NDP pledges aggressive strategy to keep Indigenous women, girls, two-spirited people in Manitoba safe, free from violence
Local Journalism Initiative
Fri, August 11, 2023
The Manitoba NDP promised on Friday that if elected to govern, the party would take immediate steps and create an aggressive strategy aimed at keeping Indigenous women, girls and two-spirited people in Manitoba safe and free from violence.
“We must focus on the safety and welfare of Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirited peoples in Manitoba,” NDP MLA and spokesperson for MMWIG2S Nahanni Fontaine said during a Friday morning media conference at The Forks, while flanked by family members of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and by dozens of photos of missing women and girls.
“The province bears a responsibility in eradicating violence and offering assistance to families. Heather Stefanson's administration has fallen short in this regard.”
Fontaine said that if elected in the upcoming election slated for Oct. 3, the NDP would take several immediate steps including the implementation of 24/7 drop-in centres for women and girls in communities including Winnipeg, Brandon and Thompson.
Fontaine said the NDP would also take steps to work with the Manitoba Police Commission and local law enforcement to enact regulations under The Police Services Act to strengthen how MMWIG2S investigations are conducted, and would work to assist families navigating the justice system through the creation of a specific Indigenous Victim Services Unit within the Department of Justice.
“Furthermore, a Manitoba NDP administration will aim to empower law enforcement agencies in capturing violent perpetrators by ensuring police standards are in place when MMIWG2S cases are investigated,” Fontaine said.
The NDP say they would also enhance the mandate of the Gender Based Violence Committee of Cabinet and rename it the MMIWG2S and Gender Based Violence Committee of Cabinet “to prioritize MMIWG2S and the implementation of the National Inquiry’s 231 Calls to Justice.”
The party would also undertake a comprehensive assessment of the Compensation for Victims of Crime program “to modernize it and align it with the needs of MMIWG2S families,” would work to initiate a provincial database of MMIWG2S, and would reinstate the role of the Special Advisor on Indigenous Women’s Issues, who would work directly with MMIWG2S families and report directly to the responsible minister.
“We require a fresh approach to deliver justice for Indigenous women and individuals within this province, and the NDP has developed a comprehensive strategy to help transform this vision into reality,” Fontaine said.
— Dave Baxter is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Winnipeg Sun. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
Dave Baxter, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Sun
Saturday, August 12, 2023
Firefighter training under scrutiny as 'marathon' wildfire season gives hard lessons
Canada's minister responsible for forests said he is reflecting on hard lessons from this year's record wildfire season, including the possible need for standardizing firefighter training across provincial borders and beyond.
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said while the curriculum for firefighter training remains primarily a provincial responsibility, all levels of government and firefighting jurisdictions need to look deeper into "greater interoperability" of crews regardless of where they are based.
"That is true with respect to curriculum," Wilkinson said in North Vancouver, B.C., on Friday. "It's probably true with a whole bunch of other things. It's actually not just a Canadian conversation; that's a conversation we've been having to a certain extent with our friends in the United States."
"I think those are things on which we are all reflecting right now."
Canada is experiencing what federal officials call an unprecedented fire season, charring 134,000 square kilometres to date, more than six times the 10-year average.
A national wildfire briefing heard Friday that the government expects the fire season to continue across much of Canada this month, with the potential for it to extend into September in southern British Columbia, the Prairies, Northwest Territories and Western Ontario.
"This summer has turned into a challenging marathon," Michael Norton, a director general of Natural Resources Canada, told the briefing. "Unfortunately, bottom line: fire season is not over."
The season has seen firefighters from across Canada and overseas converge on hot spots, particularly in British Columbia, where most of the nation's fires are currently burning.
Wilkinson announced $400,000 in funding for a pilot project with the International Association of Firefighters. The organization will train 25 instructors in Kamloops, B.C., on teaching urban firefighters how to deal with wildfires that encroach on communities.
The program will also see the association deliver 15 courses at five locations across Western Canada to train up to 325 structural firefighters on similar "urban interface wildfire training."
Wilkinson said the training program was an example of the federal government learning from the wildfire season, which saw major blazes this year force evacuations in the suburbs of Halifax, as well as in towns such as Lebel-sur-Quevillon in Quebec and Fort St. John and Osoyoos in British Columbia.
"The intent of the training is to enable firefighters within communities to be more effective," Wilkinson said. "But it's also to make it safe, to ensure that they understand very clearly the risks associated with the wildland fires coming into that interface zone."
A private wildland firefighting firm had said before Wilkinson's remarks that Canada needed to create a national training standard for firefighters, rather than each province and territory having its own curriculum.
Arctic Fire Safety Services president Kris Liivam said in an interview that the U.S. had already implemented a countrywide training standard, and a similar system should be introduced for public and private firefighters in Canada.
“We recognize it's a dangerous job … that's why we need to make sure we have training and the equipment to make sure we do the job safely,” Liivam said.
“I think we should have one standard across Canada and we should train all the contractors to it."
Canada has already deployed 5,821 domestic firefighters and 4,990 international firefighters from 12 countries to battle wildfires across the country, said Norton.
It has been a deadly battle. Four firefighters having died this summer battling blazes in B.C., Alberta, and the Northwest Territories.
BC Wildfire Service said they have around 4,000 personnel battling blazes across the province, including contract crews, out-of-province staff and the Canadian Armed Forces. The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre said they have mobilized 703 overseas personnel in B.C. while also sending 740 Canadian firefighters to the province from other parts of the country.
About 400 of the 700 or so fires currently burning in Canada are in B.C., where 185 fires are out of control. Eleven are described as wildfires of note, burning close to populated areas or highly visible.
Recent rainfall means the Donnie Creek wildfire in northeastern B.C. — the biggest wildfire in the province's history — is no longer a wildfire of note, but it remains out of control, according to the BC Wildfire Service.
Provincial emergency officials are anticipating increased fire risks starting Sunday, with the arrival of a protracted heat wave that is expected to last most of next week.
Data released at the national wildfire briefing shows that as of Aug. 10 there have been 5,595 wildfires across Canada, releasing the equivalent of more than one billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
Officials can't predict how next year's fire season will evolve, but the trend has been towards longer seasons and larger more aggressive fires, Norton said.
"The science is clear that longer, tougher fire seasons are going to be part of our future," he said. "For sure all fire agencies recognize that there is an important message here about needing to adapt."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 11, 2023.
Chuck Chiang, Nono Shen and Dirk Meissner, The Canadian Press
Canada's minister responsible for forests said he is reflecting on hard lessons from this year's record wildfire season, including the possible need for standardizing firefighter training across provincial borders and beyond.
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said while the curriculum for firefighter training remains primarily a provincial responsibility, all levels of government and firefighting jurisdictions need to look deeper into "greater interoperability" of crews regardless of where they are based.
"That is true with respect to curriculum," Wilkinson said in North Vancouver, B.C., on Friday. "It's probably true with a whole bunch of other things. It's actually not just a Canadian conversation; that's a conversation we've been having to a certain extent with our friends in the United States."
"I think those are things on which we are all reflecting right now."
Canada is experiencing what federal officials call an unprecedented fire season, charring 134,000 square kilometres to date, more than six times the 10-year average.
A national wildfire briefing heard Friday that the government expects the fire season to continue across much of Canada this month, with the potential for it to extend into September in southern British Columbia, the Prairies, Northwest Territories and Western Ontario.
"This summer has turned into a challenging marathon," Michael Norton, a director general of Natural Resources Canada, told the briefing. "Unfortunately, bottom line: fire season is not over."
The season has seen firefighters from across Canada and overseas converge on hot spots, particularly in British Columbia, where most of the nation's fires are currently burning.
Wilkinson announced $400,000 in funding for a pilot project with the International Association of Firefighters. The organization will train 25 instructors in Kamloops, B.C., on teaching urban firefighters how to deal with wildfires that encroach on communities.
The program will also see the association deliver 15 courses at five locations across Western Canada to train up to 325 structural firefighters on similar "urban interface wildfire training."
Wilkinson said the training program was an example of the federal government learning from the wildfire season, which saw major blazes this year force evacuations in the suburbs of Halifax, as well as in towns such as Lebel-sur-Quevillon in Quebec and Fort St. John and Osoyoos in British Columbia.
"The intent of the training is to enable firefighters within communities to be more effective," Wilkinson said. "But it's also to make it safe, to ensure that they understand very clearly the risks associated with the wildland fires coming into that interface zone."
A private wildland firefighting firm had said before Wilkinson's remarks that Canada needed to create a national training standard for firefighters, rather than each province and territory having its own curriculum.
