Does proximity to protest sites affect people’s political attitudes?

Peer-Reviewed Publication

WILEY

Urban protests that involve occupying public spaces can be effective for conveying protesters’ messages and gaining wider support, but it’s thought that they may backfire if they severely disrupt the everyday lives of non-participants. A study published in The British Journal of Sociology found that after the Occupy Central Movement in Hong Kong, residents living near the occupied areas not only maintained their support for the pro-democracy camp but also became more liberal compared with faraway residents.

The authors of the study note that this phenomenon can be explained by the “on-site” effect, which suggests that direct exposure to protestors’ solidarity and the repressive actions of authorities arouse bystanders’ sympathy for the protestors and support for their political cause. 

The effect appears to be long-lasting, as evidenced by local election results after the protest. 

“As shown by our evidence, when a protest is perceived as legitimate, people are willing to tolerate temporary inconvenience caused by the disruptions, suggesting that people’s political preferences are not always determined by their self-interests,” said corresponding author Duoduo Xu, PhD, of The University of Hong Kong. “Findings from this study may help us to understand the profound influence that the Occupy Central Movement brought to Hong Kong’s people and its political landscape and the reason for broader public support for the pro-democracy camp in recent years.”

URL upon publication: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1468-4446.12988

 

Additional Information

NOTE: The information contained in this release is protected by copyright. Please include journal attribution in all coverage. For more information or to obtain a PDF of any study, please contact: Sara Henning-Stout, newsroom@wiley.com.

About the Journal
The British Journal of Sociology is a leading international sociological journal published on behalf of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). With a focus on the social and democratic sociological questions of our times, this renowned journal leads the debate on key methodological and theoretical questions and controversies in contemporary sociology. Founded in 1895 by Beatrice and Sidney Webb, the LSE is one of the largest colleges within the University of London and has an outstanding reputation for academic excellence nationally and internationally.

About Wiley
Wiley is one of the world’s largest publishers and a global leader in scientific research and career-connected education. Founded in 1807, Wiley enables discovery, powers education, and shapes workforces. Through its industry-leading content, digital platforms, and knowledge networks, the company delivers on its timeless mission to unlock human potential. Visit us at Wiley.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

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JOURNAL

British Journal of Sociology

DOI

10.1111/1468-4446.12988 

ARTICLE TITLE

In sight, in mind: Spatial proximity to protest sites and changes in peoples' political attitudes

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

11-Jan-2023

EV transition will benefit most US vehicle owners, but lowest-income Americans could get left behind

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

Graphic

More than 90% of vehicle-owning households in the United States would see a reduction in the percentage of income spent on transportation energy—the gasoline or electricity that powers their cars, SUVs and pickups—if they switched to electric vehicles.

And more than 90% of households that replace gas-powered vehicles with EVs would also reduce the amount of climate-warming greenhouse gases they generate, according to a new University of Michigan study.

However, more than half of the lowest-income U.S. households (an estimated 8.3 million households) would continue to experience high transportation energy burdens, defined in this study as spending more than 4% of household income on filling the tank or charging up.

"Our results confirm the potential for widespread benefits from EV adoption," said study corresponding author Joshua Newell, an urban geographer at the U-M Center for Sustainable Systems, part of the School for Environment and Sustainability.

"However, EV ownership in the U.S. has thus far been dominated by households with higher incomes and education levels, leaving the most vulnerable populations behind. Policy interventions are needed to increase EV accessibility so that all Americans can benefit from the EV transition."

The new study is scheduled for publication Jan. 11 in Environmental Research Letters, an IOP Publishing journal. It is the first study to consider the spatial variation of both EV energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions across the country.

It's also the first study to examine EV energy costs through the lens of distributive justice by calculating the EV energy burden (percentage of income spent on EV charging) for the entire United States. Distributive justice concerns the fair distribution of benefits and burdens.

EVs currently account for about 1% of the cars, SUVs and pickups on American roads. If all those vehicles were replaced with new EVs, the transportation energy burdens and associated greenhouse gas emissions would vary widely from place to place, according to the new study.

Reductions in both transportation energy burden and GHG emissions would be especially pronounced on the West Coast and in parts of the Northeast, due largely to cleaner energy grids and lower electricity prices.

Households in some locations could reduce their annual transportation-energy costs by $600 or more, and cut their annual carbon footprint by more than 4.1 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents, by buying a new E

But lower-income households in other parts of the country wouldn't fare as well, Newell said.

