20,000 nurses, mental health workers join 'sympathy strike' in SF Bay Area


San Francisco, Calif., is seen beyond the Golden Gate Bridge on March 16, 2020. 

File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo

Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Nurses and mental health employees by the thousands are expected to participate in a sympathy strike in the San Francisco Bay Area on Friday to support protesting engineers at Kaiser Permanente facilities.

About 20,000 members of the National Union of Healthcare Workers at medical centers in San Jose, Fremont and Oakland are expected to join engineers with a rally at Kaiser headquarters in Oakland.

"Nurses know the devastating impact that short-staffing has on our community's health and well-being," CNA President Cathy Kennedy, a registered nurse at Kaiser in Roseville, said according to the San Jose Mercury News.

"We also know that in order to provide the safe patient care our communities need and deserve, we must be able to count on our coworkers and they must be able to count on us. So we are standing with the Kaiser engineers in their righteous fight for a safe and just workplace."

RELATED Kaiser strikes deal with pharmacists union to avert labor strike

Engineers, who saw their contract expire on Sept. 17, had been striking for wages comparable to other engineers in Northern California. The striking Local 39 IUOE represents about 600 operating engineers with Kaiser.

"All of those engineers, their [hourly] wages are all within about a nickel of each other and Kaiser has us better than $1 out the first year, better than $3 out the second year and $6 out the third year," Walter Thiel, a striking stationary engineer, told KCRA-TV.

Kaiser has called the wage demands "unreasonable" and beyond what other unions have asked for.

"Unfortunately, after many hours bargaining on Tuesday and Wednesday, there is no movement in negotiations with Local 39," Kaiser said, according to KCRA-TV. "The union insists it receives much more -- in some cases nearly two times more -- than other union agreements covering Kaiser Permanente employees."

ICC Suspends Investigation Of Philippines 'War On Drugs'


By AFP News
11/19/21 

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte Needs 'Psychiatric' Exam, Says U.N. Human Rights Chief


The International Criminal Court has suspended its investigation into suspected rights abuses committed under Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's "war on drugs" following a request from Manila.

The Hague-based court in September authorised a probe of the campaign that has left thousands of people dead, saying it resembled an illegitimate and systematic attack on civilians.

Duterte was elected in 2016 on a campaign promise to get rid of the Philippines' drug problem, openly ordering police to kill drug suspects if officers' lives were in danger.

At least 6,181 people have died in more than 200,000 anti-drug operations conducted since July 2016, according to the latest official data released by the Philippines.

ICC prosecutors in court papers estimate the figure to be between 12,000 and 30,000 dead.

According to court documents, Philippine ambassador Eduardo Malaya requested a deferral.

"The prosecution has temporarily suspended its investigative activities while it assesses the scope and effect of the deferral request," ICC prosecutor Karim Khan wrote in a court notification dated November 18.

He said the prosecution would request additional information from the Philippines.

Duterte pulled Manila out of the ICC in 2019 after it launched a preliminary probe, but the court says it has jurisdiction over crimes committed while the Philippines was still a member.

President Rodrigo Duterte was elected on a campaign promise to get rid of the Philippines' drug problem

 Photo: POOL via AFP / LISA MARIE DAVID

After long refusing to admit the court had any power to intervene and refusing to cooperate, Duterte backtracked in October to say he would prepare his defence.

Despite its request to the ICC, Manila said it maintained that the court had no jurisdiction.

"We reiterate that it is the position of the Philippine government that the International Criminal Court has no jurisdiction over it," Duterte's spokesman Karlo Nograles said in a statement Saturday.

"In any event, we welcome the judiciousness of the new ICC prosecutor, who has deemed it fit to give the matter a fresh look and we trust that the matter will be resolved in favour of the exoneration of our government and the recognition of the vibrancy of our justice system," he said.

In his letter requesting a deferral, ambassador Malaya said the Philippine government was investigating the alleged crimes against humanity committed during the drug war.

He said the Philippine government "has undertaken, and continues to undertake, thorough investigations of all reported deaths during anti-narcotic operations in the country".

Human Rights Watch dismissed the claim that the Philippines' existing domestic mechanisms afford citizens justice as "absurd" and an attempt to stave off the ICC probe.

"Only 52 out of thousands of killings are in early stages of investigation. Despite many clear-cut cases of murder, no charges have even been filed," the rights group's Asia director Brad Adams tweeted Saturday.

"The reality is that impunity is the norm under President Duterte, which is why the ICC needs to investigate. Let's hope the ICC sees through the ruse that it is."

Censors, Legal Hurdles Stifle China's #MeToo Movement


By Jing Xuan TENG and Beiyi SEOW
11/19/21

China's #MeToo movement has stumbled in the face of swift internet censors, a patriarchal society and a legal system that places a heavy burden on the claimant.

Explosive claims this month by tennis star Peng Shuai that a former top Communist Party politician had sexually assaulted her marked the first time allegations have hit the top layer of government.

