion, citing the advantages of having a larger global footprint to deal with violent weather caused by climate change. Bunge’s profit tripled in the second quarter on improved margins as it benefited from commodities volatility despite falling sales. Bunge stock is up 14% this year so far and it trades at a forward P/E multiple of 9.5 times, below its five-year average of 11.3 times according to FactSet. Investors can also look to invest directly in commodities to either back an expected rise in prices or hedge against inflation. Invesco’s Kriskey advises against concentrating on a single crop and instead looking for exposure to a broader basket such as via the fund manager’s Agriculture Commodity Strategy No K-1 ETF, an exchange-traded fund with exposure to 11 agricultural commodities. A new normal for the climate is likely to mean more abnormal movements in food prices. That creates risks but also opportunities for investors keeping a close eye on the stocks and commodities most affected and with a strong understanding of how to play a rising likelihood of food price shocks. --- archive: [https://archive.ph/9fFye](https://archive.ph/9fFye)

News uphillbothways • 1 year ago • 100%

apnews.com

The Environmental Protection Agency is delaying plans to tighten air quality standards for smog despite a recommendation by a scientific advisory panel to lower air pollution limits to protect public health. The decision by EPA Administrator Michael Regan means that one of the agency’s most important air quality regulations will not be updated until well after the 2024 presidential election. “I have decided that the best path forward is to initiate a new statutory review of the ozone (standard) and the underlying air quality criteria,’' Regan wrote in a letter to the EPA advisory panel last month. The letter cites “several issues” raised by the panel in a recent report that “warrant additional evaluation and review.’' The review, which will last at least two years, will “ensure that air quality standards reflect the latest science in order to best protect people from pollution,’' Regan said. Regan’s decision avoids an election year battle with industry groups and Republicans who have complained about what they consider overly intrusive EPA rules on power plants, refineries, automobiles and other polluters. The delay marks the second time in 12 years that a Democratic administration has put off a new ozone standard prior to an election year. President Barack Obama shut down plans to tighten ozone standards in 2011, leading to a four-year delay before the standards were updated in 2015. Paul Billings, senior vice president of the American Lung Association, called the EPA’s decision “profoundly disappointing” and a missed opportunity to protect public health and promote environmental justice. A recent report by the lung association showed that minority communities bear a disproportionate burden from ground-level ozone, which occurs when air pollution from cars, power plants and other sources mixes with sunlight. The problem is particularly acute in urban areas. Billings called the ozone rule “the public health cornerstone of the Clean Air Act,’' adding that “millions of people will breathe dirty air for many more years’’ as a result of the delay. An increased number of asthma attacks, sick days and even premature death are likely to occur, he and other public health advocates said. Raul Garcia, vice president of policy and legislation for Earthjustice, called the delay “shameful” and unjustified. “The science tells us we are long overdue,” Garcia said. Democratic lawmakers also were disappointed. “Inaction threatens public health and puts those with underlying conditions such as asthma or lung disease at an elevated risk,’' said Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse. He and 51 other Democrats had urged swift action on a new rule. “Unfortunately we’ve seen the process for updating the ozone standards repeatedly swept up in political games that risk lives,’' the lawmakers said in an Aug. 7 letter to the EPA. Conor Bernstein, a spokesman for the National Mining Association, applauded the EPA’s decision “not to race ahead with an unnecessary revision of the ozone standards,’' which have not been changed since 2015. The current standard was reaffirmed in December 2020 under then-President Donald Trump, a Republican. Bernstein, whose members produce coal and other fossil fuels, urged officials to reconsider other regulations that he said target coal-fired power plants and endanger reliability of the electric grid. “It’s clear — and deeply alarming — that EPA (does not) understand the cumulative impact its rules will have on the grid and the nation’s severely stressed power supply,’' he said. A spokeswoman for the American Petroleum Institute, the top lobbying group for the oil and gas industry, said current ozone limits are among the most stringent in the world. “Any tightening of the standard could impact energy costs, threaten U.S. energy security and impact businesses and American consumers,’' spokeswoman Andrea Woods said in an email. The EPA’s decision comes after two advisory panels — the EPA’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee and the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council — urged the agency to lower the current ozone standard of 70 parts per billion. “Based on the scientific evidence currently available, it is concluded that the level of the current standard is not protective with an adequate margin of safety,’' the EPA panel said in a June report. A limit of 55 to 60 parts per billion “is more likely to be protective and to provide an adequate margin of safety,’' the panel said. Lianne Sheppard, a University of Washington biostatistics professor who chairs the scientific advisory panel, said Regan’s decision was “his alone” to make. “However, I am disappointed, given the robust scientific evidence that ozone is harmful to public health and welfare,” she told E&E News last month. The White House environmental justice council, meanwhile, cited the “horrible toll of air pollution’’ and its disproportionate effect on minority communities. In a letter to the White House, co-chairs Richard Moore and Peggy Shepard said the problem is “compounded by the inadequate monitoring and enforcement in many of our communities.’' Moore is co-director of Los Jardines Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico, while Sheppard is co-founder and executive director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice in New York City. Tomas Carbonell, a top official in the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, said the report by the scientific panel left the EPA with little choice but to launch a comprehensive review even though all but one panel member supported a stricter ozone standard. “When we’re looking at our national air quality standards, there’s really no way to cut corners around that process,’' Carbonell said in an interview. The agency will convene workshops next spring to gather information and will release a review plan for action in late 2024, he said. A final decision could be years away. --- archive: [https://archive.ph/wip/lSj05](https://archive.ph/wip/lSj05)

Climate - truthful information about climate, related activism and politics. uphillbothways • 1 year ago • 100%