Very high EV transportation energy burdens, ranging from 10% to 64%, would persist for the lowest-income households and would be concentrated in the Midwest and in the two states with the highest electricity prices: Hawaii and Alaska.

Eight percent of U.S. households (an estimated 9.6 million households) would see low savings in both transportation energy burden and greenhouse gas emissions by choosing an EV. "Both low" households are scattered across the country, with about half of them in Midwest states, including Michigan.

Factors that contribute to those low EV savings include cold winter temperatures that impact battery performance, electrical grids that rely largely on fossil fuels, or electricity prices that are higher relative to gasoline prices.

According to the study, the lowest-income households would continue to experience the highest transportation energy burdens. Essentially all households with incomes of less than 30% of the local median would experience moderate or high EV energy burdens.

"We identified disparities that will require targeted policies to promote energy justice in lower-income communities—including the subsidizing of charging infrastructure—as well as strategies to reduce electricity costs and increase the availability of low-carbon transportation modes such as public transit, bicycling and car sharing," said study lead author Jesse Vega-Perkins, who did the work for a master's thesis at the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability.

"Our analysis indicates that future grid decarbonization, current and future fuel prices, and charging accessibility will impact the extent to which EV benefits will be realized, including lowering transportation energy burdens for low-income households," said study senior author Greg Keoleian, director of U-M's Center for Sustainable Systems.

The study used a geospatial model to evaluate three factors associated with the EV transition: transportation energy burden, fuel costs (meaning the cost of gasoline or the electricity needed to charge an EV) and greenhouse gas emissions.

The analysis does not include vehicle purchase cost. Total cost of ownership of EVs is the focus of a current study by the Center for Sustainable Systems.

The researchers calculated transportation energy burdens and lifetime greenhouse gas emissions of new battery-electric and internal-combustion vehicles at the census tract level. Then they compared the energy burdens of the new vehicles to the energy burdens of the current on-road vehicle stock. Finally, they compared the spatial variation and extent of energy burdens and greenhouse gas emissions for EVs and internal-combustion vehicles across the U.S.

Transportation accounts for the largest portion of the greenhouse gases emitted in the United States, with direct emissions from passenger vehicles and light-duty trucks comprising roughly 16% of U.S. emissions. Electrification is seen as the primary pathway to reducing those emissions.

The study was supported by funding from the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability.

Study: Mapping electric vehicle impacts: Greenhouse gas emissions, fuel costs, and energy justice in the United States (DOI 10.1088/1748-9326/aca4e6) (available when embargo lifts)

JOURNAL

Environmental Research Letters

DOI

10.1088/1748-9326/aca4e6 

New biography of famous paleontologist Mary Anning unearthed from University of Bristol archives

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL

 

IMAGE: STATUE OF MARY ANNING view more 

CREDIT: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

A short biography of pioneering scientist Mary Anning, written in the final ten years of her life, has been made public for the very first time.

Penned by George Roberts (1804–1860), who ran a private school opposite Anning’s fossil shop in Lyme Regis, and preserved in the Special Collections of the University of Bristol Library, the work has been published by Dr Michael Taylor of National Museums Scotland and University of Leicester and Professor Michael Benton of Bristol’s School of Earth Sciences.

Mary Anning (1799–1847) of Lyme Regis has been the subject of recent books and films, such as Tracy Chevalier’s Remarkable Creatures, and Ammonite, in which she was portrayed by Kate Winslet, because of her importance in the early days of palaeontology. She collected some of the first marine reptiles – ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs – from the Jurassic period of the Dorset coast. Noted professors relied on her work to provide insights into the life of the past.

Mary Anning has become an icon of the often-forgotten contributions of women to science, and the campaign to get children, especially girls, interested in geology. But, in her day, she was a curiosity, another poor person in the Regency seaside resort of Lyme Regis.

“When the Library sent me a copy of the four-page manuscript, I found that it was based partly on a passage in Roberts’s history of Lyme Regis,” said Dr Taylor. “Roberts wrote books like ‘The Beauties of Lyme Regis’ for tourists, and he collected interesting pieces of information. We were able to confirm Anning expert Hugh Torrens’s suggestion that it was by Roberts, by identifying Roberts’s handwriting, and comparing the corrections and even a mistake with a particular date which Roberts had handwritten into his own copy of his history. So, it wasn’t just someone else copying from his book. It looks as if it was written as a dictionary entry or a section for a future book.”