But her accusations were swiftly scrubbed from the Chinese internet, and she has not been seen publicly since.

Others have faced the same fate, with an increasingly austere Beijing cracking down on any form of grassroots social movement.


The global #MeToo movement reached China in 2018 when a wave of women published allegations of sexual harassment against university professors.

Threatened by the prospect of an uncontrolled mass movement, authorities quickly began blocking social media hashtags and keywords.

A court this year dismissed the case of Zhou Xiaoxuan (left), who accused a state TV host of groping her Photo: AFP / GREG BAKER

The phrase #MeToo is still blocked.

Prominent feminists face regular police harassment and detention -- including activist Sophia Huang Xueqin, arrested in September for "inciting subversion of state power", according to Reporters Without Borders.

Although leader Xi Jinping has declared women are "an important force driving social development and progress", there are barely any women in key government roles in China.

Political leadership is a man's world, with only one woman in the Communist Party's elite 25-member Politburo.

Xi has also been aggressively pushing a conservative narrative of women as mothers and wives.

A plain-clothes policeman takes away a sign which reads "We Stand Together" from a supporter of Zhou Xiaoxuan outside court 

Photo: AFP / GREG BAKER

New legislation clarifying the concept of sexual harassment passed last year in China, but accusers still face major obstacles.

"You have to constantly prove you're honest... and that you're not using this issue to hype yourself," a woman who had made an allegation of sexual misconduct told AFP, asking to remain unidentified as she feared retaliation.

But for the accused, "it's actually very simple", she said.

"He can just deny it and does not need to prove his innocence."

The cases that see the light of day are often shot down by courts -- and a large majority of cases brought under sexual harassment charges are the accused pressing back with defamation charges.

Wang Qi, a World Wildlife Fund employee who alleged online that her boss had forcibly kissed and repeatedly harassed her, was hit with a retaliatory defamation lawsuit from him in 2018.

Peng Shuai alleged that a former top Communist Party politician sexually assaulted her 

Photo: AFP / Greg WOOD

She was ordered to apologise by a court which concluded she had insufficient proof and had "spread falsehoods" about him.

And a Beijing court this year dismissed the case of Zhou Xiaoxuan, who accused state TV host Zhu Jun of groping her when she was an intern.

The court said Zhou had provided insufficient evidence.

Zhu in turn sued Zhou for defamation.

Courts require accusers to show evidence far stronger than that provided by the accused, often turning away witnesses close to the accusers including friends and colleagues, according to research from Yale Law School in May.

This discourages "employers and survivors from disciplining alleged harassers or speaking out, because they know they might be sued and be made to carry a heavy burden of proof", the researchers wrote.

Other women who come forward with stories of harassment and assault are subjected to personal attacks.

Prominent journalist Zhang Wen was accused of rape by an anonymous letter-writer in 2018, prompting other women to come forward with harassment allegations.

Zhang hit back online at his accusers in an effort to discredit them in comments that were freely allowed to circulate.

They were heavy drinkers who dated many men, he wrote, adding that his original accuser "had changed boyfriends multiple times at university".

But Beijing has allowed allegations to swirl when it suits them.

A female employee at e-commerce giant Alibaba alleged this summer that she had been sexually assaulted on a work trip by her manager and a client, in a case that drew widespread coverage and commentary across Chinese media.

The company was coming under intense pressure from state regulators at the time, and Alibaba fired the manager and vowed to crack down on "ugly" company culture.

Once the furore died down, however, police eventually dropped the case, saying the manager's act of "forced indecency" was not a crime.

And Canadian-Chinese pop star Kris Wu faced a rare arrest in August after a 19-year-old woman accused him online of rape -- coinciding with an official crackdown on celebrity excess.

Equally, fallen Communist Party officials expelled for corruption are frequently accused of sexual misconduct -- but it will "only be revealed after their downfalls due to political struggles, as part of the facts of their crimes," veteran Chinese feminist Lu Pin wrote in a recent essay on Peng Shuai.

"Meanwhile the women are used as evidence of their bad reputation."

Protests Cast Spotlight On Chinese Factories In Serbia


By Miodrag SOVILJ
11/19/21 

When Dung Nguyen left Vietnam to work abroad, the 37-year-old said he'd been assured he would be employed by a German company in Serbia, only to have his passport taken away upon arrival at a Chinese-run factory where conditions were dire.

The situation at the factory and the alleged deception used to lure employees has made headlines in Serbia after Nguyen and hundreds of other Vietnamese went on strike this week.

The strike that started on Wednesday was a rare show of defiance by labourers at a Chinese-backed enterprise in the country.

Beijing has invested billions in Serbia and neighbouring Balkan countries in recent years, hoping to expand its economic footprint in central Europe.


Serbia has been quick to cash in on China's interest, as it seeks to court a range of investors amid the ongoing tug of war between the East and West over influence in the Balkans.

But Belgrade has repeatedly been accused of giving Chinese-owned companies a free hand in how they run their operations.

