Thursday, December 13, 2018
Hearing loss is a risk factor for premature death
Public Release: 12-Dec-2018
Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health
A new study links hearing loss with an increased risk for mortality before the age of 75 due to cardiovascular disease. Researchers at the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health found that mortality among those with hearing loss is elevated, particularly among men and women younger than age 75 and those who are divorced or separated. However, mortality risk was diminished in adults with a well-hearing partner.
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How bullying affects the brain
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-12/s-hba121218.php
Public Release: 12-Dec-2018
Springer
The effects of constantly being bullied are more than just psychological. Research now shows that there may be physical structural differences in the brains of adolescents who are regularly victimized, and this could increase the chance that they suffer from mental illness.
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Public Release: 12-Dec-2018
Springer
The effects of constantly being bullied are more than just psychological. Research now shows that there may be physical structural differences in the brains of adolescents who are regularly victimized, and this could increase the chance that they suffer from mental illness.
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An intellectually active lifestyle protects against neurodegeneration in Huntington's
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-12/ibri-aia121218.php
Public Release: 12-Dec-2018
IDIBELL-Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute
Researchers from the Cognition and Brain Plasticity research group of the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) and the University of Barcelona (UB), in collaboration with several hospitals, have discovered that an intellectually active lifestyle confers protection against neurodegeneration in people with Huntington's disease, delaying the onset of symptoms and loss of grey matter in the brain.
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Public Release: 12-Dec-2018
IDIBELL-Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute
Researchers from the Cognition and Brain Plasticity research group of the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) and the University of Barcelona (UB), in collaboration with several hospitals, have discovered that an intellectually active lifestyle confers protection against neurodegeneration in people with Huntington's disease, delaying the onset of symptoms and loss of grey matter in the brain.
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Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Higher risk of heart attack on Christmas Eve
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-12/b-hro121018.php
Public Release: 12-Dec-2018
Risk peaks around 10 p.m., most probably triggered by emotional stress
BMJ
The risk of heart attack peaks at around 10pm on Christmas Eve, particularly for older and sicker people, most likely due to heightened emotional stress, finds a Swedish study in this week's Christmas issue of The BMJ.
The risk was also higher during New Years' and Midsummer holidays, and on Monday mornings, but not during Easter holiday or major sport events.
Previous studies have shown a peak in heart attacks across the western world during Christmas and New Year festivities, and during Islamic holidays in countries where the religion predominates.
Other short term events linked to emotional stress, such as major sporting events, hurricanes and stock market crashes, have also been associated with a higher risk of heart attack. But there is a lack of data on the exact timing and severity of symptoms in a nationwide setting.
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Public Release: 12-Dec-2018
Risk peaks around 10 p.m., most probably triggered by emotional stress
BMJ
The risk of heart attack peaks at around 10pm on Christmas Eve, particularly for older and sicker people, most likely due to heightened emotional stress, finds a Swedish study in this week's Christmas issue of The BMJ.
The risk was also higher during New Years' and Midsummer holidays, and on Monday mornings, but not during Easter holiday or major sport events.
Previous studies have shown a peak in heart attacks across the western world during Christmas and New Year festivities, and during Islamic holidays in countries where the religion predominates.
Other short term events linked to emotional stress, such as major sporting events, hurricanes and stock market crashes, have also been associated with a higher risk of heart attack. But there is a lack of data on the exact timing and severity of symptoms in a nationwide setting.
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Study finds insidious and persistent discrimination among physician mothers
Public Release: 12-Dec-2018
Urgent need to challenge norms around motherhood in medicine, say researchers
BMJ
A US study in the Christmas issue of The BMJ today finds "insidious, persistent, and sometimes blatant" manifestations of discrimination experienced by physicians based specifically on their status as mothers.
While some of the experiences are consistent with those reported by women across professions, there are unique aspects of medical training and the medical profession that exacerbate maternal discrimination, say the researchers. https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-12/b-sfi121018.php
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The majority of medical student entrants are women, and recent studies suggest that women physicians may have better patient outcomes than their male counterparts. Yet there is compelling evidence of gender inequity in medicine.
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Teens get more sleep with later school start time, researchers find
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-12/uow-tgm120518.php
Public Release: 12-Dec-2018
University of Washington
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In a paper published Dec. 12 in the journal Science Advances, researchers at the University of Washington and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies announced that teens at two Seattle high schools got more sleep on school nights after start times were pushed later -- a median increase of 34 minutes of sleep each night. This boosted the total amount of sleep on school nights for students from a median of six hours and 50 minutes, under the earlier start time, to seven hours and 24 minutes under the later start time.
"This study shows a significant improvement in the sleep duration of students -- all by delaying school start times so that they're more in line with the natural wake-up times of adolescents," said senior and corresponding author Horacio de la Iglesia, a UW professor of biology.
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Public Release: 12-Dec-2018
University of Washington
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In a paper published Dec. 12 in the journal Science Advances, researchers at the University of Washington and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies announced that teens at two Seattle high schools got more sleep on school nights after start times were pushed later -- a median increase of 34 minutes of sleep each night. This boosted the total amount of sleep on school nights for students from a median of six hours and 50 minutes, under the earlier start time, to seven hours and 24 minutes under the later start time.
"This study shows a significant improvement in the sleep duration of students -- all by delaying school start times so that they're more in line with the natural wake-up times of adolescents," said senior and corresponding author Horacio de la Iglesia, a UW professor of biology.
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Excess body weight responsible for nearly 4 percent of cancers worldwide
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-12/acs-ebw120718.php
Public Release: 12-Dec-2018
Prevalence has increased rapidly in most countries across all population groups
American Cancer Society
Policies, economic systems, and marketing practices that promote the consumption of energy-dense, nutrient-poor food, changing behavioral patterns that couple high total energy intake with insufficient physical activity, and human-built environments that amplify these factors are driving a worldwide rise in excess body weight, according to a new report. The report, appearing early online in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, says excess body weight accounted for approximately 3.9% of all cancers worldwide in 2012, a figure that will undoubtedly rise in the coming decades given current trends.
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Public Release: 12-Dec-2018
Prevalence has increased rapidly in most countries across all population groups
American Cancer Society
Policies, economic systems, and marketing practices that promote the consumption of energy-dense, nutrient-poor food, changing behavioral patterns that couple high total energy intake with insufficient physical activity, and human-built environments that amplify these factors are driving a worldwide rise in excess body weight, according to a new report. The report, appearing early online in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, says excess body weight accounted for approximately 3.9% of all cancers worldwide in 2012, a figure that will undoubtedly rise in the coming decades given current trends.
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Workplace exposure to pesticides and metals linked to heightened heart disease risk
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-12/b-wet120718.php
Public Release: 11-Dec-2018
BMJ
Workplace exposure to metals and pesticides is linked to a heightened risk of heart disease in Hispanic and Latino workers, reveals research published online in the journal Heart.
Language barriers and low levels of education, coupled with fears about job security and immigration status, may make this rapidly growing ethnic group especially vulnerable, say the researchers.
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Public Release: 11-Dec-2018
BMJ
Workplace exposure to metals and pesticides is linked to a heightened risk of heart disease in Hispanic and Latino workers, reveals research published online in the journal Heart.
Language barriers and low levels of education, coupled with fears about job security and immigration status, may make this rapidly growing ethnic group especially vulnerable, say the researchers.
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New evidence that females might benefit most from a low-salt diet
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-12/mcog-net121018.php
Public Release: 11-Dec-2018
Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University
A low-salt diet may be more beneficial in lowering blood pressure in females than males, report scientists who found that while actual salt retention isn't higher in females, there is still an effect that drives pressure up.
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Public Release: 11-Dec-2018
Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University
A low-salt diet may be more beneficial in lowering blood pressure in females than males, report scientists who found that while actual salt retention isn't higher in females, there is still an effect that drives pressure up.
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Arctic Report Card details effect of record melting on global environmental changes
https://www.firstpost.com/tech/science/arctic-report-card-details-effect-of-record-melting-on-global-environmental-changes-5714191.html
Agence France-Presse Dec 12, 2018 09:43 AM IST
Global warming is heating the Arctic at a record pace, driving broad environmental changes across the planet, including extreme storms in the United States and Europe, a major US scientific report said Tuesday.
Persistent heat records have assaulted the fragile Arctic for each of the past five years — a record-long warming streak, said the 2018 Arctic Report Card, released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The mounting heat in the north is upsetting typical weather patterns, a trend that "coincides" with severe winter storms in the eastern United States and an extreme cold snap in Europe in March, it said.
"Continued warming of the Arctic atmosphere and ocean are driving broad change in the environmental system in predicted and, also, unexpected ways," warned the report.
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Emily Osborne, program manager of NOAA's Arctic Research Program, told reporters the Arctic "is experiencing the most unprecedented transition in human history."
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Arctic air temperatures for the past five years, from 2014 to 2018, "have exceeded all previous records since 1900," when record-keeping began, said the peer-reviewed report compiled by 81 scientists working for governments and academia in 12 nations.
This warming trend "is unlike any other period on record," it said.
During the latest period studied, October 2017 through September 2018, annual average temperature in the Arctic was 3.1 Fahrenheit (1.7 Celsius) higher than the 1981–2010 average.
"The year 2018 was the second warmest year on record in the Arctic since 1900 (after 2016)," it said.
The Arctic also saw the second-lowest overall sea-ice coverage and the lowest recorded winter ice in the Bering Sea.
Another key measure of ice cover is its age, and the old, thick kind is rapidly disappearing across the Arctic.
Last year, old ice made up less than one percent of the ice pack.
Over the past 33 years, very old Arctic ice has declined by 95 percent.
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The Arctic continues to heat up at twice the rate of the rest of the planet, but the effects are far from isolated, and are now spilling over into the mid-latitudes.
That's because a warmer Arctic reduces the north-south temperature difference, which provides the main fuel for the polar jet stream, or a river of strong wind, at levels where jet aircraft fly, NOAA said.
In this warming environment, the jet stream has become wavier, a pattern that "allows warm air to penetrate farther north and cold air to plunge farther south, compared to when the jet is strong and relatively straight," said the report.
Scientist now see evidence that this changing jet stream may be sparking extreme storms.
Examples include "the heat wave at the North Pole in autumn 2017, a swarm of severe winter storms in the eastern United States in 2018, and the extreme cold outbreak in Europe in March 2018 known as the 'Beast from the East.'"
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Meanwhile, warmer Arctic temperatures are wreaking havoc on the Arctic ecosystem, decimating reindeer and caribou populations, allowing harmful algae blooms to move northward and sickening marine life, said the report, now in its 13th year.
"Considerable concentrations of algal toxins have been found in the tissues of Arctic clams, seals, walrus, and whales and other marine organisms," it said.
Even though melting ice has freed up more land for grazing, herds of caribou and wild reindeer across the Arctic tundra have declined by 56 percent over the last two decades, cutting populations from 4.7 million to 2.1 million.
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Scientists attribute the decline to increased frequency of drought, which affects quality of the tundra, and longer and hotter summers which can lead to more parasites.
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https://www.npr.org/2018/12/12/676156154/arctic-report-card-documents-cascading-effects-of-warming-ocean-temperatures
https://www.noaa.gov/media-release/arctic-report-card-tracks-region-s-environmental-changes
Agence France-Presse Dec 12, 2018 09:43 AM IST
Global warming is heating the Arctic at a record pace, driving broad environmental changes across the planet, including extreme storms in the United States and Europe, a major US scientific report said Tuesday.
Persistent heat records have assaulted the fragile Arctic for each of the past five years — a record-long warming streak, said the 2018 Arctic Report Card, released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The mounting heat in the north is upsetting typical weather patterns, a trend that "coincides" with severe winter storms in the eastern United States and an extreme cold snap in Europe in March, it said.
"Continued warming of the Arctic atmosphere and ocean are driving broad change in the environmental system in predicted and, also, unexpected ways," warned the report.
•••••
Emily Osborne, program manager of NOAA's Arctic Research Program, told reporters the Arctic "is experiencing the most unprecedented transition in human history."
•••••
Arctic air temperatures for the past five years, from 2014 to 2018, "have exceeded all previous records since 1900," when record-keeping began, said the peer-reviewed report compiled by 81 scientists working for governments and academia in 12 nations.
This warming trend "is unlike any other period on record," it said.
During the latest period studied, October 2017 through September 2018, annual average temperature in the Arctic was 3.1 Fahrenheit (1.7 Celsius) higher than the 1981–2010 average.
"The year 2018 was the second warmest year on record in the Arctic since 1900 (after 2016)," it said.
The Arctic also saw the second-lowest overall sea-ice coverage and the lowest recorded winter ice in the Bering Sea.
Another key measure of ice cover is its age, and the old, thick kind is rapidly disappearing across the Arctic.
Last year, old ice made up less than one percent of the ice pack.
Over the past 33 years, very old Arctic ice has declined by 95 percent.
•••••
The Arctic continues to heat up at twice the rate of the rest of the planet, but the effects are far from isolated, and are now spilling over into the mid-latitudes.
That's because a warmer Arctic reduces the north-south temperature difference, which provides the main fuel for the polar jet stream, or a river of strong wind, at levels where jet aircraft fly, NOAA said.
In this warming environment, the jet stream has become wavier, a pattern that "allows warm air to penetrate farther north and cold air to plunge farther south, compared to when the jet is strong and relatively straight," said the report.
Scientist now see evidence that this changing jet stream may be sparking extreme storms.
Examples include "the heat wave at the North Pole in autumn 2017, a swarm of severe winter storms in the eastern United States in 2018, and the extreme cold outbreak in Europe in March 2018 known as the 'Beast from the East.'"
•••••
Meanwhile, warmer Arctic temperatures are wreaking havoc on the Arctic ecosystem, decimating reindeer and caribou populations, allowing harmful algae blooms to move northward and sickening marine life, said the report, now in its 13th year.
"Considerable concentrations of algal toxins have been found in the tissues of Arctic clams, seals, walrus, and whales and other marine organisms," it said.
Even though melting ice has freed up more land for grazing, herds of caribou and wild reindeer across the Arctic tundra have declined by 56 percent over the last two decades, cutting populations from 4.7 million to 2.1 million.
•••••
Scientists attribute the decline to increased frequency of drought, which affects quality of the tundra, and longer and hotter summers which can lead to more parasites.
•••••
https://www.npr.org/2018/12/12/676156154/arctic-report-card-documents-cascading-effects-of-warming-ocean-temperatures
https://www.noaa.gov/media-release/arctic-report-card-tracks-region-s-environmental-changes
'Hi-tech robot' at Russia forum turns out to be man in suit
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/12/high-tech-robot-at-russia-forum-turns-out-to-be-man-in-robot-suit
Andrew Roth in Moscow
Wed 12 Dec 2018 06.51 EST
A “hi-tech robot” shown on Russian state television has turned out to be a man in a suit.
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Andrew Roth in Moscow
Wed 12 Dec 2018 06.51 EST
A “hi-tech robot” shown on Russian state television has turned out to be a man in a suit.
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National Enquirer’s surprise deal could imperil Trump
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/12/national-enquirers-deal-imperil-trump-1061792
By DARREN SAMUELSOHN
12/12/2018 06:33 PM EST
Updated 12/12/2018 07:11 PM EST
The National Enquirer’s parent company has agreed to tell prosecutors everything it knows about Donald Trump — and it might know a lot.
In a court document released Wednesday, the tabloid publisher, American Media Inc., admitted to coordinating a hush-money payment with Trump’s 2016 campaign, reversing two years of denials. The confession came as part of an immunity agreement with the U.S. attorney’s office in New York, made public shortly after Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, was sentenced to three years in prison over charges of tax fraud, campaign finance violations and lying to Congress.
