US college enrollment another victim of COVID?

For a decade, US student enrollment numbers in undergraduate programs have been headed down. With wages up, ever more would-be students seem attracted to paychecks rather than higher education.

Many colleges hoped students were just taking a year off because of COVID-19 and would return

Higher education has long been seen as the way to get a good job. Many job descriptions explicitly list a college degree as a prerequisite. Despite this, student enrollment in undergraduate programs has been gradually falling for the past decade, with the coronavirus pandemic giving it an extra push downward.

Since fall 2019, overall undergraduate enrollment at US colleges fell by 6.6% to just a little over 14.4 million full- and part-time students, according to the nonprofit National Student Clearing House Research Center. That equates to more than 1 million fewer students than two years ago.

Public colleges and universities offering four-year bachelor's programs and private for-profit schools have all experienced a decline in student numbers. Community colleges, which mainly offer two-year associate programs and often serve low-income students, students of color and older students, have been hit the hardest, with a 13% drop in enrollment.

But if schooling is so important, why are fewer students signing up? And what does this mean for their future and the economy?

Empty campuses can mean summer break, more online classes or fewer students

Case in point: Michigan

In Michigan, student enrollment for two- and four-year programs was down in nearly every corner of the state compared with 2019. In the past two years, the state sent 17,500 fewer high school graduates to college than would have been expected, according to research just released by Bridge Michigan, a nonprofit news organization.

Oakland University, an hour north of Detroit, had been faring well before the pandemic. It hit an enrollment high in 2016 and welcomed its second-largest freshman classes in history in the fall of 2018 and 2019, according to Dawn Aubry, vice president for enrollment management.

After 2019, enrollment fell by 2,100 students: today the school has just over 12,500 undergraduates. A slight decrease in retention rates added to the problem as students dropped out. This hit nearly every demographic group. "However, some groups were impacted even more than others. Underrepresented minority students, in particular, had far lower retention rates than in past years," Aubry told DW.

Another problem was an increase in the number of students who were accepted to attend in fall 2021 but chose not to attend college at all. This jumped 48% compared with the previous year. "Though some of these students may choose to join us in a later semester, our challenge is now reconnecting with this population of students to help explain the value of higher education and the benefit of earning a bachelor's degree," said Aubry.

Dawn Aubry is vice president for enrollment management at Oakland University

Long-term impact on the economy

Convincing prospective students shouldn't be too difficult on paper. A study released in October by Georgetown University concluded that workers with a bachelor's degree earn a median of $2.8 million during their career. This is 75% more than if they only had a high school diploma.  

Besides greater earning potential, data has shown that a degree opens the door to more career opportunities and higher job satisfaction. People with more education are less likely to lose their job, and if they do, are more likely to find a new one.

"While college isn't the right path for everyone, it does provide one of the best options for upward economic mobility. If fewer people are attending, that could have huge impacts on family financial security and the economy down the road," said Sarah Sattelmeyer, project director of education, opportunity and mobility with the higher education program at New America, a Washington D.C.-based think tank.   

Putting off college, for now at least

Still, there are many reasons why higher education has suffered in the US. Due to a lower birth rate, the overall number of high school graduates is not growing and is flat, or even declining in places. That means the pipeline of new students is shrinking.

At the same time, tuition costs are going up, putting college out of reach for those unable to get grants or unwilling to take on student loans.

Some would-be students needed to work to support families or had caregiving obligations and avoided school

The COVID pandemic has played a unique role, keeping recruiters away from high schools and students from visiting campuses. During lockdowns, many students were not interested in paying full tuition to sit at home and follow online-only classes. Travel restrictions locked out a good deal of foreign students altogether.

The pandemic also forced many families into precarious financial circumstances. For these prospective students, more school was no longer an option. They had to work to pay their bills. 

Jobs instead of college

Others in less of a tight financial spot have been tempted by a labor market where employers are fighting over workers by paying more. These workers see no need for a degree when they are earning more than ever, especially for hospitality and low-skilled jobs.

"Historically, college enrollment has been countercyclical, especially at community colleges. When the economy contracts, more people return to or enroll in school. When the economy expands, many often return to work," Sattelmeyer told DW.

But this cycle has not played out the same during the pandemic, as many would-be students never enrolled or left programs altogether. 

"While enrollment has trended downward in recent years for a host of reasons, the pandemic accelerated this trend, especially for undergraduates," Sattelmeyer said. Limited resources and events have upended lives and not everyone has access to fast internet connections or the technology necessary for schooling.

Before COVID-19 college sports like basketball were a great way to create a connection to students

The problem is much bigger than just enrollment numbers though. Local and state governments have helped colleges during the pandemic, but this new situation underscores the need for longer-term investment in programs that actually facilitate graduation, argues Sattelmeyer.

Getting students back in classrooms

Yet, before structural changes can happen, schools are trying to get students back as quickly as possible. To do this, colleges are offering scholarship programs, trying out special recruiting campaigns and going after students who have dropped out.

At Oakland University, the admissions team is working to explain why there has never been a better time to invest in the future by pursuing a degree. They are committed to helping keep the students they have and retrieve the ones who have stopped attending with a program called Golden Grizzlies Graduate.

The new initiative is flexible and meant to help students return to or stay at the school. It is a holistic approach "complete with financial grants and specialized resources" to allow undergraduate students to earn their bachelor's degrees, said Aubry.