Arctic Fire Safety Services president Kris Liivam said in an interview that the U.S. had already implemented a countrywide training standard, and a similar system should be introduced for public and private firefighters in Canada.
“We recognize it's a dangerous job … that's why we need to make sure we have training and the equipment to make sure we do the job safely,” Liivam said.
“I think we should have one standard across Canada and we should train all the contractors to it."
Canada has already deployed 5,821 domestic firefighters and 4,990 international firefighters from 12 countries to battle wildfires across the country, said Norton.
It has been a deadly battle. Four firefighters having died this summer battling blazes in B.C., Alberta, and the Northwest Territories.
BC Wildfire Service said they have around 4,000 personnel battling blazes across the province, including contract crews, out-of-province staff and the Canadian Armed Forces. The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre said they have mobilized 703 overseas personnel in B.C. while also sending 740 Canadian firefighters to the province from other parts of the country.
About 400 of the 700 or so fires currently burning in Canada are in B.C., where 185 fires are out of control. Eleven are described as wildfires of note, burning close to populated areas or highly visible.
Recent rainfall means the Donnie Creek wildfire in northeastern B.C. — the biggest wildfire in the province's history — is no longer a wildfire of note, but it remains out of control, according to the BC Wildfire Service.
Provincial emergency officials are anticipating increased fire risks starting Sunday, with the arrival of a protracted heat wave that is expected to last most of next week.
Data released at the national wildfire briefing shows that as of Aug. 10 there have been 5,595 wildfires across Canada, releasing the equivalent of more than one billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
Officials can't predict how next year's fire season will evolve, but the trend has been towards longer seasons and larger more aggressive fires, Norton said.
"The science is clear that longer, tougher fire seasons are going to be part of our future," he said. "For sure all fire agencies recognize that there is an important message here about needing to adapt."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 11, 2023.
Chuck Chiang, Nono Shen and Dirk Meissner, The Canadian Press
'Satan Wants You': Canadian origin of satanic panic investigated in documentary
A gripping, shocking and eerie look at the story of Michelle Smith and psychiatrist Lawrence Pazder
Elisabetta Bianchini
Fri, August 11, 2023
You've likely heard of the "satanic panic" phenomenon from the '80s and '90s, but a lesser known fact is that it has a Canadian origin story, specifically in Victoria, B.C., investigated in the film Satan Wants You.
In the documentary, filmmakers Sean Horlor and Steve J. Adams explore the link between satanic panic and the book "Michelle Remembers," a memoir by psychiatrist Lawrence "Larry" Pazder and his patient Michelle Smith who experienced "satanic ritual abuse" as a child. That discovery came as a result of recovered-memory therapy that Smith participated in following a miscarriage.
Smith, as it's described in the film, was "patient zero of satanic panic."
Satan Wants You is a gripping, shocking and eerie look at Smith and Pazder's story, but for the first time, their friends and family members are going on the public record about what happened during these therapy sessions, and the resulting media frenzy.
Near the end of their filmmaking process, Horlor and Adams were anonymously sent a tape with the recording of a therapy session between Smith and Pazder, which had never been heard before and is included in this film.
"If you have any preconceived ideas or your own opinion of what happened with the 'Michelle Remembers' story and what role it played in the origin story of the satanic panic, that [final scene in the film] might change your mind," Horlor told Yahoo Canada.
The snippets of this audio are a whirlwind to listen to, in a story that is so intriguing we could have watched 17 more hours of this documentary, if not more.
"What was so interesting was there was this really weird balance, there was the crazy dream elements where she was talking about, being in a satanic cult," Adams said. "But then there was the other elements of her questioning what she was talking about."
"Then you were also getting this element of the relationship that her and Larry were having that nobody had ever heard before. So it was this treasure trove for us. It really explained a lot of what we were trying to explain in the film."
Michelle Smith and Dr. Lawrence Pazder on To Tell The Truth in 1980 in "Satan Wants You"
'
A gripping, shocking and eerie look at the story of Michelle Smith and psychiatrist Lawrence Pazder
Elisabetta Bianchini
Fri, August 11, 2023
You've likely heard of the "satanic panic" phenomenon from the '80s and '90s, but a lesser known fact is that it has a Canadian origin story, specifically in Victoria, B.C., investigated in the film Satan Wants You.
In the documentary, filmmakers Sean Horlor and Steve J. Adams explore the link between satanic panic and the book "Michelle Remembers," a memoir by psychiatrist Lawrence "Larry" Pazder and his patient Michelle Smith who experienced "satanic ritual abuse" as a child. That discovery came as a result of recovered-memory therapy that Smith participated in following a miscarriage.
Smith, as it's described in the film, was "patient zero of satanic panic."
Satan Wants You is a gripping, shocking and eerie look at Smith and Pazder's story, but for the first time, their friends and family members are going on the public record about what happened during these therapy sessions, and the resulting media frenzy.
Near the end of their filmmaking process, Horlor and Adams were anonymously sent a tape with the recording of a therapy session between Smith and Pazder, which had never been heard before and is included in this film.
"If you have any preconceived ideas or your own opinion of what happened with the 'Michelle Remembers' story and what role it played in the origin story of the satanic panic, that [final scene in the film] might change your mind," Horlor told Yahoo Canada.
The snippets of this audio are a whirlwind to listen to, in a story that is so intriguing we could have watched 17 more hours of this documentary, if not more.
"What was so interesting was there was this really weird balance, there was the crazy dream elements where she was talking about, being in a satanic cult," Adams said. "But then there was the other elements of her questioning what she was talking about."
"Then you were also getting this element of the relationship that her and Larry were having that nobody had ever heard before. So it was this treasure trove for us. It really explained a lot of what we were trying to explain in the film."
Michelle Smith and Dr. Lawrence Pazder on To Tell The Truth in 1980 in "Satan Wants You"
'
Anyone wearing all black was a satanist'
In terms of where this project started for the filmmakers, Horlor grew up in Victoria, where Smith and Pazder lived, so he was intimately aware of the impact of them sharing their story.
"When I was a kid, there were rumours in Victoria that there are certain stores that had altars in the back where they sacrificed animals and killed children, that anyone wearing all black was a satanist," Horlor said. "It's funny to sort of see that local experience that I had spread everywhere."
While Smith and Pazder were regularly making media appearances, where they would share Smith's experience of being abused by a satanic cult as a child, none of their family members were ever featured in the news.
"It was really hard to find a lot of the family members," Adams stressed. "Cheryl, Michelle's sister, did have a fairly large social media presence and a lot of people had reached out to her. So she was kind of our starting point."
"When we spoke with Cheryl, Cheryl was into us because we were from Vancouver. She's from just outside of Vancouver and we shared a lot of commonality there. She trusted us and really started to talk to us about the story. Hearing her side of the story and beginning to understand that there was this whole other side, that didn't really exist anywhere, was the point that we were like, 'OK so this is really interesting.'"
Another core voice included in Satan Wants You is Padzer's ex-wife Marylyn. They divorced after the psychiatrist started having an affair with his patient, Smith.
"When we finally connected with Marylyn for a phone call, it was like 40 years hadn't passed at all," Horlor said. "So she got on the phone and talked for an hour and it was as fresh as it happened yesterday."
"We met her at a restaurant outside of Victoria and she showed up with his box full of binders, and she pulled them all out and walked us through all of them," Adams added. "But anything that had to do with the divorce, because the divorce was really contentious, she kept all of the records of that."
"She did a lot of investigative work on her end to prove that like Larry and Michelle were having this affair."
A therapy session between Dr. Lawrence Pazder and his patient Michelle Smith in "Satan Wants You"
'It's just ingrained within the human psyche to not understand the world around us'
A core element of Satan Wants You is following this trail of discovery to determine what is real, both in terms of Smith's story but, almost more importantly, getting an understanding of what it takes for society to start believing something is real.
While some may remember that rumours of satanic panic were linked to pop culture elements like Dungeons and Dragons, it also started a wave criminal investigations.
A notable Canadian example is a case in Martensville, Sask., in the 1990s. Throughout the small town, rumours were spread that there was a local family daycare service that was part of a satanic cult and was abusing children. More than a dozen people were arrested and faced charges, but only one person was convicted of sexual assault, based on earlier allegations.
"I feel like humans have always had a really hard time deciphering between what's real and what's not real," Adams said. "You can see throughout history that this has come back over and over again."
"I think it's just ingrained within the human psyche to not understand the world around us, and when you can't, you need something to blame. A lot of the times the easiest thing to blame is satan."