apnews.com

The Environmental Protection Agency is delaying plans to tighten air quality standards for smog despite a recommendation by a scientific advisory panel to lower air pollution limits to protect public health. The decision by EPA Administrator Michael Regan means that one of the agency’s most important air quality regulations will not be updated until well after the 2024 presidential election. “I have decided that the best path forward is to initiate a new statutory review of the ozone (standard) and the underlying air quality criteria,’' Regan wrote in a letter to the EPA advisory panel last month. The letter cites “several issues” raised by the panel in a recent report that “warrant additional evaluation and review.’' The review, which will last at least two years, will “ensure that air quality standards reflect the latest science in order to best protect people from pollution,’' Regan said. Regan’s decision avoids an election year battle with industry groups and Republicans who have complained about what they consider overly intrusive EPA rules on power plants, refineries, automobiles and other polluters. The delay marks the second time in 12 years that a Democratic administration has put off a new ozone standard prior to an election year. President Barack Obama shut down plans to tighten ozone standards in 2011, leading to a four-year delay before the standards were updated in 2015. Paul Billings, senior vice president of the American Lung Association, called the EPA’s decision “profoundly disappointing” and a missed opportunity to protect public health and promote environmental justice. A recent report by the lung association showed that minority communities bear a disproportionate burden from ground-level ozone, which occurs when air pollution from cars, power plants and other sources mixes with sunlight. The problem is particularly acute in urban areas. Billings called the ozone rule “the public health cornerstone of the Clean Air Act,’' adding that “millions of people will breathe dirty air for many more years’’ as a result of the delay. An increased number of asthma attacks, sick days and even premature death are likely to occur, he and other public health advocates said. Raul Garcia, vice president of policy and legislation for Earthjustice, called the delay “shameful” and unjustified. “The science tells us we are long overdue,” Garcia said. Democratic lawmakers also were disappointed. “Inaction threatens public health and puts those with underlying conditions such as asthma or lung disease at an elevated risk,’' said Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse. He and 51 other Democrats had urged swift action on a new rule. “Unfortunately we’ve seen the process for updating the ozone standards repeatedly swept up in political games that risk lives,’' the lawmakers said in an Aug. 7 letter to the EPA. Conor Bernstein, a spokesman for the National Mining Association, applauded the EPA’s decision “not to race ahead with an unnecessary revision of the ozone standards,’' which have not been changed since 2015. The current standard was reaffirmed in December 2020 under then-President Donald Trump, a Republican. Bernstein, whose members produce coal and other fossil fuels, urged officials to reconsider other regulations that he said target coal-fired power plants and endanger reliability of the electric grid. “It’s clear — and deeply alarming — that EPA (does not) understand the cumulative impact its rules will have on the grid and the nation’s severely stressed power supply,’' he said. A spokeswoman for the American Petroleum Institute, the top lobbying group for the oil and gas industry, said current ozone limits are among the most stringent in the world. “Any tightening of the standard could impact energy costs, threaten U.S. energy security and impact businesses and American consumers,’' spokeswoman Andrea Woods said in an email. The EPA’s decision comes after two advisory panels — the EPA’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee and the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council — urged the agency to lower the current ozone standard of 70 parts per billion. “Based on the scientific evidence currently available, it is concluded that the level of the current standard is not protective with an adequate margin of safety,’' the EPA panel said in a June report. A limit of 55 to 60 parts per billion “is more likely to be protective and to provide an adequate margin of safety,’' the panel said. Lianne Sheppard, a University of Washington biostatistics professor who chairs the scientific advisory panel, said Regan’s decision was “his alone” to make. “However, I am disappointed, given the robust scientific evidence that ozone is harmful to public health and welfare,” she told E&E News last month. The White House environmental justice council, meanwhile, cited the “horrible toll of air pollution’’ and its disproportionate effect on minority communities. In a letter to the White House, co-chairs Richard Moore and Peggy Shepard said the problem is “compounded by the inadequate monitoring and enforcement in many of our communities.’' Moore is co-director of Los Jardines Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico, while Sheppard is co-founder and executive director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice in New York City. Tomas Carbonell, a top official in the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, said the report by the scientific panel left the EPA with little choice but to launch a comprehensive review even though all but one panel member supported a stricter ozone standard. “When we’re looking at our national air quality standards, there’s really no way to cut corners around that process,’' Carbonell said in an interview. The agency will convene workshops next spring to gather information and will release a review plan for action in late 2024, he said. A final decision could be years away. --- archive: [https://archive.ph/wip/lSj05](https://archive.ph/wip/lSj05)

News uphillbothways • 1 year ago • 98%

Britain’s second-biggest city effectively declared itself bankrupt on Tuesday, shutting down all nonessential spending after being issued with equal pay claims totaling up to £760 million ($956 million). Birmingham City Council, which provides services for more than one million people, filed a Section 114 notice on Tuesday, halting all spending except on essential services. The deficit arose due to difficulties paying between £650 million (around $816 million) and £760 million (around $954 million) in equal pay claims, the notice report says. The city now expects to have a deficit of £87 million ($109 million) for the 2023-24 financial year. Sharon Thompson, deputy leader of the council, told councilors on Tuesday it faces “longstanding issues, including the council’s historic equal pay liability concerns,” according to the United Kingdom’s PA Media news agency. Thompson also blamed in part the UK’s ruling Conservative Party, saying Birmingham “had £1 billion of funding taken away by successive Conservative governments.” “Local government is facing a perfect storm,” she said. “Like councils across the country, it is clear that this council faces unprecedented financial challenges, from huge increases in adult social care demand and dramatic reductions in business rates incomes, to the impact of rampant inflation.” “Whilst the council is facing significant challenges, the city is very much still open for business and we’re welcoming people as they come along,” she added. A spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told reporters on Tuesday: “Clearly it’s for locally elected councils to manage their own budgets.” The spokesperson added that the government has been “engaging regularly with them to that end and has expressed concern about their governance arrangements and has requested assurances from the leader of the council about the best use of taxpayers’ money.” The council’s leader John Cotton elsewhere told the BBC that a new jobs model would be brought into the council to tackle the equal pay claims bill. The multicultural city is the largest in central England. It hosted last year’s Commonwealth Games, a major sporting event for Commonwealth countries, and is scheduled to hold the 2026 European Athletics Championships. --- archive: [https://archive.ph/E6C6d#selection-2871.7-2891.225](https://archive.ph/E6C6d#selection-2871.7-2891.225)