For the school, more students cannot come soon enough. The same can be said for Michigan, because — like the rest of the US — it is suffering from a lack of workers with specialized skills. More than ever, future economic success will depend on IT specialists, data analysts, software developers, cyber security experts and engineers.

How to find hope in the face of the climate crisis 

Amidst frightening data and frustratingly slow political action, DW asked people working in climate activism, research and science what gives them grounds for optimism.

   

Grandmothers are giving hope to their grandchildren, says Cordula Weimann, founder of Omas for Future (Grannies for Future)

'The issue has finally arrived'

"Firstly, I notice that everywhere, compared to three years ago, the climate issue has finally arrived — both in politics and the media. Secondly, what really gives me a lot of joy and courage is to notice how many groups have formed during the pandemic. Despite the fact most of us are in the high-risk category, 75 new [Omas for Future] groups were founded around Germany during the pandemic. These are women that go every week onto the streets. They don't meet to drink coffee, they plan campaigns, network, think about how to reach and inform people. I know from the other grandmothers that their grandchildren and children are excited they are doing something. This gives courage to the children, too." Cordula Weimann, founder of Omas for Future (Grannies for Future)

'Legal mobilization'

Law is a mechanism to channel frustration, says academic Joana Setzer

"If you have the science telling you what the problem is, but you also see inconsistency or insufficient action from those who have the power to address it, then the law is a mechanism to channel that frustration. It has been really interesting to witness the several ways in which the law is being used: countries across the world passing climate laws, many with measurable mitigation and adaptation targets, and courts enforcing those laws and telling governments and corporations that they have a duty of care — as in the lawsuit filed by [Dutch non-profit] Urgenda against the Dutch government and the lawsuit filed by Friends of the Earth Netherlands against Shell." Joana Setzer, assistant professor at the Grantham Research Institute specializing in climate litigation and global environmental governance

'New ways of thinking'

'We can unite and build better systems,' says Leah Thomas, an intersectional environmentalist

"Gen Z gives me a lot of hope — seeing the younger generation just get it across political lines. In the US, even younger conservatives understand that climate is an important issue and I think that there's now so many conversations about identity and how that intersects with environmentalism. I'm seeing people really latch on to the idea that we don't have to silo issues such as climate change, social justice and education reform — we can unite and build better systems in all those areas." Leah Thomas, founder of Intersectional Environmentalist

'Innovation and understanding ecology'

We can learn from insect systems, says entomologist Esther Ngumbi

"Knowing what other scientists are doing gives me hope, for example, trying to find novel ways to capture carbon to ensure that greenhouse gasses are not contributing to the further worsening of the climate. Secondly, agricultural scientists are coming up with new ways to grow crops that can resist the changing climate and ensure that insects big and small, living above and below ground, have food sources, so that they can provide ecosystem services as they have done for millennia.  

My advice [for staying optimistic] is to look at the history of ecosystems on the verge of collapse — they have consistently bounced back; they are resilient. We can learn from the massive knowledge that has been accumulated over the years about these insect systems." Esther Ngumbi, entomologist at the University of Illinois

'Collective action'

'Sometimes I swing between pessimism and very cautious optimism,' says climate change economist Alaa Al Khourdajie

"One thing that really keeps me hopeful is the sense of a collective movement to deal with climate change. It's happening everywhere on every single level: individuals, school kids, university students, employees, and businesses. Many of the scientists that work for institutions like the IPCC, they do that voluntarily and in the face of the pandemic, everyone kept going. 

I used to teach at the University of Edinburgh, and I noticed on one occasion I was leading the students to despair, and I had to counteract it: I said, you need to remember that the cost of renewables, for instance, has drastically reduced in the last decade beyond anyone's expectations. That's a good story to tell because we need to give people hope that we can do it, we just need to act on it seriously and follow through." Alaa Al Khourdajie, climate change economist, Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London

'Global connections'

'I really believe that we are on the winning side' — Evelyn Aacham, Ugandan climate activist

"World leaders are sometimes disappointing us, breaking our hearts and making some people lose hope. But seeing people rising up from around the world and standing together makes me hopeful. The East African Crude Oil Pipeline that is being constructed in my country, and will be running through Tanzania, is going to be the longest in the world. There's so many people talking about this internationally and this gives me hope: People believe that what happens in Africa will not only stay in Africa.

I am part of a group fighting for the protection of ice in the Arctic and Antarctic. I have never been there, but I know it is responsible for regulating temperatures on the planet. So what happens in the Arctic does not remain in the Arctic. It gives me hope that I'm not alone, and I really believe that we are on the winning side." Evelyn Aacham, activist, Fridays for Future Uganda

'The next generation'

Climate scientist Roxy Koll aims to include solutions when presenting his data

"What gives me hope are the school students in Kerala who are actively monitoring the rains and river (using rain gauges and river scales) as part of a citizen science network in their locality…When I talk to these kids, I know that at least they are growing up with an understanding that the climate is changing, that they can monitor it, and probably they can do something about it. 

