ADDICTION IS A MEDICAL CONDITION NOT A CRIME
Study: Opioid addiction treatment in jail reduces re-arrest risk after release
By HealthDay News

If people in prison who have an opioid addiction receive treatment while serving time, they have a lower risk of being re-arrested after release, according to a new study. 

File Photo by sakhorn/Shutterstock

No magic bullet exists for ending the U.S. opioid crisis, but there's hopeful news for one high-risk population: Providing addiction medication in jails reduces the odds of addicts being re-arrested after their release, new research shows.

"Studies like this provide much-needed evidence and momentum for jails and prisons to better enable the treatment, education and support systems that individuals with an opioid use disorder need to help them recover and prevent reincarceration," said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse.

"Not offering treatment to people with opioid use disorder in jails and prisons can have devastating consequences, including a return to use and heightened risk of overdose and death after release," she noted in an institute news release.

People with opioid addiction are hooked on illicit drugs like heroin, powerful painkillers such as oxycodone -- also known as OxyContin -- or synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

The study included 469 adults jailed in two rural Massachusetts jails, one in Franklin County (197 prisoners) and the other in Hampshire County (272 prisoners).

Most were male, white and aged 34 to 35. All had opioid addiction, which is an epidemic in the United States, and left the jails between Jan. 1, 2015 and April 30, 2019.

During that time, the Franklin County jail began offering the opioid addiction medication buprenorphine to prisoners, while the Hampshire County facility did not.

An analysis of the jails' electronic booking systems showed that less than half of the participants from the Franklin County jail re-offended, compared with 63% of those from the Hampshire County jail.

New criminal charges were laid against 36% of participants from the Franklin County jail, compared to 47% of those from the Hampshire County jail.

While about four out of 10 of those in the Hampshire County group ended up back in jail, the rate was just over 20% in the Franklin County group.

Overall, the Franklin County group had a 32% reduction in probation violations, re-incarcerations or court charges when they offered the buprenorphine treatment compared with when they did not offer the medication, the findings showed.

A large part of that difference was due to a decrease in property crimes, according to the NIDA-funded study. The results were published Jan. 18 in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

"A lot of data already show that offering medications for opioid use disorder to people in jail can prevent overdoses, withdrawal and other adverse health outcomes after the individual is released," said study co-author Dr. Peter Friedmann, of Baystate Health, in Springfield, Mass.

"Though this study was done with a small sample, the results show convincingly that on top of these positive health effects, providing these medications in jail can break the repressive cycle of arrest, reconviction and reincarceration that occurs in the absence of adequate help and resources," he said. "That's huge."

More information

There's more on opioid addiction medications at the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Copyright © 2021 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

ONE OF THE TOUGHER GLASS CEILINGS

LA Mayor Eric Garcetti nominates Kristin Crowley to be dept.'s 1st female chief
By UPI Staff

Crowley, seen here during Mayor Eric Garcetti's announcement on Tuesday, was also the department's first female fire marshal and became the second woman to earn the rank of chief deputy. 

Photo courtesy Eric Garcetti/MayorOfLA/Twitter

Jan. 19 (UPI) -- After nearly 40 years on the job, Los Angeles' fire chief has announced his retirement -- and his successor is poised to make history as the first female chief of the department.

Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Ralph Terrazas said on Tuesday that he will retire in March. For his replacement, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti nominated Kristin Crowley, a 22-year veteran of the department.

If confirmed by the city council, Crowley would be the department's 19th and first female chief.

Crowley was also the department's first female fire marshal and became the second woman to earn the rank of chief deputy. She currently heads the department's youth development program.

A survey last November found that more than half of female firefighters reported bullying and harassment at the department, and just 13% believe that the department is interested in their well-being.

When asked about the harassment complaints, Crowley said that there would be accountability.

"The intention here and now is to ensure that all of our members, both women and men, come to work and feel safe and feel heard," Crowley said, according to the Los Angeles Times. "If that type of behavior is occurring, that will not be tolerated. Period."

Presently, just 3% of the department's firefighters are women.

Senate Democrats urge FTC to investigate COVID-19 test price gouging

Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Calling it "predatory and profiteering," two U.S. Senators called on the Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday, to investigate price gouging over COVID-19 tests.

In a letter to FTC chair Lina Khan, Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Sen. Edward J. Markey implore the commission to look into the illicit activity, as case numbers and hospitalizations soar amid the rise of the Omicron variant.