News uphillbothways • 1 year ago • 96%

gizmodo.com

Dimension 20's Brennan Lee Mulligan led an adventuring party in a final battle as part of the strike at Universal Studios. ---------- When Jon Strahd, the evil CEO of Ravenloft Studios, was defeated, the crowd at Universal Studios gave a huge roar. A group of 500 adventurers had shown up to picket at “the worst [Hollywood] location,” and about 100 were now engaged in a existential fight with a contemporary capitalist, a spin on Wizards of the Coast’s notorious vampire, Baron Strahd von Zarovich, led by DM Brennan Lee Mulligan. (Wizards of the Coast, which had recently produced a massive Dungeons & Dragons film with Universal Studios, did not endorse this event.) But Strahd wasn’t the final villain. As the metaphorical vampire crumpled under the weight of a zone of truth cast in order to expose the real streaming numbers, battered by the orcas summoned to destroy his yachts, an even more terrifying monster emerged from the shadows. The adventurers waited with bated breath as Mulligan–a professional dungeon master known for his shows on Dimension 20–narrated the scene. Rising from the ashes of the CEO came a massive, five-headed dragon. This was the real Big Bad Evil Guy: the AMPTiamat. This was the beginning of the end of the Dungeons & Dragons-themed picket day at Universal Studios on August 30. The event was organized by three members of the WGA: Daphne Miles (Batwoman, Legends of Tomorrow), Lindsey Allen (Agent Carter, Emergence), and Lauren Muir (The 100). Miles had the idea at another picket—how could she leverage her love of D&D to help the union? Immediately after floating the idea past a friend, he volunteered to run a one-shot, and she was off to the Sword Coast. Allen was quickly recruited to help and Muir immediately responded to the call for aid, and the three of them worked together to organize one of the largest pickets that Universal Studios has seen in the 100+ days since the WGA began its strike. io9 spoke with the three organizers over video chat for this interview. Out of the over 500 people who attended, the organizers said that there were about 350 people there who had never been to a picket before—and that was a conservative estimate. There were so many people in attendance that “we ran out of signs,” said Muir, and that wasn’t all. “We ran out of character sheets, we ran out of dice, we ran out of nametags,” listed Allen. While Dungeons & Dragons might have been the draw for many people when they first heard about the picket, nobody at the event lost sight of the fact that they were there for the unions first. “They were there for D&D as much as they were there to support the cause,” explained Muir. Allie Menelli was one of those first-time picketers. She’s a long time D&D player, and she said that she didn’t have “any direct connection” to the unions. While the initial draw was D&D, she said that “I appreciate the importance of writers in making [media] happen, and I think it’s a disgrace that many writers do incredible work crafting stories that we as an audience resonate deeply with, but still struggling to make ends meet and to be treated fairly by studios.” People began showing up at nine sharp and were greeted by Liam O’Brien and Sam Reigel of Critical Role. They picked up dice, a character sheet, and a sign, and were directed to the picket line. For about an hour people marched the picket line and stopped at Gate Masters who ran “short, intense” adventures. If they succeeded, they were given a boon to use in the final battle, which would be run by Mulligan for the entire group. Then, at Citywalk, Mulligan gave a rousing speech, thanked the organizers—Miles, Allen, and Muir—and began the final encounter. Another participant, Felix S. said they wanted to attend, “first and foremost, for union solidarity. I’m not in the WGA or SAG, but I am an IATSE member.” They also said that it “seemed like it was going to be fun. I mean, free food, mini-adventures, and I’m sorry, what do you mean Brennan ‘Capitalism is the Bad Guy’ Lee Mulligan is running a GROUP boss battle? What IS that?!” Brennan Lee Mulligan’s name kept coming up in these interviews. Not just because he’s a well known D&D personality, but because he helped facilitate one of the most powerful moments of the strike: the final battle. io9 was able to get Mulligan on the phone to chat about the event, and after about 10 minutes of shooting the shit, we finally got to ask a few questions about the picket, and specifically that last scene in the final battle. For each character class a group of people decided on their moves collectively, and took turns attacking the five-headed AMPTiamat. Then, “on the final blow, the Fighter ended up rolling a natural 20,” Mulligan explained, excited. He described how Muir’s game design tweaks meant that a natural 20 activated Union Power, and every class could add damage to the attack. So when that one fighter struck, they had the power of every other person striking alongside them. Under the collective force of all the classes—and all the unions out there, supporting the strikes—the dragon fell. Mulligan described it as “a beautiful melding of mechanics and philosophy and solidarity.” Miles said, “It was a kismet moment in we could not have planned it or written it, you know?” Muir called it “magical.” Logan Griffin, who described Mulligan as one of his personal heroes, called the feeling at the picket “empowering” and “awe-inspiring.” The organizers recalled looking up and seeing people on the bridge above Citywalk cheering. Allen said that “being surrounded by this massive crowd who were all working together and, with so many more people than we had anticipated, still being able to work together as a group, being cheered on from above… I got emotional because it really just felt like we were fighting together.” Mulligan described the “electric” feeling at the picket. He was genuinely so excited to talk about this, to be there, and was honored to have been called and asked, “Do you want to be in solidarity with your union and do the one skill you have in a helpful was?” Mulligan was effusively grateful to the organizers for letting him be a part of the event. He estimated that he responded to the initial ask in “less than 60 seconds,” and said the event was a “life highlight.” After the AMPTiamet fell, the crowd began to chant “loot!” It’s common refrain for any D&D player; after an enemy dies, you loot the body. But this wasn’t just any body—this was the body of a dragon who had, as Mulligan explained, “stolen and expropriated treasure from the hero’s community. Which is of course the nature of capitalism and how it functions… So when the group started chanting ‘loot, loot, loot,’ I just stood up and I said, ‘It’s not looting if was your fucking money to start with,’ which is of course, the nature of the struggle, right?” Melissa Feuchtinger, a member of the DGA and SAG-AFTRA, and a massive fan of D&D, emailed me to explain why she felt so moved after the picket, and specifically after this final battle. “So much of fantasy and science fiction is rooted in humanity and current events, so for us to fight a five-headed dragon called the AMPTP, to have our Rogue party member granted sneak attack because they’re always near allies as union members... it felt so personal.” Feuchtinger, like many other ADs, has been out of work since March as the studios wrapped productions, anticipating a disruption. “I hope that people who showed up who were less informed about the strike left knowing that this is affecting, this is hurting, so many of us and that we need that support and solidarity from everyone.” Menelli agreed. “I really felt the solidarity in the crowd—we cheered each other on as each class contributed to the fight, we booed the corporate greed, we collaborated, we picked each other up when things got rough.” Nate Buchman was also in attendance, and he volunteered to run a one-shot for raffle winner. He’s not a member of either the WGA or SAG-AFTRA but said that being there felt like “the right thing to do.” Dave Metzger, a TV writer and one of the folks who acted as a Gate DM, said via email that “It truly felt like the best kind of storytelling, using fiction to help us remember the truth, that we’re far stronger together than we are apart, and, no matter the pain and the cost, through collective action we will win out in the end.” He called the picket “hugely fun and inspiring” and emphasized that themed pickets, while sometimes disparaged, are extremely helpful when you’re working to keep morale high and keep people engaged. He said that many themed pickets “remind everyone of the creative spark that drew so many of us to this career, to begin with.” As I was wrapping up my interview with the organizers they mentioned that they had raised a huge amount of money for the Entertainment Community Fund. As of writing, the JustGiving page for the D&D Day donation has raised over $12,000 to support the crew affected by the industry shutdown. It proves that this fight isn’t just for the unions; it’s for everyone, and everyone is willing to show up to support each other. Earlier at the picket, Mulligan had a chance to address the crowd before the battle. “We face an enemy that depends on you believing that it cannot be defeated,” he said. “But we know that it can. Every person in this crowd is dedicated to stories about overcoming impossible odds and telling people that in the depths of despair there is always hope and no matter what you are facing when you face it together, you are unstoppable.” You heard him. Roll for initiative. --- archive: [https://archive.ph/wip/VGUEg](https://archive.ph/wip/VGUEg)

