https://www.theguardian.com/environment/radical-conservation/2016/oct/27/rabbs-fringe-limbed-treefrog-frog-amphibians-extinct-extinction-media
Jeremy Hance
Oct. 27, 2017
On 26 September, staff with the Atlanta Botanical Garden found a frog dead in his enclosure. The frog had big brown eyes, massive feet with thick webs between the toes, and brownish skin speckled with little yellow dots. His name was Toughie. He was big for a frog and he didn’t like it when humans handled him. He’d lived a long time: 12 years.
And he was the last of his kind.
On 26 September 2016, the world very likely lost Rabbs’ fringe-limbed treefrog (Ecnomiohyla rabborum) to extinction. The species, only discovered by scientists in 2005, lived in Panama before it was wiped out in the wild by habitat destruction and the amphibian disease, chytridiomycosis. The last one was heard calling in the wild in 2007. But before this, a small number of Rabbs’ fringe-limbed treefrog had been taken into zoological facilities for captive breeding. Unfortunately, the attempt failed. Toughie was the last to die.
Despite the fact that we can actually trace the extinction of Rabbs’ fringe-limbed treefrog to an exact date, it occurred with very little media interest. Sure, the species’ demise was covered by many standard science media sites, such as Scientific American, National Geographic, and Mongabay.
But the list of what media outlets thought the story not interesting enough is perhaps more notable, including the BBC, the Sun, and CNN. Even this outlet, the Guardian, did not devote a full article to the extinction.
Many news sites simply reprinted the Associated Press’s story, which spilled 264 words on the extinction of Rabbs’ fringe-limbed treefrog (in contrast, the AP wrote three times as many words, 798, on Taylor Swift’s concert at Formula One). The New York Times at first only carried the AP article, though it later published a beautiful op-ed by one of the researchers.
•••••
This begs the question: how could the public care about global mass extinction if they aren’t even told about its victims? How can we care if we don’t grieve?
Scientists have repeatedly warned that if we don’t change our ways we could see a mass extinction event with potentially hundreds of thousands, even millions, of species wiped out by human actions.
The impact – and scale – is impossible to imagine. The last time the Earth suffered such a mass extinction event was when an asteroid slammed into it, killing off all the non-avian dinosaurs. We didn’t show up for another 64m years.
Despite this, most media outlets chose to ignore a story that could not only inform readers of the loss of one distinct species, but also connect them to a global crisis that rarely makes its way on to the front page – or any page for that matter.
I don’t know why so many outlets ignored the story – but it may be because the species that went extinct was a frog and not a big mammal like the baiji (which also didn’t get the coverage it deserved when it vanished, but got plenty more than Toughie’s species).
Still, Rabbs’ fringe-limbed treefrog was truly amazing. Living in the canopies of Panama’s cloud forests, this species glided through the air via the webbing connecting it toes. Scientists also believe that it was the only frog species to feed its tadpoles by allowing them to nibble at the skin of adults.
If a frog such as this is not noteworthy, what does that mean for the reptiles, fungi, plants, insects or fish that vanish? What does that say about any species that doesn’t grip the public’s imagination – are they somehow lesser for not having evolved (or vice versa) to be easily loved by us?
Amphibians are the canary in the coalmine for our current biodiversity crisis. Having been around for 370m years, amphibians make dinosaurs look babyish. But experts believe we may have lost more than 150 species in the last few decades alone, many of them to chytridiomycosis. On top of this amphibian plague, amphibians are being hard hit by deforestation, habitat loss, pollution, pesticides, the illegal wildlife trade for pets and even consumption and yes, of course, climate change (which may be exacerbating the stunning death tolls of chytridiomycosis).
Unfortunately, Toughie will not be the last frog to vanish or the last species. How many more will depend on us. But it’s hard to imagine anything changing when a story like Toughie’s is so easily swept aside. We can’t care about what we don’t know.
Sunday, November 26, 2017
The fate of Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers in Antarctica is in the balance — and so is that of all our cities
http://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/climate-change/the-fate-of-pine-island-and-thwaites-glaciers-in-antarctica-is-in-the-balance-and-so-is-that-of-all-our-cities/news-story/cd363c1430b2788154f5bb14b44c1c39
TWO enormous glaciers could soon irrevocably reshape our future. They’re melting. They’re fragmenting. And a cataclysmic collapse of an entire Antarctic ice sheet may be just decades away.
Jamie Seidel
News Corp Australia NetworkNovember 25, 201711:55am
PINE Island. Thwaites.
These two names are likely to become increasingly familiar in future years.
They’re among Antarctica’s biggest and fastest-melting glaciers.
But what makes these different is that they’re fed from ice sitting on solid ground.
This ice does not displace the ocean.
That means all the water that melts off them must be added to the total mass forming the world’s seas.
Current calculations put that at roughly 3.4 meters [11 feet].
According to US meteorologist Eric Holthaus, that’s enough to inundate every coastal city on our planet.
“There’s no doubt this ice will melt as the world warms,” Holthaus writes. “The vital question is when.”
And that’s the thing.
Scientists used to think it would take thousands of years for Antarctica’s ice sheets to melt under a warming atmosphere.
But new evidence shows it could happen within a few decades.
•••••
Traces remain of the last time Earth underwent a major climate-change event — the end of the most recent ice age 11,000 years ago.
That evidence points to a rapid collapse of the Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers.
•••••
The cause is in the region’s geology.
The sea gets deeper beneath the glaciers’ outflow.
So every new iceberg exposes taller and taller cliffs.
“Ice gets so heavy that these taller cliffs can’t support their own weight,” Holthaus writes. “Once they start to crumble, the destruction would be unstoppable.”
Given the unabated rise in carbon emissions, the study concluded that a 2m rise in sea levels was now much more likely than the 1m predicted under earlier models. But a worst-case carbon-atmosphere model shows a full 3.4m could be unleashed if West Antarctica’s ice reserves were unlocked.
•••••
A one-metre rise in sea levels would cause frequent flooding in almost all coastal settlements. At 2m, some of the worlds biggest cities — including Shanghai and Ho Chi Minh City — would simply be swallowed by the sea.
At 3.4m, the majority of the planet’s fertile — and densely habited — coastal regions would be inundated.
