Introduced birds are not replacing roles of human-caused extinct species: study

by University College London

A specimen of a huia, which went extinct in New Zealand, housed in the Auckland 

Museum. Credit: Professor Tim Blackburn. Photo taken at Auckland Museum.

Human-caused bird extinctions are driving losses of functional diversity on islands worldwide, and the gaps they leave behind are not being filled by introduced (alien) species, finds a new study led by UCL and University of Gothenburg researchers.

The study, published in Science Advances, shows how human impacts such as habitat destruction and climate change are impoverishing ecosystems, even on islands where alien birds actually outnumber the species that have gone extinct.

Lead author Dr. Ferran Sayol (UCL Centre for Biodiversity & Environment Research, UCL Biosciences), who began the research while based at the University of Gothenburg, said: "Humans have drastically changed bird communities, not only by driving animals to extinction but also by introducing species into new habitats across the globe. There has been some debate as to whether introduced species might replace the roles of the extinct species, thus maintaining functional diversity within the ecosystem; here, we found that is unfortunately not the case.

"Some of the extinct species had a role in their ecosystem that has not been replaced by other birds. For example, some giant flightless species, like the moas of New Zealand and the elephant birds of Madagascar, were probably acting like large terrestrial herbivores as grazers, similar to ungulates like cattle and sheep on the continents, before being driven extinct by humans.

Dr Ferran Sayol pictured with a stuffed specimen of an extinct mamo bird at the Natural 

History Museum at Tring (UK). The mamo is an extinct bird from Hawaii which used to be

 an important pollinator of the island’s flora. This is an example of a functionally distinct

 bird whose role in the ecosystems has not been completely replaced by the introduced

 species. Credit: Ellen Pilanen

"Other valuable functions that may be lost with bird extinctions can include pollination and seed dispersal, which can have cascading harmful effects on other species."

For this study, the researchers compiled an exhaustive list of all bird species that have been present in nine different archipelagos* before and after human-caused extinctions occurred. This covered 1,302 bird species, including 265 globally or locally extinct, and 355 established introductions from 143 separate species. In addition, the scientists visited different museum collections, including the Natural History Museum, to measure several morphological traits in skin or skeleton specimens. With this data, the researchers were able to quantify the trait diversity before and after bird extinctions, and identify the ecological niches extinct birds once filled.

The research team found that before human arrival, island bird communities were more morphologically diverse than they are today. Their findings show how human-driven extinctions have disproportionally affected some types of birds (for example, larger birds and flightless birds are more likely to go extinct), leading to the loss of certain ecological roles.

The researchers also found that different archipelagos are becoming more and more similar in terms of trait diversity as native birds go extinct and the same kind of alien species are being newly established in many places.

Red-whiskered bulbul, which has been introduced in various locations such as Hawaii and

 the Mascarene Islands. Credit: Professor Tim Blackburn

Co-author Professor Tim Blackburn (UCL Centre for Biodiversity & Environment Research and the Institute of Zoology, ZSL) said: "Some groups of birds have been particularly successful at establishing outside their natural areas—for example, many species of parrot and starling. Because of this, islands are becoming more homogeneous as the same kind of birds are established everywhere."

Co-author Dr. Alex Pigot (UCL Centre for Biodiversity & Environment Research) said: "Our findings add to evidence that conservation efforts should be focused on preserving functionally distinct threatened species, to stem the tide of harmful losses to biodiversity that are driven by human actions. Huge numbers of species are being driven to extinction by human-driven effects such as habitat loss and climate change, so it is vital that we act now to reduce our negative impact on global biodiversity."

* The study covered the following archipelagos: Hawaii, Cuba & Jamaica, Bermuda, Saint Helena, Canary Islands, Madagascar, Mascarene Islands, New Caledonia, and New Zealand.Flightless birds more common globally before human-driven extinctions

More information: Ferran Sayol, Loss of functional diversity through anthropogenic extinctions of island birds is not offset by biotic invasions, Science Advances (2021). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abj5790. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abj5790

Journal information: Science Advances 

Provided by University College London 

 

Data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope suggests there is a particle accelerator in the galactic center

by Bob Yirka , Phys.org

The segment division of the GC region and the inferred CR densities distribution. a The

 segments, annuli centered on the GC with a width of 0.5° except for the last one, where

 CR densities are derived, in the CMZ and off-CMZ are marked in red to orange and blue 

to green, respectively. The same color code is used to show data points of CR densities in 

corresponding segments in (b, c). b CR densities distribution from fittings with the GCE. 

