https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/iu-imw030817.php
Public Release: 8-Mar-2017
Increasing minimum wage would reduce teen pregnancies
Indiana University
A $1 increase in the minimum wage would likely reduce the U.S. adolescent birth rate by about 2 percent, according to new Indiana University research.
That would mean about 5,000 fewer births annually, and the number could go higher if the minimum wage increase climbed over $1, according to Lindsey Rose Bullinger, the study author and an associate instructor and doctoral student at the IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs.
"Higher wages can give teens a reason to keep working," Bullinger said. "Their advancement opportunities would improve, and they'd have good reason to delay childbearing or substitute work for leisure."
•••••
Infants of teen mothers generally have worse birth outcomes than children of older mothers. Additionally, parenthood at an early age costs the public more than $9 billion annually because of expenses related to health care, foster care and foregone tax revenue from parents who leave the labor force.
"We know from previous research that an increase in the minimum wage is good for the health of the worker," Bullinger said. "They live longer, have lower body mass indexes and are less likely to abuse children, among other benefits. This study adds to those findings by showing that higher pay means fewer births to adolescent parents. This is especially true for non-Hispanic white and Hispanic adolescents because they are more likely to be affected by minimum wage increases."
The federal minimum wage is $7.25, but some cities and states have higher rates, including San Francisco and Seattle, where $15 is the hourly minimum. So increases of more than $1 are not unrealistic, which could avert even more teen births. Bullinger conducted a sophisticated statistical analysis of the differences in birth rates from state to state.
•••••
Wednesday, March 08, 2017
China has granted preliminary approval for 38 new Trump trademarks
Associated Press
Erika Kinetz, Associated Press
Mar. 8, 2017
China has granted preliminary approval for 38 new Trump trademarks, paving the way for President Donald Trump and his family to develop a host of branded businesses from hotels to insurance to bodyguard and escort services, public documents show.
Trump's lawyers in China applied for the marks in April 2016, as Trump railed against China at campaign rallies, accusing it of currency manipulation and stealing US jobs. Critics maintain that Trump's swelling portfolio of China trademarks raises serious conflict-of-interest questions.
China's Trademark Office published the provisional approvals on February 27 and Monday.
If no one objects, they will be formally registered after 90 days. All but three are in the president's own name. China already registered one trademark to the president, for Trump-branded construction services, on February 14.
If Trump receives any special treatment in securing trademark rights, it would violate the US Constitution, which bans public servants from accepting anything of value from foreign governments unless approved by Congress, ethics lawyers from across the political spectrum say. Concerns about potential conflicts of interest are particularly sharp in China, where the courts and bureaucracy are designed to reflect the will of the ruling Communist Party.
Dan Plane, a director at Simone IP Services, a Hong Kong intellectual-property consultancy, said he had never seen so many applications approved so quickly. "For all these marks to sail through so quickly and cleanly, with no similar marks, no identical marks, no issues with specifications — boy, it's weird," he said.
The trademarks are for businesses including branded spas, massage parlors, golf clubs, hotels, insurance, finance and real-estate companies, retail shops, restaurants, bars, and private bodyguard and escort services.
•••••
Richard Painter, who served as chief ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush, said the volume of new approvals raised red flags.
"A routine trademark, patent, or copyright from a foreign government is likely not an unconstitutional emolument, but with so many trademarks being granted over such a short time period, the question arises as to whether there is an accommodation in at least some of them," he said.
•••••
Informative links
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/03/say-it-me-again-james-comey-elected-donald-trump-president
http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/15/living/jesus-debate-man-versus-myth/index.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/02/upshot/arizona-shows-what-can-go-wrong-with-tax-credit-vouchers.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0
http://www.ecowatch.com/koch-dark-money-gmos-2296988253.html
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/taxes/state-with-no-income-tax-better-or-worse-1.aspx
http://www.ctj.org/pdf/perryflattaxfairtax.pdf
http://www.taxjusticeblog.org/archive/2017/01/a_visual_tour_of_who_pays_stat.php#.WLxcNX_rURY
http://itep.org/itep_reports/2017/01/fairness-matters-a-chart-book-on-who-pays-state-and-local-taxes.php#chart11
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-05/110-people-die-in-48-hours-in-drought-stricken-somalia/8325756
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/04/the-irrationality-of-alcoholics-anonymous/386255/?utm_source=atlfb
https://www.yahoo.com/news/the-central-mistake-in-trumps-budget-100052871.html
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/03/03/buy-american-rule-for-keystone-pipeline-dropped-after-ex-foreign-steel-exec-became-commerce-secretary.html
https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-03-03/despite-trump-pledge-no-requirement-for-u-s-steel-in-keystone
http://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/322221-schwarzenegger-done-on-apprentice-cites-trump
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/how-foxconns-broken-pledges-in-pennsylvania-cast-doubt-on-trumps-jobs-plan/2017/03/03/0189f3de-ee3a-11e6-9973-c5efb7ccfb0d_story.html?utm_term=.f524f0b64589
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/oct/03/shell-oil-paid-nigerian-military
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/321946-trump-transition-team-canceled-plan-for-ethics-training-for-his-staff
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/department-of-labor-fiduciary-rule-delay-trump
http://www.businessinsider.com/sam-altman-interview-trump-supporters-2017-2
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/02/18/opinion/sunday/are-liberals-helping-trump.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share&_r=0&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com
The GOP’s Plan Is Basically a $600 Billion Tax Cut for Rich Americans
It would be extremely surprising if it were otherwise. This is the dominant, consistent pattern of republicans.https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/03/acha-tax-cut/518889/?utm_source=atlfb
Derek Thompson Mar 7, 2017
The GOP’s Obamacare replacement bill has an identity crisis. It repeals the individual mandate and replaces it with a worse mandate. It preserves the Medicaid expansion just long enough to anger Republicans, but not enough to please Democrats. It replaces Obamacare’s subsidies with tax credits that liberals consider impoverishing and conservatives consider unacceptable.
•••••
This bill seems exquisitely designed to please nobody—except for rich people who want a tax break. Perhaps that’s why one of the few groups to praise the bill was Americans for Tax Reform.
Look beyond the bill’s quasi-mandate and tax credits, and the Obamacare replacement bill is a $600 billion tax cut, with the benefits going almost entirely to the wealthy. To pay for its spending, Obamacare included several taxes on couples making more than $250,000, like a 3.8 percent surtax on investment income and a 0.9 percent surtax on wages. Last year, those levies brought in about $27 billion, according to Wall Street Journal analysis of IRS data. Repealing them would cost about $275 billion over the next decade; which is to say, it would transfer $275 billion from public-health spending to the richest 1 or 2 percent. Other provisions, like repealing the limit of flexible spending accounts and expanding health savings accounts, will also disproportionately benefit the rich.
That’s not all. Many companies can deduct employee salaries as a business expense when they pay taxes. Obamacare included a provision that prevented insurance companies from deducting more than $500,000 of their top executives' salaries, as a way of raising a little bit of revenue and discouraging ever-rising compensation for insurance executives. But the Republican replacement law scraps that provision, so that large insurance companies like Cigna and Aetna, which pay their CEOs more than $15 million, would find new tax savings.
Republicans have railed against many problems with the new health care law. But nobody is complaining about cutting taxes, because cutting taxes is the fundamental objective of Republican economics. This is not an explosively accusatory claim, but an objective description of policy. The recent and present leaders of the party—Donald Trump, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Jeb Bush, and Marco Rubio—might have major disagreements over immigration, trade, Social Security, and Russia. But each of them has proposed a tax cut that would disproportionately benefit the rich, with all five plans cutting taxes for the top 1 percent by at least $150,000 and decreasing overall revenue by at least $5 trillion in a decade.
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February’s Warmth, Brought to You by Climate Change
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/february-warm-weather-climate-change-21232
By Brian Kahn
March 8, 2017
A bonanza of heat records fell throughout February in almost all quarters of the U.S. and research released on Wednesday shows that this pervasive spring-like warmth was made possible by climate change.
The rise in planetary heat made the freakishly warm February up to 13 times more likely than it was around 120 years ago, according to the analysis by scientists working on the World Weather Attribution team. While it was a month to remember, by mid-century that type of heat could occur every three years unless carbon pollution is curtailed.
The warm spell is just the latest piece in a growing body of evidence that climate change is playing a role in almost all extreme heat events. Winter is the fastest warming season in the U.S. and February is no exception. February temperatures in particular have risen by 3°F since 1895, which is roughly twice as fast as the global average.
This February fits right in line with that trend. It was the second warmest on record for the U.S., trailing only 1954, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information. The U.S. average for February was 7.3°F above normal, the fifth-most anomalously warm month ever recorded. In all, 16 states had their warmest February on record from Texas to New York.
•••••
The heat drove a record-setting ratio of daily record highs vs. record lows and sped the arrival of spring in some areas by up to four weeks.
Scientists used historical data and climate models to understand what was driving the heat. Historical observations show that around 1900, this type of persistent heat was a 1-in-160 year event, but in our current climate it’s now a 1-in-12 year event. Using models to tease out the specific role climate change played, they found that it made the Ferbuary heat at least three times more likely.
If the world continues on its current pace of greenhouse gas emissions, this type of February could become the norm by 2050.
•••••
“Across the world we're finding that we can link unusually warm weather events to climate change,” said King, adding that climate change is almost certainly playing a role in almost all extreme heat “for most of the world.”
•••••
By Brian Kahn
March 8, 2017
A bonanza of heat records fell throughout February in almost all quarters of the U.S. and research released on Wednesday shows that this pervasive spring-like warmth was made possible by climate change.
The rise in planetary heat made the freakishly warm February up to 13 times more likely than it was around 120 years ago, according to the analysis by scientists working on the World Weather Attribution team. While it was a month to remember, by mid-century that type of heat could occur every three years unless carbon pollution is curtailed.
The warm spell is just the latest piece in a growing body of evidence that climate change is playing a role in almost all extreme heat events. Winter is the fastest warming season in the U.S. and February is no exception. February temperatures in particular have risen by 3°F since 1895, which is roughly twice as fast as the global average.
This February fits right in line with that trend. It was the second warmest on record for the U.S., trailing only 1954, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information. The U.S. average for February was 7.3°F above normal, the fifth-most anomalously warm month ever recorded. In all, 16 states had their warmest February on record from Texas to New York.
•••••
The heat drove a record-setting ratio of daily record highs vs. record lows and sped the arrival of spring in some areas by up to four weeks.
Scientists used historical data and climate models to understand what was driving the heat. Historical observations show that around 1900, this type of persistent heat was a 1-in-160 year event, but in our current climate it’s now a 1-in-12 year event. Using models to tease out the specific role climate change played, they found that it made the Ferbuary heat at least three times more likely.
If the world continues on its current pace of greenhouse gas emissions, this type of February could become the norm by 2050.
•••••
“Across the world we're finding that we can link unusually warm weather events to climate change,” said King, adding that climate change is almost certainly playing a role in almost all extreme heat “for most of the world.”
•••••
Trump's draft budget proposes billion dollar cut to Coast Guard
http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/07/politics/coast-guard-cuts/index.html
By Ryan Browne
Updated 10:31 PM ET, Tue March 7, 2017
President Donald Trump's budget proposal includes a $1.3 billion cut to the US Coast Guard, congressional sources told CNN Tuesday.
The cuts would be applied to an operating budget of about $9 billion, which hawks on the Hill were quick to slam as too deep a reduction to the military branch's funding.
Two sources familiar with the administration's FY2018 budget request told CNN the plan is to boost the Department of Homeland Security's total budget by 6%, up to $43.8 billion. That increase would primarily go to border security and would be paid for with the Coast Guard cuts and reductions to other agencies.
Rep. Duncan Hunter, a California Republican and one of Trump's earliest backers, said the Office of Management and Budget's planned cuts would "severely undermine national security."
"Such a drastic reduction in Coast Guard funding would not only diminish the Coast Guard's standing and mission," Hunter wrote in a letter to Trump Thursday, it "would severely undermine US national security."
•••••
A different congressional source was skeptical such a proposal could even pass Congress, given the Coast Guard's important role in security. The Coast Guard has played a big role in drug and illegal migrant interdiction, issues Trump has pointed to as the rationale for why a border wall is needed.
A Coast Guard official told CNN that the service interdicted 6,346 undocumented migrants and 201 metric tons of cocaine and 52,613 pounds of marijuana in 2016.
The Coast Guard's annual seizures at sea amount to more than three times the quantity of cocaine seized at US borders and within the country combined, the source added.
"As Trump builds the wall on the Southern Border, it's going to push more migrants and smugglers to the water -- and the only entity there to stop all of it is the Coast Guard," Kasper told CNN.
•••••
The proposed cuts come as the Coast Guard is increasingly seen as playing an important security role with regard to US interests in the Arctic and Western Hemisphere.
Russia has been rapidly ramping up its military presence in the Arctic, building new installations and holding large-scale exercises, and the Coast Guard is charged with ensuring US access to the region via its operation of America's only icebreakers.
"Russia has 40 icebreakers, I've got two," Zunkuft told the conference last month.
The Coast Guard commandant has accused Moscow of "saber-rattling" by conducting unannounced military drills involving thousands of troops in the Arctic arena.
And the Coast Guard conducts operations to help secure Mar-a-Lago when President Trump is in residence, helping to safeguard the nearby waters.
•••••
Trump slams GM for manufacturing Chevy Cruze in Mexico. GM points out it's made in Ohio.
Did Trump do this to cause stock price to fall so he could buy then?
January 3, 2017
President-elect Donald Trump issued a pointed warning to General Motors on Tuesday for manufacturing its Chevrolet Cruze in Mexico, suggesting on Twitter that he'd slap the auto manufacturer with a "big border tax" if it didn't bring manufacturing back to the U.S.:
As it turns out, Chevrolet Cruze sedans sold in the U.S. aren't made in Mexico, but in Ohio.
•••••
Still, Trump's erroneous social media blast had an effect. Following Trump's tweet and before the markets opened Tuesday, shares of GM fell 1 percent. After GM clarified its manufacturing activity in Mexico, its shares rebounded the full 1 percent.
•••••
Health insurance companies would get $1 billion or more windfall under GOP Obamacare replacement plan
Dan Mangan
Mar. 7, 2017
There's a sweet deal for insurers buried in the GOP's new Obamacare bill.
Health insurance companies could realize a $1 billion or more windfall over the next decade — and end up paying their CEOs even more money — because of a simple tweak in the GOP's proposal to replace Obamacare.
That tweak, buried in cryptic language on page 67 of the bill, would end the $500,000 cap that health insurers currently have under the Affordable Care Act on deducting the cost of executives' compensation as business expenses on their taxes.
The Republican proposal to eliminate that cap means that insurers would be able to deduct nearly the full value of their CEOs' compensation, and not pay taxes on it.
For a company such as Aetna, whose CEO Mark Bertolini earns more than $17 million annually, ending the cap would add to its bottom line, and encourage insurers to pay executives more money, critics say.
•••••
US Life Expectancy Is Expected to Match Mexico's by 2030
2030 is only 13 years away.https://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2017/02/22/US-Life-Expectancy-Expected-Match-Mexicos-2030
This is before the probable changes to Obamacare by the republicans, which would make things even worse.
By Sam Meredith, CNBC
February 22, 2017
The poor levels of life expectancy in the U.S. against other rich nations has been laid bare in a new report, which predicts that minimal gains over the coming years will see the country have similar rates to Mexico by the year 2030.