Such scenarios are just decades away.
Holthaus says these key glaciers could conceivably collapse within 20 to 50 years.
“The new evidence says that once a certain temperature threshold is reached, ice shelves of glaciers that extend into the sea, like those near Pine Island Bay, will begin to melt from both above and below, weakening their structure and hastening their demise, and paving the way for ice-cliff instability to kick in.”
Iceberg after iceberg would break away in an unstoppable chain-reaction.
And the landlocked ice sheet behind them — no longer contained by a floating ice shelf — would start to slip faster and faster.
•••••
“A wholesale collapse of Pine Island and Thwaites would set off a catastrophe. Giant icebergs would stream away from Antarctica like a parade of frozen soldiers. All over the world, high tides would creep higher, slowly burying every shoreline on the planet ...”
Such an event would unleash a human tide of refugees unlike anything seen in history — hundreds of millions of people displaced by rising seawater.
•••••
The science isn’t yet certain. Not enough is understood about the mechanics of glaciers or the physics of ice to be sure. But climate researchers agree the new evidence is pointing in a deeply disturbing direction.
“Next to a meteor strike, rapid sea-level rise from collapsing ice cliffs is one of the quickest ways our world can remake itself,” Holthaus says. “This is about as fast as climate change gets.”
TWO enormous glaciers could soon irrevocably reshape our future. They’re melting. They’re fragmenting. And a cataclysmic collapse of an entire Antarctic ice sheet may be just decades away.
Jamie Seidel
News Corp Australia NetworkNovember 25, 201711:55am
PINE Island. Thwaites.
These two names are likely to become increasingly familiar in future years.
They’re among Antarctica’s biggest and fastest-melting glaciers.
But what makes these different is that they’re fed from ice sitting on solid ground.
This ice does not displace the ocean.
That means all the water that melts off them must be added to the total mass forming the world’s seas.
Current calculations put that at roughly 3.4 meters [11 feet].
According to US meteorologist Eric Holthaus, that’s enough to inundate every coastal city on our planet.
“There’s no doubt this ice will melt as the world warms,” Holthaus writes. “The vital question is when.”
And that’s the thing.
Scientists used to think it would take thousands of years for Antarctica’s ice sheets to melt under a warming atmosphere.
But new evidence shows it could happen within a few decades.
•••••
Traces remain of the last time Earth underwent a major climate-change event — the end of the most recent ice age 11,000 years ago.
That evidence points to a rapid collapse of the Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers.
•••••
The cause is in the region’s geology.
The sea gets deeper beneath the glaciers’ outflow.
So every new iceberg exposes taller and taller cliffs.
“Ice gets so heavy that these taller cliffs can’t support their own weight,” Holthaus writes. “Once they start to crumble, the destruction would be unstoppable.”
Given the unabated rise in carbon emissions, the study concluded that a 2m rise in sea levels was now much more likely than the 1m predicted under earlier models. But a worst-case carbon-atmosphere model shows a full 3.4m could be unleashed if West Antarctica’s ice reserves were unlocked.
•••••
A one-metre rise in sea levels would cause frequent flooding in almost all coastal settlements. At 2m, some of the worlds biggest cities — including Shanghai and Ho Chi Minh City — would simply be swallowed by the sea.
At 3.4m, the majority of the planet’s fertile — and densely habited — coastal regions would be inundated.
Such scenarios are just decades away.
Holthaus says these key glaciers could conceivably collapse within 20 to 50 years.
“The new evidence says that once a certain temperature threshold is reached, ice shelves of glaciers that extend into the sea, like those near Pine Island Bay, will begin to melt from both above and below, weakening their structure and hastening their demise, and paving the way for ice-cliff instability to kick in.”
Iceberg after iceberg would break away in an unstoppable chain-reaction.
And the landlocked ice sheet behind them — no longer contained by a floating ice shelf — would start to slip faster and faster.
•••••
“A wholesale collapse of Pine Island and Thwaites would set off a catastrophe. Giant icebergs would stream away from Antarctica like a parade of frozen soldiers. All over the world, high tides would creep higher, slowly burying every shoreline on the planet ...”
Such an event would unleash a human tide of refugees unlike anything seen in history — hundreds of millions of people displaced by rising seawater.
•••••
The science isn’t yet certain. Not enough is understood about the mechanics of glaciers or the physics of ice to be sure. But climate researchers agree the new evidence is pointing in a deeply disturbing direction.
“Next to a meteor strike, rapid sea-level rise from collapsing ice cliffs is one of the quickest ways our world can remake itself,” Holthaus says. “This is about as fast as climate change gets.”
Links
Colorado pastor arrested for allegedly impregnating 14-year-old girl
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/11/25/colorado-pastor-arrested-for-allegedly-impregnating-14-year-old-girl.html
Hackers stole information from 1.7 million Imgur accounts in 2014
https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/25/16699116/imgur-hack-1-7-million-accounts-2014-cybersecurity
The article that changed his view … of humanity's impact on the planet
https://www.theguardian.com/membership/2017/nov/25/article-changed-view-anthropocene-macfarlane-climate
Ocean acidification affects mussels at early life stages
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/hcfo-oaa112217.php
Cool lizards are better at learning socially
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/uol-cla112217.php
Leaving the house every day may help older adults live longer
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/w-lth112117.php
Autism Spectrum Disorder was increased in second and later-born children who were conceived less than 18 months or 60 or more months after the mother's previous birth. Other developmental disabilities were not associated with birth spacing.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/w-tbp112017.php
Mass media linked to childhood obesity
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/w-mml112017.php
Diabetes foot care services may help avoid lower limb amputations
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/w-dfc112017.php
Alcohol consumption and metabolic factors act together to increase the risk of severe liver disease
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/w-aca112017.php
The noise levels commuters are exposed to while using public transport or while biking, could induce hearing loss if experienced repeatedly and over long periods of time
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/bc-wto112017.php
Any physical activity in elderly better than none at all for reducing cardiovascular risk
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/esoc-apa112017.php
Emergency department visits for self-inflicted injuries increase among young US females
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/tjnj-edv111717.php
Air pollution linked to poorer quality sperm
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/b-apl111717.php
Meadows beat out shrubs when it comes to storing carbon
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/nuos-mbo112117.php
Lightning, with a chance of antimatter
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/ku-lwa112117.php
Worldwide increase in methane bubbles due to climate change
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/run-wii112017.php
Space dust may transport life between worlds, research suggests
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/uoe-sdm112017.php
Poison ivy an unlikely hero in warding off exotic invaders?