But the disclosure might just be scratching the surface. Based on court documents and a plethora of media reports, Trump and his aides have worked for years with the tabloid to kill incriminating stories. AMI’s CEO David Pecker also had a decades-long copacetic friendship with Trump.
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By DARREN SAMUELSOHN
12/12/2018 06:33 PM EST
Updated 12/12/2018 07:11 PM EST
The National Enquirer’s parent company has agreed to tell prosecutors everything it knows about Donald Trump — and it might know a lot.
In a court document released Wednesday, the tabloid publisher, American Media Inc., admitted to coordinating a hush-money payment with Trump’s 2016 campaign, reversing two years of denials. The confession came as part of an immunity agreement with the U.S. attorney’s office in New York, made public shortly after Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, was sentenced to three years in prison over charges of tax fraud, campaign finance violations and lying to Congress.
But the disclosure might just be scratching the surface. Based on court documents and a plethora of media reports, Trump and his aides have worked for years with the tabloid to kill incriminating stories. AMI’s CEO David Pecker also had a decades-long copacetic friendship with Trump.
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Tuesday, December 11, 2018
Almost half of U.S. adults have seen a family member jailed
https://government.cornell.edu/news/almost-half-us-adults-have-seen-family-member-jailed-study-shows
By: Rachel Weiner, The Washington Post
Wed, 12/05/2018
A study by a Cornell research team that included Peter Enns is featured in this Washington Post story about incarceration rates in the U.S.
The study by the team, including Enns, associate professor of government and executive director of the Roper Center, found that nearly 1 in 2 adults in the United States has seen an immediate family member go to jail or prison for at least one night and one in 7 adults has had an immediate family member behind bars for at least a year; for 1 in 34 adults that relative has been behind bars a decade or longer.
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By: Rachel Weiner, The Washington Post
Wed, 12/05/2018
A study by a Cornell research team that included Peter Enns is featured in this Washington Post story about incarceration rates in the U.S.
The study by the team, including Enns, associate professor of government and executive director of the Roper Center, found that nearly 1 in 2 adults in the United States has seen an immediate family member go to jail or prison for at least one night and one in 7 adults has had an immediate family member behind bars for at least a year; for 1 in 34 adults that relative has been behind bars a decade or longer.
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Argentina: two ex-Ford executives convicted in torture case
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/11/pedro-muller-hedro-sibilla-ford-executives-argentina-torture-case
Uki Goñi in Buenos Aires
Tue 11 Dec 2018 14.37 EST
Two former executives of a local Ford Motor Co plant have been convicted for human rights crimes over the abduction and torture of company workers during Argentina’s 1976-83 dictatorship in a historic judgment.
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Former Ford executive Pedro Müller, 86, and Héctor Sibila, 90, a former Ford security manager, were sentenced to 10 and 12 years, respectively, for the kidnapping and torture of 24 employees at Ford’s General Pacheco plant outside Argentina’s capital city.
Testimony at the trial showed the executives provided the military with lists, addresses and photo IDs of workers they wanted arrested and even provided space for an illegal detention centre at the plant where the abductees could be interrogated.
“The company acted in a coordinated manner with the military,” the prosecution alleged.
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The trial got under way last December in a tribunal packed with former employees of the General Pacheco plant. Prosecutors alleged that the plant was used as a clandestine detention centre.
“The majority were kidnapped right off the assembly line,” said Tomás Ojea Quintana, a lawyer for the plaintiffs at the start of the trial. “They were taken by rifle-toting military officers and paraded before the other workers so they could see what happened to their union representatives. This created an atmosphere of terror in the workplace that prevented any wage or working condition complaints.”
The kidnapped employees were immediately fired by the company, sometimes while they were still being tortured on the plant’s premises, according to testimony.
Former employee Carlos Propato recalled at the trial how he was tortured for 11 hours at the plant. All 24 were then sent to a police station or to Buenos Aires provincial jails, where they remained under illegal arrest for periods ranging from several months to two years.
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Uki Goñi in Buenos Aires
Tue 11 Dec 2018 14.37 EST
Two former executives of a local Ford Motor Co plant have been convicted for human rights crimes over the abduction and torture of company workers during Argentina’s 1976-83 dictatorship in a historic judgment.
•••••
Former Ford executive Pedro Müller, 86, and Héctor Sibila, 90, a former Ford security manager, were sentenced to 10 and 12 years, respectively, for the kidnapping and torture of 24 employees at Ford’s General Pacheco plant outside Argentina’s capital city.
Testimony at the trial showed the executives provided the military with lists, addresses and photo IDs of workers they wanted arrested and even provided space for an illegal detention centre at the plant where the abductees could be interrogated.
“The company acted in a coordinated manner with the military,” the prosecution alleged.
•••••
The trial got under way last December in a tribunal packed with former employees of the General Pacheco plant. Prosecutors alleged that the plant was used as a clandestine detention centre.
“The majority were kidnapped right off the assembly line,” said Tomás Ojea Quintana, a lawyer for the plaintiffs at the start of the trial. “They were taken by rifle-toting military officers and paraded before the other workers so they could see what happened to their union representatives. This created an atmosphere of terror in the workplace that prevented any wage or working condition complaints.”
The kidnapped employees were immediately fired by the company, sometimes while they were still being tortured on the plant’s premises, according to testimony.
Former employee Carlos Propato recalled at the trial how he was tortured for 11 hours at the plant. All 24 were then sent to a police station or to Buenos Aires provincial jails, where they remained under illegal arrest for periods ranging from several months to two years.
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East Antarctica glacial stronghold melting as seas warm
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/11/east-antarctica-glacial-stronghold-melting-amid-climate-change
Damian Carrington Environment editor
Tue 11 Dec 2018 10.42 EST
A group of glaciers spanning an eighth of the East Antarctica coastline are being melted by the warming seas, scientists have discovered.
This Antarctic region stores a vast amount of ice, which, if lost, would in the long-term raise global sea level by tens of metres and drown coastal settlements around the world.
Freezing temperatures meant the East Antarctica region was until recently considered largely stable but the research indicates that the area is being affected by climate change.
The vast Totten glacier was known to be retreating but the new analysis shows that nearby glaciers in the East Antarctica area are also losing ice.
To the east of Totten, in Vincennes Bay, the height of the glaciers has fallen by about three metres in total since 2008, before which no loss had been recorded.
To the west of Totten, in Wilkes Land, the rate of height loss has doubled since 2009, with glaciers losing height by about two and a half metres to date.
The data comes from detailed maps of ice movement speed and height created by Nasa from satellite information.
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Ice in West Antarctica is already in serious retreat, with scientists reporting a threefold acceleration in recent years, meaning it is vanishing faster than at any previously recorded time.
In April, researchers found that hidden melting beneath the ocean surface was also increasing, putting Antarctica on track to overtake Greenland as the biggest contributor to sea-level rise.
Without big cuts in carbon emissions, the melting will continue for thousands of years.
•••••
The discovery could mean much higher sea level rises than anticipated, said Chris Fogwill, a professor at Keele University in England, who was not part of the Nasa research.
“The finding has very serious repercussions for climate change and particularly sea-level rise. It has the potential to mean that our sea-level projections could be [in] an order of magnitude higher than we’re anticipating.”
Damian Carrington Environment editor
Tue 11 Dec 2018 10.42 EST
A group of glaciers spanning an eighth of the East Antarctica coastline are being melted by the warming seas, scientists have discovered.
This Antarctic region stores a vast amount of ice, which, if lost, would in the long-term raise global sea level by tens of metres and drown coastal settlements around the world.
Freezing temperatures meant the East Antarctica region was until recently considered largely stable but the research indicates that the area is being affected by climate change.
The vast Totten glacier was known to be retreating but the new analysis shows that nearby glaciers in the East Antarctica area are also losing ice.
To the east of Totten, in Vincennes Bay, the height of the glaciers has fallen by about three metres in total since 2008, before which no loss had been recorded.
To the west of Totten, in Wilkes Land, the rate of height loss has doubled since 2009, with glaciers losing height by about two and a half metres to date.
The data comes from detailed maps of ice movement speed and height created by Nasa from satellite information.
•••••
Ice in West Antarctica is already in serious retreat, with scientists reporting a threefold acceleration in recent years, meaning it is vanishing faster than at any previously recorded time.
In April, researchers found that hidden melting beneath the ocean surface was also increasing, putting Antarctica on track to overtake Greenland as the biggest contributor to sea-level rise.
Without big cuts in carbon emissions, the melting will continue for thousands of years.
•••••
The discovery could mean much higher sea level rises than anticipated, said Chris Fogwill, a professor at Keele University in England, who was not part of the Nasa research.
“The finding has very serious repercussions for climate change and particularly sea-level rise. It has the potential to mean that our sea-level projections could be [in] an order of magnitude higher than we’re anticipating.”
Monday, December 10, 2018
Gulf of Maine’s 3rd-warmest year on record harms puffins, turtles and kelp
https://www.pressherald.com/2018/12/06/third-warmest-year-on-record-for-gulf-of-maine-harms-puffins-turtles-and-kelp/
By Colin Woodard
Dec. 6, 2018
The Gulf of Maine is experiencing its third-warmest year on record, triggering the starvation of puffin chicks off the Maine coast, mass strandings of sea turtles in Massachusetts, and heightened concerns about the survival of endangered right whales and the North Atlantic’s largest kelp forest.
Surface temperatures in 2018 are running 2.8 degrees Fahrenheit above normal, a level exceeded only in 2012 and 2016 during the 37 years that satellite records of sea surface temperatures have been collected in the gulf, says Andrew Pershing, chief scientific officer at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland. Pershing tracks the data and first drew attention to the rapid warming of the gulf, which is happening faster than in any other part of the world ocean, except for a section of the Kurushio current northeast of Japan.
“This year we wound up in the absurd situation that 250 of 313 days so far have qualified as an ocean heat wave,” Pershing says. “Weird is the new normal.”
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By Colin Woodard
Dec. 6, 2018
The Gulf of Maine is experiencing its third-warmest year on record, triggering the starvation of puffin chicks off the Maine coast, mass strandings of sea turtles in Massachusetts, and heightened concerns about the survival of endangered right whales and the North Atlantic’s largest kelp forest.
Surface temperatures in 2018 are running 2.8 degrees Fahrenheit above normal, a level exceeded only in 2012 and 2016 during the 37 years that satellite records of sea surface temperatures have been collected in the gulf, says Andrew Pershing, chief scientific officer at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland. Pershing tracks the data and first drew attention to the rapid warming of the gulf, which is happening faster than in any other part of the world ocean, except for a section of the Kurushio current northeast of Japan.
“This year we wound up in the absurd situation that 250 of 313 days so far have qualified as an ocean heat wave,” Pershing says. “Weird is the new normal.”
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Paying for others sins
I'm not a lawyer, so if the info is relevant, you need to check with one in your state.
According to a letter to Dear Abby/Jeanne Phillips, in a community property state, if one spouse drives drunk and causes an injury, both spouses can be named as co-defendents in a law suit, and required to pay if the lawsuit is successful.
Thousands of mailed ballots in Florida were not counted
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/thousands-mailed-ballots-florida-were-not-counted-n946306
Dec. 10, 2018
Florida officials say thousands of mailed ballots were not counted because they were delivered too late to state election offices.
The Department of State late last week informed a federal judge that 6,670 ballots were mailed ahead of the Nov. 6 election but were not counted because they were not received by Election Day. The tally prepared by state officials includes totals from 65 of Florida’s 67 counties. The two counties yet to report their totals are Palm Beach, a Democratic stronghold in south Florida, and Polk in central Florida.
Three statewide Florida races, including the contest for governor, went to state-mandated recounts because the margins were so close.
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Under Florida law, ballots mailed inside the United States must reach election offices by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Overseas ballots are counted if they are received up to 10 days after the election.
•••••
Dec. 10, 2018
Florida officials say thousands of mailed ballots were not counted because they were delivered too late to state election offices.
The Department of State late last week informed a federal judge that 6,670 ballots were mailed ahead of the Nov. 6 election but were not counted because they were not received by Election Day. The tally prepared by state officials includes totals from 65 of Florida’s 67 counties. The two counties yet to report their totals are Palm Beach, a Democratic stronghold in south Florida, and Polk in central Florida.
Three statewide Florida races, including the contest for governor, went to state-mandated recounts because the margins were so close.
•••••
Under Florida law, ballots mailed inside the United States must reach election offices by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Overseas ballots are counted if they are received up to 10 days after the election.
•••••
The 3 Highest-Volume U.S. Rainfall Events on Record Have Happened in the Past 3 Years
https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/3-Highest-Volume-US-Rainfall-Events-Record-Have-Happened-Past-3-Years?cm_ven=cat6-widget
Dr. Jeff Masters · December 8, 2018, 2:59 PM EST
Preliminary research by precipitation expert Dr. Kenneth Kunkel of the North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies, announced in September, found that the three highest-volume rainfall events in the U.S. in the last 70 years have occurred since 2016: Hurricane Harvey in Texas/Louisiana in 2017, Hurricane Florence in North Carolina in 2018, and a March 2016 storm in Louisiana. It is highly unusual to get three such extreme events in one three-year period, and the odds of this occuring were increased by global warming, which boosts the amount of water vapor in the air and increases the frequency and intensity of heavy precipitation events.
•••••
tags: extreme weather, severe weather
Dr. Jeff Masters · December 8, 2018, 2:59 PM EST
Preliminary research by precipitation expert Dr. Kenneth Kunkel of the North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies, announced in September, found that the three highest-volume rainfall events in the U.S. in the last 70 years have occurred since 2016: Hurricane Harvey in Texas/Louisiana in 2017, Hurricane Florence in North Carolina in 2018, and a March 2016 storm in Louisiana. It is highly unusual to get three such extreme events in one three-year period, and the odds of this occuring were increased by global warming, which boosts the amount of water vapor in the air and increases the frequency and intensity of heavy precipitation events.
•••••
tags: extreme weather, severe weather
An Active and Destructive 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season Ends
https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/Active-and-Destructive-2018-Atlantic-hurricane-Season-Ends
Dr. Jeff Masters · November 30, 2018, 11:30 AM EST
Bob Henson contributed to this post.
Despite pre-season predictions of an average to below-average year, the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season was above average by most measures, with two U.S. hurricanes—Florence and Michael—causing unusually high death tolls and catastrophic damage in excess of $10 billion each. The 2018 tally of activity in the Atlantic was 15 named storms, 8 hurricanes, 2 intense hurricanes, and an Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) index of 129. The 1981 – 2010 seasonal averages were 12.1 named storms, 6.4 hurricanes, 2.8 intense hurricanes, and an ACE of 105.6. The 15 named storms, 8 hurricanes, and ACE index of 129 this year puts 2018 in the upper third for all of these quantities since the satellite era began in 1970.
The amount of activity in 2018 stands in stark contrast to seasonal forecasts that had called for a near- or below-average season. As explained in a weather.com analysis, this was due in part to two factors: the absence of anticipated El Niño conditions, and a significant warming of the tropical Atlantic in September, near the peak of the season. A record number of subtropical storms also pushed up the total number of named storms.
•••••
Three Category 4 hurricanes have made continental US landfall in the past two years: Harvey, Irma, and Michael. This is the first time that three Category 4 or 5 storms have made landfall on the continental U.S. in any two-year span on record. A total of 28 Category 4+ hurricanes have made a continental U.S. landfall since 1851.