While Smith declined to participate in the documentary, Horlor and Adams said they would have simply wanted to ask, "what happened to you?"
"It just would have been nice to get her side," Adams said. "It might have been an opportunity for her to say, yeah she was taken advantage of, or it could have gone a bunch of different ways. But it's also understandable as to why she didn't want to participate."
"She's never recanted publicly," Horlor added. "So ... there's just a big question mark."
Satan Wants You is in select Canadian theatres Aug. 11
In terms of where this project started for the filmmakers, Horlor grew up in Victoria, where Smith and Pazder lived, so he was intimately aware of the impact of them sharing their story.
"When I was a kid, there were rumours in Victoria that there are certain stores that had altars in the back where they sacrificed animals and killed children, that anyone wearing all black was a satanist," Horlor said. "It's funny to sort of see that local experience that I had spread everywhere."
While Smith and Pazder were regularly making media appearances, where they would share Smith's experience of being abused by a satanic cult as a child, none of their family members were ever featured in the news.
"It was really hard to find a lot of the family members," Adams stressed. "Cheryl, Michelle's sister, did have a fairly large social media presence and a lot of people had reached out to her. So she was kind of our starting point."
"When we spoke with Cheryl, Cheryl was into us because we were from Vancouver. She's from just outside of Vancouver and we shared a lot of commonality there. She trusted us and really started to talk to us about the story. Hearing her side of the story and beginning to understand that there was this whole other side, that didn't really exist anywhere, was the point that we were like, 'OK so this is really interesting.'"
Another core voice included in Satan Wants You is Padzer's ex-wife Marylyn. They divorced after the psychiatrist started having an affair with his patient, Smith.
"When we finally connected with Marylyn for a phone call, it was like 40 years hadn't passed at all," Horlor said. "So she got on the phone and talked for an hour and it was as fresh as it happened yesterday."
"We met her at a restaurant outside of Victoria and she showed up with his box full of binders, and she pulled them all out and walked us through all of them," Adams added. "But anything that had to do with the divorce, because the divorce was really contentious, she kept all of the records of that."
"She did a lot of investigative work on her end to prove that like Larry and Michelle were having this affair."
A therapy session between Dr. Lawrence Pazder and his patient Michelle Smith in "Satan Wants You"
'It's just ingrained within the human psyche to not understand the world around us'
A core element of Satan Wants You is following this trail of discovery to determine what is real, both in terms of Smith's story but, almost more importantly, getting an understanding of what it takes for society to start believing something is real.
While some may remember that rumours of satanic panic were linked to pop culture elements like Dungeons and Dragons, it also started a wave criminal investigations.
A notable Canadian example is a case in Martensville, Sask., in the 1990s. Throughout the small town, rumours were spread that there was a local family daycare service that was part of a satanic cult and was abusing children. More than a dozen people were arrested and faced charges, but only one person was convicted of sexual assault, based on earlier allegations.
"I feel like humans have always had a really hard time deciphering between what's real and what's not real," Adams said. "You can see throughout history that this has come back over and over again."
"I think it's just ingrained within the human psyche to not understand the world around us, and when you can't, you need something to blame. A lot of the times the easiest thing to blame is satan."
While Smith declined to participate in the documentary, Horlor and Adams said they would have simply wanted to ask, "what happened to you?"
"It just would have been nice to get her side," Adams said. "It might have been an opportunity for her to say, yeah she was taken advantage of, or it could have gone a bunch of different ways. But it's also understandable as to why she didn't want to participate."
"She's never recanted publicly," Horlor added. "So ... there's just a big question mark."
Satan Wants You is in select Canadian theatres Aug. 11
The fast, furious, and brutally short life of an African male lion
Peter Lindsey, Research associate, Griffith University,
Peter Lindsey, Research associate, Griffith University,
Duan Biggs, Professor and Chair, Southwestern Environmental Science and Policy, Northern Arizona University,
Alexander Richard Braczkowski, Research Fellow at the Centre for Planetary Health and Resilient Conservation Group, Griffith University
Wed, August 9, 2023 at 9:14 AM MDT·7 min read
Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images
The death of a lion in Kenya’s picturesque savannas rarely tugs at people’s hearts, even in a country where wildlife tourism is a key pillar of the nation’s economy. But when one of the most tracked male lions in Kenya’s famous Masaai Mara was killed on 24 July 2023 the world took notice. Known as Jesse, he was killed during a fight with a coalition of three male lions from a rival pride, drawing attention to the brutally risky and dangerous lives of male lions.
Lions are organised in family groups known as a pride. Each pride is comprised of several related lionesses. One or more adult male lions will also be present. In the public imagination, male lions are better known by their popularised image as kings of the jungle. Their bravery, strength, and size (only tigers are larger) fits this profile.
But in reality, male lions live a life far more vulnerable. One in two male lions die in the first year of life. From the moment a male lion is born it faces a gauntlet of challenges – from snakebite and hungry hyenas to infanticide at the hands of other male lions.
If a male lion makes it out of their first year of life, and then to independence at around 3, they leave their pride for a period of nomadism. Nomads lead a dangerous existence, skirting the territories of established male coalitions. Out there on their own, few will make it to the age of 10.
A young male lion rests in the branches of a tree in Uganda’s Ishasha sector. This particular cub was the son of a three male coalition of lions.
At no time, it seems, is the male lion safe. We know from the evidence collected by the Kenya Wildlife Trust, resident guides, and tourists that Jesse administered and received many beatings from other male lions. We also know that Jesse, who lived to the ripe old age of 12, was eventually killed by three younger, stronger lions. Life comes full circle: killers frequently become victims themselves, of younger, brasher lions, or those in larger and thus more powerful coalitions.
We are three researchers with over 50 years of combined experience in big cat ecology, conservation, and the complexities of people and wildlife living together.
We base our commentary on the extensive information gathered by conservation organisations, independent scientists and tourism guides working in the Maasai Mara. Information on Jesse has been collected mainly through sightings data compiled by these entities over time.
Often the survival of male lions will be dictated by the size and strength of their coalitions, and the make up of the lion landscape at large. This sometimes has bearing for conservation especially when lions stray out of national parks or when male lions are hunted after leaving the safety of a protected area.
The trials of a young lion
A young male lion’s biggest threat is his exposure to other male lions that aren’t their father or uncle. A host of studies from the Serengeti in Tanzania to Zimbabwe show that the most significant single cause of lion mortality in the first year of a lion’s life is attributed to other male lions that kill them during infanticide.
This involves incoming males seeking out and killing the cubs of other males or driving young males away, and attempting to take over prides. Killing cubs accelerates the onset of oestrus in pride females and so is likely to increase the reproductive success of incoming males.
Most lions that get pushed out of their pride when very young don’t survive.
Read more: Getting closer to a much better count of Africa's lions
Cubs that survive to independence – around 3 years of age – must leave their pride for a period of nomadism. During this time, they join up with cousins, brothers, and sometimes unrelated males of similar age to form what biologists term ‘coalitions’. The power of coalitions increases dramatically with the size of the group. This power can be defined by the number of different prides these coalitions are likely to rule, the number of offspring they will sire, and the number of times they will successfully be able to defend their prides from violent incursions from neighbouring male lions and their coalitions.
The tradeoff of larger coalitions is a watering down of a male lion’s reproductive opportunities.
Examples of such powerful coalitions include the six-strong Mapogo, and five-strong Majingilane from South Africa. There is also the Lake Quintet coalition from Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania.
Contrastingly, Jesse had only one coalition mate, a lion known as Frank. The two were strong enough to kick out the duo of Dere and Barrikoi from the Offbeat pride in May 2014. After his coalition mate Frank disappeared, Jesse left the Offbeat Pride and led a largely nomadic lifestyle except when he unsuccessfully tried to take over the Rakero pride and even fought with his own son Jesse 2.
The Birmingham coalition of five male lions in the Kruger National Park of South Africa. They regularly clashed with other powerful coalitions including the famed Majingilane lion coalition.
Three laws of the wild
Mate, protect, fight. These are the three tenets most male animals live and die by in the animal kingdom and this could not be truer for male lions. When male lions are in the prime of their lives somewhere between 5 and 9 years of age they will attempt to have as many cubs as they can. And they will do their best to protect and guard over as many prides as possible.
Read more: Lions are still being farmed in South Africa for hunters and tourism – they shouldn't be
But there is a fine line between holding tenure over many different prides, and successfully being able to defend them and their young. When fights do breakout between male lions they are usually over territorial and breeding rights.