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/pp-pau111317.php
Air quality & health in US will improve from other nations' actions to slow climate change
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/ip-aq111017.php
High cognitive ability not a safeguard from conspiracies, paranormal beliefs
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/uoia-hca111317.php
Public Release: 13-Nov-2017
High cognitive ability not a safeguard from conspiracies, paranormal beliefs
University of Illinois at Chicago
•••••
In an article published online and in the February 2018 issue of the journal Personality and Individual Differences, Tomas Ståhl reports on two studies that examined why some people are inclined to believe in various conspiracies and paranormal phenomena.
"We show that reasonable skepticism about various conspiracy theories and paranormal phenomena does not only require a relatively high cognitive ability, but also strong motivation to be rational," says Ståhl, UIC visiting assistant professor of psychology and lead author of the study.
"When the motivation to form your beliefs based on logic and evidence is not there, people with high cognitive ability are just as likely to believe in conspiracies and paranormal phenomena as people with lower cognitive ability."
•••••
The first survey found that an analytic cognitive style was associated with weaker paranormal beliefs, conspiracy beliefs and conspiracy mentality. However, this was only the case among participants who strongly valued forming their beliefs based on logic and evidence.
Among participants who did not strongly value a reliance on logic and evidence, having an analytic cognitive style was not associated with weaker belief in the paranormal or in various conspiracy theories.
•••••
Public Release: 13-Nov-2017
High cognitive ability not a safeguard from conspiracies, paranormal beliefs
University of Illinois at Chicago
•••••
In an article published online and in the February 2018 issue of the journal Personality and Individual Differences, Tomas Ståhl reports on two studies that examined why some people are inclined to believe in various conspiracies and paranormal phenomena.
"We show that reasonable skepticism about various conspiracy theories and paranormal phenomena does not only require a relatively high cognitive ability, but also strong motivation to be rational," says Ståhl, UIC visiting assistant professor of psychology and lead author of the study.
"When the motivation to form your beliefs based on logic and evidence is not there, people with high cognitive ability are just as likely to believe in conspiracies and paranormal phenomena as people with lower cognitive ability."
•••••
The first survey found that an analytic cognitive style was associated with weaker paranormal beliefs, conspiracy beliefs and conspiracy mentality. However, this was only the case among participants who strongly valued forming their beliefs based on logic and evidence.
Among participants who did not strongly value a reliance on logic and evidence, having an analytic cognitive style was not associated with weaker belief in the paranormal or in various conspiracy theories.
•••••
Artificially cooling planet 'risky strategy,' new research shows
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/uoe-acp111017.php
Public Release: 14-Nov-2017
Artificially cooling planet 'risky strategy,' new research shows
University of Exeter
roposals to reduce the effects of global warming by imitating volcanic eruptions could have a devastating effect on global regions prone to either tumultuous storms or prolonged drought, new research has shown.
Geoengineering - the intentional manipulation of the climate to counter the effect of global warming by injecting aerosols artificially into the atmosphere - has been mooted as a potential way to deal with climate change.
However new research led by climate experts from the University of Exeter suggests that targeting geoengineering in one hemisphere could have a severely detrimental impact for the other.
•••••
Public Release: 14-Nov-2017
Artificially cooling planet 'risky strategy,' new research shows
University of Exeter
roposals to reduce the effects of global warming by imitating volcanic eruptions could have a devastating effect on global regions prone to either tumultuous storms or prolonged drought, new research has shown.
Geoengineering - the intentional manipulation of the climate to counter the effect of global warming by injecting aerosols artificially into the atmosphere - has been mooted as a potential way to deal with climate change.
However new research led by climate experts from the University of Exeter suggests that targeting geoengineering in one hemisphere could have a severely detrimental impact for the other.
•••••
Climate change impacts already locked in -- but the worst can still be avoided
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/uoe-cci111617.php
Public Release: 16-Nov-2017
Climate change impacts already locked in -- but the worst can still be avoided
University of Exeter
Some impacts of global warming - such as sea level rise and coastal flooding - are already locked in and unavoidable, according to a major research project.
Global temperatures have already risen by around 1°C, and a further 0.5°C warming is expected. The full impacts of current warming have not yet been seen, since ice sheets and oceans take many decades to fully react to higher temperatures.
But more severe impacts can still be avoided if global greenhouse gas emissions are reduced.
•••••
Even with rapid cuts in global greenhouse gas emissions keeping warming below 2°C, sea levels could rise by 0.5m by the end of the 21st Century, particularly affecting small island states and low-lying countries. HELIX calculations suggest this could impact 2.5 million in Bangladesh.
However, if emissions continue and global warming exceeds 4°C, sea levels will rise further and could impact around 12 million people in Bangladesh if a storm surge from tropical cyclones adds further to the impact.
Increased rainfall is expected to further compound the flooding risk by raising river levels.
"A warmer atmosphere can hold more water, so rainfall would be more intense," said HELIX project leader Professor Richard Betts, of the University of Exeter.
"This would inevitably mean more flooding, and our research suggests the largest increase in flood risk would be in parts of America, Asia and Europe."
At 4°C, the researchers say most countries - nations accounting for 73% of world's population 79% of the global GDP - could experience a five-fold increase in river flood risk and flood damage (compared to a baseline period 1976-2005).
•••••
Professor Beets added: "This wetter climate should also mean fewer droughts in some areas, though droughts could become more common in other areas - for example some parts of Africa and southern Europe."
•••••
"Overall, worldwide food security would be more at risk, not just from changing crop yields but because extreme weather affects the people who grow the crops."
•••••
Public Release: 16-Nov-2017
Climate change impacts already locked in -- but the worst can still be avoided
University of Exeter
Some impacts of global warming - such as sea level rise and coastal flooding - are already locked in and unavoidable, according to a major research project.
