Creator of the World Wide Web says the Internet isn't working for women

The Internet can be a hostile place for women.

Alia E. Dastagir USA TODAY

Sen. Elizabeth Warren knows it — she was relentlessly trolled by supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders during her presidential run. So does Laura Bassett, the journalist who accused ex-Hardball host Chris Matthews of making sexist comments and was inundated with online threats after she went public. Last month, one of TikTok's biggest female stars revealed she gets hundreds of thousands of hate comments a week.

The creator of the World Wide Web says it's time to confront this dangerous trend.

"The web is not working for women and girls," Tim Berners-Lee says.

Berners-Lee's World Wide Web Foundation, along with the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, released new research on the web's 31st birthday Thursday that reveals more than half of young women and girls around the world have experienced online abuse, which includes threatening messages, sexual harassment and sharing of private images without consent. The research found 84% of young people surveyed think the problem is getting worse.


"The world has made important progress on gender equality thanks to the unceasing drive of committed champions everywhere," Berners-Lee said in an open letter. "But I am seriously concerned that online harms facing women and girls – especially those of colour, from LGBTQ+ communities and other marginalised groups – threaten that progress. This should concern us all."

As she exited the presidential race, Warren took a swipe at the "online nastiness" of Sanders supporters, referred to by some as "Bernie Bros."

"It's not just about me. There's a real problem with this online bullying and sort of online nastiness," Warren said in an interview with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow. Maddow referenced Sanders supporters calling Warren a "snake" and a "traitor," and attempting to recruit a primary challenger against her. 

In a piece for GQ earlier this month, Bassett revealed Matthews flirted with her several times before she appeared on his show, which made her uncomfortable on air. Matthews resigned shortly after, following renewed criticism over on-air comments and a history of sexist behavior.

Bassett said after she published her piece, she was viciously attacked online. She wrote a column about it for The Washington Post.

Girls and women on the Internet are frequently degraded, bullied, stalked and threatened, with few consequences for their harassers. Women are about twice as likely as men to say they have been targeted as a result of their gender, according to a 2017 report from the Pew Research Center. Young women are especially vulnerable. Nearly 70% of 18- to 29-year-olds have been the target of online abuse, according to the report.


Charli D'Amelio and her sister Dixie D'Amelio are some of the biggest female stars of the social video app TikTok, and recently shared their experiences with cyber-bullying in a video for UNICEF. Charlie D'Amelio, who has amassed nearly 35 million followers on the app, said she gets hundreds of thousands of abusive comments a week.

"Some of the most hurtful comments that I read about myself online are: 'She's fatter than when we got her famous,' or 'she's ugly,'" she said. "I'm still a 15 year old teenager — girl especially. It hurts for everyone no matter who you are."

"This is something really affecting young women," said Emily Sharpe, director of policy at the World Wide Web Foundation. "It's important that young men don't see this as acceptable behavior, that they aren't taught that toxic masculinity online is OK."

Psychologists:'Traditional masculinity' is harmful

Sharpe says it's critical that governments and businesses take threats seriously. When laws and regulations change, it can help change social norms. Women and especially men need to speak up about this abuse and demand it not be tolerated, she said.

"Men shouldn't engage in it, they shouldn't support it, and they shouldn't be silent about it," she said.

Berners-Lee said the web needs to work for everyone.

"We can create a stronger, better web," he said, "one that empowers, fosters equality, and serves each and every one of us."

Canada will not rule out border closures, medical officer says time running out

WE HAVE ONLY ONE BORDER ITS WITH THE USA 

By David Ljunggren, Reuters•March 15, 2020

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gives a speech at a news conference at Rideau Cottage in OttawaBy David Ljunggren

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday would not rule out closing borders to combat a coronavirus outbreak while the country's chief medical officer said time was running out to head off a spike in cases.

At least 313 Canadians have tested positive and one person has died. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, saw its largest daily increase so far of 38 new cases, totaling 142.

Asked whether Canada might shut its frontiers to Europe or the United States, Trudeau told CTV: "We are not taking anything off the table."
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Theresa Tam, Canada's Chief Public Health Officer, called for strong action - such as avoiding large public gatherings - to help delay the spread of the virus.

"With cases rapidly increasing in Canada ... our window to flatten the curve of the epidemic is narrowing," she told reporters. Tam though said it was not time to declare a national public health emergency, noting most of the cases involved people who had been abroad.

"That situation could change very quickly," she said.

There are now cases in all 10 provinces. Quebec Premier Francois Legault on Sunday ordered the temporary closure of businesses where people gathered while restaurants can stay open, but only at half capacity.

He also called on Trudeau to seal off the country.

Canada's public health agency posted an advert for nurses, citing "an urgent need". Medical authorities in Ottawa, the federal capital and home to thousands of civil servants, recommended people stay at home if possible.

Passenger train service on the key Windsor to Quebec City corridor will be cut by half, the operator said, while all Ontario casinos were shut down.

