Did Ancient Greeks Build their Temples Where Earthquakes Struck?

ByTheo Ioannou
July 25, 2021

A Tholos at Delphi, Greece. Credit: Tamara Semina/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0

The ancient Greeks may have built sacred or treasured sites deliberately on land previously affected by earthquake activity, according to a new study by the University of Plymouth.


Professor of Geoscience Communication Iain Stewart MBE, Director of the University’s Sustainable Earth Institute, has presented several BBC documentaries about the power of earthquakes in shaping landscapes and communities.

Now he believes that fault lines created by seismic activity in the Aegean region may have caused areas to be afforded special cultural status, and as such, led to them becoming sites of much celebrated temples and great cities.

Scientists have previously suggested Delphi, a mountainside complex once home to a legendary oracle, gained its position in Classical Greek society largely as a result of a sacred spring and intoxicating gases which emanated from a fault line caused by an earthquake.


But Professor Stewart believes Delphi may not be alone in this regard, and that other ancient Greek cities including Mycenae, Ephesus, Cnidus and Hierapolis may have been constructed specifically because of the presence of fault lines and earthquakes.
Many ancient Greek sites correspond to areas prone to earthquakes

In the study, published in Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association, Professor Stewart says a correspondence between active faultlines and earthquakes and ancient cities in parts of Greece and western Turkey might not seem unduly surprising, given that the Aegean region is riddled with seismic faults and littered with ruined settlements.


Many seismic fault traces in the region do not simply disrupt the fabric of buildings and streets, but run straight through the heart of the ancient Greek settlements’ most sacred structures.

There are prominent examples to support the theory, such as in Delphi itself, where an ancient Greek sanctuary was destroyed by an earthquake in 373 BC, only for its temple to be rebuilt directly on the same fault line.

There are also many tales of individuals who attained oracular status by descending into the underworld, with some commentators arguing that such cave systems or grottoes caused by seismic activity may have formed the backdrop for these stories.
Why Greece has so much seismic activity

Greece lies in a highly seismically active region. The vast majority of earthquakes cause no damage or injuries.

The country is located in a complex boundary zone in the eastern Mediterranean between the African Plate and the Eurasian Plate.

The northern part of Greece lies on the Eurasian Plate while the southern part lies on the Aegean Sea Plate.

The Aegean Sea Plate is moving southwestward with respect to the Eurasian Plate at about 30 mm per year while the African Plate is subducting northward, beneath the Aegean Sea Plate, at a rate of about 40 mm per year.

The northern plate boundary is a relatively diffuse divergent boundary while the southern convergent boundary forms the Hellenic arc.

These two plate boundaries give rise to two contrasting tectonic styles, extension on east–west trending fault zones with strike-slip tectonics on SW-NE trending fault zones throughout west and central Greece, Peloponnese and the northern Aegean and contractional in the southern Aegean, continuing around to the Ionian islands.

The south Aegean is the location of the volcanic arc and is characterized by extension. To the east of Crete along the Hellenic Arc, strike-slip tectonics with some extension become important.


See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com.

'Can't keep a waitlist': B.C. dog trainer busier than ever with pandemic puppies

A Colwood business owner has never been so busy. She says she's currently working with 60 dogs.

Jul 23, 2021 8:00 AM By: Alanna Kelly

Search transcript

A Vancouver Island business owner is busting with barking clients trying to book in with her and says she’s never been so busy. 

Marjanna Wornell, canine educator and dog trainer at Middle Earth Canine Academy in Colwood, is seeing a lot of pets that were purchased during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“So many people got dogs and a lot got puppies. They’re overwhelmed by puppy behaviour and adolescent dog behaviour, so there are so many more people coming because they’re not previous dog owners,” Wornell tells Glacier Media.

She offers one-hour, one-on-one sessions out of her academy

“I am inundated I can hardly keep up with it right now,” she says. “I am working six days a week, five classes a day, most days.”

People are booking through November and December and Wornell isn’t even able to keep a waitlist.

“I can’t keep a waitlist because I don’t have time to phone someone back,” she says. 

Most concerning for her right now is people transition back to work. She advises them to slowly introduce this change to their dog.

“People are going back to work so there is the whole issue of helping them prepare the dog for that,” she says. “I am concerned that some people are becoming overwhelmed with their dogs. Without help, they would be re-homing them.”

Wornell currently works with 60 dogs and says it's overwhelming but that she enjoys her job.