For segments outside the CMZ, the CR density is almost a constant. In the CMZ, the CR

 density declines quickly as the distance increases from the GC. These facts strongly 

suggest different physical origins of CRs within and outside the CMZ. CR densities in the 

CMZ, inferred from analysis with the CS map29, are shown with black points, which agree

well with those derived from the fitting with the Planck map. The error bars represent the

 1σ statistical uncertainties. c CR densities distribution from fittings without the GCE, for

 which the inferred CR densities near the GC were boosted compared with those shown

 in (b). The error bars represent the 1σ statistical uncertainties. 

Credit: DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26436-z

A team of researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences has found evidence of a powerful particle accelerator in the galactic center. In their paper published in the journal Nature Communications, the group describes their analysis of data obtained from the Fermi Large Area Telescope.

The galactic center is the rotational center of the Milky Way galaxy—prior research has shown that it contains a large black hole. There are also other entities in the galactic center, such as remnants from supernovae and the pulsar wind nebulae, but not much else is known about the interior of the galactic center due to its density. The cloud is so thick that it is nearly impossible to read many of the forms of radiation within it. Still, most in the field agree that the galactic center emits a lot of cosmic rays, many of which could be important because they make it to Earth.

In this new effort, the researchers sought to learn more about the cosmic rays emitted from the galactic center, particularly those that make their way to Earth. To that end, they obtained and analyzed data collected by various teams working at the Fermi Large Area Telescope. They focused most specifically on gamma rays emitted from the central molecular cloud—a type of cloud that forms from interstellar dust and hydrogen gas—situated between Earth and the galactic center. They found that the density of cosmic rays in the central molecular cloud was lower than that in the cosmic ray sea, which suggested that there is a barrier of some sort preventing cosmic rays from entering the central molecular cloud. But they also found evidence of the cosmic rays slowing as they passed through the cloud and then speeding up again after they emerged—evidence that something near the center of the galaxy serves as a particle accelerator. They were not able to find evidence of what it might be, but suspect it could be the black hole, Sagittarius A*, wind nebulae or even leftover bits of a supernova.Unveiling a century-old mystery: Where the Milky Way's cosmic rays come from

More information: Xiaoyuan Huang et al, A GeV-TeV particle component and the barrier of cosmic-ray sea in the Central Molecular Zone, Nature Communications (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26436-z

Journal information: Nature Communications 

© 2021 Science X Network

AUSSIE MINERS IN ALBERTA

Panel on Rockies coal mining granted six-week extension to deliver its report

EDMONTON — A panel gathering public input on coal mining in the Alberta Rockies has been given another six weeks to hand in its report

.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

"Due to the extraordinary volume, breadth and depth of the input provided by Albertans, the coal policy committee requested an extension to the deadline for both their engagement and final reports," said a statement Wednesday by provincial Energy Minister Sonya Savage.

"An extension until Dec. 31 has been granted."

The panel said it has received more than 1,000 emailed documents and 170 detailed written submissions, along with associated materials from 67 meetings across the province.

Established in March, the five-member panel was supposed to deliver two reports to Savage on Monday — one summarizing what it heard and another one with recommendations. The summary report was originally expected in October, making Wednesday's announcement its second delay.

"The coal policy committee is grateful for the outpouring of interest throughout the engagement process," said a statement from chairman Ron Wallace. "In fact, we extended the engagement period by two months until the end of September.

"We have requested a deadline extension so that we may better compile, assess and report on the extensive and insightful input submitted."

New Democrat environment critic Marlin Schmidt called the extension "irritating."

"They're planning to release this long-awaited report during New Year’s Eve celebrations, when they know most Albertans will not be able to read it," he said.

Schmidt urged the government to stop its delaying tactics and pass legislation proposed by his party that would end coal mining in the Rockies.

Wallace has promised that all submissions made to the committee would be publicly released. He has said most are strongly critical of coal development in the foothills and peaks of the Rockies — a much-loved Alberta landscape and the source of much of the province's drinking water.