In general, global life expectancy is on track to increase by the year 2030, according to the study released on Monday, but the U.S. is predicted to continue to lag behind its peers.
"Notable among poor-performing countries is the USA, whose life expectancy at birth is already lower than most other high-income countries, and is projected to fall further behind such that its 2030 life expectancy at birth might be similar to the Czech Republic for men, and Croatia and Mexico for women," the study, published in the U.K. medical journal Lancet, said.
•••••
the U.S. was found to be on course for the lowest average life expectancy levels of all the rich countries worldwide. The study predicted an average age of 83.3 for women and 79.5 for men by 2030, not dissimilar to levels forecast in Mexico and Croatia. Current levels are 76.5 for men in the U.S. and 81.2 women, according to the study.
"(The U.S.) are almost the opposite of South Korea," said Majid Ezzati, professor of global environmental health at Imperial College London and the leader of the latest medical research. "(Society in the U.S. is) very unequal to an extent the whole national performance is affected – it is the only country without universal health insurance," Ezzati added.
•••••
The research described how the U.S. has the highest child and maternal mortality, homicide rate, and body-mass index of any high-income country.
"The USA is also the only country in the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) without universal health coverage, and has the largest share of unmet health-care needs due to financial costs. Not only does the USA have high and rising health inequalities, but also life expectancy has stagnated or even declined in some population subgroups," the research document said.
"Therefore, the poor recent and projected U.S. performance is at least partly due to high and inequitable mortality from chronic diseases and violence, and insufficient and inequitable health care."
•••••
Monday, March 06, 2017
Two-thirds of Americans see docs who got paid by drug companies: Drexel University study
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/du-toa030617.php
Public Release: 6-Mar-2017
Two-thirds of Americans see docs who got paid by drug companies: Drexel University study
Drexel University
A majority of patients in the United States visited a doctor who received payments from drug companies, but most have no clue about it, according to a new Drexel University study.
About 65 percent of those surveyed as a part of the study by Genevieve Pham-Kanter, PhD, an assistant professor in Drexel's Dornsife School of Public Health, visited a doctor within the last year who had received payments or gifts from pharmaceutical or medical device companies. What's more: Only 5 percent of those surveyed knew that their doctor had received such payments.
"These findings tell us that if you thought that your doctor was not receiving any money from industry, you're most likely mistaken," Pham-Kanter said. "Patients should be aware of the incentives that their physicians face that may lead them to not always act in their patients' best interest. And the more informed patients are about their providers and options for care, the better decisions they can make."
•••••
Public Release: 6-Mar-2017
Two-thirds of Americans see docs who got paid by drug companies: Drexel University study
Drexel University
A majority of patients in the United States visited a doctor who received payments from drug companies, but most have no clue about it, according to a new Drexel University study.
About 65 percent of those surveyed as a part of the study by Genevieve Pham-Kanter, PhD, an assistant professor in Drexel's Dornsife School of Public Health, visited a doctor within the last year who had received payments or gifts from pharmaceutical or medical device companies. What's more: Only 5 percent of those surveyed knew that their doctor had received such payments.
"These findings tell us that if you thought that your doctor was not receiving any money from industry, you're most likely mistaken," Pham-Kanter said. "Patients should be aware of the incentives that their physicians face that may lead them to not always act in their patients' best interest. And the more informed patients are about their providers and options for care, the better decisions they can make."
•••••
Maintaining an active sex life may lead to improved job satisfaction, engagement in work
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/osu-maa030617.php
Public Release: 6-Mar-2017
Maintaining an active sex life may lead to improved job satisfaction, engagement in work
Oregon State University
Maintaining a healthy sex life at home boosts employees' job satisfaction and engagement at the office, underscoring the value of a strong work-life balance, an Oregon State University researcher has found.
A study of the work and sex habits of married employees found that those who prioritized sex at home unknowingly gave themselves a next-day advantage at work, where they were more likely to immerse themselves in their tasks and enjoy their work lives, said Keith Leavitt, an associate professor in OSU's College of Business.
•••••
Public Release: 6-Mar-2017
Maintaining an active sex life may lead to improved job satisfaction, engagement in work
Oregon State University
Maintaining a healthy sex life at home boosts employees' job satisfaction and engagement at the office, underscoring the value of a strong work-life balance, an Oregon State University researcher has found.
A study of the work and sex habits of married employees found that those who prioritized sex at home unknowingly gave themselves a next-day advantage at work, where they were more likely to immerse themselves in their tasks and enjoy their work lives, said Keith Leavitt, an associate professor in OSU's College of Business.
•••••
Head injuries can alter hundreds of genes and lead to serious brain diseases
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/uoc--hic030617.php
Public Release: 6-Mar-2017
Head injuries can alter hundreds of genes and lead to serious brain diseases
University of California - Los Angeles
Head injuries can harm hundreds of genes in the brain in a way that increases people's risk for a wide range of neurological and psychiatric disorders, UCLA life scientists report.
The researchers identified for the first time master genes that they believe control hundreds of other genes which are linked to Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, stroke, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, depression, schizophrenia and other disorders.
•••••
Public Release: 6-Mar-2017
Head injuries can alter hundreds of genes and lead to serious brain diseases
University of California - Los Angeles
Head injuries can harm hundreds of genes in the brain in a way that increases people's risk for a wide range of neurological and psychiatric disorders, UCLA life scientists report.
The researchers identified for the first time master genes that they believe control hundreds of other genes which are linked to Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, stroke, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, depression, schizophrenia and other disorders.
•••••
Cancer 'hot spots' in Florida may be associated with hazardous waste sites
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/uom-cs030617.php
Public Release: 6-Mar-2017
Cancer 'hot spots' in Florida may be associated with hazardous waste sites
Researchers find 'mild association' between cancer rates, Superfund sites
University of Missouri-Columbia
Studies have shown that hazardous waste sites have the potential to adversely affect human health and disrupt ecological systems. Florida has the sixth highest number of hazardous waste sites, known as Superfund sites, in the United States. In 2016, the state was projected to have the second largest number of new cancer cases in the country. Researchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine and the University of Florida studied cancer incidence rates in relation to Superfund sites and found a possible association. Researchers believe this discovery could help direct public health efforts in the state.
•••••
"The findings show spatial differences -- as well as gender differences -- across Florida in adult cancer incidences," Leary said. "This work is novel because it is another piece of evidence to support an environmental cause of cancer. While it would be premature to say these differences are attributed to Superfund sites, there does appear to be an association. More research is needed to determine what this relationship is and why it exists, but identifying that a difference exists is a necessary first step."
•••••
Public Release: 6-Mar-2017
Cancer 'hot spots' in Florida may be associated with hazardous waste sites
Researchers find 'mild association' between cancer rates, Superfund sites
University of Missouri-Columbia
Studies have shown that hazardous waste sites have the potential to adversely affect human health and disrupt ecological systems. Florida has the sixth highest number of hazardous waste sites, known as Superfund sites, in the United States. In 2016, the state was projected to have the second largest number of new cancer cases in the country. Researchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine and the University of Florida studied cancer incidence rates in relation to Superfund sites and found a possible association. Researchers believe this discovery could help direct public health efforts in the state.
•••••
"The findings show spatial differences -- as well as gender differences -- across Florida in adult cancer incidences," Leary said. "This work is novel because it is another piece of evidence to support an environmental cause of cancer. While it would be premature to say these differences are attributed to Superfund sites, there does appear to be an association. More research is needed to determine what this relationship is and why it exists, but identifying that a difference exists is a necessary first step."
•••••
Somalia says 110 dead in 48 hours due to drought
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-somalia-disaster-idUSKBN16B0MW
- The drought is being made worse because of global warming.
By Abdi Sheikh | MOGADISHU
March 4, 2017
Some 110 people have died in southern Somalia in the last two days from famine and diarrhea resulting from a drought, the prime minister said on Saturday, as the area braces itself for widespread shortages of food.
In February, United Nations children's agency UNICEF said the drought in Somalia could lead to up to 270,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition this year.
"It is a difficult situation for the pastoralists and their livestock. Some people have been hit by famine and diarrhea at the same time. In the last 48 hours 110 people died due to famine and diarrhea in Bay region," Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire's office said in a statement.
"The Somali government will do its best, and we urge all Somalis wherever they are to help and save the dying Somalis," he said in the statement released after a meeting of a famine response committee.
In 2011, some 260,000 people starved to death due to famine in Somalia.
•••••
https://www.oxfam.org/en/somalia/famine-somalia-causes-and-solutions
•••••
Famines result from a combination “triple failure”:
- Production failure: In Somalia, a two-year drought – which is phenomenal in now being the driest year in the last 60 – has caused record food inflation, particularly in the expectation of the next harvest being 50% of normal. Somalia already had levels of malnutrition and premature mortality so high as to be in a “normalized” state of permanent emergency. This is true too in pockets across the entire region.
- Access failure: The drought has killed off the pastoralists’ prime livestock assets (up to 90% animal mortality in some areas), slashing further their purchasing power. In addition Somalia severe internal conflict has made development almost impossible to achieve and data difficult to access both accurately and credibly.
- Response failure: Underlying it all has been the inability of Somalia’s government and donors to tackle the country’s chronic poverty, which has marginalized vulnerable people and fundamentally weakened their ability to cope. There’s been a lack of investment in social services and basic infrastructure and lack of good governance. Meanwhile donors have reacted too late and too cautiously. The overall international donor response to this humanitarian crisis has been slow and inadequate. According to UN figures, $1 billion is required to meet immediate needs. So far donors have committed less than $200m, leaving an $800 million black hole.
•••••
This famine represents the most serious food insecurity situation in the world today in terms of both scale and severity.
This is the first officially-declared famine in Africa so far this century, at a time when famine has been eradicated everywhere else.
•••••
Is Arctic sea ice doomed to disappear?
https://phys.org/news/2017-03-arctic-sea-ice-doomed.html
March 6, 2017 by Marlowe Hood
There's good and bad news for people, and polar bears, threatened by the Arctic's vanishing sea ice, scientists said Monday.
First the good news: summer ice cover is "virtually certain" to survive if average global warming does not rise more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial era levels, according to a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
"We estimate there is less than a 1-in-100,000 chance of an ice-free Arctic if global warming stays below 1.5 C," James Screen and Daniel Williamson from the University of Exeter wrote.
That should come a relief to indigenous peoples whose way of life, and livelihood, depend on ice persisting through the summer months. Already today, their houses are literally falling into the sea.
For polar bears, the stakes are even higher, experts say.
With their total population reduced to around 26,000, polar bears would struggle to survive without the floating ice platforms from which they hunt seals and other prey.
On a global scale, several million square kilometres (miles) of white snow and ice reflect most of the solar radiation that hits it back into space.
Replace this giant mirror with deep blue ocean, and that heat gets absorbed instead, accelerating climate change.
Why a 1.5 C temperature limit?
That is the "aspirational" goal laid down in the 196-nation Paris climate pact, along side a hard target of under 2 C (3.6 F), long identified as the guardrail for dangerous warming.
A 2 C rise would give humanity a coin-toss chance—"about as likely as not"—of keeping the North Pole white, Williamson and Screen reported.
The researchers compared different climate models of sea ice loss with actual changes over the last decade, using only those that provided the best match for their projections.
•••••
Without deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, the Arctic could see its first ice-free summers within two or three decades.
So far, the Arctic's surface temperature has gone up by more than 2 C—twice the global average.
But the bad news is that even if scientists are confident a 1.5 C ceiling will, in theory, preserve Arctic ice, they are far less sure this goal can be achieved.
"Currently, we only have a few scenarios that get us there, and they are outliers," Valerie Masson-Delmotte from the Pierre Simon Laplace Institute in Paris told fellow climate scientists gathered in Oxford last fall to discuss the 1.5 C target.
All but a few, in other words, of the hundreds of complex computer models plotting the rapid reduction of greenhouse gases that drive climate change zoom right past that benchmark.
"We may see the first year of 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels within a decade," Richard Betts, head of climate impacts research at the Met Office Hadley Centre in England, told the same conference.
On current trends, Earth is on track to heat up by about 3 C (5.4 F) by the end of the century.
Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-03-arctic-sea-ice-doomed.html#jCp
March 6, 2017 by Marlowe Hood
There's good and bad news for people, and polar bears, threatened by the Arctic's vanishing sea ice, scientists said Monday.
First the good news: summer ice cover is "virtually certain" to survive if average global warming does not rise more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial era levels, according to a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
"We estimate there is less than a 1-in-100,000 chance of an ice-free Arctic if global warming stays below 1.5 C," James Screen and Daniel Williamson from the University of Exeter wrote.
That should come a relief to indigenous peoples whose way of life, and livelihood, depend on ice persisting through the summer months. Already today, their houses are literally falling into the sea.
For polar bears, the stakes are even higher, experts say.
With their total population reduced to around 26,000, polar bears would struggle to survive without the floating ice platforms from which they hunt seals and other prey.
On a global scale, several million square kilometres (miles) of white snow and ice reflect most of the solar radiation that hits it back into space.
Replace this giant mirror with deep blue ocean, and that heat gets absorbed instead, accelerating climate change.
Why a 1.5 C temperature limit?
That is the "aspirational" goal laid down in the 196-nation Paris climate pact, along side a hard target of under 2 C (3.6 F), long identified as the guardrail for dangerous warming.
A 2 C rise would give humanity a coin-toss chance—"about as likely as not"—of keeping the North Pole white, Williamson and Screen reported.
The researchers compared different climate models of sea ice loss with actual changes over the last decade, using only those that provided the best match for their projections.
•••••
Without deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, the Arctic could see its first ice-free summers within two or three decades.
So far, the Arctic's surface temperature has gone up by more than 2 C—twice the global average.
But the bad news is that even if scientists are confident a 1.5 C ceiling will, in theory, preserve Arctic ice, they are far less sure this goal can be achieved.
"Currently, we only have a few scenarios that get us there, and they are outliers," Valerie Masson-Delmotte from the Pierre Simon Laplace Institute in Paris told fellow climate scientists gathered in Oxford last fall to discuss the 1.5 C target.
All but a few, in other words, of the hundreds of complex computer models plotting the rapid reduction of greenhouse gases that drive climate change zoom right past that benchmark.
"We may see the first year of 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels within a decade," Richard Betts, head of climate impacts research at the Met Office Hadley Centre in England, told the same conference.
On current trends, Earth is on track to heat up by about 3 C (5.4 F) by the end of the century.
Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-03-arctic-sea-ice-doomed.html#jCp
Sunday, March 05, 2017
Sea Ice Extent in Antarctica Bottoming Out at Lowest on Record
https://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/sea-ice-extent-in-antarctica-bottoming-out-at-lowest-on-record
By: Bob Henson , 5:50 PM GMT on March 03, 2017
As summer draws to a close across the Southern Hemisphere, the extent of sea ice ringing Antarctica has fallen to the lowest values ever observed in satellite records dating back to 1979. On Wednesday, March 1, the daily extent data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) showed 2,109,000 square kilometers of Antarctic sea ice, its lowest value on record. That value nudged up slightly on Thursday, but a more useful measure, the five-day rolling average, hit its lowest value yet on Thursday (see Figure 1 below). Update: The five-day average fell even lower on Friday, March 3, dropping from 2,113,000 to 2,106,000 sq. km.
•••••
“It’s possible that we’ll look back in a decade and see this year as a turning point when the Antarctic sea ice finally started to feel the long-term global warming influence above the natural variability,” Meier told me. “But we may also look back and see this year as an unusual blip in the time series--an anomalous spike that is quickly gone.”