“It is my passion to help people and dogs. It has been for years. I was actually born in the year of the dog.” 

Working five days a week was always a goal but says six and seven days was not something she anticipated. 

“I have [cordoned] off time in August that is mine and nobody is getting that from me,” she says with a laugh. 

She hopes that her clients walk away with a well-mannered member of their family when they finish with her 10-session training. 

British Columbians are keeping their pandemic pets: BC SPCA

The animal welfare charity says it's seeing a much lower return rate when compared to non-COVID years.

Jul 20, 2021 8:00 AM By: Alanna Kelly

Search transcript

Purchasing a pet during the pandemic skyrocketed over the last year and unlike our neighbours to the south, it appears most people are keeping their animals as COVID-19 restrictions lift. 

The BC SPCA says the number of returns or surrenders is down compared to other years. 

“We definitely heard stories from other locations in the United States and in some locations in Canada where people were returning their pets to shelters and that was a worrying trend,” says Lorie Chortyk, the organization's general manager of communications. “But here in B.C., we have not seen that at the SPCA at all.” 

Across the non-profit's 36 shelters, there's a return rate of five per cent. This year, Chortyk says it’s even lower. 

“We always do have a low rate but it actually even decreased throughout the pandemic and we are still seeing that very low number,” she tells Glacier Media. 

BC SPCA has a thorough adoption process, she adds, attributing it to the low return rate. 

For Vancouver resident Elizabeth Moffat, adopting a dog has been a smooth transition. 

“The timing was really good,” says Moffat. “She could adjust and I didn’t feel like I had to introduce her to things too quickly.”

Her furry companion, Lexie, is a rescue from Taiwan. The pair was matched in late October and it took until Dec. 30 for her to arrive in B.C. 

“It’s been really good. It really helped when it was cold and you didn’t want to go outside. It makes you take three walks a day,” she says.

Moffat is able to work some days at an office and some days at home, creating a special routine for her dog. 

“Luckily, right now, I have my office space whenever I go in, so she comes in about half the time with me and she’s been a big hit,” she says.

Another pet owner has also been able to adjust her schedule to be flexible for her new puppy.

“I switched to full-time working from home and thankfully our employees are quite happy to let that continue,” says Andrea Curran.

Having a new puppy made the pandemic much more tolerable for the Cowichan Valley resident. 

“It’s OK being home when you’ve got these guys to be home with. I don’t think that I have to stay home because of COVID. I like staying home because I’ve got my dogs at home with me,” says Curran. 

“Raising a puppy during COVID made me think a lot less about COVID for sure.”

Meanwhile, it's a different story for one cat rescue society in Mission.

“We are incredibly busy. We weren’t as busy last year because we were able to have cats going out into homes right away and things have slowed down quite a bit and we are seeing an influx in surrenders and cats in need this year,” says Melina Csontos, executive director of Cat Therapy and Rescue.

On average, they have about 200 cats in their foster care system. Currently, they have 300.

“We are getting the same reasons as we’ve always gotten every year, but we are getting extras that are basically like, ‘We adopted a cat and now we are going back to work and it’s not fitting our lifestyle, it’s not working. The cat needs more than we can offer it.’ That is a very common reason that people are surrendering right now,” she says. 

Csontos asks people to consider fostering if they’re home this summer and are able to do so. 

The BC SPCA, meanwhile, has programs for people if they need help adjusting to their new routines through their AnimalKind program. 

“I think the most important thing is to help your pets adjust to a new routine and I think to have patience,” says Chortyk. “They will get used to it. Pets always adjust. They just need a little time.” 

Watch NDP leader Jagmeet Singh slay this viral TikTok dance trend (VIDEO)

Singh's using smooth moves to signal young people to "make history in the next election."

Jul 22, 2021  By: Elana Shepert

On July 12, 2021, NDP leader and Burnaby South MP Jagmeet Singh took to TikTok to share his take on the "Alors On Danse" routine. Photo via theJagmeetSingh / TikTok

The "Alors On Danse" dance video has taken TikTok by storm — but it's not only teenagers and young adults who are copying the viral sensation. 

On July 12, New Democratic Party Leader and Burnaby South MP Jagmeet Singh took to the social media platform to share his take on the world-famous routine.  

The original video was created by a group of  friends who chose the slow-mo version of Belgian singer and rapper Stromae’s popular track "Alors on Danse." 