"The demand for these test kits by Americans concerned about their health, trying to protect friends and family from infection, or in need of a negative test for work, travel, or child care, has led to supply shortages and empty shelves across the country," Blumenthal and Markey write the letter.

"These conditions are unfortunately ideal for predatory and profiteering behavior, including the sale of fraudulent test kits or charging exorbitant prices for those that are available."

It urges Khan and the FTC to "be vigilant and respond immediately to any such illicit activity."

The letter goes on to say that multiple state attorneys general and the media have reported that "consumers have recently experienced price gouging when attempting to purchase at-home test kits, including being charged double or triple the regular retail price of the product."

"Meanwhile, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration continues to warn consumers about the risk of buying fraudulent diagnostic tools as they seek to protect their families from the coronavirus," the letter said.

Further, the letter reinforces that the commission "is authorized to investigate, take enforcement actions, and issue rules to address 'unfair or deceptive acts or practices' across much of the nation's commerce."

The two senators call on the FTC to investigate immediately, saying "no one should be allowed to reap a windfall and fraudulently exploit fear and human suffering."

"We can think of nothing more unfair, deceptive, and harmful than the exploitation of public health concerns for profit during a global emergency ... we strongly urge the FTC to act as necessary and use its full authority to investigate the situation and hold bad actors accountable without delay," they said in the letter.

On Friday, the federal government announced it was purchasing 1 billion at-home rapid tests to distribute free across the country.

The government website to register and access half of those tests launched Tuesday. Tests are limited to four per household.

Wine industry badly needs to attract millennials, new report finds

Rows and rows of Cabernet Franc grapes are ruined before harvest 

by the Glass Fire on Davis Estates vineyard in Calistoga, Calif., in September 2020.

 File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo

Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Millennials are turning away from wine, a new report on the state of the industry finds, leaving industry executives on the hunt for a new way to market the beverage to younger consumers.

The 2022 State of the Wine Industry Report, issued Wednesday by Silicon Valley Bank, finds that people over 65 are the demographic by far most likely to choose wine over other options. Younger drinkers are increasingly drawn to competing alcoholic beverages -- beer, spirits, and spiked seltzers.

Baby boomers drink more wine than millennials by nearly a 2-to-1 ratio.

"Unless the industry does more to attract consumers younger than 65, wine consumption might drop by 20 percent when boomers sunset," states the 66-page report, which includes data and survey results from dozens of sources.

The warning isn't new for an industry that's been sounding alarm bells about its aging consumer base for several years. But this report was more alarming because wine experts expected a strong rebound in 2021 as restaurants and bars reopened after pandemic closures.

Instead, wine lost market share to spirits.

"The reopening celebration that took place in 2021 didn't include the wine industry," the report states.

Worsening droughts and wildfires also impacted wine yields last year, the report found. Climate change put pressure on producers to find reliable water sources; meanwhile, surging property insurance costs coupled with supply and labor shortages drove "excessive markups," further deterring frugal young drinkers.

In one survey, 42% of producers indicated that they intend to raise their prices this year.

"The wine industry overcame numerous hurdles to achieve a hard-earned, solid year of sales. That said, looking at the long-term trends, this year reveals issues with both consumer demand and the ongoing climate crisis that may impact business conditions for the industry in the years to come," Rob McMillan, founder of Silicon Valley Bank's Wine Division and author of the report, said in a press release.

"The lesser interest in wine among younger consumers, coupled with the encroaching retirement and decreasing wine consumption of wine-loving baby boomers, poses a primary threat to the business."

But the report highlights some recommended strategies for appealing to younger customers. Unlike "status-seeking boomers" more likely to splurge on expensive wines, Millennials, "having lived through the Great Recession and a pandemic, aren't destined to be consumers who will show off their wealth."

To pivot to a younger generation, wine producers should highlight their social values when marketing their product, the report recommends -- staff diversity, health consciousness and sustainability are more important to millennial consumers.

"If we really want to reach the millennial, we need to move away from lifestyles of the rich and famous and add cause-based marketing to our outreach," the report states.

University of Michigan reaches $490M settlement with sexual abuse victims
By Simon Druker

The University of Michigan reached a $490 million settlement Wednesday with victims of the school's former team doctor and director of health services. 