Canada has already boosted monitoring at airports and is urging citizens to return from abroad while they still can.

"We're hearing the concern people have had. The shift in posture in the United States of course gives us significant things to think about," said Trudeau.

Closing borders could have a major economic impact, given that Canada sends 75% of its goods exports to the United States.

Asked whether foreign visitors might be obliged to go into isolation, Trudeau replied: "We are considering everything."

The Liberal government will make significant fiscal announcements early next week to help those hit by the outbreak, he added.

Trudeau, asked about instances of people hoarding foodstuffs and toilet paper, said supply chains were intact.

"Not panicking about anything is going to be really important," he said.

'Psyched': First Psychedelics Company Lists Publicly, Phase III Clinical Trials On MDMA For PTSD

Natan Ponieman,Benzinga•March 15, 2020


Welcome to the first edition of Psyched, a bi-monthly column covering the most important developments in the industry of medicinal psychedelics. We hope you follow us periodically as we report on the growth of this exciting new industry.

MindMed Became the First Psychedelics Company to List Publicly on NEO Stock Exchange, Created New Committee

Mind Medicine Inc. (OTC: MMEDF) (NEO: MMED) received clearance by Canada’s NEO Exchange to list under the symbol MMED on March 3. This makes it the first psychedelic-focused company to go public on a North American exchange.

MindMed is a neuro-pharmaceutical company that researches and develops psychedelics-inspired medicine. The company is researching 18-MC, a non-hallucinogenic drug derived from the psychedelic plant ibogaine and is setting the ground for Phase 2 clinical trials on LSD microdosing.

After completion of a Phase 1 clinical trial to prove 18-MC’s safety in humans the company is now moving forward to Phase 2 trials, which will assess efficacy and side effects. The 18-MC molecule has been floated as a possible alternative to treating substance addiction, including opioids and tobacco.

The company also announced on March 12 it has formed a technology evaluation, acquisition and scientific integrity board committee, that will be headed by Matthew Johnson, Ph.D.

Johnson is a Johns Hopkins professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, who has been one of the leading figures of psychedelic research and treatment development in the past decade. Dr. Miri Halperin Wernli, a psychiatry clinician and a director on MindMed's board, will chair the committee.

Former Canopy Growth Exec. Joined Psychedelics Company Board

Jon Cooper, former Canopy Growth (NYSE: CGC) Deputy Managing Director of U.S. Operations, was named Director of the Board at CaaMTech on Feb. 26.

Cooper founded Ebbu, a Colorado-based cannabis company in 2013. The company was acquired by Canopy Growth in 2018 by CA$429 million ($330 million), which were paid CA$25 million in cash, and the rest in Canopy Stock.

Israel Completed Phase III Clinical Trials on MDMA for PTSD

Two Israeli participants were the first to complete a Phase III clinical study using MDMA as a treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, announced the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) on Feb. 26.

The study will be complemented with patients from the U.S. and Canada, and is expected to be completed by 2021. Dr. Keren Tzarfaty, Clinical Investigator, Training Supervisor, and Director of Israeli Projects and Collaborations with MAPS said that MDMA-assisted psychotherapy can have a great impact on patients who suffer from traumatic experiences such as war or sexual assault. Given Israel’s current and historical condition of political instability, it is believed that over 10% of the Israeli population experiences PTSD in relation to war and war-related violence.

In February 2019, Israel became the first country to give financial support to MDMA-assisted therapy, with the granting of $500,000 in medical and hospital services to MAPS. The country was also the first to approve a Compassionate Use program for MDMA therapy for PTSD.

Psychedelic-Enhanced Psychotherapy Clinic Opens In Toronto

Field Trip Health, a wholly owned subsidiary of Field Trip Psychedelics, a mental wellness company focused on psychedelics and psychotherapy, debuted its first medical center in Toronto on March 4.

The center will be dedicated exclusively to the administration of psychedelic-enhanced psychotherapy. This means that the clinic’s professionals will use psychedelics as tools to improve psychological treatment.

The first psychedelic that will be administered to patients at the clinic is ketamine, a dissociative drug that the former director of the National Institute of Mental Health described as “the most important breakthrough in antidepressant treatment in decades.”

His statement was based on evidence showing Ketamine is safe, provides almost immediate and enduring relief from depression symptoms, and improves neuroplasticity.

The opening follows Field Trip’s announcement of an oversubscribed Series A financing round that raised $8.5 million for the company. Those funds will be used to execute the initial stages of Field Trip's strategic plan to build out its network of medical centers in Toronto as well as in the U.S. with clinics in New York and Los Angeles set to open later this year.

Additionally, the financing will help fund the final construction of its research and cultivation facility at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica that is dedicated to the study of psilocybin-producing mushrooms and the discovery of novel therapeutic molecules.

Prohibition Partners Released its First Psychedelics Report

The European-based cannabis research firm Prohibition Partners released its first report on psychedelics as medicine. The report introduces the language and established categories for the nascent industry, including the drugs psilocybin (‘magic’ mushrooms), LSD, ketamine, MDMA and ibogaine.