Usim E. Mang, the 19-year-old who shared the original content under his TikTok handle usimmango, now has over 118 million views, according to BuzzFeed News.

In his version, Singh appears in a grey sleeveless shirt in front of the group. He mimics the simple yet smooth moves by tugging at the corners of his shirt as well as gently shrugging his shoulders while moving his arms to the relaxed rhythm. 

The B.C. politician's video also reads "when they say young people don't vote" followed by "when you know they're going to make history in the next election."

A key part of the viral groove?

Tapping into that confident gaze at the camera, of course. 

Watch the video of Singh dancing on TikTok and watch the original version of the popular dance. 

 

Development of a novel technology to check body temperature with smartphone camera

Technology for low-cost, thermal-imaging sensors that operate well at temperatures as high as 100 °C has been developed. Expected to be actively used in thermal-imaging applications in smartphones and autonomous vehicles

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Research News

IMAGE: IMAGE OF ELECTRON MICROSCOPE (LEFT) AND FORMULA (RIGHT) OF BOLOMETER DEVICE view more 

CREDIT: KOREA INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY(KIST)

Thermal-imaging sensors that detect and capture images of the heat signatures of human bodies and other objects have recently sprung into use in thermostats to check facial temperatures in a contactless attempt to screen for COVID-19 at several building entrances. Under these circumstances, the smartphone industry is actively considering the incorporation of such sensors as portable features to create the add-on function of measuring temperature in real time. Additionally, the application of such technology to autonomous vehicles may facilitate safer autonomous driving.

A research team lead by Dr. Won Jun Choi at the Center for Opto-Electronic Materials and Devices in the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) has announced the development of a thermal-imaging sensor that overcomes the existing problems of price and operating-temperature limitations through convergence research with the team of Prof. Jeong Min Baik from Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU). The sensor developed in this work can operate at temperatures upto 100 °C without a cooling device and is expected to be more affordable than standard sensors on the market, which would in turn pave the way for its application to smartphones and autonomous vehicles.

To be integrated with the hardware of smartphones and autonomous vehicles, sensors must operate stably without any difficulties at high temperatures of 85 °C and 125 °C, respectively. For conventional thermal-imaging sensors to meet this criterion, an independent cooling device would be required. However, high-end cooling devices that promise quality come at a price of over two million Korean won; even such devices do not make the sensor suitable for operations at temperatures as high as 85 °C. Therefore, the conventional thermal-imaging sensors have not been applied in these fields.

A joint research team from KIST and SKKU has developed a device using a vanadium dioxide (VO2)-B film that is stable at 100 °C. This device detects and converts the infrared light generated by heat into electrical signals; this eliminates the need for cooling devices, which account for over 10% of the cost of thermal-imaging sensors and consume large amounts of electricity. The device was able to obtain the same level of infrared signals at 100 °C as at room temperature. Furthermore, as a result of fabricating and using an infrared absorber that can absorb as much external infrared light as possible, heat signatures were detected with three times more sensitivity and converted into electrical signals. The device shows around 3 milliseconds of response time even at 100 °C, which is about 3~4 times faster than conventional ones. Such high response speeds enable the device to capture thermal images at 100 frames per second, far exceeding the conventional level of 30-40 frames per second. This makes the device an interesting candidate for use in autonomous vehicles, as well.

Dr. Choi of the KIST said, "By means of our work with convergence research in this study, we have developed a technology that could dramatically reduce the production cost of thermal-imaging sensors. Our device, when compared to more conventional ones, has superior responsivity and operating speed. We expect this to accelerate the use of thermal-imaging sensors in the military supply, smartphone, and autonomous vehicle industries."

###

This research was conducted as KIST's institutional R&D project, supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT), and as a project of the KIST-UNIST Ulsan Center for Convergent Materials. It has been published in the latest issue of "Applied Surface Science" (in the top 3.28% of the JCR field).

 

Extreme heat, dry summers main cause of tree death in Colorado's subalpine forests

UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT BOULDER

Research News

IMAGE: DEAD TREES IN SUBALPINE COLORADO FOREST ON NIWOT RIDGE, WEST OF BOULDER. view more 

CREDIT: ROBERT ANDRUS

Even in the absence of bark beetle outbreaks and wildfire, trees in Colorado subalpine forests are dying at increasing rates from warmer and drier summer conditions, found recent University of Colorado Boulder research.