Global temperatures have already risen by around 1°C, and a further 0.5°C warming is expected. The full impacts of current warming have not yet been seen, since ice sheets and oceans take many decades to fully react to higher temperatures.
But more severe impacts can still be avoided if global greenhouse gas emissions are reduced.
•••••
Even with rapid cuts in global greenhouse gas emissions keeping warming below 2°C, sea levels could rise by 0.5m by the end of the 21st Century, particularly affecting small island states and low-lying countries. HELIX calculations suggest this could impact 2.5 million in Bangladesh.
However, if emissions continue and global warming exceeds 4°C, sea levels will rise further and could impact around 12 million people in Bangladesh if a storm surge from tropical cyclones adds further to the impact.
Increased rainfall is expected to further compound the flooding risk by raising river levels.
"A warmer atmosphere can hold more water, so rainfall would be more intense," said HELIX project leader Professor Richard Betts, of the University of Exeter.
"This would inevitably mean more flooding, and our research suggests the largest increase in flood risk would be in parts of America, Asia and Europe."
At 4°C, the researchers say most countries - nations accounting for 73% of world's population 79% of the global GDP - could experience a five-fold increase in river flood risk and flood damage (compared to a baseline period 1976-2005).
•••••
Professor Beets added: "This wetter climate should also mean fewer droughts in some areas, though droughts could become more common in other areas - for example some parts of Africa and southern Europe."
•••••
"Overall, worldwide food security would be more at risk, not just from changing crop yields but because extreme weather affects the people who grow the crops."
•••••
Added Arctic data shows global warming didn't pause
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/uoaf-aad111717.php
Public Release: 20-Nov-2017
Added Arctic data shows global warming didn't pause
Improved datasets show that Arctic warmed six times faster than the global average during 'global warming hiatus'
University of Alaska Fairbanks
NOTE TO MEDIA: This news release was updated as of November 20, 2017 with new content from the previous version posted on November 17, 2017.
Gaps in Arctic temperature data caused a misperception that global warming slowed from 1998 to 2012, according to a new study in the journal Nature Climate Change.
•••••
Zhang said their new estimates showed that the Arctic warmed more than six times the global average during that time period.
•••••
Public Release: 20-Nov-2017
Added Arctic data shows global warming didn't pause
Improved datasets show that Arctic warmed six times faster than the global average during 'global warming hiatus'
University of Alaska Fairbanks
NOTE TO MEDIA: This news release was updated as of November 20, 2017 with new content from the previous version posted on November 17, 2017.
Gaps in Arctic temperature data caused a misperception that global warming slowed from 1998 to 2012, according to a new study in the journal Nature Climate Change.
•••••
Zhang said their new estimates showed that the Arctic warmed more than six times the global average during that time period.
•••••
Sugar industry withheld evidence of sucrose's health effects nearly 50 years ago
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/p-siw111417.php
This kind of manipulation of facts is what the fossil fuel industry is doing in regards to global warming.
Public Release: 21-Nov-2017
Sugar industry withheld evidence of sucrose's health effects nearly 50 years ago
PLOS
A U.S. sugar industry trade group appears to have pulled the plug on a study that was producing animal evidence linking sucrose to disease nearly 50 years ago, researchers argue in a paper publishing on November 21 in the open access journal PLOS Biology.
Researchers Cristin Kearns, Dorie Apollonio and Stanton Glantz from the University of California at San Francisco reviewed internal sugar industry documents and discovered that the Sugar Research Foundation (SRF) funded animal research to evaluate sucrose's effects on cardiovascular health. When the evidence seemed to indicate that sucrose might be associated with heart disease and bladder cancer, they found, the foundation terminated the project without publishing the results.
•••••
The results suggest that the current debate on the relative effects of sugar vs. starch may be rooted in more than 60 years of industry manipulation of science. Last year, the Sugar Association criticized a mouse study suggesting a link between sugar and increased tumor growth and metastasis, saying that "no credible link between ingested sugars and cancer has been established."
The analysis by Kearns and her colleagues of the industry's own documents, in contrast, suggests that the industry knew of animal research suggesting this link and halted funding to protect its commercial interests half a century ago.
"The kind of manipulation of research is similar what the tobacco industry does," according to co-author Stanton Glantz. "This kind of behavior calls into question sugar industry-funded studies as a reliable source of information for public policy making."
•••••
Earplugs unavoidable for musicians in the orchestra and at home
Public Release: 22-Nov-2017
Earplugs unavoidable for musicians in the orchestra and at home
TU Eindhoven study shows that own instruments are often responsible for excess noise levels
Eindhoven University of Technology
Many musicians suffer ear damage. Professional orchestras have therefore taken measures in recent years to reduce the sound levels. Studies now reveal that physical measures, like placing screens between sections or creating more space between them, have little effect. This is due to one's own instrument contributing just as much to the sound level that reaches the ear as all the orchestra's instruments together. So experienced musicians that play alone at home - whether professionals or amateurs - also produce excessive sound levels. The only solution that really helps is earplugs.
The eardrums of trumpet players and flute players are the most burdened. During loud passages they are subjected to average decibel levels of 95 to 100 dB(A), just from their own instruments. The violin and viola produce decibel levels in excess of 90 dB(A) for their players. These levels are similar to those of a rock concert. They also well exceed the 85 dB(A) limit that European regulations stipulate for the compulsory wearing of ear protection on the work floor.
•••••
The only thing that really helps is to play more quietly or to use earplugs. Musicians have long been advised to play using earplugs but now it has been proven that there is no other feasible measure that can be taken.
Wenmaekers, himself a musician, realizes that this is not really what the doctor ordered. "A musician with poor hearing risks losing his job. So to avoid this, earplugs are inevitable. At the same time, you want to perform as well as possible, so earplugs may hinder this. Musicians will have to get used to playing with earplugs from a young age because once you have a hearing problem you are too late."
There is, however, one part of the orchestra that can get away with it in part, the cello and the bass sections. These instruments produce a relatively soft sound and thus present no risk by themselves. The sound that affects the ears of the cellists and bassists tends to be generally lower and comes mainly from the other orchestra sections. So for this group there may be other interventions that are effective apart from earplugs.
