Communities must get prepared for increased flooding due to climate change, expert warns

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Communities must be better prepared for flooding in their homes and businesses, an expert warns, as climate change predictions suggest more extreme flooding globally.

Floods still inflict major costs to the economies, livelihoods and wellbeing of communities, with flood risks and impacts set to increase further due to climate change (IPCC, 2021).

Professor of Environmental Management, Lindsey McEwen explains how many experts now believe local communities have critical roles as key actors within flood risk management and disaster risk reduction.

Professor McEwen, author of Flood Risk and Community Resilience, said: “Flood risks are becoming more diverse, as are the communities they affect. So the question is, how can communities become more resilient?”

Increased risk

Professor McEwen offers various studies to show more extreme flooding is likely in developed world settings, with an increasing impact on people.

As well as the growing impact of climate change, there is also an increase in the economic value of assets on floodplains. One study predicts these annual flood damages in Europe could rise from EUR 5.3 billion to 40 billion by 2050, with numbers of people affected increasing from 200 thousand to over 0.5 million.

Professor McEwen collates evidence from up-to-date research, policy, and practice literature on community-focused flood risk management and draws on over 20 years of research and experience of working with diverse at-risk communities to outline the misconceptions and barriers to risk management, and the opportunities for progress.

She says the first misconception about flood mitigation is that it can be solved purely through state-funded engineering solutions.

“Investing in large infrastructure projects as the sole flood management solution simply hasn’t reduced ecological, financial and even sentimental losses,” she explains. “Investment in defen­sive infrastructure alone, with its costs and design limits, can only be part of the solution.”

Mitigating risk

Residual risk is risk remaining after any flood risk management measures have been implemented, for example, by government agencies. Professor McEwen argues that effective risk management involves all stakeholders, with an ‘urgent imperative’ for the public to take some responsibility for residual flood risk and their own protection.

“Flood risk management is all about how we shift the focus away from reactive responses to preparation and resilience at the household and community level. Much of that residual risk management needs to happen at a local level, but people might not have the necessary information, skills or resources to do this,” she explains.

Local flood risk management involves more than just government bodies, including non-government organisations (NGOs), community flood groups, small businesses, and local cultural and media actors.

“Critical is where re­sponsibilities for mitigation of residual risk sit within the public psyche. Flood risk management, needs networks, collaboration and communication, including increasingly participation of local communities as key stakeholders. In some settings, structural measures, often implemented by government, offset design risk but residual risk remains,” she explains.

Professor McEwen argues even with non-structural flood risk management techniques, such as land-zoning, led by government or other actors, these often still require community awareness and agency to be effective, e.g. engaging with early flood warning systems.

“Even with these measures, residual flood risk remains to be dealt with by households at risk, such as through property-level protection.”

Barriers to success

One of the issues with community resilience, Professor McEwen posits, is that some people can view this as a ‘government retreat in responsibility’, rather than working alongside statutory interventions.

“A key question is how to increase community participation and agency when there is expectation of a key role of the state still pervades. There is a wider perceived disconnect between citizens and water in the developed world,” she explains.

“While effective community-focused flood risk management requires action from communities and a wider group of stakeholders, communities have variable knowledge, empowerment or resources to participate in local flood risk planning.”

It can also involve citizen involvement in wide-ranging community activities (e.g., local governance, volunteering, mutual aid and activism) working with and through community-based organisations, businesses, and non-government organisations (NGOs) involved in community development and resilience building.

Another barrier to sustainable risk management is people’s individual vulnerability, including age, health, income, isolation and housing characteristics.

Hurricanes hitting the east coast of the U.S. are frequently cited as examples of differential impacts among particular racial, ethnic, and socio-economic groups. In just two examples, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Hurricane Harvey in 2017, African Americans, non-Hispanic Black and socio-economically deprived residents were hardest hit. These groups had constrained access to resources nec­essary for response, recovery, and medical care.

“To reduce personal losses, citizens – individually and collectively – need to be aware of what can or will be done by the state, what residual risk remains, and make plans to mitigate against that remaining risk” Professor McEwen concludes.