The study, published in the May print issue of the Journal of Ecology, also found that this trend is increasing. In fact, tree mortality in subalpine Colorado forests affected by fire or bark beetle outbreaks in the last decade has more than tripled since the 1980s.

"We have bark beetle outbreaks and wildfires that cause very obvious mortality of trees in Colorado. But we're showing that even in the areas that people go hiking in and where the forest looks healthy, mortality is increasing due to heat and dry conditions alone," said Robert Andrus, lead author of the study and postdoctoral researcher at Washington State University. "It's an early warning sign of climate change."

These deaths are not only affecting larger trees, thus reducing forests' carbon storage, but hotter and drier conditions are making it difficult for new trees to take root across the southern Rockies in Colorado, southern Wyoming and northern parts of New Mexico.

It's well known that rising temperatures and increasing drought are causing tree deaths in forests around the globe. But here in Colorado, researchers found that heat and drought alone are responsible for over 70% of tree deaths in the 13 areas of subalpine forest they measured over the past 37 years. That's compared with about 23% of tree deaths due to bark beetles and about 5% due to wind damage.

"It was really surprising to see how strong the relationship is between climate and tree mortality, to see that there was a very obvious effect of recent warmer and drier conditions on our subalpine forests," said Andrus, who conducted this research while completing his graduate degree in physical geography at CU Boulder. "The rate of increasing mortality is alarming."

With temperatures in Colorado having risen by about 2 degrees Fahrenheit since the 1980s and increasing more quickly at higher elevations, estimates of another possible 2.5 or more degrees of warming in the next few decades due to climate change indicate that the rate of tree deaths will only increase.

Seeing the forest for the trees

Subalpine forests cover over 10,000 square miles in Colorado and are best known by those who ski or recreate in the mountains. Subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce dominate the area above the Peak to Peak Highway in the Front Range, and if you go over any mountain pass in Colorado, you're going into the subalpine zone, according to Andrus.

Previous research at CU Boulder has shown how wildfire, beetle kill and the two combined can affect the mortality and health of Rocky Mountain subalpine forests. This new research isolated the effects of those two common stressors from those of heat and moisture to find out how much of an effect climate change is having on these tree populations.

"As trees die in increasing numbers due to fire, bark beetles and drought, the warmer and drier climate is making it much less likely that new tree seedlings can establish and replace the dead adult trees," said Tom Veblen, co-author of the study and professor emeritus of geography.

Launched by Veblen when he arrived on campus in 1982, this is the longest running study of tree mortality in Colorado with remeasurements made frequently enough to identify the factors causing tree death. Every three years since, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and undergraduate field assistants have diligently returned to the more than 5,000 marked trees on Niwot Ridge just west of Boulder. In these 13 subalpine forest plots, they recorded that more trees died during summers with higher maximum temperatures and greater moisture deficits.

They found that tree mortality increased from .26% per year during 1982 to 1993, to .82% per year during 2008 to 2019--more than tripling within 40 years.

"It is really challenging because it's not very visually obvious to the casual observer," said Andrus. "But the thing to keep in mind is that while warmer, drier conditions are also causing more fire and bark beetle outbreaks, these slow and gradual changes are also important."

###

Additional authors on this publication include Rachel Chai of the Veblen Lab at CU Boulder; Brian Harvey, previously a postdoctoral researcher in geography at CU Boulder and now an assistant professor at the University of Washington; and Kyle Rodman, previously a graduate student in the Veblen Lab at CU Boulder and now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Wisconsin Madison.

UN warns of 'unprecedented' Afghan civilian deaths from Taliban offensives



Issued on: 26/07/2021 - 

  

Afghan men line up to apply for a passport in Kabul, with a rush of applications ahead of the final withdrawal of foreign troops from the country SAJJAD HUSSAIN AFP/File

Kabul (AFP)

The United Nations warned Monday that Afghanistan could see the highest number of civilian deaths in more than a decade if the Taliban's offensives across the country are not halted.

Violence has surged since early May when the insurgents cranked up operations to coincide with a final withdrawal of US-led foreign forces.

In a report released Monday documenting civilian casualties for the first half of 2021, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said it expected figures to touch their highest single-year levels since the mission began reporting over a decade ago.


It also warned that Afghan troops and pro-government forces were responsible for a quarter of all civilian casualties.

"Unprecedented numbers of Afghan civilians will perish and be maimed this year if the increasing violence is not stemmed," UNAMA head Deborah Lyons said in a statement released with the report.