•••••
Saturday, November 25, 2017
Weight before pregnancy linked with children's neurodevelopment
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/w-wbp112217.php
Public Release: 22-Nov-2017
Weight before pregnancy linked with children's neurodevelopment
Wiley
A recent Obesity Reviews analysis of published studies found that, compared with children of normal weight mothers, children whose mothers were overweight or obese prior to pregnancy had 17% and 51% increased risks for compromised neurodevelopmental outcomes, respectively.
Pre-pregnancy obesity was linked with a 62% increased risk of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, a 36% increased risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder, a 58% increased risk of developmental delay, and a 42% increased risk of emotional/behavioral problems.
•••••
Public Release: 22-Nov-2017
Weight before pregnancy linked with children's neurodevelopment
Wiley
A recent Obesity Reviews analysis of published studies found that, compared with children of normal weight mothers, children whose mothers were overweight or obese prior to pregnancy had 17% and 51% increased risks for compromised neurodevelopmental outcomes, respectively.
Pre-pregnancy obesity was linked with a 62% increased risk of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, a 36% increased risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder, a 58% increased risk of developmental delay, and a 42% increased risk of emotional/behavioral problems.
•••••
Global Warming Might Be Especially Dangerous for Pregnant Women
Ellie Kincaid Nov 21, 2017
•••••
A handful of researchers in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere are methodically accumulating evidence suggesting that higher temperatures could be linked to a higher risk of premature births, stillbirths, or other negative pregnancy outcomes. The findings in each case, while compelling, still raise as many questions as they seem to answer, and all the researchers say that much more work needs to be done. But they also suggest that enough evidence has already surfaced to warrant increased scrutiny—particularly as global warming is expected to drive average temperatures ever upward over coming decades.
•••••
Her research suggested that an increase of 10 degrees Fahrenheit in weekly average “apparent” temperatures—a combination of heat and humidity—corresponded to an 8.6 percent increase in premature births. That association was independent of air pollution.
Later, she turned her attention to stillbirths, doing a similar temperature analysis with a state registry of fetal death certificates. In March of 2016, Basu published the results from analyzing more than 8,500 stillbirths that occurred during a decade of California’s warm seasons: Stillbirth risk was 10.4 percent higher with a 10-degree Fahrenheit apparent-temperature increase.
After her research on premature birth, the stillbirth results were “pretty much on par with what I was expecting,” Basu said. “I would be shocked if there wasn’t an association.”
These findings have been echoed independently elsewhere. Looking at records of more than 5,000 stillbirths in Quebec over 30 years, Nathalie Auger of Quebec’s institute for public health found that with higher temperatures, stillbirth risk increased continuously for certain categories of stillbirths. For those considered full-term, happening after 37 weeks of pregnancy, the odds of stillbirth were 16 percent higher at 28 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit). The increase in odds of stillbirths between those two temperatures was 19 percent for stillbirths where the cause was marked in the registry as unknown, and 46 percent for those attributed to maternal complications.
•••••
In addition to their case-crossover study, the group examined the effects of chronic exposure to heat through the whole course of a pregnancy, and were surprised to find the odds of stillbirth were 3.7 times greater when women experienced temperatures that were in the top 10 percent of the range for their location.
•••••
Friday, November 24, 2017
Links
Woman raises more than $250,000 for homeless man who helped her
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/woman-raises-more-250-000-homeless-man-who-helped-her-n823681
Secret gay life of married 'family values' lawmaker was not so secret
https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/secret-gay-life-married-family-values-lawmaker-was-not-so-n823056
Thursday, November 23, 2017
Fake Data Scandal Hits Another Japanese Manufacturer
By Keiko Ujikane and Masumi Suga
November 23, 2017
Japan’s reputation for manufacturing prowess took another hit as Mitsubishi Materials Corp. admitted it faked data on some products just weeks after a similar scandal engulfed Kobe Steel Ltd.
Buyers of Japanese industrial goods from Boeing Co. to Airbus SE were once again scrambling to confirm whether safety had been compromised after Mitsubishi Materials said three of its units had faked data on products that may have been delivered to more than 250 customers. Its shares plunged as much as 11 percent in Tokyo, the most in eighteen months.
Mitsubishi Cable Industries Ltd. falsified data on rubber seals, while Mitsubishi Shindoh Co. misreported the strength of brass strips for auto parts, according to a statement Thursday. The products may have been shipped to 229 Mitsubishi Cable clients and 29 customers of Mitsubishi Shindoh. A third unit, Mitsubishi Aluminum Co. Ltd., also supplied non-conforming products, although it has already confirmed with customers that they are safe, the company said, adding that its investigation hasn’t uncovered any cases that raise the possibility of legal violations or safety issues.
The revelation is the latest in a series of scandals to dent the image of Japanese manufacturers and closely resembles recent admissions by Kobe Steel that it falsified data on the strength and durability of its products. In the auto sector, Nissan Motor Co. has said it conducted vehicle inspections that didn’t comply with regulations for almost four decades, while Subaru Corp. allowed uncertified workers to inspect vehicles before shipment. Takata Corp. filed for bankruptcy earlier this year because of faulty airbags.
•••••
Kobe blamed lax controls and too much focus on profit for its short-comings, including unrealistically high standards that exceeded clients’ expectations, which encouraged staff to disregard quality guidelines for a decade or more. The company was forced to abandon its profit forecasts and has lost quality assurance certification -- often demanded by customers as a condition of sale -- at seven of its 20 plants.
Aircraft maker Airbus SE said in a statement it doesn’t directly procure any materials from the Mitsubishi Materials companies and is investigating whether any of its suppliers are affected. Boeing Co. said it’s reviewing the matter.
•••••
Why Cyntoia Brown, who is spending life in prison for murder, is all over social media
http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/23/us/cyntoia-brown-social-media-murder-case-trnd/index.html
By AJ Willingham, CNN
Updated 1:48 PM ET, Thu November 23, 2017
This week, the case of a woman named Cyntoia Brown went viral on social media, even though she has already been in jail for more than ten years.
Brown is serving a life sentence for the murder of a Nashville man in 2004. According to Brown, after a childhood marked by abuse and drugs, she was raped and forced into prostitution by a pimp, and ended up killing one of her clients out of self defense when she was just 16 years old. Despite her youth, she was tried as an adult and given a life sentence.