The data in front of me is actually scary ... I try not to bring emotions into it; I try to be clinical, so I don't get depressed. I sometimes feel embarrassed to present my work — I don't want to portray myself as someone negative. I want to always try to end positively by looking for solutions, best practices, adaptation measures, and working with laws to make change." Roxy Koll, climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology

'Indigenous leadership'

"Global negotiations, for example, the Paris Agreement: If all parties respect and fulfil their promises to address climate change impacts by providing the financial resources. The other hope from our hearts that we are seeing as optimistic is the growth of indigenous people's leadership and organization. We have a traditional way of conserving resources and ecosystems, so we should continue to play our part." Gideon Sanago, Climate Programme of the Pastoralists Indigenous NGOs Forum of Tanzania

'Prediction models'

The future is going to be bright in terms of climate predictions, says climate scientist Nana Ama Browne Klutse

"Our [climate] models are becoming more intelligent and our confidence in them is growing. We have employed artificial intelligence and high-performance computing systems. We are optimistic that the future is going to be bright in terms of predictions. 

It helps us to actually know what the future will be like, because then we can plan. Let's say we know that in the coming year rainfall is going to be delayed or low, that we will put decision-makers at the discussion table to figure out what to do. Our people cannot go hungry, and farmers may need alternative livelihoods." Nana Ama Browne Klutse, physicist at the University of Ghana

Interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity 

Edited by: Ruby Russell 

GEMOLOGY

Alaska auction to feature huge opal stashed away for years


JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Nick Cline gets calls about all kinds of items people want to sell through the Anchorage auction house where he works. But he was caught off-guard by a call he got last fall from a man saying he had “one of the largest opals in the world.”

“I was extremely skeptical but extremely excited,” said Cline, a partner and appraisal specialist with Alaska Premier Auctions & Appraisals.

According to the auction house, the opal, dubbed the “Americus Australis,” weighs more than 11,800 carats and is one of the largest gem-quality opals in existence. It also has a long history.

Most recently, it was kept in a linen closet in a home in Big Lake, north of Anchorage, by Fred von Brandt, who mines for gold in Alaska and whose family has deep roots in the gem and rock business.

The opal is larger than a brick and is broken into two pieces, which von Brandt said was a practice used decades ago to prove gem quality.

Von Brandt said the stone has been in his family since the late 1950s, when his grandfather bought it from an Australian opal dealer named John Altmann.

Von Brandt said the opal for decades was in the care of his father, Guy von Brandt, who decided it had been “locked up long enough, that it's time to put it back out in the world and see what interest it can generate.”

“He entrusted me to figure out which direction we wanted to go to part with the stone,” von Brandt told The Associated Press.

The family, with roots in California, exhibited the stone at gem shows for years, until the early 1980s, he said. His father then branched out into furniture and displayed it at his shop. Guy von Brandt eventually moved to Oregon and kept the stone “kind of tucked away” for many years, von Brandt said.

Von Brandt said he brought it with him to Alaska over a year ago as he weighed the best approach to a possible sale. He said he went with Alaska Premier Auctions & Appraisals because he thought it would get more attention from the newer company than a larger auction house. The sale is set for Sunday.

Cline said the family has documentation surrounding the provenance of the opal. As part of his research, he contacted Fiona Altmann, granddaughter of John Altmann and general manager of Altmann + Cherny in Sydney, Australia.

Altmann said her grandfather, in his business dealings, made regular trips to Europe and the U.S.

Altmann said when Cline emailed her, she was skeptical; the name of the stone, in particular, threw her. But she said she started digging and discovered "something with my grandfather’s handwriting with the picture of the opal with the word ‘Americus Australis.’”

“I with 100% certainty know that their provenance information is 100% accurate” because it lines up with information she has, she said.

The auction house said the stone was discovered in the same field in Australia as the opal known as the “Olympic Australis," which weighs 17,000 carats and is on permanent display in Altmann's shop. The Olympic had been among the stones that John Altmann and partner Rudi Cherny acquired in 1956, according to Altmann's company.

The auction company is seeking minimum bids of $125,000 during Sunday's auction. Cline said it's a “calculated risk,” with the company going with what it sees as a conservative approach in hopes of garnering the most attention. It has targeted a sales price of $250,000 to $350,000, Cline said.

The sale includes a smaller piece of the opal that von Brandt said his father cut off to be worn or displayed.

A spokesperson for the Gemological Institute of America said they could not comment on the opal as they had not seen it. The AP reached out to others who did not respond or were unfamiliar with the stone.

Altmann and von Brandt said they would love to see the opal end up in a museum. Von Brandt said he thinks the auction will be “both exciting and difficult, more for my dad than myself."

His father was a child when the family acquired the stone, and he has a “deeper connection than even I do,” he said.

They both have “nervous excitement,” von Brandt said. “I think it’s going to be good, and we’re optimistic.”

Becky Bohrer, The Associated Press

Sotheby's expects rare blue diamond to fetch $48M at auction

The largest blue diamond to ever appear at auction, the De Beers Cullinan Blue, is at Sotheby's on Tuesday in New York City. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Feb. 16 (UPI) -- A 15.1-carat blue diamond is expected to fetch at least $48 million when it goes to auction in April in Hong Kong, Sotheby's announced Wednesday.

Known as the De Beers Cullinan Blue, the gem is the largest diamond with a fancy vivid blue grade to head to auction, according to the auction house. The Gemological Institute of America awards the fancy vivid blue -- its highest color grading for blue diamonds -- to about 1% of diamonds submitted to it.

The rare jewel is larger than the 14.6-carat Oppenheimer Blue diamond that sold for more than $57.54 million at a Christie's auction in 2016.