"I implore the Taliban and Afghan leaders to take heed to the conflict's grim and chilling trajectory and its devastating impact on civilians."

During the first half of 2021, some 1,659 civilians were killed and another 3,254 wounded -- a 47 percent increase compared with the same period last year, the UNAMA report said.

The rise in civilian casualties was particularly sharp in May and June -- the initial period of the Taliban's current offensives -- with 783 civilians killed and 1,609 wounded, it added.

"Particularly shocking and of deep concern is that women, boys and girls made up of close to half of all civilian casualties," the report said.

UNAMA blamed anti-government elements for 64 percent of civilian casualties -- including some 40 percent caused by the Taliban and nearly nine percent by the jihadist Islamic State group.

About 16 percent of casualties were caused by "undetermined" anti-government elements.

But Afghan troops and pro-government forces were responsible for 25 percent, it said.

UNAMA said about 11 percent of casualties were caused by "crossfire" and the responsible parties could not be determined.

The Taliban's ongoing assault has seen the insurgents capture half of Afghanistan's districts and border crossings as well as encircle several provincial capitals.

The fighting is largely in the rugged countryside, where government forces and insurgents clash daily.

UNAMA also noted a resurgence of sectarian attacks against the country's Shiite Hazara community, resulting in 143 deaths.

© 2021 AFP

Residential schools: How the U.S. and Canada share a troubling history
Alexander Panetta 

© U.S. Library of Congress Navajo boy Tom Torlino, left, is shown when he entered the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania in 1882. On the right is a photo of him as he appeared three years later. The U.S. cabinet minister who leads the federal department…

A member of the U.S. federal cabinet says she wept when she heard news from Canada about what are believed to be unmarked burial sites of children's remains near a former residential school.

The news made Deb Haaland think of her own Pueblo ancestors such as her grandmother, who as a girl was taken from her family, put on a train and placed in the American version of a residential school for five years.

After crying, Haaland took action.

The New Mexico politician now leads the federal department that ran U.S. assimilation schools — she's the first Indigenous person to do so.

And she's launched an investigation into their legacy.

© Brian Snyder/Reuters U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in the first Indigenous person to run the department that operated U.S. assimilation schools.

In a memo last month to the Department of the Interior, she said the news from Canada should prompt a reflection on what Americans refer to as native boarding schools.


She requested a report by next year on the schools, their cemeteries and on the possibility of finding unidentified remains.

"I know that this process will be painful. It won't undo the heartbreak and loss we feel," she said in a speech announcing the initiative.

"But only by acknowledging the past can we work toward a future we're all proud to embrace."

It's only fitting that movements to assess the legacy of assimilation schools in both Canada and the U.S. should occur simultaneously.

That's because they've been intertwined from the start. That point was made several years ago in Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission report.
2 countries with a shared history

An architect of Canada's residential schools policy, in a 1879 paper, looked at boarding schools just established in the U.S. and urged Canada to create similar ones.

On the basis of that paper from Nicholas Davin, Canada's federal government opened three such schools, starting in 1883 in the future province of Saskatchewan.

Both countries borrowed ideas from reformatories being constructed in Europe for children of the urban poor, said the Truth and Reconciliation report.

Haaland's great-grandfather was taken to the institution that most influenced Canada's program: the now-defunct Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania.

The founder of that school, army officer Richard Pratt, infamously voiced the philosophy behind his program: "Kill the Indian [in him] … and save the man," meaning Indigenous peoples should be assimilated, not exterminated.

That philosophy inflicted waves of trauma on families.
'Our house was a battleground'

Warren Petoskey, a Lakota and Odawa man from Michigan, said one generation of children would be separated from their parents, and it affected their own parenting of the next generation.

He said his father wouldn't talk about his experiences at a boarding school — just like his grandfather before him refused to.

Petoskey said his aunt was slapped in the face by a teacher for speaking her mother tongue, and another woman he knows was punched and suffered lifelong damage to her jaw.

His aunt also described how a janitor would sexually abuse female students, one of them a member of his family he says was scarred for life.

"I never could understand growing up why our family was so dysfunctional," said Petoskey, 76.

"Our house was a battleground."

Petoskey has spent a lifetime trying to learn his ancestral language, Anishinaabe, which his father refused to teach him.
Taught to loathe own culture

Students were taught to hate their own culture.

It's not just that lessons presented a rose-tinted version of American history that glossed over uncomfortable details, like Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence — which talks about all men being created equal and then refers to Indigenous peoples as "merciless Indian savages."