“This memoir is valuable,” said Prof Benton. “One or two visitors to Lyme Regis mentioned Mary Anning and her little fossil shop, and she was obviously widely known to natural scientists in London, Bristol, Oxford, and Cambridge. But normally they would not enquire into her life in any detail. Admittedly though, when she died at the relatively young age of 48, she had obituaries in various papers and scientific journals.”

Dr Taylor said: “These short obituaries were often copied from one written by George Roberts. George Roberts lived in Lyme Regis and met her many times. He describes how she was struck by lightning as a baby, and then how at the age of about ten she began collecting fossils, and how she sold her first find, an ammonite to a passing lady in the street for half a crown.”

There are further details of her discoveries of fossil reptiles, including the first ichthyosaur fossil studied by scientists. It was described by Sir Everard Home in 1818. Mary Anning was granted a government annuity of £25 per year in 1836 thanks to an intervention by Fellows of the Geological Society of London, and she died of breast cancer in 1847.

“We dated the manuscript as written some time in 1837–47,” added Dr Taylor, “because there is an ‘1837’ watermark in the paper, and Anning was described as a ‘living worthy’. Later,  Roberts took the manuscript, deleted mention of Anning as alive, and added information on her death to make it into an obituary, presumably just after she died. But it seems never to have been published at its full length.”

Prof Benton concluded: “We are very pleased that we are able to publish the document in full.

“In the paper, we show detailed photographs of all four pages of the document, as well as our reading of the various versions and modifications. George Roberts was the locally-based author who reported the news from Lyme Regis to various newspapers and wrote his own books, so it makes complete sense that he would have written about Mary Anning as a well-known celebrity of the town.”

Paper:

‘The life of Mary Anning, fossil collector of Lyme Regis: a contemporary biographical memoir by George Roberts’ by Michael A. Taylor and Michael J. Benton in Journal of the Geological Society.

A page from the manuscript which includes details of Mary Anning being struck by lightning as a baby

CREDIT

Special Collections, University of Bristol

Notes to Editors

The memoir (DM Ref SCUBL DM1186/5/1) is in the collection of books and manuscripts in the history of geology made by Joan M. Eyles (1907–1986) and Victor A. Eyles (1895–1978) and donated by Joan Eyles to the University of Bristol Library.

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JOURNAL

Journal of the Geological Society

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

The life of Mary Anning, fossil collector of Lyme Regis: a contemporary biographical memoir by George Roberts

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

11-Jan-2023

Landscaping for drought: We’re doing it wrong

Trees’ tolerance, watered down

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - RIVERSIDE

 

IMAGE: STUDY LEAD PETER IBSEN OBTAINING LEAF SAMPLES FOR THE STUDY. view more 

CREDIT: PETER IBSEN/UCR

Despite recent, torrential rains, most of Southern California remains in a drought. Accordingly, many residents plant trees prized for drought tolerance, but a new UC Riverside-led study shows that these trees lose this tolerance once they’re watered.

One goal of the study was to understand how artificial irrigation affects the trees’ carbon and water use. To find out, the researchers examined 30 species of trees spread across Southern California’s urban areas from the coast to the desert. They then compared those trees with the same species growing wild. 

“We found that, particularly as you move toward the desert regions, the same species of urban trees use much more water than their natural counterparts, even trees considered drought tolerant,” said study lead and former UC Riverside botany graduate student Peter Ibsen, currently with the U.S. Geological Survey.

This and other key findings from the study are now documented in the journal Biology Letters, published by the Royal Society.  

To obtain their findings, the researchers enlisted the help of trained community scientists to locate some of the most common Southern California street trees, ensure these specimens were healthy, and that the area at the base of the tree was at least 65% irrigated. 

Included in the study were such familiar species as eucalyptus, tree ficus, crepe myrtle, sweetgum, live oak, jacaranda, sycamore and Brazilian pepper trees, but not palms. Though palms are closely identified with California, botanists do not consider them trees.

Drought tolerant trees often restrict their water use to protect themselves from drying out when temperatures rise. However, with the exception of ficus, the irrigated trees all increased their water intake. 

“Generally, they’re not conserving it,” Ibsen said. “Given the extra water, they will use it all.”

As part of the study, researchers drilled into the core of the trees to measure the density of the wood, sampled leaves to measure their thickness and other physical properties, and measured the amount of pressure it takes to move water through the tree. 

Trees with denser wood typically grow slower and move less water through their stems. The wood is less dense if there is more water going through, at least in natural environments. 