At times they are mere squabbles between coalition mates. At other times, the battles are big enough to cause rifts and splits within coalitions. But in most cases fights are between rival coalitions. During these fights lions engage in a suite of bodily and olfactory engagements including posturing, roaring and growling, swatting, and biting, and even urination and territorial demarcation.
Michael, a male lion sits on the Kasenyi Plains with his two sons in Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park. Michael killed multiple litters of cubs in this area during his takeover after leaving the south of the park.
For conservation: look to the lionesses
When it comes to the conservation of the lion species it is important to look to the lionesses. They are the sentinels of a populations health, specifically the number of animals in a group, and more importantly the ratio of lionesses to lions. Healthy populations can expect ratios of roughly 2 females for every male, but when under pressure due to poaching, killings by cattle farmers and a loss of prey these ratios invert towards males.
The story of Jesse highlights how, in spite of their status as king of the beasts, lions are vulnerable. While in this instance, the cause of death was another lion, much more commonly, lions die at the hands of humans. This can be through being shot or poisoned to protect livestock, being poached for their body parts or being caught as by-catch in traps and snares set for other animals by bushmeat poachers.
On the plus side, the fascinating pride dynamics and trials and tribulations of individual lions can help capture the public’s imagination and foster a love for the species and other wildlife. Although human pressures are high, Kenya retains a large lion population and a suite of iconic wildlife areas. These assets are a great source of pride for many Kenyans, and rightly so.
This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. \
It was written by: Alexander Richard Braczkowski, Griffith University; Duan Biggs, Northern Arizona University, and Peter Lindsey, Griffith University.
Read more:
Infanticide: vulnerable mothers who kill their babies can be granted leniency – so why is this historic law being rejected in favour of harsher punishment?
Kenya’s political dialogue is a welcome sign of democracy at work – if both sides understand their roles
Living in Nairobi’s slums is tough – residents are 35% more likely to suffer from high blood pressure than those in rural areas
Alexander Richard Braczkowski received funding from Griffith University and the Southern University of Science and Technology when carrying out this study.
Duan Biggs is the Olajos Goslow Chair at Northern Arizona University. Dr Biggs previously received funding from the Australian Research Council and WWF the Luc Hoffmann Institute.
Peter Lindsey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Wed, August 9, 2023 at 9:14 AM MDT·7 min read
Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images
The death of a lion in Kenya’s picturesque savannas rarely tugs at people’s hearts, even in a country where wildlife tourism is a key pillar of the nation’s economy. But when one of the most tracked male lions in Kenya’s famous Masaai Mara was killed on 24 July 2023 the world took notice. Known as Jesse, he was killed during a fight with a coalition of three male lions from a rival pride, drawing attention to the brutally risky and dangerous lives of male lions.
Lions are organised in family groups known as a pride. Each pride is comprised of several related lionesses. One or more adult male lions will also be present. In the public imagination, male lions are better known by their popularised image as kings of the jungle. Their bravery, strength, and size (only tigers are larger) fits this profile.
But in reality, male lions live a life far more vulnerable. One in two male lions die in the first year of life. From the moment a male lion is born it faces a gauntlet of challenges – from snakebite and hungry hyenas to infanticide at the hands of other male lions.
If a male lion makes it out of their first year of life, and then to independence at around 3, they leave their pride for a period of nomadism. Nomads lead a dangerous existence, skirting the territories of established male coalitions. Out there on their own, few will make it to the age of 10.
A young male lion rests in the branches of a tree in Uganda’s Ishasha sector. This particular cub was the son of a three male coalition of lions.
At no time, it seems, is the male lion safe. We know from the evidence collected by the Kenya Wildlife Trust, resident guides, and tourists that Jesse administered and received many beatings from other male lions. We also know that Jesse, who lived to the ripe old age of 12, was eventually killed by three younger, stronger lions. Life comes full circle: killers frequently become victims themselves, of younger, brasher lions, or those in larger and thus more powerful coalitions.
We are three researchers with over 50 years of combined experience in big cat ecology, conservation, and the complexities of people and wildlife living together.
We base our commentary on the extensive information gathered by conservation organisations, independent scientists and tourism guides working in the Maasai Mara. Information on Jesse has been collected mainly through sightings data compiled by these entities over time.
Often the survival of male lions will be dictated by the size and strength of their coalitions, and the make up of the lion landscape at large. This sometimes has bearing for conservation especially when lions stray out of national parks or when male lions are hunted after leaving the safety of a protected area.
The trials of a young lion
A young male lion’s biggest threat is his exposure to other male lions that aren’t their father or uncle. A host of studies from the Serengeti in Tanzania to Zimbabwe show that the most significant single cause of lion mortality in the first year of a lion’s life is attributed to other male lions that kill them during infanticide.
This involves incoming males seeking out and killing the cubs of other males or driving young males away, and attempting to take over prides. Killing cubs accelerates the onset of oestrus in pride females and so is likely to increase the reproductive success of incoming males.
Most lions that get pushed out of their pride when very young don’t survive.
Read more: Getting closer to a much better count of Africa's lions
Cubs that survive to independence – around 3 years of age – must leave their pride for a period of nomadism. During this time, they join up with cousins, brothers, and sometimes unrelated males of similar age to form what biologists term ‘coalitions’. The power of coalitions increases dramatically with the size of the group. This power can be defined by the number of different prides these coalitions are likely to rule, the number of offspring they will sire, and the number of times they will successfully be able to defend their prides from violent incursions from neighbouring male lions and their coalitions.
The tradeoff of larger coalitions is a watering down of a male lion’s reproductive opportunities.
Examples of such powerful coalitions include the six-strong Mapogo, and five-strong Majingilane from South Africa. There is also the Lake Quintet coalition from Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania.
Contrastingly, Jesse had only one coalition mate, a lion known as Frank. The two were strong enough to kick out the duo of Dere and Barrikoi from the Offbeat pride in May 2014. After his coalition mate Frank disappeared, Jesse left the Offbeat Pride and led a largely nomadic lifestyle except when he unsuccessfully tried to take over the Rakero pride and even fought with his own son Jesse 2.
The Birmingham coalition of five male lions in the Kruger National Park of South Africa. They regularly clashed with other powerful coalitions including the famed Majingilane lion coalition.
Three laws of the wild
Mate, protect, fight. These are the three tenets most male animals live and die by in the animal kingdom and this could not be truer for male lions. When male lions are in the prime of their lives somewhere between 5 and 9 years of age they will attempt to have as many cubs as they can. And they will do their best to protect and guard over as many prides as possible.
Read more: Lions are still being farmed in South Africa for hunters and tourism – they shouldn't be
But there is a fine line between holding tenure over many different prides, and successfully being able to defend them and their young. When fights do breakout between male lions they are usually over territorial and breeding rights.
At times they are mere squabbles between coalition mates. At other times, the battles are big enough to cause rifts and splits within coalitions. But in most cases fights are between rival coalitions. During these fights lions engage in a suite of bodily and olfactory engagements including posturing, roaring and growling, swatting, and biting, and even urination and territorial demarcation.
Michael, a male lion sits on the Kasenyi Plains with his two sons in Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park. Michael killed multiple litters of cubs in this area during his takeover after leaving the south of the park.
For conservation: look to the lionesses
When it comes to the conservation of the lion species it is important to look to the lionesses. They are the sentinels of a populations health, specifically the number of animals in a group, and more importantly the ratio of lionesses to lions. Healthy populations can expect ratios of roughly 2 females for every male, but when under pressure due to poaching, killings by cattle farmers and a loss of prey these ratios invert towards males.
The story of Jesse highlights how, in spite of their status as king of the beasts, lions are vulnerable. While in this instance, the cause of death was another lion, much more commonly, lions die at the hands of humans. This can be through being shot or poisoned to protect livestock, being poached for their body parts or being caught as by-catch in traps and snares set for other animals by bushmeat poachers.
On the plus side, the fascinating pride dynamics and trials and tribulations of individual lions can help capture the public’s imagination and foster a love for the species and other wildlife. Although human pressures are high, Kenya retains a large lion population and a suite of iconic wildlife areas. These assets are a great source of pride for many Kenyans, and rightly so.
This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. \
It was written by: Alexander Richard Braczkowski, Griffith University; Duan Biggs, Northern Arizona University, and Peter Lindsey, Griffith University.
Read more:
Infanticide: vulnerable mothers who kill their babies can be granted leniency – so why is this historic law being rejected in favour of harsher punishment?
Kenya’s political dialogue is a welcome sign of democracy at work – if both sides understand their roles
Living in Nairobi’s slums is tough – residents are 35% more likely to suffer from high blood pressure than those in rural areas
Alexander Richard Braczkowski received funding from Griffith University and the Southern University of Science and Technology when carrying out this study.