The $48 million price tag is the highest estimate ever placed on a blue diamond at auction.

"Blue diamonds of any kind are rare on the market, but this is the rarest of the rare; nothing of remotely similar caliber has appeared at auction in recent years," said Patti Wong, chairwoman of Sotheby's Asia.

"Hundreds of years in the making, this extraordinary blue diamond is surely one of nature's finest creations. Now brought to dazzling life by the hand of one of the world's most skillful cutters, it is the ultimate masterpiece -- as rare and desirable as the very greatest works of art."

Sotheby's said the diamond was discovered at the Cullinan Mine in South Africa in 2021. The mine is one of the few sources of blue diamonds in the world.

The Cullinan Mine was once home to many other notable diamonds, including the Great Star of Africa and Lesser Star of Africa -- both of which are in the British crown jewels -- and the 507.5-carat Cullinan Heritage Diamond found in 2010.

The blue color in the De Beers Cullinan Blue is caused by trace amounts of the rare element boron within the diamond's lattice structure.

"Among the rarest of stones in what is arguably the most desirable of colors -- powerful and vivid, but at the same time calm and majestic -- it must surely rank among the greatest wonders of the natural world," said Wenhao You, chairman of jewelry and watches at Sotheby's Asia. "It is literally irresistible."

Exhibition: The world of Stonehenge

Stonehenge in southern England is unique — but the stone circle is too big to fit in a museum. An exhibition at the British Museum gives it a new context, with hundreds of spectacular finds from the Bronze Age.



Gold necklace — 800-700 B.C.

This necklace was found in Ireland, which also has impressive prehistoric and early historic sites, including Newgrange, a ritual site aligned with the position of the sun on Midsummer's Day. "The World of Stonehenge" exhibition at the British Museum showcases treasures from the Bronze Age from February 17 to July 17, 2022.

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Storm Eunice leaves deadly trail across Europe


Fri, 18 February 2022


Storm Eunice killed at least seven people in Europe on Friday, pummelling Britain with record-breaking winds and forcing millions to take shelter as it disrupted flights, trains and ferries across Western Europe.

London was eerily empty after the British capital was placed under its first ever "red" weather warning, meaning there is "danger to life". By nightfall, police there said a woman in her 30s had died after a tree fell on a car she was a passenger in.

Meanwhile a man in his 50s was also killed in northwest England after debris struck the windscreen of a vehicle he was travelling in, according to Merseyside Police.

Beyond Britain, falling trees killed three people in the Netherlands and a man in his 60s in southeast Ireland, while a Canadian man aged 79 died in Belgium, according to officials in each country.

As well as in London, the highest weather alert level was declared across southern England, South Wales and the Netherlands, with many schools closed and rail travel paralysed, as towering waves breached sea walls along the coasts.

Meanwhile Eunice's winds knocked out power to more than 140,000 homes in England, mostly in the southwest, and 80,000 properties in Ireland, utility companies said.

Around the UK capital, three people were taken to hospital after suffering injuries in the storm, and a large section of the roof on the capital's Millennium Dome was shredded by the gales.

One wind gust of 122 miles (196 kilometres) per hour was measured on the Isle of Wight off southern England, "provisionally the highest gust ever recorded in England", the Met Office said.

At the Tan Hill Inn, Britain's highest pub in Yorkshire, staff were busy preparing even if the winds remained merely blustery in the region of northern England.

"But with the snow coming in now, the wind's increasing, we're battening down the hatches, getting ready for a bad day and worse night," pub maintenance worker Angus Leslie told AFP.

'Sting jet'

Scientists said the Atlantic storm's tail could pack a "sting jet", a rarely seen meteorological phenomenon that brought havoc to Britain and northern France in the "Great Storm" of 1987.

Eunice caused high waves to batter the Brittany coast in northwest France, while Belgium, Denmark and Sweden all issued weather warnings. Long-distance and regional trains were halted in northern Germany.

Ferries across the Channel, the world's busiest shipping lane, were suspended, before the English port of Dover reopened in the late afternoon.

Hundreds of flights were cancelled or delayed at London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports and Schiphol in Amsterdam. One easyJet flight from Bordeaux endured two aborted landings at Gatwick – which saw wind gusts peak at 78 miles per hour – before being forced to return to the French city.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has placed the British army on standby, tweeted: "We should all follow the advice and take precautions to keep safe."

Environment Agency official Roy Stokes warned weather watchers and amateur photographers against heading to Britain's southern coastline in search of dramatic footage, calling it "probably the most stupid thing you can do".

Climate impact?

London's rush-hour streets, where activity has been slowly returning to pre-pandemic levels, were virtually deserted as many heeded government advice to stay home.

Trains into the capital were already running limited services during the morning commute, with speed limits in place, before seven rail operators in England suspended all operations.

The London Fire Brigade declared a "major incident" after taking 550 emergency calls in just over two hours – although it complained that several were "unhelpful", including one from a resident complaining about a neighbour's garden trampoline blowing around.

The RAC breakdown service said it was receiving unusually low numbers of callouts on Britain's main roads, indicating that motorists are "taking the weather warnings seriously and not setting out".

The storm forced Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, to postpone a trip to South Wales on Friday "in the interests of public safety", his office said Thursday.