•••••
By: Bob Henson , 5:50 PM GMT on March 03, 2017
As summer draws to a close across the Southern Hemisphere, the extent of sea ice ringing Antarctica has fallen to the lowest values ever observed in satellite records dating back to 1979. On Wednesday, March 1, the daily extent data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) showed 2,109,000 square kilometers of Antarctic sea ice, its lowest value on record. That value nudged up slightly on Thursday, but a more useful measure, the five-day rolling average, hit its lowest value yet on Thursday (see Figure 1 below). Update: The five-day average fell even lower on Friday, March 3, dropping from 2,113,000 to 2,106,000 sq. km.
•••••
“It’s possible that we’ll look back in a decade and see this year as a turning point when the Antarctic sea ice finally started to feel the long-term global warming influence above the natural variability,” Meier told me. “But we may also look back and see this year as an unusual blip in the time series--an anomalous spike that is quickly gone.”
•••••
Massive Permafrost Thaw Documented in Canada, Portends Huge Carbon Release
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/27022017/global-warming-permafrost-study-melt-canada-siberia
By Bob Berwyn, InsideClimate News
Feb 28, 2017
Huge slabs of Arctic permafrost in northwest Canada are slumping and disintegrating, sending large amounts of carbon-rich mud and silt into streams and rivers. A new study that analyzed nearly a half-million square miles in northwest Canada found that this permafrost decay is affecting 52,000 square miles of that vast stretch of earth—an expanse the size of Alabama.
According to researchers with the Northwest Territories Geological Survey, the permafrost collapse is intensifying and causing landslides into rivers and lakes that can choke off life downstream, all the way to where the rivers discharge into the Arctic Ocean.
Similar large-scale landscape changes are evident across the Arctic including in Alaska, Siberia and Scandinavia, the researchers wrote in a paper published in the journal Geology in early February.
•••••
Permafrost is land that has been frozen stretching back to the last ice age, 10,000 years ago. As the Arctic warms at twice the global rate, the long-frozen soils thaw and decompose, releasing the trapped greenhouse gases into the air. Scientists estimate that the world's permafrost holds twice as much carbon as the atmosphere.
•••••
The disintegration of the permafrost was visible in 40- to 60-mile wide swaths of terrain, showing that, "extensive landscapes remain poised for major climate-driven change."
"Things have really taken off. Climate warming is now making that happen. It's exactly what we should expect with climate change," said Steven V. Kokelj, lead scientist on the Canadian mapping project. "And the maps that we produced clearly indicated it's not just a random pattern. We're sort of connecting dots here for the scientific community."
Other global evidence of similar large-scale permafrost changes have recently been documented in Siberia, where scientists with the Permafrost Laboratory at the University of Sussex (UK) are monitoring another rapidly growing scar in the earth. More than a half-mile of once-frozen ground has collapsed 280-feet deep, according to their study published in in the journal Quaternary Research in February. The researchers said they expect to see the rolling tundra landscape transform, including the formation of large new valleys and lakes.
Similar signs are evident in coastal Arctic areas, where thawing permafrost and bigger waves are taking 60- to 70-foot bites of land each year, according to researchers with the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research. Writing in the journal Nature Climate Change in January, AWI scientists warned about collapsing coastlines and urged more research, with input from policymakers and native communities.
University of Alberta scientists Suzanne Tank, who was not involved in the new study, said that the release of sediments from the new slumps in the Canadian permafrost has significant ecological implications. The pulses of silt, mud and gravel make streams murkier and limit growth of aquatic plants at the base of the food chain. Exactly how that affects other species, including fish, is the subject of ongoing research.
•••••
At lower latitudes, permafrost is the glue that holds the world's highest mountains together by keeping rocks and soil frozen in place. Scientists are documenting how those bonds are dissolving, said Stefan Reisenhofer, a climate scientist with the Austrian Bureau of Meteorology and Geodynamics.
"We've seen a significant reduction in the number of ice days (those with 24 hours of sub-freezing temperatures), especially in the summer months," said Reisenhofer, who works at a climate observatory at an elevation of 8,500 feet. "From 2010 to 2014, the number of ice days decreased by 11 in May, and 10 in June." During that span, the mountain beneath the research station crumbled, requiring a huge investment to stabilize the outpost, he said.
Using satellite images from the European Space Agency's Copernicus program, the Austrian researchers have shown how, similar to the findings in Canada, thawing permafrost has unleashed huge amounts of sediments below receding glaciers. Intensifying summer rainstorms have triggered huge landslides, damaging roads, power lines and water infrastructure, according to a recent evaluation of satellite images by Austrian climate researchers.
In some areas, there are new restrictions on development as the landslides grow bigger, reaching all the way to the valley floors.
By Bob Berwyn, InsideClimate News
Feb 28, 2017
Huge slabs of Arctic permafrost in northwest Canada are slumping and disintegrating, sending large amounts of carbon-rich mud and silt into streams and rivers. A new study that analyzed nearly a half-million square miles in northwest Canada found that this permafrost decay is affecting 52,000 square miles of that vast stretch of earth—an expanse the size of Alabama.
According to researchers with the Northwest Territories Geological Survey, the permafrost collapse is intensifying and causing landslides into rivers and lakes that can choke off life downstream, all the way to where the rivers discharge into the Arctic Ocean.
Similar large-scale landscape changes are evident across the Arctic including in Alaska, Siberia and Scandinavia, the researchers wrote in a paper published in the journal Geology in early February.
•••••
Permafrost is land that has been frozen stretching back to the last ice age, 10,000 years ago. As the Arctic warms at twice the global rate, the long-frozen soils thaw and decompose, releasing the trapped greenhouse gases into the air. Scientists estimate that the world's permafrost holds twice as much carbon as the atmosphere.
•••••
The disintegration of the permafrost was visible in 40- to 60-mile wide swaths of terrain, showing that, "extensive landscapes remain poised for major climate-driven change."
"Things have really taken off. Climate warming is now making that happen. It's exactly what we should expect with climate change," said Steven V. Kokelj, lead scientist on the Canadian mapping project. "And the maps that we produced clearly indicated it's not just a random pattern. We're sort of connecting dots here for the scientific community."
Other global evidence of similar large-scale permafrost changes have recently been documented in Siberia, where scientists with the Permafrost Laboratory at the University of Sussex (UK) are monitoring another rapidly growing scar in the earth. More than a half-mile of once-frozen ground has collapsed 280-feet deep, according to their study published in in the journal Quaternary Research in February. The researchers said they expect to see the rolling tundra landscape transform, including the formation of large new valleys and lakes.
Similar signs are evident in coastal Arctic areas, where thawing permafrost and bigger waves are taking 60- to 70-foot bites of land each year, according to researchers with the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research. Writing in the journal Nature Climate Change in January, AWI scientists warned about collapsing coastlines and urged more research, with input from policymakers and native communities.
University of Alberta scientists Suzanne Tank, who was not involved in the new study, said that the release of sediments from the new slumps in the Canadian permafrost has significant ecological implications. The pulses of silt, mud and gravel make streams murkier and limit growth of aquatic plants at the base of the food chain. Exactly how that affects other species, including fish, is the subject of ongoing research.
•••••
At lower latitudes, permafrost is the glue that holds the world's highest mountains together by keeping rocks and soil frozen in place. Scientists are documenting how those bonds are dissolving, said Stefan Reisenhofer, a climate scientist with the Austrian Bureau of Meteorology and Geodynamics.
"We've seen a significant reduction in the number of ice days (those with 24 hours of sub-freezing temperatures), especially in the summer months," said Reisenhofer, who works at a climate observatory at an elevation of 8,500 feet. "From 2010 to 2014, the number of ice days decreased by 11 in May, and 10 in June." During that span, the mountain beneath the research station crumbled, requiring a huge investment to stabilize the outpost, he said.
Using satellite images from the European Space Agency's Copernicus program, the Austrian researchers have shown how, similar to the findings in Canada, thawing permafrost has unleashed huge amounts of sediments below receding glaciers. Intensifying summer rainstorms have triggered huge landslides, damaging roads, power lines and water infrastructure, according to a recent evaluation of satellite images by Austrian climate researchers.
In some areas, there are new restrictions on development as the landslides grow bigger, reaching all the way to the valley floors.
Saturday, March 04, 2017
Muslims offer to guard Jewish sites in US
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39142831
Following the recent spate of bomb threats against Jewish community centres and the desecration of graves at cemeteries in Philadelphia and St. Louis, some Muslims have turned to social media to offer to guard Jewish sites.
The offers to protect religious sites have come from Muslims who include military servicemen, lawyers and Emmy Award-winning TV broadcasters.
The JCC Association of North America, a network of cultural centres, reported more than 100 bomb threats against Jewish centres in the first two months of 2017.
On Monday alone, the organisation said another 31 threats were made against Jewish centres including a gunshot fired through a Hebrew school window at an Indiana synagogue.
Viral solidarity
In a tweet, a former Muslim marine, Tayyib Rashid, pledged: "If your synagogue or Jewish cemetery needs someone to stand guard, count me in. Islam requires it."
Mr Rashid, known by his Twitter handle @MuslimMarine adds in his Periscope video that "I've seen a tremendous outpouring of love and support from all Americans, from Muslims, from my fellow Jewish Americans, from Christians, from atheists, from everyone".
The former Marine welcomes people to meet him in a local coffee shop in his home town in Grayslake, Chicago, in his "initiative to help promote peace between Muslims and non-Muslims".
He aims to open dialogue about "the recent atrocities committed by some hateful people" that were responsible for the "destruction and desecration of the graves of people of Jewish faith".
He adds: "I condemn that wholeheartedly and I stand in solidarity with all my Jewish citizens."
•••••
Following the recent spate of bomb threats against Jewish community centres and the desecration of graves at cemeteries in Philadelphia and St. Louis, some Muslims have turned to social media to offer to guard Jewish sites.
The offers to protect religious sites have come from Muslims who include military servicemen, lawyers and Emmy Award-winning TV broadcasters.
The JCC Association of North America, a network of cultural centres, reported more than 100 bomb threats against Jewish centres in the first two months of 2017.
On Monday alone, the organisation said another 31 threats were made against Jewish centres including a gunshot fired through a Hebrew school window at an Indiana synagogue.
Viral solidarity
In a tweet, a former Muslim marine, Tayyib Rashid, pledged: "If your synagogue or Jewish cemetery needs someone to stand guard, count me in. Islam requires it."
Mr Rashid, known by his Twitter handle @MuslimMarine adds in his Periscope video that "I've seen a tremendous outpouring of love and support from all Americans, from Muslims, from my fellow Jewish Americans, from Christians, from atheists, from everyone".
The former Marine welcomes people to meet him in a local coffee shop in his home town in Grayslake, Chicago, in his "initiative to help promote peace between Muslims and non-Muslims".
He aims to open dialogue about "the recent atrocities committed by some hateful people" that were responsible for the "destruction and desecration of the graves of people of Jewish faith".
He adds: "I condemn that wholeheartedly and I stand in solidarity with all my Jewish citizens."
•••••
Climate change is turning koalas to drink, scientists find
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/03/03/climate-change-turning-koalas-drink-scientists-find
By Harry Pearl
Mar. 3, 2017
The drinking habits of Australia's koalas may indicate climate change is starting to bite, a new study has found.
Researchers have used video cameras to observe more than 100 koalas drinking from purpose-built water stations near Gunnedah in north-east NSW for the first time.
The water troughs were set up on the ground and in trees for six months last year.
The scientists behind the study say the behaviour is unusual because koalas usually subsist on a diet of eucalyptus leaves, which are thought to provide all the nourishment they need.
“We found not only that they drank extensively, but visits to the artificial stations depended on rainfall,” Dr Valentina Mella, the study’s lead researcher, said.
“This suggest the leaves they are eating are not providing them with enough water.”
•••••
The animals not only drank in the safety of tree tops, but also on the ground during the day, when they would normally be asleep, according to the study.
Dr Mella said the results clearly showed climate change posed a threat to the animals.
“With climate change, leaves became tougher, less moist, have higher concentration of toxins and have less nourishment,” she said. “It's a huge problem.”
Rising global temperatures, as well as an increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration, are expected to have significant impacts upon the palatability and nutritional quality of the koala’s food supply.
More regular heatwaves and droughts will also mean less free water is available for the animals and create conditions for destructive bushfires.
•••••
By Harry Pearl
Mar. 3, 2017
The drinking habits of Australia's koalas may indicate climate change is starting to bite, a new study has found.
Researchers have used video cameras to observe more than 100 koalas drinking from purpose-built water stations near Gunnedah in north-east NSW for the first time.
The water troughs were set up on the ground and in trees for six months last year.
The scientists behind the study say the behaviour is unusual because koalas usually subsist on a diet of eucalyptus leaves, which are thought to provide all the nourishment they need.
“We found not only that they drank extensively, but visits to the artificial stations depended on rainfall,” Dr Valentina Mella, the study’s lead researcher, said.
“This suggest the leaves they are eating are not providing them with enough water.”
•••••
The animals not only drank in the safety of tree tops, but also on the ground during the day, when they would normally be asleep, according to the study.
Dr Mella said the results clearly showed climate change posed a threat to the animals.
“With climate change, leaves became tougher, less moist, have higher concentration of toxins and have less nourishment,” she said. “It's a huge problem.”
Rising global temperatures, as well as an increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration, are expected to have significant impacts upon the palatability and nutritional quality of the koala’s food supply.
More regular heatwaves and droughts will also mean less free water is available for the animals and create conditions for destructive bushfires.
•••••
Trump Got Nearly $1 Million in Energy-Efficiency Subsidies in 2012
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/03/business/energy-environment/trump-energy-plan-climate.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FGlobal+Warming&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=collection&_r=0
By HIROKO TABUCHIMARCH 3, 2017
he Trump White House has wasted no time in targeting pro-climate policies, freezing energy-efficiency standards finalized during the last days of the Obama administration. Its “America First Energy Plan” makes no mention of renewable energy or energy efficiency, and it is focused on fossil fuels.
But in 2012, Donald J. Trump, the businessman, played a different tune.
That year, Mr. Trump finished securing almost $1 million in energy-efficiency incentives and low-interest loans from New York State to fit a Trump-branded residential tower in Westchester County with eco-friendly fixtures, state records show.
“I strongly believe in clean energy, in conserving energy, all of that — more than anybody,” Mr. Trump is quoted as saying in a fact sheet about the project, at Trump Tower at City Center in White Plains. As part of the project, a state-of-the-art power system that recycles energy was installed.
The Trump Organization also received smaller incentive payments in 2011, for a total of about $40,000, for energy-saving projects at two separate condominium buildings in Manhattan, at 100 and 106 Central Park South, according state records obtained under New York’s Freedom of Information Law.
•••••
By HIROKO TABUCHIMARCH 3, 2017
he Trump White House has wasted no time in targeting pro-climate policies, freezing energy-efficiency standards finalized during the last days of the Obama administration. Its “America First Energy Plan” makes no mention of renewable energy or energy efficiency, and it is focused on fossil fuels.
But in 2012, Donald J. Trump, the businessman, played a different tune.
That year, Mr. Trump finished securing almost $1 million in energy-efficiency incentives and low-interest loans from New York State to fit a Trump-branded residential tower in Westchester County with eco-friendly fixtures, state records show.
“I strongly believe in clean energy, in conserving energy, all of that — more than anybody,” Mr. Trump is quoted as saying in a fact sheet about the project, at Trump Tower at City Center in White Plains. As part of the project, a state-of-the-art power system that recycles energy was installed.