News uphillbothways • 1 year ago • 97%

www.rollingstone.com

In an excerpt from his book River Notes, leading anthropologist Wade Davis recalls how the taming of the Colorado River in the 1960s — ‘nature serves man’ went the thinking — helped shape the nation. But now facing a historic drought, all that could be lost in a generation. ---------- I first visited the Grand Canyon in 1967 with two school friends and an elderly teacher who filled his summers by taking young students on long road trips, camping across the country. I mostly remember the color of the sky and the immensity of the chasm, with the Colorado River as seen from the canyon rim just a dirt thread lying across the bottom of the world. The nearest we got to the river was a mule ride down the Bright Angel Trail, three hours that left us sunburnt and swarming with ticks. Of the greater forces at play that summer, we were as oblivious as our teacher. In retrospect, 1967 was an auspicious year for the army of engineers, planners, and developers whose confidence in their ability to tame the Colorado, transform the desert, and reimagine the hydrology of the American West had taken on a religious dimension, secured as if an article of faith. The Glen Canyon Dam, built over a decade, had been formally dedicated by the president’s wife, Lady Bird Johnson, on September 22, 1966. In scale, it was an astonishing feat of construction, a concrete arch surpassed in height only by its elegant sibling downstream, the Hoover Dam, an art deco masterpiece of engineering completed in 1935. Lake Mead above the Hoover Dam would remain the largest reservoir in the United States, but as the waters of the Colorado began to spread across the catchment of the Glen Canyon Dam in the first months of 1963, a vision emerged of a body of blue water in volume only slightly smaller than Lake Mead, but in scale and aspect incomparably more beautiful and dramatic. To Floyd Dominy, the man ultimately responsible for the building of the Glen Canyon Dam—and its greatest champion—the reservoir that became Lake Powell was a thing of pure beauty, a miracle in the desert. “There is a natural order in our universe,” Dominy famously wrote. “God created both Nature and Man. Man serves God, but Nature serves Man. To have a deep blue lake, where no lake was before, seems to bring Man a little closer to God.” Even his archrival, David Brower of the Sierra Club, haunted all his life by the loss of Glen Canyon, agreed that Dominy was a good man, even a great American, though very much a product of his times. Like so many of his generation, including my own father, Dominy believed that any natural resource not used was wealth wasted. He had been raised as a boy on a dying farm in Nebraska during the Dust Bowl. His first job as county agent in rural Wyoming was helping ranchers build earthen dams to secure water for their livestock. By his own account, he became a crusader for the development of water. As Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, singularly responsible for water policy in the American West, Dominy was not just an advocate of massive water projects, dams, and canals designed to tame every river and divert water to the cities, farms, and settlements of the desert southwest; he was, in his own words, “the messiah.” As Lake Powell slowly came into being, with the flow of the Colorado shut down as if by a tap, there was little concern for the downstream consequences. In later years, conservation would sometimes trump engineering, but in 1963 ecological considerations hardly entered the conversation. The environmental movement was embryonic; as an organized political force it would only emerge in the wake of the dam’s construction, catalyzed by the outrage provoked as the reservoir above the dam deepened and spread, flooding Glen Canyon, famously eulogized by photographer Eliot Porter as “the place no one knew.” The overwhelming national consensus in 1967 called for growth. Albuquerque’s population had doubled in a decade. Las Vegas that year had a population of 181,000; Tucson, 274,000; Phoenix, 763,000. Each of these cities would grow at least five-fold in a generation, with Las Vegas increasing to 2.8 million, and Phoenix by 2022 achieving a population of 4.6 million. If few in 1967 anticipated such figures, it was evident to all, as Dominy never ceased to say, that if there was to be any growth at all, it would be dependent on water, stored in Lake Powell. Thus, over twenty years, as the reservoir expanded, reaching in 1983 a maximum depth of 583 feet, extending in length 186 miles, with a width of 25 miles and 1,900 miles of shoreline, Lake Powell—celebrated as a recreational wonderland — became a symbol of human triumph, capacity, and resolve. It stored 20 million acre-feet of water — enough to fill 10 million Olympic-sized swimming pools — a vital repository that made possible the transformation of desert lands that would, in time, be home to 40 million Americans. In 1973, construction began on the Central Arizona Project, a 336-mile diversion canal conceived to bring water from the Colorado — 456 billion gallons altogether — to Phoenix and Tucson, even while providing irrigation for more than a million acres, allowing farmers to grow cotton, hay, and alfalfa in the desert. To secure federal funds to cover construction costs, Arizona cut a deal with California that was certain to haunt the state should the flow of the Colorado ever be compromised or reduced. But with water in abundance, there was little concern. That the open canal lost over five billion gallons of water each year to evaporation, and another three billion to leakage, was considered tolerable wastage, given the scale and benefits of the project. As Lake Powell reached its maximum capacity in 1980, water levels five times what they are today, the future seemed exceedingly bright. The only threat to the dam came in 1983 when a surge of snowmelt into the reservoir raised lake levels to a dangerous extent, forcing the engineers to open the spillways for the first time since the initial construction. Abundance of water, not a shortage, marked the 1980s, a decade now recognized as having been unusually wet. ... --- archive: [https://archive.ph/UOffT](https://archive.ph/UOffT)

Climate - truthful information about climate, related activism and politics. uphillbothways • 1 year ago • 100%

www.rollingstone.com

In an excerpt from his book River Notes, leading anthropologist Wade Davis recalls how the taming of the Colorado River in the 1960s — ‘nature serves man’ went the thinking — helped shape the nation. But now facing a historic drought, all that could be lost in a generation. ---------- I first visited the Grand Canyon in 1967 with two school friends and an elderly teacher who filled his summers by taking young students on long road trips, camping across the country. I mostly remember the color of the sky and the immensity of the chasm, with the Colorado River as seen from the canyon rim just a dirt thread lying across the bottom of the world. The nearest we got to the river was a mule ride down the Bright Angel Trail, three hours that left us sunburnt and swarming with ticks. Of the greater forces at play that summer, we were as oblivious as our teacher. In retrospect, 1967 was an auspicious year for the army of engineers, planners, and developers whose confidence in their ability to tame the Colorado, transform the desert, and reimagine the hydrology of the American West had taken on a religious dimension, secured as if an article of faith. The Glen Canyon Dam, built over a decade, had been formally dedicated by the president’s wife, Lady Bird Johnson, on September 22, 1966. In scale, it was an astonishing feat of construction, a concrete arch surpassed in height only by its elegant sibling downstream, the Hoover Dam, an art deco masterpiece of engineering completed in 1935. Lake Mead above the Hoover Dam would remain the largest reservoir in the United States, but as the waters of the Colorado began to spread across the catchment of the Glen Canyon Dam in the first months of 1963, a vision emerged of a body of blue water in volume only slightly smaller than Lake Mead, but in scale and aspect incomparably more beautiful and dramatic. To Floyd Dominy, the man ultimately responsible for the building of the Glen Canyon Dam—and its greatest champion—the reservoir that became Lake Powell was a thing of pure beauty, a miracle in the desert. “There is a natural order in our universe,” Dominy famously wrote. “God created both Nature and Man. Man serves God, but Nature serves Man. To have a deep blue lake, where no lake was before, seems to bring Man a little closer to God.” Even his archrival, David Brower of the Sierra Club, haunted all his life by the loss of Glen Canyon, agreed that Dominy was a good man, even a great American, though very much a product of his times. Like so many of his generation, including my own father, Dominy believed that any natural resource not used was wealth wasted. He had been raised as a boy on a dying farm in Nebraska during the Dust Bowl. His first job as county agent in rural Wyoming was helping ranchers build earthen dams to secure water for their livestock. By his own account, he became a crusader for the development of water. As Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, singularly responsible for water policy in the American West, Dominy was not just an advocate of massive water projects, dams, and canals designed to tame every river and divert water to the cities, farms, and settlements of the desert southwest; he was, in his own words, “the messiah.” As Lake Powell slowly came into being, with the flow of the Colorado shut down as if by a tap, there was little concern for the downstream consequences. In later years, conservation would sometimes trump engineering, but in 1963 ecological considerations hardly entered the conversation. The environmental movement was embryonic; as an organized political force it would only emerge in the wake of the dam’s construction, catalyzed by the outrage provoked as the reservoir above the dam deepened and spread, flooding Glen Canyon, famously eulogized by photographer Eliot Porter as “the place no one knew.” The overwhelming national consensus in 1967 called for growth. Albuquerque’s population had doubled in a decade. Las Vegas that year had a population of 181,000; Tucson, 274,000; Phoenix, 763,000. Each of these cities would grow at least five-fold in a generation, with Las Vegas increasing to 2.8 million, and Phoenix by 2022 achieving a population of 4.6 million. If few in 1967 anticipated such figures, it was evident to all, as Dominy never ceased to say, that if there was to be any growth at all, it would be dependent on water, stored in Lake Powell. Thus, over twenty years, as the reservoir expanded, reaching in 1983 a maximum depth of 583 feet, extending in length 186 miles, with a width of 25 miles and 1,900 miles of shoreline, Lake Powell—celebrated as a recreational wonderland — became a symbol of human triumph, capacity, and resolve. It stored 20 million acre-feet of water — enough to fill 10 million Olympic-sized swimming pools — a vital repository that made possible the transformation of desert lands that would, in time, be home to 40 million Americans. In 1973, construction began on the Central Arizona Project, a 336-mile diversion canal conceived to bring water from the Colorado — 456 billion gallons altogether — to Phoenix and Tucson, even while providing irrigation for more than a million acres, allowing farmers to grow cotton, hay, and alfalfa in the desert. To secure federal funds to cover construction costs, Arizona cut a deal with California that was certain to haunt the state should the flow of the Colorado ever be compromised or reduced. But with water in abundance, there was little concern. That the open canal lost over five billion gallons of water each year to evaporation, and another three billion to leakage, was considered tolerable wastage, given the scale and benefits of the project. As Lake Powell reached its maximum capacity in 1980, water levels five times what they are today, the future seemed exceedingly bright. The only threat to the dam came in 1983 when a surge of snowmelt into the reservoir raised lake levels to a dangerous extent, forcing the engineers to open the spillways for the first time since the initial construction. Abundance of water, not a shortage, marked the 1980s, a decade now recognized as having been unusually wet. ... --- archive: [https://archive.ph/UOffT](https://archive.ph/UOffT)

