Female soldiers in Army special operations face rampant sexism and harassment, military report says

LOLITA C. BALDOR
Updated Mon, August 21, 2023 

FILE - Female soldiers from 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division train on a firing range while testing new body armor in Fort Campbell, Ky., Sept. 18, 2012. Female soldiers face rampant sexism, harassment and other gender-related challenges in male dominated Army special operations units, according to a report Monday, Aug. 21, 2023, eight years after the Pentagon opened all combat jobs to women. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File) 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Female soldiers face rampant sexism, harassment and other gender-related challenges in male dominated Army special operations units, according to a report Monday, eight years after the Pentagon opened all combat jobs to women.

U.S. Army Special Operations Command, in a lengthy study, reported a wide range of “overtly sexist” comments from male soldiers, including a broad aversion to females serving in commando units. The comments, it said, are “not outliers” but represent a common sentiment that women don't belong on special operations teams.

"The idea that women are equally as physically, mentally and emotionally capable to perform majority of jobs is quite frankly ridiculous,” said one male commenter. Others said they'd quit before serving on a team with a female, and that serving in such a situation it would create problems and jealousy among their wives.

The blunt and sometimes crass comments ring familiar to many who have watched the difficult transition as women moved into the military's front line combat jobs. And they paint a disturbing, challenging picture for leaders.

The exhaustive report surveyed more than 5,000 people assigned to Army special operations forces units, including 837 female troops, 3,238 male troops and the rest defense civilians.

It revealed that “the vast majority” of the negative attitudes toward women serving in special operations “unfortunately did come from senior noncommissioned officers. So it does seem to indicate that it is generational,” Command Sgt. Maj. JoAnn Naumann, the most senior enlisted soldier in the command, said in a call with reporters Monday about the findings.

However the negative sentiments revealed the 2023 report echo sharp opposition voiced by special operations troops across the services in 2015, when surveyed on whether women should serve in the dangerous commando jobs. Later that year, in a landmark decision, then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter ordered all combat jobs open to women.

That change followed three years of study and debate, and reflected a formal recognition that thousands of women had served — and many were wounded or killed — on battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since then, women have made significant strides throughout the military, gaining high level command posts, but the report underscores that significant biases remain.

“I think people’s perspectives change when they interact and see the awesome soldiers that are out there,” said Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga, USASOC commander. “I’m talking about personal interactions that I’ve had with female special operations aviators that have performed some of the most daring denied-area-of-penetration rotary wing insertions in history,” Braga said, referring to how special operations pilots carry forces into areas where they are under fire or under threat.

"I don’t think anyone in the back of this helicopter is like, ’Man, I wish there was a male pilot. No, they want them to be an awesome pilot.”

Two years ago, Army special operations leaders ordered a study to identify and eliminate barriers to females serving in their force. USASOC is the first to do this type of study of its specialized force. It's unclear if other services will do similar reviews.

The Army study focused on women serving in operational roles such as Green Berets, Ranger Regiment, aviation and psychological and civil affairs teams. The study and meetings, however, also included women in a wide array of support jobs such as engineers, mechanics, fuelers and communications and intelligence personnel who work with or sometimes accompany commandos on missions. The recommended changes are designed to benefit all females in the command.

The report, which is only now being released, identified a number of major issues, as female soldiers complained of sexism, isolation, poor-fitting and inadequate equipment, and lack of child care and health care, particularly involving pregnancy. They also expressed an overwhelming belief that they are passed over for jobs that are then given to less qualified men and that they have to do more and be perfect to get respect.

“I have to work hard to prove my excellence, while men have to work hard to prove their mediocrity,” one female soldier said.

Many male soldiers said female soldiers are respected and have the same chance for promotions as men. But the numbers dip when asked if woman have equal skills.

One male soldier dismissed any idea that women were pursuing career goals, saying women asking for special operations assignments “are looking for a husband, boyfriend or attention.” But there also were some who countered that men with negative opinions hadn't worked with women, and that once they did they would realize their value.

All together there are roughly 2,200 female soldiers in USASOC — or nearly 8% of the 29,000 active duty soldiers. There also are 427 female civilians. Of the 2,200, a bit more than 250 are in what would be considered operational jobs with the Green Berets, the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, the Ranger Regiment and psychological and civil affairs teams.

Four women have passed the grueling course to become Green Berets, and several are serving in those jobs. Seven females are serving in the Ranger Regiment, which totals about 3,000 soldiers.

The report made 42 recommendations. Several involving increased training and messages to the force to expand awareness of sexual harassment, mentorship, health care and other issues, have been done. Other changes are in progress.

Overall, the report said that gender bias is “deeply embedded” in staffing and equipping the special operations force.

And, it reflected confusion. While there is solid agreement that standards cannot be lowered for females, many interpret that as prohibiting any gender-specific accommodations.

“Women may require different tools than men to perform the same task,” the report said. “A mentality change is necessary to modify the archaic attitude that supplying tools to female service members is an act of accommodation versus simply providing our warfighters with the right tools for the job.”

Key examples are body armor, helmets and rucksacks that are often too big for female soldiers and small-stature men. The Army has been struggling for years to address the body armor problems, and two years ago began distributing short and longer small-sized protective vests and combat shirts designed to better fit women.