The Trump Organization also received smaller incentive payments in 2011, for a total of about $40,000, for energy-saving projects at two separate condominium buildings in Manhattan, at 100 and 106 Central Park South, according state records obtained under New York’s Freedom of Information Law.
•••••
NOAA Cuts Could Stymie Research, Put Lives at Risk
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/noaa-cuts-could-stymie-research-21221
By Andrea Thompson and Brian Khan
Mar. 4, 2017
On Friday, the meteorology community was riding a major high as stunningly high-definition images came in from the nation’s newest and much-anticipated earth observation satellite. The high came crashing down that evening, though, as the first hints of significant cuts to the budget of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration began to emerge.
NOAA oversees weather forecasting and is a major funder of weather and climate research. If these cuts — which an Office of Management and Budget document obtained by the Washington Post pegged at 17 percent agency-wide — materialize, they could significantly hamper improvements in weather forecasting and climate modeling and put the public at risk, experts warned.
•••••
The budget proposal is part of the Trump administration’s larger effort to beef up military spending by $54 billion and pay for that increase with cuts to other agencies. It has also proposed cutting the Environmental Protection Agency’s $8.2 billion budget by 25 percent.
NOAA’s annual budget is currently $5.6 billion, a small fraction of the federal government’s $1.2 trillion discretionary budget.
•••••
“I simply could not do my job without NOAA data. It is invaluable to the insurance industry for proper risk management,” Brian Wood, an insurance industry meteorologist, tweeted. “Any reduction to NOAA's free-to-use services could lead to a rise in prices in any number of consumer-facing industries.”
“As a *private sector* meteorologist, I depend heavily on availability of data like this to do my job in *energy,*” Matt Lanza, an energy industry meteorologist, tweeted.
The OAR and satellite divisions are critical for maintaining and advancing forecasting and modeling capabilities in both the weather and climate spheres, experts said, and any cuts will curtail those capabilities well into the future.
Polar orbiting satellites, which aide in longer-term forecasting, are already facing problematic gaps, as funding shortfalls and planning delays have resulted in a delay in the launch of replacement satellites.
The Government Accountability Office included the polar satellite program and a potential coverage gap on its 2017 high risk list due to the challenges it already faces. The new budget zeroes out funding for the Polar Follow On program, which is developing the next polar satellites.
Modeling capabilities could also be impacted. For several years, some meteorologists and climate researchers have remarked that the U.S. is already behind European weather and climate modelling efforts, run by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, which is investing more than $50 million in a new building to house a new, next-generation supercomputer.
•••••
“NOAA funding sensibly enables scientists to evaluate how flood risks are growing and evaluate potential adaptation options that will save money,” he said.
Satellites, such as the new high-definition GOES-16 that meteorologists spent the week celebrating, provide most of the data that feed weather forecasts. Without sustained funding and development, new satellites won’t be ready to replace aging ones, a process Shepherd likened to needing to periodically replace the batteries in household smoke detectors.
•••••
Satellites help contribute to a weather forecast that provides an estimated $109 benefit to every household in the U.S. (which adds up to $11.4 billion), according to a 2009 assessment. NOAA satellites and real-time weather data also provide an estimated $700 million in benefits to the private weather industry reliant on federal data.
Weather and climate data kept by NOAA has also been shown to be of significant value to the re-insurance industry, which provides insurance to insurers, providing protection from major losses sustained during tornadoes, hurricanes and other extreme weather.
The impacts of any cuts today will resonate for years to come.
“There are very few cuts here that the public is going to feel quickly,” Titley said. “The satellite cut (if not restored) impacts observations in the late 2020s.”
The same satellites that feed weather models also inform climate research, because sustained, long-term observations of the planet’s atmosphere, oceans and other systems are crucial to capturing trends and to understanding any changes that are occurring.
“This data is vital for understanding how our weather and climate are changing,” Shepherd wrote.
And “any observations you don’t make, you can’t go back and make that again,” Vecchi said in an interview at his office last week before the cuts were announced. This is a problem climate scientists deal with now, since satellite observations only began in the 1970s.
Some saw the cuts to the research division in particular as retaliation for the climate research they do. For example, at its first hearing of the new Congress, the House Science Committee chairman, Lamar Smith (R-Texas), criticized a paper conducted by NOAA scientists that found there had been no “hiatus” in global warming, accusing the authors of malfeasance and using science to advance a political agenda, though no wrongdoing has been shown.
“I see this as the undeclared war on climate research (and maybe climate monitoring),” Titley said.
“Make no mistake — the proposed policies are designed to deal a body blow to climate science, and associated climate policy, that will be felt long after this administration leaves the White House,” Kim Cobb, a coral expert at Georgia Tech who receives some NOAA funding, said in an email.
•••••
By Andrea Thompson and Brian Khan
Mar. 4, 2017
On Friday, the meteorology community was riding a major high as stunningly high-definition images came in from the nation’s newest and much-anticipated earth observation satellite. The high came crashing down that evening, though, as the first hints of significant cuts to the budget of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration began to emerge.
NOAA oversees weather forecasting and is a major funder of weather and climate research. If these cuts — which an Office of Management and Budget document obtained by the Washington Post pegged at 17 percent agency-wide — materialize, they could significantly hamper improvements in weather forecasting and climate modeling and put the public at risk, experts warned.
•••••
The budget proposal is part of the Trump administration’s larger effort to beef up military spending by $54 billion and pay for that increase with cuts to other agencies. It has also proposed cutting the Environmental Protection Agency’s $8.2 billion budget by 25 percent.
NOAA’s annual budget is currently $5.6 billion, a small fraction of the federal government’s $1.2 trillion discretionary budget.
•••••
“I simply could not do my job without NOAA data. It is invaluable to the insurance industry for proper risk management,” Brian Wood, an insurance industry meteorologist, tweeted. “Any reduction to NOAA's free-to-use services could lead to a rise in prices in any number of consumer-facing industries.”
“As a *private sector* meteorologist, I depend heavily on availability of data like this to do my job in *energy,*” Matt Lanza, an energy industry meteorologist, tweeted.
The OAR and satellite divisions are critical for maintaining and advancing forecasting and modeling capabilities in both the weather and climate spheres, experts said, and any cuts will curtail those capabilities well into the future.
Polar orbiting satellites, which aide in longer-term forecasting, are already facing problematic gaps, as funding shortfalls and planning delays have resulted in a delay in the launch of replacement satellites.
The Government Accountability Office included the polar satellite program and a potential coverage gap on its 2017 high risk list due to the challenges it already faces. The new budget zeroes out funding for the Polar Follow On program, which is developing the next polar satellites.
Modeling capabilities could also be impacted. For several years, some meteorologists and climate researchers have remarked that the U.S. is already behind European weather and climate modelling efforts, run by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, which is investing more than $50 million in a new building to house a new, next-generation supercomputer.
•••••
“NOAA funding sensibly enables scientists to evaluate how flood risks are growing and evaluate potential adaptation options that will save money,” he said.
Satellites, such as the new high-definition GOES-16 that meteorologists spent the week celebrating, provide most of the data that feed weather forecasts. Without sustained funding and development, new satellites won’t be ready to replace aging ones, a process Shepherd likened to needing to periodically replace the batteries in household smoke detectors.
•••••
Satellites help contribute to a weather forecast that provides an estimated $109 benefit to every household in the U.S. (which adds up to $11.4 billion), according to a 2009 assessment. NOAA satellites and real-time weather data also provide an estimated $700 million in benefits to the private weather industry reliant on federal data.
Weather and climate data kept by NOAA has also been shown to be of significant value to the re-insurance industry, which provides insurance to insurers, providing protection from major losses sustained during tornadoes, hurricanes and other extreme weather.
The impacts of any cuts today will resonate for years to come.
“There are very few cuts here that the public is going to feel quickly,” Titley said. “The satellite cut (if not restored) impacts observations in the late 2020s.”
The same satellites that feed weather models also inform climate research, because sustained, long-term observations of the planet’s atmosphere, oceans and other systems are crucial to capturing trends and to understanding any changes that are occurring.
“This data is vital for understanding how our weather and climate are changing,” Shepherd wrote.
And “any observations you don’t make, you can’t go back and make that again,” Vecchi said in an interview at his office last week before the cuts were announced. This is a problem climate scientists deal with now, since satellite observations only began in the 1970s.
Some saw the cuts to the research division in particular as retaliation for the climate research they do. For example, at its first hearing of the new Congress, the House Science Committee chairman, Lamar Smith (R-Texas), criticized a paper conducted by NOAA scientists that found there had been no “hiatus” in global warming, accusing the authors of malfeasance and using science to advance a political agenda, though no wrongdoing has been shown.
“I see this as the undeclared war on climate research (and maybe climate monitoring),” Titley said.
“Make no mistake — the proposed policies are designed to deal a body blow to climate science, and associated climate policy, that will be felt long after this administration leaves the White House,” Kim Cobb, a coral expert at Georgia Tech who receives some NOAA funding, said in an email.
•••••
Trump's child care plan is gift to the rich, report says
http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/28/news/economy/donald-trump-child-care/index.html
by Heather Long @byHeatherLong February 28, 2017
President Donald Trump has vowed to make child care in America cheaper.
But Trump's current proposal, which he touted during his prime-time address to Congress Tuesday evening, will do little to help the working families who need the most relief. That's according to a new analysis from the non-partisan Tax Policy Center.
Making child care more affordable is one of Trump's signature promises to voters. It's listed in his contract with the American voter. His daughter Ivanka Trump played a large role in crafting the plan, which includes three new tax benefits and paid family leave for new parents.
•••••
But an analysis by the Tax Policy Center finds that Trump's proposal is a gift to the rich. The tax experts at TPC say 70% of the benefits will go to families that make $100,000 or more. And 25% will go to people earning $200,000 or more.
"Trump has identified a real challenge affecting working families, but his proposal would do little or nothing to help them," Elaine Maag, an expert at the Tax Policy Center, told CNNMoney. A typical middle class family earns about $56,000.
•••••
The heart of Trump's plan is to significantly expand the tax deduction that families can take for child care expenses for kids under 13. Anyone making less than $250,000 ($500,000 if married) could deduct the average cost of child care in their state. (The average would be based on the age of their child, since it usually costs more to care for infants and toddlers).
That sounds great, but families have to pay income taxes to Uncle Sam in order to take advantage of the deduction. Many working class families pay nothing in federal income taxes because they earn too little in income to owe anything.
On top of that, Trump wants to create a "dependent care savings account" (DCSA) to allow families to save up to $2,000 tax-free that could be used to pay for care for kids or elderly parents. Parents could even use the money to pay for summer camp.
Again, it sounds good, but poor families that desperately need a break on child care are unlikely to have extra money to put into the savings account.
•••••
The final part of Trump's plan is aimed at helping poorer families. It's a refundable tax credit so working parents who don't end up owing federal income tax could actually get money back from the government. The maximum amount a low-income family could receive is $1,200 under Trump's tax proposal, but most working class families would get far less than that.
The Tax Policy Center says a couple earning $30,000 a year would get $574 back. It's a modest amount compared to the average child care bill. Stay-at-home moms or dads would not be eligible for the tax credit, but wealthier stay-at-home parents can take advantage of the deduction.
Putting a four-year-old in full-time care ranges from $4,439 a year in Mississippi to a whopping $17,863 a year in Washington D.C., according to Child Care Aware.
•••••
by Heather Long @byHeatherLong February 28, 2017
President Donald Trump has vowed to make child care in America cheaper.
But Trump's current proposal, which he touted during his prime-time address to Congress Tuesday evening, will do little to help the working families who need the most relief. That's according to a new analysis from the non-partisan Tax Policy Center.
Making child care more affordable is one of Trump's signature promises to voters. It's listed in his contract with the American voter. His daughter Ivanka Trump played a large role in crafting the plan, which includes three new tax benefits and paid family leave for new parents.
•••••
But an analysis by the Tax Policy Center finds that Trump's proposal is a gift to the rich. The tax experts at TPC say 70% of the benefits will go to families that make $100,000 or more. And 25% will go to people earning $200,000 or more.
"Trump has identified a real challenge affecting working families, but his proposal would do little or nothing to help them," Elaine Maag, an expert at the Tax Policy Center, told CNNMoney. A typical middle class family earns about $56,000.
•••••
The heart of Trump's plan is to significantly expand the tax deduction that families can take for child care expenses for kids under 13. Anyone making less than $250,000 ($500,000 if married) could deduct the average cost of child care in their state. (The average would be based on the age of their child, since it usually costs more to care for infants and toddlers).
That sounds great, but families have to pay income taxes to Uncle Sam in order to take advantage of the deduction. Many working class families pay nothing in federal income taxes because they earn too little in income to owe anything.
On top of that, Trump wants to create a "dependent care savings account" (DCSA) to allow families to save up to $2,000 tax-free that could be used to pay for care for kids or elderly parents. Parents could even use the money to pay for summer camp.
Again, it sounds good, but poor families that desperately need a break on child care are unlikely to have extra money to put into the savings account.
•••••
The final part of Trump's plan is aimed at helping poorer families. It's a refundable tax credit so working parents who don't end up owing federal income tax could actually get money back from the government. The maximum amount a low-income family could receive is $1,200 under Trump's tax proposal, but most working class families would get far less than that.
The Tax Policy Center says a couple earning $30,000 a year would get $574 back. It's a modest amount compared to the average child care bill. Stay-at-home moms or dads would not be eligible for the tax credit, but wealthier stay-at-home parents can take advantage of the deduction.
Putting a four-year-old in full-time care ranges from $4,439 a year in Mississippi to a whopping $17,863 a year in Washington D.C., according to Child Care Aware.
•••••
Friday, March 03, 2017
Inadequate access to affordable, nutritious food may increase stroke risk factors
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-02/aha-iat021517.php
Public Release: 23-Feb-2017
Inadequate access to affordable, nutritious food may increase stroke risk factors
Session P25 - Poster TP183
American Heart Association
Food insecurity - the state of being without reliable access to adequate amounts of affordable, nutritious food - is a common issue and may lead to increased stroke risk factors, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2017.
•••••
Public Release: 23-Feb-2017
Inadequate access to affordable, nutritious food may increase stroke risk factors
Session P25 - Poster TP183
American Heart Association
Food insecurity - the state of being without reliable access to adequate amounts of affordable, nutritious food - is a common issue and may lead to increased stroke risk factors, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2017.
•••••
Research shows exercise is a boon for cancer patients
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/uorm-rse022817.php
Public Release: 2-Mar-2017
Research shows exercise is a boon for cancer patients
University of Rochester Medical Center
Exercise and/or psychological therapy work better than medications to reduce cancer-related fatigue and should be recommended first to patients, according to a Wilmot Cancer Institute-led study published in JAMA Oncology.
"If a cancer patient is having trouble with fatigue, rather than looking for extra cups of coffee, a nap, or a pharmaceutical solution, consider a 15-minute walk," said lead author Karen Mustian, Ph.D., M.P.H., associate professor in the University of Rochester Medical Center Department of Surgery's Cancer Control Program. "It's a really simple concept but it's very hard for patients and the medical community to wrap their heads around it because these interventions have not been front-and-center in the past," she added. "Our research gives clinicians a valuable asset to alleviate cancer-related fatigue."
Scientists reached their conclusions about exercise and psychological interventions after analyzing the outcomes of 113 unique studies that tested various treatments for cancer-related fatigue. All were randomized clinical trials, the gold standard for evaluating effective treatments. The analysis started with 17,033 abstracts and was whittled down to 113 that met strict criteria of rigorous scientific methods.