File Photo by Steve Pepple/Shutterstock.com

Jan. 19 (UPI) -- The University of Michigan reached a settlement Wednesday, with over 1,000 victims who claim they were sexually assaulted by its former head of health services, the late Dr. Robert Anderson, according to the Detroit News.

The $490 million settlement with Anderson's victims was agreed to late Tuesday night with a formal announcement expected later Wednesday, reports The Athletic. The school had not issued a statement by late Wednesday morning.

Anderson worked for the university from 1966 until 2003, where he was also the team physician for Michigan's athletics department. He died in 2008.

A total of $460 million will be paid out to the 1,050 victims, most of whom are men. The remaining $30 million will be set aside for future victims, reports ESPN. Payouts will differ based on the circumstances of each case.

The publication also detailed a 2021 report by a law firm hired by the school to conduct an internal investigation. It found employees were aware of Anderson's behavior, which in some cases, dated back to the 1960s.

"It has been a long and challenging journey, and I believe this settlement will provide justice and healing for the many brave men and women who refused to be silenced," attorney Parker Stinar told ESPN.

Stinar represents 200 victims in the case.

Multiple lawsuits had been in mediation as the university attempted to resolve them. They claim the school became aware of the abuse at one point, but failed to take meaningful action.

The victims, which include a number of former University of Michigan athletes, claim Anderson abused them during medical visits.

The first lawsuit was filed in 2020 by a former wrestler who accused Anderson of abusing him on multiple occasions in the 1980s.

The university first launched an investigation in 2018, reports the Detroit News.

The publication then published an interview with former student Robert Julian Stone, who said he was abused by Anderson during a 1971 medical exam.

Chances were missed to stop U. of Michigan doctor Anderson
By ED WHITE

Jon Vaughn, a former University of Michigan football player from 1988 to 1991 speaks during a news conference in Ann Arbor, Mich. on June 16, 2021. A financial payout for more than 1,000 people — mostly men — who say they were sexually assaulted by former University of Michigan sports doctor Robert Anderson is the latest multimillion settlement involving schools faced with sexual misconduct scandals. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya_File)


DETROIT (AP) — Complaints that a University of Michigan sports doctor was committing sexual assault went back decades, long before a $490 million settlement this week with victims, but no one stepped forward to ensure that Robert Anderson would be kicked off campus.

The many missed opportunities were described in detail last May when a law firm hired by the university released its findings about Anderson, who died in 2008 after working at U-M for nearly 40 years.

WilmerHale found at least 20 occasions when a student, athlete or other individual spoke with university staff about Anderson.

“There was an undercurrent of rumors, jokes, innuendo and expressions of concern about Dr. Anderson throughout his career at the university,” the report said. “University personnel failed to appreciate the significance of what they heard. We found no evidence that anyone inquired into his conduct or referred him for investigation.”

Yet WilmerHale also found critical events that could have made a difference, according to the report:

A WRESTLER COMPLAINS

In 1975, Tad DeLuca wrote a 10-page letter to his coach about a range of issues, including Anderson’s insistence that athletes “drop your drawers” for a rectal exam, no matter the reason for a visit. No action was taken. The coach, Bill Johannesen, told investigators that he he couldn’t recall any complaints about Anderson. In 2018, 43 years later, DeLuca wrote to athletic director Warde Manuel about Anderson, a letter that led to a police investigation.

ADMINISTRATOR GETS ANGRY

Thomas Easthope, who supervised the University Health Service, heard complaints that Anderson was “fooling around with boys,” a reference to him taking advantage of gay students, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Easthope claimed he fired Anderson — “Bob, you’re outta here” — but Anderson merely stopped being health service director. By 1981, he had moved to the athletic department. Before he died in 2021, Easthope acknowledged that he didn’t tell local authorities about Anderson. “We live in a different time, and it’s not like that today,” he said.

DID BO KNOW?

Some football players said they told legendary coach Bo Schembechler about Anderson molesting them in the 1970s. Schembechler, who died in 2006, told one to “toughen up.” The disclosure has caused division in Schembechler’s family, with some saying he never would have flippantly dismissed complaints. A son, Matt Schembechler, said he was an Anderson victim and that he told his dad.

There have since been calls to remove Schembechler’s campus statue and take his name off a football building.

Athletic director Don Canham was informed about Anderson, too, but took no action, athletes said. Canham died in 2005.