The new report, however, said that USASOC has too few of those scalable vests, and efforts to address the helmets and rucksacks are ongoing.

Sexual harassment is a common, but complicated complaint.

While nearly every woman in focus groups said she had experienced sexual harassment, only 30% called it a challenge and very few were willing to report or publicly acknowledge it. According to the report, 25 sexual harassment complaints were filed by female special operations command soldiers between 2016 to 2020.

Women said they fear reprisal and don't trust commanders to take action because of a “good ol' boys club.” And female officers said they're told to develop a “thick skin” so they can survive in a man's world.

In contrast, male soldiers said that sexual harassment training has made them fear interaction with women because a joke or comment could end their careers.

___

AP writer Tara Copp contributed to this report

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
Teva to pay $225M to settle cholesterol drug price-fixing charges

The Associated Press
Mon, August 21, 2023 

FILE - An Israeli flag flies outside a Teva Pharmaceutical Industries building on Dec. 14, 2017, in Neot Hovav, Israel. The generic drug maker Teva Pharmaceuticals agreed Monday, Aug. 21, 2023, to pay $225 million to settle price-fixing charges related to sales of a major cholesterol-lowering drug. The U.S. Department of Justice said the agreement also requires Teva to divest its business making and selling the drug, pravastatin, a generic version of the brand-name medicine Pravachol.

 (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The generic drug maker Teva Pharmaceuticals agreed Monday to pay $225 million to settle price-fixing charges related to sales of a major cholesterol-lowering drug. The U.S. Department of Justice said the agreement also requires Teva to divest its business making and selling the drug, pravastatin, a generic version of the brand-name medicine Pravachol.

Another generic drug maker, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, agreed to pay a $30 million criminal penalty and to divest its pravastatin business as well.

In a statement, the U.S. arm of Israel-based Teva blamed a single former employee for striking agreements with Teva competitors that limited competition between 2013 and 2015. That employee left the company in 2016, Teva said.

DOJ had charged seven generic drug makers, including Teva and Glenmark, with price fixing, bid rigging and market allocation schemes. The seven companies have settled their cases with deferred prosecution agreements. Had any of the cases gone to trial, guilty verdicts could have led to mandatory bans from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other federal health programs.

The companies collectively agreed to pay $681 million in fines in addition to other penalties.

Rolling blackouts, sudden shutdowns: Extreme heat boils — and roils — the Middle East

Nabih Bulos
Tue, August 22, 2023 

Iraqis swim in the Tigris River to beat the heat in Baghdad in July. (Hadi Mizban / Associated Press)


At the beginning of this month, as a thermal dome pushed temperatures in parts of the Middle East past 122 degrees, Iran ordered a two-day shutdown of schools, banks and public institutions, which helped relieve the burden on the nation's faltering power grid.

Authorities in Iraq did much the same in the country's sizzling southern regions a few days later, while Jordan, where such shutdowns are rare, decreed work stoppages during peak heat hours.

Last week, Egypt told public employees to work from home one day a week until September. The government has rationed electricity since July, with rolling blackouts that have left many Egyptians sweaty and frustrated.

The Egyptian government has rationed power amid the summer's extreme heat. Above, electricity pylons along a highway outside Cairo. (Khaled Desouki / AFP/Getty Images)

As the world grows hotter and blistering summer days become routine, the task of supplying electricity is becoming an increasingly intractable problem across the Middle East. Soaring demand for cooling — fans, air conditioners, fridges and freezers — is overtaxing electrical grids long beset by war damage, mismanagement or corruption.


And it's set to get worse. Already, the heat index, which measures the combined effect of temperature and humidity, has reached 152 degrees in some parts of the region, near the limits of human tolerance. Scientists predict that by 2050 much of the Middle East will suffer extreme heat — defined as an average annual temperature of around 84 degrees. A recent study in the journal Lancet Planet Health looking four decades into the future found that for every 100,000 people in the region, 123 will suffer heat-related deaths each year — more than 60 times the current rate.

"People are hiding inside their homes from the heat," said Saleh Ubaidi, a Baghdad-based chef who recently shut down his restaurant for the season because people were not venturing outside.

A thermal dome at the beginning of August pushed temperatures in parts of the Middle East past 122 degrees. Above, an Egyptian boy seeks relief from the heat in July. (Ahmed Gomaa / Xinhua)

Even nations with the capacity to provide more power balk at the higher costs or have to contend with infrastructure that's simply not designed to cope with the increased stress of working harder for longer under hotter conditions. But failing to supply electricity carries economic and political risks, especially for nations whose authoritarian regimes have governed according to a simple rule: cheap basic services in exchange for public quiescence. In recent years, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria have all seen protests ignite over issues of power provision.

"Part of the social contract with the government was services for the people, to silence them," said Ahmed Tabaqchali, an Iraqi economic expert.

In this summer's extraordinary heat, many Middle Eastern countries have instead resorted to mandatory work furloughs or power cuts, cannibalizing parts of their economies to save power — and money.

Read more:July was the planet's hottest month on record — so far

Egypt is a prime example, critics say.