The details of her crime and trial -- including the fact that the man who had paid for sex with her was 43 years old, have started circulating again, catching the attention of A-list celebrities and spawning the viral hashtag #FreeCyntoiaBrown. However, even before the renewed interest, her trial inspired a documentary and was a factor in a major change in how the state of Tennessee deals with child prostitution cases.
•••••
Brown's life sentence caught criticism in Tennessee, and in 2012, a US Supreme Court ruling offered her advocates new hope. The Supreme Court decision banned life without parole for juveniles, stating it was unconstitutional. However, Brown's conviction does carry the possibility of parole -- when Brown is 69 years old. Still, her advocates are hoping the change, and continued interest in her story, will inspire a change in Tennessee law.
By AJ Willingham, CNN
Updated 1:48 PM ET, Thu November 23, 2017
This week, the case of a woman named Cyntoia Brown went viral on social media, even though she has already been in jail for more than ten years.
Brown is serving a life sentence for the murder of a Nashville man in 2004. According to Brown, after a childhood marked by abuse and drugs, she was raped and forced into prostitution by a pimp, and ended up killing one of her clients out of self defense when she was just 16 years old. Despite her youth, she was tried as an adult and given a life sentence.
The details of her crime and trial -- including the fact that the man who had paid for sex with her was 43 years old, have started circulating again, catching the attention of A-list celebrities and spawning the viral hashtag #FreeCyntoiaBrown. However, even before the renewed interest, her trial inspired a documentary and was a factor in a major change in how the state of Tennessee deals with child prostitution cases.
•••••
Brown's life sentence caught criticism in Tennessee, and in 2012, a US Supreme Court ruling offered her advocates new hope. The Supreme Court decision banned life without parole for juveniles, stating it was unconstitutional. However, Brown's conviction does carry the possibility of parole -- when Brown is 69 years old. Still, her advocates are hoping the change, and continued interest in her story, will inspire a change in Tennessee law.
Global firms accused of importing timber linked to Amazon massacre
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/nov/23/global-firms-accused-of-importing-timber-linked-to-amazon-massacre
Jonathan Watts
Nov. 23, 2017
More than a dozen US and European companies have been importing timber from a Brazilian logging firm whose owner is implicated in one of the most brutal Amazonian massacres in recent memory, according to a Greenpeace Brazil investigation.
The first-world buyers allegedly continued trading with Madeireira Cedroarana after police accused its founder, Valdelir João de Souza, of ordering the torture and murder of nine people in Colniza, Mato Grosso, on 19 April, claims the report by the NGO.
The state attorney alleges de Souza organised the assassinations to gain access to the forest where the victims – all smallholders – lived. Since the indictment on 15 May, the suspect has been on the run.
During this period, the fugitive’s company allegedly sold products to foreign firms who shipped them to the US, Germany, France, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada and Japan.
Greenpeace alleges these shipments may be in contravention of the US Lacey Act, which bans trade in timber that violates any foreign law, and the European Union’s timber regulation, which obliges companies to conduct due diligence to ensure there is “no more than a negligible risk that it has been illegally harvested.”
It lists the 13 companies involved as Pine Products, Lacey Wood Products, Mid-State Lumber Corp, South Florida Lumber, Wood Brokerage International, Vogel Import & Export, Delfin Germany, Tiger Deck, Global Timber, Centre Import Bois Méditerranée, Derlage Junior Hout, Global Gold Forest and Houthandel van der Hoek.
Even before this year’s massacre, the report alleges these firms should have hesitated to do business with Madeireira Cedroarana because it had accrued about £130,000 in unpaid federal fines for stocking and trading illegal timber. There also appears to be evidence of widespread fraud, timber laundering and killings of forest defenders in Amazon states including Mato Grosso.
Greenpeace urged US and European authorities to consider Brazilian timber to be at high risk of coming from an illegal source, and thus to oblige companies to go beyond official paperwork and to carry out third-party field audits.
Jonathan Watts
Nov. 23, 2017
More than a dozen US and European companies have been importing timber from a Brazilian logging firm whose owner is implicated in one of the most brutal Amazonian massacres in recent memory, according to a Greenpeace Brazil investigation.
The first-world buyers allegedly continued trading with Madeireira Cedroarana after police accused its founder, Valdelir João de Souza, of ordering the torture and murder of nine people in Colniza, Mato Grosso, on 19 April, claims the report by the NGO.
The state attorney alleges de Souza organised the assassinations to gain access to the forest where the victims – all smallholders – lived. Since the indictment on 15 May, the suspect has been on the run.
During this period, the fugitive’s company allegedly sold products to foreign firms who shipped them to the US, Germany, France, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada and Japan.
Greenpeace alleges these shipments may be in contravention of the US Lacey Act, which bans trade in timber that violates any foreign law, and the European Union’s timber regulation, which obliges companies to conduct due diligence to ensure there is “no more than a negligible risk that it has been illegally harvested.”
It lists the 13 companies involved as Pine Products, Lacey Wood Products, Mid-State Lumber Corp, South Florida Lumber, Wood Brokerage International, Vogel Import & Export, Delfin Germany, Tiger Deck, Global Timber, Centre Import Bois Méditerranée, Derlage Junior Hout, Global Gold Forest and Houthandel van der Hoek.
Even before this year’s massacre, the report alleges these firms should have hesitated to do business with Madeireira Cedroarana because it had accrued about £130,000 in unpaid federal fines for stocking and trading illegal timber. There also appears to be evidence of widespread fraud, timber laundering and killings of forest defenders in Amazon states including Mato Grosso.
Greenpeace urged US and European authorities to consider Brazilian timber to be at high risk of coming from an illegal source, and thus to oblige companies to go beyond official paperwork and to carry out third-party field audits.
Anti-Trump protesters risk 60 years in jail. Is dissent a crime?
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/22/donald-trump-administration-punishing-dissent-protesters
Nov. 23, 2017
One effect of this would be that if these people are convicted, even of a trivial crime, they will lose their right to vote.