Vietnamese workers went on strike this week over conditions at a Chinese-run factory in Serbia

 Photo: AFP / OLIVER BUNIC

Critics from civil society, human rights groups and in the media say the government has turned a blind eye to environmental concerns and potential human rights violations.

The Vietnamese workers were employed to build a factory for the Chinese tyre company Linglong in the small northern city of Zrenjanin, considered a centrepiece of Beijing-backed investment in Serbia.

But according to Nguyen, the living and work conditions were untenable and not what he had been promised when he was recruited for the job.

"We are living as if we were in jail... all our passports were kept by the Chinese when we arrived at the airport," Nguyen told AFP in a video message sent from inside the living quarters.

"I cannot talk more as I am afraid my saying would impact others," he added.

Even before the strike, private security guards were posted near the workers' dormitories next to the factory site and journalists including from AFP were prevented from entering the premises.

The strike was a rare show of defiance by labourers at a Chinese-backed enterprise in Serbia

 Photo: AFP / OLIVER BUNIC

Human rights organisations A11 and ASTRA published a joint report earlier this week demanding "urgent action" from Serbian authorities.

"A large number of established facts indicate the possibility that workers are victims of human trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation," it said.

According to the report, the Vietnamese workers had not been provided with heating, electricity or hot water and the facilities lacked adequate infrastructure and sewerage.

"The conditions were nowhere near suitable for housing human beings," Danilo Curcic, a human rights lawyer from A11 said during an interview with local broadcaster N1 TV.

"I don't think it's an overstatement to say that some people do not keep animals in those conditions."

Construction workers at the Zrenjanin factory had already staged two strikes within the last six months, according to A11, sparked by unpaid salaries and a lack of food.

Beijing has invested billions in Serbia and neighbouring Balkan countries in recent years, aiming to expand its economic footprint in central Europe 

Photo: AFP / OLIVER BUNIC

A short documentary aired by N1 this month also showed workers living in cramped conditions inside a makeshift dormitory at the site.

"It is unacceptable that an aspiring EU member state seems to tolerate this on its territory and remains silent on cases of potential forced labour in Europe," Viola von Cramon, a member of the European Parliament for Germany, told AFP.

Linglong said that the Vietnamese workers were not officially employed by the company and had been hired by a Chinese subcontractor.

"Linglong's only obligation to its contractors is to pay them compensation for the work performed under the contract," the company said in a statement.

It added it was planning meetings with subcontractors to "inform them about the values the company upholds" and demanded the workers were transferred to "better accommodation".

It did not respond to an AFP request for further clarification.

Vietnam's foreign ministry said officials had received no reports of "violence and harassment" at the factory but said it was monitoring the situation.

In a 2019 case that cast a disturbing light on unscrupulous trafficking networks, 39 Vietnamese migrants were found dead in a refrigerated truck in Britain after it had crossed the Channel from Europe.

Serbian leaders have batted away accusations of malfeasance at Linglong.

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic suggested the incident might have been a conspiracy targeting Chinese investment in the country, after confirming that the Vietnamese workers were being moved to more appropriate accommodation.

President Aleksandar Vucic has vastly expanded ties with Beijing since coming to power and says the two countries enjoy a "steel friendship".

Serbia was one of the first countries in Europe to receive coronavirus vaccines from China, while Vucic kissed the Chinese flag last year after receiving medical supplies sent by Beijing early on in the pandemic.

Following this week's headlines, the Serbian leader doubled down, saying Chinese investments would continue to be a top priority.

"What do you want, to destroy an investment worth $900 million?" Vucic said Friday.

"If the Vietnamese need to be helped, we will help. But we will not chase the investors away."

Tesla’s Fremont Factory ‘Resembles A Frat House’ Harassment Lawsuit Claims


By Maggie Valenti
11/19/21 

A woman has accused Tesla of contributing to an environment where sexual harassment was “rampant” at its factory in Fremont, California, in a new lawsuit.

In an interview with The Washington Post, worker Jessica Barraza accused the company of allowing the situation to unfold.

The lawsuit states the Tesla factory “resembles a . . . frat house.” Barraza is reportedly on doctor-ordered medical leave for post-traumatic stress and anxiety.

Tesla hired Barraza as a production associate in 2018. In the lawsuit, she claims male colleagues subjected her to harassment, which included catcalling and inappropriate physical touching, and that superiors knew about and took part in the toxic environment. A human resources complaint did nothing to protect her.

Specifics listed in the complaint include male workers who remarked on Barraza’s “coke bottle” figure, “fat a--” or “onion booty.”

The complaint also states that male workers would “brush up against Ms. Barraza’s backside (including with their groins) or unnecessarily touch her under the pretext of working together in close quarters.”

Barraza’s complaint was filed in California Superior Court, but Tesla CEO and SpaceX CEO and founder Elon Musk is not named in the suit. Though Musk is not named, Barraza cited a tweet he wrote in The Washington Post interview that contributed to the toxic culture.