Duan Biggs is the Olajos Goslow Chair at Northern Arizona University. Dr Biggs previously received funding from the Australian Research Council and WWF the Luc Hoffmann Institute.
Peter Lindsey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Apple has plowed over $500 billion into stock buybacks since 2012 — more than Visa, JPMorgan, or Exxon
IT INCREASES CEO SHARES VALUE
Theron Mohamed
Fri, August 11, 2023
Apple CEO Tim Cook.Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Apple has spent over $500 billion on stock buybacks since 2012, a Markets Insider analysis shows.
Only eight S&P 500 companies are worth more than the iPhone maker's total repurchases to date.
Warren Buffett has welcomed Apple's buybacks as they've boosted his ownership at no cost to him.
Apple has spent upwards of $500 billion on stock buybacks over the last decade, a Markets Insider analysis shows.
The technology titan has spent more on repurchases since 2012 than the entire market capitalization of Visa ($489 billion), JPMorgan ($446 billion), or Exxon Mobil ($441 billion). Only eight companies in the S&P 500 are worth more than Apple's outlay on buybacks to date.
Indeed, Apple has spent north of $50 billion a year buying its own stock since 2018. It splurged $90 billion on buybacks in its last financial year, and repurchased $56 billion worth of its shares in the nine months to July 1.
Moreover, the iPhone maker's board recently approved another $90 billion of repurchases. That amount exceeds the total worth of Citigroup ($85 billion), and is nearly double the market value of Hershey's ($46 billion).
Apple's striking buyback habit was flagged in a tweet this week by Charlie Bilello, Creative Planning's chief market strategist. Bilello also noted the iPhone maker's repurchases have slashed its number of outstanding shares by more than a third, from roughly 25 billion to fewer than 16 billion.
Warren Buffett, a longtime champion of prudent buybacks, has been a cheerleader for Apple's repurchases. His Berkshire Hathaway empire owns nearly 6% of Apple, and the position accounts for almost half of its roughly $350 billion stock portfolio. When Apple buys back shares, it boosts Berkshire's ownership at no cost to the conglomerate.
"Much of what the company retained was used to repurchase Apple shares, an act we applaud," Buffett wrote in his 2021 letter to shareholders. "Tim Cook, Apple's brilliant CEO, quite properly regards users of Apple products as his first love, but all of his other constituencies benefit from Tim's managerial touch as well."
Theron Mohamed
Fri, August 11, 2023
Apple CEO Tim Cook.Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Apple has spent over $500 billion on stock buybacks since 2012, a Markets Insider analysis shows.
Only eight S&P 500 companies are worth more than the iPhone maker's total repurchases to date.
Warren Buffett has welcomed Apple's buybacks as they've boosted his ownership at no cost to him.
Apple has spent upwards of $500 billion on stock buybacks over the last decade, a Markets Insider analysis shows.
The technology titan has spent more on repurchases since 2012 than the entire market capitalization of Visa ($489 billion), JPMorgan ($446 billion), or Exxon Mobil ($441 billion). Only eight companies in the S&P 500 are worth more than Apple's outlay on buybacks to date.
Indeed, Apple has spent north of $50 billion a year buying its own stock since 2018. It splurged $90 billion on buybacks in its last financial year, and repurchased $56 billion worth of its shares in the nine months to July 1.
Moreover, the iPhone maker's board recently approved another $90 billion of repurchases. That amount exceeds the total worth of Citigroup ($85 billion), and is nearly double the market value of Hershey's ($46 billion).
Apple's striking buyback habit was flagged in a tweet this week by Charlie Bilello, Creative Planning's chief market strategist. Bilello also noted the iPhone maker's repurchases have slashed its number of outstanding shares by more than a third, from roughly 25 billion to fewer than 16 billion.
Warren Buffett, a longtime champion of prudent buybacks, has been a cheerleader for Apple's repurchases. His Berkshire Hathaway empire owns nearly 6% of Apple, and the position accounts for almost half of its roughly $350 billion stock portfolio. When Apple buys back shares, it boosts Berkshire's ownership at no cost to the conglomerate.
"Much of what the company retained was used to repurchase Apple shares, an act we applaud," Buffett wrote in his 2021 letter to shareholders. "Tim Cook, Apple's brilliant CEO, quite properly regards users of Apple products as his first love, but all of his other constituencies benefit from Tim's managerial touch as well."
UBS: cloudbusting Colm waives state aid as sop for Swiss bank absorption
August 11, 2023
Unlike southern European neighbours, Switzerland has had a rainy summer. This week, the sun appeared and cagoules were stashed away. On Friday, Swiss wealth manager UBS said it would dispense with the state’s protective umbrella against potential losses from its hurried takeover of struggling Credit Suisse.
UBS has terminated a $10.3bn loss-protection agreement and a public liquidity backstop of up to $114bn. It has paid back emergency loans.
Bond markets are still shaky. So why the rush? Politics, perhaps?
Taxpayers should be pleased. Regulator Finma and the Swiss National Bank touted the merger as a “private solution” despite a wipeout of AT1 bonds to lessen liabilities. The public backstop meanwhile transferred wealth from the state to private owners, says Pascal Böni at University of Basel.
Benefits totalling about $5bn have already accrued to UBS shareholders and another $23bn to Credit Suisse bondholders.
UBS’s shares have nevertheless trailed the Stoxx Europe banks index. Its valuation has slipped, unlike rival Julius Baer’s. UBS trades at 0.85 times 2024 tangible book according to Jefferies.
The stock jumped 4 per cent on Friday. Shedding state protection saves money. The scheme’s estimated cost to UBS to the end of September is $834mn. The annual running cost after that would have been at least $41mn a year.
August 11, 2023
Unlike southern European neighbours, Switzerland has had a rainy summer. This week, the sun appeared and cagoules were stashed away. On Friday, Swiss wealth manager UBS said it would dispense with the state’s protective umbrella against potential losses from its hurried takeover of struggling Credit Suisse.
UBS has terminated a $10.3bn loss-protection agreement and a public liquidity backstop of up to $114bn. It has paid back emergency loans.
Bond markets are still shaky. So why the rush? Politics, perhaps?
Taxpayers should be pleased. Regulator Finma and the Swiss National Bank touted the merger as a “private solution” despite a wipeout of AT1 bonds to lessen liabilities. The public backstop meanwhile transferred wealth from the state to private owners, says Pascal Böni at University of Basel.
Benefits totalling about $5bn have already accrued to UBS shareholders and another $23bn to Credit Suisse bondholders.
UBS’s shares have nevertheless trailed the Stoxx Europe banks index. Its valuation has slipped, unlike rival Julius Baer’s. UBS trades at 0.85 times 2024 tangible book according to Jefferies.
The stock jumped 4 per cent on Friday. Shedding state protection saves money. The scheme’s estimated cost to UBS to the end of September is $834mn. The annual running cost after that would have been at least $41mn a year.
For over 20 years, archaeologists in Germany thought a 35,000-year-old figurine they found was a horse. Now, they aren't sure whether or not it's a cave lion or cave bear.
Hannah Getahun
Fri, August 11, 2023
The Hohle Fels animal figure from left frontRia Litzenberg, University of Tübingen
The "body" of a prehistoric ivory figurine was recently discovered in Germany.
The head was found in 1999, and for years, archaeologists believed it to be a horse.
Now, they're trying to figure out what animal it actually is.
A minuscule, ivory figurine being pieced together over 20 years has confounded scientists, who thought the carving was a horse this whole time.
The figurine's head was first found in 1999 in the Hohle Fels cave — an important archaeological site of ice age artifacts nestled in Germany's Swabian Jura region — and dates back 35,000 years ago. As scientists collected various parts of the 1-inch tall carving over the years, they stuck to the horse theory.
However, archaeologists discovered their fifth piece, a body fragment, in 2022. Now they're debating what animal is meant to be represented by the ancient carving, according to a press release from the University of Tübingen.
In the press release, Nicholas Conard, a professor at the University, said there are two main theories: a cave lion or a cave bear.
Conard himself believes that it's a cave bear — a prehistoric bear species that inhabited Europe — because the figurine's "pronounced bear hump" matches the height of its shoulders and appears to imitate a bear's gait.
The Hohle Fels animal figure from the front rightRia Litzenberg/University of Tubingen
However, Conard said that his colleagues have also identified properties of the fragments that are similar to a Eurasian cave lion, a species also common in Europe during the ice age.