“In urban areas, that relationship between wood density and water use falls apart,” Ibsen said, finding that even urban trees with dense wood were moving high amounts of water through their stems.

Trees in the study were also found to pull carbon from the atmosphere at different, and generally higher rates than their wild relatives. With more carbon, they also have a higher capacity for doing photosynthesis, and growing more leaves.

In these and other ways, urban trees are so unique in their behaviors that they can be classified as having their own distinct ecology. “Urban forests are different than anything else on the planet, even though all the species are found elsewhere on the planet,” Ibsen said. 

It is unclear whether overwatered trees can regain their ability to thrive in drought conditions if the water is removed. Also unclear is the specific amount of water people ought to give their trees in order to for them to thrive and retain their best attributes. Both issues are areas the researchers will be studying, going forward. 

For now, Ibsen recommends that gardeners interested in conserving water refrain from planting their drought tolerant tree on an irrigated lawn. “If you’re buying a tree that’s meant to be drought tolerant, let it tolerate a drought,” he said.

Jacaranda tree, frequently planted in Southern California for its beauty as well as its drought tolerance.

CREDIT

Photo: Jules Verne Times Two / julesvernex2.com

JOURNAL

Biology Letters

DOI

10.1098/rsbl.2022.0448 

ARTICLE TITLE

Irrigated urban trees exhibit greater functional trait plasticity compared to natural stands

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

4-Jan-2023

Disclaimer: AAAS and Eu

Tory voters losing faith in Brexit benefits, poll finds


Dominic Penna
Sun, January 8, 2023 

Brexit - iStockphoto

Conservative voters are losing faith in Brexit with many now believing that the costs outweigh the benefits, a new poll has shown.

Scepticism among Tory supporters towards Britain's departure from the EU is now greater than support for how it is going, as senior backbenchers urged the Government to do more to deliver on the opportunities of leaving the trade bloc.

The findings of a new poll by Opinium, which surveyed 2,000 representative voters on behalf of the campaigning group Best for Britain, found some 33 per cent of those planning to vote Conservative at the next election believed Brexit had created more problems than it solved.


This compared with 22 per cent who said it had solved more problems, while one-third (32 per cent) said leaving the EU had neither created nor solved more problems or opportunities and the remaining 13 per cent said they did not know.

The main concern of the Tory voters currently disillusioned with Brexit was problems around the Northern Ireland border, cited by 39 per cent of respondents.

Friction has continued amid the ongoing stalemate between the Government and Brussels around the Protocol, which Unionists fear is driving a wedge between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

This was followed by anxiety around costly red tape affecting trade with other countries (36 per cent) and it being more difficult to work abroad without freedom of movement (33 per cent).

Among the public as a whole, meanwhile, 57 per cent said Brexit was causing more problems than it was solving.
Party needs to do more, say 'Spartans'

Two of the Brexit "Spartan" Tories who voted against Theresa May’s Brexit deal on all three occasions said their party was yet to do enough to convince the public of the merits of leaving Brussels.

Sir John Redwood, the MP for Wokingham who served as the head of Margaret Thatcher’s Downing Street policy unit, told The Telegraph it was “deeply disappointing that the obvious Brexit wins haven’t been achieved”.

“It’s entirely what you’d expect because the Government has wanted to bring forward the Brexit wins but has been systematically blocked and upended by the anti-Brexit establishment," he said.

“We don’t yet control our borders, or control the small boats in the way that was intended. We haven’t sorted out fishing and that was going to be one of the big wins. We have remained wedded to an austerity model of economics, based on the Maastricht criteria. We are letting [voters] down and we need to show that they were right to vote for Brexit.”

Craig Mackinlay, the MP for South Thanet, said: “I’m not surprised to hear that because we have been far too timid in using the freedom of Brexit to actually deliver Brexit dividends. So that is the fault of our own administration.

“We should by now have been using the freedoms that we have.”

One Eurosceptic Tory backbencher said they were “very sorry” that Jacob Rees-Mogg no longer held the post of Brexit opportunities minister and said their colleagues “still feel like we’re fighting battles with the Government” over the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill and tackling Brussels bureaucracy.
'We dare not open this Pandora's Box'

Tobias Ellwood, the Tory chairman of the defence select committee, told The Telegraph: "We are happy to ditch a PM to course-correct our economic plans, and even revisit the Integrated Review to update our tested defence posture. So why not exhibit the courage to upgrade our Brexit model that’s now costing us 4 per cent of GDP a year?