science uphillbothways • 1 year ago • 96%

www.theguardian.com

Spanish research centre achieves first tank-bred Atlantic bluefin as NGOs warn of poor welfare, more antibiotic use and water pollution ---------- The first successful breeding of Atlantic bluefin tuna at a Spanish research centre has spurred at least two companies to ramp up plans for the industrial farming of land-bred tuna. The companies would be the first to use only tank-bred Atlantic bluefin stocks of fertilised eggs or young tuna. Up to now, farming of Atlantic bluefin has relied on catching young wild fish and fattening them in open-sea cages. After the breakthrough in July at the government-run Mazarrón aquaculture plant in Murcia, the company Next Tuna said it plans to begin building a tuna farm north of Valencia. Nortuna, a Norwegian company, has also signed a deal with Mazarrón for the firm’s pilot site in Cape Verde, off the west coast of Africa. Commercial aquaculture companies argue that as more fish are farmed from stocks in closed tanks, fewer wild Atlantic bluefins will be caught for fattening or immediate consumption, reducing pressure on sea stocks. However, many NGOs note that an increase in farmed tuna would mean more fish taken from oceans to feed them. They have also raised concerns about animal welfare, antibiotic use and water pollution. Two other species, the Pacific and southern bluefin, have been successfully bred on land before, but until July no one had successfully reproduced Atlantic bluefin (Thunnus thynnus) from tank-based adults. Atlantic bluefin are highly prized for sushi, but their commercial importance has attracted overfishing and populations have plummeted by as much as 80% in some areas of the Atlantic Ocean. Aurelio Ortega, who leads the research team at the Mazarrón centre, said: “We have about 2,000 or 3,000 tuna fish now. They weigh about 5g to 10g each, and they will take two to three years to reach a size of about 30kg to 40kg.” Under the plans, the plant will supply fertilised eggs and juvenile tuna to the newly created commercial firms, which will either continue the breeding cycle on land, or use a combination of land-based tanks and sea cages. NGOs said this will pitch companies into unknown territory, given how little is known about the bluefin species. Catalina López, a veterinarian and director of the Aquatic Animal Alliance at the Aquatic Life Institute, said: “Very little is known about [tuna] requirements for adequate welfare, as it is a highly migratory species with complex hunting behaviours and migration patterns. “Without extensive scientific research on the welfare of tuna, it is irresponsible to farm them intensively, and could lead to many welfare issues [including] stress, frustration and, ultimately, poor immunity.” Environmentalists have also noted that more tuna in captivity will mean diverting fish supplies that could be eaten by humans. Tuna, said López, are “a very unsustainable species to farm, since 90% of the species used for fish meal and fish oil are food grade, meaning it could feed humans directly”. More tuna farming would also mean increased use of antibiotics, which intensive farmers typically employ to avoid diseases spreading, given the relatively poor immunity of farmed animals. Nortuna and Next Tuna have signed contracts with the Mazarrón research centre, Ortega said. Both companies claim to have plentiful space, which would allow low densities of tuna in the tanks. However, according to Claudia Millán, a fish welfare specialist with the NGO Equalia, even spacious captivity may be incompatible with the needs of a migratory species that crosses oceans to find food and reproduce. Inefficient feeding practices can also produce toxic wastewater, said Salazar. “Left untreated, [this wastewater] can deplete surrounding waters of oxygen, causing algal blooms [or] dead zones, and public health issues,” she said. The new breeding successes mean the supply of fertilised eggs could expand outside the species’ natural reproductive season, normally limited to about 45 days in June and July. By controlling the natural spawning triggers of water temperature and lighting, the researchers said they hope the reproduction period could last for 60 or more days. Other tools to induce breeding include implanting female fish with a synthetic version of a hormone that causes them to release eggs for fertilisation. Paul Sindilariu, a co-founder of Next Tuna, said the company’s farming plan involved “a closed system that will bring in seawater, but there will be no outflow, so no environmental impacts”. He said the firm’s model, known as a recirculating aquaculture system, would use floating cages that are on, but not in, the sea, and this would allow the company to control the water quality and temperature conditions in a similar way to a laboratory. “The system has to be tuna-friendly,” said Andrew Eckhardt, who manages site selection and financing for Next Tuna. “They have to be comfortable. Our stocking density will be very low, less than 10kg [of fish weight] per cubic metre.” The company said it plans to establish its own breeding programme and sell young fish to “grow-out” farms for fattening and sale. It aims to bring its first stocks from the research centre tanks to the new site at the port of Castellón de la Plana next year, with the goal of selling about 45 tonnes of juvenile Atlantic bluefin tuna by 2025, and 1,200 tonnes by 2028. Nortuna also said it would keep stocking densities low. The company’s chairman, Anders Attramadal, said one of the attractions of the pilot site in Cape Verde was space. He said the company aims to get fertilised eggs from the Mazarrón research centre this year in order to produce saleable fish weighing between 12kg and 30kg by late 2024. “We would buy eggs every week if we could. Right now, we can only get a six-to-eight-week supply,” he said. Attramadal dismissed concerns about food supply, saying farmed tuna ate less than wild ones. “With formulated food we expect to be getting down to 3kg to 4kg of feed per kilo of [farmed fish] muscle mass,” compared with about 30kg per kilo of muscle for wild Atlantic bluefin, he said. Eckhardt said that although the main food for the tuna would be fishmeal and fish oil, Next Tuna would be “working with our feed partners to add other ingredients, maybe plant proteins, algae, insects or krill”. Nortuna said antibiotic usage would be minimal, only for brief periods if fish are sick, while Next Tuna said it would not use any antibiotics at all because they are incompatible with its recirculating aquaculture model. Welfare experts said another problem with captive tuna was how to kill large, strong fish in a humane way. Recommended tuna-killing methods include shooting or stabbing heads with a metal spike, according to the World Organisation for Animal Health. Next Tuna said it would sell young fish before slaughter, while Attramadal said Nortuna would “use the best humane approved methods that apply at the time”, adding that a “stressed, uncomfortable fish tastes less delicious”. According to a 2009 European Food Safety Authority report, when “Atlantic bluefin tuna struggle to escape before dying, they produce considerable amounts of lactic acid … resulting in severe degradation of the flesh, [making them] unsuitable for the sushi and sashimi market”. --- archive: [https://archive.ph/BAE0i](https://archive.ph/BAE0i)