The report reviews legislation and regulation around these drugs, their market potential and consumer trends and attitudes. Also included is a profiling of the different compounds in terms of their therapeutic possibilities, a timeline of key events in the history of these drugs and the status of psychedelics as medicine around the world.

Photo by Valentin Salja on Unsplash

See more from Benzinga

MORE GERMS THAN ON A PUBLIC TOILET SEAT

How to clean your iPhone to kill the new coronavirus and other germs


Daniel HowleyTechnology Editor,Yahoo Finance•March 12, 2020
An employee cleans an iPhone Apple XR during the press visit of the new Apple Store Champs-Elysees on November 15, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)

With people around the globe taking extra precautions to prevent infection from the new coronavirus, including increased hand washing, wearing masks (even if they’re not advised if you’re not already sick), and avoiding large crowds, there’s one item that nearly everyone uses, but many forget to clean: smartphones.

While doorknobs, light switches, and the like all get wiped down, you may not think to give your smartphone a thorough cleaning. But you should, as it’s a device that you hold in your hand all day and put up to your face.

Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, smartphone makers told consumers to avoid using disinfecting wipes or sprays on their devices to keep from damaging the coating on their touchscreen displays. Apple, specifically, told iPhone owners to simply use a cloth dampened with water to clean their phones.

The iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max, meanwhile, could be cleaned using a cloth and warm, soapy water, according to Apple.

But with the coronavirus marching across the globe, Apple has changed its guidelines. The company now says you can use a wipe with 70% isopropyl alcohol or a Clorox wipe to clean your iPhones.

Apple says to gently wipe your device, so don’t scrub at it like you’re trying to get baked on lasagna off of a casserole dish, and don’t submerge your device in any disinfecting cleaner. The company also says you shouldn’t use bleach, which could seriously damage your phone. You should also avoid getting disinfecting cleaners in your phone’s ports, which could cause additional damage.

Your smartphone is, more or less, a rectangular petri dish. Various studies have found that the phones carry bacteria from virtually everything you touch. And, considering people use their phones in the bathroom, some phones also have fecal matter on them.

There’s still no complete understanding of how long the coronavirus can survive on surfaces. The World Health Organization says the virus may last hours or even days outside of the body, so cleaning your phone is absolutely worthwhile.

Companies like PhoneSoap produce UV cases that bathe your smartphone in ultraviolet light to kill bacteria. Those do work for certain germs, but it’s not yet clear if it will kill the coronavirus, so use those as you see fit.

But if you aren’t already cleaning your phone with at least a disinfecting wipe, you should start now, and continue to do so long after the coronavirus is in our rearview mirror. After all, do you really want to put a germ-covered rectangle up to your face every day?

JUST THE FACTS 
5G is safe and poses 'no health risks': Radiation watchdog attempts to quell conspiracy theories about developing 'cancer and male infertility' from the next-generation mobile networks

WHEREIN YOUR HUMBLE HOST JOINS WITH RATIONALISTS, ATHEISTS, SKEPTICS, AND OTHER LIBERTARIAN SF'ERS IN SUPPORTING SCIENCE (FACTS) OVER THAT GREAT AMERICAN [LEVANT, ORIENTAL, ASIAN, BYZANTINE, RUSSIAN, ETC, ETC.] PASSTIME OF CONSPIRACY THEORY 

The radiation watchdog ICNIRP found no risks to health from 5G frequencies

There were no signs of cancer or other illnesses developing from exposure

They have imposed 'minor restrictions' on the highest end of the 5G spectrum

ICNIRP says these are just small tweaks to existing regulations and only
apply to the handset manufacturers - who already implement them
- not the masts

By RYAN MORRISON FOR MAILONLINE 13 March 2020

5G is safe and poses 'no health risks' according to the radiation watchdog ICNIRP
- as it sets out to quell rising conspiracy theories about the impact of mobile radiation.

The number of theories about the impact of 5G on the human body has been rising, with some groups claiming it can cause male infertility, cancer and Alzheimer's.

The watchdog found no risks of cancer or other illnesses from exposure to the frequencies used in fifth generation networks - after studying seven years of data.

They have introduced new guidelines for device manufacturers that limit the use of the highest- 6Ghz - parts of the radio spectrum that could be used for 5G but aren't implemented by any carriers in the UK or USA.

The newly implemented rules are just a 'slightly higher level of protection than the
current guidelines', according to the Germany-based organisation.

Limits imposed on the 6Ghz part of the frequency spectrum that could be used by mobile networks are slightly 'more conservative limits' on radiation from handsets.

No currently available 5G phones will be affected by the guideline changes as they already comply with the rules - all future phones will also have to comply.

'We also considered all other types of effects for instance, whether radio waves could lead to the development of cancer in the human body,' ICNIRP's chairman Dr Eric van Rongen told the BBC. 'We find that the scientific evidence for that is not enough to conclude that indeed there is such an effect.'