“Am thinking of starting new university: Texas Institute of Technology & Science,” Musk wrote. The acronym would be TITS (a reference to women’s breasts). “It will have epic merch, universally admired,” Musk continued.

“That doesn’t set a good example for the factory — it almost gives it like an … ‘he’s tweeting about it, it has to be OK,’ ” Barraza told The Washington Post. “It’s not fair to myself, to my family, to other women who are working there.”

This is not the first time the Fremont factory has been the site of harassment. In October, Tesla was ordered by a judge to pay $137 million to a former contractor who was subjected to racial harassment.

In 2017, former Tesla engineer AJ Vandermeyden sued Tesla, alleging women were denied promotions and paid less than their male counterparts, then faced retaliation after reaching out to human resources. Tesla fired Vandermeyden months after her claims went public.

“Tesla is responsible for the systemic sexual harassment occurring in its factory,” Barraza’s attorney, David A. Lowe, told The Verge. “We are bringing this case to put a stop to the harassment against Ms. Barraza and her colleagues.”

Japan Unveils Record $490 Bn Stimulus To Boost Pandemic Recovery


By Kyoko HASEGAWA
11/19/21 

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced a record $490 billion stimulus for the world's third-largest economy Friday as he looks to shore up the country's patchy pandemic recovery.

The 56 trillion yen injection, the third since the Covid crisis struck last year and expected to be approved by the cabinet later in the day, "is enough to deliver a sense of safety and hope to the Japanese people", Kishida said.

The spending will include a variety of measures, said to include cash and coupon handouts to families with children under 18 who meet an income cap, as well as pay rises for nurses and careworkers.

The vast spending plans come after Japan's economy shrank far more than expected in the second quarter as leaders struggled to overcome the outbreak by imposing containment measures in Tokyo and other cities.


Former prime ministers Yoshihide Suga and Shinzo Abe poured 40 trillion yen and 38 trillion yen respectively into the economy in 2020, although some analysts and media have raised doubts over how effective that spending has been.

"We have been able to build economic measures that will open the new society after the pandemic," Kishida said at policy talks between the cabinet and ruling coalition.

He said the fiscal spending was expected to rise as high as 79 trillion yen including other elements such as loans from funds.

Kishida triumphed in a general election last month, having pledged to unleash a huge spending programme after his predecessor Suga stepped down, partly over his government's virus response.

Fumio Kishida's stimulus is the third to be injected into the Japanese economy since the pandemic began last year Photo: POOL via AFP / Stanislav Kogiku

Businesses, especially restaurants and bars, have endured months of on-off restrictions on opening hours and alcohol sales since the pandemic began. Japan's borders also remain shut to tourists.

Government data showed this week that Japan's economy shrank 0.8 percent in the three months to September -- far worse than market expectations -- as a record surge in virus cases hit spending and supply-chain issues hampered business.

However, daily cases have nosedived in recent months, and more than three-quarters of the population are now fully vaccinated, with most restrictions now lifted nationwide.

Economists said the stimulus would support Japan's growth to some extent, although some media outlets have questioned the effectiveness of handouts and criticised a lack of clarity on how the spending will be financed.

Japan already has an enormous public debt load, amounting to 250 percent of gross domestic product according to the International Monetary Fund.

The government should explain why the stimulus package "is necessary and what effects are expected", Kengo Sakurada, chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, told reporters this week.

He also noted that Japan's Board of Audit says nearly half of the stimulus already implemented by previous governments had yet to be used.

"We need accountability from the government on why this one will be successful," he said.

Tesla, electric SUVs get poor scores from Consumer Reports

Thu, November 18, 2021
By Joseph White

(Reuters) -Vehicles from Tesla Inc and electric sport utilities from rival brands are among the least reliable models sold in the United States, a reflection of the risks of new technology, Consumer Reports said on Thursday.

Consumer Reports, a nonprofit organization that evaluates products and services, said Tesla, the world's most valuable automaker, ranked 27th out of 28 brands, just ahead of Ford Motor Co's Lincoln brand.

"Electric SUVs as a vehicle category is the absolute bottom in terms of reliability," Consumer Reports director of vehicle testing Jake Fisher said Thursday during a presentation to the Detroit Automotive Press Association.

Among electric SUVs, Fisher said Ford Motor Co's Mustang Mach-E "is the only one with above-average reliability."

Consumer Reports recommends the Tesla Model 3 sedan and rates its reliability as "average." But Fisher said the rest of Tesla's vehicles are below average.

The popular Model Y SUV, Tesla's best-selling vehicle, has problems with poorly fitting body panels, leaks and issues with its climate control, Fisher said.

The larger Model X SUV "still has problems with the falcon wing doors," Fisher said.

Consumer Reports has been critical of Tesla's Autopilot and Full Self Driving automated driving systems. Fisher said Consumer Reports still has concerns that drivers will rely too much on technology that cannot safely take over driving, but that did not factor into the reliability scores.