On paper, the Arab world's most populous nation should have no problem meeting amped-up demand. Not only is it a gas exporter, but it achieved electrical self-sufficiency a few years ago after investing about $11.5 billion and building more than 30 power stations, including a flagship project by German giant Siemens. The country's 6,000-megawatt deficit turned into a 13,000-megawatt surplus.

Nevertheless, after a series of blackouts when the temperatures in Cairo flirted with the 99-degree mark in July, the government introduced hourlong power cuts.

Many complain that the rationing is unequal. In recent weeks, Egyptians living in rural and poorer areas have posted on social media about outages frequently lasting longer than an hour or occurring multiple times a day on erratic schedules. Workdays have been disrupted. Elevator rides have become a game of chance, with losers sometimes posting videos of their predicaments.

"It's an issue that's not only affecting the poor — they get more power cuts — but it's also affecting the class that's vocal on social media and who were once supporters of the regime," said one Cairo activist and blogger who uses the pen name Big Pharaoh. Fearing harassment from authorities, he declined to give his name.

"They pay every month a hefty amount of money in electricity bills. Now they're complaining."

Meanwhile, Egypt's Mediterranean and Red Sea coasts, where tourists and rich Egyptians spend the hard currency that the cash-strapped state prizes, enjoy uninterrupted power. And there's widespread suspicion that the government, facing weak production in its gas fields, is limitingdomestic gas use in order to export surplus supply.

"In many countries there's been injustice in the power provision, and the governments would prefer any kind of economic benefit rather than reliable service to their own constituents," said Jessica Obeid, a founding partner of New Energy Consult, which focuses on energy-related matters in the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

"It's a reflection of the government's desperation in protecting what hard currency it has left," added Timothy Kaldas, deputy director of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy in Washington.

But a strategy of shutdowns and public holidays comes with knock-on economic effects that risk negating any benefit.

"The very, very crude sort of assessment of the impact is that ... a holiday means people don't work, and you lose 1/365th of your annual gross domestic product," said Ziad Daoud, chief emerging markets economist for Bloomberg Economics.

Even for those sectors that continue operating, Daoud added, "productivity is already lower in hot climates, and if you remove the air conditioning, productivity will be massively hit. That's the broad picture."

Read more:As temperatures soared in Europe last year, so did heat-related deaths

Another danger is political and social unrest, as people become frustrated with their governments' inability to provide power.

Iran, which possesses the world's second-largest gas reserves, is also the eighth-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases — China and the U.S. occupy the top spots — in part because of its generous fuel subsidy and its reliance on energy-hungry industries such as steel, iron, cement and cryptocurrency mining.

With electricity consumption peaking at a record 72,500 megawatts each day, according to state media, the government called on people last month to curb usage. It framed the nationwide shutdowns as a request from the country's Health Ministry because of "unprecedented heat."

A fire blazes on a hillside in the southern Lebanese town of Ibl al-Saqi during a heat wave in July 2023. (Ali Dia / AFP/Getty Images)

But for many Iranians, that justification rings false and seems more of an excuse from a government wary of a resurgence of the protests that gripped the country for months after the death last year of a young woman in the custody of Tehran's morality police.

Many Iranians pointed out that temperatures, though searing, were no worse than last year and that parts of the country relatively unaffected by the heat wave shouldn't need to shut down. The real reason, they said, is that the country's energy network, which has fallen into disrepair after years of international sanctions, can no longer cope with demand — another problem caused by an obstinate leadership more interested in applying religious dogma than making the diplomatic outreach that could bring relief.

In many Middle Eastern nations, said Tabaqchali, the Iraqi economic expert, the failure to provide sufficient power is rooted in a problem older than climate change: traditionally low electricity prices and the state's inability to collect payments.

Read more:113 degrees at work, failing AC at home: Farmworkers can’t escape life-threatening heat

Jordan maintains 24-hour electricity but charges some of the highest prices in the region. With this summer's record heat and increased demand, the government has had to come up with ways, such as variable pricing based on time of day, to ensure that the expense does not become overwhelming.

In Lebanon, power outages have been a fact of life for decades, forcing people to rely on private providers such as Ali, a 25-year-old who keeps watch over four rows of beige-colored breakers, a mosaic of switches and a spaghetti bowl of wires and cables that form the nervous system of a mini-electric grid. The setup delivers power from a pair of generators to about 1,200 people across 11 neighborhoods in Beirut's eastern districts.

But this summer has turned out to be a bigger challenge than usual. June and July reached new heights of hot, and August has been just as bad. Ali, who asked that his last name not be used for reasons of privacy, has already activated both of his hulking diesel generators, but he fears a catastrophic breakdown because of the debilitating heat.

"You see them melting," he said of the mini-grid's cables. "We had a fire with one air conditioning unit, and the cables — they're in the sun all day so they're already hot — ignited. We had to change more than 1,100 feet of wiring."

Read more:Her bedroom was 100 degrees during Phoenix heat wave — and her A/C was out

Lebanon's problems go beyond power generation, said Obeid of New Energy Consult. The grid, through a combination of technical and nontechnical issues, loses almost half the load in delivery.