In her statement Wednesday, Savage said the reports would be reviewed "in detail" before they were released.

The panel was struck in response to a broad public outcry over proposals for open-pit coal mines in the mountains and foothills.

Alberta has paused further coal exploration lease sales and halted work in the most sensitive landscapes while it develops a new coal policy.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 10, 2021.

Bob Weber, The Canadian Press

'On edge all the time:' Children's mental health nearing 'crisis' in Alberta's fourth wave, doctors say

Author of the article: Blair McBride

Publishing date:Nov 07, 2021 •

Dr. Doug Klein poses for a photo outside his Edmonton clinic, Friday Nov. 5, 2021.

 Dr. Klein runs a wellness clinic at a High School and believes the COVID-19 pandemic has produced a cumulative effect on youth mental health, and that youth mental health will get worse before it gets better because young people will need time to get used to regular socializing again after more than 18 months of restrictions and too much screen time. 

Photo by David Bloom /Postmedia

Worsening mental health indicators in Alberta children and youth are spurring some doctors to declare a crisis in the fourth wave of the pandemic.

Diagnoses and severity of depression, anxiety and eating disorders have increased by at least 20 percent in the last four months, say doctors, some of whom worry the worst is yet to come.

Although COVID-19 restrictions are looser now than one year ago, mental health issues are being driven by a combination of return-to-school stress, less socializing, excessive screen time and general worry over the pandemic.
More fearful

Dr. Caroline Buzanko, who works with youth aged five to 22 at her Koru Family Psychology clinic in Calgary, said 80 per cent of her clients are currently reporting anxiety, up from 40 per cent in April.

“Depressive symptoms are secondary after anxiety, more in older kids,” she said. “There’s been a 20 per cent increase since the summer.”

In her interactions with patients, she finds youth are more fearful in many situations. She described a recent experience where a patient went to Disney World for her 18th birthday.

“She was mortified that someone would get sick before they went. (Youth) are on edge all the time worrying about what will happen,” she said.

In Calgary, psychiatrist Dr. Chris Wilkes has found a 200 per cent increase in emergency room visits for youth under 18 for anxiety, depression and eating disorders in the last eight months.

“We’ll probably see a worsening or high level of (demand for) mental health services for some time to come,” Wilkes said. “We have a crisis in terms of a demand on our services that is outstripping our resources.”

Dr. Rena LaFrance, a psychiatrist at Misericordia Community Hospital in Edmonton, said the severity of mental health issues she is seeing in patients aged four to 18 has doubled or tripled in the last few months.

The most common issues she’s seeing are anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, acute stress, ADHD and bereavement among children who lost family members to COVID-19.

“That doesn’t get better when kids go online and back (to in-person learning),” she said.

LaFrance attributes the problem to children absorbing the fourth wave anxieties of their parents, more deaths in the news, and uncertainty about kids getting COVID.

For children under 11, who can’t yet be vaccinated, LaFrance said the uncertainty of not feeling fully protected is also contributing to anxiety.

“There’s been fear about bringing it home to their parents and grandparents,” she said.

“They might not be thrilled at getting an actual needle (but) my perception is they are thrilled about protecting their friends and family and themselves.”
Normalcy still a ways off

For Calgary pediatrician Dr. April Elliott, the remaining restrictions in place show youth that normalcy is still a ways off, because kids are missing out on regular social interactions due to masking and distancing.

“Right now they’re being told they can’t do so many things,” she said. “And they’ve also been in an era when screen use is necessary. And it’s hard to withdraw from (screens) when they’re socially necessary.”

On a national level, youth mental health was under-addressed by governments even before the pandemic, according to researchers in the recent FACETS journal article “The impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of Canadian children and youth.”

The authors urged that a school-based national strategy on mental health be developed, as COVID “put a spotlight” on the problem.

They called for new federal funding to be allocated to schools over the next two years to deal with the “growing mental health crisis” among youth. They also want investment in a population-based follow-up of the 2019 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth so accurate information can be obtained about how the pandemic has affected young people.

In Edmonton, local family physician Dr. Doug Klein concurs with the need for more collaboration in schools, as he believes most youth who need help aren’t seeking it, fuelling a crisis that could get worse before it gets better.