"No one is calling for another referendum, but as this poll confirms, more of the electorate is saying this isn’t the 'Brexit' they voted for. Yet it still remains such a taboo subject in Westminster, and specifically within our membership that we dare not open this Pandora's Box."

Naomi Smith, the chief executive of Best for Britain, a pro-EU campaign group, said: “Our polling clearly shows voters across the political spectrum now realise Brexit has made the UK poorer, less competitive and less attractive for businesses.

“Those claiming to represent voters must stop insulting our intelligence and start advocating closer ties with Europe.”

The Government wants to revise or repeal almost 4,000 "retained" EU laws, that were transposed into UK law when Brexit took legal effect, by the end of this year.

But Rishi Sunak has noted ministers can push back decisions on a specific EU law until June 2026, leading to concern that some rules may be in place for longer.

In his first major domestic speech on Wednesday, Mr Sunak said Britain was “seizing the opportunities of Brexit to ensure our regulatory system is agile and pro-innovation”.

Jeremy Hunt, his Chancellor, unveiled new proposals last month which are designed to tear up “overbearing” EU legislation, ranging from investment funds to pensions, in a move he hopes will boost the financial services industry.

EPA to award $100M to boost environmental justice programs


Tue, January 10, 2023



WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday it is awarding $100 million in competitive grants for projects that advance environmental justice in communities disproportionately affected by industrial pollution and other hazards.

The funding, established through the 2022 climate and health law signed by President Joe Biden, marks the largest environmental justice grants the agency has ever offered. The projects are among the first from an expected $3 billion in block grants targeting underserved communities authorized under the new law.

The program will be overseen by EPA's new office of environmental justice and external civil rights, which EPA Administrator Michael Regan created last year. The office includes more than 200 staff members at EPA headquarters and in 10 U.S. regions.

“Since day one, President Biden pledged to prioritize environmental justice and equity for all, and EPA is at the heart of delivering on that mission,” Regan said.

The funding announced Tuesday "is a key step that will help build strong partnerships with communities across the country and move us closer to realizing a more just and equitable future for all,” Regan said.

Grant applications are due April 10, with projects expected to begin as soon as October, EPA said.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat who co-chairs the Senate’s environmental justice caucus, said the grants will “help deliver results for environmental justice communities that have been ignored for too long,'' including Chicago's South Side and an industrial area in Louisiana often nicknamed “Cancer Alley.” The region includes dozens of chemical plants, refineries, fertilizer plants and other industrial sites that have long polluted air and water and caused health problems to nearby residents.

Access to clean air and clean water is more than an environmental issue, Duckworth said: "It’s a matter of health and safety, systemic racism and persistent discrimination against those in low-income communities. Every American deserves access to clean air and water — no matter their ZIP code, the color of their skin or the size of their paycheck.''

The EPA said it will provide $30 million in direct grants to community-based nonprofit organizations and partners, with $5 million reserved for small community-based groups with five or fewer full-time employees.

The program also will provide $70 million in funding to states, local governments and federally recognized tribes.

The EPA awarded $53.4 million in grants in November to enhance air quality monitoring near chemical plants, refineries and other industrial sites. The grants were funded by the climate law and a coronavirus relief plan approved by Congress in 2021.

Matthew Daly, The Associated Press

OBSCENE STATISM

Greek trial of volunteer migrant rescuers to resume Friday

Tue, January 10, 2023 



MYTILENE, Greece (AP) — Two dozen Greek and foreign aid workers and volunteers who participated in migrant rescue operations on an eastern Greek island have gone on trial in a smuggling-related case that’s been widely criticized by human rights groups.

The 24 defendants deny all the charges, saying they did nothing more than help rescue people whose lives were in danger. The trial in the town of Mytilene on Lesbos began Tuesday and was adjourned until Friday.

The aid workers include prominent Syrian human rights worker Sarah Mardini, a refugee herself and competitive swimmer whose sister Yusra Mardini was part of the refugee swimming team at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and Tokyo in 2021. The sisters’ story was made into a Netflix movie.

Mardini, who was not present for Tuesday’s hearing, and fellow volunteer Sean Binder spent more than three months in jail in Lesbos after their 2018 arrest on misdemeanor charges including espionage, forgery and unlawful use of radio frequencies.

The case was initially set to go ahead in 2021 but was postponed over procedural issues. The two are also under investigation for felonies, but no such charges have yet been brought.

“What is on trial today is human rights. That is the fundamental problem,” Binder said outside court before Tuesday’s hearing.