News uphillbothways • 1 year ago • 97%

www.theguardian.com

Spanish research centre achieves first tank-bred Atlantic bluefin as NGOs warn of poor welfare, more antibiotic use and water pollution ---------- The first successful breeding of Atlantic bluefin tuna at a Spanish research centre has spurred at least two companies to ramp up plans for the industrial farming of land-bred tuna. The companies would be the first to use only tank-bred Atlantic bluefin stocks of fertilised eggs or young tuna. Up to now, farming of Atlantic bluefin has relied on catching young wild fish and fattening them in open-sea cages. After the breakthrough in July at the government-run Mazarrón aquaculture plant in Murcia, the company Next Tuna said it plans to begin building a tuna farm north of Valencia. Nortuna, a Norwegian company, has also signed a deal with Mazarrón for the firm’s pilot site in Cape Verde, off the west coast of Africa. Commercial aquaculture companies argue that as more fish are farmed from stocks in closed tanks, fewer wild Atlantic bluefins will be caught for fattening or immediate consumption, reducing pressure on sea stocks. However, many NGOs note that an increase in farmed tuna would mean more fish taken from oceans to feed them. They have also raised concerns about animal welfare, antibiotic use and water pollution. Two other species, the Pacific and southern bluefin, have been successfully bred on land before, but until July no one had successfully reproduced Atlantic bluefin (Thunnus thynnus) from tank-based adults. Atlantic bluefin are highly prized for sushi, but their commercial importance has attracted overfishing and populations have plummeted by as much as 80% in some areas of the Atlantic Ocean. Aurelio Ortega, who leads the research team at the Mazarrón centre, said: “We have about 2,000 or 3,000 tuna fish now. They weigh about 5g to 10g each, and they will take two to three years to reach a size of about 30kg to 40kg.” Under the plans, the plant will supply fertilised eggs and juvenile tuna to the newly created commercial firms, which will either continue the breeding cycle on land, or use a combination of land-based tanks and sea cages. NGOs said this will pitch companies into unknown territory, given how little is known about the bluefin species. Catalina López, a veterinarian and director of the Aquatic Animal Alliance at the Aquatic Life Institute, said: “Very little is known about [tuna] requirements for adequate welfare, as it is a highly migratory species with complex hunting behaviours and migration patterns. “Without extensive scientific research on the welfare of tuna, it is irresponsible to farm them intensively, and could lead to many welfare issues [including] stress, frustration and, ultimately, poor immunity.” Environmentalists have also noted that more tuna in captivity will mean diverting fish supplies that could be eaten by humans. Tuna, said López, are “a very unsustainable species to farm, since 90% of the species used for fish meal and fish oil are food grade, meaning it could feed humans directly”. More tuna farming would also mean increased use of antibiotics, which intensive farmers typically employ to avoid diseases spreading, given the relatively poor immunity of farmed animals. Nortuna and Next Tuna have signed contracts with the Mazarrón research centre, Ortega said. Both companies claim to have plentiful space, which would allow low densities of tuna in the tanks. However, according to Claudia Millán, a fish welfare specialist with the NGO Equalia, even spacious captivity may be incompatible with the needs of a migratory species that crosses oceans to find food and reproduce. Inefficient feeding practices can also produce toxic wastewater, said Salazar. “Left untreated, [this wastewater] can deplete surrounding waters of oxygen, causing algal blooms [or] dead zones, and public health issues,” she said. The new breeding successes mean the supply of fertilised eggs could expand outside the species’ natural reproductive season, normally limited to about 45 days in June and July. By controlling the natural spawning triggers of water temperature and lighting, the researchers said they hope the reproduction period could last for 60 or more days. Other tools to induce breeding include implanting female fish with a synthetic version of a hormone that causes them to release eggs for fertilisation. Paul Sindilariu, a co-founder of Next Tuna, said the company’s farming plan involved “a closed system that will bring in seawater, but there will be no outflow, so no environmental impacts”. He said the firm’s model, known as a recirculating aquaculture system, would use floating cages that are on, but not in, the sea, and this would allow the company to control the water quality and temperature conditions in a similar way to a laboratory. “The system has to be tuna-friendly,” said Andrew Eckhardt, who manages site selection and financing for Next Tuna. “They have to be comfortable. Our stocking density will be very low, less than 10kg [of fish weight] per cubic metre.” The company said it plans to establish its own breeding programme and sell young fish to “grow-out” farms for fattening and sale. It aims to bring its first stocks from the research centre tanks to the new site at the port of Castellón de la Plana next year, with the goal of selling about 45 tonnes of juvenile Atlantic bluefin tuna by 2025, and 1,200 tonnes by 2028. Nortuna also said it would keep stocking densities low. The company’s chairman, Anders Attramadal, said one of the attractions of the pilot site in Cape Verde was space. He said the company aims to get fertilised eggs from the Mazarrón research centre this year in order to produce saleable fish weighing between 12kg and 30kg by late 2024. “We would buy eggs every week if we could. Right now, we can only get a six-to-eight-week supply,” he said. Attramadal dismissed concerns about food supply, saying farmed tuna ate less than wild ones. “With formulated food we expect to be getting down to 3kg to 4kg of feed per kilo of [farmed fish] muscle mass,” compared with about 30kg per kilo of muscle for wild Atlantic bluefin, he said. Eckhardt said that although the main food for the tuna would be fishmeal and fish oil, Next Tuna would be “working with our feed partners to add other ingredients, maybe plant proteins, algae, insects or krill”. Nortuna said antibiotic usage would be minimal, only for brief periods if fish are sick, while Next Tuna said it would not use any antibiotics at all because they are incompatible with its recirculating aquaculture model. Welfare experts said another problem with captive tuna was how to kill large, strong fish in a humane way. Recommended tuna-killing methods include shooting or stabbing heads with a metal spike, according to the World Organisation for Animal Health. Next Tuna said it would sell young fish before slaughter, while Attramadal said Nortuna would “use the best humane approved methods that apply at the time”, adding that a “stressed, uncomfortable fish tastes less delicious”. According to a 2009 European Food Safety Authority report, when “Atlantic bluefin tuna struggle to escape before dying, they produce considerable amounts of lactic acid … resulting in severe degradation of the flesh, [making them] unsuitable for the sushi and sashimi market”. --- archive: [https://archive.ph/BAE0i](https://archive.ph/BAE0i)