More than 11,000 patients were involved in the 113 studies. Nearly half were women with breast cancer; ten studies focused on other types of cancer and enrolled only men.
•••••
Public Release: 2-Mar-2017
Research shows exercise is a boon for cancer patients
University of Rochester Medical Center
Exercise and/or psychological therapy work better than medications to reduce cancer-related fatigue and should be recommended first to patients, according to a Wilmot Cancer Institute-led study published in JAMA Oncology.
"If a cancer patient is having trouble with fatigue, rather than looking for extra cups of coffee, a nap, or a pharmaceutical solution, consider a 15-minute walk," said lead author Karen Mustian, Ph.D., M.P.H., associate professor in the University of Rochester Medical Center Department of Surgery's Cancer Control Program. "It's a really simple concept but it's very hard for patients and the medical community to wrap their heads around it because these interventions have not been front-and-center in the past," she added. "Our research gives clinicians a valuable asset to alleviate cancer-related fatigue."
Scientists reached their conclusions about exercise and psychological interventions after analyzing the outcomes of 113 unique studies that tested various treatments for cancer-related fatigue. All were randomized clinical trials, the gold standard for evaluating effective treatments. The analysis started with 17,033 abstracts and was whittled down to 113 that met strict criteria of rigorous scientific methods.
More than 11,000 patients were involved in the 113 studies. Nearly half were women with breast cancer; ten studies focused on other types of cancer and enrolled only men.
•••••
In a bad flu season, high-dose flu vaccine appeared better at preventing deaths in seniors
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/idso-iab022817.php
Public Release: 2-Mar-2017
In a bad flu season, high-dose flu vaccine appeared better at preventing deaths in seniors
Infectious Diseases Society of America
The high-dose flu vaccine appeared to be more effective at preventing post-influenza deaths among older adults than the standard-dose vaccine, at least during a more severe flu season, according to a large new study of Medicare beneficiaries published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases. The findings build on earlier research suggesting that the high-dose vaccine may be better at preventing influenza virus infections and other flu-related outcomes in seniors, including office visits and hospitalizations, compared to the standard-dose vaccine.
Older adults are at high risk for serious complications from flu because of their age. In recent years, between 71 percent and 85 percent of flu-related deaths have occurred among people 65 years of age and older, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The high-dose flu vaccine was approved in 2009 in the U.S. for adults 65 and older. "This is the population that everybody worries about," said study author David K. Shay, MD, MPH, of CDC's Influenza Division. "Many of the most serious outcomes of flu infections occur in older people."
•••••
Public Release: 2-Mar-2017
In a bad flu season, high-dose flu vaccine appeared better at preventing deaths in seniors
Infectious Diseases Society of America
The high-dose flu vaccine appeared to be more effective at preventing post-influenza deaths among older adults than the standard-dose vaccine, at least during a more severe flu season, according to a large new study of Medicare beneficiaries published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases. The findings build on earlier research suggesting that the high-dose vaccine may be better at preventing influenza virus infections and other flu-related outcomes in seniors, including office visits and hospitalizations, compared to the standard-dose vaccine.
Older adults are at high risk for serious complications from flu because of their age. In recent years, between 71 percent and 85 percent of flu-related deaths have occurred among people 65 years of age and older, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The high-dose flu vaccine was approved in 2009 in the U.S. for adults 65 and older. "This is the population that everybody worries about," said study author David K. Shay, MD, MPH, of CDC's Influenza Division. "Many of the most serious outcomes of flu infections occur in older people."
•••••
New study reveals air pollution can alter effectiveness of antibiotics
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/uol-nsr030217.php
Public Release: 2-Mar-2017
New study reveals air pollution can alter effectiveness of antibiotics
Interdisciplinary research at the University of Leicester has explored the impact of black carbon on bacteria in the respiratory tract
University of Leicester
•••••
Researchers from the University of Leicester have for the first time discovered that bacteria that cause respiratory infections are directly affected by air pollution - increasing the potential for infection and changing the effectiveness of antibiotic treatment.
The interdisciplinary study, which has been published in the journal Environmental Microbiology, has important implications for the treatment of infectious diseases, which are known to be increased in areas with high levels of air pollution.
The study looked into how air pollution affects the bacteria living in our bodies, specifically the respiratory tract - the nose, throat and lungs.
A major component of air pollution is black carbon, which is produced through the burning of fossil fuels such as diesel, biofuels, and biomass.
The research shows that this pollutant changes the way in which bacteria grow and form communities, which could affect how they survive on the lining of our respiratory tracts and how well they are able to hide from, and combat, our immune systems.
•••••
Public Release: 2-Mar-2017
New study reveals air pollution can alter effectiveness of antibiotics
Interdisciplinary research at the University of Leicester has explored the impact of black carbon on bacteria in the respiratory tract
University of Leicester
- Air pollution can change the way bacteria behave and can change their potential to cause disease
- Interdisciplinary research discovers new mechanism of how air pollution is detrimental to our health and well-being
- Developing megacities with extreme levels of air pollution are major risk factors for human health in many parts of the world
•••••
Researchers from the University of Leicester have for the first time discovered that bacteria that cause respiratory infections are directly affected by air pollution - increasing the potential for infection and changing the effectiveness of antibiotic treatment.
The interdisciplinary study, which has been published in the journal Environmental Microbiology, has important implications for the treatment of infectious diseases, which are known to be increased in areas with high levels of air pollution.
The study looked into how air pollution affects the bacteria living in our bodies, specifically the respiratory tract - the nose, throat and lungs.
A major component of air pollution is black carbon, which is produced through the burning of fossil fuels such as diesel, biofuels, and biomass.
The research shows that this pollutant changes the way in which bacteria grow and form communities, which could affect how they survive on the lining of our respiratory tracts and how well they are able to hide from, and combat, our immune systems.
•••••
Ten million lives saved by 1962 breakthrough, study says
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/uoia-tml030317.php
Public Release: 3-Mar-2017
Ten million lives saved by 1962 breakthrough, study says
University of Illinois at Chicago
Nearly 200 million cases of polio, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, adenovirus, rabies and hepatitis A -- and approximately 450,000 deaths from these diseases -- were prevented in the U.S. alone between 1963 and 2015 by vaccination, researchers estimate. The study is published in AIMS Public Health.
In 1963, vaccination against these infections became widespread, thanks to the development of a human cell strain that allowed vaccines to be produced safely. Globally, the vaccines developed from this strain and its derivatives prevented an estimated 4.5 billion cases of disease and saved more than 10 million lives.
•••••
Measles outbreaks in California in 2014 and 2015 among unvaccinated children are just one example of the resurgence of previously unseen diseases attributable to parents who wrongly believe that vaccines have been shown to be harmful.
"The reduced number of children being vaccinated in the U.S. isn't just a problem for those children," said Olshansky. "It's a problem for the country because it lowers herd immunity."
When almost everyone in a community is immunized against a disease, if an unimmunized person becomes infected, the disease has little opportunity to spread because there are so few unprotected hosts. This is known as 'herd immunity.' But if enough people forego vaccination, outbreaks can occur as the disease spreads among unprotected individuals. The recent emergence of some diseases that were previously considered dormant in the U.S., such as measles, demonstrates that the anti-vaccination movement is having a direct, negative effect on public health, Olshansky said, and vaccination rates for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) in the U.S. are now as low as 50 to 86 percent.
"It is possible that the anti-vaccination movement has arisen among younger generations, in part, because they cannot bear witness to the tragedy of disfigurement, morbidity, and death caused by viral and bacterial diseases," Olshansky said. A 1998 study often cited by the anti-vaccine movement claimed a link between vaccines and autism in children, but that study has since been shown to be fraudulent.
An estimated 1.4 million children under 5 worldwide still die each year due to lack of access to vaccines.
"It is ironic that in the anti-vaccination community, the very people who are denying protection to their children by foregoing vaccination are healthy and alive today because they, and possibly their parents, were vaccinated," Olshansky said.
•••••
"There is no medication, lifestyle change, public health innovation, or medical procedure ever developed that has even come close to the life-saving, life-extending, and primary prevention benefits associated with vaccines."
Public Release: 3-Mar-2017
Ten million lives saved by 1962 breakthrough, study says
University of Illinois at Chicago
Nearly 200 million cases of polio, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, adenovirus, rabies and hepatitis A -- and approximately 450,000 deaths from these diseases -- were prevented in the U.S. alone between 1963 and 2015 by vaccination, researchers estimate. The study is published in AIMS Public Health.
In 1963, vaccination against these infections became widespread, thanks to the development of a human cell strain that allowed vaccines to be produced safely. Globally, the vaccines developed from this strain and its derivatives prevented an estimated 4.5 billion cases of disease and saved more than 10 million lives.
•••••
Measles outbreaks in California in 2014 and 2015 among unvaccinated children are just one example of the resurgence of previously unseen diseases attributable to parents who wrongly believe that vaccines have been shown to be harmful.
"The reduced number of children being vaccinated in the U.S. isn't just a problem for those children," said Olshansky. "It's a problem for the country because it lowers herd immunity."
When almost everyone in a community is immunized against a disease, if an unimmunized person becomes infected, the disease has little opportunity to spread because there are so few unprotected hosts. This is known as 'herd immunity.' But if enough people forego vaccination, outbreaks can occur as the disease spreads among unprotected individuals. The recent emergence of some diseases that were previously considered dormant in the U.S., such as measles, demonstrates that the anti-vaccination movement is having a direct, negative effect on public health, Olshansky said, and vaccination rates for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) in the U.S. are now as low as 50 to 86 percent.
"It is possible that the anti-vaccination movement has arisen among younger generations, in part, because they cannot bear witness to the tragedy of disfigurement, morbidity, and death caused by viral and bacterial diseases," Olshansky said. A 1998 study often cited by the anti-vaccine movement claimed a link between vaccines and autism in children, but that study has since been shown to be fraudulent.
An estimated 1.4 million children under 5 worldwide still die each year due to lack of access to vaccines.
"It is ironic that in the anti-vaccination community, the very people who are denying protection to their children by foregoing vaccination are healthy and alive today because they, and possibly their parents, were vaccinated," Olshansky said.
•••••
"There is no medication, lifestyle change, public health innovation, or medical procedure ever developed that has even come close to the life-saving, life-extending, and primary prevention benefits associated with vaccines."
Homeopathic remedies harmed hundreds of babies
https://www.statnews.com/2017/02/21/hylands-homeopathic-teething-fda/
Homeopathic remedies harmed hundreds of babies, families say, as FDA investigated for years
By Sheila Kaplan @bySheilaKaplan
February 21, 2017
Case 7682299: Aug. 1, 2010. A mother gives her toddler three homeopathic pills to relieve her teething pain. Within minutes, the baby stops breathing.
“My daughter had a seizure, lost consciousness, and stopped breathing about 30 minutes after I gave her three Hyland’s Teething Tablets,” the mother later told the Food and Drug Administration. “She had to receive mouth-to-mouth CPR to resume breathing and was brought to the hospital.”
The company, Hyland’s, promotes “safe, effective, and natural health solutions” that appeal to parents seeking alternative treatments. But the agency would soon hear much more about Hyland’s teething products. Staff at the FDA would come to consider Case 7682299 one of the luckier outcomes.
A review of FDA records obtained by STAT under the Freedom of Information Act paints a far grimmer picture: Babies who were given Hyland’s teething products turned blue and died. Babies had repeated seizures. Babies became delirious. Babies were airlifted to the hospital, where emergency room staff tried to figure out what had caused their legs and arms to start twitching.
Over a 10-year period, from 2006 to 2016, the FDA collected reports of “adverse events” in more than 370 children who had used Hyland’s homeopathic teething tablets or gel, a similar product that is applied directly to a baby’s gums. Agency records show eight cases in which babies were reported to have died after taking Hyland’s products, though the FDA says the question of whether those products caused the deaths is still under review.
(The agency is also investigating two other deaths tied to teething remedies but declined to confirm the manufacturer of the products or provide the case reports.)
Following an FDA warning in September, Hyland’s said that it would no longer manufacture the teething products. But they remained on some store shelves for months, and are still available on the internet. They likely continue to be used in homes nationwide.
•••••
Homeopathy has become a multibillion-dollar industry. Its products are big sellers around the world, and popular with adherents from Cher to Prince Charles. The industry also has political clout: It has been able to exempt itself from many rules proposed by Congress and the FDA over the years.
Unlike pharmaceutical company-produced drugs, homeopathic products don’t have to prove that they are effective at treating anything in particular before going on the market. It is left to the FDA’s drug division to determine whether they are unsafe after they are on the market — a difficult task since the adverse event reports are generally considered to represent only a fraction of the actual incidents and may lack sufficient information to allow for thorough investigations.
“If I’m working in the emergency room and I have a family that comes in with a seizing infant, I may not have the wherewithal to get the history of homeopathic use,” said Dr. Edward W. Boyer, a toxicologist in Harvard Medical School’s emergency medicine department.
In some cases, parents assume that products described as natural remedies, as is the case with Hyland’s tablets and gels, could not possibly result in complications, and never mention their use to a doctor. Without sufficient evidence of a problem, the FDA lacks what it needs to use the enforcement tools it does have.
•••••
In investigating Hyland’s teething products, the FDA focused on an ingredient known as atropa belladonna, an herb known colloquially as “deadly nightshade.”
In diluted form, the substance is not expected to pose any health risk. In 2010, however, FDA inspectors who examined Hyland’s facilities criticized the company for substandard manufacturing practices and found inconsistent levels of atropa belladonna in its products.
The agency issued a public warning, noting “reports of serious adverse events in children taking this product that are consistent with belladonna toxicity.”
•••••
In September 2016, the FDA announced that it was investigating more adverse events reports and recommended that consumers stop using Hyland’s and other homeopathic teething products and dispose of any in their possession. Some stores, including Target and CVS, which sold Hyland’s and other homeopathic teething products, pulled them in response.
The FDA also asked Hyland’s to recall its products again. But this time Hyland’s stood its ground, and the agency has no authority to enforce a recall of homeopathic products.
•••••
Several weeks ago, on Jan. 27, the FDA issued another warning, saying that laboratory analysis of Hyland’s teething tablets found levels of belladonna “sometimes far exceeding the amount claimed on the label.” The agency warned consumers not to use the products and to seek medical care immediately if their child has seizures, difficulty breathing, lethargy, muscle weakness, or other problems after using homeopathic teething products.
The FDA also said there was no evidence that they actually worked.
•••••
One problem the FDA has in doing so is a matter of staffing: The agency has a medical officer review each report from manufacturers, but it doesn’t have someone who can routinely follow up with the patient, the patient’s family, or physician for missing records necessary to take a serious enforcement action.
“Is it fair to criticize FDA for the time lag between 2010 and now?” says Patricia Zettler, a former FDA counsel and associate law professor at Georgia State University. “I think the agency is in a tough position, with these kinds of products and with adverse event reports in general. They are not necessarily a perfect indication of something happening with a drug.”
•••••
Outraged by the standoff between FDA and Hyland’s, Connecticut Democratic Representative Rosa DeLauro introduced a bill last week called the Recall Unsafe Drugs Act. The proposal would give the FDA mandatory recall authority over homeopathic products and drugs.
“Hyland’s refusal to recall its teething tablets, despite numerous health and safety warnings from the FDA, is downright shameful,” DeLauro said, adding that the company “is choosing instead to prioritize the company’s profits and reputation before the safety of our children.”