“We are desperate to go to trial because what we did was legal,” Binder said. “And we need the judge to acknowledge that we need to get through this, because until then, there is a shadow of doubt, not over me alone, but over anybody who does search and rescue.”

Defense lawyers filed objections Tuesday on procedural issues regarding the way the prosecution has been handled, said Cleo Papapantoleon, one of the lawyers, adding that the court could rule on the objections when it reconvenes on Friday.

“We’ve spent the entire morning giving reason after reason, irrefutable reasons why this trial could not continue. Because the prosecution has made mistake after mistake, they’ve violated our human rights, they’ve made procedural errors,” Binder said after the adjournment.

“All we’re asking for, all our lawyers have demanded, is that the rule of law is respected, that Greek laws are respected. We want the rule of law. And now we’ll find out on Friday whether we get the rule of law or the rule of flaws,” he added.

Human rights group Amnesty International has described the case against the aid workers as “farcical” and called on Greek authorities to drop the charges.

“Sarah and Sean did what any of us should do if we were in their position. Helping people at risk of drowning in one of the deadliest sea routes in Europe and assisting them on the shoreline is not a crime,” Nils Muiznieks, director of Amnesty’s European Regional Office, said in a statement ahead of Tuesday's hearing.

“This trial reveals how the Greek authorities will go to extreme lengths to deter humanitarian assistance and discourage migrants and refugees from seeking safety on the country’s shores, something which we see in a number of European countries,” he said. “It is farcical that this trial is even taking place.”

Greece, which saw around a million migrants and refugees cross to its shores from nearby Turkey at the height of the refugee crisis in 2015, has clamped down on migration, erecting a fence along much of its land border with Turkey and increasing sea patrols near its islands.

Greek officials say they have a strict but fair migration policy. They also deny, despite increasing evidence to the contrary, conducting illegal summary deportations of people arriving on Greek territory without allowing them to apply for asylum, a procedure known as “pushbacks.”

___

Becatoros contributed from Athens, Greece.

___

Follow AP's coverage of global migration at https://apnews.com/hub/migration

Panagiotis Balaskas And Elena Becatoros, The Associated Press

Long delayed trial of migrant rescuers resumes in Greece


By AFP
Published January 10, 2023

Syrian swimmer Sarah Mardini at the premiere of the Netflix film 'The Swimmers' - Copyright AFP Wakil KOHSAR

A trial in Greece of 24 humanitarian workers accused of espionage, including Syrian swimmer Sarah Mardini who inspired a Netflix film, resumed Tuesday after more than a year.

The trial began in November 2021 but was swiftly adjourned. The suspects are also being probed for human trafficking, money laundering, fraud and the unlawful use of radio frequencies.

Mardini, who has lived in exile in Germany since 2015, was arrested in 2018 while volunteering for a Lesbos-based search and rescue organisation, where they assisted people in distress at sea.

“I was arrested because I was handing over water and blankets and translating for the refugees arriving every night on the shoreline,” she had said in a TED interview.

Rights monitors slammed the slow proceedings and said the case was politically motivated.

Wies de Graeve from Amnesty International, who is an observer at the trial, said the delay was a ploy to prevent NGOs involved in rescue operations from working in Greece.

Pieter Wittenberg, a Dutch accused, said the charges of spying and money laundering would not hold up, adding that the case was politically motivated.

Mardini was not present in court as the Greek authorities did not permit her to return, her lawyer Zacharias Kesses said.

Mardini fled Syria in 2015 during the civil war with her sister, Olympic swimmer Yusra Mardini.

She spent more than three months in jail in Lesbos following her arrest and was released after her attorneys raised 5,000 euros ($5,370) in bond.

The case was initially set to go ahead in 2021 but was postponed over procedural issues.

The Mardini sisters are the main characters of The Swimmers, a Netflix film based on their story.

Tigray forces begin handing over heavy weapons to Ethiopian army

Dawit Endeshaw
Tue, January 10, 2023 



By Dawit Endeshaw

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Tigray forces, who fought a two-year war against Ethiopia's federal government, began handing over heavy weaponry to the national army as part of an African Union-led peace process on Tuesday.

The demobilisation of Tigray forces is seen as central to the Nov. 2 ceasefire agreement, alongside the restoration of services, resumption of humanitarian aid and withdrawal of Eritrean troops, who fought alongside Ethiopia's army but were not party to the truce.

The conflict created famine-like conditions for hundreds of thousands of Tigray's population, killed thousands and displaced millions across northern Ethiopia.