It was occasionally rendered more explicit.

In South Dakota, James Cadwell recalls that at his church-run boarding school, decades ago, students were assigned to read books that referred to Indigenous peoples as savages.

"I've often thought, as I've gotten older, 'How detrimental was that to me as a young man?' " Cadwell said in an interview.

Then there were rumours, Petoskey said, about children who died while at the schools and were quietly buried.
Re-examining burial sites

A project is underway to discover whether there were any deaths covered up at the Michigan school Petoskey's father attended, the Mount Pleasant Indian Industrial Boarding School.

The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe is working with archeological researchers to better understand the history of the property that once housed the school, which operated from 1893 to 1934

.

© Matt Rourke/The Associated Press Ione Quigley, the Rosebud Sioux's historic preservation officer, attends a ceremony in Carlisle, Pa., on July 14, where children buried at a boarding school were disinterred.

The official record shows several children died while attending the school. Yet the tribe's own research raises broader questions: there's no record for 227 students who were enrolled there ever returning home.

Frank Cloutier, a spokesman for the tribe, said there are several possible explanations: children might have run away, documents might have been lost or perhaps something more sinister occurred.

"We don't want to jump to those conclusions," said Cloutier.

"We're not naive in thinking that there won't be any discoveries. But we want to handle this methodically and with some reverence and respect."

He said the news headlines from Canada helped raise awareness of the issue.
Remains being brought home

Ceremonies to repatriate the remains of children were already underway at the native boarding school founded by Pratt, Pennsylvania's Carlisle school.

Lauren Peters brought home the body of her great-aunt, Sophia Tetoff.

The Unangax̂ girl was taken from Alaska and spent five years at the school between 1901 and 1906, although, Peters said, she was rarely in a classroom and was mostly loaned out as a domestic worker.

The girl contracted tuberculosis and died. On her tombstone at the school, her name was misspelled and her tribe was misidentified.

This month, Peters saw to it that her relative was buried at home, in Alaska, in the same cemetery as her family, by a church on St. Paul Island.

She said she was deeply moved during the ceremony.

Peters, a doctoral student in Native American studies at the University of California, credits a group of schoolchildren for starting the repatriation project.

She said the Rosebud Sioux students were struck by the cemetery they saw when they stopped during a field trip at the site of the Pennsylvania school, which closed in 1918.

"Out of the mouths of babes — they said: 'Why are they still here? Why can't we take them home?' " Peters said.

"And that really started the process with the [U.S.] army," which now owns the site. Relatives can file paperwork to move remains.

Peters said Americans should brace for news similar to Canada's about undocumented deaths. In fact, she said: "I think it's going to be way worse," because there were many more Indigenous boarding schools in the U.S., more than 500 in all.
What will U.S. inquiries find?

The author of a book on the history of American Indigenous boarding schools said he's not certain the U.S. will find as many unmarked graves as appears to be the case in Canada.

David Wallace Adams said the U.S. schools, mostly government-run, were subject to more frequent inspections than the mostly church-run institutions in Canada.

"It remains to be seen," he said in an interview.

Yet his book, Education For Extinction, chronicles in detail the coercion, abuse and deaths that did occur in these U.S. schools.

By 1926, more than 80 per cent of Indigenous school-age children were attending boarding schools in the U.S., Adams wrote.

The system was scathingly criticized in a 1928 think-tank report and again in a congressional study led by Sen. Robert Kennedy published after his death.

"We are shocked at what we discovered," said the 1969 report, Indian Education: A National Tragedy, A National Challenge.

"Others before us were shocked. They recommended and made changes. Others after us will likely be shocked."

It called the treatment of Indigenous peoples a stain on the national conscience.

Around the same time, in 1968, President Lyndon Johnson gave a speech titled The Forgotten American.

He demanded an end to assimilationist policies and a shift toward self-determination. Johnson earmarked funds for community-driven curricula. A landmark 1975 law then shifted authority for government-run schools to the tribes.
The system today

The Department of the Interior still runs four off-reserve boarding schools today in Oklahoma, California, Oregon and South Dakota.

Haaland said these remaining schools bear little resemblance to their historical antecedents.

Once, children were beaten for speaking their ancestral language.

"Now it's encouraged," Haaland told a Washington Post podcast.

"[Enrolment is also] voluntary."