•••••
Official National Hurricane Center (NHC) track forecasts during the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season were excellent, but forecasters did not predict the full magnitude of the three major rapid intensification episodes that occurred.
•••••
Climate change made Florence’s most intense rains over North Carolina more than 50% greater in magnitude than they would have been otherwise, according to a first-of-its-kind experimental “pre-attribution” study done as the storm was approaching landfall. Florence was also likely 8 – 9% greater in areal size due to climate change, and the storm was more likely to stay at a high Saffir-Simpson category as it approached landfall, the researchers found, using a climate model that generated forecasts with and without climate change factored in.
•••••
Hurricane Michael made landfall at 2 pm EDT October 10, 2018 near Mexico Beach, Florida, with top sustained winds of 155 mph and a central pressure of 919 mb. Hurricane Michael’s landfall pressure was the third lowest for a continental US hurricane landfall on record, trailing only the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 (892 mb at landfall) and Hurricane Camille of 1969 (900 mb at landfall). Hurricane Michael’s landfalling winds were the fourth highest for a continental U.S. landfall on record, trailing only the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 (185 mph), Hurricane Camille (175 mph), and Hurricane Andrew (165 mph).
•••••
As explained in our October post, Dangerous Rapidly Intensifying Landfalling Hurricanes Like Michael and Harvey May Grow More Common, hurricanes that happen to perform their rapid intensification just before landfall are very dangerous, since they are more likely to hit an unprepared population. Warming oceans due to human-caused climate change will cause future hurricanes to intensify at unprecedented rates, increasing the incidence of this very dangerous breed of hurricanes.
•••••
Leslie was the latest in a series of unusual tropical cyclones that we have seen in recent years in the far Eastern Atlantic, in locations or with intensities that are extremely rare or unheard of in the historical record. In most cases, we can say that the odds of these oddball storms forming were increased by human-caused global warming, since tropical storm formation in the far Eastern Atlantic is primarily limited by cool ocean temperatures. A short list of other unusual Eastern Atlantic tropical cyclones since 2005:
•••••
tags: extreme weather, severe weather
Dr. Jeff Masters · November 30, 2018, 11:30 AM EST
Bob Henson contributed to this post.
Despite pre-season predictions of an average to below-average year, the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season was above average by most measures, with two U.S. hurricanes—Florence and Michael—causing unusually high death tolls and catastrophic damage in excess of $10 billion each. The 2018 tally of activity in the Atlantic was 15 named storms, 8 hurricanes, 2 intense hurricanes, and an Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) index of 129. The 1981 – 2010 seasonal averages were 12.1 named storms, 6.4 hurricanes, 2.8 intense hurricanes, and an ACE of 105.6. The 15 named storms, 8 hurricanes, and ACE index of 129 this year puts 2018 in the upper third for all of these quantities since the satellite era began in 1970.
The amount of activity in 2018 stands in stark contrast to seasonal forecasts that had called for a near- or below-average season. As explained in a weather.com analysis, this was due in part to two factors: the absence of anticipated El Niño conditions, and a significant warming of the tropical Atlantic in September, near the peak of the season. A record number of subtropical storms also pushed up the total number of named storms.
•••••
Three Category 4 hurricanes have made continental US landfall in the past two years: Harvey, Irma, and Michael. This is the first time that three Category 4 or 5 storms have made landfall on the continental U.S. in any two-year span on record. A total of 28 Category 4+ hurricanes have made a continental U.S. landfall since 1851.
•••••
Official National Hurricane Center (NHC) track forecasts during the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season were excellent, but forecasters did not predict the full magnitude of the three major rapid intensification episodes that occurred.
•••••
Climate change made Florence’s most intense rains over North Carolina more than 50% greater in magnitude than they would have been otherwise, according to a first-of-its-kind experimental “pre-attribution” study done as the storm was approaching landfall. Florence was also likely 8 – 9% greater in areal size due to climate change, and the storm was more likely to stay at a high Saffir-Simpson category as it approached landfall, the researchers found, using a climate model that generated forecasts with and without climate change factored in.
•••••
Hurricane Michael made landfall at 2 pm EDT October 10, 2018 near Mexico Beach, Florida, with top sustained winds of 155 mph and a central pressure of 919 mb. Hurricane Michael’s landfall pressure was the third lowest for a continental US hurricane landfall on record, trailing only the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 (892 mb at landfall) and Hurricane Camille of 1969 (900 mb at landfall). Hurricane Michael’s landfalling winds were the fourth highest for a continental U.S. landfall on record, trailing only the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 (185 mph), Hurricane Camille (175 mph), and Hurricane Andrew (165 mph).
•••••
As explained in our October post, Dangerous Rapidly Intensifying Landfalling Hurricanes Like Michael and Harvey May Grow More Common, hurricanes that happen to perform their rapid intensification just before landfall are very dangerous, since they are more likely to hit an unprepared population. Warming oceans due to human-caused climate change will cause future hurricanes to intensify at unprecedented rates, increasing the incidence of this very dangerous breed of hurricanes.
•••••
Leslie was the latest in a series of unusual tropical cyclones that we have seen in recent years in the far Eastern Atlantic, in locations or with intensities that are extremely rare or unheard of in the historical record. In most cases, we can say that the odds of these oddball storms forming were increased by human-caused global warming, since tropical storm formation in the far Eastern Atlantic is primarily limited by cool ocean temperatures. A short list of other unusual Eastern Atlantic tropical cyclones since 2005:
•••••
tags: extreme weather, severe weather
A Hyperactive 2018 Eastern Pacific Hurricane Season Ends
https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/Hyperactive-2018-Eastern-Pacific-Hurricane-Season-Ends
Dr. Jeff Masters · November 28, 2018, 11:49 AM EST
The 2018 Eastern Pacific hurricane season, which officially ends on November 30, is in the books as the most active on record for accumulated cyclone energy (ACE), with 316.3 units, according to data from Colorado State University. This tops the previous record of 295.2 units in 1992. Reliable data extends back to 1971, the start of the satellite era. ACE is proportional to the square of a named storm’s maximum wind speed summed up over the length of time the storm exists as a tropical storm or hurricane, and is a good measure of destructive potential.
The 2018 season was hyperactive by virtually any measure, with 23 named storms, 13 hurricanes, and 10 intense hurricanes. This is well above the 1981 – 2010 averages of 15 named storms, 8 hurricanes, and 3 intense hurricanes, and not far from the all-time records of 27 named storms (set in 1992), 16 hurricanes (set in 2015, 2014, and 1992), and 11 intense hurricanes (set in 2015).
•••••
The 2018 Eastern Pacific season also had a remarkable 35 major (Category 3+) hurricane days, shattering the old seasonal record of 24 major hurricane days set in 2015. Three Category 5 hurricanes with 160 mph winds formed in the Eastern Pacific in 2018: Willa, Lane, and Walaka. This ties the record set in 1994 and 2002 for most Cat 5s in one year in the basin. One other Eastern Pacific hurricane, Hector, topped out as a high-end Category 4 storm with 155 mph winds, and has a shot at getting upgraded to Cat 5 status in post-season analysis.
•••••
This year continued the pattern of unprecedented tropical cyclone activity that the Hawaiian Islands has experienced since 2014. Prior to Olivia's landfall this year, only four named systems had made landfall in Hawaii:
•••••
As defined by NHC, landfall requires the center of a tropical cyclone to pass over land. Other hurricanes and tropical storms, most notably Iwa in 1992, have caused significant damage without making landfall. It’s worth noting that four of the six landfalls now on the books for Hawaii (counting the two from Olivia) have occurred in just the last five years! (A 2016 modeling study and another 2018 study found that we could expect to see an increase in hurricanes near Hawaii in coming decades due to climate change; see also Jeff Masters' August 2014 post, Climate Change May Increase the Number of Hawaiian Hurricanes.)
•••••
tags: severe weather, extreme weather
Dr. Jeff Masters · November 28, 2018, 11:49 AM EST
The 2018 Eastern Pacific hurricane season, which officially ends on November 30, is in the books as the most active on record for accumulated cyclone energy (ACE), with 316.3 units, according to data from Colorado State University. This tops the previous record of 295.2 units in 1992. Reliable data extends back to 1971, the start of the satellite era. ACE is proportional to the square of a named storm’s maximum wind speed summed up over the length of time the storm exists as a tropical storm or hurricane, and is a good measure of destructive potential.
The 2018 season was hyperactive by virtually any measure, with 23 named storms, 13 hurricanes, and 10 intense hurricanes. This is well above the 1981 – 2010 averages of 15 named storms, 8 hurricanes, and 3 intense hurricanes, and not far from the all-time records of 27 named storms (set in 1992), 16 hurricanes (set in 2015, 2014, and 1992), and 11 intense hurricanes (set in 2015).
•••••
The 2018 Eastern Pacific season also had a remarkable 35 major (Category 3+) hurricane days, shattering the old seasonal record of 24 major hurricane days set in 2015. Three Category 5 hurricanes with 160 mph winds formed in the Eastern Pacific in 2018: Willa, Lane, and Walaka. This ties the record set in 1994 and 2002 for most Cat 5s in one year in the basin. One other Eastern Pacific hurricane, Hector, topped out as a high-end Category 4 storm with 155 mph winds, and has a shot at getting upgraded to Cat 5 status in post-season analysis.
•••••
This year continued the pattern of unprecedented tropical cyclone activity that the Hawaiian Islands has experienced since 2014. Prior to Olivia's landfall this year, only four named systems had made landfall in Hawaii:
•••••
As defined by NHC, landfall requires the center of a tropical cyclone to pass over land. Other hurricanes and tropical storms, most notably Iwa in 1992, have caused significant damage without making landfall. It’s worth noting that four of the six landfalls now on the books for Hawaii (counting the two from Olivia) have occurred in just the last five years! (A 2016 modeling study and another 2018 study found that we could expect to see an increase in hurricanes near Hawaii in coming decades due to climate change; see also Jeff Masters' August 2014 post, Climate Change May Increase the Number of Hawaiian Hurricanes.)
•••••
tags: severe weather, extreme weather
War of Words
https://grist.org/article/the-war-on-climate-the-climate-fight-are-we-approaching-the-problem-all-wrong/?fbclid=IwAR0OYVBHkgcqHa9ttEQbnlFgoL4AEHaMiOpG6zV_hx313MFMCr2q0qsfGaM
By Kate Yoder on Dec 5, 2018
•••••
The whole “fighting climate change” frame rests on the assumption that opposition is the best way to get things done. But that’s not always the case, as the linguist Deborah Tannen wrote in The Argument Culture: Stopping America’s War of Words back in 1998. Military and sports metaphors train us to see everything in terms of conflict — this side versus that side — and that perspective limits our collective imagination about what we can do to fix complex problems.
•••••
War narratives are everywhere, so prevalent that they usually pass unnoticed. Politicians and the media have declared wars on poverty, drugs, obesity, and terror. There’s also supposedly a war on Christmas. These wars were declared against concepts, trends, and tricky issues with no simple solutions. And none of them have been won.
Reading Tannen’s book, I saw these metaphors in a new light. There’s a “pervasive warlike culture” in the U.S. that leads us to approach just about any major issue as if it were “a battle or game in which winning or losing is the main concern,” she wrote. It’s a deeply entrenched cultural tendency that has shaped politics, education, law, and the media.
•••••
Hostility is definitely in fashion. Anger spreads faster across social media networks than any other emotion, as studies have shown (and anyone who’s spent more than one minute on Twitter can attest). Cable news has devolved into shouting matches.
In recent years, American discourse has been swept further and further along the River Vitriol. “Americans on both the left and the right now view their political opponents not as fellow Americans with differing views, but as enemies to be vanquished,” wrote Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld, two professors at Yale Law School, in a recent Atlantic essay about tribalism.
•••••
I get that this war message works for some people, though. In a study published in the journal Environmental Communication last year, participants read one of three articles about the effort to reduce carbon emissions, which was framed as either a “war,” a “race,” or an “issue.” Those who read the war version perceived the most “urgency and risk” and expressed “greater willingness to increase conservation behavior.”
That’s the spirit behind The Climate Mobilization, a group that invokes the war mentality in the service of climate action. According to the organization’s director, Margaret Klein Salamon, we can radically and quickly transform society to address climate change, taking inspiration from World War II.
•••••
Psychologists from the University of California at Santa Barbara and the University of Colorado at Boulder found that most Republicans believed climate change was real, but didn’t support policies to address the problem simply because they thought Democrats did. Climate change, in other words, has been packaged together with issues such as immigration and gun control, and positions have turned into symbols of opposing sides. Why? “The study suggested that the discrepancies were likely the result of a media landscape that emphasized conflict,” Newsweek reported.
•••••
It reminds me of something I first noticed in high school, listening to my classmates yell insults at rival teams during football games. (I didn’t want to attend, believe me — I had to be there for marching band.) While they called it “school spirit,” I deemed it “zip-code loyalty” — a term meant to illuminate that our school district was determined by physical addresses that kids like us had no control over. My point was that we had been pitted against one another by outside forces, and we really weren’t different from the supposed “enemy.” (My other point was that I didn’t like sports.)
•••••
In a similar vein, labor and environmental groups that often squabbled over issues in the past have come together to start talking climate policy. At the Colorado Climate, Jobs, and Justice Summit this fall, union members who work in the fossil fuel industry shared their perspectives on taking care of communities who depend on the industry.
“For many in the environmental community, it was the first time they had heard those stories,” wrote Dennis Dougherty, executive director of the Colorado AFL-CIO, in a column in the Denver Post. “And in turn, it was the first time many workers got to interact face-to-face with folks from the environmental movement and learn how diverse and compassionate its members could be.”
•••••
Charles Eisenstein, author of the newly released book Climate: A New Story, agreed with me that framing an important problem like climate change as a fight stokes partisanship. It widens any divide while simultaneously obscuring grounds for agreement. After all, warriors need their enemies.
“There is a time and a place for resolving problems by fighting,” he told me, “but it’s kind of taken over everything.”
By Kate Yoder on Dec 5, 2018
•••••
The whole “fighting climate change” frame rests on the assumption that opposition is the best way to get things done. But that’s not always the case, as the linguist Deborah Tannen wrote in The Argument Culture: Stopping America’s War of Words back in 1998. Military and sports metaphors train us to see everything in terms of conflict — this side versus that side — and that perspective limits our collective imagination about what we can do to fix complex problems.
•••••
War narratives are everywhere, so prevalent that they usually pass unnoticed. Politicians and the media have declared wars on poverty, drugs, obesity, and terror. There’s also supposedly a war on Christmas. These wars were declared against concepts, trends, and tricky issues with no simple solutions. And none of them have been won.
Reading Tannen’s book, I saw these metaphors in a new light. There’s a “pervasive warlike culture” in the U.S. that leads us to approach just about any major issue as if it were “a battle or game in which winning or losing is the main concern,” she wrote. It’s a deeply entrenched cultural tendency that has shaped politics, education, law, and the media.
•••••
Hostility is definitely in fashion. Anger spreads faster across social media networks than any other emotion, as studies have shown (and anyone who’s spent more than one minute on Twitter can attest). Cable news has devolved into shouting matches.
In recent years, American discourse has been swept further and further along the River Vitriol. “Americans on both the left and the right now view their political opponents not as fellow Americans with differing views, but as enemies to be vanquished,” wrote Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld, two professors at Yale Law School, in a recent Atlantic essay about tribalism.