"Full Self Driving is not full self-driving at all," Fisher said. "It's a convenience feature."

Electric vehicle drive systems, or powertrains, are not the main source of problems, Fisher said. The issues reported by owners are with other features.

Manufacturers "are using EVs as a technological test bed," Fisher said. "Those are the things that go wrong."

The top-ranked brand overall in the survey was Lexus, and eight of the ten top-scoring brands were Japanese. That continues a long-running trend.

Among brands owned by Detroit automakers, Buick was the only one in the top ten, in fifth place.

The Buick Envision, which is assembled in China, was the most reliable compact luxury SUV in the Consumer Reports survey.

(Reporting by Abhijith Ganapavaram in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Nick Zieminski)

The chaos on Canada's west coast is a preview of climate change woes to come


Damon Linker, Senior correspondent
Thu, November 18, 2021

British Columbia flooding. Illustrated | REUTERS, iStock

World leaders have just returned home from COP26, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, eager to talk about the progress they made in devising strategies to combat climate change. Right on time, events on the west coast of Canada have given us a glimpse of our perilous environmental future.

This past June, British Columbia was sitting under a highly irregular "heat dome" that drove temperatures up to astonishing heights. Fires, smoke, and life-threatening heat enveloped both sides of the U.S.-Canada border, but things were especially bad above the 49th parallel, with the town of Lytton topping out at 121 degrees Fahrenheit and ending up completely consumed by flames from a brushfire.

Now, just a few months later, an "atmospheric river" has delivered a wind-swept deluge to the same area, bringing widespread washouts, mudslides, and avalanches. The consequences for infrastructure — and, as a result, already buckling supply chains — have been especially shattering.

Writing in the National Post, author Terry Glavin notes that the Port of Vancouver and other marine terminals in the area "are now cut off from the rest of Canada, by road and by rail," with the Coquihalla Highway and Highway 3 both impassable. It may be possible to resolve the rail disruptions fairly quickly, but the same isn't true for roads. A government official estimates it could take "several weeks or months" to get them reopened. And because the flooding has been so widespread across the region, diverting truck traffic through the United States to the south isn't a great option either.

Add in entire towns under water, polluted municipal water systems, and gas lines severed with winter weather on the way — and we're left with a devastating picture of coastal western Canada. It's just the latest disturbing image of what awaits the world over the coming years and decades.

Extreme weather events — storms, floods, drought, deadly heat and cold — are bad enough in themselves. But they don't just do immediate damage to people and private property. They also play havoc with the networks of commerce and travel on which our modern lives and economies depend.

Yes, we need to do what we can to cut emissions so things don't become even worse down the road. But they're going to become pretty bad regardless. Internalizing that fact is an important task, not least because doing so might goad us to develop a nimbleness in our response to disasters and resilience in our supply chains once the worst discrete weather events have receded.

Human beings can get used to anything. We're going to have to get used to calamity.

One woman's determination unlocked science behind reforestation on an arid southwest forest

Laura Rabon
Thu, November 18, 2021

ALAMOGORDO — Tucked back in carefully chosen locations on the Lincoln National Forest, you can see baby trees poking up from the ground among the blackened logs

remaining from fires that laid bare patches of the forest. These fledgling trees aren’t here by accident. They are here because of one woman’s determination to unlock the science behind reforestation in the arid southwestern forest.

Forest Service silviculturist Marisa Bowen has spent the last five years coordinating the planting of 170,000 trees.

Forest Service silviculturist Marisa Bowen, known as Reese to her friends and coworkers, revived the tree planting program on the Lincoln National Forest after others had given up 20 years ago. Previous efforts to replant trees in fire scars on the Lincoln National Forest showed only mild success. Forest staff began to wonder if the limited returns were worth the hours and money spent on the program. In 2017 Bowen began researching the old methodology and successfully tweaking how, what, where and when the trees were planted.

Since then she has coordinated the planting of 170,000 trees in the Little Bear (2012) and Scott Able (2000) fire scars and learned the little details that make a big difference when doing reforestation in a drought-stricken forest.

“Everyone thinks it’s an easy, straightforward process. Just get some seeds and plant them, right?” Bowen smiles and says. “Turns out it’s a bit more complicated if you want the trees to survive.”

While the Forest Service acknowledges it has too many trees in some part of the forest, it also has too few in other areas. Prompt reforestation in these areas allows for the accelerated regeneration of the woods after natural disturbance, such as wildfire, climate change, and insect and disease infestations. Reestablishing forest cover provides wildlife habitat, clean and abundant water for animals and humans, carbon sequestration, future timber that can be responsibly harvested, forested recreation opportunities, and prevents soil erosion.

Finding the right sites

Five years ago, Bowen and the GIS department at the Forest Service mapped the terrain burned by fires over the years. They were searching for areas where replanting trees was most needed and where they had a shot of survival. After a careful review, they chose 8,315 acres of severely burned forest at various locations across the forest.