Another storm, Dudley, had caused transport disruption and power outages when it hit Britain on Wednesday, although damage was not widespread.

Experts said the frequency and intensity of the storms could not be linked necessarily to climate change.

But Richard Allan, professor of climate science at the University of Reading, said a heating planet was leading to more intense rainfall and higher sea levels.

Therefore, he said, "flooding from coastal storm surges and prolonged deluges will worsen still further when these rare, explosive storms hit us in a warmer world".

(AFP)

'It's always beautiful to see the sea raging'

13 Dead As Storm Eunice Hits Power, Transport In Europe


By Jitendra JOSHI
02/19/22 AT

Emergency crews Saturday battled to restore power to more than one million homes and businesses after Storm Eunice carved a deadly trail across Europe and left transport networks in disarray.

At least 13 people were killed on Friday by falling trees, flying debris and high winds in Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Poland, emergency services said.

Train operators in Britain urged people not to travel, with trees still blocking several lines after most of the network was shut down when Eunice brought the strongest wind gust ever recorded in England -- 122 miles (196 kilometres) per hour.

In Brentwood, east of London, a 400-year-old tree crashed into a house and bedroom where 23-year-old Sven Good was working from home, as millions of other Britons heeded government advice to stay indoors.

Good said he heard a "creak and then a massive bang and the whole house just shuddered".

"I could feel the whole roof going above me. It was absolutely terrifying," he told Sky News, adding that none of the occupants was injured.

London's rush-hour streets were virtually deserted as many heeded government advice to stay at home 

Photo: AFP / Tolga Akmen

The train network in the Netherlands was also paralysed, with no Eurostar and Thalys international services running from Britain and France after damage to overhead power lines.

France was grappling too with rail disruption and about 37,000 households were without electricity, while some 8,000 remained cut off in Ireland and 4,500 in Germany, where rail operator Deutsche Bahn said "more than 1,000 kilometres" (620 miles) of track had suffered damage.

Poland still had one million customers cut off on Saturday afternoon, officials said, after the country's northwest took a battering.

The Netherlands was among northern European countries to feel the force of Storm Eunice 

Photo: ANP via AFP / Sem van der Wal

"I appeal to you: please stay at home!" Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in a Facebook post.

"We are constantly monitoring the situation and the appropriate services are at work. The fire brigade has already intervened more than 12,000 times," he said.

In the UK, 226,000 homes and businesses remained without power after 1.2 million others were reconnected.

Storm Eunice has killed at least 13 people in Europe and caused damage including to this car in Amsterdam 

Photo: ANP via AFP / Sem van der Wal

Eunice sparked the first-ever "red" weather warning for London on Friday. It was one of the most powerful tempests in Europe since the "Great Storm" hit Britain and northern France in 1987.

Scientists said both storms packed a "sting jet", a rarely seen meteorological phenomenon borne out of an unusual confluence of pressure systems in the Atlantic that magnified the effects of Eunice.

The Met Office, Britain's meteorological service, on Saturday issued a less-severe "yellow" wind warning for much of the south coast of England and South Wales, which it said "could hamper recovery efforts from Storm Eunice".

The UK's total bill for damage could exceed ?300 million ($410 million, 360 million euros), according to the Association of British Insurers, based on repairs from previous storms.

At the storm's height, planes struggled to land in ferocious winds, as documented by the YouTube channel Big Jet TV which attracted more than 200,000 people to its live feed from near a runway at London's Heathrow airport.

Hundreds of other flights were cancelled or delayed at Heathrow and Gatwick, and Schiphol in Amsterdam.

A section of the roof on London's O2 Arena was shredded, and the spire of a church in the historic city of Wells, southwest England, toppled over.

Ferries across the Channel, the world's busiest shipping lane, were suspended, before the English port of Dover reopened Friday afternoon.

Experts said the frequency and intensity of the storms could not be linked necessarily to climate change.

Therefore, he said, "flooding from coastal storm surges and prolonged deluges will worsen still further when these rare, explosive storms hit us in a warmer world".

GILDEN SWEATSHOPS

Haitian garment workers protest to demand higher wages

Haitians protest against their country's unstable economic, political and social situation, in Port-au-Prince

Ralph Tedy Erol and Gessika Thomas

Thu, February 17, 2022,

By Ralph Tedy Erol and Gessika Thomas

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Thousands of Haitian garment workers protested in Port-au-Prince on Thursday to demand higher wages following weeks of similar demonstrations over pay and working conditions at firms that export to U.S. clothing retailers.

For decades, Haiti has promoted itself as a center for clothing manufacturing thanks to low wages and proximity to U.S. markets, but has faced consistent complaints that wages are too low to cover the cost of basic goods in the Caribbean nation.

Workers are seeking a raise that would take their daily wage to 1,500 gourdes (USD 15), from the current wage of 500 gourdes (USD 5), union leader Dominique St Eloi said in a telephone interview.

"With 500 gourdes per day, without any government subsidies, we cannot meet our needs while the price of basic goods, transport costs have increased," said St Eloi, coordinator for the National Union of Haitian Workers.

St Eloi said that if factory managers did not respond, they would ask Haiti's government to raise the minimum wage.

Protesters first congregated around the Sonapi industrial park, and then later gathered along a nearby road after police dispersed them with tear gas.