The new regulations are unlikely to have any impact on existing 5G networks.

A spokeswoman for the GSMA - the body responsible for the telecom industry in the UK - said the guidelines prove existing technology is safe.

'Importantly, the health risk assessment is unchanged. The review found no established health risks to anyone, including children, using mobile phones or living near base stations,' she said.


Most counties in the UK now have access to 5G with a few exceptions. Vodafone, Sky, 02, EE and Three all have masts across the country with EE hosting the most sites Major telecom companies in the UK have now launched 5G networks, with more than 100 locations connected to the next generation service.

Other health theories blamed on the roll out of 5G include headaches and the spread of coronavirus. 

'We know parts of the community are concerned about the safety of 5G and we hope the updated guidelines will help put people at ease,' said van Rongen 

Testing by UK communications regulator Ofcom of existing 5G masts found that they were using a 'small fraction' of allowable emissions with the highest reading at just 1.5 per cent of the maximum level. 

Public Health England said: 'The overall exposure is expected to remain low relative to guidelines and, as such, there should be no consequences for public health.' 

Testing by UK communications regulator Ofcom of existing 5G masts 

found that they were using a 'small fraction' of allowable emissions with 

the highest reading at just 1.5 per cent of the maximum level 

'The guidelines have been developed after a thorough review of all relevant scientific literature, scientific workshops and an extensive consultation', said van Rongen.

'They provide protection against all scientifically substantiated adverse health effects due to EMF exposure in the 100kHz to 300GHz range.'

He added: 'The most important thing for people to remember is that 5G technologies will not be able to cause harm when these guidelines are adhered to.'

Other minor changes to the guidelines include greater transparency to make the logic and scientific basis of the guidelines easier for the health protection community to engage with. 

They have also added a means of assessing compliance with the guidelines and greater specification of how to assess complicated exposure scenarios. 

WHAT IS 5G AND WHAT DOES IT DO?

The evolution of the G system started in 1980 with the invention of the mobile phone which allowed for analogue data to be transmitted via phone calls. 

Digital came into play in 1991 with 2G and SMS and MMS capabilities were launched. 

Since then, the capabilities and carrying capacity for the mobile network has increased massively. 

More data can be transferred from one point to another via the mobile network quicker than ever.

5G is expected to be 100 times faster than the currently used 4G. 

Whilst the jump from 3G to 4G was most beneficial for mobile browsing and working, the step to 5G will be so fast they become almost real-time. 

That means mobile operations will be just as fast as office-based internet connections.

Potential uses for 5g include: 

Simultaneous translation of several languages in a party conference call 

Self-driving cars can stream movies, music and navigation information from the cloud

A full length 8GB film can be downloaded in six seconds. 

5G is expected to be so quick and efficient it is possible it could start the end of wired connections. 

#IoT

INTERNET OF EVERYTHING 

By the end of 2020, industry estimates claim 50 billion devices will be connected to 5G.

The evolution of from 1G to 5G. The predicted speed of 5G is more than 1Gbps - 1,000 times greater than the existing speed of 4G and could be implemented in laptops of the future 

Super-fast 5G mobile internet browsing is put to the test

What is 5G? Intel launch 5G enabled laptop in 2019

NASA reveals image of mysterious 'lava tube' beneath a Mars volcano that could be used for future human settlements

An image of a lava tube below the Mars' surface was shared by NASA that could be used as settlement location

The lava tube is seen through an opening on the surface of the Pavonis Mons volcano, which is even taller than Mount Everest 

The opening is around 115 feet wide and the cavern below is around 65 feet beneath the surface

NASA has shared a photo of a mysterious hole on the side of one of Mars’s largest volcanoes, an example of a 'lava tube' that could be used as the location of human settlements in the future.

The hole is on the side of Pavonis Mons, a volcano near the Martian equator that has a height of 8.7 miles, even taller than Mt. Everest.

The opening is around 115 feet wide and the cavern below is around 65 feet beneath the surface which NASA’s scientists believe was formed by ancient channels of lava.

NASA has shared an image of a lava tube (pictured above) seen beneath the surface of the Pavonis Mons volcano on Mars

‘Holes such as this are of particular interest because their interior caves are relatively protected from the harsh surface of Mars, making them relatively good candidates to contain Martian life,’ NASA writes.

‘These pits are therefore prime targets for possible future spacecraft, robots, and even human interplanetary explorers.’

The image was originally captured by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter satellite in 2011.

In the subsequent years researchers have seized on the idea of using lava tunnels as locations for settlements when humans eventually reach the red planet.

Similar lava tubes or caverns have been found all across Earth, according to a Newsweek report, including in Hawaii, Spain, Iceland, and the Galapagos Islands, and they’ve even been observed on the moon.


The Pavonis Mons is 8.7 miles high, even taller than Mt. Everest, and sits atop a large network of lava tubes, hollow caverns carved out of rock by ancient lava flows

The tubes are formed as lava flows beneath the planet’s surface around a volcano after an eruption.