•••••
I get that this war message works for some people, though. In a study published in the journal Environmental Communication last year, participants read one of three articles about the effort to reduce carbon emissions, which was framed as either a “war,” a “race,” or an “issue.” Those who read the war version perceived the most “urgency and risk” and expressed “greater willingness to increase conservation behavior.”
That’s the spirit behind The Climate Mobilization, a group that invokes the war mentality in the service of climate action. According to the organization’s director, Margaret Klein Salamon, we can radically and quickly transform society to address climate change, taking inspiration from World War II.
•••••
Psychologists from the University of California at Santa Barbara and the University of Colorado at Boulder found that most Republicans believed climate change was real, but didn’t support policies to address the problem simply because they thought Democrats did. Climate change, in other words, has been packaged together with issues such as immigration and gun control, and positions have turned into symbols of opposing sides. Why? “The study suggested that the discrepancies were likely the result of a media landscape that emphasized conflict,” Newsweek reported.
•••••
It reminds me of something I first noticed in high school, listening to my classmates yell insults at rival teams during football games. (I didn’t want to attend, believe me — I had to be there for marching band.) While they called it “school spirit,” I deemed it “zip-code loyalty” — a term meant to illuminate that our school district was determined by physical addresses that kids like us had no control over. My point was that we had been pitted against one another by outside forces, and we really weren’t different from the supposed “enemy.” (My other point was that I didn’t like sports.)
•••••
In a similar vein, labor and environmental groups that often squabbled over issues in the past have come together to start talking climate policy. At the Colorado Climate, Jobs, and Justice Summit this fall, union members who work in the fossil fuel industry shared their perspectives on taking care of communities who depend on the industry.
“For many in the environmental community, it was the first time they had heard those stories,” wrote Dennis Dougherty, executive director of the Colorado AFL-CIO, in a column in the Denver Post. “And in turn, it was the first time many workers got to interact face-to-face with folks from the environmental movement and learn how diverse and compassionate its members could be.”
•••••
Charles Eisenstein, author of the newly released book Climate: A New Story, agreed with me that framing an important problem like climate change as a fight stokes partisanship. It widens any divide while simultaneously obscuring grounds for agreement. After all, warriors need their enemies.
“There is a time and a place for resolving problems by fighting,” he told me, “but it’s kind of taken over everything.”
Generic EpiPen alternative to hit the market in early 2019
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/generic-epipen-drug-maker-sandoz-to-sell-alternative-symjepi/
CBS/AP December 7, 2018, 4:11 PM
Generic drugmaker Sandoz announced plans Thursday to start selling an alternative to the EpiPen in the U.S. early next year. The name-brand injector has come under fire for rising prices and supply problems.
The EpiPen injector is used to halt life-threatening allergic reactions to insect bites, nuts and other foods. Brand-name EpiPen, which dominates the market, has been in short supply since spring because of production problems.
Sandoz will sell prefilled syringes with the same medicine, the hormone epinephrine, under the name Symjepi. The price will be $250 for two, without insurance.
Two generic versions of EpiPen are sold in the U.S. for $300 a pair, including one from EpiPen seller Mylan. The company started selling its own generic after it was blasted for repeated hikes that pushed up its list price from $94 to $608 for a pair of brand-name EpiPens.
•••••
CBS/AP December 7, 2018, 4:11 PM
Generic drugmaker Sandoz announced plans Thursday to start selling an alternative to the EpiPen in the U.S. early next year. The name-brand injector has come under fire for rising prices and supply problems.
The EpiPen injector is used to halt life-threatening allergic reactions to insect bites, nuts and other foods. Brand-name EpiPen, which dominates the market, has been in short supply since spring because of production problems.
Sandoz will sell prefilled syringes with the same medicine, the hormone epinephrine, under the name Symjepi. The price will be $250 for two, without insurance.
Two generic versions of EpiPen are sold in the U.S. for $300 a pair, including one from EpiPen seller Mylan. The company started selling its own generic after it was blasted for repeated hikes that pushed up its list price from $94 to $608 for a pair of brand-name EpiPens.
•••••
Sunday, December 09, 2018
Tackle climate or face financial crash, say world's biggest investors
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/10/tackle-climate-or-face-financial-crash-say-worlds-biggest-investors
Damian Carrington
Sun 9 Dec 2018 19.01 EST
Global investors managing $32tn issued a stark warning to governments at the UN climate summit on Monday, demanding urgent cuts in carbon emissions and the phasing out of all coal burning. Without these, the world faces a financial crash several times worse than the 2008 crisis, they said.
The investors include some of the world’s biggest pension funds, insurers and asset managers and marks the largest such intervention to date. They say fossil fuel subsidies must end and substantial taxes on carbon be introduced.
•••••
“The long-term nature of the challenge has, in our view, met a zombie-like response by many,” said Chris Newton, of IFM Investors which manages $80bn and is one of the 415 groups that has signed the Global Investor Statement. “This is a recipe for disaster as the impacts of climate change can be sudden, severe and catastrophic.”
•••••
A key demand of the Global Investor Statement is to phase out coal-fired power stations across the world. Peter Damgaard Jensen, the CEO of Danish pension fund PKA, said: “Investors, including PKA, are moving out of coal in their droves given its devastating effects on the climate and public health, compounded by its poor financial performance.”
•••••
The investors said current national pledges to cut carbon would lead to a catastrophic 3C of global warming and that plans must be dramatically increased by 2020. For developing countries, ”finance is the critical enabler of increasing ambition,” said Niranjali Amerasinghe, of the World Resources Institute.
•••••
Damian Carrington
Sun 9 Dec 2018 19.01 EST
Global investors managing $32tn issued a stark warning to governments at the UN climate summit on Monday, demanding urgent cuts in carbon emissions and the phasing out of all coal burning. Without these, the world faces a financial crash several times worse than the 2008 crisis, they said.
The investors include some of the world’s biggest pension funds, insurers and asset managers and marks the largest such intervention to date. They say fossil fuel subsidies must end and substantial taxes on carbon be introduced.
•••••
“The long-term nature of the challenge has, in our view, met a zombie-like response by many,” said Chris Newton, of IFM Investors which manages $80bn and is one of the 415 groups that has signed the Global Investor Statement. “This is a recipe for disaster as the impacts of climate change can be sudden, severe and catastrophic.”
•••••
A key demand of the Global Investor Statement is to phase out coal-fired power stations across the world. Peter Damgaard Jensen, the CEO of Danish pension fund PKA, said: “Investors, including PKA, are moving out of coal in their droves given its devastating effects on the climate and public health, compounded by its poor financial performance.”
•••••
The investors said current national pledges to cut carbon would lead to a catastrophic 3C of global warming and that plans must be dramatically increased by 2020. For developing countries, ”finance is the critical enabler of increasing ambition,” said Niranjali Amerasinghe, of the World Resources Institute.
•••••
A troubling trend sees a 97% decline in monarch butterflies
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/dec/07/its-a-sad-reality-a-troubling-trend-sees-a-97-decline-in-monarch-butterflies
Gabrielle Canon in Santa Cruz
Sat 8 Dec 2018 01.00 EST
In the 1980s, roughly 4.5 million monarchs wintered in California, but at last count, there may be as few as 30,000
•••••
Just two years ago, 8,000 overwintered here, but these days, just more than a thousand are fluttering amidst the Santa Cruz trees. It’s part of a troubling trend: over the last two decades monarch numbers in the West have declined by roughly 97%.
“It is a sad reality of climate change,” said Anthony Dutierrez, a volunteer guide at the park and biology student at the University of California, Santa Cruz, as he takes a break from guiding school children through a tour. “For every little thing that changes there’s not just one consequence – it’s a whole chain reaction.”
•••••
While researchers can’t pinpoint the direct cause for each annual decline, there are several factors cited for the overall loss in numbers. For years, western monarchs have faced habitat loss in both the places they breed and where they spend their winters and increased use of pesticides has also taken a toll. Climate change, of course, has also played a role. Both drought and severe weather are deadly stressors for the butterflies, that are already under siege.
Monarchs aren’t alone. As the New York Times noted in a recent article on the “insect apocalypse,” researchers in Germany found flying insect populations there had decreased by up to 82% over the last three decades. A collection of separate studies showed that the populations of most of the insect species included, had been nearly cut in half. The indirect effects of this massive disappearance – considered as part of the sixth extinction – are still unknown, as is the scale of just how massive this die-off might be. Most insect populations aren’t closely watched.
•••••
For now, researchers will be looking to next year’s numbers to see if the efforts can help turn the decline around. It is still possible for the butterflies to bounce back.
•••••
Gabrielle Canon in Santa Cruz
Sat 8 Dec 2018 01.00 EST
In the 1980s, roughly 4.5 million monarchs wintered in California, but at last count, there may be as few as 30,000
•••••
Just two years ago, 8,000 overwintered here, but these days, just more than a thousand are fluttering amidst the Santa Cruz trees. It’s part of a troubling trend: over the last two decades monarch numbers in the West have declined by roughly 97%.
“It is a sad reality of climate change,” said Anthony Dutierrez, a volunteer guide at the park and biology student at the University of California, Santa Cruz, as he takes a break from guiding school children through a tour. “For every little thing that changes there’s not just one consequence – it’s a whole chain reaction.”
•••••
While researchers can’t pinpoint the direct cause for each annual decline, there are several factors cited for the overall loss in numbers. For years, western monarchs have faced habitat loss in both the places they breed and where they spend their winters and increased use of pesticides has also taken a toll. Climate change, of course, has also played a role. Both drought and severe weather are deadly stressors for the butterflies, that are already under siege.
Monarchs aren’t alone. As the New York Times noted in a recent article on the “insect apocalypse,” researchers in Germany found flying insect populations there had decreased by up to 82% over the last three decades. A collection of separate studies showed that the populations of most of the insect species included, had been nearly cut in half. The indirect effects of this massive disappearance – considered as part of the sixth extinction – are still unknown, as is the scale of just how massive this die-off might be. Most insect populations aren’t closely watched.
•••••
For now, researchers will be looking to next year’s numbers to see if the efforts can help turn the decline around. It is still possible for the butterflies to bounce back.
•••••
Tax-Aide needs volunteers
AARP FOUNDATION SEEKS VOLUNTEERS FOR FREE TAX-AIDE PROGRAM
Help your neighbors get the (tax) credit they deserve! AARP Foundation is looking for compassionate and friendly individuals to join our volunteer team this upcoming tax season!
The service is free, there is no age limit, and clients do not have to be AARP members.
www.aarpfoundation.org/taxaide
Saturday, December 08, 2018
Clashes as yellow vest protests grow in Belgium and the Netherlands
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/belgium-netherlands-yellow-vest-protests-2018-12-08/
What gets me is that the power elite KNOWS what they are bringing about, because they have been building bunkers to hide in. But they still continue, with things like bribing U.S. republicans to give big tax cuts to the rich, and do away with regulations that allow them to get even richer at the price of the health and well-being of the rest of us, gerrymandering, blocking the nomination of life-time appointments for judges who are less likely to allow them free rein, etc.
December 8, 2018, 9:16 AM
•••••
The reasons for the protests are not entirely clear. Neither Belgium nor the Netherlands has proposed a hike in fuel tax -- the catalyst for the massive and destructive demonstrations in France in recent weeks.
Instead, protesters appeared to hail at least in part from a populist movement that is angry at government policy in general and what it sees as the widening gulf between mainstream politicians and the voters who put them in power.
•••••
In the Dutch city of Rotterdam, a few hundred protesters in the high-visibility vests that have become a symbol of the movement walked peacefully across the downtown Erasmus Bridge singing a song about the Netherlands and handing flowers to passers-by.
Sisters Beb and Ieneke Lambermont, aged 76 and 67 respectively, were among them.
"Our children are hard-working people but they have to pay taxes everywhere. You can't get housing anymore. It is not going well in Dutch society," Ieneke said. "The social welfare net we grew up with is gone," she said.
•••••
Republicans just got bad news about one of their worst gerrymanders in Virginia
https://thinkprogress.org/republican-gerrymander-virginia-bethune-hill-2d8f6e453738/
Ian Millhiser
Dec 8, 2018, 12:14 pm
Virginia’s House of Delegates is one of the most gerrymandered bodies in the country. In 2017, Democrats won the statewide popular vote in Virginia’s legislative races by over nine percentage points. Nevertheless, Republicans still held a 51-49 majority in the House of Delegates, thanks to gerrymandering.
But Virginia Democrats may actually get to compete in something approximating free and fair elections next year, thanks to a pair of documents handed down by a federal court on Friday.
Both documents arise from a case entitled Bethune-Hill v. Virginia State Board of Elections. This case, which was originally filed in 2014, alleges that 12 of the state’s House of Delegates districts are unlawful racial gerrymanders.
Though the case has been through several twists and turns since 2014, including a trip up to the Supreme Court, two members of a three-judge panel eventually concluded that 11 of the state’s districts are, indeed, illegal gerrymanders.
•••••
Ian Millhiser
Dec 8, 2018, 12:14 pm
Virginia’s House of Delegates is one of the most gerrymandered bodies in the country. In 2017, Democrats won the statewide popular vote in Virginia’s legislative races by over nine percentage points. Nevertheless, Republicans still held a 51-49 majority in the House of Delegates, thanks to gerrymandering.
But Virginia Democrats may actually get to compete in something approximating free and fair elections next year, thanks to a pair of documents handed down by a federal court on Friday.
Both documents arise from a case entitled Bethune-Hill v. Virginia State Board of Elections. This case, which was originally filed in 2014, alleges that 12 of the state’s House of Delegates districts are unlawful racial gerrymanders.
Though the case has been through several twists and turns since 2014, including a trip up to the Supreme Court, two members of a three-judge panel eventually concluded that 11 of the state’s districts are, indeed, illegal gerrymanders.
•••••
Thursday, December 06, 2018
Working out while angry? Just don’t do it
https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/working-out-while-angry-just-dont-do-it
Published: January, 2017
If you're very upset or mad, a strenuous workout might seem like a good way to blow off steam. But that could be extra risky for your heart, according to a study in the October 2016 Circulation.
•••••
Anger or emotional upset was linked to more than twice the risk of having heart attack symptoms within an hour; the same was true for heavy physical exercise. But among people who recalled being angry or emotionally upset while also engaging in strenuous exercise, the risk of heart attack was three times higher.
The findings are a good reminder to try to stay calm and centered when you're coping with extreme emotions—and to avoid intense exercise during those times.
Published: January, 2017
If you're very upset or mad, a strenuous workout might seem like a good way to blow off steam. But that could be extra risky for your heart, according to a study in the October 2016 Circulation.
•••••
Anger or emotional upset was linked to more than twice the risk of having heart attack symptoms within an hour; the same was true for heavy physical exercise. But among people who recalled being angry or emotionally upset while also engaging in strenuous exercise, the risk of heart attack was three times higher.
The findings are a good reminder to try to stay calm and centered when you're coping with extreme emotions—and to avoid intense exercise during those times.
One out of 10 Social Security offices has closed since 2000
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/one-out-of-10-social-security-offices-has-closed-since-2000-seniors-and-politicians-want-to-know-why/2018/05/06/dfa2f6aa-4ef8-11e8-b725-92c89fe3ca4c_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.92dc96da0e63
By Patricia Sullivan
May 6, 2018
The Social Security Administration plans to close its Arlington field office and one of its Baltimore locations in June, part of a series of shutdowns across the country that activists and political leaders say is causing major difficulties for the elderly, people with disabilities and other beneficiaries.
The agency has closed about 125 of its approximately 1,250 offices since 2000 — a 10 percent reduction, part of what officials describe as a shift to greater use of online services in an era of budget constraints and a growing population of senior citizens.