“As it stands the FDA would have to go through an arduous legal process to take action against manufacturers such as Hyland’s. This is unacceptable and threatens the health and safety of American families.’’
•••••
Homeopathic remedies harmed hundreds of babies, families say, as FDA investigated for years
By Sheila Kaplan @bySheilaKaplan
February 21, 2017
Case 7682299: Aug. 1, 2010. A mother gives her toddler three homeopathic pills to relieve her teething pain. Within minutes, the baby stops breathing.
“My daughter had a seizure, lost consciousness, and stopped breathing about 30 minutes after I gave her three Hyland’s Teething Tablets,” the mother later told the Food and Drug Administration. “She had to receive mouth-to-mouth CPR to resume breathing and was brought to the hospital.”
The company, Hyland’s, promotes “safe, effective, and natural health solutions” that appeal to parents seeking alternative treatments. But the agency would soon hear much more about Hyland’s teething products. Staff at the FDA would come to consider Case 7682299 one of the luckier outcomes.
A review of FDA records obtained by STAT under the Freedom of Information Act paints a far grimmer picture: Babies who were given Hyland’s teething products turned blue and died. Babies had repeated seizures. Babies became delirious. Babies were airlifted to the hospital, where emergency room staff tried to figure out what had caused their legs and arms to start twitching.
Over a 10-year period, from 2006 to 2016, the FDA collected reports of “adverse events” in more than 370 children who had used Hyland’s homeopathic teething tablets or gel, a similar product that is applied directly to a baby’s gums. Agency records show eight cases in which babies were reported to have died after taking Hyland’s products, though the FDA says the question of whether those products caused the deaths is still under review.
(The agency is also investigating two other deaths tied to teething remedies but declined to confirm the manufacturer of the products or provide the case reports.)
Following an FDA warning in September, Hyland’s said that it would no longer manufacture the teething products. But they remained on some store shelves for months, and are still available on the internet. They likely continue to be used in homes nationwide.
•••••
Homeopathy has become a multibillion-dollar industry. Its products are big sellers around the world, and popular with adherents from Cher to Prince Charles. The industry also has political clout: It has been able to exempt itself from many rules proposed by Congress and the FDA over the years.
Unlike pharmaceutical company-produced drugs, homeopathic products don’t have to prove that they are effective at treating anything in particular before going on the market. It is left to the FDA’s drug division to determine whether they are unsafe after they are on the market — a difficult task since the adverse event reports are generally considered to represent only a fraction of the actual incidents and may lack sufficient information to allow for thorough investigations.
“If I’m working in the emergency room and I have a family that comes in with a seizing infant, I may not have the wherewithal to get the history of homeopathic use,” said Dr. Edward W. Boyer, a toxicologist in Harvard Medical School’s emergency medicine department.
In some cases, parents assume that products described as natural remedies, as is the case with Hyland’s tablets and gels, could not possibly result in complications, and never mention their use to a doctor. Without sufficient evidence of a problem, the FDA lacks what it needs to use the enforcement tools it does have.
•••••
In investigating Hyland’s teething products, the FDA focused on an ingredient known as atropa belladonna, an herb known colloquially as “deadly nightshade.”
In diluted form, the substance is not expected to pose any health risk. In 2010, however, FDA inspectors who examined Hyland’s facilities criticized the company for substandard manufacturing practices and found inconsistent levels of atropa belladonna in its products.
The agency issued a public warning, noting “reports of serious adverse events in children taking this product that are consistent with belladonna toxicity.”
•••••
In September 2016, the FDA announced that it was investigating more adverse events reports and recommended that consumers stop using Hyland’s and other homeopathic teething products and dispose of any in their possession. Some stores, including Target and CVS, which sold Hyland’s and other homeopathic teething products, pulled them in response.
The FDA also asked Hyland’s to recall its products again. But this time Hyland’s stood its ground, and the agency has no authority to enforce a recall of homeopathic products.
•••••
Several weeks ago, on Jan. 27, the FDA issued another warning, saying that laboratory analysis of Hyland’s teething tablets found levels of belladonna “sometimes far exceeding the amount claimed on the label.” The agency warned consumers not to use the products and to seek medical care immediately if their child has seizures, difficulty breathing, lethargy, muscle weakness, or other problems after using homeopathic teething products.
The FDA also said there was no evidence that they actually worked.
•••••
One problem the FDA has in doing so is a matter of staffing: The agency has a medical officer review each report from manufacturers, but it doesn’t have someone who can routinely follow up with the patient, the patient’s family, or physician for missing records necessary to take a serious enforcement action.
“Is it fair to criticize FDA for the time lag between 2010 and now?” says Patricia Zettler, a former FDA counsel and associate law professor at Georgia State University. “I think the agency is in a tough position, with these kinds of products and with adverse event reports in general. They are not necessarily a perfect indication of something happening with a drug.”
•••••
Outraged by the standoff between FDA and Hyland’s, Connecticut Democratic Representative Rosa DeLauro introduced a bill last week called the Recall Unsafe Drugs Act. The proposal would give the FDA mandatory recall authority over homeopathic products and drugs.
“Hyland’s refusal to recall its teething tablets, despite numerous health and safety warnings from the FDA, is downright shameful,” DeLauro said, adding that the company “is choosing instead to prioritize the company’s profits and reputation before the safety of our children.”
“As it stands the FDA would have to go through an arduous legal process to take action against manufacturers such as Hyland’s. This is unacceptable and threatens the health and safety of American families.’’
•••••
Thursday, March 02, 2017
March for the Null Hypothesis!
I saw this in a Facebook group for the March for Scienc
I am marching for the null hypothesis! At the root of hypothesis testing is the possibility "I am wrong." In this era of "feelings are fact" and "opinions are facts", this is so very important. Say anything you want about science, but there is something so powerful about testing against the possibility that what we thought made a difference, did not. Living peacefully in a gray world requires this kind of bravery.
Successful relationships
https://qz.com/884448/every-successful-relationship-is-successful-for-the-same-exact-reasons/
Mark Manson
January 13, 2017
•••••
I sent out the call the week before my wedding: anyone who has been married for 10+ years and is still happy in their relationship, what lessons would you pass down to others if you could? What is working for you and your partner? And if you’re divorced, what didn’t work previously?
The response was overwhelming. Almost 1,500 people replied, many of whom sent in responses measured in pages, not paragraphs. It took almost two weeks to comb through them all, but I did. And what I found stunned me…
They were incredibly repetitive.
•••••
Which means that those dozen or so things must be pretty damn important… and more importantly, they work.
Here’s what they are:
1. Be together for the right reasons
Don’t ever be with someone because someone else pressured you to.
•••••
As we’ll see throughout the rest of this article, everything that makes a relationship “work” (and by work, I mean that it is happy and sustainable for both people involved) requires a genuine, deep-level admiration for each other. Without that mutual admiration, everything else will unravel.
•••••
for now, it’s useful to point out that love, itself, is neutral. It is something that can be both healthy or unhealthy, helpful or harmful, depending on why and how you love someone else and are loved by someone else. By itself, love is never enough to sustain a relationship.
2. Have realistic expectations about relationships and romance
You are absolutely not going to be absolutely gaga over each other every single day for the rest of your lives, and all this “happily ever after” bullshit is just setting people up for failure.
•••••
Romantic love is a trap designed to get two people to overlook each other’s faults long enough to get some babymaking done. It generally only lasts for a few years at most. That dizzying high you get staring into your lover’s eyes as if they are the stars that make up the heavens—yeah, that mostly goes away. It does for everybody. So, once it’s gone, you need to know that you’ve buckled yourself down with a human being you genuinely respect and enjoy being with, otherwise things are going to get rocky.
True love—that is, deep, abiding love that is impervious to emotional whims or fancy—is a choice. It’s a constant commitment to a person regardless of the present circumstances. It’s a commitment to a person who you understand isn’t going to always make you happy—nor should they!—and a person who will need to rely on you at times, just as you will rely on them.
That form of love is much harder. Primarily because it often doesn’t feel very good. It’s unglamorous. It’s lots of early morning doctor’s visits. It’s cleaning up bodily fluids you’d rather not be cleaning up. It’s dealing with another person’s insecurities and fears and ideas, even when you don’t want to.
But this form of love is also far more satisfying and meaningful. And, at the end of the day, it brings true happiness, not just another series of highs.
•••••
3. The most important factor in a relationship is not communication, but respect
•••••
But we noticed that the thing people with marriages going on 20, 30, or even 40 years talked about most was respect.
My sense is that these people, through sheer quantity of experience, have learned that communication, no matter how open, transparent and disciplined, will always break down at some point. Conflicts are ultimately unavoidable, and feelings will always be hurt.
And the only thing that can save you and your partner, that can cushion you both to the hard landing of human fallibility, is an unerring respect for one another, the fact that you hold each other in high esteem, believe in one another—often more than you each believe in yourselves—and trust that your partner is doing his/her best with what they’ve got.
Without that bedrock of respect underneath you, you will doubt each other’s intentions. You will judge their choices and encroach on their independence. You will feel the need to hide things from one another for fear of criticism. And this is when the cracks in the edifice begin to appear.
•••••
You must also respect yourself. Just as your partner must also respect his/herself. Because without that self-respect, you will not feel worthy of the respect afforded by your partner. You will be unwilling to accept it and you will find ways to undermine it. You will constantly feel the need to compensate and prove yourself worthy of love, which will just backfire.
Respect for your partner and respect for yourself are intertwined.
•••••
4. Talk openly about everything, especially the stuff that hurts
•••••
If something bothers you in the relationship, you must be willing to say it. Saying it builds trust and trust builds intimacy. It may hurt, but you still need to do it. No one else can fix your relationship for you. Nor should anyone else. Just as causing pain to your muscles allows them to grow back stronger, often introducing some pain into your relationship through vulnerability is the only way to make the relationship stronger.
Behind respect, trust was the most commonly mentioned trait for a healthy relationship. Most people mentioned it in the context of jealousy and fidelity—trust your partner to go off on their own, don’t get insecure or angry if you see them talking with someone else, etc.
But trust goes much deeper than that. Because when you’re really talking about the long-haul, you start to get into some serious life-or-death shit. If you ended up with cancer tomorrow, would you trust your partner to stick with you and take care of you? Would you trust your partner to care for your child for a week by themselves? Do you trust them to handle your money or make sound decisions under pressure? Do you trust them to not turn on you or blame you when you make mistakes?
•••••
5. A healthy relationship means two healthy individuals
•••••
A healthy and happy relationship requires two healthy and happy individuals. Keyword here: “individuals.” That means two people with their own identities, their own interests and perspectives, and things they do by themselves, on their own time.
This is why attempting to control your partner (or submitting control over yourself to your partner) to make them “happy” ultimately backfires—it allows the individual identities of each person to be destroyed, the very identities that attracted each person and brought them together in the first place.
•••••
6. Give each other space
•••••
Among the emails, one of the most popular themes was the importance of creating space and separation from one another.
People sung the praises of separate checking accounts, separate credit cards, having different friends and hobbies, taking separate vacations from one another each year (this has been a big one in my own relationship). Some even went so far as to recommend separate bathrooms or even separate bedrooms.
•••••
7. You and your partner will grow and change in unexpected ways; embrace it
•••••
One theme that came up repeatedly, especially with those married 20+ years, was how much each individual changes as the decades roll on, and how ready each of you have to be to embrace the other partner as these changes occur. One reader commented that at her wedding, an elderly family member told her, “One day many years from now, you will wake up and your spouse will be a different person, make sure you fall in love with that person too.”
It logically follows that if there is a bedrock of respect for each individual’s interest and values underpinning the relationship, and each individual is encouraged to foster their own growth and development, that each person will, as time goes on, evolve in different and unexpected ways. It’s then up to the couple to communicate and make sure that they are consistently a) aware of the changes going on in their partner, and b) continually accepting and respecting those changes as they occur.
•••••
8. Get good at fighting
•••••
But what’s most interesting about Gottman’s research is that the things that lead to divorce are not necessarily what you think. Successful couples, like unsuccessful couples, he found, fight consistently. And some of them fight furiously.
He has been able to narrow down four characteristics of a couple that tend to lead to divorces (or breakups). He has gone on and called these “the four horsemen” of the relationship apocalypse in his books. They are:
Criticizing your partner’s character (“You’re so stupid” vs “That thing you did was stupid”)
Defensiveness (or basically, blame shifting, “I wouldn’t have done that if you weren’t late all the time”)
Contempt (putting down your partner and making them feel inferior)
Stonewalling (withdrawing from an argument and ignoring your partner)
The reader emails back this up as well. Out of the 1,500-some-odd emails, almost every single one referenced the importance of dealing with conflicts well.
•••••
9. Get good at forgiving
•••••
To me, perhaps the most interesting nugget from Gottman’s research is the fact that most successful couples don’t actually resolve all of their problems. In fact, his findings were completely backwards from what most people actually expect: people in lasting and happy relationships have problems that never completely go away, while couples that feel as though they need to agree and compromise on everything end up feeling miserable and falling apart.
To me, like everything else, this comes back to the respect thing. If you have two different individuals sharing a life together, it’s inevitable that they will have different values and perspectives on some things and clash over it. The key here is not changing the other person—as the desire to change your partner is inherently disrespectful (to both them and yourself)—but rather it’s to simply abide by the difference, love them despite it, and when things get a little rough around the edges, to forgive them for it.
•••••
your perfect partner is not someone who creates no problems in the relationship, rather your perfect partner is someone who creates problems in the relationship that you feel good about dealing with.
•••••
10. The little things add up to big things
•••••
Of the 1,500 responses I got, I’d say about half of them mentioned at some point or another one simple but effective piece of advice: Don’t ever stop doing the little things. They add up.
Things as simple as saying, “I love you,” before going to bed, holding hands during a movie, doing small favors here and there, helping with some household chores. Even cleaning up when you accidentally pee on the toilet seat (seriously, someone said that)—these things all matter and add up over the long run.
The same way Fred, married for 40+ years, stated above that arguing over small things consistently wears you both down, “like Chinese water torture,” so do the little favors and displays of affection add up. Don’t lose them.
•••••
11. Sex matters
•••••
sex is the State of the Union. If the relationship is good, the sex will be good. You both will be wanting it and enjoying it. When the relationship is bad—when there are unresolved problems and unaddressed negative emotions—then the sex will often be the first thing to go out the window.
This was reiterated to me hundreds of times in the emails. The nature of the sex itself varied quite a bit among couples—some couples take sexual experimentation seriously, others are staunch believers in frequency, others get way into fantasies—but the underlying principle was the same everywhere: both partners should be sexually satisfied as often as possible.
But sex not only keeps the relationship healthy, many readers suggested that they use it to heal their relationships. That when things are a bit frigid between them or that they have some problems going on, a lot of stress, or other issues (i.e., kids), they even go so far as to schedule sexy time for themselves. They say it’s important. And it’s worth it.
•••••
12. Be practical, and create relationship rules
•••••
The common theme of the advice here was “Be pragmatic.” If the wife is a lawyer and spends 50 hours at the office every week, and the husband is an artist and can work from home most days, it makes more sense for him to handle most of the day-to-day parenting duties. If the wife’s standard of cleanliness looks like a Home & Garden catalog, and the husband has gone six months without even noticing the light fixture hanging from the ceiling, then it makes sense that the wife handles more of the home cleaning duties.
It’s economics 101: division of labor makes everyone better off. Figure out what you are each good at, what you each love/hate doing, and then arrange accordingly.