“The health-care system and education system and the community need to work together. Children are in our schools for several hours everyday. We need to focus on making sure they’re gaining those life skills that will be protective (of mental health),” he said.


To help youth manage their mental health, Klein suggested that more needs to be done to encourage them to be active, as restrictions have led to an increase of inactivity, and getting more exercise can alleviate anxiety and depression. And LaFrance said giving kids the opportunity to talk about their COVID fears, while also working to maintain a regular home routine, can help them feel more stable amid the pandemic.

How does the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic affect mental health?

Social isolation exacerbated in the long term by the pandemic

Peer-Reviewed Publication

ATR BRAIN INFORMATION COMMUNICATION RESEARCH LABORATORY GROUP

Family and friends who have become social recluses, or co-workers who feel depressed and are unable to come to work...most of us probably know someone in one of these situations. The prolonged stress of the COVID-19 pandemic has had several effects on mental health because people are continuously being stressed by changes in their environments, such as restrictions on activities, school closures, and remote work, or no work. Some people have become depressed due to anxiety about infection and many have experienced exhaustion. Others are isolated from society and have gradually become dependent on the Internet to relieve their loneliness. Worse yet, suicides in Japan have increased since before the pandemic, and this increase is related to mental health problems. Thus, the effect of the pandemic on mental health is a complex combination of problems that change over time. However, most research to date has focused on individual symptoms at single points in time, and there is no comprehensive understanding of the pandemic’s impact on mental health. To develop such understanding, we conducted a series of surveys and examinations about various mental states. 

The team examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychiatric symptoms by using questionnaires that fortuitously were distributed over the Internet in December 2019, just before the pandemic, and then again in August 2020, December 2020, and April 2021, during the pandemic. Using data-driven statistical methods, changes in psychiatric symptoms during the pandemic were categorized into the following four components: 1) "general psychiatric burden," which is the interplay of all psychiatric symptoms; 2) "social isolation," associated with internet dependence and social anxiety; 3) "alcohol-related problems"; and 4) "depression/anxiety.” "General psychiatric burden," "social isolation," and "depression/anxiety” worsened during the pandemic. But while "general psychiatric burden'' and “depression/anxiety” peaked soon after the beginning of the pandemic, "social isolation” continued to worsen progressively through the pandemic.

Next, the team sought to identify factors that most aggravated the risks within each component. All components were more likely to worsen in women than in men. This highlights an urgent need to reduce the physical and mental burden that falls on women during the pandemic. The "general psychiatric burden" and “depression/anxiety” that peaked in the early stages of the pandemic, were greatly affected by the decrease in income during the pandemic. On the other hand, "social isolation,” which has continued to deteriorate gradually, was less likely to do so among those who changed the amount that they communicated with others and those who were self-employed. The importance of job type in "social isolation” suggests the influence of the work environment, human relations, types of work, and the ways that people connect with their colleagues.

How can society address these mental problems? Whereas economic policies were important in the early stage of the pandemic, policies, programs, and public education to maintain connections between people and throughout society may be more important from this point forward. It will certainly be necessary to continue to monitor the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public mental health.

“As the COVID-19 pandemic prolonged, social anxiety and internet addiction issues emerged,” notes Dr. Shuken Boku, a co-author on the paper and Associate Professor at Kumamoto University in Japan. “Social anxiety and internet addiction cause social isolation, and social isolation contributes to social anxiety and Internet addiction. This vicious cycle needs to be addressed as soon as possible before the problem becomes more serious. It is important to maintain social connections by increasing opportunities to see each other and have face-to-face contact, even online. This is especially true for those who are isolated from the society during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

---

JOURNAL

Translational Psychiatry

DOI

10.1038/s41398-021-01696-x 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Multiple time measurements of multidimensional psychiatric states from immediately before the COVID-19 pandemic to one year later: a longitudinal online survey of the Japanese population

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

10-Nov-2021

COI STATEMENT

N.K, T.H., and M.H. are employees of KDDI Research Inc. Y.M. is an employee of KDDI Corporation. N.K., Y.M., T.H., and M.H. were involved in the study design, data acquisition, statistical analysis, and interpretation of the results. For the remaining authors none were declared conflicts of interest.