The sites were in areas where all the trees were destroyed, and with them, the seed source that would have naturally replenished the trees. They also considered the state of the soil, access to the area, and nearby private land. It is also worth noting official wilderness areas are not eligible to be replanted per wilderness regulations. In just five years, they have successfully replanted 20 percent of the area with Ponderosa pine,

Douglas Fir, Engelmann spruce, and southwestern white pine.

Bowen inspects a three-year-old ponderosa pine seedling.

“Fire burns in a mosaic pattern. It doesn’t burn uniformly,” explained Bowen. “In the same fire you can see patches of forest that were completely untouched next to burned areas. If some trees survive in the area, it has hope of coming back. I was looking for areas with total overstory removal and no seed source remaining, but with soils that were still able to support vegetation.”
The art and science of seed collection

Success is in the details. Trees, like humans, have their own genetic makeup passed down from tree to seedling. Bowen only uses seeds collected from the same elevational levels on the same forest. Using seeds already adapted to the unique ecosystem of the Lincoln National Forest in southern New Mexico gives the tree the best shot of long-term survival.

Seed collection is an exercise in patience. It turns out conifer trees only produce a good seed crop every 7-15 years, depending on the species. For the first few years of the program, she relied on seeds collected decades ago, some from as far back as the 1970s that had been stored at a Forest Service nursery in Idaho. The trees would produce some cones each year, but when Bowen opened the cones, she discovered underdeveloped seeds that weren’t viable for collection. However, nature was on their side because, in 2018, the trees produced a mast crop with huge cones and plenty of seeds.

Specially trained tree climbers from the Lincoln National Forest and nearby Mescalero Apache Tribe climb to the very top of dozens of trees to carefully clip the cones.

Specially trained tree climbers collect cones from dozens of trees to ensure they have enough genetic variety.

“I love it, but you can’t be scared of heights,” joshed tree climber Wells Viana. “It’s slow, technical work, but it’s rewarding. You’re attached to the tree and covered in sap. When the wind blows it feels like the rest of the world is moving and you’re staying still, when in fact, it’s the opposite. The tree climbers collect cones from multiple different trees of the same species.

“We want to make sure to get a genetic variety for each species, which wouldn’t happen if we only used seeds from one tree… and of course, we leave some so the forest can regenerate itself,” explained Viana.

The seeds are also an important food source for wildlife.

Once collected, cones are placed in burlap bags and rotated daily to avoid rot until refrigerated trucks arrive to take them to Forest Service nurseries. Forest Service nurseries and seed extractories remove the seed from the cones and grow seedlings for planting. The seedlings are shipped back to the forest in the late summer of each year.

Forest staff use recently collected seeds to replant the southwestern white pine, once a staple species in the forest. In the 1980s, its numbers began to dwindle after an outbreak of White Pine Blister Rust hit the forest. The fungus attacks white pines and kills more than 95 percent of the trees it infects by cutting off pathways for water and nutrients.

White pines are large trees that can live up to 450 years if undisturbed.

“It’s tragic. You’ll find one white pine in a sea of dead ones that survived the outbreak. The hope is that tree has a genetic resistance to the Blister Rust. By using its seeds, the seedling may get those genes that allow it to survive when it is exposed to the fungus, which almost always happens.” Bowen said.

The U.S. Forest Service estimates 3-5 percent of white pines are resistant to the devastating effects of the pathogen.

Plant in summer, not the spring

For the past five years, a crew of tree planters has arrived from Oregon in late summer or early fall. They move quickly across the landscape digging holes, placing seedlings inside, and installing beige tubes around the baby tree called sentry tree shelters. The reusable shelters garner attention from forest visitors who aren’t quite sure why they are there. The shelters stay on for two years, and dramatically increase the rate of survival for the tree. The shelter helps retain moisture, shades the plant from the harsh New Mexican sun, and protect the new seedling from being eaten by the hearty population of elk and deer.

Conifer cones are cut in half to inspect the viability of the seeds inside.

Trees used to be planted in neat, tidy rows, giving the forest an unnatural row-crop feel.

“I’ve stood in those older reforested areas, and it’s creepy the uniformity of it all,” said Bowen. “It’s supposed to be a forest, not a farm.” Today, the crew plants the trees in clusters to mimic how natural forests develop, which isn’t in straight, clean lines.

Foresters also thought the best time to plant was in the spring before the monsoons arrived, but almost all the trees died.

Bowen explained, “The soil is bone dry in spring on the mountains. Usually, we haven’t gotten rain for months, and we don’t have the snowpack we used to. Now we plant in August and early September after the heavy monsoons when the soil is wet, the temperatures aren’t as hot, and we will likely get a few pulses of moisture.”

It’s working too. Depending on the site, the tree survival rate averages between 60-80 percent, beating Bowen’s expectations of 50 percent. A high level of tree mortality is always anticipated when doing reforestation.