•••••
On top of that, many couples suggested laying out rules for the relationship. This sounds cheesy, but ultimately, it’s practical. To what degree will you share finances? How much debt will be taken on or paid off? How much can each person spend without consulting the other? What purchases should be done together or do you trust each other to do separately? How do you decide which vacations to go on?
Have meetings about this stuff. Sure, it’s not sexy or cool, but it needs to get done. You’re sharing a life together and so you need to plan and account for each person’s needs and resources.
•••••
13. Learn to ride the waves
•••••
A nurse emailed saying that she used to work with a lot of geriatric patients. And one day she was talking to a man in his late-80s about marriage and why his had lasted so long. The man said something like, “relationships exist as waves, people need to learn how to ride them.” Upon asking him to explain, he said that, like the ocean, there are constant waves of emotion going on within a relationship, ups and downs—some waves last for hours, some last for months or even years. The key is understanding that few of those waves have anything to do with the quality of the relationship—people lose jobs, family members die, couples relocate, switch careers, make a lot of money, lose a lot of money. Your job as a committed partner is to simply ride the waves with the person you love, regardless of where they go. Because ultimately, none of these waves last. And you simply end up with each other.
•••••
Mark Manson
January 13, 2017
•••••
I sent out the call the week before my wedding: anyone who has been married for 10+ years and is still happy in their relationship, what lessons would you pass down to others if you could? What is working for you and your partner? And if you’re divorced, what didn’t work previously?
The response was overwhelming. Almost 1,500 people replied, many of whom sent in responses measured in pages, not paragraphs. It took almost two weeks to comb through them all, but I did. And what I found stunned me…
They were incredibly repetitive.
•••••
Which means that those dozen or so things must be pretty damn important… and more importantly, they work.
Here’s what they are:
1. Be together for the right reasons
Don’t ever be with someone because someone else pressured you to.
•••••
As we’ll see throughout the rest of this article, everything that makes a relationship “work” (and by work, I mean that it is happy and sustainable for both people involved) requires a genuine, deep-level admiration for each other. Without that mutual admiration, everything else will unravel.
•••••
for now, it’s useful to point out that love, itself, is neutral. It is something that can be both healthy or unhealthy, helpful or harmful, depending on why and how you love someone else and are loved by someone else. By itself, love is never enough to sustain a relationship.
2. Have realistic expectations about relationships and romance
You are absolutely not going to be absolutely gaga over each other every single day for the rest of your lives, and all this “happily ever after” bullshit is just setting people up for failure.
•••••
Romantic love is a trap designed to get two people to overlook each other’s faults long enough to get some babymaking done. It generally only lasts for a few years at most. That dizzying high you get staring into your lover’s eyes as if they are the stars that make up the heavens—yeah, that mostly goes away. It does for everybody. So, once it’s gone, you need to know that you’ve buckled yourself down with a human being you genuinely respect and enjoy being with, otherwise things are going to get rocky.
True love—that is, deep, abiding love that is impervious to emotional whims or fancy—is a choice. It’s a constant commitment to a person regardless of the present circumstances. It’s a commitment to a person who you understand isn’t going to always make you happy—nor should they!—and a person who will need to rely on you at times, just as you will rely on them.
That form of love is much harder. Primarily because it often doesn’t feel very good. It’s unglamorous. It’s lots of early morning doctor’s visits. It’s cleaning up bodily fluids you’d rather not be cleaning up. It’s dealing with another person’s insecurities and fears and ideas, even when you don’t want to.
But this form of love is also far more satisfying and meaningful. And, at the end of the day, it brings true happiness, not just another series of highs.
•••••
3. The most important factor in a relationship is not communication, but respect
•••••
But we noticed that the thing people with marriages going on 20, 30, or even 40 years talked about most was respect.
My sense is that these people, through sheer quantity of experience, have learned that communication, no matter how open, transparent and disciplined, will always break down at some point. Conflicts are ultimately unavoidable, and feelings will always be hurt.
And the only thing that can save you and your partner, that can cushion you both to the hard landing of human fallibility, is an unerring respect for one another, the fact that you hold each other in high esteem, believe in one another—often more than you each believe in yourselves—and trust that your partner is doing his/her best with what they’ve got.
Without that bedrock of respect underneath you, you will doubt each other’s intentions. You will judge their choices and encroach on their independence. You will feel the need to hide things from one another for fear of criticism. And this is when the cracks in the edifice begin to appear.
•••••
You must also respect yourself. Just as your partner must also respect his/herself. Because without that self-respect, you will not feel worthy of the respect afforded by your partner. You will be unwilling to accept it and you will find ways to undermine it. You will constantly feel the need to compensate and prove yourself worthy of love, which will just backfire.
Respect for your partner and respect for yourself are intertwined.
•••••
4. Talk openly about everything, especially the stuff that hurts
•••••
If something bothers you in the relationship, you must be willing to say it. Saying it builds trust and trust builds intimacy. It may hurt, but you still need to do it. No one else can fix your relationship for you. Nor should anyone else. Just as causing pain to your muscles allows them to grow back stronger, often introducing some pain into your relationship through vulnerability is the only way to make the relationship stronger.
Behind respect, trust was the most commonly mentioned trait for a healthy relationship. Most people mentioned it in the context of jealousy and fidelity—trust your partner to go off on their own, don’t get insecure or angry if you see them talking with someone else, etc.
But trust goes much deeper than that. Because when you’re really talking about the long-haul, you start to get into some serious life-or-death shit. If you ended up with cancer tomorrow, would you trust your partner to stick with you and take care of you? Would you trust your partner to care for your child for a week by themselves? Do you trust them to handle your money or make sound decisions under pressure? Do you trust them to not turn on you or blame you when you make mistakes?
•••••
5. A healthy relationship means two healthy individuals
•••••
A healthy and happy relationship requires two healthy and happy individuals. Keyword here: “individuals.” That means two people with their own identities, their own interests and perspectives, and things they do by themselves, on their own time.
This is why attempting to control your partner (or submitting control over yourself to your partner) to make them “happy” ultimately backfires—it allows the individual identities of each person to be destroyed, the very identities that attracted each person and brought them together in the first place.
•••••
6. Give each other space
•••••
Among the emails, one of the most popular themes was the importance of creating space and separation from one another.
People sung the praises of separate checking accounts, separate credit cards, having different friends and hobbies, taking separate vacations from one another each year (this has been a big one in my own relationship). Some even went so far as to recommend separate bathrooms or even separate bedrooms.
•••••
7. You and your partner will grow and change in unexpected ways; embrace it
•••••
One theme that came up repeatedly, especially with those married 20+ years, was how much each individual changes as the decades roll on, and how ready each of you have to be to embrace the other partner as these changes occur. One reader commented that at her wedding, an elderly family member told her, “One day many years from now, you will wake up and your spouse will be a different person, make sure you fall in love with that person too.”
It logically follows that if there is a bedrock of respect for each individual’s interest and values underpinning the relationship, and each individual is encouraged to foster their own growth and development, that each person will, as time goes on, evolve in different and unexpected ways. It’s then up to the couple to communicate and make sure that they are consistently a) aware of the changes going on in their partner, and b) continually accepting and respecting those changes as they occur.
•••••
8. Get good at fighting
•••••
But what’s most interesting about Gottman’s research is that the things that lead to divorce are not necessarily what you think. Successful couples, like unsuccessful couples, he found, fight consistently. And some of them fight furiously.
He has been able to narrow down four characteristics of a couple that tend to lead to divorces (or breakups). He has gone on and called these “the four horsemen” of the relationship apocalypse in his books. They are:
Criticizing your partner’s character (“You’re so stupid” vs “That thing you did was stupid”)
Defensiveness (or basically, blame shifting, “I wouldn’t have done that if you weren’t late all the time”)
Contempt (putting down your partner and making them feel inferior)
Stonewalling (withdrawing from an argument and ignoring your partner)
The reader emails back this up as well. Out of the 1,500-some-odd emails, almost every single one referenced the importance of dealing with conflicts well.
•••••
9. Get good at forgiving
•••••
To me, perhaps the most interesting nugget from Gottman’s research is the fact that most successful couples don’t actually resolve all of their problems. In fact, his findings were completely backwards from what most people actually expect: people in lasting and happy relationships have problems that never completely go away, while couples that feel as though they need to agree and compromise on everything end up feeling miserable and falling apart.
To me, like everything else, this comes back to the respect thing. If you have two different individuals sharing a life together, it’s inevitable that they will have different values and perspectives on some things and clash over it. The key here is not changing the other person—as the desire to change your partner is inherently disrespectful (to both them and yourself)—but rather it’s to simply abide by the difference, love them despite it, and when things get a little rough around the edges, to forgive them for it.
•••••
your perfect partner is not someone who creates no problems in the relationship, rather your perfect partner is someone who creates problems in the relationship that you feel good about dealing with.
•••••
10. The little things add up to big things
•••••
Of the 1,500 responses I got, I’d say about half of them mentioned at some point or another one simple but effective piece of advice: Don’t ever stop doing the little things. They add up.
Things as simple as saying, “I love you,” before going to bed, holding hands during a movie, doing small favors here and there, helping with some household chores. Even cleaning up when you accidentally pee on the toilet seat (seriously, someone said that)—these things all matter and add up over the long run.
The same way Fred, married for 40+ years, stated above that arguing over small things consistently wears you both down, “like Chinese water torture,” so do the little favors and displays of affection add up. Don’t lose them.
•••••
11. Sex matters
•••••
sex is the State of the Union. If the relationship is good, the sex will be good. You both will be wanting it and enjoying it. When the relationship is bad—when there are unresolved problems and unaddressed negative emotions—then the sex will often be the first thing to go out the window.
This was reiterated to me hundreds of times in the emails. The nature of the sex itself varied quite a bit among couples—some couples take sexual experimentation seriously, others are staunch believers in frequency, others get way into fantasies—but the underlying principle was the same everywhere: both partners should be sexually satisfied as often as possible.
But sex not only keeps the relationship healthy, many readers suggested that they use it to heal their relationships. That when things are a bit frigid between them or that they have some problems going on, a lot of stress, or other issues (i.e., kids), they even go so far as to schedule sexy time for themselves. They say it’s important. And it’s worth it.
•••••
12. Be practical, and create relationship rules
•••••
The common theme of the advice here was “Be pragmatic.” If the wife is a lawyer and spends 50 hours at the office every week, and the husband is an artist and can work from home most days, it makes more sense for him to handle most of the day-to-day parenting duties. If the wife’s standard of cleanliness looks like a Home & Garden catalog, and the husband has gone six months without even noticing the light fixture hanging from the ceiling, then it makes sense that the wife handles more of the home cleaning duties.
It’s economics 101: division of labor makes everyone better off. Figure out what you are each good at, what you each love/hate doing, and then arrange accordingly.
•••••
On top of that, many couples suggested laying out rules for the relationship. This sounds cheesy, but ultimately, it’s practical. To what degree will you share finances? How much debt will be taken on or paid off? How much can each person spend without consulting the other? What purchases should be done together or do you trust each other to do separately? How do you decide which vacations to go on?
Have meetings about this stuff. Sure, it’s not sexy or cool, but it needs to get done. You’re sharing a life together and so you need to plan and account for each person’s needs and resources.
•••••
13. Learn to ride the waves
•••••
A nurse emailed saying that she used to work with a lot of geriatric patients. And one day she was talking to a man in his late-80s about marriage and why his had lasted so long. The man said something like, “relationships exist as waves, people need to learn how to ride them.” Upon asking him to explain, he said that, like the ocean, there are constant waves of emotion going on within a relationship, ups and downs—some waves last for hours, some last for months or even years. The key is understanding that few of those waves have anything to do with the quality of the relationship—people lose jobs, family members die, couples relocate, switch careers, make a lot of money, lose a lot of money. Your job as a committed partner is to simply ride the waves with the person you love, regardless of where they go. Because ultimately, none of these waves last. And you simply end up with each other.
•••••
Trump’s plan to slash foreign aid comes as famine threat is surging
http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2017/03/01/trump-plan-slash-foreign-aid-comes-famine-threat-surging/jplg9g886jxKwQPBcoxJ6O/story.html?s_campaign=email_BG_TodaysHeadline&s_campaign=
By Kevin Sieff Washington Post March 02, 2017
President Trump has proposed large cuts to foreign aid at a time of acute need across Africa and the Middle East, with four countries approaching famine and 20 million people nearing starvation, according to the United Nations.
It is the first time in recent memory that so many large-scale hunger crises have occurred simultaneously, and humanitarian groups say they do not have the resources to respond effectively. The United Nations has requested $4.4 billion by March to ‘‘avert a catastrophe,’’ Secretary General António Guterres said last week. It has so far received only a tiny fraction of that request.
The details of Trump’s budget proposal have not been released, and large cuts to foreign assistance will face stiff opposition from Congress. So far, US funding for the hunger crises has come out of a budget approved last year under President Obama. But the famines or near-famines in parts of Somalia, South Sudan, Nigeria, and Yemen underscore the reliance on continued US assistance to save some of the world’s most desperate people.
In Nigeria, millions have been displaced and isolated by Boko Haram insurgents. In Somalia, a historic drought has left a huge portion of the country without access to regular food, as Al Shabab militants block the movement of humanitarian groups. In South Sudan, a 3-year-old civil war has forced millions of people from their homes and farms. In Yemen, a civil war and aerial attacks by the Saudi-led coalition have caused another sweeping hunger crisis.
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In 2016, the United States contributed about 28 percent of the foreign aid in those four countries, according to the United Nations.
‘‘Nobody can replace the US in terms of funding,’’ said Yves Daccord, director general of the International Committee of the Red Cross, who said of the current crises: ‘‘I don’t remember ever seeing such a mix of conflict, drought, and extreme hunger.’’
US aid officials said they were still trying to discern what the White House was planning to allocate to humanitarian assistance. Even though foreign aid is typically around 1 percent of the government budget, that is enough to make the United States by far the world’s largest donor. Last year, the United States contributed $6.4 billion in humanitarian aid, according to the United Nations, more than a quarter of global funding.
‘‘We remain committed to a US foreign policy that advances the security, prosperity, and values of the American people,’’ said a USAID spokesman, who added that he was not authorized to speak on the record.
But asked whether the United States planned to contribute to the new UN appeal for hunger relief, the official said, ‘‘We have no new funding to announce at this time.’’
Early reports said Trump planned to propose 37 percent cuts to the State Department and the US Agency for International Development budgets. Many experts said they expected those cuts would exclude contributions to security assistance.
‘‘That leaves a much smaller component, which takes us directly to cuts in humanitarian assistance,’’ said Scott Morris, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development.
•••••
‘‘Nobody can replace the US in terms of funding,’’ said Yves Daccord, director general of the International Committee of the Red Cross, who said of the current crises: ‘‘I don’t remember ever seeing such a mix of conflict, drought, and extreme hunger.’’
•••••
By Kevin Sieff Washington Post March 02, 2017
President Trump has proposed large cuts to foreign aid at a time of acute need across Africa and the Middle East, with four countries approaching famine and 20 million people nearing starvation, according to the United Nations.
It is the first time in recent memory that so many large-scale hunger crises have occurred simultaneously, and humanitarian groups say they do not have the resources to respond effectively. The United Nations has requested $4.4 billion by March to ‘‘avert a catastrophe,’’ Secretary General António Guterres said last week. It has so far received only a tiny fraction of that request.