The handover in the town of Agulae, around 30 km (18 miles) northeast of the regional capital Mekelle, was overseen by a monitoring team comprising members of the two sides and a regional body, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

At the ceremony, Tigray Defence Forces (TDF) representative Mulugeta Gebrechristos said the start of the disarmament would play a major role in restoring peace.

"We are operating with the belief that if we are to have peace, all things that open the door for provocation must not be there. Peace is vital for us all," Mulugeta said in a speech broadcast on Tigrai TV.

"We are all (part of) one Ethiopia. Both us and the TDF have moved from our respective defensive positions in peace, understanding and love," said Aleme Tadesse, a representative of the Ethiopian army.

Eritrean soldiers pulled out of several major towns in Tigray late last month but have not left Tigrayan territory, according to residents. Eritrea has declined to comment on whether troops will leave.

(Reporting by Dawit Endeshaw; Writing by Hereward Holland; Editing by Aaron Ross and Bill Berkrot)

LAKE LOUISE
Parks Canada says decision to restrict private vehicles at Moraine Lake necessary


Tue, January 10, 2023 



LAKE LOUISE, Alta. — A decision to restrict personal vehicles at one of the most popular tourist destinations in Banff National Park was required to balance the growing number of visitors with protecting the environment, says a Parks Canada official.

The federal agency announced Friday that it was closing the Moraine Lake road to most personal vehicles and would require visitors to take its shuttles, local transit or commercial vehicles to visit the iconic blue alpine lake and its nearby climbing routes and hiking trails.

Environmental groups said it's a good start to protect the ecological integrity of the national park, while some — including an Alberta politician — said it could reduce visitor access to the popular tourist area.

"Alberta's parks — both provincial and national — are jewels of the province, and Albertans and visitors alike deserve to have full access to enjoy their benefits," Todd Loewen, minister of forestry, parks and tourism, said in a letter posted on social media Monday. "Parks Canada's decision to block personal vehicles at Moraine Lake means fewer visitors to this important part of the province."

Jed Cochrane, Parks Canada's visitor experience manager for the Lake Louise, Yoho and Kootenay field unit, said the move is an attempt to improve access to the area.

"Moraine Lake is one of the most sought-after, if not the most sought-after, destination to visit in Banff National Park. It's really busy." Cochrane said in an interview Monday.

"We just want to be clear with visitors that it is very hard — and it was very, very hard last summer — to access Moraine Lake by private vehicle and we heard from visitors that they were very frustrated."

Cochrane said the parking lot at the end of the narrow 12-kilometre road only has room for about 100 vehicles at a time.

"We would allow about 900 cars a day up to Moraine Lake and we carefully managed that to make sure the parking lot wasn't over capacity and that emergency vehicles could get in."

Visitors, he said, would now be guaranteed access if they book the Parks Canada shuttle or use a commercial operator. People with a disability hang a tag on their vehicle and those who want to bike, including electric bikes, will still be allowed to drive up the road.

The move isn't unprecedented as parks across North America try to find ways to balance the number of visitors in popular areas with safety and environmental concerns.

Lake O'Hara, a pristine alpine area across the British Columbia boundary in Yoho National Park, has long restricted private vehicles on its access road and has a reservation system for day use and camping that can only be booked by winning a lottery.

BC Parks also brought in a day-use pass program in June 2022 to visit three popular provincial parks — Golden Ears, Joffre Lake and three trailheads at Garibaldi — during peak hours.

Some parks in the United States, such as Zion National Park, only allow access by shuttle bus or by special permit for people with certain medical needs.

Cochrane said Parks Canada has talked to officials at Zion and BC Parks about those moves. The agency also had an expert panel look at the best way to get the more than four million visitors who visit Banff National Park annually around in a sustainable way and it recommended the move.

"They have a suite of other considerations for us to think about," he said, explaining other measures are still being considered.

"At the end of the day, we really just want to improve visitor experience and balance our mandate between ecological integrity and visitor experience."

Cochrane said the road to Moraine Lake runs across a major wildlife corridor for grizzly bears and elk.

"When we remove 900 cars a day, we are improving wildlife's ability to move back and forth across," he said. "By encouraging visitors to use mass transit and to come in a more efficient way, we think that will improve wildlife movement."

Katie Morrison, executive director of southern Alberta chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, said it's a good decision.

"In all the Rocky Mountain national parks, but especially Banff, we've seen huge increases in visitor use over the past several years," she said. "We know this can have an effect both on people's experience in the park but also things like wildlife and wildlife movement."