Yael Bromberg and Eirik Cheverud
Wednesday 22 November 2017
On the morning of President Trump’s inauguration, police trapped and arrested more than 230 people. Some were anti-Trump demonstrators; some were not. The next day, federal prosecutors charged them all with “felony rioting”, a nonexistent crime in Washington DC. The prosecution then launched a sweeping investigation into the defendants’ lives, demanding vast amounts of online information through secret warrants.
Prosecutors eventually dropped a few defendants, like journalists and legal observers, but simultaneously increased the charges against everyone else. The most recent indictment collectively charged more than 200 people with felony rioting, felony incitement to riot, conspiracy to riot, and five property-damage crimes – all from broken windows.
Each defendant is facing over 60 years in prison.
The prosecution next obtained warrants focused on anti-Trump organizers. One sought a list of all visitors to a website that organizers used to promote Inauguration Day protests. A second sought information on all Facebook friends and related communications of two organizers, the host of a coalition Facebook page, and those who simply “liked” that page.
US government demands details on all visitors to anti-Trump protest website
Read more
Despite legal challenges, a court recently decided to enforce the warrants, requiring only that personally identifiable information be redacted for “irrelevant” material. This unprecedented prosecution follows a drastic change in local law enforcement’s response to protest.
The DC Office of Police Complaints issued a report critical of the mass arrest, noting the departure from standard operating procedure and the likelihood that police lacked individualized probable cause to arrest everyone. This is exactly the type of action new policies and statutes enacted in DC were meant to avoid, following a 2002 mass arrest that caused the District to pay over $10m in settlements.
Compare this crackdown with the government’s response to the pre-planned, armed violence and rioting by white supremacists and private militia groups in Charlottesville, Virginia.
There was no sweeping online dragnet to identify organizers who conspired to plan, promote, and carry out violence in Charlottesville – violence against people, not property.
Nor were all the participants in Charlottesville rounded up and charged with felony conspiracy to commit rioting – or charged as accessories to Heather Heyer’s murder. Instead, federal prosecutors have done little to nothing.
•••••
How do prosecutors decide when to dust off the rioting statutes and whom to charge? Apparently, the reasons for the alleged rioting are important.
Sports riots are “people letting off steam”. Riots by white supremacists evidently occur with no criminal consequences. And why should law enforcement behave differently? Neither scenario threatens the state itself.
When people stand in opposition to the government, like the demonstrators did on 20 January, the analysis changes; suddenly conduct becomes “rioting”, deserving of a lifetime in prison.
•••••
Trials for the inauguration protesters begin mid-November and will continue for a year. As media ramps up coverage, do not forget what these trials are about – not rioting, not broken windows, but punishing dissent.
Man convicted of 1978 California double murder pardoned after DNA test
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/11/23/man-convicted-1978-california-double-murder-pardoned-after-dna-test.html
Nov. 23, 2017
A California man was finally vindicated nearly 40 years after being wrongly convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend and her 4-year-old son after DNA tests proved his innocence.
Craig Richard Coley, 70, was immediately released from a state prison in Lancaster on Wednesday after Gov, Jerry Brown issued a pardon of the wrongly convicted man.
Brown wrote in his pardon that Coley has been a model inmate for 38 years, avoided gangs and violence, and dedicated himself to religion.
"The grace with which Mr. Coley has endured this lengthy and unjust incarceration is extraordinary," Brown wrote.
Coley has maintained his innocence throughout his nearly four-decade imprisonment.
•••••
Brown said he asked the state parole board to look into Coley's conviction more than two years ago, and former law-enforcement officials said they believed he was wrongfully convicted or framed.
Simi Valley Police Chief David Livingstone and Ventura County District Attorney Gregory Totten, who have supported Coley's request for clemency in past, said they cannot stand by the evidence used in his conviction.
Livingstone and Totten said they began reviewing the case last year after a retired detective raised concerns about Coley's guilt. The trial court had ordered evidence destroyed after Coley exhausted his appeals, but investigators retrieved records from Coley's relatives and located biological samples at a private lab.
Using advanced techniques not available at the time of his trial, technicians did not find Coley's DNA on one key piece of evidence used in the conviction, but they did find DNA from other people, whom authorities have not publicly identified.
"As district attorney, I must tell you I look forward to the day when I can shake Mr. Coley's hand, apologize to him for the injustice he suffered," Totten said at a news conference Monday.
Nov. 23, 2017
A California man was finally vindicated nearly 40 years after being wrongly convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend and her 4-year-old son after DNA tests proved his innocence.
Craig Richard Coley, 70, was immediately released from a state prison in Lancaster on Wednesday after Gov, Jerry Brown issued a pardon of the wrongly convicted man.
Brown wrote in his pardon that Coley has been a model inmate for 38 years, avoided gangs and violence, and dedicated himself to religion.
"The grace with which Mr. Coley has endured this lengthy and unjust incarceration is extraordinary," Brown wrote.
Coley has maintained his innocence throughout his nearly four-decade imprisonment.
•••••
Brown said he asked the state parole board to look into Coley's conviction more than two years ago, and former law-enforcement officials said they believed he was wrongfully convicted or framed.
Simi Valley Police Chief David Livingstone and Ventura County District Attorney Gregory Totten, who have supported Coley's request for clemency in past, said they cannot stand by the evidence used in his conviction.
Livingstone and Totten said they began reviewing the case last year after a retired detective raised concerns about Coley's guilt. The trial court had ordered evidence destroyed after Coley exhausted his appeals, but investigators retrieved records from Coley's relatives and located biological samples at a private lab.
Using advanced techniques not available at the time of his trial, technicians did not find Coley's DNA on one key piece of evidence used in the conviction, but they did find DNA from other people, whom authorities have not publicly identified.
"As district attorney, I must tell you I look forward to the day when I can shake Mr. Coley's hand, apologize to him for the injustice he suffered," Totten said at a news conference Monday.