The details of Trump’s budget proposal have not been released, and large cuts to foreign assistance will face stiff opposition from Congress. So far, US funding for the hunger crises has come out of a budget approved last year under President Obama. But the famines or near-famines in parts of Somalia, South Sudan, Nigeria, and Yemen underscore the reliance on continued US assistance to save some of the world’s most desperate people.
In Nigeria, millions have been displaced and isolated by Boko Haram insurgents. In Somalia, a historic drought has left a huge portion of the country without access to regular food, as Al Shabab militants block the movement of humanitarian groups. In South Sudan, a 3-year-old civil war has forced millions of people from their homes and farms. In Yemen, a civil war and aerial attacks by the Saudi-led coalition have caused another sweeping hunger crisis.
Get Todays Headlines in your inbox:
In 2016, the United States contributed about 28 percent of the foreign aid in those four countries, according to the United Nations.
‘‘Nobody can replace the US in terms of funding,’’ said Yves Daccord, director general of the International Committee of the Red Cross, who said of the current crises: ‘‘I don’t remember ever seeing such a mix of conflict, drought, and extreme hunger.’’
US aid officials said they were still trying to discern what the White House was planning to allocate to humanitarian assistance. Even though foreign aid is typically around 1 percent of the government budget, that is enough to make the United States by far the world’s largest donor. Last year, the United States contributed $6.4 billion in humanitarian aid, according to the United Nations, more than a quarter of global funding.
‘‘We remain committed to a US foreign policy that advances the security, prosperity, and values of the American people,’’ said a USAID spokesman, who added that he was not authorized to speak on the record.
But asked whether the United States planned to contribute to the new UN appeal for hunger relief, the official said, ‘‘We have no new funding to announce at this time.’’
Early reports said Trump planned to propose 37 percent cuts to the State Department and the US Agency for International Development budgets. Many experts said they expected those cuts would exclude contributions to security assistance.
‘‘That leaves a much smaller component, which takes us directly to cuts in humanitarian assistance,’’ said Scott Morris, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development.
•••••
‘‘Nobody can replace the US in terms of funding,’’ said Yves Daccord, director general of the International Committee of the Red Cross, who said of the current crises: ‘‘I don’t remember ever seeing such a mix of conflict, drought, and extreme hunger.’’
•••••
There's an intriguing sociological reason so many Americans are ignoring facts lately
I try to give the facts, but not get into an argument that will solidify their belief. I have been told that sometimes people think about what I've said later and realize I was right.http://www.businessinsider.com/sociology-alternative-facts-2017-2
(I don't always succeed in behaving the way I know I should.)
Tristan Bridges, Sociological Images
Feb. 27, 2017
Facts about all manner of things have made headlines recently as the Trump administration continues to make statements, reports, and policies at odds with things we know to be true.
Whether it's about the size of his inauguration crowd, patently false and fear-mongering inaccuracies about transgender persons in bathrooms, rates of violent crime in the U.S., or anything else, lately it feels like the facts don't seem to matter. The inaccuracies and misinformation continue despite the earnest attempts of so many to correct each falsehood after it is made. It's exhausting. But why is it happening?
Many of the inaccuracies seem like they ought to be easy enough to challenge, as data simply don't support the statements made. Consider the following charts documenting the violent crime rate and property crime rate in the U.S. over the last quarter century (measured by the Bureau of Justice Statistics). The overall trends are unmistakable: Crime in the U.S. has been declining for a quarter of a century.
•••••
Now compare the crime rate with public perceptions of the crime rate collected by Gallup (below). While the crime rate is going down, the majority of the American public seems to think that crime has been getting worse every year. If crime is going down, why do so many people seem to feel that there is more crime today than there was a year ago? It's simply not true.
•••••
There is more than one reason this is happening. But one reason I think the alternative-facts industry has been so effective has to do with a concept social scientists call the "backfire effect."
As a rule, misinformed people do not change their minds once they have been presented with facts that challenge their beliefs. But beyond simply not changing their minds when they should, research shows that they are likely to become more attached to their mistaken beliefs. The factual information "backfires." When people don't agree with you, research suggests that bringing in facts to support your case might actually make them believe you less.
In other words, fighting the ill-informed with facts is like fighting a grease fire with water. It seems like it should work, but it's actually going to make things worse.
•••••
Wednesday, March 01, 2017
Newt Gingrich: ‘Independent’ Investigator Needed for Trump-Russia Probe
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/newt-gingrich-independent-investigator-needed-trump-russia-probe-n726686
by Erik Ortiz
Feb. 28, 2017
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich wants a special investigator to review the Trump team's alleged contact with Russian officials during the campaign — one of the few prominent Republicans calling for such an examination.
Gingrich, when asked about the use of a special prosecutor Tuesday on Fox News, advised President Donald Trump to "take a lesson from the past" and assign a "very smart, independent person" to take on that investigatory role.
"Maybe somebody like Michael Mukasey, former attorney general [under George W. Bush] — put them in charge of the whole project, and say, you know, there are questions here, the country has questions, the media has questions, even members of Congress (have) questions," Gingrich said.
•••••
While Democrats have called for a special prosecutor or a select committee to investigate, most Republican lawmakers have stopped short of demanding such a move.
But Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif, said Monday that a special prosecutor could be warranted if there were allegations of wrongdoing.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said Tuesday on TODAY that members of Congress' intelligence committees have begun a general investigation into the Russia-related reports.
by Erik Ortiz
Feb. 28, 2017
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich wants a special investigator to review the Trump team's alleged contact with Russian officials during the campaign — one of the few prominent Republicans calling for such an examination.
Gingrich, when asked about the use of a special prosecutor Tuesday on Fox News, advised President Donald Trump to "take a lesson from the past" and assign a "very smart, independent person" to take on that investigatory role.
"Maybe somebody like Michael Mukasey, former attorney general [under George W. Bush] — put them in charge of the whole project, and say, you know, there are questions here, the country has questions, the media has questions, even members of Congress (have) questions," Gingrich said.
•••••
While Democrats have called for a special prosecutor or a select committee to investigate, most Republican lawmakers have stopped short of demanding such a move.
But Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif, said Monday that a special prosecutor could be warranted if there were allegations of wrongdoing.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said Tuesday on TODAY that members of Congress' intelligence committees have begun a general investigation into the Russia-related reports.
Shell's 1991 warning: climate changing ‘at faster rate than at any time since end of ice age’
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/feb/28/shell-film-warning-climate-change-rate-faster-than-end-ice-age
Damian Carrington and Jelmer Mommers
Feb. 28, 2017
Climate change “at a rate faster than at any time since the end of the ice age – change too fast perhaps for life to adapt, without severe dislocation”. That was the startling warning issued by the oil giant Shell more than a quarter of a century ago.
The company’s farsighted 1991 film, titled Climate of Concern, set out with crystal clarity how the world was warming and that serious consequences could well result.
“Tropical islands barely afloat even now, first made inhabitable, and then obliterated beneath the waves … coastal lowlands everywhere suffering pollution of precious groundwater, on which so much farming and so many cities depend,” says the film’s narrator, over disturbing images of people affected by natural disasters and famine. “In a crowded world subject to such adverse shifts of climate, who would take care of such greenhouse refugees?”
•••••
“It is amazing it is 25 years ago. Incredible,” he said. “It was quite comprehensive on what might happen, what the consequences are, and what we can do about it. I mean, there’s not much more.” He said the predictions for temperature and sea level rises in the 1991 film were “pretty good compared with current understanding”.
“What is really striking is nothing has happened [since] to make you doubt the science as it was stated then,” said Tom Burke, at the green thinktank E3G and a former member of Shell’s external review committee.
But Shell’s actions on global warming since 1991, such as major investments in highly polluting tar sands and lobbying against climate action, have been heavily criticised. In 2015, it was accused of behaving like a “psychopath” by the UK’s former climate change envoy and of being engaged in a cynical attempt to block action on global warming. Even its own former group managing director, Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, said in 2015 it was “distressing” that “remarkably little progress” had been made on climate change by Shell and other oil companies.
•••••
“The film shows that Shell understood that the threat was dire, potentially existential for civilisation, more than a quarter of a century ago,” said Jeremy Leggett, a solar power entrepreneur and former geologist who had earlier researched shale deposits with Shell and BP funding.
“I see to this day how they doggedly argue for rising gas use, decades into the future, despite the clear evidence that fossil fuels have to be phased out completely,” he said. “I honestly feel that this company is guilty of a modern form of crime against humanity. They will point out that they have behaved no differently than their peers, BP, Exxon and Chevron. For people like me, of which there are many, that is no defence.”
•••••
Shell had, in fact, known of the risks of climate change even earlier. A “confidential” company report written in 1986, also seen by the Guardian, noted the significant uncertainties in climate science at the time but warned of the possibility of “fast and dramatic” changes that “would impact on the human environment, future living standards and food supplies, and could have major social, economic, and political consequences”.
In 1989, Shell had already taken the effects of climate change into account in the construction of an oil rig. But in the same year, the so-called Global Climate Coalition (GCC) was formed by the major oil companies, including Shell’s US operation Shell Oil. It lobbied hard to cast doubt on climate science and oppose government action, and in 1998 Shell withdrew, citing “irreconcilable” differences.
However, Shell remained a member of another business lobby group that campaigned against climate action, the American Legislative Exchange Council, until 2015 and remains a member of the Business Roundtable and American Petroleum Institute, which both fought against Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan.
The company has said it has remained a member of groups that hold different views on climate action to “influence” them. But Thomas O’Neill, from the group Influence Map, which tracks lobbying, said: “The trade associations and industry groups are there to say things the company cannot or does not want to say. It’s deliberately that way.”
•••••
Shell has also lobbied directly to undermine European renewable energy targets, a sector it has invested in although at a much lower level than oil and gas. In 2016, Shell launched its New Energies division, with annual spending less than 1% of the total $30bn Shell pumps into oil and gas.
Despite the company’s public support since the 1990s for carbon taxes to drive cuts in emissions, in 2015 it lobbied for exemptions for the electricity it produces and uses, particularly for its offshore oil and gas platforms.
•••••
Shell was one of the first major oil companies to acknowledge the need to act on climate change and has long argued that providing affordable energy was vital for the world and its development. The 1991 film anticipated the problem: “How could [developing] countries continue to advance but leapfrog the energy-intensive face of development, by which other nations prospered before its adverse consequences came to light?”
Ogoni king: Shell oil is killing my people
Read more
But in 2015 its own external review committee concluded Shell’s sustainability report did not “adequately convey the urgency of this [low-carbon energy] transition”. Earlier in February, Shell’s CEO Ben van Beurden said: “We believe that climate change is real and we believe that action will be needed.”
•••••
Burke, a former head of Friends of the Earth, agreed there is a wider problem. “It is too easy to blame it all on Shell for getting it wrong”, he said, as there has been “a broader societal failure”.
•••••
Damian Carrington and Jelmer Mommers
Feb. 28, 2017
Climate change “at a rate faster than at any time since the end of the ice age – change too fast perhaps for life to adapt, without severe dislocation”. That was the startling warning issued by the oil giant Shell more than a quarter of a century ago.
The company’s farsighted 1991 film, titled Climate of Concern, set out with crystal clarity how the world was warming and that serious consequences could well result.
“Tropical islands barely afloat even now, first made inhabitable, and then obliterated beneath the waves … coastal lowlands everywhere suffering pollution of precious groundwater, on which so much farming and so many cities depend,” says the film’s narrator, over disturbing images of people affected by natural disasters and famine. “In a crowded world subject to such adverse shifts of climate, who would take care of such greenhouse refugees?”
•••••
“It is amazing it is 25 years ago. Incredible,” he said. “It was quite comprehensive on what might happen, what the consequences are, and what we can do about it. I mean, there’s not much more.” He said the predictions for temperature and sea level rises in the 1991 film were “pretty good compared with current understanding”.
“What is really striking is nothing has happened [since] to make you doubt the science as it was stated then,” said Tom Burke, at the green thinktank E3G and a former member of Shell’s external review committee.
But Shell’s actions on global warming since 1991, such as major investments in highly polluting tar sands and lobbying against climate action, have been heavily criticised. In 2015, it was accused of behaving like a “psychopath” by the UK’s former climate change envoy and of being engaged in a cynical attempt to block action on global warming. Even its own former group managing director, Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, said in 2015 it was “distressing” that “remarkably little progress” had been made on climate change by Shell and other oil companies.
•••••
“The film shows that Shell understood that the threat was dire, potentially existential for civilisation, more than a quarter of a century ago,” said Jeremy Leggett, a solar power entrepreneur and former geologist who had earlier researched shale deposits with Shell and BP funding.
“I see to this day how they doggedly argue for rising gas use, decades into the future, despite the clear evidence that fossil fuels have to be phased out completely,” he said. “I honestly feel that this company is guilty of a modern form of crime against humanity. They will point out that they have behaved no differently than their peers, BP, Exxon and Chevron. For people like me, of which there are many, that is no defence.”
•••••
Shell had, in fact, known of the risks of climate change even earlier. A “confidential” company report written in 1986, also seen by the Guardian, noted the significant uncertainties in climate science at the time but warned of the possibility of “fast and dramatic” changes that “would impact on the human environment, future living standards and food supplies, and could have major social, economic, and political consequences”.
In 1989, Shell had already taken the effects of climate change into account in the construction of an oil rig. But in the same year, the so-called Global Climate Coalition (GCC) was formed by the major oil companies, including Shell’s US operation Shell Oil. It lobbied hard to cast doubt on climate science and oppose government action, and in 1998 Shell withdrew, citing “irreconcilable” differences.
However, Shell remained a member of another business lobby group that campaigned against climate action, the American Legislative Exchange Council, until 2015 and remains a member of the Business Roundtable and American Petroleum Institute, which both fought against Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan.
The company has said it has remained a member of groups that hold different views on climate action to “influence” them. But Thomas O’Neill, from the group Influence Map, which tracks lobbying, said: “The trade associations and industry groups are there to say things the company cannot or does not want to say. It’s deliberately that way.”
•••••
Shell has also lobbied directly to undermine European renewable energy targets, a sector it has invested in although at a much lower level than oil and gas. In 2016, Shell launched its New Energies division, with annual spending less than 1% of the total $30bn Shell pumps into oil and gas.
Despite the company’s public support since the 1990s for carbon taxes to drive cuts in emissions, in 2015 it lobbied for exemptions for the electricity it produces and uses, particularly for its offshore oil and gas platforms.
•••••
Shell was one of the first major oil companies to acknowledge the need to act on climate change and has long argued that providing affordable energy was vital for the world and its development. The 1991 film anticipated the problem: “How could [developing] countries continue to advance but leapfrog the energy-intensive face of development, by which other nations prospered before its adverse consequences came to light?”
Ogoni king: Shell oil is killing my people
Read more
But in 2015 its own external review committee concluded Shell’s sustainability report did not “adequately convey the urgency of this [low-carbon energy] transition”. Earlier in February, Shell’s CEO Ben van Beurden said: “We believe that climate change is real and we believe that action will be needed.”
•••••
Burke, a former head of Friends of the Earth, agreed there is a wider problem. “It is too easy to blame it all on Shell for getting it wrong”, he said, as there has been “a broader societal failure”.
•••••
Earth Tunes Band
I am organizing a band for an Earth Day celebration that will actually perform environment songs.
As far as I can tell, "Earth Tunes" has not been used as a band name, so I'm going with that for now.
I'm putting it here in case someone forming a band wants to avoid accidentally duplicating one already in use.
This one's mind unless I find out someone is already using it !
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