 New Brunswick·Opinion

Fredericton's housing crisis prevents immigrants like me from pursuing a Canadian dream

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N.B. is courting newcomers, but the housing situation

awaiting many is desperate

Arun Budhathoki · for CBC Opinion · Posted: Nov 07, 2021 7:00 AM AT | Last Updated: November 7

Arun Budhathoki returned to Fredericton this fall to continue his studies. He is not sure whether he can afford to stay. (Submitted by Arun Budhathoki)

This column is an opinion by Arun Budhathoki, a Nepalese writer and graduate student living in Fredericton. For more information about CBC's Opinion section, please see the FAQ.

In September, I returned to Fredericton to continue my education, having been away from Canada for six years.

When I looked at the rental market, I could not believe how much things have changed — and also how sky-high rents are hurting the very newcomers the New Brunswick government wants to attract.

My journey from Nepal had been difficult, and I fell sick for a week. It wasn't COVID-19, thankfully. An old Canadian friend had generously picked me up from the Fredericton airport and let me stay with him as I recovered from the viral fever.

I search online for a room to rent, and to my utter disbelief I saw how prices had skyrocketed from what I encountered when I first came here, in 2013.

I asked my friend: what kind of immigrants does New Brunswick want? Is it just white-collar, cash-loaded newcomers who can afford the housing? What happens to lower-income newcomers who are captivated by the Canadian dream?

When I lived here before, during 2013-15, I paid about $300 to rent a room in a house. Of course, I understand things can change after five or six years.

A single room now rents from at least $500 and even rooms on the north side are above that. This amount may not be high in Canada, but that is a high monthly salary back in Nepal.

Early connections with a city

I should explain what took me away from Fredericton six years ago. When the news of the April 2015 Nepal earthquake hit me, my mind froze like the wintry St. John River. That year was probably the lowest in my life; later, there was a suicide in our extended family, and my parents were corralled by a political group and almost killed during the elections.

Guest columnist Arun Budhathoki says the City of Fredericton does not have a plan to help newcomers find affordable housing, and to entice them to stay permanently. (Gary Moore/CBC)

Far away from home, I was not able to digest it. A sense of responsibility troubled my conscience. When I was invited to read from my book Prisoner of an iPad: New Poems at an international book fair, I boarded a flight from Toronto and left Canada, always hoping to return.

One year's leave from the University of New Brunswick extended to four more, because of several circumstances. It was not easy for me to leave my family behind.

I feel bad to say this, but perhaps Canada is selling a fake dream to immigrants and should be honest about its housing crisis.

When I ask around about high rents, the typical answer involves COVID-19. It is also true that many folks from Ontario have moved to Fredericton during the pandemic, seeking lower house prices and the ability to work from their new homes. Realtors love this, I presume.

I wrote to my university about affordable housing, but they said they could do nothing about it, and it was the harsh reality that international students need to face.

• Fredericton housing crisis leaves some newcomers living in wretched conditions

• Loss of affordable rents forces growing number onto waitlist for subsidized housing

I wrote to the City of Fredericton. A reply said Mayor Kate Rogers has set up the Fredericton Affordable Housing Advisory Committee and developed a housing needs assessment/strategy for the city, although it also said that they had no immediate solutions.

Getting stuck like a thunderbolt

Reality strikes newcomers like a thunderbolt when they realize that housing is not as affordable as thought. I had assumed that the right to housing is enshrined in the Canadian Constitution, but I have learned that this is not so.

I feel bad to say this, but perhaps Canada is selling a fake dream to immigrants and should be honest about its housing crisis.

Tents began appearing along the banks of the St. John River this spring, in an evident sign that people could not access affordable housing in Fredericton. (Elizabeth Fraser/CBC)

I keep hearing that Canada needs immigrants as its population is aging. But just granting them a passage to come here might not be enough. When people do not have a roof to live under, social ills emerge. Canada needs productive and happy immigrants and not those overwhelmed by housing prices, trying to meet their ends every month.

It is the responsibility of Fredericton and its educational institutions to address the housing crisis. If not, many newcomers and even Canadians will continue to face its wrath.

There's a strong disconnect between New Brunswick's aspirations to lure immigrants and the housing market. If immigrants do not have access to proper jobs and the housing prices continue to skyrocket, I do not think any immigrant would live in New Brunswick.