In addition, all 533 Social Security Administration “contact sites” — locations that serve remote, rural populations on a weekly or monthly basis — have closed, said leaders of the union that represents Social Security employees.
•••••
“I don’t have a car,” said Arlington resident Susan Landfield, 65. “I use public transit and it’s about two hours” to get to the next-nearest office, on Edsall Road in the Alexandria area of Fairfax County.
•••••
“Those with the most complicated cases and greatest need often benefit from in-person services,” said the letter, signed by Dels. Alfonso Lopez, Mark Levine and Patrick Hope and Sens. Adam Ebbin, Barbara Favola and Janet Howell. “Many of these individuals are also among the least mobile and the most dependent on public transportation.”
•••••
The number of Social Security office workers has dropped by 3,500 since 2010, and under the funding level proposed by the Trump administration, another 1,000 jobs would be lost, said Max Richtman, chief executive of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, a Washington-based advocacy group. Congress cut the agency’s operating budget every year from 2010 to 2017, before increasing it this year, he said. But with 10,000 Americans turning 65 every day, the demand for Social Security services is not going away.
•••••
By Patricia Sullivan
May 6, 2018
The Social Security Administration plans to close its Arlington field office and one of its Baltimore locations in June, part of a series of shutdowns across the country that activists and political leaders say is causing major difficulties for the elderly, people with disabilities and other beneficiaries.
The agency has closed about 125 of its approximately 1,250 offices since 2000 — a 10 percent reduction, part of what officials describe as a shift to greater use of online services in an era of budget constraints and a growing population of senior citizens.
In addition, all 533 Social Security Administration “contact sites” — locations that serve remote, rural populations on a weekly or monthly basis — have closed, said leaders of the union that represents Social Security employees.
•••••
“I don’t have a car,” said Arlington resident Susan Landfield, 65. “I use public transit and it’s about two hours” to get to the next-nearest office, on Edsall Road in the Alexandria area of Fairfax County.
•••••
“Those with the most complicated cases and greatest need often benefit from in-person services,” said the letter, signed by Dels. Alfonso Lopez, Mark Levine and Patrick Hope and Sens. Adam Ebbin, Barbara Favola and Janet Howell. “Many of these individuals are also among the least mobile and the most dependent on public transportation.”
•••••
The number of Social Security office workers has dropped by 3,500 since 2010, and under the funding level proposed by the Trump administration, another 1,000 jobs would be lost, said Max Richtman, chief executive of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, a Washington-based advocacy group. Congress cut the agency’s operating budget every year from 2010 to 2017, before increasing it this year, he said. But with 10,000 Americans turning 65 every day, the demand for Social Security services is not going away.
•••••
Now Republicans in Michigan move to strip Democrats' power.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/first-wisconsin-did-it-now-republicans-michigan-move-strip-democrats-n944496
One step at a time to the attempt by republicans to destroy what democracy we have left.
First Wisconsin did it. Now Republicans in Michigan move to strip Democrats' power.
Dec. 5, 2018 / 4:07 PM EST
By Associated Press
Republicans who control Michigan's Legislature voted Wednesday to advance a measure that strips campaign-finance oversight power from the Democratic secretary of state-elect, and they were poised to give lawmakers authority to stand up for GOP-backed laws if they think the incoming Democratic governor and attorney general are not adequately defending the state's interests.
The lame-duck moves followed within hours of similar efforts in Wisconsin, where lawmakers voted earlier Wednesday to shift clout to the Republican-controlled Legislature and weaken the Democrat replacing the GOP governor.
Michigan Democrats in January will jointly hold the governor, attorney general and secretary offices for the first time in 28 years, but the Legislature will continue to be controlled by Republicans.
A day after GOP lawmakers finalized an unprecedented maneuver to gut minimum wage and paid sick leave laws, a Senate panel passed legislation that would create the Fair Political Practices Commission to enforce the campaign-finance law rather than Secretary of State-elect Jocelyn Benson, who ran in part on a pledge to advocate for election transparency.
•••••
https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2018/11/07/once-again-michigan-dems-get-more-state-senate-and-house-votes-but-gop-keeps-power
Once again, Michigan Dems get more state Senate and House votes, but GOP keeps power
Posted By Tom Perkins on Wed, Nov 7, 2018 at 3:10 PM
Once again, Democrats in Michigan's State House and Senate races received more votes than Republicans, but the GOP will control both chambers of the Legislature by a sizable margin.
The 2018 midterms mark the third-straight election in which the state's Democratic House candidates have received more votes or nearly the same number of votes as Republicans, but the GOP has held onto power.
A Nov. 7 Metro Times tally of unofficial Michigan Secretary of State and Wayne County Clerk's Office vote totals found State House Dem candidates received a total of 2,092,164 votes in the 2018 midterm. Republicans received 1,917,150 votes — an advantage of about 175,000 for Democratic candidates.
Still, Republicans will hold a 58-52 majority in the State House during the next term.
In the State Senate, our preliminary count found Democrats received 2,062,494 votes while Republicans received 1,945,209 — an advantage of about 117,300 for Dems. Still, the GOP will hold a 22-16 majority next term.
Finally, in U.S. House races, unofficial totals have Dems with a 2,051,330- 1,838,447 lead over Republicans. Despite a 212,000-vote advantage for Dems, each party will send seven representatives to Congress. About 99 percent of precincts have reported, so the totals could slightly change.
The same scenario keeps playing out because Republicans in 2010 gerrymandered the state's legislative and Congressional districts in their favor, making it difficult for Dems to win power, even when they collectively receive more votes.
•••••
North Carolina election fraud allegations: Investigators zero in on absentee ballots in Bladen County
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/north-carolina-investigators-zero-absentee-ballots-unresolved-house-race-n944731
Dec. 6, 2018 / 10:37 AM EST / Updated 1:11 PM EST
By Leigh Ann Caldwell and Rich Gardella
Pressure is increasing on North Carolina to find a resolution to the unresolved congressional race in the state’s 9th District as allegations of election irregularities and fraudulent activities continue to surface.
State investigators are combing through election board records in several counties to discover whether there was an organized effort to unlawfully collect the absentee ballots of thousands of voters and then not turn those ballots over to election authorities.
They are especially interested in Bladen County, a rural, low-income area in the southeastern part of the state where investigators are looking at several individuals who turned in requests for absentee ballots on behalf of hundreds of voters.
•••••
The Charlotte Observer’s editorial board Wednesday called for the state to hold a new election, while Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia, a top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said the committee should investigate.
North Carolina GOP executive director Dallas Woodhouse said Thursday that the party supports the state investigation. "If they can show with certainty that the outcome could not have been changed, they need to certify Mr. Harris and continue to support all state and federal criminal investigations," he said.
"If they can show a substantial likelihood it could have changed the race, then we fully would support a new election" Woodhouse added.
Meanwhile, some voters in the district are now speaking out, with personal accounts about how their absentee ballots were unlawfully collected.
•••••
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/06/politics/north-carolina-democrat-dan-mccready-withdraws-concession/index.html
Democrat Dan McCready withdraws concession in North Carolina House race amid fraud allegations
By Eric Bradner, CNN
Updated 9:35 PM ET, Thu December 6, 2018
Democrat Dan McCready is withdrawing his concession in a North Carolina congressional race where investigators are probing allegations of election fraud.
•••••
His reversal comes as the state elections board, as well as local and state prosecutors, investigate whether Leslie McCrae Dowless, a veteran operative in Bladen County who was hired by a consulting firm the Harris campaign paid $400,000, altered absentee ballots or collected them from voters but never turned them in.
Dowless earned more than $23,000 working on six campaigns dating back to 2010, and in most of those races, Dowless' candidates received a disproportionately higher percentage of absentee votes in Bladen County.
•••••
Dec. 6, 2018 / 10:37 AM EST / Updated 1:11 PM EST
By Leigh Ann Caldwell and Rich Gardella
Pressure is increasing on North Carolina to find a resolution to the unresolved congressional race in the state’s 9th District as allegations of election irregularities and fraudulent activities continue to surface.
State investigators are combing through election board records in several counties to discover whether there was an organized effort to unlawfully collect the absentee ballots of thousands of voters and then not turn those ballots over to election authorities.
They are especially interested in Bladen County, a rural, low-income area in the southeastern part of the state where investigators are looking at several individuals who turned in requests for absentee ballots on behalf of hundreds of voters.
•••••
The Charlotte Observer’s editorial board Wednesday called for the state to hold a new election, while Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia, a top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said the committee should investigate.
North Carolina GOP executive director Dallas Woodhouse said Thursday that the party supports the state investigation. "If they can show with certainty that the outcome could not have been changed, they need to certify Mr. Harris and continue to support all state and federal criminal investigations," he said.
"If they can show a substantial likelihood it could have changed the race, then we fully would support a new election" Woodhouse added.
Meanwhile, some voters in the district are now speaking out, with personal accounts about how their absentee ballots were unlawfully collected.
•••••
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/06/politics/north-carolina-democrat-dan-mccready-withdraws-concession/index.html
Democrat Dan McCready withdraws concession in North Carolina House race amid fraud allegations
By Eric Bradner, CNN
Updated 9:35 PM ET, Thu December 6, 2018
Democrat Dan McCready is withdrawing his concession in a North Carolina congressional race where investigators are probing allegations of election fraud.
•••••
His reversal comes as the state elections board, as well as local and state prosecutors, investigate whether Leslie McCrae Dowless, a veteran operative in Bladen County who was hired by a consulting firm the Harris campaign paid $400,000, altered absentee ballots or collected them from voters but never turned them in.
Dowless earned more than $23,000 working on six campaigns dating back to 2010, and in most of those races, Dowless' candidates received a disproportionately higher percentage of absentee votes in Bladen County.
•••••
Body fat levels linked to breast cancer risk in post-menopausal women
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/06/health/breast-cancer-body-fat-study/index.html
By Naomi Thomas, CNN
Updated 1:50 PM ET, Thu December 6, 2018
Older women with excess body fat, even if they have what's considered a normal body-mass index, could be at greater risk for breast cancer, according to a study published Thursday in the medical journal JAMA Oncology.
"We do find that excess body fat in those who are post-menopausal with a normal body mass index is associated with about a doubling in the risk of estrogen-dependent breast cancer," said Dr. Andrew Dannenberg, one of the study's authors and director of cancer prevention at the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine.
•••••
The study also found that for invasive breast cancer, which has spread into the surrounding breast tissue, a 5-kilogram increase in whole-body fat mass was related to a 28% risk increase. The same increase in trunk fat was tied to a 46% increase in the risk of invasive breast cancer.
"The main takeaway is that having excess body fat, even when you have a normal body mass index, is associated with an increased risk for breast cancer," Dannenberg said.
•••••
By Naomi Thomas, CNN
Updated 1:50 PM ET, Thu December 6, 2018
Older women with excess body fat, even if they have what's considered a normal body-mass index, could be at greater risk for breast cancer, according to a study published Thursday in the medical journal JAMA Oncology.
"We do find that excess body fat in those who are post-menopausal with a normal body mass index is associated with about a doubling in the risk of estrogen-dependent breast cancer," said Dr. Andrew Dannenberg, one of the study's authors and director of cancer prevention at the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine.
•••••
The study also found that for invasive breast cancer, which has spread into the surrounding breast tissue, a 5-kilogram increase in whole-body fat mass was related to a 28% risk increase. The same increase in trunk fat was tied to a 46% increase in the risk of invasive breast cancer.
"The main takeaway is that having excess body fat, even when you have a normal body mass index, is associated with an increased risk for breast cancer," Dannenberg said.
•••••
Seattle woman who died of brain-eating amoeba used tap water in neti pot
https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/doctor-seattle-woman-who-died-of-brain-eating-amoeba-used-tap-water-in-neti-pot/884605557
By: Alison Grande
Updated: Dec 6, 2018 - 6:24 PM
A Seattle woman died after becoming infected with a brain-eating amoeba.
The woman told her doctor she had used tap water in a neti pot, instead of saline or sterile water. Doctors believe an amoeba entered in through her upper nasal cavity got into her blood stream, eventually reaching her brain.
A neurosurgeon from Swedish Medical Center said this is a rare situation but is warning patients to be sure to follow the directions when using a neti pot for nasal congestion. The directions call for saline or sterilized water. They believe the woman used tap water she'd put in a pitcher with a filter in her refrigerator.
•••••
By: Alison Grande
Updated: Dec 6, 2018 - 6:24 PM
A Seattle woman died after becoming infected with a brain-eating amoeba.
The woman told her doctor she had used tap water in a neti pot, instead of saline or sterile water. Doctors believe an amoeba entered in through her upper nasal cavity got into her blood stream, eventually reaching her brain.
A neurosurgeon from Swedish Medical Center said this is a rare situation but is warning patients to be sure to follow the directions when using a neti pot for nasal congestion. The directions call for saline or sterilized water. They believe the woman used tap water she'd put in a pitcher with a filter in her refrigerator.
•••••
Insurance company overwhelmed by cost of California wildfire, goes out of business
https://thinkprogress.org/cost-of-california-wildfire-has-caused-an-insurance-company-to-go-out-of-business-47af82955e80/
Kyla Mandel
Dec 6, 2018
The devastating California Camp Fire has caused such widespread damage that it has put at least one insurance company out of business.
The local Merced County Insurance Company — whose client base is overwhelmingly located in the wildfire-prone Sacramento Central Valley area — announced this week that it was closing shop because it can’t pay out the expected fire-related insurance claims.
The Camp Fire is the state’s most deadly and destructive fire on record, having destroyed almost as many structures as the subsequent 10 other worst fires in California’s history combined; thousands are without homes.
A judge on December 3 approved the company’s liquidation proceedings. Documents filed by the company show it expected $64 million in outstanding liabilities in Paradise — the town effectively wiped out by the Camp Fire. The insurance company’s assets, however, sit at just $23 million.
Individuals who need to file claims due to the fire shouldn’t be affected though — the California Insurance Guarantee Association (CIGA) will assume any outstanding claims. The CIGA was created by state law to protect policy holders in such a situation.
•••••
As climate change causes events such as hurricanes and wildfires to become more extreme, the potential for catastrophic property damage rises in tandem. This, in turn, impacts insurance companies which have to pay out larger and larger claims the worse the damage gets. Those rising costs inevitably result in higher monthly premiums for policy holders.
•••••
A study released in March, for instance, showed that between 1990 and 2010, 43 percent of the new homes built across the country were in areas that are increasingly prone to wildfires.
And in January, a California regulator warned that more frequent and intense wildfires was making it harder for homeowners to get, and keep, insurance coverage. Bloomberg also reported that despite devastating wildfires in 2017, local officials are issuing permits for homes to be rebuilt without updating building codes to protect from future risks.
•••••
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/04/us/camp-fire-insurance-company-liquidation/index.html
•••••
Judge Brian McCabe's decision allows the California Department of Insurance to take control of Merced. According to court documents, the state's Conservation & Liquidation Office will start liquidating what's left of the company.
Unlike with bankruptcy, where a business or individual can start over, liquidation means there is no hope for a company's recovery.
Fortunately for Merced's policyholders, they are covered by the California Insurance Guarantee Association, which "protects resident claimants in the event of an insurance company insolvency."
But the association has maximum benefit limitations, according to Merced.
"If it ends up that you have a claim in excess of CIGA's limits," the company said, "the excess will be a claim against the assets of Merced."
Kyla Mandel
Dec 6, 2018
The devastating California Camp Fire has caused such widespread damage that it has put at least one insurance company out of business.