"It is by no means always easy to identify Ice Age depictions with certainty, especially when they are preserved in such fragmentary form," Conard said in the press release. "It therefore makes sense to look extra carefully for the missing parts of this animal in the years to come."
The figurines are on display at the Prehistoric Museum in Blaubeuren in Germany.
Hannah Getahun
Fri, August 11, 2023
The Hohle Fels animal figure from left frontRia Litzenberg, University of Tübingen
The "body" of a prehistoric ivory figurine was recently discovered in Germany.
The head was found in 1999, and for years, archaeologists believed it to be a horse.
Now, they're trying to figure out what animal it actually is.
A minuscule, ivory figurine being pieced together over 20 years has confounded scientists, who thought the carving was a horse this whole time.
The figurine's head was first found in 1999 in the Hohle Fels cave — an important archaeological site of ice age artifacts nestled in Germany's Swabian Jura region — and dates back 35,000 years ago. As scientists collected various parts of the 1-inch tall carving over the years, they stuck to the horse theory.
However, archaeologists discovered their fifth piece, a body fragment, in 2022. Now they're debating what animal is meant to be represented by the ancient carving, according to a press release from the University of Tübingen.
In the press release, Nicholas Conard, a professor at the University, said there are two main theories: a cave lion or a cave bear.
Conard himself believes that it's a cave bear — a prehistoric bear species that inhabited Europe — because the figurine's "pronounced bear hump" matches the height of its shoulders and appears to imitate a bear's gait.
The Hohle Fels animal figure from the front rightRia Litzenberg/University of Tubingen
However, Conard said that his colleagues have also identified properties of the fragments that are similar to a Eurasian cave lion, a species also common in Europe during the ice age.
"It is by no means always easy to identify Ice Age depictions with certainty, especially when they are preserved in such fragmentary form," Conard said in the press release. "It therefore makes sense to look extra carefully for the missing parts of this animal in the years to come."
The figurines are on display at the Prehistoric Museum in Blaubeuren in Germany.
Climate change: Industrial rural Wales claim on wind, solar
Craig Duggan & Paul Pigott - BBC Wales News
Fri, August 11, 2023
The Welsh government wants all Wales' electricity needs to come from renewables by 2035
More wind and solar farms would industrialise the Welsh countryside and affect about 50,000 acres of land, according to a rural charity.
Offshore wind and rooftop solar should be the preferred way to cut carbon emissions, says the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales (CPRW).
But a company proposing five energy parks in Wales said a mix will be needed to reach net zero by 2050.
The Welsh government said a range of technologies was required.
Wales currently has 44 operational wind farms and 123 solar farms, according to research by the CPRW.
It has published a map showing those existing renewable energy projects and the locations of a further 34 wind farms and 92 solar farms being proposed.
Opposing wind farms morally unacceptable - expert
Survey ship searches for floating wind farm sites
Wind farm plan must benefit locals - campaigners
"The biggest concern is the lack of awareness of what's happening in Wales," said the CPRW's Ross Evans.
More than 3m trees have been cut down for onshore wind projects, the group claimed.
"All we're trying to do is to mitigate some of what's happening to the countryside and ensure we sacrifice the minimum amount [of land]," he said.
"We're not just talking about common ground or forestry here," Mr Evans said. "Farmland, nature reserves, SSSIs (Sites of Special Scientific Interest), curlew breeding areas, peatlands, they're all being destroyed for onshore wind and solar."
What are Wales' carbon reduction goals?
The Welsh government set out in January its plan for 100% of the nation's electricity demand to be met by renewable sources by 2035.
That will mean improving the electricity grid, community projects, cutting consumption and streamlining planning to allow more renewable projects to go ahead.
The framework for planning decisions over the next two decades - set out in the Future Wales 2040 plan - outlines ten pre-assessed areas where there "is a presumption in favour of large‐scale wind energy development".
Wales' is moving too quickly to develop onshore wind and solar before looking at alternatives a rural charity warns
The Welsh government will make the decision on 26 of the proposed wind farms and 36 of the solar farms, with the remaining projects left to local planning authorities.
But CPRW said the Welsh government's strategy is out of date because it does not include potential for offshore wind farms, which the group said would generate more electricity than the onshore projects.
Ross Evans of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales says ground-based projects must be paused for a focus on offshore wind
"Two offshore projects in the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea on their own will produce more than double what Wales needs by 2050," Mr Evans said.
CPRW wants a pause on "all onshore wind and ground-based solar developments over 10MW" until the potential of other sources of renewable energy is considered.
What do wind developers say?
Bute Energy has plans for five wind farms in Wales.
The largest would be about five miles from Llandrindod Wells, Powys, in the Radnor forest, connecting to the national grid in Carmarthenshire via a 60-mile pylon network.
Nant Mithil would have 36 wind turbines, each 220m (722ft) tall, producing enough electricity according to Bute to power 200,000 homes, while saving about 350,000 tonnes of CO2 each year.
"We as a nation are going to be turning off fossil fuels," said Bute's Aled Rowlands. "Our need for electricity is going to go up dramatically - the way we heat our homes, the way we use vehicles.
"We need to be generating more energy, and of course we want to generate clean, green energy from onshore wind, and there are other options as well such as offshore wind."
'Rushing Wales into wind power'
Nant Mithil has faced opposition from local campaign group ReThink, which said it would "destroy" Radnor forest, hurting tourism and wildlife.
"We're not against renewable energy," said group spokeswoman Jenny Chryss. "But we say there are much better ways - offshore, hydrogen, the floating platforms in the Celtic Sea.
"They're just rushing into Wales to do this, and it's not the right way to do it."
Signs against the Nant Mithil wind farm appeared at the Royal Welsh Show in July
The Climate Change Committee - the UK's independent advisory body - said in June Wales was falling behind on efforts to cut emissions, and "action on decarbonisation in Wales must accelerate".
Mr Rowlands said onshore wind will be a key part of meeting climate change targets.
Is offshore wind the most cost effective?
"We need a mix of energy sources in order to ensure that we get to net zero," he said.
But CPRW pointed to another report, commissioned by the Welsh government, highlighting the benefits of sea-based energy projects.
One recommendation in the Future energy grids for Wales report said "offshore wind is projected to be the most cost-effective and prominent electricity source in a net zero Welsh energy system, providing up to 80% by 2050."
"It supports our long-held view," Mr Evans said, "that offshore wind is not only the most cost-effective but also the most environmentally acceptable option amongst a range of technologies."
A Welsh government spokesperson said: "We need a range of technologies, at different scales, to meet our future electricity needs as we move towards a net zero energy system.
"Wind and solar are cost-effective options to generate electricity and have a clear role to play," they added.
"We want to ensure local communities and people in Wales directly benefit from energy generated in Wales. We are taking action to support local and shared ownership and developing strong, local supply chains."
View comments (2)
Craig Duggan & Paul Pigott - BBC Wales News
Fri, August 11, 2023
The Welsh government wants all Wales' electricity needs to come from renewables by 2035
More wind and solar farms would industrialise the Welsh countryside and affect about 50,000 acres of land, according to a rural charity.
Offshore wind and rooftop solar should be the preferred way to cut carbon emissions, says the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales (CPRW).
But a company proposing five energy parks in Wales said a mix will be needed to reach net zero by 2050.
The Welsh government said a range of technologies was required.
Wales currently has 44 operational wind farms and 123 solar farms, according to research by the CPRW.
It has published a map showing those existing renewable energy projects and the locations of a further 34 wind farms and 92 solar farms being proposed.
Opposing wind farms morally unacceptable - expert
Survey ship searches for floating wind farm sites
Wind farm plan must benefit locals - campaigners
"The biggest concern is the lack of awareness of what's happening in Wales," said the CPRW's Ross Evans.
More than 3m trees have been cut down for onshore wind projects, the group claimed.
"All we're trying to do is to mitigate some of what's happening to the countryside and ensure we sacrifice the minimum amount [of land]," he said.
"We're not just talking about common ground or forestry here," Mr Evans said. "Farmland, nature reserves, SSSIs (Sites of Special Scientific Interest), curlew breeding areas, peatlands, they're all being destroyed for onshore wind and solar."
What are Wales' carbon reduction goals?
The Welsh government set out in January its plan for 100% of the nation's electricity demand to be met by renewable sources by 2035.
That will mean improving the electricity grid, community projects, cutting consumption and streamlining planning to allow more renewable projects to go ahead.
The framework for planning decisions over the next two decades - set out in the Future Wales 2040 plan - outlines ten pre-assessed areas where there "is a presumption in favour of large‐scale wind energy development".