The overall failure to intervene gave the doctor “countless occasions” to harass, abuse and assault patients during his 37-year career, the report said.

Anderson’s victims included pilots and others in the aviation field who needed physicals for employment. The Federal Aviation Administration had certified him as a medical examiner in southeastern Michigan.

“He continued to provide medical services to student athletes and other patients — and to engage in sexual misconduct with large numbers of them — for the rest of his career,” the report said.



This undated file photo provided by the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan shows Dr. Robert E. Anderson. The University of Michigan has agreed to a $490 million settlement with hundreds of people who say they were sexually assaulted by the former sports doctor at the school. Attorney Parker Stinar says Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022, that 1,050 people will share in the settlement, which was reached the night before.
(Robert Kalmbach/Bentley Historical Library University of Michigan via AP)
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Follow Ed White at http://twitter.com/edwritez

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Find AP’s full coverage of the University of Michigan sexual assault case at: https://apnews.com/hub/robert-anderson

US announces historic $1.1 bn investment for Everglades rehabilitation

Water vegetation is seen at the Everglades National Park, Florida on September 30, 2021 (AFP/CHANDAN KHANNA)

Wed, January 19, 2022, 11:20 AM·2 min read

The plan to restore the Florida Everglades, the largest wetlands in the United States, will receive a federal investment of $1.1 billion to protect the region against the effects of climate change, the White House said Wednesday.

"The Administration is making the largest single investment in the Everglades in US history," the White House said in a statement.

The money, which comes from already approved funds in President Joe Biden's $1.2 trillion infrastructure package passed by Congress in November, will be spent by the US Army Corps of Engineers.

"The iconic American landscape provides drinking water supply for over 8 million Floridians, supports the state's $90 billion tourism economy, and is home to dozens of endangered or threatened species," the White House said.

The Everglades, a subtropical ecosystem of more than 607,000 hectares (1.5 million acres), is the scene of one of the biggest ecological rehabilitation projects in the world.

The area is especially vulnerable to sea level rise, a consequence of climbing temperatures due to climate change, as an influx of saltwater could disrupt groundwater reserves and throw off the balance between the region's plants and animals.

The restoration efforts will try to revive the flow of water across the wetland, which has been interrupted by decades of human development.

Scientists envision a complex system of canals, dams and water pumps.

Congress in 2000 approved a $7.8 billion federally and state-funded plan to protect the Everglades, a national park, which, despite some advances, faced delay after delay.

The money from Wednesday's announcement could accelerate the project, according to Florida's Democratic Representative Debbie Wasserman Shultz.

"This is enormous news, and allows us to set a course for quicker completion of the world's largest ecosystem restoration project," she said in a statement.

gma/yow/caw/st

Guatemala state of siege extended for feuding communities


Corn plantations are seen in Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan, Guatemala on December 21, 2021, as indigenous people block a road, demanding the government help resolve a sometimes violent conflict between two communities (AFP/Johan ORDONEZ)

Wed, January 19, 2022, 12:01 PM·2 min read

Guatemala on Wednesday extended by a month a state of siege in two indigenous communities locked in a century-old land dispute that boiled over last month into a massacre of 13 people.

The state of siege, imposed a month ago, restricts certain constitutional rights, such as the bearing of arms and right to protest.

The government said the lingering causes that provoked the state of siege and "the presence of armed groups" meant an extension was needed, according to a decree published in the official gazette, Diario de Centro America.

It said the extension in the neighboring western municipalities of Nahuala and Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan was necessary to "maintain constitutional order, the security of the State and to recover the governability of the territory."

The state of siege must still be ratified by Congress, which is controlled by the governing party and its allies.

Last month, armed men with high caliber weapons ambushed a group of people from Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan who went to the village of Chiquix in Nahuala to pick corn, killing 13 people, including three children and a police officer.

The bodies of the three children, aged between five and 14, were chopped up into pieces and the victims were burned inside the truck they were traveling in.

Three people have been detained over the massacre.

Both warring communities are members of the Mayan K'iche tribe and have been fighting over land -- at times violently -- for more than 100 years.

The Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan community claims those in Nahuala have stolen some of their land.

On January 7, a 6,500-strong contingent of police, soldiers and prosecutors came under fire when conducting searches and arrests in the Nahuala community as part of investigations into the massacre.

One police officer was killed and 19 injured.