The lava creates a hard, burnt crust as it flows, generating structural support for caverns that help to protect them from collapse.

The land around Pavonis Mons is believed to host a large network of such lava tubes.

Pavonis Mons is a shield volcano, which formed as layers of cooling lava piled on top of one another and built up the height of the volcano, creating lots of opportunity for new lava flows to carve out channels in older rock.

Lava tubes are formed below a planet's surface by flowing lava, which creates a hardened and scorched crust that provides structural reinforcement to keep the tubes from collapsing

Scientists believe such lava tubes are likely to be the largest subterranean spaces on Mars and could protect human settlers on Mars from a variety of environmental dangers, including cosmic radiation and micrometeroites.

On Earth, the only caves larger than lava tubes were formed by giant underground bodies of water which gradually eroded limestone or other rocks.

Because Mars lacks these substances, lava is generally believed to been the main factor in creating many of the planet’s subterranean caves.

On Earth, lava tubes tend to remain fairly narrow because of the effects of gravity, typically around 98 feet across, but in lower gravity environments the tubes can grow much wider.

Martian lava tubes can reach widths of 820 feet, and on the moon they’ve reached widths of more than 1,900 feet without collapsing.

HOW DO LAVA TUBES FORM?

Lava tubes such as those seen at La Cueva de los Verdes (pictured) can form in two ways

'Overcrusted' tubes form when thinner lava flows fairly close to the surface, developing a hard crust that thickens to create a roof above the moving lava stream.

When the eruptions end, the channel created by the lava is drained leaving a tunnel a few metres beneath the surface.

'Inflated' tubes are complex and deep structures that form when lava is injected into existing fissures between layers of rock or cavities from previous flows.

The lava expands and leaves a huge network of connected galleries as it forces its way to the surface.

Largest 3D scan of lava tube reveals 'volcanic wormhole' in Spain

MORE WINNERS FROM THE PERFECT MOMENT PHOTO CONTEST

Here’s a list of the contest’s other winners. You can view their photos in the gallery below.

• 2nd Place — “Eye to Eye” by Bence Mate

Photo of a hummingbird going face-to-face with a green pit viper. The description notes that while the viper isn't necessarily a threat to the hummingbird, it is a threat to the bird's nestlings. So, the hummingbird tries to distract the viper by chirping and flying around it.

• 3rd Place — “Showtime” by Bence Mate

A photo of a bird called a cormorant shaking its wings. 
It caused water droplets to form a triangle around the bird.                                   

• 4th Place — “Nebulus” by Brandon Yoshizawa

• 5th Place — “Pasarela” by Eliseo Miciu Nicolaevici

Lamb leading the WAY as a flock of sheep cross a narrow suspension bridge; 

are also a collection of “honorable mentions” on the contest’s website.


 A snail and lizard appearing to almost kiss 


Frost-covered tree and a desert  that appear almost like they belong 
on another planet.

Two praying mantises appearing to pose for the camera;

Unbelievable pic of lightning merging with erupting volcano wins ‘Perfect Moment’ photo contest

CAlBUCO VOLCANO, CHILE

Perfect Moment Photo Contest 1st Place Winner — The Perfect Fear by Francisco Negroni (Courtesy: Our World in Focus)

Thanks to the development of high-speed camera's we can now capture this lightning phenomena occurring during the early minutes of volcanic activity.

I believe it is this phenomena plus the electrically charged geomagnetism

around the volcano that create the illusions of UFO's that people report seeing.

CLEVELAND (WJW) — An absolutely stunning photo of lightning merging with an erupting volcano has placed first in the “Perfect Moment Photo Contest.”

Francisco Negroni’s almost unbelievable photo is called “The Perfect Fear.”

Negroni perfectly captured what is called a “dirty storm” during an eruption of Chile’s Calbuco Volcano.

“Dirty storm” is the scientific term given to a storm that occurs when “the force of the elements thrown from the bottom of the volcano collide on the outside causing positive and negative charges which produce lightning,” according to the photo description.

Calbuco is reportedly one of Chile’s most dangerous volcanoes. Its eruption evoked fear in many areas and forced 3,000 people to evacuate.

“This image shows a rare moment of the eruption of the Volcano Calbuco with truly spectacular forces of nature that make you stare at the image for some time,” Judge Max Rive wrote on the contest’s website. “It is the combination of the rarity of this natural phenomenon with the technical quality of the image that makes it so powerful and unique. This image left the biggest impression on me and couldn’t fit the subject ‘Perfect Moment’ any better.”

Negroni was awarded $2,000 cash, a metal print of his photo and photography gear. You can find more of his work on his website. 

'ANCIENT-LOOKING' BOMBS IN HAWAII VOLCANO REDISCOVERED 85 YEARS AFTER THEY WERE DROPPED TO SAVE TOWN FROM LAVA

BY HANNAH OSBORNE NEWSWEEK 3/9/2020

Bombs dropped into a volcano by the U.S. Army 85 years ago in a bid to divert lava from a nearby town have been rediscovered.