"It's 14% to18% loss due to technical issues, meaning wires, aging substations. The rest is stolen," she said.

Similar problems bedevil Iraq, where — despite its gargantuan oil wealth — consistent state-provided electricity remains an unattainable goal more than 20 years after the U.S.-led invasion of the country. Last month, a fire broke out at a major power station in the southern city of Basra, leaving the area in a "total shutdown," according to a statement from the Ministry of Electricity — an example of the country's dilapidated infrastructure unable to bear the peak load of 32,000 megawatts each day during the heat.

Summers are traditionally a stress test for any Iraqi government; lack of power is a frequent impetus for protests. Though the country's southern regions are the richest in oil, they have some of the worst service, said Naseer Baqer, a climate activist in Dhi Qar province.

"The equation is simple: The hotter it is, the fewer hours of state power we get," he said. With Dhi Qar breaching the 120-degree mark, residents were getting eight to 10 hours of electricity a day.

"And it's all intermittent. You can't turn on the air conditioner without state power, and you don't know when you'll get it and how long it stays," Baqer said.

Ubaidi, the Baghdad chef who recently closed his restaurant, depends on generators for cooling, since government-supplied electricity is too unreliable.

"The generator is a partner in your business," he said. "You work and give it a cut, whether you rent the place or own it."

PERMANENT ARMS ECONOMY

Chinese weapons supplier Norinco expands influence in West Africa, challenging Russia and France


South China Morning Post
Mon, August 21, 2023 

China is expanding its military and security engagement into West Africa, with Chinese state-owned defence conglomerate Norinco opened a sales office in Dakar, Senegal, challenging French and Russian arms suppliers.

Analysts said China North Industries Corporation, or Norinco, would use the new office to help expand its military procurement operations in the region, where China has vast economic interests, including in countries such as Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Guinea, which have recently been hit by military coups.

According to defence publication Military Africa, Norinco also aims to set up operations in Mali and Ivory Coast - countries where the Chinese military contractor already has market presence through the sale of arms. It also plans to establish centres for maintenance, repair, and overhaul of vehicles and military equipment in those West African countries. Norinco already has regional offices in Nigeria, Angola and South Africa.

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Early this year, Norinco supplied Senegal with VN2 armoured infantry fighting vehicles and other reconnaissance vehicles, according to Military Africa. The Chinese company is also reportedly in discussions with the Senegalese government to supply light weaponry and ammunition for the country's environment ministry, the publication reported.

Chinese arms manufacturers, including Norinco, want to increase market share at a time when the war in Ukraine has significantly cut Moscow's ability to supply African countries, according to observers.

France has also lost clout since the military junta in Mali and Burkina Faso pushed French forces out and the Russian-linked Wagner Group mercenaries moved in to fill the gap.

Paul Nantulya, a China specialist at the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies in Washington, said that initially China was reticent to be seen as challenging French military influence in West Africa, especially in former French colonies.

Chinese ties were complicated by linguistic barriers. However, these impediments had slowly been overcome and Norinco in particular had been at the front of China's efforts to build and expand military and security ties, Nantulya said.

"The move to establish a sales office in Dakar is basically meant to capitalise on and expand this business, particularly in light of the heavy sanctions Russian defence firms have incurred and the growing mood of anti-French sentiment in the region that could complicate France's role as the pre-eminent military partner to many of those countries," Nantulya said.


He said there had been growing militarisation in aspects of Chinese-African engagement as well as a growing willingness by Chinese defence firms to more boldly challenge their Western counterparts for business, influence, strengthened partnerships and to position China as a partner of choice.

He said the Chinese company had been supplying West Africa with various military products such as battleships, offshore patrol vessels, man-portable air-defence systems, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), armoured vehicles, battle tanks, combat aircraft (jets and trainers), large artillery and transport aircraft.


China arms supplier Norinco is angling to expand its reach in Africa amid anti-French sentiment there, which saw French forces in Mali pushed out and Russian Wagner Group mercenaries enter (pictured). Photo: French Army via AP alt=China arms supplier Norinco is angling to expand its reach in Africa amid anti-French sentiment there, which saw French forces in Mali pushed out and Russian Wagner Group mercenaries enter (pictured). Photo: French Army via AP>

According to the Chinese Loans to Africa Database at Boston University's Global Development Policy Centre, between 2000 and 2020, China advanced 27 defence loans to eight African countries worth US$3.5 billion. Most of the money - US$2.1 billion - was advanced to Zambia for aircraft, fighter jet trainers and military equipment, and to build military and police residential housing.

David Shinn, a China-Africa expert and professor at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, said Norinco had been a major arms supplier to African countries for many years and working constantly to increase sales across the continent.

"The new office in Dakar is part of this wider effort," Shinn said.

He said Russia had historically been the main arms supplier to Africa but the war in Ukraine had reduced its ability to do this, opening the door for Chinese arms manufacturers, including Norinco, to increase market share at the expense of Russian companies.

"China is trying to increase both the quantity and sophistication of weapons that it sells to African countries," Shinn said. "These deals sometimes result in long-term supply and training arrangements that lead to increased security cooperation between African militaries and the PLA [People's Liberation Army]."