Two days later, President Alejandro Giammattei offered a reward worth around $6,250 for information leading to the arrest of four indigenous people accused of taking part in both incidents.

On Tuesday, Giammattei took part in a new meeting with leaders of the two communities to try to find an agreement over the border between them.

Indigenous people, many living in poverty, make up more than 40 percent of Guatemala's population of almost 17 million people, according to official statistics.

hma/yow/bc/caw

Natural immunity more potent than vaccines during US Delta wave: study

A nurse prepares a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 at a vaccination center in Mexico City (AFP/PEDRO PARDO)

Wed, January 19, 2022

During America's last surge of the coronavirus driven by the Delta variant, people who were unvaccinated but survived Covid were better protected than those who were vaccinated and not previously infected, a new study said Wednesday.

The finding is the latest to weigh in on a debate on the relative strengths of natural versus vaccine-acquired immunity against SARS-CoV-2, but comes this time with the imprimatur of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The authors of the paper warned, however, against depending on infection as a strategy, given the higher risks to unvaccinated persons of hospitalization, long term impacts, and death, compared to vaccinated people.

"Viruses are constantly changing, including the virus that causes Covid-19," the CDC said in a statement.

"The level of protection offered by vaccination and surviving a previous infection changed during the study period. Vaccination remains the safest strategy for protecting against Covid-19," it added.

The analysis was also carried out before the emergence of the Omicron variant, for which both vaccine and infection-derived immunity appear diminished, and before boosters were made widely available.

The new study involved patients in New York and California between May 30 to November 30, 2021.

Prior to Delta becoming dominant, vaccination conferred greater immunity than infection. But the relationship shifted when the variant became predominant in late June and July.

By the week of October 3, case rates among vaccinated people without prior Covid were around six times lower in California and five times lower in New York compared to those who were unvaccinated and without prior Covid.

But the rates were substantially lower among people with previous Covid, including around 29 times (California) and 15 times lower (New York) among unvaccinated persons with a previous diagnosis, compared to those who were unvaccinated and without prior Covid.

Protection was highest among those who had both vaccination and prior Covid.

Hospitalizations followed a similar pattern.

Other research, including a notable paper from Israel in August, have similarly found that natural immunity was more potent than vaccines during the Delta surge.

But the US CDC had previously taken the opposite position, based on pre-Delta data.

"Further studies are needed to establish duration of protection from previous infection by variant type, severity, and symptomatology, including for the Omicron variant," the paper concluded.

ia/dw

Sudan protester shot dead as US envoys visit

Sudanese women sit atop a brick barricade at 60th Street on January 18, 2022 in the capital Khartoum as part of a civil disobedience campaign following the killing of seven anti-coup demonstrators (AFP/-)

Wed, January 19, 2022, 1:06 PM·3 min read

Sudanese security forces shot dead an anti-coup protester on Wednesday as American diplomats visited Khartoum seeking to help end a crisis which has claimed dozens of lives and derailed the country's democratic transition.

For two days shops have shuttered and protesters have blockaded streets in a civil disobedience campaign to protest the killing of seven people during a demonstration on Monday, one of the bloodiest days since the October 25 military coup.

The latest killing took place in Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman where protesters opposed to the coup had set up barricades.

Pro-democracy medics from the Doctors' Committee said the protester was shot in the torso "by live bullets of the (security) forces".

Witnesses also reported the use of tear gas by security forces in Omdurman and eastern Khartoum.

The death brings to 72 the number of people killed in a security crackdown against protesters who have taken to the streets -- sometimes in the tens of thousands -- calling for a return to the country's democratic transition and opposing the latest military putsch.

Protesters have been shot by live rounds and hundreds have been wounded, according to the Doctors' Committee.

The Forces for Freedom and Change, the leading civilian pro-democracy group, called for more protests on Thursday in Khartoum "in tribute to the martyrs", and nationwide on Friday.

- 'Systematic violence' -

Before the latest fatality, US Assistant Secretary of State Molly Phee and special envoy for the Horn of Africa, David Satterfield, held meetings with the bereaved families of people killed during the protests, the US embassy said.

They also met with members of the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), an umbrella of unions which were instrumental in protests which ousted president Omar al-Bashir in April 2019, as well as the mainstream faction of the Forces for Freedom and Change.

Its spokesman Wagdy Saleh said they pleaded for "an end to the systematic violence towards civilians" and a "credible political process".