The bombs, which were dropped as part of a cluster in 1935, were reported by local media at the end of February, and Hawaii Volcano Observatory (HVO) has now explained the presence of these "ancient-looking bombs" for its weekly Volcano Watch article

Last month, Hawaii News reported that Kawika Singson had found the unexploded bombs in a lava tube while he was exploring the lava fields of Mauna Loa, the largest volcano on Earth. Singson got in touch with the Department of Land and Natural Resources, which later confirmed the bomb was in a remote part of the reserve.

In a Facebook post, he shared images of the bombs, saying he "stumbled across" the bombs while hiking. He said he believed they were dropped in either 1935 or 1942 in one of the attempts made to divert lava from flowing into the town of Hilo, on the eastern side of the island of Hawaii.

HVO has now said the bombs Singson found were dropped on December 27, 1935. Twenty of the bombs dropped were demolition bombs loaded with 355 pounds of TNT. Another 20 were pointer bombs used to aim. "The bombs were part of an effort to divert lava. A month after the 1935 eruption of Mauna Loa began, the lava pond at the base of Mauna Kea breached, sending a flow toward Hilo," the HVO said in a Facebook post, adding the lava was advancing at over one mile per day.

Thomas A Jagger, the founder of HVO, had previously considered the idea of dropping bombs onto lava to divert its flow. He asked for assistance from the army, which granted the request. The bombs were dropped just over a mile from the vent of Mouna Loa.

Image of the bomb in Mauna Loa in 1977. The Army dropped the bombs in an attempt to stop lava from threatening a nearby town. USGS PHOTO BY J. LOCKWOOD

"Events leading up to bombs penetrating the thin pāhoehoe crust of the active 1935 Humu'ula lava flow are well known to volcanologists as the first test of using explosives to stall or divert a lava flow in Hawaii," the HVO article said. "Destroying a lava conduit to redirect a flow is one of three basic diversion tactics. However, lava diversion is the subject of great debate in Hawaii, with concerns about the success of influencing a lava flow's progress and whether humans should interfere with natural processes and Pele."

Humans first floated the idea of using bombs to prevent volcanoes from damaging nearby towns and cities in 1881, according to the HVO. This was also to prevent a Mauna Loa eruption from threatening Hilo. When the volcano started erupting in 1933, the idea resurfaced."A month after the 1935 eruption began, the lava pond at the base of Mauna Kea breached, sending a flow toward Hilo... For the previous two years, Jaggar had talked about using explosives to disrupt a lava flow that might threaten Hilo. He envisioned a land expedition carrying TNT to near the vent. But Jaggar's friend, sugar chemist Guido Giacometti, suggested that Army planes might be able to drop explosive bombs more quickly and accurately."

According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), subsequent assessments of the bombing attempt were mixed. USGS geologist Harold Stearns said he did not believe the bombs had been effective. Hawaii National Park Superintendent E.G. Wingate also raised doubts and wrote to Army commanders to say he was looking at possible areas for a land expedition that would be more successful at changing the flow channel.

Jagger, however, believed the effort worked, saying the rate of the lava flow had been slowed from one mile per day to around 1,000 feet per day. "I have no question that this robbing of the source tunnel slowed down the movement of the front," he wrote at the time.

The eruption ended six days after the bombs were dropped and Hilo was not destroyed by the lava. Whether the bombs helped avert disaster is still disputed today, according to the USGS.

The Army Bombed a Hawaiian Lava Flow. It Didn’t Work.

It could be tried again if the city of Hilo comes under threat, although many object to such airstrikes.

A bomb detonating on Mauna Loa near the source of a lava flow on Dec. 27, 1935. Credit...U.S. Army Air Corps


By Robin George Andrews NYT March 12, 2020

Why were two apparently unexploded bombs sticking out of a lava tube on Hawaii’s Mauna Loa? That’s what Kawika Singson, a photographer, wondered in February when he was hiking on Mauna Loa, the colossal shield volcano that rises 55,700 feet from its base below the sea to its summit.

Mr. Singson had stumbled upon relics of one of volcanology’s more quixotic disaster response plans. These devices, described in more detail recently in the U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory’s Volcano Watch blog, were two of 40 dropped by the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1935 in an attempt to stop lava from plowing into Hilo, the most populous town on the island of Hawaii.

While Hilo was spared as the lava flow naturally lost its forward momentum, it wasn’t the last time that humanity tried to fight volcanic fire with fire of its own. History is filled with schemes to stop molten kinetic rock, and the ineffective 1935 bombing and others show that lava flows are very rarely “a force we humans can reckon with,” said Janine Krippner, a volcanologist at the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program.

Dense, superheated lava does whatever it wants. It certainly cannot be drained away. Few barriers can stand up to its incandescent anger. If lava threatens a harbor by the sea, pumping billions of gallons of seawater at it may slow it down, as Iceland discovered at Heimaey Island in 1973.