Wales' is moving too quickly to develop onshore wind and solar before looking at alternatives a rural charity warns
The Welsh government will make the decision on 26 of the proposed wind farms and 36 of the solar farms, with the remaining projects left to local planning authorities.
But CPRW said the Welsh government's strategy is out of date because it does not include potential for offshore wind farms, which the group said would generate more electricity than the onshore projects.
Ross Evans of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales says ground-based projects must be paused for a focus on offshore wind
"Two offshore projects in the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea on their own will produce more than double what Wales needs by 2050," Mr Evans said.
CPRW wants a pause on "all onshore wind and ground-based solar developments over 10MW" until the potential of other sources of renewable energy is considered.
What do wind developers say?
Bute Energy has plans for five wind farms in Wales.
The largest would be about five miles from Llandrindod Wells, Powys, in the Radnor forest, connecting to the national grid in Carmarthenshire via a 60-mile pylon network.
Nant Mithil would have 36 wind turbines, each 220m (722ft) tall, producing enough electricity according to Bute to power 200,000 homes, while saving about 350,000 tonnes of CO2 each year.
"We as a nation are going to be turning off fossil fuels," said Bute's Aled Rowlands. "Our need for electricity is going to go up dramatically - the way we heat our homes, the way we use vehicles.
"We need to be generating more energy, and of course we want to generate clean, green energy from onshore wind, and there are other options as well such as offshore wind."
'Rushing Wales into wind power'
Nant Mithil has faced opposition from local campaign group ReThink, which said it would "destroy" Radnor forest, hurting tourism and wildlife.
"We're not against renewable energy," said group spokeswoman Jenny Chryss. "But we say there are much better ways - offshore, hydrogen, the floating platforms in the Celtic Sea.
"They're just rushing into Wales to do this, and it's not the right way to do it."
Signs against the Nant Mithil wind farm appeared at the Royal Welsh Show in July
The Climate Change Committee - the UK's independent advisory body - said in June Wales was falling behind on efforts to cut emissions, and "action on decarbonisation in Wales must accelerate".
Mr Rowlands said onshore wind will be a key part of meeting climate change targets.
Is offshore wind the most cost effective?
"We need a mix of energy sources in order to ensure that we get to net zero," he said.
But CPRW pointed to another report, commissioned by the Welsh government, highlighting the benefits of sea-based energy projects.
One recommendation in the Future energy grids for Wales report said "offshore wind is projected to be the most cost-effective and prominent electricity source in a net zero Welsh energy system, providing up to 80% by 2050."
"It supports our long-held view," Mr Evans said, "that offshore wind is not only the most cost-effective but also the most environmentally acceptable option amongst a range of technologies."
A Welsh government spokesperson said: "We need a range of technologies, at different scales, to meet our future electricity needs as we move towards a net zero energy system.
"Wind and solar are cost-effective options to generate electricity and have a clear role to play," they added.
"We want to ensure local communities and people in Wales directly benefit from energy generated in Wales. We are taking action to support local and shared ownership and developing strong, local supply chains."
View comments (2)
Poland's ruling party seeks referendum on privatization as it steps up attacks on opposition leader
VANESSA GERA
Updated Fri, August 11, 2023
Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the head of Poland's ruling Law and Justice party, speaks to a party convention in Warsaw, Poland, Sunday, May 14, 2023. Poland's ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski said Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, that Polish voters will be asked to decide whether they support the sell-off of state-owned enterprises in a referendum, saying it would be about “whether the wealth of generations will remain in Polish hands.”
VANESSA GERA
Updated Fri, August 11, 2023
Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the head of Poland's ruling Law and Justice party, speaks to a party convention in Warsaw, Poland, Sunday, May 14, 2023. Poland's ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski said Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, that Polish voters will be asked to decide whether they support the sell-off of state-owned enterprises in a referendum, saying it would be about “whether the wealth of generations will remain in Polish hands.”
(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)More
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland's ruling party leader said Friday that Polish voters will be asked to decide whether they support the sell-off of state-owned enterprises in a referendum, saying it would be about “whether the wealth of generations will remain in Polish hands.”
The move came as the conservative ruling party, Law and Justice, stepped up its attacks on the main opposition leader, Donald Tusk, ahead of parliamentary elections in the fall, which the president scheduled this week for Oct. 15.
Law and Justice has for some time expressed a wish to hold a referendum on the topic of migration alongside the election.
Critics view the plans to hold referendums on such emotional issues as an effort by the ruling party to mobilize its conservative base as its seeks an unprecedented third straight term. The party is leading in the polls but cannot be assured of an outright majority.
Law and Justice party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski said Friday that the party now plans more than one referendum question.
Kaczynski, who is also the deputy prime minister, made the announcement in a video posted to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. He said the first referendum question would say: “Do you support the sell-off of state-owned enterprises?” The graphic showed the question as it would look on a ballot, with a red X appearing in the ”No" box.
He then linked privatization efforts to Tusk, his main competitor, a former prime minister who leads the pro-business Civic Platform party. Civic Platform, a center-right party, governed from 2007 to 2015. The party is now running at the head of a four-party electoral coalition called Civic Coalition that includes the Greens and socially liberal parties, and has shifted somewhat to the left.
Law and Justice has long tried to portray Tusk, a former president of the European Council, as a politician who serves the interests of Germany, the Western neighbor who inflicted atrocities on occupied Poland during World War II but which is now an ally in NATO and the European Union.
During a meeting with voters last month Kaczynski said: “Donald Tusk is a true enemy of the Polish nation! This man should not rule Poland. Let him take his politics to his Germany, and let him do harm there, not here.”
Opponents of the ruling party denounce the way it uses state resources, including public TV, to demonize its opponents, particularly Tusk, who was an anti-communist activist before the fall of communism in Poland and who portrays himself as a Polish patriot.
In his new video, Kaczynski said the referendum was aimed at putting decisions in the hands of Poles.
“For us, the voice of normal Poles is decisive. The voice of foreign politicians, including Germans, is of no importance, that is why in key issues we want to appeal to you directly, in a referendum," Kaczynski said.
"You decide whether the wealth of generations will remain in Polish hands," he said.
Critics denounced the referendum as hypocrisy. Some noted that the ruling party, known by its Polish initials PiS, has itself sold off state assets, including part of the state oil company Lotos, on terms viewed as unfavorable to Poland.
“This referendum is one big PiS scam,” said Malgorzata Kidawa-Blonska, the deputy parliament speaker. “They sold Lotos to the Saudis for a song, and now they will brazenly ask Poles what they think about it? Liars and manipulators.”
The daily paper Rzeczpospolita argued that the ruling party was damaging its own campaign by drawing attention to the Lotos sale. It also pointed out that past privatizations of communist-era companies brought investment and raised the technical level of Polish enterprises.
“It is thanks to privatization that we are a rich country today,” economic journalist Krzysztof Adam Kowalczyk wrote.
Edit Zgut-Przybylska, a political scientist and sociologist who is a visiting fellow at the CEU Democracy Institute, said the Polish referendum echoes referendums held by Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has used them to mobilize support for anti-migrant and anti-LGBTQ+ policies amid a larger erosion of democracy.
“It has the same populist purpose: to consolidate power by polarizing society with panic-mongering disinformation,” she said.
“While Orban is depicting Brussels and Soros as the corrupt enemy, the Polish government claims the opposition is collaborating with Germany to undermine the 'will of the people,'” she argued, referring to the billionaire investor George Soros. “The overarching goal of the Polish referendum is to exploit anti-German sentiments and identity-based anxieties centered around migration.”
According to a report from state radio, Law and Justice intends to publish more videos containing referendum questions in the coming days.
Polish authorities had previously announced plans to put the issue of an EU migrant relocation scheme to a referendum to coincide with the parliamentary election.
The lower house of parliament is due to take up the issue of the referendum at a sitting next week, according to the state news agency PAP.
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland's ruling party leader said Friday that Polish voters will be asked to decide whether they support the sell-off of state-owned enterprises in a referendum, saying it would be about “whether the wealth of generations will remain in Polish hands.”
The move came as the conservative ruling party, Law and Justice, stepped up its attacks on the main opposition leader, Donald Tusk, ahead of parliamentary elections in the fall, which the president scheduled this week for Oct. 15.
Law and Justice has for some time expressed a wish to hold a referendum on the topic of migration alongside the election.
Critics view the plans to hold referendums on such emotional issues as an effort by the ruling party to mobilize its conservative base as its seeks an unprecedented third straight term. The party is leading in the polls but cannot be assured of an outright majority.