Forest staff chooses severely burned sites with no surviving trees, like this hillside burned by the Scott Abel Fire 20 years ago.

“Think of it this way; trees produce an enormous number of seeds because they know the vast majority of them won’t make it. We are replicating a natural process, so some level of tree mortality is inevitable,” Bowen stated.

Next year will be a big moment for Bowen and her crew. Six years after planting the first seedlings, the initial area can officially be called “reforested.” It will take another 20 years for the trees to reach full maturity and begin producing their own seeds, a reminder of how long it can take a landscape to recover.

“Coordinating the reforestation program takes a lot of time and work, but it’s one of the most rewarding part of my job,” Bowen said. “In the future, I’d like to see the program grow and to identify more areas that could benefit from reforestation.”
Money doesn't grow on trees

Reforestation is expensive. Bowen estimates she spends $200,000 a year on the program, and she relies heavily on partner organizations to help fund the work. The Lincoln National Forest partners with four organizations that help fund the tree planting efforts: The National Forest Foundation, American Forests, One Tree Planted, and the Arbor Day Foundation. The forest has been awarded money each year from one or more of the organizations, which is partly why the program has accomplished so much in such little time.

American Forests is the oldest national nonprofit conservation organization in the United States, founded in 1875. It has helped to fund replanting efforts on the Lincoln National Forest every year since 2018.

“We loved everything about this project, and so did our donors,” said American Forests Forest Restoration Manager Austin Rempel. “Locations like the Lincoln National Forest are so important. They are forested sky islands isolated by desert on all sides. Every tree counts in that scenario. A small project in these areas can have an outsized impact,” he added.

Reforestation in the face of climate change

The race is on to establish healthy mature trees sooner rather than later. As temperatures continue to rise and drought continues, the types of trees that thrive at certain elevations has already begun to shift. Historically, pinyon and juniper trees grew at lower elevations on the

Lincoln National Forest and then transitioned to ponderosa pine and eventually mixed conifer of pine, fir and spruce trees at high elevations. After a landscape altering event, like a wildfire, the lower elevation tree species are being seen at increasing higher and higher elevations, as they seek out terrain with the water and temperatures they have adapted to over millennium.

Reforestation presents opportunities to address the effects of climate change by managing plant genetic diversity and capturing carbon to counter greenhouse gas emissions.

The Forest Service National Forests Genetics Program is working to improve reforestation efforts in the face of climate change. Climate change is fueling extreme droughts and severe wildfires. Trees that aren’t killed by these threats are weakened. This leaves them vulnerable to disease and pests. The program identifies genetic variations in tree species that make them more resilient to higher temperatures and leads the development of trees with resistance to insects and diseases.

The program manages 70 highly productive seed orchards of many species developed through selection, breeding, and testing. These seed orchards cover over 25,000 acres, and include species such as Douglas fir, western larch, western white pine, ponderosa pine, sugar pine, white fir, eastern white pine, shortleaf pine, longleaf pine, slash pine, and whitebark pine. The program also conserves forest tree genetic material (primarily through collecting and long-term storage of seeds) before it is lost to climate change, pest and diseases, wildfire, and other natural disasters. The Forest Service works on over 100 species, including non-commercial conifer and hardwood tree species, native grasses, and wildflowers.

This article originally appeared on Ruidoso News: One woman's determination unlocked science behind reforestation on an arid southwest forest

Iranians gather in mass protest against water crisis caused by dried-up river

NEWS WIRES 1 hour ago

Thousands of protesters converged on Isfahan in central Iran on Friday to voice their anger after the city's lifeblood river dried up due to drought and diversion.

© Fatmeh Nasr, ISNA / AFP

The massive protest, that drew in farmers and other people from across Isfahan province, was the biggest since demonstrations over the water crisis started on November 9.

"Thousands of people from Isfahan, farmers from the east and west of the province, have gathered in the dry Zayandeh Rood riverbed with one key demand: let the river run," a state television journalist in Isfahan reported, broadcasting live images of Friday's rally.

"For years, there has been no will to resolve the problems of this important river," the journalist said.

Footage aired on the channel showed men and women in a crowd spanning the riverbed clapping in unison.

"Plundered for 20 years" and "the water must return", they chanted.

Others were seen holding up banners that read "East Isfahan has become desert" and "Our water is being held hostage", in pictures published by Iranian media outlets.

The city of Isfahan is Iran's third largest, with a population of around two million.

It is a tourist magnet due to its heritage sites, including a historic bridge that crosses the Zayandeh Rood river -- which has been dry since the year 2000 apart from brief periods.

Drought is seen as one of the causes, but farmers also blame the authorities' diversion of the river water to neighbouring Yazd province.

The Iranian government has promised to come to the aid of farmers and resolve the crisis.

"I have ordered the ministers of energy and agriculture to take immediate steps to deal with the issue," Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber said on television.

Energy Minister Ali-Akbar Mehrabian apologised to farmers for being unable to provide water for their crops.