The local Merced County Insurance Company — whose client base is overwhelmingly located in the wildfire-prone Sacramento Central Valley area — announced this week that it was closing shop because it can’t pay out the expected fire-related insurance claims.
The Camp Fire is the state’s most deadly and destructive fire on record, having destroyed almost as many structures as the subsequent 10 other worst fires in California’s history combined; thousands are without homes.
A judge on December 3 approved the company’s liquidation proceedings. Documents filed by the company show it expected $64 million in outstanding liabilities in Paradise — the town effectively wiped out by the Camp Fire. The insurance company’s assets, however, sit at just $23 million.
Individuals who need to file claims due to the fire shouldn’t be affected though — the California Insurance Guarantee Association (CIGA) will assume any outstanding claims. The CIGA was created by state law to protect policy holders in such a situation.
•••••
As climate change causes events such as hurricanes and wildfires to become more extreme, the potential for catastrophic property damage rises in tandem. This, in turn, impacts insurance companies which have to pay out larger and larger claims the worse the damage gets. Those rising costs inevitably result in higher monthly premiums for policy holders.
•••••
A study released in March, for instance, showed that between 1990 and 2010, 43 percent of the new homes built across the country were in areas that are increasingly prone to wildfires.
And in January, a California regulator warned that more frequent and intense wildfires was making it harder for homeowners to get, and keep, insurance coverage. Bloomberg also reported that despite devastating wildfires in 2017, local officials are issuing permits for homes to be rebuilt without updating building codes to protect from future risks.
•••••
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/04/us/camp-fire-insurance-company-liquidation/index.html
•••••
Judge Brian McCabe's decision allows the California Department of Insurance to take control of Merced. According to court documents, the state's Conservation & Liquidation Office will start liquidating what's left of the company.
Unlike with bankruptcy, where a business or individual can start over, liquidation means there is no hope for a company's recovery.
Fortunately for Merced's policyholders, they are covered by the California Insurance Guarantee Association, which "protects resident claimants in the event of an insurance company insolvency."
But the association has maximum benefit limitations, according to Merced.
"If it ends up that you have a claim in excess of CIGA's limits," the company said, "the excess will be a claim against the assets of Merced."
Infant ibuprofen sold at Walmart, CVS, Family Dollar recalled
https://www.wthr.com/article/infant-ibuprofen-sold-walmart-cvs-family-dollar-recalled
Published: Dec 5th, 2018 - 10:10pm (EST)
Updated: Dec 6th, 2018 - 6:32pm (EST)
Tris Pharma Inc. has issued a nationwide recall for three lots of infants' ibuprofen concentrated oral suspension.
Tris Pharma Inc. recalled the infants' ibuprofen Wednesday due to higher levels of ibuprofen found in the product.
The recall states that some infants who may be more susceptible to a higher potency level of drug, may be more vulnerable to permanent NSAID-associated renal (kidney) injury.
Symptoms of high exposure to ibuprofen in infants include nausea, vomiting, epigastric pain, or more rarely, diarrhea. Tinnitus, headache and gastrointestinal bleeding are also possible adverse effects.
The recalled infants' ibuprofen was packaged in 0.5 ounce bottles sold at Walmart, CVS and Family Dollar nationwide.
Tris Pharma Inc. hasn't received any reports or illness or injury due to the product that is involved in the recall.
Consumers should contact their physician or healthcare provider if they have experienced any problems that may be related to taking or using this drug product.
For more information on the recall, click here.
Published: Dec 5th, 2018 - 10:10pm (EST)
Updated: Dec 6th, 2018 - 6:32pm (EST)
Tris Pharma Inc. has issued a nationwide recall for three lots of infants' ibuprofen concentrated oral suspension.
Tris Pharma Inc. recalled the infants' ibuprofen Wednesday due to higher levels of ibuprofen found in the product.
The recall states that some infants who may be more susceptible to a higher potency level of drug, may be more vulnerable to permanent NSAID-associated renal (kidney) injury.
Symptoms of high exposure to ibuprofen in infants include nausea, vomiting, epigastric pain, or more rarely, diarrhea. Tinnitus, headache and gastrointestinal bleeding are also possible adverse effects.
The recalled infants' ibuprofen was packaged in 0.5 ounce bottles sold at Walmart, CVS and Family Dollar nationwide.
Tris Pharma Inc. hasn't received any reports or illness or injury due to the product that is involved in the recall.
Consumers should contact their physician or healthcare provider if they have experienced any problems that may be related to taking or using this drug product.
For more information on the recall, click here.
Trump On Coming Debt Crisis: I Won’t Be Here When It Blows Up
Sounds like the people who don't care about climate disruption because they don't think it will get bad until after they are dead. Then they claim to love their children and grandchildren.
Dec. 6, 2018
Since the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump’s aides and advisers have tried to convince him of the importance of tackling the national debt.
Sources close to the president say he has repeatedly shrugged it off, implying that he doesn’t have to worry about the money owed to America’s creditors—currently about $21 trillion—because he won’t be around to shoulder the blame when it becomes even more untenable.
The friction came to a head in early 2017 when senior officials offered Trump charts and graphics laying out the numbers and showing a “hockey stick” spike in the national debt in the not-too-distant future. In response, Trump noted that the data suggested the debt would reach a critical mass only after his possible second term in office.
“Yeah, but I won’t be here,” the president bluntly said, according to a source who was in the room when Trump made this comment during discussions on the debt.
•••••
What Greenland's unprecedented ice loss means for Earth
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/12/greenland-ice-sheet-is-melting-faster-than-in-the-last-350-years/
By Alejandra Borunda
PUBLISHED December 5, 2018
For a few days in July of 2012, it was so hot in the Arctic that nearly the entire surface of the Greenland ice sheet turned to slush.
It was so uncharacteristically warm that scientists, emerging from their tents high on the peak of the ice sheet, sank up to their knees in the suddenly soft snow. And then, that snow started melting.
•••••
So much water spilled out of the guts of the ice sheet that year that global sea levels rose by over a millimeter.
The melting was alarming, like nothing scientists had seen before. But no one knew exactly how unusual the event was or how worried to be. But now, scientists have figured out that the hot 2012 summer capped off 20 years of unprecedented increases in meltwater runoff from Greenland. And even more concerningly, they found, melting is speeding up even faster than air temperatures warm. So yes, they found, 2012 was a particularly bad year—but it was just a preview of what might come.
“The melting of the Greenland ice sheet is greater than at any point in the last three to four centuries, and probably much longer than that,” says Luke Trusel, a researcher at Rowan University in New Jersey and lead author of the new study, published today in Nature.
•••••
And the effects of the melting aren’t just abstract: A complete melting of Greenland’s mile-thick ice sheets would dump seven meters (23 feet) of extra water into the world’s ocean. So what happens high in the poles matters to anyone who lives near a coast, eats food that comes through a coastal port, or makes a flight connection in an airport near the ocean, scientists warn.
•••••
“What we're seeing right now is really unprecedented. These melt increases are driven by warming, which is caused by humans pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere,” says Ellyn Enderlin, a glacier scientist at the University of Maine who was not involved in the study. “The feedbacks the Earth has, the checks it has—they can't make up for that. The system can't adjust to the rate of change right now.”
By Alejandra Borunda
PUBLISHED December 5, 2018
For a few days in July of 2012, it was so hot in the Arctic that nearly the entire surface of the Greenland ice sheet turned to slush.
It was so uncharacteristically warm that scientists, emerging from their tents high on the peak of the ice sheet, sank up to their knees in the suddenly soft snow. And then, that snow started melting.
•••••
So much water spilled out of the guts of the ice sheet that year that global sea levels rose by over a millimeter.
The melting was alarming, like nothing scientists had seen before. But no one knew exactly how unusual the event was or how worried to be. But now, scientists have figured out that the hot 2012 summer capped off 20 years of unprecedented increases in meltwater runoff from Greenland. And even more concerningly, they found, melting is speeding up even faster than air temperatures warm. So yes, they found, 2012 was a particularly bad year—but it was just a preview of what might come.
“The melting of the Greenland ice sheet is greater than at any point in the last three to four centuries, and probably much longer than that,” says Luke Trusel, a researcher at Rowan University in New Jersey and lead author of the new study, published today in Nature.
•••••
And the effects of the melting aren’t just abstract: A complete melting of Greenland’s mile-thick ice sheets would dump seven meters (23 feet) of extra water into the world’s ocean. So what happens high in the poles matters to anyone who lives near a coast, eats food that comes through a coastal port, or makes a flight connection in an airport near the ocean, scientists warn.
•••••
“What we're seeing right now is really unprecedented. These melt increases are driven by warming, which is caused by humans pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere,” says Ellyn Enderlin, a glacier scientist at the University of Maine who was not involved in the study. “The feedbacks the Earth has, the checks it has—they can't make up for that. The system can't adjust to the rate of change right now.”
Trump Cancels Pay Raise for Federal Workers, Citing 'Serious Economic Conditions'
http://fortune.com/2018/08/30/trump-cancels-pay-raise-federal-workers-citing-serious-economic-conditions/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-share-article&utm_content=20181202&fbclid=IwAR26Z9cFLky49B34ntDNZ9V3SrxLYnSXEC-gXH4455Yx_FEqWsy9_prRYqs
By Kevin Kelleher August 30, 2018
President Donald Trump said he’s canceling pay raises for most federal workers that were to take effect in January, citing “serious economic conditions” and the strain that the raises would place on the federal budget.
The move would undo a planned raise for most federal workers, including a 2.1% across-the-board increase as well as raises that account for higher costs of living in cities like San Francisco, New York, and Washington, D.C. The pay raises were intended to help federal salaries keep pace with inflation. Consumer prices have risen 2.9% in the 12 months through June.
•••••
In December, Trump signed a tax reform bill that is forecast to expand the U.S. deficit by about $1.5 trillion over 10 years. The president has often touted the strength of the U.S. economy on Twitter. In June, he boasted of presiding over what he called the “Best Economy & Jobs EVER.” On Wednesday, the Commerce Department revised the U.S. GDP growth rate slightly upward to 4.2% from the previous estimate of 4.1%.
By Kevin Kelleher August 30, 2018
President Donald Trump said he’s canceling pay raises for most federal workers that were to take effect in January, citing “serious economic conditions” and the strain that the raises would place on the federal budget.
The move would undo a planned raise for most federal workers, including a 2.1% across-the-board increase as well as raises that account for higher costs of living in cities like San Francisco, New York, and Washington, D.C. The pay raises were intended to help federal salaries keep pace with inflation. Consumer prices have risen 2.9% in the 12 months through June.
•••••
In December, Trump signed a tax reform bill that is forecast to expand the U.S. deficit by about $1.5 trillion over 10 years. The president has often touted the strength of the U.S. economy on Twitter. In June, he boasted of presiding over what he called the “Best Economy & Jobs EVER.” On Wednesday, the Commerce Department revised the U.S. GDP growth rate slightly upward to 4.2% from the previous estimate of 4.1%.
Wednesday, December 05, 2018
Monumental Disaster at the Department of the Interior
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/monumental-disaster-at-the-department-of-the-interior/?sf203621390=1&fbclid=IwAR1TN_iKhG1G3jwpBUmLpzDfqYIeoE3xBtEnaaNH8xRd8dqcWdJI7IfUVVM
By Joel Clement on December 4, 2018
This is a tough time to be a federal scientist—or any civil servant in the federal government. The Trump administration is clamping down on science, denying dangerous climate change and hollowing out the workforces of the agencies charged with protecting American health, safety and natural resources.
At the Department of the Interior (DOI), with its mission to conserve and manage America’s natural and cultural resources, the Trump administration’s political appointees are stumbling over one another to earn accolades for disabling agency operations. I should know; I was one of dozens of senior executives targeted by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke for reassignment in a staff purge just six months into the new administration.
From that day onward, Zinke and his political staff have consistently sidelined scientists and experts while handing the agency’s keys over to oil, gas and mining interests. The only saving grace is that Zinke and his colleagues are not very good at it, and in many cases the courts are stopping them in their tracks. The effects on science, scientists and the federal workforce, however, will be long-lasting.
•••••
Why is this administration so scared of science? Why cancel a study into the health effects of mountaintop removal coal mining so soon after lifting a moratorium on coal leasing on public lands? Why keep scientists from speaking with the press? Because, while science provides the best evidence we have for making policy decisions that serve the broader public, Ryan Zinke has been very clear that he is in office to serve the oil, gas and mining industries, not the general public.
•••••
It is a desecration of the concept of public service for Zinke to ignore science aimed to protect the public’s best interest, and an insult to the taxpayers who pay his salary and those of his political colleagues. Zinke won’t be around forever, but he has filled the ranks of political appointees at DOI with like-minded industry lobbyists and climate deniers, so things are not likely to change at Interior anytime soon unless Congress, with a vocal public behind it, insists on transparency, scientific integrity and immediate climate action.
America’s public lands, and the natural and cultural resources they contain, belong to all of us. It is astounding that a small group of ideologues thinks they can hand these resources, and the agencies that manage them, over to industries eager to carve them up for private profit. To do so with blithe disregard for the impact upon our planet’s operating system is careless and dangerous, and we must demand better.
•••••
By Joel Clement on December 4, 2018
This is a tough time to be a federal scientist—or any civil servant in the federal government. The Trump administration is clamping down on science, denying dangerous climate change and hollowing out the workforces of the agencies charged with protecting American health, safety and natural resources.
At the Department of the Interior (DOI), with its mission to conserve and manage America’s natural and cultural resources, the Trump administration’s political appointees are stumbling over one another to earn accolades for disabling agency operations. I should know; I was one of dozens of senior executives targeted by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke for reassignment in a staff purge just six months into the new administration.
From that day onward, Zinke and his political staff have consistently sidelined scientists and experts while handing the agency’s keys over to oil, gas and mining interests. The only saving grace is that Zinke and his colleagues are not very good at it, and in many cases the courts are stopping them in their tracks. The effects on science, scientists and the federal workforce, however, will be long-lasting.
•••••
Why is this administration so scared of science? Why cancel a study into the health effects of mountaintop removal coal mining so soon after lifting a moratorium on coal leasing on public lands? Why keep scientists from speaking with the press? Because, while science provides the best evidence we have for making policy decisions that serve the broader public, Ryan Zinke has been very clear that he is in office to serve the oil, gas and mining industries, not the general public.
•••••
It is a desecration of the concept of public service for Zinke to ignore science aimed to protect the public’s best interest, and an insult to the taxpayers who pay his salary and those of his political colleagues. Zinke won’t be around forever, but he has filled the ranks of political appointees at DOI with like-minded industry lobbyists and climate deniers, so things are not likely to change at Interior anytime soon unless Congress, with a vocal public behind it, insists on transparency, scientific integrity and immediate climate action.
America’s public lands, and the natural and cultural resources they contain, belong to all of us. It is astounding that a small group of ideologues thinks they can hand these resources, and the agencies that manage them, over to industries eager to carve them up for private profit. To do so with blithe disregard for the impact upon our planet’s operating system is careless and dangerous, and we must demand better.
•••••
NOAA weather report
Listening to the NOAA weather channel on the radio this evening, for the first time I heard them give normal temperatures and record highs and lows for the date and when they happened. Are they doing this in areas that are not getting a cold snap, like Atlanta? I would say this is a good thing, if it weren't for the timing. I will be looking to see if this is permanent feature, including the more frequent times when temperatures are above normal. I noticed that they gave the number of heating and cooling degree days for the month and year, but didn't give comparison data for them. If course, they would show increased warming.