A pointer bomb dropped on Mauna Loa in 1935, photographed in 1977 by Jack Lockwood, a Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist.Credit...Jack Lockwood/U.S. Geological Survey

And then there is explosive lava diversion. As far back as 1881, it was considered to stop a lava flow headed toward Hilo. It was never tried; the pile of gunpowder remained unused, and religious conviction was widely credited with stopping the burning river.

The incendiary concept nevertheless struck a chord. Lava often travels long distances in solid tubes or in channels of its own design. Some wondered, why not sever these dangerous volcanic arteries? Bombs delivered by land could work, but aerial bombing could be more accurate and speedier.

It remained nothing more than a concept until an eruption in 1935. That December, a pond of lava breached its levees and advanced on Hilo at a rate of a mile per day. Fearing it would reach the town and its watershed, Thomas Jaggar, the founder and first director of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, called on the Army Air Corps. On Dec. 27, 10 Keystone B-3 and B-4 biplane bombers struck the lava flow, targeting its tubes and channels.

Half these bombs were packed with 355 pounds of TNT. The other half were not explosive, and instead designed to emit smoke so the pilots could see where the bona fide bombs landed. Mr. Singson found one of those inert devices last month.

On Jan. 2, 1936, the lava flows ceased. Dr. Jaggar was convinced the bombing worked, but other experts thought it was a coincidence. Pilots did spot several imploded lava tubes, but their collapses were insufficient to block the flow of lava. A similar operation was attempted in 1942, again to not much effect.

Despite its ineffectiveness, this explosive method of diverting lava wasn’t consigned to history. In the 1970s, a multitude of massive bombs were dropped on Mauna Loa’s ancient lava formations to investigate which features succumbed to modern bombing technologies. Spatter cones, which are volcanic mounds built up on top of a vent or fissure emitting profuse amounts of lava, were confirmed to be vulnerable to collapse, suggesting they could be targeted in the future.

And explosives have worked at least once, albeit not those dropped from the sky. During the eruption of Italy’s Mount Etna from 1991 to 1993, nearly eight tons of explosives carefully arranged by engineers were used to carve a hole in a major lava channel. Much of its molten contents then drained into a trench, which saved Zafferana Etnea, a town now of some 9,500 people.



Equipping a U.S. Army Air Corps biplane with bombs to drop on the lava flow in 1935.Credit...Kenichi Maehara, via U.S. Geological Survey

This technique isn’t without problems. As with many volcanoes around the world, said Dr. Krippner, “there’s the cultural aspect: the people’s connection with the land, and the volcanoes, and not wanting to interfere with that.” Many native Hawaiians consider the destruction of volcanic land an affront to their spiritual beliefs.

And even if it works, it cannot guarantee that successfully diverted lava won’t accidentally flow toward another important site.

Jack Lockwood, a geologist now retired from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and a lava diversion expert, suspects that this option will remain on the table.

He points to Mauna Loa’s 1984 eruption, which again threatened Hilo. Gov. George Ariyoshi had publicly ruled out using bombs to divert the lava. But Dr. Lockwood said that Mr. Ariyoshi’s staff asked him to draft a bombing raid contingency plan should the situation look grim.

Bombing Mauna Loa’s lava flows will always be a fraught proposition. But in a sufficiently dire situation, Dr. Lockwood said, we may again see a day when a Mauna Loa lava flow is greeted by explosive military might.

“It would require martial law, effectively, and an emergency declaration. But I suspect it would be done,” Dr. Lockwood said. Although, he added, “that might depend on the moxie of the governor, and which brickbats they were willing to tolerate.”

Climate change: Will planting millions of trees really save the planet?

By David Shukman Science editor 14 March 2020
Related Topics
Climate change

Image copyright JEFF OVERS


From Greta Thunberg to Donald Trump and airlines to oil companies, everyone is suddenly going crazy for trees.

The UK government has pledged to plant millions a year while other countries have schemes running into billions.

But are these grand ambitions achievable? How much carbon dioxide do trees really pull in from the atmosphere? And what happens to a forest, planted amid a fanfare, over the following decades?

How many will the UK plant?

Last year's UK general election became a contest to look green.

The Conservatives' pledge of planting 30 million trees a year, confirmed in the Budget this week, is a big step up on current rates. Critics wonder whether it's possible given that earlier targets were far easier and weren't met.

If the new planting rate is achieved, it would lead to something like 17% of the UK becoming forested, as opposed to 13% now.

Tree planting is a popular idea because forests are not only beautiful but also useful: they support wildlife, help with holding back floodwater and provide timber.

At top speed, Canadian Shelby Barber can plant more than 4,000 trees a day

And trees absorb carbon dioxide - the main gas heating the planet - so planting more of them is seen by many as a climate change solution.

At the moment, the UK's forests pull in about 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year but the hope is to more than double that. 

How many trees can you plant? 

What if everybody in the world planted a tree? 

Tree planting: Where can I do it and which type is best?