The Association of Industries of Haiti, the country's main manufacturing trade group, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A spokesman for the office of Prime Minister Ariel Henry said Henry was working on the issue with the High Council of Salaries, which recommends changes to the minimum wage, and that he had met on Tuesday with industry leaders about the issue.

A group of U.S. members of Congress in November said they were asking the heads of 62 American companies that import garments from Haiti for information on "protections in place for workers employed by their companies and suppliers."

Similar protests have been taking place in recent weeks at Haitian factories, which have for years seen waves of protests over low salaries.

In response to wage hike demands in 2017, Haiti's government and manufacturing leaders said salary increases would make them less competitive and lead companies to move operations to the neighboring Dominican Republic or Central America.

(Reporting by Ralph Tedy Erol and Gessika Thomas in Port-au-Prince, additional reporting by writing by Brian Ellsworth; editing by Diane Craft)

Rescuers retrieve more bodies days after Brazil storm

Rescue workers pulled more bodies Saturday from the muddy wreckage left by devastating floods and landslides in the scenic Brazilian city of Petropolis, where the death toll stands at 136, including 26 children.

In a dense fog, rescue workers dug with spades and shovels through the rubble and muck as the search entered its fifth day.

An AFP photographer saw rescue workers carrying out two recovered corpses in body bags in the hard-hit neighborhood of Alto da Serra, as relatives sobbed in the street.

In the heart of the disaster zone, rescue workers occasionally blew loud whistles to call for silence and listen for signs of life.

But authorities say there is little hope at this point of finding survivors from Tuesday's torrential rains, which turned streets to gushing rivers in the picturesque city in the southeastern mountains and triggered landslides in poor hillside neighborhoods that wiped out virtually all in their path.


© MAURO PIMENTEL

In a dense fog, rescue workers sort through the rubble and muck on February 19, 2022 as the search following landslides and flooding in Petropolis, Brazil entered its fifth day

Officials say 24 people have been rescued alive, but that was mostly in the early hours after the tragedy.

Rio de Janeiro state police said 218 people remained missing as of late Friday.

Meanwhile, 91 of the 136 bodies recovered so far have been identified.

Many of the missing may be among the unidentified bodies. But the numbers have been hazy, and it is difficult to know how high the death toll could go.

The dead include 26 minors so far, said the police.

President Jair Bolsonaro, who flew over the disaster zone Friday by helicopter, said the city was suffering from "enormous destruction, like scenes of war."

Tuesday's was the latest in a series of deadly storms -- which experts say are made worse by climate change -- to hit Brazil in the past three months.

At least 188 people have died in severe rains, mainly in the southeastern state of Sao Paulo and the northeastern state of Bahia, as well as Petropolis.

jhb/bfm

Brazil mudslide death toll is at 117, police say 116 missing

By MAURICIO SAVARESE and DIARLEI RODRIGUES

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A resident stands on property destroyed by mudslides on the second day of rescue efforts in Petropolis, Brazil, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. Deadly floods and mudslides swept away homes and cars, but even as families prepared to bury their dead, it was unclear how many bodies remained trapped in the mud. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

PETROPOLIS, Brazil (AP) — The death toll from floods and landslides that swept down on the mountain city of Petropolis rose to at least 117 on Thursday and local officials said it could still rise sharply, with 116 more still unaccounted for.

The Rio de Janeiro state government confirmed the rising loss of life, with many feared buried in mud beneath the German-influenced city nestled in the mountains above the city of Rio de Janeiro.

Torrents of floodwaters and mudslides dragged cars and houses through the streets of the city Tuesday during the most intense rainfall in decades. One video showed two buses sinking into a swollen river as its passengers clambered out the windows, scrambling for safety. Some didn’t make it to the banks and were washed away, out of sight.

Survivors dug through the ruined landscape to find loved ones even as more landslides appeared likely on the city’s slopes. A small slide Thursday prompted an evacuation but didn’t cause injuries.


A resident helps on the second day of rescue efforts. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

As evening came, heavy showers returned to the region, sparking renewed concern among residents and rescue workers. Authorities insisted those living in at-risk areas should evacuate.

Rosilene Virginia’ said her brother barely escaped, and she considers it a miracle. But a friend hasn’t yet been found.

“It’s very sad to see people asking for help and having no way of helping, no way of doing anything,” Virginia told The Associated Press as a man comforted her. “It’s desperate, a feeling of loss so great.”

As some people tried to clear away mud, others began burying lost relatives, with 17 funerals at the damaged cemetery.

Identification numbers are lined up at the Municipal Cemetery for the burials of mudslide victims. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Rio police said in a statement Thursday that about 200 agents were checking lists of the living, the dead and the missing by visiting checkpoints and shelters, as well as the city’s morgue. They said they managed to remove three people from a list of missing after finding them alive in a local school.

“Every detail is important so we can track people,” said Rio police investigator Elen Souto. “We need people to inform the full name of the missing person, their ID, physical traits and the clothes that person was wearing.”

Petropolis, named for a former Brazilian emperor, has been a refuge for people escaping the summer heat and tourists keen to explore the so-called “Imperial City.”

Its prosperity has also drawn residents from Rio’s poorer regions and the population grew haphazardly, climbing mountainsides now covered with small residences packed tightly together, often in areas made more vulnerable by deforestation and inadequate drainage.