Luke Patey, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, said China had established a strong foothold in Africa's arms scene and Norinco was at the forefront of those effects.

"The rise of new conflicts and insurgencies on the continent produces expanding business opportunities for Chinese arms dealers," Patey said.

Regional offices like Norinco's new outfit in Senegal, he said, provided a steady environment to sell weaponry, equipment and vehicles to both stable regional governments but also those under siege, such as in Mali.

Patey said that since arms require training, parts and servicing, Norinco's new deals would deepen China's reach in West Africa and elsewhere for years to come.

Francois Vrey, a professor of military science and research coordinator at the Security Institute for Governance and Leadership in Africa at Stellenbosch University, said armament companies opened offices where they viewed potential markets, and to offer support to clients buying their products. He said the latter then became part of packages offered to clients.

Besides the supply of arms and military weapons, Norinco is also a big player in contracting in many African countries, such as in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's mining industry, and it recently won a US$1.2 billion contract for the construction of a crude oil pipeline in South Sudan.

Huibang Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Norinco, will serve as the engineering, procurement and contracting company. In June, Norinco was also among four companies that were shortlisted to buy Zambia's Mopani Copper Mines.

Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Germany's climate efforts not enough to hit 2030 targets, experts say Reuters

Tue, August 22, 2023 

BERLIN, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Germany's greenhouse emissions gap will probably be bigger than the government's estimates in 2030 even if planned emission reduction measures are fully implemented, a council of climate experts that advises the government said on Tuesday.

The largest economy in Europe aims to cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 65% by 2030 compared with 1990. The country's CO2 levels last year were already 40% below the 1990 level.

The German government's planned CO2 cuts for the energy and industrial sector could cut emissions significantly, but the buildings and transport sectors' efforts are lagging, the council said in a report.

"The expected overall reduction is probably overestimated," Hans-Martin Henning, the council's chairman, said in a statement.

Even if all the measures are implemented, the buildings sector will have a CO2 gap of 35 million tonnes by 2030, while the transport sector is expected to miss the target with excess emissions of 117 million to 191 million tonnes.

Watering down a bill that aimed to phase out oil and gas heating systems will also contribute to the lower cuts in the building sector, the report showed.

That sector emitted 112 million tonnes of greenhouse gases last year, or 15% of the total, but the scope of a rule phasing out the use of fossil fuels in heating systems in old buildings in favour of ones that run with 65% renewable energy from 2024 was significantly limited by a push from the pro-business Free Democratic Party to amend the initial bill.

The transport ministry's assumptions on the effectiveness of the planned measures for cutting emissions are also "optimistic," the council said.

"There is a lack of a coherent and consistent overall concept and an overarching framework of measures," the report concluded. (Reporting by Riham Alkousaa; Editing by Paul Simao)

How wealthy "super emitters" are disproportionately driving the climate crisis — while blaming you

Matthew Rozsa

SALON
Tue, August 22, 2023 

Climate Change Protest Make Polluters Pay Sign Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Climate change is primarily caused by humans burning fossil fuels, as well as other activities that produce greenhouse gases. But that blame is not evenly distributed amongst the entire human species.

A recent study published in the journal PLOS Climate emphasizes that the society's elites are disproportionately responsible for the extreme weather events linked to climate change like heatwaves, droughts, floods, tropical storms, hurricanes and rising sea levels. Indeed, as corresponding author Jared Starr described American greenhouse gas pollution, "the top 1% of households are responsible for more emissions (15-17%) than the lower earning half of American households put together (14% of national emissions)."

"Our study is the first to link US households to the greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution generated when creating their incomes," Starr, a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst's Department of Environmental Conservation, told Salon in an email. "I think this offers a fundamentally different perspective on carbon pollution responsibility and new insights into emissions inequality. We found that the highest earning top 10% of households are responsible for about 40% of U.S. GHG."

Although the United States only includes roughly five percent of the world's population, it is accountable for more than a quarter of the activity fueling climate change. This is in large part because of America's dominance as the world's foremost economic power — a dominance reflected in its large investor class, which because of its wealth is figuratively steering Earth off of the climate cliff.

"For the first time, we also quantify the share of emissions related to investment," Starr explained. "The share of emissions coming from investments increases as we move up the income ladder. For the top 0.1% households, more than half of their emissions are coming from investment income." Starr used a visual analogy to illustrate his point.

"If we picture this on a graph and imagine the bottom 10% households' emissions (1.6 metric tons) are the size of average home, then the top 1 percent's emissions would be the size of [five] Empire State buildings stacked on top of each other and the top 0.1%'s emissions would be taller than Mount Everest," Starr told Salon. "This scale of emissions inequality was unknown before our study. I think it is a climate justice issue and it poses a fundamental challenge to our political system to respond to this level of emissions disparity."

The study has a term for the super-rich who emit so much carbon: "super-emitters," which covers households with emissions greater than 3,000 metric tons of CO2 per year. As the authors write, "For pre-tax income, we estimate about 43,200 U.S. households or 34% of the top 0.1% households are super emitters with the supplier framework." They pointed out that "almost all super emitting households come from the top 0.1% income group" and "had average incomes of over $10.6 million (supplier) and $11.5 (producer)." Overall "in 2019, fully 40% of total U.S. emissions were associated with income flows to the highest earning 10% of households."