Morrison said the organization has long asked Parks Canada to address the massive increase in visitors.

"Someone doesn't want to go to Banff and drive around in circles all day," she said. "So, giving some certainty of … how people are going to arrive at places like Moraine Lake is a really positive thing."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 10, 2023.

— By Colette Derworiz in Calgary.

The Canadian Press

UN Biodiversity conference ends with landmark agreement

Tue, January 10, 2023 

There was no small sense of relief last month when the two-week United Nations Biodiversity Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity ended.

It wasn’t just because it was around 3:30 a.m. in Montreal on Dec. 19 when the event (known more commonly as COP15) concluded. The relief was more jubilant because it concluded with a hard-won, historic agreement on biodiversity.

“I would have thought I was at the arrival of the Beatles in North America,” said Jay Ritchlin, director general of the British Columbia and Western region of the David Suzuki Foundation.

“You would not believe the joy, the exuberance and the happiness that was expressed when that thing passed. The whole room burst out in a standing ovation and cheers went up.”

Ritchlin was one of the approximately 10,000 delegates from around the world in attendance when the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was approved. The landmark agreement contained four global goals for 2050 and 23 targets to counter biodiversity loss by 2030.

One of the big reasons for that exuberance was because almost every country on the planet signed on with a pledge to designate at least 30 per cent of all land and ocean areas as protected areas by 2030.

That target, more commonly referred to as 30 by 30, places special importance on areas that have particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem functions, in particular ones that are effectively conserved and managed through ecologically representative, well-connected and equitably governed systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures. Canada also pledged to designate 25 per cent of all land and ocean as protected areas by 2025, or 25 by 25 for short.

Dr. Jodi Hilty, president and chief scientist of the Yellowstone to Yukon Initiative (Y2Y), highlighted the importance that connectivity plays a major role, appearing four times in the agreement.

“That's a really important piece because in most cases, our protected areas are never going to be big enough to sustain wide-ranging species especially, and address climate change,” she said. “They’re talking about making sure that our protected areas are connected and actually acting as a functional ecological network, which is so, so, so important.”

Three years ago, Y2Y worked with the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Connectivity Specialist group to develop the global guidelines for ecological corridors and ecological networks as part of the need for large landscape conservation.

Y2Y sponsored a side event on ecological corridors at COP15, the result of which is that a number of different governments, including Canada now have formalized national ecological corridor programs to support the conservation of ecological corridors in key areas across the country.

“It's all about making sure for Y2Y that this region actually stays connected. That's what's going to maintain the biodiversity in this region for the long term,” Hilty said.

For Tara Russell, program director with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, the concept of connectivity is of even greater relevance in terms of how efforts are made toward achieving the agreement’s objectives. She confirmed that many people see those goals and targets as the “lowest common denominator of what we need for nature.”

Considering the level of difficulty in getting all of those countries to work together and create such a wide-reaching agreement, it’s crucial for a level of collaboration from governments to the populace in general.

“For this to be actually successful in halting and reversing biodiversity loss and achieving those goals, we're going to have to incorporate them into everything we do,” Russell said. “That's going to require public buy-in and political will and recognition across all levels of government.”

Ritchlin said that he remains optimistic that it’s possible, especially because of the determination shown by participants at the conference. At one point, it looked like COP15 was going to end up with a watered-down agreement that wouldn’t carry any weight to it.

“I think if the enthusiasm that I saw from a lot of the government delegations can carry forward, then we've got some hope for sure,” he said.

Part of the hopefulness that Russell feels comes from the presence of and focus on leadership of Indigenous peoples and local communities in solving a worldwide biodiversity crisis.

“It's really clear throughout that respecting and recognizing those rights should be at the core of all the actions to conserve biodiversity,” she said.

Hilty confirmed that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Canadian government really shined on its leadership throughout the conference and on the importance of Indigenous participation in biodiversity loss.

“In the first two days, Trudeau made significant commitments to international conservation, significant commitments to reversing and halting biodiversity loss 30 by 30, 25 by 25, all those things, but also significant financial commitments to Indigenous-led conservation,” she said.

While 2025 and 2030 are not so far into the future, Hilty said that setting targets like those add much to the urgency of the matter.

“I think the importance of having such an ambitious set of targets for biodiversity conservation is it signals two things: it signals world awareness that we really do have to take care of nature for nature itself but also for the survival of humanity.”

Scott Hayes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Jasper Fitzhugh