"We hope to fill these gaps in the coming months," he said.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi had already met with representatives from the provinces of Isfahan, Yazd and Semnan on November 11 and promised to resolve water issues.

Largely arid Iran has been suffering chronic dry spells for years.

In July, deadly protests broke out in the southwestern province of Khuzestan after drought led to widespread water shortages.

Iran is one of the most water-stressed countries in the world.

Water levels in the country's lakes and reservoirs have halved since last year due to the severe drought affecting the country and the wider region, a report from Iran's space agency said in October.

(AFP)

Thousands protest dried-up river in Iran's Isfahan: State TV

AFP , Friday 19 Nov 2021

Thousands of protesters converged on Isfahan in central Iran on Friday to voice their anger after the city's lifeblood river dried up due to drought and diversion, state television said.

Iranians gather during a protest to voice their anger after their province s lifeblood river dried up due to drought and diversion, in the central city of Isfahan, on November 19, 2021. AFP

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The protest that drew in farmers and other people from across Isfahan province was the biggest since demonstrations over the water crisis started on November 9.

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"Thousands of people from Isfahan, farmers from the east and west of the province, have gathered in the dry Zayandeh Rood riverbed with one key demand: let the river run," a state television journalist in Isfahan reported, broadcasting live images of Friday's rally.

"For years, there has been no will to resolve the problems of this important river," the journalist said.

The city of Isfahan is Iran's third largest, with a population of around two million.

It is tourist magnet due to its heritage sites, including a historic bridge that crosses the Zayandeh Rood river -- which has been dry since the year 2000 apart from brief periods.

Drought is seen as one of the causes but farmers also blame the authorities' diversion of the river water to neighbouring Yazd province.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi met with representatives from the provinces of Isfahan, Yazd and Semnan on November 11 and promised to resolve water issues.

Largely arid Iran has been suffering chronic dry spells for years.

In July, deadly protests broke out in the southwestern province of Khuzestan after drought led to widespread water shortages.

Iranians Hold Mass Protest Over Poor Water Management Amid Drought

Thousands of people have joined a rally in central Iranian city of Isfahan to protest against water cuts and the drying up of the river that passes through Iran's third-largest city.

Images broadcast on state television on November 19 and videos published on social networks showed farmers and others from across Isfahan Province gathered in the dried-up river bed and elsewhere in the city, chanting slogans such as "Give Zayandeh Rood River back."

First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber said that meetings were being held over the issue to try to solve the water problem in Isfahan and elsewhere.

The protest movement started in Isfahan on November 8 and a number of demonstrators set up tents in the river bed last week.

Similar protests have been held across Iran in recent years.

In July, deadly rallies broke out in the southwestern province of Khuzestan amid widespread water shortages.

Failing Infrastructure, Low Rainfall Leave One Iranian Province Fighting For Water

The Iran Meteorological Organization has estimated that 97 percent of the country is experiencing drought to some degree.

Mismanagement by the authorities has also been cited as a main cause for the water crisis.

 

Iranian farmers protest, demand water be released from dam





In this photo released by the semi-official Fars News Agency, farmers attend a protest demanding authorities open a dam to relieve drought-stricken areas of central province of Isfahan, on the dried up riverbed of the Zayandeh Roud river in the city of Isfahan 255 miles (410 kilometers) south of the capital Tehran, Iran, Friday, Nov. 19, 2021. Several prominent actors and athletes joined the peaceful movement, urging the government to intervene to aid famers increasingly suffering from droughts that have worsened over the years. (Hamidreza Nikoomaram/Fars News Agency via AP)


Fri, November 19, 2021, 4

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Thousands of farmers in central Iran joined a protest on Friday demanding authorities open a dam to relieve drought-stricken areas, state TV reported.

Several prominent actors and athletes have taken part in the peaceful demonstrations in the city of Isfahan, urging the government to intervene to aid famers increasingly suffering from droughts that have worsened over the years. The demonstrations began earlier this month.

Crowds marched alongside the banks of the city's once-famed but now dry Zayanderud River, chanting “Farmers! Farmers! We support you!" and "Give Esfahan a chance to breathe!”

The country's top vice-president, Mohamad Mokhber, later gave a brief statement to state TV, saying that meetings were being held over the issue and “we are seriously trying to solve the water problem ... especially for Isfahan.”

Drought has been a problem for Iran for some 30 years, but it has worsened over the past decade, according to the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization. The Iran Meteorological Organization says that an estimated 97% of the country now faces some level of drought.

The farming area around Isfahan was once well supplied by the Zayanderud, but nearby factories have increasingly drawn on it over the years. The river once flowed under historic bridges in Isfahan's city center, but is now a barren strip of dirt.

In 2012, farmers clashed with police in a town in Isfahan province, breaking a water pipe that diverted some 50 million cubic meters of water a year to a neighboring province. Similar protests have continued sporadically since then, and the government at one point paid around $250 to each family hit by the crisis.