• Record sales and prices for Fredericton real estate in 2020

Before returning to Canada, I dreamed of bringing my family here next year and raising them here.

New Brunswick is safer, quieter and cleaner than my hometown. However, I might have to reconsider that plan now.

Sometimes my mom would question my choices.

"Your younger sister is doing fine in the United States, and why do you wish to return to a cold country again?" she told me.

My response would be the same: "It is safer, and I need to finish my studies."

Arun Budhathoki came to Fredericton with dreams that he could build a life here for his family, once he completes his studies. Now, he is not certain. (Submitted by Arun Budhathoki)

I always liked Canada, and I could have gone to Australia or the United States back in 2013, but I took the leap of faith and arrived in the little-known city of Fredericton.

As I aspire to plant my roots here again, dreary paths lie ahead. But taking a walk down such paths is better than staying idle.

I believe in this city, and I know there's a reason why I'm back again: to chase the Canadian dream.

However, the housing crisis might deter it yet again.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Arun Budhathoki

Contributor

Arun Budhathoki is a Nepalese freelance journalist, poet and writer based in Fredericton.

Silent hand signal that helped rescue U.S. teen was originally created in Canada

Sean Leathong

CTV News Toronto

 Videojournalist
Monday, November 8, 2021

TORONTO -- A silent signal, an open hand, a thumb tucked in, then covered by four fingers, originally created in Canada to help women who are in distress has played a major role in saving a 16-year-old girl in the United States.

"It was definitely a relief to see not only that this young woman in such a dangerous situation could use the signal but people knew how to respond to the signal," Andrea Gunraj from the Canadian Women's Foundation told CTV News Toronto.

The Canadian Women's Foundation created this signal and launched a campaign in April 2020. It was aimed at helping who may be in a dangerous situation at home reach out while in lockdown.

Gunraj was surprised at how well it was received.

"By July of 2020 we found that 1 in 3 people in Canada had heard of the signal for help or saw it being used and it went viral all over the world,” she said. “Over 70 countries showed it."


The signal gained traction on social media, particularity on Tik Tok with multiple posts aimed at teaching young women how to quietly call for help.

That is exactly what a 16-year-old girl was doing, through the passenger window of a car on the I-75 South in Kentucky a little after 12 p.m. this past Thursday.

"There was some people behind her, that noticed she was making hand gestures that signifies for, I need help,” Deputy Gilbert Acciardo from Laurel county Sheriff department in Kentucky said.

The girl, who is from North Carolina had been missing since Tuesday. She had been taken by a man in a car from her home state, to Ohio, and then headed south when she was spotted.

Those who saw the signal, called 911, following the car she was in for nearly 15 kilometers, until police were able to make a traffic stop.

"We don't know how long coming down the interstate from Ohio that she had been doing this to other motorists hoping that they would notice that she was in distress," says Acciardo.

James Herbert Brick, 61, was arrested and is facing charges of unlawful imprisonment, and possession of material showing a sexual performance by a minor.

Now the girl is being reunited with her family in North Carolina. Something that could have been so much worse, stopped by a hand signal.

"What a powerful thing,” Andrea Gunraj said. “ A signal is only as good as it's responded to."

Knowing that this signal can convey the most important of messages, understood by so many, and it's working.

Bank of Canada governor says central bank’s role includes reducing inequality

JORDAN PRESS
OTTAWA
THE CANADIAN PRESS

PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 9, 2021

The governor of the Bank of Canada has laid down an argument for the central bank’s actions during the pandemic, hours after the country’s opposition leader suggested the bank stay in its inflation-targeting lane.

The Bank of Canada enacted extraordinary measures during the pandemic to keep credit flowing and encourage low interest rates to spur demand.

Its program to purchase government bonds, known as quantitative easing, encouraged low rates on things such as mortgages and business loans while keeping borrowing costs low for a federal government spending historical amounts on emergency aid.

Speaking to a conference of central banks, Tiff Macklem said creating an inclusive recovery was fundamental to the central bank’s role in helping to manage the economy.

Macklem echoed calls earlier in the day by his American counterpart that leaving untouched entrenched inequalities holds back some citizens and economies from realizing their full potential.