The diplomats are scheduled to meet with others including military leaders and political figures.

"Their message will be clear: the United States is committed to freedom, peace, and justice for the Sudanese people," the US State Department said ahead of the visit.

The diplomats held earlier talks in Saudi Arabia with the "Friends of Sudan" -- a group of Western and Arab countries favouring transition to civilian rule.

- 'Reestablish public trust' -

In a statement, the group backed a United Nations initiative announced last week to hold intra-Sudanese consultations to break the political impasse.

"We urge all to engage in good faith and reestablish public trust in the inevitable transition to democracy," the group said.

"Ideally this political process will be time-bound and culminate in the formation of a civilian-led government which will prepare for democratic elections."

While the US diplomats visited, coup leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan announced that vice-ministers -- some of whom served before the coup and some appointed after -- would now become ministers.

A statement from his office called it a "cabinet in charge of current affairs".

But it has no prime minister, since the civilian premier Abdalla Hamdok resigned in early January after trying to cooperate with the military.

As part of the civil disobedience campaign, judicial workers including prosecutors and judges said they would not work for a state committing "crimes against humanity".

University professors, corporations and doctors also joined the movement, according to separate statements.

Sudan's authorities have repeatedly denied using live ammunition against demonstrators, and insist scores of security personnel have been wounded during protests. A police general was stabbed to death last week.

bur/lg/it

Seniors join climate fight in South Korea, redress for 'dark side' of economic boom

By Thomas Maresca

South Korean senior citizens have joined the climate movement with a group called 60+ Climate Action, which held its first event on Wendesday.

 Photo by Thomas Maresca/UPI

SEOUL, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Dozens of senior citizens took to the snowy streets of Seoul on Wednesday to lend their voices to a climate movement that is typically the domain of much younger activists.

Calling themselves 60+ Climate Action, the seniors staged a rally outside the city's historic Tapgol Park and marched to a nearby plaza in downtown Seoul, wearing green face masks and carrying hand-drawn signs with personal messages to their grandchildren.

The group's organizers said it was time for South Korea's older generations -- often conservative-leaning and considered deeply out of step with the fast-moving society -- to get more involved with the most urgent issue of the day.

"The climate crisis is not only an issue for the young generation," Yun Jung-sook, a longtime environmental activist and co-director of 60+ Climate Action, said. "We think that 60+ people need to change our role, to show a new, active and different voice."

Yun said older generations grew up celebrating South Korea's stunning industrial transformation from a ravaged post-war nation to a global economic powerhouse -- a change that came with an environmental cost, as the country became one of Asia's biggest greenhouse gas emitters.

"From the very early days of elementary school, we learned that economic growth is progress, is success," Yun said. "But there was a dark side."

Now the seniors are trying to do something to address the legacy they've left behind.

"Our generation got to enjoy the industrial development," 67-year-old Min Yoon Hea-kyung said. "But we produced too much. We consumed too much. And we didn't care enough about our future generations. So now we've got to help change things for the generation coming up."

The South Korean seniors aren't alone -- a growing number of gray-haired groups have sprung up around the world, such as the Swiss grandmothers who sued their government for failing to protect them from heatwaves caused by climate change.

Bill McKibben, one of America's foremost environmental writers and activists, also recently founded his own group to mobilize senior support for climate issues, Third Wave.

The activists on Wednesday said senior citizens bring a number of advantages to the climate action movement.

"Some are very well-educated, some have connections, some have many more resources than the younger generation," said Rhee Kyung-hee, 74, a retired professor. "Most important of all -- we have plenty of free time."

The 60+ Climate Action group was initially formed in September and counts around 100 active members, with several hundred more who have signed on to express their support.

Members have started projects such as a visit to environmentally vulnerable areas on the island of Jeju to meet with locals and help attract media attention. Organizers are working on letter-writing campaigns and looking to increase the pressure on political and business leaders to address the climate crisis.

South Korea has pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030-- but the country still remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels for its energy needs, generating around 40% of its electricity from coal and only 6.5% from renewable sources.

Climate watchdogs say South Korea's goals are not nearly enough to meet the demands of the 2015 Paris Climate Accords, which aim to limit global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels in order to avoid environmental catastrophe.

"The people realize that climate crisis is a serious issue but the government is moving too slow," Yun said. "This is not an agenda for the future or for the young. It is here, right now, and all the generations have to be involved."