Law and Justice party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski said Friday that the party now plans more than one referendum question.
Kaczynski, who is also the deputy prime minister, made the announcement in a video posted to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. He said the first referendum question would say: “Do you support the sell-off of state-owned enterprises?” The graphic showed the question as it would look on a ballot, with a red X appearing in the ”No" box.
He then linked privatization efforts to Tusk, his main competitor, a former prime minister who leads the pro-business Civic Platform party. Civic Platform, a center-right party, governed from 2007 to 2015. The party is now running at the head of a four-party electoral coalition called Civic Coalition that includes the Greens and socially liberal parties, and has shifted somewhat to the left.
Law and Justice has long tried to portray Tusk, a former president of the European Council, as a politician who serves the interests of Germany, the Western neighbor who inflicted atrocities on occupied Poland during World War II but which is now an ally in NATO and the European Union.
During a meeting with voters last month Kaczynski said: “Donald Tusk is a true enemy of the Polish nation! This man should not rule Poland. Let him take his politics to his Germany, and let him do harm there, not here.”
Opponents of the ruling party denounce the way it uses state resources, including public TV, to demonize its opponents, particularly Tusk, who was an anti-communist activist before the fall of communism in Poland and who portrays himself as a Polish patriot.
In his new video, Kaczynski said the referendum was aimed at putting decisions in the hands of Poles.
“For us, the voice of normal Poles is decisive. The voice of foreign politicians, including Germans, is of no importance, that is why in key issues we want to appeal to you directly, in a referendum," Kaczynski said.
"You decide whether the wealth of generations will remain in Polish hands," he said.
Critics denounced the referendum as hypocrisy. Some noted that the ruling party, known by its Polish initials PiS, has itself sold off state assets, including part of the state oil company Lotos, on terms viewed as unfavorable to Poland.
“This referendum is one big PiS scam,” said Malgorzata Kidawa-Blonska, the deputy parliament speaker. “They sold Lotos to the Saudis for a song, and now they will brazenly ask Poles what they think about it? Liars and manipulators.”
The daily paper Rzeczpospolita argued that the ruling party was damaging its own campaign by drawing attention to the Lotos sale. It also pointed out that past privatizations of communist-era companies brought investment and raised the technical level of Polish enterprises.
“It is thanks to privatization that we are a rich country today,” economic journalist Krzysztof Adam Kowalczyk wrote.
Edit Zgut-Przybylska, a political scientist and sociologist who is a visiting fellow at the CEU Democracy Institute, said the Polish referendum echoes referendums held by Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has used them to mobilize support for anti-migrant and anti-LGBTQ+ policies amid a larger erosion of democracy.
“It has the same populist purpose: to consolidate power by polarizing society with panic-mongering disinformation,” she said.
“While Orban is depicting Brussels and Soros as the corrupt enemy, the Polish government claims the opposition is collaborating with Germany to undermine the 'will of the people,'” she argued, referring to the billionaire investor George Soros. “The overarching goal of the Polish referendum is to exploit anti-German sentiments and identity-based anxieties centered around migration.”
According to a report from state radio, Law and Justice intends to publish more videos containing referendum questions in the coming days.
Polish authorities had previously announced plans to put the issue of an EU migrant relocation scheme to a referendum to coincide with the parliamentary election.
The lower house of parliament is due to take up the issue of the referendum at a sitting next week, according to the state news agency PAP.
Chicago to fund electric stoves and heat pumps for lower-income homes
Kari Lydersen
Fri, August 11, 2023
This story was first published by Energy News Network.
Chicago is committing $15 million to help lower-income residents decarbonize their buildings, through grants for electric stoves, heat pumps and energy-efficiency measures.
The city recently issued a request for proposals from organizations that want to apply to carry out the initiative, part of larger efforts to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of buildings and curb the health and environmental justice impact of indoor gas pollution and escalating gas bills.
Mayor Brandon Johnson, who took office in May, said in a statement that the investment “is just the beginning of our commitment to implementing a just energy transition for residents and workers in our city, particularly those hit first and worst by climate change.”
The project aims to create jobs and business opportunities for BIPOC workers and entrepreneurs while making electrification accessible to low- and moderate-income residents of one- to four-unit residential buildings. It is also meant to help the city meet its 2022 goal of reducing citywide carbon emissions by 62% by 2040.
“With this RFP, the Johnson administration is showing their priorities are in the right place when it comes to tackling environmental justice and the problems of energy burden,” said Sarah Moskowitz, executive director of the Illinois Citizens Utility Board. “We already had a good feeling about the mayor and everything he’s said about building electrification and the need for healthier and more affordable energy in our homes. This underlines it.”
The initiative is expected to fund upgrades for 200 to 350 households at no cost to them by 2025, with the funding coming from the Chicago Recovery Plan, bond funds created to address the Covid pandemic’s impacts. The work will be carried out by one or more third-party providers chosen through the request for proposals, and the initiative is overseen by the city’s Department of Housing.
Equity focus
The request for proposals notes that investment will be prioritized in South Side and West Side neighborhoods where residents bear the heaviest energy burden, according to an analysis by the organization Greenlink. Those neighborhoods are also disproportionately populated by people of color and face the highest levels of housing insecurity, exacerbated by the pandemic, the request notes.
An ordinance proposed in Chicago would ban gas heating and cooking in new construction, and even without mandates, new homes are increasingly being built with electrification. But initiatives like the one outlined in the request for proposals are crucial to helping lower-income people electrify since they are less likely to live in new buildings.
“Residents who rent, are older or have lower incomes are more likely to live in older buildings with poor insulation, high utility costs and...less control over indoor air quality and temperature,” the request says.
“Small multiunit buildings are traditionally a really tough nut to crack,” said Moskowitz. “Oftentimes the inhabitants aren’t necessarily high-income but they may not qualify for other programs” for low-income residents. “This framing of the issue points to a gap. We’re excited to see the potential and what some of the responders come up with.”
Renters in such multiunit buildings are also more vulnerable to outdated energy sources and poor energy efficiency, since those are the responsibility of landlords. Moskowitz said she hopes the latest initiative and other programs can help address this “split-incentive” problem, wherein landlords may be unlikely to invest in energy efficiency if they don’t benefit from the energy savings.
Record gas rates
Advocates say residential electrification is especially important in Chicago now that utility Peoples Gas has requested record-high rate increases to fund upgrades in its system, potentially increasing the energy burden on households that already struggle to pay their bills.
Peoples Gas is requesting a $402 million rate hike through its ongoing docket before the Illinois Commerce Commission. The commission recently heard public comments on the rate case at an open forum at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
As part of the rate case, advocates are demanding more investment in energy efficiency and electrification, in part to help mitigate racial disparity in the utility’s record of utility disconnections.
Moskowitz said that if wealthier people can afford to invest in heat pumps and electric stoves, there’s a danger lower-income people will be “left behind” in the gas system and end up bearing an even larger portion of gas infrastructure costs.
“We need to do this across the board lest we end up in a situation with a small number of gas customers shouldering the cost for the entire system,” she said. “That’s a piece a lot of folks don’t get. This transition is happening, and it’s happening in an uncontrolled way that can leave swaths of the population behind.”
"Aggressive" policies
The new decarbonization initiative was modeled based on responses to a February 2023 request for information from organizations including the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance.
Last year, then–Mayor Lori Lightfoot convened a building decarbonization working group that released recommendations that guide the new initiative. The working group’s report described the recommendations as “aggressive and actionable…in a time where the funding and resources are coming online at the federal, state, and local levels to drive real change in communities.”
The city’s 2022 budget passed under Lightfoot included $188 million for decarbonization and other “green recovery” efforts, and the new initiative will build on programs including the city’s long-standing energy benchmarking program and the Retrofit Chicago program that urges building owners to reduce energy use.
The working group’s 2022 recommendations include banning gas hookups in new construction and during major renovations, as the proposed ordinance demands, and charging a “fossil fuel mitigation fee” for new construction built during a phase-in period for the ban.
The recommendations also call for a pilot project promoting heat pumps and targeting underserved communities with electrification and energy-efficiency projects.
In general, community outreach will also be crucial to make sure people are aware of opportunities that exist and to help overcome any reluctance about changing to new technologies.
“There’s definitely a big education piece that’s required,” Moskovitz said. But at the Citizens Utility Board, “we’ve been surprised at the level of interest we’re hearing from the public about going all-electric. The discourse has shifted much more quickly on that than I was expecting. We’re getting inquiries on a regular basis to our office from people who are curious about what their first steps would be if they want to get fossil gas out of their home.”
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