Dr. Michael E. Mann, a professor of Earth and Environmental Science at the University of Pennsylvania, wrote a 2021 book called "The New Climate War" that discussed how climate change "inactivists" (fossil fuel businesses, political conservatives and others financially or ideologically inclined to oppose climate change science) spread misinformation about climate change to muddle the public discourse. The book specifically delves into how these groups falsely claim that all of humanity is collectively responsible for this pollution crisis — therefore making it seem like an individual problem where rich and poor alike are equally culpable — as opposed to a crisis predominantly caused by the wealthy's behavior.

"The inequality in energy use is a great argument for progressive climate pricing," Mann, was not involved in the recent study, told Salon. "For example, Canada has instituted a progressive carbon tax where revenue is preferentially returned to low-income earners and families."

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Mann added that "the solution to the climate crisis isn't going to be voluntary behavioral change — it's going to have to be systemic change, including climate policies such as a carbon tax, fee and dividend, etc. that disincentivize carbon-intensive lifestyles." He also pointed out that when people talk about lifestyle changes, it's important to stress that only the super-affluent should be making those sacrifices. "If we want a just transition, we need to make sure that the pricing structure is progressive, so low income earners who have had the least role in creating this problem not only avoid financial hardship but potentially benefit financially," Mann wrote.

As Starr explained, the new study provides crucial support to the observation Mann and other climate scientists have made about the scientific evidence: It simply does not support the notion that individual choices make much of a difference when it comes to stopping the overheating of the planet. Only the wealthy can make that difference.

"I think for the last couple decades the dominant cultural argument has been that fixing climate change is everyone's responsibility and that if we just make different choices as consumers then we can 'fix this,'" Starr told Salon. "I think we should all obviously try to make less carbon intensive choices as consumers. But as consumers we often have very limited choices, time, knowledge, etc. over the carbon content of the goods and services we buy. This is not a problem that individual consumers can solve alone — it is a systemic problem." Because fossil fuel use is baked into our current economic system, the vast majority of people are disempowered even as a small group of Americans become "exceedingly rich."

"While we all may bear some responsibility for climate change, our work shows that very wealthy households should bear the majority of responsibility, since these emissions are occurring to enrich them and they are reaping the most benefits," Starr pointed out. "While we often think in this 'consumer responsibility' way, when we think about why businesses actually produce goods and services it isn't to benefit the consumer, but to create value for shareholders (shareholder primacy)."

The study also identified racial inequities in how different groups are responsible for carbon emissions, reporting that Black households, on average, have a carbon footprint of 19 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent from both supplier and producer emissions. In comparison, White Hispanic households show slightly higher emissions with 26 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent from suppliers and 25 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent from producers but the most significant emissions can be observed within White non-Hispanic households. They have 40 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent from suppliers and 36 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent from producers.

This is not the first study to demonstrate that wealthy individuals are literally destroying the planet. A study from earlier this year in the journal Nature Sustainability demonstrated that "urban elites are able to overconsume water while excluding less-privileged populations from basic access." Similarly, a study from the journal Cleaner Production Letters found that wealthy individuals produce more greenhouse gases than poor individuals, particularly due to their extensive use of private aircraft and yachts, as well as their massive real estate holdings all over the planet. Meanwhile in 2020, a study in the journal Nature Communications detailed how the "affluent citizens of the world are responsible for most environmental impacts and are central to any future prospect of retreating to safer environmental conditions."

Starr was unambiguous when describing to Salon the political implications of the latest scientific evidence.

"What we have done in this study is revealed to the public and policymakers the scale of emissions disparity," Starr pointed out, adding that the research is open source and available to the public. "Let the political class have that information and then explain to the rest of the public why they think it is ok for a small group of people to enrich themselves while leaving the rest of society and future generations an uninhabitable planet. Let them show the other 99% of us whose interests they are there to represent. And let us hold them to political account for their choice."

Read more

about climate change

• "Cautious optimism" about fighting climate change: Salon talks with author of "The New Climate War"

• The affluent are consuming the planet to death: study

• What climate change deniers get totally wrong about the Little Ice Age

Polar opposite candidates set to vie for Ecuador presidency

Paola LOPEZ
Mon, August 21, 2023 

Ecuadorian presidential candidate Luisa Gonzalez has positioned herself as the defender of ex-president Rafael Correa's socialist legacy (Galo Paguay)

Ecuador is preparing for a presidential run-off election that will pit leftist frontrunner Luisa Gonzalez against the son of one of the country's richest men.

Daniel Noboa, 35, emerged from political obscurity with 24 percent of the vote despite not figuring as a favorite in opinion polls.

Gonzalez, a protege of ex-president Rafael Correa, has positioned herself as a defender of the country's social legacy.

Her main competition initially appeared to be anti-corruption candidate and former journalist Fernando Villavicencio until he was murdered on the campaign trail just 11 days before polls opened, marring the vote and raising questions over national security.