Україна Ukraine uphillbothways • 1 year ago • 100%

www.businessinsider.com

Ukraine has broken the first line of Russian defenses in some places and has had "some success" against the second, US official John Kirby said. ---------- * Ukraine's counteroffensive in the south had made "notable progress," a top US official said. * They have had "some success" against the second line of defense. * Ukrainian forces are battling complex Russian defenses, including dense minefields and fortifications. Ukraine's counteroffensive against Russia's invasion in the south of the country has made "notable progress" in the past 72 hours, according to a top US official. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that Ukraine had broken through Russia's first line of defenses in several places in the advance in the Zaporizhzhia area, The Guardian reported. "They have achieved some success against that second line of Russian defenses," Kirby added. He said it was now up to Ukraine to capitalize on the progress. Ukraine recaptured the village of Robotyne this week, and troops have been penetrating Russian lines between the village and Verbove in the Zaporizhzhia region, according to Western assessments, per The Guardian. As Ukraine troops push forward, they have come up against complex Russian defenses, including dense minefields and fortifications, according to the Institute for the Study of War think tank. The next layer of defense likely consists of "anti-tank ditches; dragon's teeth anti-tank obstacles; and additional minefields," the think tank said, with Russian fighting positions behind these obstacles. Ukraine aims is to reach the Sea of Azov, where it aims to split Russian occupation forces in two. Ukraine's long-anticipated counteroffensive kicked off to a slow start on June 4, with progress being slower than expected. Recent reports, including one from the New York Times, have quoted Western officials criticizing the counteroffensive's strategy and pace. Kirby said that criticism from anonymous officials was "not helpful" and said: "Any objective observer of this counteroffensive, you can't deny that they have made progress now." Ukraine's deputy defense minister Hanna Maliar also said on Friday that Ukrainian forces were advancing in the Zaporizhzhia region and that the first line of defenses had been broken in some places, per The Guardian. However, she said that Ukraine's troops were coming up against major defensive Russian fortifications. "Our armed forces have to overcome a lot of obstacles in order to move forward," she said. --- archive: [https://archive.ph/esDlY](https://archive.ph/esDlY)

News uphillbothways • 1 year ago • 97%

www.businessinsider.com

Ukraine has broken the first line of Russian defenses in some places and has had "some success" against the second, US official John Kirby said. ---------- * Ukraine's counteroffensive in the south had made "notable progress," a top US official said. * They have had "some success" against the second line of defense. * Ukrainian forces are battling complex Russian defenses, including dense minefields and fortifications. Ukraine's counteroffensive against Russia's invasion in the south of the country has made "notable progress" in the past 72 hours, according to a top US official. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that Ukraine had broken through Russia's first line of defenses in several places in the advance in the Zaporizhzhia area, The Guardian reported. "They have achieved some success against that second line of Russian defenses," Kirby added. He said it was now up to Ukraine to capitalize on the progress. Ukraine recaptured the village of Robotyne this week, and troops have been penetrating Russian lines between the village and Verbove in the Zaporizhzhia region, according to Western assessments, per The Guardian. As Ukraine troops push forward, they have come up against complex Russian defenses, including dense minefields and fortifications, according to the Institute for the Study of War think tank. The next layer of defense likely consists of "anti-tank ditches; dragon's teeth anti-tank obstacles; and additional minefields," the think tank said, with Russian fighting positions behind these obstacles. Ukraine aims is to reach the Sea of Azov, where it aims to split Russian occupation forces in two. Ukraine's long-anticipated counteroffensive kicked off to a slow start on June 4, with progress being slower than expected. Recent reports, including one from the New York Times, have quoted Western officials criticizing the counteroffensive's strategy and pace. Kirby said that criticism from anonymous officials was "not helpful" and said: "Any objective observer of this counteroffensive, you can't deny that they have made progress now." Ukraine's deputy defense minister Hanna Maliar also said on Friday that Ukrainian forces were advancing in the Zaporizhzhia region and that the first line of defenses had been broken in some places, per The Guardian. However, she said that Ukraine's troops were coming up against major defensive Russian fortifications. "Our armed forces have to overcome a lot of obstacles in order to move forward," she said. --- archive: [https://archive.ph/esDlY](https://archive.ph/esDlY)