Macklem also said talk about how to create an inclusive recovery shouldn’t be seen as an expansion of central bank mandates, but rather it is already part of their marching orders.

“This conversation in central banks has sparked a debate about whether central banks are expanding their mandates, whether we’re overreaching and getting distracted from our focus on inflation targeting, and even a criticism that we should stay in our lane,” he said Tuesday.

“My own view is that we are tasked with serving our citizens, not some of our citizens.”

High inflation is ‘transitory but not short-lived,’ says BoC governor Tiff Macklem

Macklem made the comments to end the conference on diversity and inclusiveness organized jointly by the Bank of Canada, the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank. The Bank of Canada is set to host the conference next year.

But before that, the federal government has to renew the Bank of Canada’s mandate, which has happened every five years over the last three decades.

The bank has been charged with anchoring inflation to between one and three per cent, a range that often sees it target price increases to roughly two per cent.

The pandemic upended the central bank’s inflation framework, first by dropping inflation in 2020 to 0.7 per cent, and now sending the consumer price index to an 18-year high – the annual inflation rate was 4.4 per cent in September – amid supply-chain issues that Macklem has warned will push up inflation rates further, keeping them higher for longer.

The inflationary roller-coaster has sparked calls on Parliament Hill from the Opposition Conservatives that the central bank’s own actions, coupled with historic deficits, are driving up the cost of living.

Speaking to reporters earlier in the day, Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole warned Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that the central bank’s marching orders should focus only on inflation-targeting and nothing more.

“We’re really worried about our economic future,” O’Toole said after unveiling Pierre Poilievre, a frequent critic of the central bank, as his new finance critic.

“We also don’t think the mandate of the bank should be extended – we’ve been very clear on that – to include a range of other factors. We have to focus on our fundamentals.”

A decision on the central bank’s mandate should be made by the end of this year, or early next.

The Tories have also taken aim at the central bank’s quantitative easing program, which reduced returns on short-term government bonds and likely made buyers think more about long-term bonds that lock in debt at today’s low interest rates.

Macklem said Tuesday that the bond-buying program challenged public perceptions of the Bank of Canada’s independence from political influence.

He also said it is more important than ever for central banks to be clear about their actions and objectives.

“Trust comes when everyone understands the actions we are taking, and why,” he said.

MORE STUFF IN SPACE

The US Space Force Has Detected an Unknown Object Orbiting Near China's Satellite

And it 'appears to be a deliberate synchronization'.

By Brad Bergan Nov 10, 2021 

China's Long March-3B vehicle rocketing to space.

CCTV / YouTube

China's satellite might have a companion.

The U.S. Space Force has detected a mysterious object orbiting in parallel with China's new Shijian-21 spacecraft, according to an initial report from SpaceNews.

And, since it might be moving under its own power, we're still not clear on what it is. But we have several theories about what it might be, from a new space junk device to the latest exhibition of space war tactics.
China's space junk-cleaning satellite might have a companion

China's Shijian-21 satellite was launched into space atop a Long March-3B rocket, back on Oct. 23. At the time, China's state-run news agency Xinhua said its spacecraft "entered the planned orbit successfully", and would "be mainly used to test and verify space debris mitigation technologies." There's not much to parse in this announcement with relevance to the newly-detected object, but China isn't usually very forthcoming about space endeavors. But on Nov. 3, the U.S. military began to monitor an unidentified object orbiting in parallel with Shijian-21, and the Space Force's 18th Space Control Squadron categorized the detection as an "apogee kick motor", dubbing it 2021-094C.

An apogee kick motor is typically used to lift payloads into operational orbits, including geostationary orbits (GEO). When they're finished with them, satellites sometimes kick their apogee kick motors away, but this is "pretty rare", and "almost always done by launching to the GEO graveyard, ejecting the motor, and then lowering the payload into GEO proper," said Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, in a Gizmodo report. Graveyard orbits are where the lion's share of space junk resides, where satellites go after they've outlived their usefulness. This is typically deliberate, so the risk of in-space collisions is reduced as the volume of blindingly fast bits of debris becomes more abundant in orbital space.