© Rick Bowmer/The Associated Press U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland attends a news conference at Bears Ears National Monument in Utah in April.

Cadwell witnessed a culture shift first-hand.

He recalls being a traumatized student, over a half-century ago, at a church-run boarding school in South Dakota.

He would cry himself to sleep during thunderstorms, with nobody to console him.

He recalls an alcoholic priest who drank while driving kids around — the priest told them to keep quiet about his drinking,and let them smoke cigarettes.

He later became a teacher at the same school, renamed Crow Creek Tribal School. Now semi-retired, Cadwell has taught industrial arts, the Dakota language, cultural programs and the planting of traditional crops like turnips.

"I don't remember digging turnips [as a student]. I don't remember going to dances," he said in an interview.

"If you fell and hurt yourself, the nurturing was not there at all. There was no nurturing."

Moldova's lavender flourishes after post-Soviet decline

A growing number of farmers in Moldova are fuelling a resurgence in lavender, the cultivation of which collapsed along with the Soviet Union SERGEI GAPON AFP/File

Valea -Trestieni (Moldova) (AFP)

Issued on: 26/07/2021 

Young couples and families pose for glamour shots as the sun lowers over Alexei Cazac's sprawling field of lavender outside the capital of Moldova.

"Once, in the first year the lavender was blooming, we came and the entire field was just filled with people," the 40-year-old farmer tells AFP on a recent visit.

"It's like the set of a photo shoot. We didn't plan it this way," he says.

Cazac, who planted his first bushels in 2015, is among a growing cohort of farmers in Moldova fuelling a resurgence in the aromatic herb, whose cultivation collapsed along with the Soviet Union.

The comeback in the small country bordering Romania has garnered attention not just from locals hungry for likes on social media, but also from global cosmetic firms headquartered in western Europe.

"After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the industry was forgotten," says Alexandru Badarau, president of the Lavender Growers Association.

"It collapsed precisely because our connection was severed with Moscow, where most of the essential oils produced in Moldova were exported," he tells AFP.

"We're working hard to revive it."

Around five or six newcomers to the industry are planting rows of the herb every year, he says, a trend which saw Moldova's lavender oil production double in 2021 to 20 tonnes compared to twenty years ago.

But that is still a far cry from 1989, when the country produced 180 tonnes.

Badarau's association says members export 99 percent of their oil to the European Union, specifically Germany, and to two other well-known producers: France and Bulgaria.

The oil is widely used in cosmetics and its aromas are hailed for their relaxing and soothing qualities that some believe counteract anxiety and insomnia.

Producers in Moldova say Bulgaria, which was also under the Iron Curtain, has benefitted greatly from the European Union after it became a member in 2007.

But where Bulgaria excels in quantity, Moldova trumps it in quality, they say.

The local variety yields less oil, concedes Nicu Ulinici, who inherited his father's farm and harvested his first bushels in 2014.#photo1

"But it's higher quality," he says. Its aroma is "more pleasant, softer."

For Badarau, lavender has won over growers in Moldova owing to its success in dry climates. This, he believes, will help farmers mitigate "risks associated with climate change."

Indeed, multinational cosmetics firm Weleda, which began sourcing Moldovan lavender in 2005, has described the country as "perfect" for the herb.

French fragrance company Mane is another major brand in Moldova whose subsidiary works in cultivation and production of essential oils.

Still, recent experience shows the future isn't guaranteed to be rosy.

The United States Agency for International Development said in 2017 that Moldova was still exposed to climate risks, with likely "adverse effects" for growers.

It said the industry had fluctuating economic success in one of the poorest countries to emerge from the Soviet collapse, with Moldova's market share still trailing far behind essential oil majors like Turkey and China.

Pointing to climate threats, the United Nations Development Programme said Moldovan farmers last year harvested up to 50 percent fewer bushels than in 2019, resulting from tepid spring temperatures and a summer drought.

The report also noted that demand for essential oils dipped during the coronavirus pandemic.

But producers in Moldova aren't fazed.

Badarau says his association has registered the brand Essential Oils of Moldova to promote products abroad, and that it was aiming for certification from an international agricultural quality assurance group.

This "is of great concern to the end consumer," he says.

In the meantime, there's money to be made from visitors drawn to the picturesque fields.

Cazac, who has over 60 acres of lavender, says he charges visitors the equivalent of about $3 to meander through his purple bushels.

On the horizon, he sees plenty of room for expansion.

"Moldova is producing much less than it could," he says.