The path of a mudslide marks a hillside once filled with homes. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

The state fire department said 25.8 centimeters (just over 10 inches) of rain fell within three hours on Tuesday -- almost as much as during the previous 30 days combined. Rio de Janeiro’s Gov. Claudio Castro said in a press conference that the rains were the worst Petropolis has received since 1932.

“No one could predict rain as hard as this,” Castro said. More rain was expected through the rest of the week, according to weather forecasters.

Castro added that almost 400 people were left homeless and 24 people were recovered alive. They were fortunate, and they were few.

Lisa Torres Machado, 64, said “the hand of God” spared her family from tragedy.

A resident stands on property destroyed by mudslides on the second day of rescue efforts. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

“A little room was left at my mom’s house and she hid there with my two sisters and brother,” Machado, a resident of Petropolis for three decades, told the AP. “I can’t sleep. I still can’t believe what’s happening. We lost all our friends.”

The stricken mountain region has seen similar catastrophes in recent decades, including one that caused more than 900 deaths. In the years since, Petropolis presented a plan to reduce risks of landslides, but works have advanced only slowly. The plan, presented in 2017, was based on analysis determining that 18% of the city’s territory was at high risk for landslides and flooding.

Residents help rescue workers on the second day of efforts to find survivors and victims after deadly mudslides. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Local authorities say more than 180 residents who live in at-risk areas were sheltering in schools. More equipment and manpower was expected to help rescue efforts on Thursday.

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro expressed solidarity while on a trip to Russia. Petropolis’ city hall declared three days of mourning for the tragedy.

Southeastern Brazil has been punished with heavy rains since the start of the year, with more than 40 deaths recorded between incidents in Minas Gerais state in early January and Sao Paulo state later the same month.

Relatives of 54-year-old woman Zilmar Batista, who died in the mudslides, attend her burial. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

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Savarese reported from Sao Paulo. AP videojournalist Mario Lobão contributed from Petropolis.

AP journalist Debora Alvares contributed to this report from Brasilia.

Volunteer logistics whizzes race to aid Brazil storm victims


Following deadly storms in Brazil, charities have sprung up overnight to help survivors locate the aid they need: food, water and clothing

 (AFP/CARL DE SOUZA)

Joshua Howat Berger
Fri, February 18, 2022

Clothing donations have flooded into Brazil's disaster zone, but underwear is in short supply. Enter the volunteer logistics masterminds racing to find out what those left homeless by this week's deadly storms actually need -- and get it to them.

Tuesday's torrential rains and the deadly floods and landslides they triggered have turned the scenic mountain city of Petropolis into what numerous officials, including President Jair Bolsonaro, describe as a "war zone."

Teams of rescue workers are knee-deep in mud and rubble searching for landslide victims, anguished families sobbing for their lost loved ones are an all-too-common sight, and the mangled remains of cars washed away in flash floods are strewn around the city.

Residents like lawyer Daniel Vasconcellos have responded by setting up overnight charities resembling wartime supply operations.

When Vasconcellos and his law partner, Bernardo da Silva Oliveira, saw that authorities and established charities were not getting their neighbors the help they needed, they turned their offices into the headquarters of a massive aid effort.

Outside their offices in the hard-hit neighborhood of Chacara Flora, a long human chain passes packages of bottled water from hand to hand at rapid speed.

Inside, the floor is stacked high with clothing, food, hygiene products, diapers and myriad other necessities for people who lost everything.

"When the landslides hit, we and a lot of others rushed to help people trapped in the mud and rubble," says Vasconcellos, 28.

But once rescue workers and the army arrived at the scene, "we saw people needed another kind of help," he told AFP.

Donations started pouring in from all around Brazil as news of the tragedy spread. But he and Oliveira saw a gap between what people were getting and what they needed.

"The official donation centers are full, but sometimes they're not getting to the people up there in hillside neighborhoods who are waiting for a family member's body to be found," says Vasconcellos.

As natives of the neighborhood, they knew what was needed: motorcycles.

In the poor hillside communities around Petropolis -- the scenes of the deadliest landslides -- "there are a lot of places where cars can't go, only a motorcycle can get there," says Oliveira, 29.

"We go all the way to the top of the mountain."

- 'We go to them' -

They started with two motorcycles, using social media to spread the word and collect donations from family and friends.

The operation soon snowballed.

As it grew, they sought to do a better job matching donations to people's needs than groups using official channels.

At first, with their electricity and water cut off, residents' most urgent need was bottled water.

Now, they need to change clothes, their babies' diapers and brush their teeth.

"Sometimes people receive a donation and they end up throwing it away," says Vasconcellos.

"We go to them and say, 'What do you need?' If we don't have it, we go to the supermarket and get it."

The biggest needs right now? Baby bottles, milk and underwear, they say.

Father Moises Fragoso de Sousa is heading another massive logistics operation at the Santo Antonio church, which sits in front of Morro da Oficina, sight of the deadliest landslide.

The square outside the church is an anthill of activity, with about 100 volunteers racing to sort and deliver donations for the community and 200 newly homeless people sheltering inside.

"We started with a very improvised structure, but we're getting better organized by the day," says the 35-year-old priest.