News uphillbothways • 1 year ago • 96%

fortune.com

Long before quiet quitting, boomers rejected "working for the man," says UNC sociologist Arne Kalleberg, "which is exactly what’s happening now." ---------- The ideal job of the 1950s looked a great deal like a marriage. As Fortune editor William Whyte wrote in his classic workplace study The Organization Man, by midcentury, the ranks of the rapidly growing white-collar workforce became filled with young men who had left their hometowns to devote themselves to their companies. It was an anonymous, bureaucratic turn for the supposedly ruggedly individualistic American economy. In turn, the employers, flush with profits in the postwar economic boom and wanting to retain their talent, offered a steady stream of promotions and carrots, like health insurance and pensions, that kept people tied to their employer. Then the job-hoppers arrived and consigned the organization man to history. The dominant media narrative of the last several decades pinned the blame for this on Gen Z and millennial up-and-comers, often painted as the mercenaries who killed off corporate loyalty—ready to walk the minute they don’t get all they ask for, and the driving force behind the Great Resignation, “quiet quitting,” “rage applying,” and any number of similar workforce trends. But the federal government itself has weighed in with new data that exposes this has been a lie. The original job-hoppers were none other than the baby boomers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who switched employers at least as much, and possibly more frequently, than millennials did at the same age. In particular, men born in the second half of the baby boom era, 1957 to 1964, had racked up an impressive 10 jobs by the time they turned 34, and averaged 12.7 jobs by the time they turned 56, the BLS noted in a recently released report. Most of that job-hopping, as one might expect, happened early in their careers, with, on average, just under one job per year between ages 18 and 24, more than millennials did at the same age. “In the beginning of your career, you sample the job market, you look around and see what is available, and you don’t get into stability until you’re in your 30s or 40s. That is a pattern that’s always held true,” said sociologist Arne Kalleberg, who teaches at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Indeed, rather than belonging to a particular generation, job-hopping appears to be a byproduct of the modern economy: a behavior that most workers experience early in their career (something they often forget that they had done once they’re more established). Like Gen Zers today, millennials and Generation X and, yes, even boomers had to contend with accusations that their desire for meaningful work, decent pay, and work-life balance were unreasonable. In fact, the boomers initiated the rebellion against the “organization man” mindset of their parents, Kalleberg said. “Young people in the late ’60s, and ’70s began to criticize this view of work, because it was part of the establishment. They started rejecting the materialism of their parents and saying, ‘we’re going to find self-actualization,’” Kalleberg said. “They rejected this idea of working for the man, which is exactly what’s happening now,” he added. **More stable than their predecessors** If anything, compared with their predecessors, millennials job-hopped at a slower rate. According to BLS figures, older millennials—those born between 1980 and 1984—had held an average of seven jobs by age 28, one less than baby boomers at the same age. At age 34, millennials averaged 8.6 jobs, about one less than baby boomers at the same age. Blame the 2007 financial crisis, the Great Recession that followed, and the excruciatingly slow “jobless recovery” that hit young people hardest. Job hopping is one sign of a strong economy—workers don’t move unless they have somewhere to move to. In the decade after the recovery and until the pandemic, “the labor market just hasn’t been as tight, so people didn’t have as many opportunities to switch jobs,” said Nick Bunker, chief economist at job board Indeed. Another reason, economists say, is that today’s young people stay in school longer and take more time to formally enter the job market, which reduces the number of jobs they hold on average during their lifetimes. And the heavy student debt load racked up by young graduates has also likely made them less inclined to take risks by job-switching. In fact, while some pundits today worry that the stereotypical younger worker is “disengaged” or “doesn’t see a future” with their employer, as Gallup wrote in a poll this year, it wasn’t so long ago that economists had the opposite worry—that younger workers don’t move around enough. In 2016, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco highlighted “a pronounced decline in the job switching behavior of young workers,” and mused whether those workers were choosing job security “at the cost of diminished experimentation with different jobs.” That same year, another set of Federal Reserve researchers highlighted the trend at a Brookings Institution symposium, noting that “Less fluidity in the labor market leads to fewer opportunities for workers… and thus may have important implications for the macro economy in general.” **No more ‘organization man’** The data also makes clear that the archetype of the “company man” who stays in a single job for his entire career was well on the decline by the time baby boomers came of age. To be sure, some of the boomer generation who started working in the late 1970s and early 1980s had this experience of stability. But this was also the decade that ushered in massive de-industrialization, the transition from a goods to a services economy, the decline of unions that had protected workers and encouraged company loyalty, and the mass layoff as a corporate strategy. (One of the strategy’s early proponents, General Electric CEO Jack Welch, eliminated a quarter of the company’s jobs in the first half of the 1980s, Quartz notes.) Against the backdrop of this ever-more-uncertain economy, it’s no wonder that younger generations have tended to switch jobs less and less. The decades of the early 2000s, in which workers stayed put more and more, skewed Americans’ perception of what a “normal” job market looks like, noted Indeed’s Bunker. “We got used to such low levels of quitting and job switching, that [after the pandemic] when it went back to where it was in the year 2000, people got angsty,” he said. Outside of a layoff, job hopping has well-documented benefits for workers. Getting a new job is usually the easiest way to get a raise, with pay for job switchers consistently rising faster than for those who keep the same job, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. The young boomers who switched jobs nearly every year at the start of their careers saw annual pay jumps of 6.5%, the BLS found. Pay—the reason most humans work—remains a major motivator today. When consulting firm McKinsey earlier this year asked workers why they took a new job, nearly all groups gave the same No. 1 reason: More pay. “Worker mobility—the ability to find and take another job—is at the core of worker power,” economists at the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank, wrote last year. Not only that, but higher rates of job-switching are associated with a more productive economy overall, according to a recent working paper issued by the National Bureau of Economic Research. “Over the long term, people moving around and finding the best fit for their career is going to be a good thing for productivity,” said Jesse Wheeler, senior economist at the business intelligence company Morning Consult. “Ultimately we want people doing jobs they like as much as possible and they are good at.” --- archive: [https://archive.ph/Dt8kW](https://archive.ph/Dt8kW)

News uphillbothways • 1 year ago • 94%

www.scientificamerican.com

A striking purple species is one piece of the fungal kingdom’s uncharted diversity ---------- Deep in eastern Brazil's Atlantic Forest, a team of biologists spotted a fuzzy purple stalk protruding from the leaf litter on the ground. Following the spore-covered body down into the soil, they found a mummified spider swaddled in fungal filaments called hyphae. One of the mycologists, João Araújo, immediately recognized the purple protrusion as a new, undocumented species of predatory fungus belonging to the genus Purpureocillium. Spores from these fungi latch onto and kill their insect or arachnid prey—and then a fruiting body bursts from the corpse to spread more spores. Purpureocillium species share many similarities with those of their sister genus Ophiocordyceps, which includes the “zombifying” fungi that hijack the bodies of their insect prey and are featured in the apocalyptic television show and video game The Last of Us. Araújo, who works for the New York Botanical Garden, has dedicated his career to discovering new species in this intriguing evolutionary group. “Many of these specimens we collect are new species,” he says. “We know so little about them.” The “beautiful, velvety” purple specimen would be only the seventh species of Purpureocillium discovered, says Jennifer Luangsa-ard, a mycologist at Thailand's National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. These fungi are found across the world and include one species that causes eye and skin infections in immunocompromised people. Scientists know surprisingly little about the fungal kingdom despite its importance for our health, food and environment; according to conservative estimates, only 10 percent of species have been identified, Luangsa-ard says. “We need more people looking for the missing taxa,” she adds. There's “still a lot to be discovered.” The wild popularity of The Last of Us may lead people to spot new species, which are often hiding in plain sight, Araújo says. He adds that a naturalist recently spotted two potential species of Ophiocordyceps infecting ants at a nature preserve in Pennsylvania, a short drive from Araújo's laboratory. This discovery may allow his team to closely study the still mysterious ways these fungi manipulate and kill their prey. --- archive link: [https://archive.ph/ytEKh](https://archive.ph/ytEKh)

science uphillbothways • 1 year ago • 92%

www.scientificamerican.com

A striking purple species is one piece of the fungal kingdom’s uncharted diversity ---------- Deep in eastern Brazil's Atlantic Forest, a team of biologists spotted a fuzzy purple stalk protruding from the leaf litter on the ground. Following the spore-covered body down into the soil, they found a mummified spider swaddled in fungal filaments called hyphae. One of the mycologists, João Araújo, immediately recognized the purple protrusion as a new, undocumented species of predatory fungus belonging to the genus Purpureocillium. Spores from these fungi latch onto and kill their insect or arachnid prey—and then a fruiting body bursts from the corpse to spread more spores. Purpureocillium species share many similarities with those of their sister genus Ophiocordyceps, which includes the “zombifying” fungi that hijack the bodies of their insect prey and are featured in the apocalyptic television show and video game The Last of Us. Araújo, who works for the New York Botanical Garden, has dedicated his career to discovering new species in this intriguing evolutionary group. “Many of these specimens we collect are new species,” he says. “We know so little about them.” The “beautiful, velvety” purple specimen would be only the seventh species of Purpureocillium discovered, says Jennifer Luangsa-ard, a mycologist at Thailand's National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. These fungi are found across the world and include one species that causes eye and skin infections in immunocompromised people. Scientists know surprisingly little about the fungal kingdom despite its importance for our health, food and environment; according to conservative estimates, only 10 percent of species have been identified, Luangsa-ard says. “We need more people looking for the missing taxa,” she adds. There's “still a lot to be discovered.” The wild popularity of The Last of Us may lead people to spot new species, which are often hiding in plain sight, Araújo says. He adds that a naturalist recently spotted two potential species of Ophiocordyceps infecting ants at a nature preserve in Pennsylvania, a short drive from Araújo's laboratory. This discovery may allow his team to closely study the still mysterious ways these fungi manipulate and kill their prey. --- archive link: [https://archive.ph/ytEKh](https://archive.ph/ytEKh)