Once a peaceful haven, the small South American country has in recent years become a playground for foreign drug mafias seeking to export cocaine from its shores, stirring up a brutal war between local gangs.

The October 15 run-off election will choose who completes the term of unpopular conservative leader Guillermo Lasso, who called snap polls to avoid a possible impeachment trial for embezzlement.

- Socialist mentor -

Gonzalez, a lawyer, is the only woman to run for the presidency and has said her main advisor is Correa, who used an oil bonanza to fund high government spending during his 2007-2017 administration.

The ex-president -- who has lived in exile in Belgium since 2017 -- was sentenced in absentia to eight years in prison for corruption over public contracts.

Gonzalez, an avid cyclist and marathon runner, previously served as an assemblywoman and advisor to Correa.

She has said her priority will be to regain security in a country where the homicide rate doubled in 2022, after reaching 26 violent deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.

"We are going to rebuild that dignified homeland, that safe homeland, that homeland of peace, of love, of tranquillity," she said in celebration of her first-round victory.

- Father's blessing -

Noboa, the son of five-time failed candidate Alvaro Noboa, could become the youngest president in the country’s modern history after shocking the electorate with his surprise performance.

Rising from political obscurity, Noboa was catapulted into the limelight after he showed up to the only televised presidential debate wearing a bulletproof vest, claiming he had received death threats.

His father, who amassed a fortune selling bananas and boats, ran against Correa in 2006.

The elder Noboa wrote to his eldest son: "You were with me, now I am with you to achieve the deserved victory."

After receiving his father's blessing, the businessman replied: "God has given us the strength to work for the country, we have it in our blood, our only passion is to serve."

He has said he will prioritize job creation and vowed to roll out tax incentives and credit facilities to help small businesses.

Married with two children, Noboa studied Business Administration at New York University and obtained a degree in Public Administration from Harvard's Kennedy School.

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Spotless giraffe, thought to be only one in world, born at Tennessee zoo

Oliver Milman
Mon, August 21, 2023 

One of the rarest sights in the animal kingdom has appeared in the unlikely setting of a Tennessee zoo, which has hosted the birth of what is thought to be the world’s only singularly colored giraffe.

The female giraffe, born on 31 July, is a uniform brown color, lacking the distinctive patched pattern that giraffes – along with their exceptionally long necks – are known for. Brights zoo said the giraffe is already 6ft tall and is under the care of her mother and zoo staff.

The zoo believes the giraffe is one of a kind, given that giraffes are very rarely born without their mottled appearance, which primarily serves as a form of camouflage in the wild.

Related: Japanese man lives dog’s life in long-haired collie suit – in pictures

The skin under the spots also has a system of blood vessels that allows giraffes to release heat through the center of each patch, providing a form of thermal regulation.

Each giraffe – apart from the Tennessee newcomer – has a unique pattern of patches, with researchers believing that these patterns are inherited from their mothers.

Brights zoo said it hoped the unusual birth would help highlight the challenges faced by giraffes in the world. The world’s tallest animal is threatened by the fragmentation of its habitat in Africa, as well as from illicit poaching.

“The international coverage of our patternless baby giraffe has created a much-needed spotlight on giraffe conservation,” the founder of Brights zoo, Tony Bright, said to the local television news station WCYB. “Wild populations are silently slipping into extinction, with 40% of the wild giraffe population lost in just the last three decades.”

The zoo has announced a contest for the public to name the new giraffe. The shortlisted options are Kipekee, which means “unique” in Swahili; Firayali, which means unusual; Shakiri, which means “she is most beautiful”; and Jamella, which is “one of great beauty”.

Crying wolf to save livestock and their predator

Nina LARSON
Mon, August 21, 2023

Swiss NGO OPPAL has enlisted hundreds of volunteers this summer to chase predatory wolves away from grazing livestock (Fabrice COFFRINI)

Using a powerful torch, Aliki Buhayer-Mach momentarily drenches a nearby mountain top in light, straining to see if wolves are lurking in the shadows.

If the predator were to get past the electric wires stretched around this high-altitude pasture in the Swiss Alps, the 57-year-old biologist knows "it would be a massacre".

She and her 60-year-old husband Francois Mach-Buhayer -- a leading Swiss cardiologist -- have settled in to spend the night watching over some 480 sheep grazing in the remote mountains near the Italian border.

The pair of unlikely herders are among several hundred people volunteering this summer through OPPAL, a Swiss NGO seeking a novel way to protect wolves, by helping chase them away from grazing livestock.

"Our goal is that by the end of the summer season, the livestock are still alive... and the wolves too," OPPAL director Jeremie Moulin told AFP.

He co-founded the organisation three years ago in a bid to help promote and improve cohabitation between wildlife and human activities, at a time when swelling wolf populations had emotions running high.

"I think this project helps enable dialogue," Moulin said.

- Soaring wolf attacks -

After being wiped out more than a century ago, wolves have in recent decades begun returning to Switzerland, like several other European countries.

Since the first pack was spotted in the wealthy Alpine nation in 2012, the number of packs swelled to around two dozen by the start of this year, with some 250 individual wolves counted.

Nature preservation groups have hailed the return, seeing it as a sign of a healthier and more diverse ecosystem.