Unknown object's motion 'appears to be a deliberate synchronization'

GEO is a special case of orbital trajectories, where satellites assume an orbit that moves in synchrony with the geographical location on Earth below. This makes them appear to "stand still" to observers on the ground, despite how fast they are still moving through space. Satellites are typically installed in these comparatively high orbits to provide telecommunications or weather data for a specific region of Earth. But ejecting an object from a satellite in GEO "is a bad idea and very rare," added McDowell in the report, since this heightens the risk of a subsequent collision with other satellites and equipment in GEO or lower trajectories.

However, nobody said it had to be an apogee kick motor, and the evidence suggests it's actually something else. As of writing, it's "currently unknown whether the object is an [apogee kick motor], an object possibly related to space debris mitigation tests, or part of potential counterspace operation tests," wrote SpaceNews in their report. "The object could be used to test rendezvous and proximity operations, refueling experiments or manipulation using a robotic arm or other means." Both Shijian-21 and 2021-094C are still orbiting the Earth roughly 50 miles (80 km) above nominal GEO, "which is well within the band" typically employed to relocate GEO satellites, added McDowell in the report. They're roughly 37 miles (60 km) apart, and this "appears to be a deliberate synchronization," said McDowell to Gizmodo, which doesn't fit the Space Force's apogee kick motor designation. "If you just ejected and said bye-bye, you'd expect a steadily increasing separation," he added. And after renewed interest in monitoring space war tactics amid rising tensions between China and the U.S., we can be certain that the superpowers of the world are monitoring this situation very closely.

Space Station Will Make an Emergency Maneuver After Detection of Threatening Space Junk

A fragment from a Chinese weather satellite will come to within 2,000 feet of the ISS, prompting the orbital relocation.

By George Dvorsky

The International Space Station as seen from Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft on 28 September 2021.Image: Roscosmos

An impromptu “space debris evasion maneuver” has been scheduled to prevent errant space junk from slamming into the International Space Station, in what is becoming an increasingly routine procedure.

Preliminary calculations suggest the space junk will come to within 1,970 feet (600 meters) of the International Space Station on Thursday, November 11 at approximately 8:00 p.m. ET (Friday, November 12 at 4:00 a.m. Moscow time), according to Russian space agency Roscosmos. That’s too close for comfort, requiring the ISS to be positioned farther away from the danger zone. The maneuver is scheduled for Wednesday at 3:15 p.m. ET (11:15 p.m. Moscow time).

“The impact probability and risk to the International Space Station is very low,” a spokesperson from NASA explained in an email, adding that “the maneuver is a standard space station maneuver and does not require the crew to take any specific action.”

The sudden need to relocate the ISS is not expected to affect the launch of Crew-3, which blasts off later today from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, as NASA officials noted yesterday during the pre-flight news conference.

The offending chunk of junk is a remnant of the Fengyun-1C spacecraft. China deliberately destroyed its own weather satellite in January 2007 as part of an anti-satellite missile test. The event prompted howls of outrage, as experts criticized China for contributing to the militarization of space and for deliberately producing a dangerous cloud of orbital debris. A fictional version of this event was portrayed in the 2013 film Gravity, in which a rapidly expanding cloud of debris, accidentally caused by Russia shooting down a defunct spy satellite, destroyed the ISS.

To keep that story rooted in fiction, flight controllers plan to move the ISS by igniting the engines of Russia’s Progress MS-18 transport vehicle, currently docked to the station. The chosen impulse strength will move the space station at a rate of 2.3 feet per second (0.7 meters per second) for six minutes, according to Roscosmos. The maneuver will increase the space station’s altitude by 4,068 feet (1,240 meters), placing it in an operational orbit some 262 miles (421 km) above Earth.

The ISS has performed 29 avoidance maneuvers over the past 22 years, including three in 2020. The most recent happened on September 22, 2020, when space junk belonging to a Japanese rocket stage threatened to pass within 0.86 miles (1.39 kilometers) of the orbital outpost.

It’s an upward trend that’s likely to get worse over time, as satellites increasingly enter low Earth orbit and as the volume of orbital debris likewise increases—and as we continue to drag our collective feet and neglect to do anything meaningful, such as limiting the objects allowed in space or funding the development of satellites capable of cleaning up our orbital mess.

Correction: A previous version of this post incorrectly identified the Progress MS-18 as a Soyuz MS-18.

More: Space Force detects mystery object in orbit alongside Chinese satellite.

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