"But first we need to prove we're producing a quality product at international standards."

© 2021 AFP

Iceland, home to world's most expensive feather treasure

Every summer in Iceland, there's a hunt for elusive eiderdown, used to make some of the world's best duvets and quilts Jeremie RICHARD AFP

Stykkisholmur (Iceland) (AFP)

Issued on: 26/07/2021 -

On a remote island in Breidafjordur Bay off the west coast of Iceland, a thousand-year-old harvest takes place -- the hunt for elusive eiderdown, used to make some of the world's best duvets and quilts.

The handpicked down sells for thousands of euros (dollars) a kilo, catering to those looking for exclusive products.

Every summer, nearly 400 Icelandic farmers comb through hollow surfaces in the rock, on the sand or in the tall grass to unearth a few handfuls of the grey feathers of this polar duck.

From May onwards, the eider comes to nest in sparsely populated marine landscapes around much of Iceland's coast where there is seaweed to feed its ducklings.

"When there are eggs, we only take a part of the down. And when the eider has already left the nest, we take everything," Erla Fridriksdottir, head of King Eider, one of the country's main exporters, told AFP.#photo1

The eider, a sea duck from the subarctic oceans, leaves a trail behind consisting of a natural treasure: one of the warmest natural fibres on the planet, both light and highly insulating.

The female, with her dark brown plumage with black stripes -- similar to that of a mallard but slightly larger -- releases the down from her breast and lines her nest with it to insulate it during incubation.

- Meticulous cleaning -

About 60 nests are needed to produce one kilo of down -- a quilt needs between 600 and 1,600 grams, depending on the quality chosen.

Worldwide, the annual harvest of eiderdown is no more than four tonnes, three quarters of which comes from Iceland, by far the world's largest producer, ahead of Canada and other countries bordering the Arctic.

There are five Icelandic companies exporting eiderdown, according to the Eider Farming Association, but around 15 companies in total involved in some capacity in its production.

On the island of Bjarneyjar, the tradition of searching for abandoned nests has been passed down for generations.#photo2

The local practice is said to have started in Iceland as Vikings from Norway settled on the island at the end of the 9th century.

Since 1847, the eider has been fully protected in Iceland, as hunting and picking its eggs are prohibited.

But it still faces dangers, as predators such as seagulls, crows, eagles, minks and foxes eat the sea ducks or their eggs.

"We feel that the ducks like to have their nests close to us, where we are staying," Jon Fridriksson, Erla's brother, told AFP, adding that it could be a strategy to keep predators at bay.#photo3

Once harvested, the down is dried in the open air so it doesn't mould.

Then Fridriksdottir's employees begin the first stage of sterilising and cleaning the down in a huge oven at a temperature of 120 degrees Celsius for eight hours.

"When the down comes in here, it's mostly going to be full of grass, eggshells and all kinds of things from the ocean… and we put it in the oven to kill off any organism and it (the high temperature) also makes the grass brittle," Pall Jonsson, in charge of the machines at the workshop in the nearby town of Stykkisholmur, told AFP.

In a second step, rotating machines remove other dirt from the down by pressing it against a thin wire mesh.

As a last touch, expert hands -- which no technology has been able to replace for this process so far -- do another thorough cleaning.#photo4

Even for the most experienced, it takes four to five hours to clean out a kilo of down by hand.

Finally, the down feathers are washed with water and disinfected, again by hand, before being wrung out and dried.

- 4,000-euro blankets -

While world famous, eiderdown production is a drop in the bucket of the world's total down production, estimated at 175,000 tonnes per year, according to the International Down and Feather Bureau.

According to Icelandic law, eiderdown must pass strict quality controls before being sold, ensuring cleanliness, smell, colour and consistency.#photo5

"You have to be able to pick up a 40-50 gram package between two fingers and if it remains intact and does not fall out, then the down is of good quality," Asgeir Jonsson, one of the inspectors, explains.

In addition to its rarity, the production of eiderdown -- from its manual collection to its rigorous cleaning -- helps explain its high price.

A simple duvet containing 800 grams of feathers is sold for about 640,000 Icelandic kronur (4,350 euros, $5,116).#photo6

The customers "are often nature lovers and people who care about the environment," Fridriksdottir said.

"It is the only one that is harvested, the other down is often a by-product of the food industry" added Fridriksdottir, whose small business mostly ships to Germany and Japan.

© 2021 AFP