Monday, December 03, 2018
Worldwide hunt for rare blood to save life of 2-year-old Miami girl
https://www.local10.com/health/worldwide-hunt-for-rare-blood-to-save-life-of-2-year-old-miami-girl
By Jeff Tavss - Executive Producer
Posted: 2:51 PM, December 03, 2018
Updated: 6:29 PM, December 03, 2018
A worldwide hunt is currently underway to find a rare blood type to help a 2-year-old South Florida girl battling cancer.
Zainab suffers from Neuroblastoma, a cancer that develops from immature nerve cells around the adrenal glands and most commonly affects children 5 or younger. She currently receives treatment at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood.
•••••
Donors must be exclusively Pakistani, Indian, or Iranian descent, which means the donor's birth parents must both be 100 percent Pakistani, Indian or Iranian and the blood type must be "O" or "A."
Because of the requirements needed to be met, OneBlood decided to go worldwide with its search in hopes of finding 7-10 donors to help over the course of Zainab's treatment. So far, at least three donors have been found, two in the United Kingdom and one in the U.S.
•••••
"The possibility of us finding a compatible donor for this little girl within the right ethnic group we want to screen is less than four percent," says Frieda Bright, OneBlood's Reference Laboratory Manager.
According to OneBlood, Zainab's blood is extremely rare because it is missing an antigen, called "Indian B," that most people commonly carry in their red blood cells.
A good donor for Zainab would also be missing the Indian B antigen or she would reject the blood.
"She's going to need to be completely supported by blood donations in order to survive the cancer treatment in order to kill this cancer." said Bright.
•••••
By Jeff Tavss - Executive Producer
Posted: 2:51 PM, December 03, 2018
Updated: 6:29 PM, December 03, 2018
A worldwide hunt is currently underway to find a rare blood type to help a 2-year-old South Florida girl battling cancer.
Zainab suffers from Neuroblastoma, a cancer that develops from immature nerve cells around the adrenal glands and most commonly affects children 5 or younger. She currently receives treatment at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood.
•••••
Donors must be exclusively Pakistani, Indian, or Iranian descent, which means the donor's birth parents must both be 100 percent Pakistani, Indian or Iranian and the blood type must be "O" or "A."
Because of the requirements needed to be met, OneBlood decided to go worldwide with its search in hopes of finding 7-10 donors to help over the course of Zainab's treatment. So far, at least three donors have been found, two in the United Kingdom and one in the U.S.
•••••
"The possibility of us finding a compatible donor for this little girl within the right ethnic group we want to screen is less than four percent," says Frieda Bright, OneBlood's Reference Laboratory Manager.
According to OneBlood, Zainab's blood is extremely rare because it is missing an antigen, called "Indian B," that most people commonly carry in their red blood cells.
A good donor for Zainab would also be missing the Indian B antigen or she would reject the blood.
"She's going to need to be completely supported by blood donations in order to survive the cancer treatment in order to kill this cancer." said Bright.
•••••
Wisconsin Republicans Advance Lame-Duck Power Grab
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/wisconsin-republicans-advance-lame-duck-power-grab_us_5c05a479e4b07aec57519c2b
Scott Bauer
Dec. 3, 2018
Wisconsin Republicans moved quickly Monday with a rare lame-duck session that would change the 2020 presidential primary date to benefit a conservative Supreme Court justice and weaken the newly elected Democratic governor and attorney general.
The changes being sought would shift power to the GOP-controlled Legislature and allow outgoing Republican Gov. Scott Walker to make one last major mark on the state’s political landscape after he lost re-election in November.
Republicans forged ahead despite threats of lawsuits, claims by Democratic Gov.-elect Tony Evers and others that they were trying to invalidate results of the November election and howls of protest from hundreds of people who showed up for a public hearing.
The lame-duck maneuvering in Wisconsin is similar to what Republicans did in North Carolina two years ago and is being discussed in Michigan before a Democratic governor takes over there.
•••••
Other measures would weaken the attorney general’s office by allowing Republican legislative leaders to intervene in cases and hire their own attorneys. A legislative committee, rather than the attorney general, would have to sign off on withdrawing from federal lawsuits. That would stop Evers and incoming Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul from fulfilling their campaign promises to withdraw Wisconsin from a multi-state lawsuit seeking repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
•••••
Fitzgerald wouldn’t say whether there was enough support among Republicans for moving the 2020 presidential primary date, a change that would cost about $7 million and has drawn opposition from nearly every county election official.
Fitzgerald said last week that Republicans want to move the 2020 presidential primary, when Democratic turnout is expected to be high, so it won’t be on the same date as an April election where Walker-appointed Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly is on the ballot, thereby improving his chances of victory.
The state Elections Commission unanimously adopted a motion Monday declaring that the shift would be “extraordinarily difficult” and costly without additional funding. Commissioner Mark Thomsen, a Democratic appointee, called the plan “the biggest waste of money for a single person that I can think of” during discussion preceding the vote.
•••••
Similar limitations on early voting were found unconstitutional by a federal judge in 2016 and Democrats have threatened legal action again.
•••••
Evers decried the lame-duck session — the first in Wisconsin in eight years — as an embarrassment and an attempt to invalidate the results of the November election where Democrats won every constitutional office, including governor and attorney general.
•••••
Republicans have had majorities in the state Senate and Assembly since 2011, and worked with Walker the past eight years to past a host of conservative priorities. Republicans will maintain their majorities in the Legislature next year when the Democratic Evers takes over.
•••••
https://rewire.news/article/2018/11/19/wisconsin-democrats-won-more-votes-in-the-midterms-in-the-legislature-it-didnt-matter/
Wisconsin Democrats Won More Votes in the Midterms. In the Legislature, It Didn’t Matter.
Nov 19, 2018, 2:54pm Alys Brooks
•••••
Democrats running for Wisconsin’s legislature in this month’s midterms won a greater percentage of the vote than they had in years, but you wouldn’t know that from the results.
Republicans will keep their massive house majority. Tallying unofficial results from county clerks shows Democratic house candidates won 54 percent votes cast in the November 6 midterms, while GOP candidates netted 44 percent.
•••••
https://www.wpr.org/wisconsin-republicans-maintain-their-majority-state-senate
Wednesday, November 7, 2018, 2:25am
By The Associated Press
Republicans flipped a Democratic seat and held eight other key seats to maintain their majority in the state Senate.
•••••
Republicans held their majority in the Assembly as well.
Scott Bauer
Dec. 3, 2018
Wisconsin Republicans moved quickly Monday with a rare lame-duck session that would change the 2020 presidential primary date to benefit a conservative Supreme Court justice and weaken the newly elected Democratic governor and attorney general.
The changes being sought would shift power to the GOP-controlled Legislature and allow outgoing Republican Gov. Scott Walker to make one last major mark on the state’s political landscape after he lost re-election in November.
Republicans forged ahead despite threats of lawsuits, claims by Democratic Gov.-elect Tony Evers and others that they were trying to invalidate results of the November election and howls of protest from hundreds of people who showed up for a public hearing.
The lame-duck maneuvering in Wisconsin is similar to what Republicans did in North Carolina two years ago and is being discussed in Michigan before a Democratic governor takes over there.
•••••
Other measures would weaken the attorney general’s office by allowing Republican legislative leaders to intervene in cases and hire their own attorneys. A legislative committee, rather than the attorney general, would have to sign off on withdrawing from federal lawsuits. That would stop Evers and incoming Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul from fulfilling their campaign promises to withdraw Wisconsin from a multi-state lawsuit seeking repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
•••••
Fitzgerald wouldn’t say whether there was enough support among Republicans for moving the 2020 presidential primary date, a change that would cost about $7 million and has drawn opposition from nearly every county election official.
Fitzgerald said last week that Republicans want to move the 2020 presidential primary, when Democratic turnout is expected to be high, so it won’t be on the same date as an April election where Walker-appointed Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly is on the ballot, thereby improving his chances of victory.
The state Elections Commission unanimously adopted a motion Monday declaring that the shift would be “extraordinarily difficult” and costly without additional funding. Commissioner Mark Thomsen, a Democratic appointee, called the plan “the biggest waste of money for a single person that I can think of” during discussion preceding the vote.
•••••
Similar limitations on early voting were found unconstitutional by a federal judge in 2016 and Democrats have threatened legal action again.
•••••
Evers decried the lame-duck session — the first in Wisconsin in eight years — as an embarrassment and an attempt to invalidate the results of the November election where Democrats won every constitutional office, including governor and attorney general.
•••••
Republicans have had majorities in the state Senate and Assembly since 2011, and worked with Walker the past eight years to past a host of conservative priorities. Republicans will maintain their majorities in the Legislature next year when the Democratic Evers takes over.
•••••
https://rewire.news/article/2018/11/19/wisconsin-democrats-won-more-votes-in-the-midterms-in-the-legislature-it-didnt-matter/
Wisconsin Democrats Won More Votes in the Midterms. In the Legislature, It Didn’t Matter.
Nov 19, 2018, 2:54pm Alys Brooks
•••••
Democrats running for Wisconsin’s legislature in this month’s midterms won a greater percentage of the vote than they had in years, but you wouldn’t know that from the results.
Republicans will keep their massive house majority. Tallying unofficial results from county clerks shows Democratic house candidates won 54 percent votes cast in the November 6 midterms, while GOP candidates netted 44 percent.
•••••
https://www.wpr.org/wisconsin-republicans-maintain-their-majority-state-senate
Wednesday, November 7, 2018, 2:25am
By The Associated Press
Republicans flipped a Democratic seat and held eight other key seats to maintain their majority in the state Senate.
•••••
Republicans held their majority in the Assembly as well.
Tried to find out the exact numbers, spent a lot of time, this was the best I could do. I don't have time to keep looking. What we know is that even though a majority of voters voted for Democrats, the state legislator is still majority Republican.
Running For Office Is Really Hard If You're Not A Millionaire
https://www.yahoo.com/news/running-office-really-hard-apos-153014167.html
Amanda Terkel
HuffPost•December 3, 2018
Many of the lawmakers walking the gilded halls of Congress are, financially, far better off than the constituents they represent. Millionaires comprise nearly 40 percent of Congress, compared to being just 4 percent of the U.S. population.
This lopsided representation is not just some coincidence.
Rich people have a significant advantage running for office in a political system that relies on private donations. Rich people have rich friends who can donate to their campaign. They have the resources to make sure everything is taken care of in their personal life so that they can focus all their attention on running for office. And they can fund their own campaign and not worry about spending all their time raising money.
•••••
Federal campaign laws allow candidates to give themselves a salary, up to how much they would be paid if they were elected or what they made in the previous year ― whichever amount is lower.
Brendan Fischer, director of federal reform for the Campaign Legal Center, said that most candidates don’t take the salary ― even though some of them probably should. Many candidates are wealthy and don’t need the money, and the ones who aren’t are often reluctant to take a salary because it might not look good politically.
“We want candidates from diverse backgrounds to run for office, and if they need to pay themselves a salary to do so, that’s entirely permissible and the law allows for it,” he said.
Fischer said candidates are also allowed to use campaign funds for child care, but only if the candidate was a stay-at-home parent previously and now has child care expenses that exist only because of the run for office.
•••••
Amanda Terkel
HuffPost•December 3, 2018
Many of the lawmakers walking the gilded halls of Congress are, financially, far better off than the constituents they represent. Millionaires comprise nearly 40 percent of Congress, compared to being just 4 percent of the U.S. population.
This lopsided representation is not just some coincidence.
Rich people have a significant advantage running for office in a political system that relies on private donations. Rich people have rich friends who can donate to their campaign. They have the resources to make sure everything is taken care of in their personal life so that they can focus all their attention on running for office. And they can fund their own campaign and not worry about spending all their time raising money.
•••••
Federal campaign laws allow candidates to give themselves a salary, up to how much they would be paid if they were elected or what they made in the previous year ― whichever amount is lower.
Brendan Fischer, director of federal reform for the Campaign Legal Center, said that most candidates don’t take the salary ― even though some of them probably should. Many candidates are wealthy and don’t need the money, and the ones who aren’t are often reluctant to take a salary because it might not look good politically.
“We want candidates from diverse backgrounds to run for office, and if they need to pay themselves a salary to do so, that’s entirely permissible and the law allows for it,” he said.
Fischer said candidates are also allowed to use campaign funds for child care, but only if the candidate was a stay-at-home parent previously and now has child care expenses that exist only because of the run for office.
•••••
Strict building codes helped Anchorage withstand quake
https://www.yahoo.com/news/strict-building-codes-helped-anchorage-011326872.html
RACHEL D'ORO and MARK THIESSEN
Associated Press•December 1, 2018
The magnitude 7.0 earthquake that rattled Alaska's largest city cracked roads and collapsed highway ramps, but there were no reports of widespread catastrophic damage or collapsed buildings.
There's a good reason for that.
A devastating 1964 Alaska earthquake — the most powerful on record in the United States — led to stricter building codes that helped structures withstand the shifting earth Friday.
•••••
Gov. Bill Walker said sometimes people, including himself, grouse about stringent building codes. But he's "really glad" they were in place as he only had minor water damage at his home.
•••••
RACHEL D'ORO and MARK THIESSEN
Associated Press•December 1, 2018
The magnitude 7.0 earthquake that rattled Alaska's largest city cracked roads and collapsed highway ramps, but there were no reports of widespread catastrophic damage or collapsed buildings.
There's a good reason for that.
A devastating 1964 Alaska earthquake — the most powerful on record in the United States — led to stricter building codes that helped structures withstand the shifting earth Friday.
•••••
Gov. Bill Walker said sometimes people, including himself, grouse about stringent building codes. But he's "really glad" they were in place as he only had minor water damage at his home.
•••••
Mattis reveals Russian government attempted to interfere in U.S. midterm elections
https://www.yahoo.com/news/mattis-reveals-russian-government-attempted-001235160.html
Dec. 1, 2018
Defense Secretary James Mattis revealed that the Russian government attempted to interfere in the U.S. midterm elections last month during remarks at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, CA.
Dec. 1, 2018
Defense Secretary James Mattis revealed that the Russian government attempted to interfere in the U.S. midterm elections last month during remarks at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, CA.
David Attenborough: collapse of civilisation is on the horizon
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/03/david-attenborough-collapse-civilisation-on-horizon-un-climate-summit?CMP=share_btn_me&fbclid=IwAR2z-r4LriLnlQ4Taso7X_DactDZf_dWtwTuWxBBdDyG-krSasznxl6jfNU
Damian Carrington in Katowice
Mon 3 Dec 2018 07.29 EST
The collapse of civilisation and the natural world is on the horizon, Sir David Attenborough has told the UN climate change summit in Poland.
The naturalist was chosen to represent the world’s people in addressing delegates of almost 200 nations who are in Katowice to negotiate how to turn pledges made in the 2015 Paris climate deal into reality.
As part of the UN’s people’s seat initiative, messages were gathered from all over the world to inform Attenborough’s address on Monday. “Right now we are facing a manmade disaster of global scale, our greatest threat in thousands of years: climate change,” he said. “If we don’t take action, the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon.”
•••••
Recent studies show the 20 warmest years on record have been in the past 22 years, and the top four in the past four years. Climate action must be increased fivefold to limit warming to the 1.5C scientists advise, according to the UN.
The COP24 summit was also addressed by António Guterres, the UN secretary general. “Climate change is running faster than we are and we must catch up sooner rather than later before it is too late,” he said. “For many, people, regions and even countries this is already a matter of life or death.”