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Links
Hundreds of Vietnam vets infected by a slow-killing parasite
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/hundreds-vietnam-vets-infected-slow-killing-parasite-n823411
Transportation is the Biggest Source of U.S. Emissions
http://www.climatecentral.org/gallery/graphics/transportation-is-the-biggest-source-of-us-emissions
Hurricane Maria Damage Estimate of $102 Billion Surpassed Only by Katrina
https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/hurricane-maria-damages-102-billion-surpassed-only-katrina
More useful to donate cash to a charity than canned goods
http://nationalpost.com/opinion/im-begging-you-stop-donating-canned-goods-to-food-banks
tags: extreme weather
Poor sperm quality linked to air pollution
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/nov/22/air-pollution-linked-to-poor-sperm-quality
Matthew Taylor
Nov. 22, 2017
High levels of air pollution are associated with poor sperm quality and could be partly responsible for the sharp drop in male fertility, according to a new study.
A team of scientists, led by researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, studied the sperm of nearly 6,500 men and found a “strong association” between high levels of fine particulate air pollution and “abnormal sperm shape.”
The report, published in the journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine, said that although the effect is “relatively small in clinical terms” it might still lead to infertility for a “significant number of couples” given the extent of air pollution in cities around the world.
“We found a robust association between exposure to PM2.5 air pollution and low percentage of sperm normal morphology in reproductive-age men,” the researchers wrote.
“Although the effect estimates are small and the significance might be negligible in a clinical setting, this is an important public health challenge.”
Sperm counts among men have more than halved in the last 40 years although scientists are unsure of the cause. Fertility experts greeted the latest research with caution.
•••••
The scientists found a strong association between PM2.5 exposure and abnormal sperm shape. It was associated with a heightened risk of being in the bottom 10% of normal sperm size and shape, after taking account of potential factors, such as smoking and drinking, age and weight.
The study acknowledged that it was unclear how air pollution, which is known to contribute to millions of deaths around the world each year, could impair sperm development. But researchers said many of the components of fine particulate matter, such as heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, have been linked to sperm damage in previous experimental studies.
•••••
But Pacey said it was an important contribution to developing an understanding of the potential causes of male infertility.
“From this and other studies, I remain of the opinion that air pollution probably does have the potential to negatively influence male reproductive health.
“But the jury is still out about quite how and to what extent this impacts on male fertility, rather than measurable and small interesting changes in semen quality.”
Matthew Taylor
Nov. 22, 2017
High levels of air pollution are associated with poor sperm quality and could be partly responsible for the sharp drop in male fertility, according to a new study.
A team of scientists, led by researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, studied the sperm of nearly 6,500 men and found a “strong association” between high levels of fine particulate air pollution and “abnormal sperm shape.”
The report, published in the journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine, said that although the effect is “relatively small in clinical terms” it might still lead to infertility for a “significant number of couples” given the extent of air pollution in cities around the world.
“We found a robust association between exposure to PM2.5 air pollution and low percentage of sperm normal morphology in reproductive-age men,” the researchers wrote.
“Although the effect estimates are small and the significance might be negligible in a clinical setting, this is an important public health challenge.”
Sperm counts among men have more than halved in the last 40 years although scientists are unsure of the cause. Fertility experts greeted the latest research with caution.
•••••
The scientists found a strong association between PM2.5 exposure and abnormal sperm shape. It was associated with a heightened risk of being in the bottom 10% of normal sperm size and shape, after taking account of potential factors, such as smoking and drinking, age and weight.
The study acknowledged that it was unclear how air pollution, which is known to contribute to millions of deaths around the world each year, could impair sperm development. But researchers said many of the components of fine particulate matter, such as heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, have been linked to sperm damage in previous experimental studies.
•••••
But Pacey said it was an important contribution to developing an understanding of the potential causes of male infertility.
“From this and other studies, I remain of the opinion that air pollution probably does have the potential to negatively influence male reproductive health.
“But the jury is still out about quite how and to what extent this impacts on male fertility, rather than measurable and small interesting changes in semen quality.”
Too right it's Black Friday: our relentless consumption is trashing the planet
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/22/black-friday-consumption-killing-planet-growth
Please read the whole article at the following link:
George Monbiot
Nov. 22, 2017
Everyone wants everything – how is that going to work? The promise of economic growth is that the poor can live like the rich and the rich can live like the oligarchs. But already we are bursting through the physical limits of the planet that sustains us. Climate breakdown, soil loss, the collapse of habitats and species, the sea of plastic, insectageddon: all are driven by rising consumption. The promise of private luxury for everyone cannot be met: neither the physical nor the ecological space exists.
•••••
With every generation, the baseline of normalised consumption shifts. Thirty years ago, it was ridiculous to buy bottled water, where tap water is clean and abundant. Today, worldwide, we use a million plastic bottles a minute.
•••••
he ancillary promise is that, through green consumerism, we can reconcile perpetual growth with planetary survival. But a series of research papers reveal there is no significant difference between the ecological footprints of people who care and people who don’t. One recent article, published in the journal Environment and Behaviour, says those who identify themselves as conscious consumers use more energy and carbon than those who do not.
•••••
Why? Because environmental awareness tends to be higher among wealthy people. It is not attitudes that govern our impact on the planet but income. The richer we are, the bigger our footprint, regardless of our good intentions. Those who see themselves as green consumers, the research found, mainly focused on behaviours that had “relatively small benefits”.
I know people who recycle meticulously, save their plastic bags, carefully measure the water in their kettles, then take their holidays in the Caribbean, cancelling any environmental savings a hundredfold. I’ve come to believe that the recycling licences their long-haul flights. It persuades people they’ve gone green, enabling them to overlook their greater impacts.
•••••
Research by Oxfam suggests that the world’s richest 1% (if your household has an income of £70,000 or more, this means you) produce about 175 times as much carbon as the poorest 10%. How, in a world in which everyone is supposed to aspire to high incomes, can we avoid turning the Earth, on which all prosperity depends, into a dust ball?
•••••
Those who justify this system insist that economic growth is essential for the relief of poverty. But a paper in the World Economic Review finds that the poorest 60% of the world’s people receive only 5% of the additional income generated by rising GDP. As a result, $111 (£84) of growth is required for every $1 reduction in poverty. This is why, on current trends, it would take 200 years to ensure that everyone receives $5 a day. By this point, average per capita income will have reached $1m a year, and the economy will be 175 times bigger than it is today. This is not a formula for poverty relief. It is a formula for the destruction of everything and everyone.
•••••
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