"People's volunteer spirit has been incredible to see. It's the biggest labor force in this tragedy."

jhb/sst

Nearly half of US bald eagles suffer lead poisoning

By CHRISTINA LARSON

February 17, 2022

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In this photo provided by Estelle Shuttleworth in February 2022, bald eagles compete for a deer carcass in Montana. While the bald eagle population has rebounded from the brink of extinction since the U.S. banned the pesticide DDT was banned in the U.S. in 1972, harmful levels of toxic lead were found in the bones of 46% of bald eagles sampled in 38 states, from California to Florida, researchers reported in the journal Science on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. (Estelle Shuttleworth via AP)


WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s national bird is more beleaguered than previously believed, with nearly half of bald eagles tested across the U.S. showing signs of chronic lead exposure, according to a study published Thursday.

While the bald eagle population has rebounded from the brink of extinction since the U.S. banned the pesticide DDT in 1972, harmful levels of toxic lead were found in the bones of 46% of bald eagles sampled in 38 states from California to Florida, researchers reported in the journal Science.

Similar rates of lead exposure were found in golden eagles, which scientists say means the raptors likely consumed carrion or prey contaminated by lead from ammunition or fishing tackle.

The blood, bones, feathers and liver tissue of 1,210 eagles sampled from 2010 to 2018 were examined to assess chronic and acute lead exposure.

“This is the first time for any wildlife species that we’ve been able to evaluate lead exposure and population level consequences at a continental scale,” said study co-author Todd Katzner, a wildlife biologist at U.S. Geological Survey in Boise, Idaho. “It’s sort of stunning that nearly 50% of them are getting repeatedly exposed to lead.”

Lead is a neurotoxin that even in low doses impairs an eagle’s balance and stamina, reducing its ability to fly, hunt and reproduce. In high doses, lead causes seizures, breathing difficulty and death.

The study estimated that lead exposure reduced the annual population growth of bald eagles by 4% and golden eagles by 1%.

Bald eagles are one of America’s most celebrated conservation success stories, and the birds were removed from the U.S. Endangered Species List in 2007.

But scientists say that high lead levels are still a concern. Besides suppressing eagle population growth, lead exposure reduces their resilience in facing future challenges, such as climate change or infectious diseases.

“When we talk about recovery, it’s not really the end of the story — there are still threats to bald eagles,” said Krysten Schuler, a wildlife disease ecologist at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, who was not involved in the study.

Previous studies have shown high lead exposure in specific regions, but not across the country. The blood samples from live eagles in the new study were taken from birds trapped and studied for other reasons; the bone, feather and liver samples came from eagles killed by collisions with vehicles or powerlines, or other misfortunes.

“Lead is present on the landscape and available to these birds more than we previously thought,” said co-author Vince Slabe, a research wildlife biologist at the nonprofit Conservation Science Global. “A lead fragment the size of the end of a pin is large enough to cause mortality in an eagle. ”

The researchers also found elevated levels of lead exposure in fall and winter, coinciding with hunting season in many states.

This undated photo provided by The Raptor Center, University of Minnesota, shows a lead-poisoned bald eagle in St. Paul, Minn. Victoria Hall, veterinarian and executive director of the center, said that “85 to 90% of the eagles that come into our hospital have some level of lead in their blood," and we know that no level is safe.” X-rays often show fragments of lead bullets in their birds' stomachs. The Raptor Center, University of Minnesota via AP)

During these months, eagles scavenge on carcasses and gut piles left by hunters, which are often riddled with shards of lead shot or bullet fragments.

Slabe said the upshot of the research was not to disparage hunters. “Hunters are one of the best conservation groups in this country,” he said, noting that fees and taxes paid by hunters help fund state wildlife agencies, and that he also hunted deer and elk in Montana.

However, Slabe said he hopes the findings provide an opportunity to “talk to hunters about this issue in a clear manner” and that more hunters will voluntarily switch to non-lead ammunition such as copper bullets.

Lead ammunition for waterfowl hunting was banned in 1991, due to concerns about contamination of waterways, and wildlife authorities encouraged the use of nontoxic steel shot. However, lead ammunition is still common for upland bird hunting and big game hunting.

The amount of lead exposure varies regionally, with highest levels found in the Central Flyway, the new study found.

At the University of Minnesota’s Raptor Center, veterinarian and executive director Victoria Hall said that “85 to 90% of the eagles that come into our hospital have some level of lead in their blood,” and X-rays often show fragments of lead bullets in their stomachs.

Eagles with relatively low levels can be treated, she said, but those with high exposure can’t be saved.

Laura Hale, board president at nonprofit Badger Run Wildlife Rehab in Klamath County, Oregon, said she’ll never forget the first eagle she encountered with acute lead poisoning, in 2018. She had answered a resident’s call about an eagle that seemed immobile in underbrush and brought it to the clinic.

The young bald eagle was wrapped in a blanket, unable to breathe properly, let alone stand or fly.

“There is something hideous when you watch an eagle struggling to breathe because of lead poisoning – it’s really, really harsh,” she said, her voice shaking. That eagle went into convulsions, and died within 48 hours.

Lead on the landscape affects not only eagles, but also many other birds — including hawks, vultures, ravens, swans and geese, said Jennifer Cedarleaf, avian director at Alaska Raptor Center, a nonprofit wildlife rescue in Sitka, Alaska.

Because eagles are very sensitive to lead, are so well-studied and attract so much public interest, “bald eagles are like the canary in the coal mine,” she said. “They are the species that tells us: We have a bit of problem.”

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Follow Christina Larson on Twitter: @larsonchristina

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.