But breeders and herders decry soaring attacks on livestock, with 1,480 farm animals killed by wolves in Switzerland last year alone.

In response, Swiss authorities, who in 2022 authorised the cull of 24 wolves and regulation of four packs, last month relaxed the rules for hunting the protected species.

And with news of wolf attacks on livestock dominating the summer headlines, the Swiss Farmers' Union has urged more hunting permits to be issued to take advantage of the laxer ordinance.

"Rangers alone will not be enough to bring exponentially growing wolf populations back under control and reduce them to a manageable density," it said.

Moulin said he understands the farmers' frustration.

"For them, the wolf obviously represents a large additional workload," he said, adding that OPPAL aimed to help sensitise the broader population to the challenges, and also provide some relief.

- 'Extremely fast' -

Up to 400 volunteers will take part in OPPAL's monitoring programme this summer, spending nights camped out in mountain pastures, watching over grazing sheep and calves.

Aliki and Francois joined from the start, and now do two five-day stints in various locations each summer.

"It's our vacation time," Francois said, looking around the desolate spot, reached after a four-hour drive from Geneva and a nearly two-hour hike up a steep, rocky path.

At 2,200 metres (7,200 feet) above sea level, temperatures quickly plunge as the sun sets.

Using a tarp, the couple have created a lookout shelter, equipped with camping chairs, thermal blankets and a propane coffee maker to get them through the night.

They have also pitched a small tent where one could theoretically rest as the other keeps watch, but acknowledge they have barely used it.

All through the frigid night, they take turns scanning the horizon with thermal, infrared binoculars every 15 minutes for signs of animals moving towards the flock of resting sheep, their bells chiming softly in the darkness.

"You have to look often, and you have to look well," Aliki said, "because the wolf can see us in the darkness and knows when to try its luck. And when it moves, it moves extremely fast."

- 'Magical' -

To frighten off a wolf, "you can't be all that scared yourself", Francois said, explaining how he and Aliki two nights earlier had chased away wolves three times in a few hours.

"It takes two people," he said. "One keeps an eye on the wolf with the binoculars, and the other runs towards the beast with the torch... and a whistle".

It is an athletic endeavour, running up mountain sides in the dark, tripping over rocks and molehills, he said. "But it is magical."

Moulin said OPPAL volunteers on average chase off wolves once every 20 nights, with 32 such events registered last year.

Shepherd Mathis von Siebenthal appreciates the effort.

"It is such a big help," he said after delivering the flock to Aliki and Francois for the night.

"If OPPAL were not here, I would be always... thinking if the wolf is coming or not," said the 36-year-old German national with a tanned, weathered face.

"Like this, I can go to sleep."

After a long, cold, uneventful night under a sky of shooting stars, Aliki said she was looking forward to getting rest at the mountain refuge about a kilometre away.

"The last two hours are the worst," she said bleary-eyed.

"Between 4:00 and 6:00 am we dream of nothing but morning, coffee, and sleep."

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COLLECTIVISM VS INDIVIDUALISM

WATCH: 50 Baboons Beat Up a Leopard

Dac Collins
Mon, August 21, 2023 

The baboons attack as a group and throw the leopard off guard.

Baboons hate leopards—and for good reason. The big cats are one of a baboon's top predators, typically hunting the primates at night by climbing the trees where they sleep in large groups. It’s a different story when the sun is out, however, and a recent video filmed in South Africa shows that the large monkeys occasionally get their revenge.

The video, which was shared to the Latest Sightings Instagram page on Aug. 15, shows a troop of 50 or so baboons attacking a leopard in the middle of the road. It was filmed in Kruger National Park by Ricky da Fonseca, according to a post on Latest Sightings.

Fonseca explained that he was in a vehicle near the Tshokwane picnic site when he spotted the large male leopard strolling near the side of a road. As the vehicle pulled over and Fonseca got his camera ready, he noticed the troop of baboons in the middle of the road. He then watched as the leopard crouched in the grass and started stalking the group.

“As the leopard closed in on the baboons, anticipation hung in the air,” Fonseca said. “Suddenly, with a burst of speed, the leopard sprang from the grass in an attempt to catch one of the baboons off guard.”

The leopard’s attempt was over before it began.

As the cat closes in on the troop, one of the biggest baboons in the group runs straight at the leopard, blocking its approach. The two collide, and by the time they hit the ground, eight or nine baboons are already on top of the leopard. The rest of the troop then turns around, and within seconds, dozens of them are biting, kicking, and tearing at the leopard while it spins around helplessly on its back. The racket of baboon screeches and leopard roars is deafening.

Read Next: Watch: Leopard Leaps Out of a Tree and Takes Down an Impala

“They attacked as a troop,” Fonseca said. “This threw the leopard off, and they capitalized, surrounding it, screaming, and biting at it. They showed no mercy at all.”

The merciless beat-down continues over the next 10 seconds as more baboons jump into the fray while the leopard tries to kick them off. The cat is eventually able to get up and run away, but as the video ends, the baboons are still chasing after it.

“With a few bruises and cuts on his body, the leopard ran off,” Fonseca said. “Surely his ego was more hurt than his body.”