•••••
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/02/world-verge-climate-catastophe
by Robin McKie
Dec. 2, 2018
•••••
Scientists warned more than 30 years ago that such a future lay ahead, but nothing was done to stave it off. Only dramatic measures are now left to those seeking to save our burning planet, and these can have grim political consequences. In France, for example, President Macron’s new levies on fossil fuels, introduced to cut emissions and to fund renewable energy projects, triggered riots. Had only modest changes been enacted a few decades ago there would be no trouble today, say analysts.
•••••
But the most telling example is provided by the US, which has emitted about a third of the carbon responsible for global warming. Yet it has essentially done nothing to check its annual rises in output. Lobbying by the fossil fuel industry has proved highly effective at blocking political change – a point most recently demonstrated by groups such as the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Heartland Institute, which helped persuade President Trump to pull out of the Paris agreement, thus dashing the planet’s last hope of ecological salvation. “The coalition used its power to slow us down precisely at the moment when we needed to speed up,” said the environmentalist Bill McKibben in the New Yorker. “As a result, the particular politics of one country for one half-century will have changed the geological history of the Earth.”
•••••
Damian Carrington in Katowice
Mon 3 Dec 2018 07.29 EST
The collapse of civilisation and the natural world is on the horizon, Sir David Attenborough has told the UN climate change summit in Poland.
The naturalist was chosen to represent the world’s people in addressing delegates of almost 200 nations who are in Katowice to negotiate how to turn pledges made in the 2015 Paris climate deal into reality.
As part of the UN’s people’s seat initiative, messages were gathered from all over the world to inform Attenborough’s address on Monday. “Right now we are facing a manmade disaster of global scale, our greatest threat in thousands of years: climate change,” he said. “If we don’t take action, the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon.”
•••••
Recent studies show the 20 warmest years on record have been in the past 22 years, and the top four in the past four years. Climate action must be increased fivefold to limit warming to the 1.5C scientists advise, according to the UN.
The COP24 summit was also addressed by António Guterres, the UN secretary general. “Climate change is running faster than we are and we must catch up sooner rather than later before it is too late,” he said. “For many, people, regions and even countries this is already a matter of life or death.”
•••••
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/02/world-verge-climate-catastophe
See the article for how climate disruption is affecting the world now, and future prospects, including the U.S.Portrait of a planet on the verge of climate catastrophe
by Robin McKie
Dec. 2, 2018
•••••
Scientists warned more than 30 years ago that such a future lay ahead, but nothing was done to stave it off. Only dramatic measures are now left to those seeking to save our burning planet, and these can have grim political consequences. In France, for example, President Macron’s new levies on fossil fuels, introduced to cut emissions and to fund renewable energy projects, triggered riots. Had only modest changes been enacted a few decades ago there would be no trouble today, say analysts.
•••••
But the most telling example is provided by the US, which has emitted about a third of the carbon responsible for global warming. Yet it has essentially done nothing to check its annual rises in output. Lobbying by the fossil fuel industry has proved highly effective at blocking political change – a point most recently demonstrated by groups such as the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Heartland Institute, which helped persuade President Trump to pull out of the Paris agreement, thus dashing the planet’s last hope of ecological salvation. “The coalition used its power to slow us down precisely at the moment when we needed to speed up,” said the environmentalist Bill McKibben in the New Yorker. “As a result, the particular politics of one country for one half-century will have changed the geological history of the Earth.”
The U.S. has about 4.4% of the world population.
•••••
Two more blood pressure medications recalled over cancer concerns
https://www.10tv.com/article/two-more-blood-pressure-medications-recalled-over-cancer-concerns
Published: 12/03/18 01:15 pm EST
Updated: 12/03/18 01:22 pm EST
Two more blood pressure medications have been recalled by the FDA over cancer concerns.
The recall comes after three other blood pressure medications had already been recalled.
Teva Pharmaceuticals voluntarily recalled its amlodipine/valsartan and amlodipine/valsartan/hydrochlorothiazide combination tablets, the FDA announced.
•••••
Published: 12/03/18 01:15 pm EST
Updated: 12/03/18 01:22 pm EST
Two more blood pressure medications have been recalled by the FDA over cancer concerns.
The recall comes after three other blood pressure medications had already been recalled.
Teva Pharmaceuticals voluntarily recalled its amlodipine/valsartan and amlodipine/valsartan/hydrochlorothiazide combination tablets, the FDA announced.
•••••
Priorities
Dec. 3, 2018
Surreal listening to a radio report earlier about building stuff in space, when we are on track to decimating our civilization because we won't act on global warming.
Trump sends letter to Pakistan asking for help with Afghan peace process
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/trump-sends-later-to-pakistan-asking-for-help-with-afghan-peace-process/2018/12/03/9fd99e88-f6f1-11e8-8d64-4e79db33382f_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.343d66da9391
By Pamela Constable
December 3, 2018
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said Monday that he has received a letter from President Trump asking for his government’s help and cooperation in advancing peace talks with the Afghan Taliban insurgents.
Both the Foreign Ministry and Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry confirmed that the letter has been received. Chaudhry said the U.S. president told Khan that relations with Pakistan were “very important” to solving the Afghan conflict, especially in helping to bring the insurgents to the negotiating table.
The letter, which has not been publicly confirmed by U.S. officials, would be Trump’s first direct communication with Khan since the former cricket star took office as prime minister in August. As for indirect exchanges, the two leaders posted angry tweets two weeks ago after Trump told Fox News he had cut aid to Pakistan because it would “take our money and do nothing for us.”
•••••
Sunday, December 02, 2018
The Founding Fathers Never Pledged Allegiance to the Flag
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/lovejoyfeminism/2018/11/the-founding-fathers-never-pledged-allegiance-to-the-flag.html?fbclid=IwAR0jU9AG96PMdoD1iRpuuvUQ3HKOX5L2nyGnvB1-Ucb4EWsieZrnbIxZ3_s
I suggest reading the whole article at the link.
November 29, 2018 by Libby Anne
•••••
For all the Right’s adulation of the Pledge of Allegiance—which they insist our schoolchildren must recite daily—there was no Pledge of Allegiance until 1892. The Found Fathers never recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Beyond this, the words “Under God” were not added to the Pledge of Allegiance until 1954, during the Cold War.
Many Americans don’t seem to know any of this.
•••••
So, why do we have a Pledge of Allegiance, then? I knew the basics, but I was suddenly curious as to the timing. Why then? Why did people suddenly like the idea of a pledge, when the Founding Fathers never thought one necessary (or, likely, even thought of the idea)? As I researched this question, I found this, in the Boston Review:
The origins of the pledge cannot be understood apart from the “flag movement” of the 1880s, which itself cannot be understood apart from the Civil War. Just as U.S. (that is, Union) flags became more omnipresent during the war, so “loyalty tests” also spread. People suspected of disloyalty were often arrested, eligible for pardon if they submitted to an “oath of allegiance” swearing to “support, protect and defend the Constitution and Government of the United States against all enemies, whether domestic or foreign,” and to “bear true faith, allegiance and loyalty to the same.”
This makes a whole lot of sense. After the Civil War, there would have been ongoing concern about who was loyal to the country—and who was not. It’s not surprising this concern would segue into patriotic flag waving and pledging.
•••••
Michigan GOP starts gutting $12 per hour minimum wage, paid sick time laws
https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2018/11/28/michigan-gop-starts-gutting-12-per-hour-minimum-wage-paid-sick-time-laws
Posted By Tom Perkins on Wed, Nov 28, 2018 at 10:57 AM
In a gift to the state's corporations and rich, Michigan Republicans on Wednesday started the process of gutting new, separate laws that would raise Michigan's minimum wage to $12 per hour and mandate paid sick time for the state's workers.
The GOP-led Senate this afternoon approved significant changes to the citizen-initiated laws in a party-line vote. The House will likely take up the issue next week.
•••••
What makes the changes extra dirty is the manner in which Republicans are going about it. Throughout 2018, citizen-led groups gathered signatures to put proposals for paid sick time and increased minimum wage on the Nov. 6 ballot.
The proposals are popular with state's residents and were likely to pass. But Republicans made them law in September, which kept them off the Nov. 6 ballot. However, the GOP made sure that the laws didn't go into effect until March so they could gut them during the lame duck session, which started today.
There's nothing that the Democratic minority in the state legislature can do to stop Republicans, however, the move may violate the state's constitution.
•••••
It's also worth noting that the GOP lost the popular vote in the state House in 2014 and 2018, and only won by 3,000 votes in 2016. Still, it currently holds a 63-47 majority, because Republicans gerrymandered the state's legislative districts. So, arguably, a government that the majority of people didn't want is killing a raise and paid sick time for low income Michiganders.
Posted By Tom Perkins on Wed, Nov 28, 2018 at 10:57 AM
In a gift to the state's corporations and rich, Michigan Republicans on Wednesday started the process of gutting new, separate laws that would raise Michigan's minimum wage to $12 per hour and mandate paid sick time for the state's workers.
The GOP-led Senate this afternoon approved significant changes to the citizen-initiated laws in a party-line vote. The House will likely take up the issue next week.
•••••
What makes the changes extra dirty is the manner in which Republicans are going about it. Throughout 2018, citizen-led groups gathered signatures to put proposals for paid sick time and increased minimum wage on the Nov. 6 ballot.
The proposals are popular with state's residents and were likely to pass. But Republicans made them law in September, which kept them off the Nov. 6 ballot. However, the GOP made sure that the laws didn't go into effect until March so they could gut them during the lame duck session, which started today.
There's nothing that the Democratic minority in the state legislature can do to stop Republicans, however, the move may violate the state's constitution.
•••••
It's also worth noting that the GOP lost the popular vote in the state House in 2014 and 2018, and only won by 3,000 votes in 2016. Still, it currently holds a 63-47 majority, because Republicans gerrymandered the state's legislative districts. So, arguably, a government that the majority of people didn't want is killing a raise and paid sick time for low income Michiganders.
Saturday, December 01, 2018
Avoid these 3 traps when talking to someone with dementia
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/avoid-these-3-traps-when-talking-to-someone-with-dementia-2018-11-23
By Morey Stettner
Nov. 30, 2018
•••••
Different rules apply when you’re chatting with an individual who shows signs of dementia. If you’re unfamiliar with the disease, you may fall into traps that make matters worse.
Prepare to encounter speakers who repeat themselves (asking the same question every few minutes) and make illogical statements or faulty observations. Their emotions can swing wildly from moment to moment, leaving you wondering what could’ve triggered an angry outburst or crying spell.
If you’re a stickler for accuracy, it’s tempting to correct someone who misspeaks.
If you’re impatient, it’s easy to interrupt and steer the dialogue in the direction you deem most important.
If you’re offended by what you hear, it’s understandable if you take it personally and express disapproval.
Yet all three responses can backfire.
•••••
By Morey Stettner
Nov. 30, 2018
•••••
Different rules apply when you’re chatting with an individual who shows signs of dementia. If you’re unfamiliar with the disease, you may fall into traps that make matters worse.
Prepare to encounter speakers who repeat themselves (asking the same question every few minutes) and make illogical statements or faulty observations. Their emotions can swing wildly from moment to moment, leaving you wondering what could’ve triggered an angry outburst or crying spell.
If you’re a stickler for accuracy, it’s tempting to correct someone who misspeaks.
If you’re impatient, it’s easy to interrupt and steer the dialogue in the direction you deem most important.
If you’re offended by what you hear, it’s understandable if you take it personally and express disapproval.
Yet all three responses can backfire.
•••••
Non-smokers who live where smoking is banned in public places may have lower blood pressure
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-blood-pressure-no-smoking/smoking-bans-tied-to-lower-blood-pressure-in-non-smokers-idUSKCN1NZ2RA
My own health greatly improved after smoking was banned in most workplaces.
Lisa Rapaport
Nov. 30, 2018
Non-smokers who live where smoking is banned in public places may have lower blood pressure than non-smokers who aren’t protected by these types of laws, a U.S. study suggests.
While smoke-free policies have been associated with fewer hospitalizations for heart disease and a lower risk of heart attacks, less is known about how these laws impact blood pressure, particularly for non-smokers, researchers note in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
•••••
SOURCE: bit.ly/2reIRqz Journal of the American Heart Association, online November 21, 2018.
Thinking like Trump
Dec. 1, 2018
If I thought like Trump, I would say that the fact that the weather has been getting warmer here in the Atlanta area the last few days while the days are still getting shorter disproves the theory that shorter days lead to colder weather, and scientists say otherwise just to make money.
Dog food recalled due to potentially harmful levels of vitamin D
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/01/us/dog-food-recall/index.html
By Theresa Waldrop, CNN
Updated 12:56 PM ET, Sat December 1, 2018
Sunshine Mills, the maker of several brands of pet food, is recalling three of its puppy and dog food products, citing potentially high levels of vitamin D that could lead to "serious health issues," including kidney failure.
The brands affected are Evolve, Sportsman's Pride and Triumph, the company said in a statement that is also posted on the US Food and Drug Administration's website.
"Vitamin D, when consumed at very high levels, can lead to serious health issues in dogs including renal dysfunction," the company said. Symptoms include vomiting, loss of appetite, increased thirst and urination, excessive drooling and weight loss.
Evolve Chicken & Rice Puppy Dry Dog Food, Sportsman's Pride Large Breed Puppy Dry Dog Food and Triumph Chicken & Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food with a "Best Buy Date Code of November 1, 2018, through November 8, 2019" are affected and should not be fed to pets. Dogs who have eaten them and exhibit any of the symptoms should be seen by a veterinarian, the company said.
Consumers who have bought the recalled products can return them to the seller for a refund.
No other Evolve, Sportsman's Pride or Triumph products are affected, the company said.
Several other makers have issued dog food recalls recently because of potentially high levels of vitamin D, including Elm Pet Foods, which uses Sunshine Mills' facilities, according to the company's website.
Similar recalls have been issued by ANF Inc., Nutrisca, Natural Life and the grocery chain Lidl (for Orlando brand dog food).
Click here for the recall list
The complete list of recalls is posted on the FDA's website.
By Theresa Waldrop, CNN
Updated 12:56 PM ET, Sat December 1, 2018
Sunshine Mills, the maker of several brands of pet food, is recalling three of its puppy and dog food products, citing potentially high levels of vitamin D that could lead to "serious health issues," including kidney failure.
The brands affected are Evolve, Sportsman's Pride and Triumph, the company said in a statement that is also posted on the US Food and Drug Administration's website.
"Vitamin D, when consumed at very high levels, can lead to serious health issues in dogs including renal dysfunction," the company said. Symptoms include vomiting, loss of appetite, increased thirst and urination, excessive drooling and weight loss.
Evolve Chicken & Rice Puppy Dry Dog Food, Sportsman's Pride Large Breed Puppy Dry Dog Food and Triumph Chicken & Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food with a "Best Buy Date Code of November 1, 2018, through November 8, 2019" are affected and should not be fed to pets. Dogs who have eaten them and exhibit any of the symptoms should be seen by a veterinarian, the company said.
Consumers who have bought the recalled products can return them to the seller for a refund.
No other Evolve, Sportsman's Pride or Triumph products are affected, the company said.
Several other makers have issued dog food recalls recently because of potentially high levels of vitamin D, including Elm Pet Foods, which uses Sunshine Mills' facilities, according to the company's website.
Similar recalls have been issued by ANF Inc., Nutrisca, Natural Life and the grocery chain Lidl (for Orlando brand dog food).
Click here for the recall list
The complete list of recalls is posted on the FDA's website.
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