It would involve potentially sensitive decisions about where to turn fields into forests: for example, should trees be planted where crops are grown or where cattle or sheep are grazed?

And because it can take decades to get a financial return from trees, many farmers and landowners are waiting for the government to announce new incentives.

Can you plant that many?

Yes, with the right people.

I watched a team of people in their 20s working on a project for the Forestry Commission, in Norfolk, and their speed was phenomenal. When they got going, I timed each of them planting a tree roughly every four seconds.


During the course of a day, they could plant between 2,000 and 4,000 trees, piercing the soil with a shovel, stooping down to bury the roots of a tiny Douglas Fir, pressing the sapling in with a boot, and then pacing out the gap to the next one.






There are machines that can do the job - and even drones - but people power is the tried and tested method. And good money can be earned - about 7p for every tree.


For years, it's been popular among students in Canada as a summer job. But inspiring the same enthusiasm among British people is a different story.


Liz Boivin, whose company Tomorrow's Forests employs the team I visited, finds it is Canadians, Australians and eastern Europeans who most regularly sign up for a season's work.


She doubts whether there are enough trained staff in Britain to support the government's plans for a huge increase in planting.


"You need to have the workforce to hit those numbers, which at the moment you don't have," she says.
What problems could there be?


Trees grow very slowly so it's not enough just to plant them and then walk away.


In their early years, saplings are extremely vulnerable to a long list of threats: droughts, storms, pests and diseases. So it's possible that around a quarter of a newly-planted forest will die young.


Only when the survivors make it to an age of 20-30 years do they draw in significant amounts of carbon dioxide. By this stage, the forest will only thrive if some trees are removed or "thinned" to allow more room for others to develop.


If the timber from the cleared trees is then used in buildings, the carbon will remain locked up for as long as the structure stands. But if the trees are left unattended and end up dying and rotting, all the carbon that had been stored will then be released.

Many of Britain's tree planters come from countries like Canada and Australia

So the key is a plan for careful management, according to Stuart Goodall, who runs Confor, a forest industries association. He's worried that the mania for trees may turn out to be a passing fashion, with investors excited by the planting but not by the long years that follow.

"We don't want to be rushed by others who have taken a sudden interest and may run away in 5-10 years' time," he says.

For a big increase in tree planting, Mr Goodall says there will need to be far greater supply of saplings but British nurseries are wary of scaling up until they're sure the government is serious.

Can trees stop climate change?

The answer is more complicated than you might think.

Trees use carbon dioxide as part of the process of photosynthesis - with the carbon ending up in the branches, trunk and roots. But at the same time they rely on respiration, which releases some carbon dioxide.

That's why, over the years, people have described trees as "breathing" - inhaling and exhaling a flow of gases. And it turns out that understanding exactly how that flow works is extremely hard.

Prof Rob MacKenzie, of the University of Birmingham, is honest about the lack of knowledge. "There are lots of things we don't know about the precise movement of carbon."






We're in a hi-tech outdoor laboratory that he runs in a forest in Staffordshire.


Instruments are mounted on tree trunks and on the ground to measure every aspect of how the trees are functioning. Research so far has shown that every square metre draws in about 1,700g of CO2 every year - while also releasing up to 1,200g.

And as a forest gets older, those flows are likely to become more balanced. Prof MacKenzie says it would be a "disaster" if governments and companies rely on forests to "clear up the mess" of carbon pollution.

And he paints a grim picture of what could go wrong. "We plant lot of trees, we think we've done the job, we forget about them, and what we're left with is a really desolate dying diseased landscape that no one cares about."
So what are the solutions?

Partly, they involve choosing the right trees and partly it's about making sure that local people benefit.

In the sprawling forest of Thetford, in Norfolk, much of it planted in a rush after the First World War, Eleanor Tew has researched the best options.

Back in the 1960s and 1970s, a government-encouraged rash of planting ended up with regimented rows of the same species of conifers - which meant they were susceptible to the same pests and diseases.

Image copyright  JEFF OVERS

Planting trees without a plan can end up doing "more harm than good"

For Eleanor, it's important to make sure that future forests are more resilient.

"It's a bit like making sure you don't put all your eggs in one basket," she says. "It may seem that the obvious thing is to plant one species that's really good for timber or another species that's good for carbon but if they don't cope with a disease, then the whole forest fails."

And for Nathalie Seddon, professor of biodiversity at the University of Oxford, it's vital that forestry schemes, particularly in developing countries, aren't imposed on the people there, but instead involve them.

She points to a project in the Humbo region of Ethiopia where farmers were encouraged to regenerate woodland by being given legal rights over the trees and also by getting training in forest management.

By contrast, a forestry scheme in northwest China successfully protected people living there from dust storms - a positive development - but the growth of the trees then led to water shortages in villages downstream.

She says: "There is an idea that you can just buy land and plant trees but that's too simplistic - there is a risk of doing more harm than good."

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CLIMATE CHANGE: A really simple guide
A TO Z: Climate-related words and phrases explained
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IN CHARTS: How warm has the world got?