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DOI

10.4324/9781315666914 

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAl

 

Study reveals five common ways in which the health of homeless pet owners and their companions is improved

A rapid scoping review has been conducted which reveals five common ways in which the health of homeless pet owners and their companion animals is improved. Ten percent of homeless people keep pets. But little information exists on specific interventions

CABI

A rapid scoping review has been conducted which reveals five common ways in which the health of homeless pet owners and their companion animals is improved.

Ten percent of homeless people keep pets. But little information exists on specific intervention strategies for improving the health of homeless people and their pets who are often the only source of unconditional love or companionship in their life.

The study, published in the Human-Animal Interactions journal, found that the most common ways in which homeless people are their pets are supported to live healthier lives include free veterinary clinics, join human/animal clinics, stigma reduction, interdisciplinary relationships, and pet-friendly lodging.

Lead authors Dr Michelle Kurkowski and Dr Andrew Springer said research on homeless people and their pets showed significant heterogeneity, but they stress that further programme intervention is needed to recommend intervention best practices.

Promising avenues for evaluating interventions and improving health

They suggest that joint human/animal clinics and interdisciplinary partnerships are promising avenues for evaluating interventions and improving health outcomes.

A study by Ramirez et al (2022) that investigated 44 homeless pet owners in Seattle, USA, for example, found that 61% of respondents were interested in healthcare for their pets, compared to 43% for themselves. Furthermore, 86% indicated they would attend a joint veterinary/human health clinic, with convenience frequently mentioned.

Studies that the researchers drew upon for their findings – from the PubMed and Embase databases – include those focused on homeless pet owners across the USA, Canada, and the UK.

Dr Kurkowski wrote the paper while at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health (UTHealth) but is now a Veterinary Medical Officer for the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

A source of friendship and physical safety

She said, “Research has shown that companion animals are a source of friendship and physical safety, and homeless persons with pets report significantly lower rates of depression and loneliness compared to non-pet owners.

“Studies show that pet owners experiencing homelessness are also subjected to unique challenges in caring for both themselves and their companion animals. Individuals, for instance, are often forced to choose between accessing lodging and keeping their pets with them.

“Similarly, our review reveals that this group is less likely to utilize needing assistance, such as healthcare or career services, potentially due to difficulty using public transportation of lack of safe places to leave pets.”

However, Dr Kurkowski and Dr Springer said that despite the growing body of literature on both the benefits of pet ownership for the unhoused community – as well as the needs and challenges that homeless pet owners and their pets face – little attention has been given to developing interventions to address the challenges facing this group.

More comprehensive and effective care package

Dr Springer, associate professor of in the Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences at the UTHealth, “Our purpose was to describe the study designs, measurements, and outcomes of relevant primary research studies to identify knowledge gaps in the body of literature on this topic.

“Additionally, common intervention characteristics were highlighted to create a ‘road map’ of prior interventions to assist individuals interested in creating similar programs.

“The ultimate goal of this assessment was to summarize key intervention strategies for pet owners experiencing homelessness to help direct future funding, research, and outreach efforts among this unique population.”

The researchers conclude that a more comprehensive and effective care package for homeless people and their pets will require the combined efforts of healthcare providers, social workers, animal welfare workers and governmental and nonprofit organizations to develop innovative One Health solutions for the challenges currently facing this population.

Full paper reference

Kurkowksi, M., Springer, A, ‘Exploring Strategies for Pet Owners Experiencing Homelessness: A Rapid Scoping Review,’ Human-Animal Interactions, 19 February (2024). DOI: 10.1079/hai.2024.0002

The paper can be read open access from 10:00hrs UK time 19 February 2024, here: https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/hai.2024.0002

Media enquiries

For more information and an advance copy of the paper contact:

Dr Michelle Kurkowski, Veterinary Medical Officer for the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, michelleakurkowski@gmail.com

Wayne Coles, Senior PR Manager, CABI – email: w.coles@cabi.org

About Human—Animal Interactions

Human—Animal Interactions is an open access interdisciplinary journal devoted to the dissemination of research in all fields related to interactions between non-human animals and their human counterparts.

About CABI

CABI is an international not-for-profit organization that improves people’s lives by providing information and applying scientific expertise to solve problems in agriculture and the environment.

Through knowledge sharing and science, CABI helps address issues of global concern such as improving global food security and safeguarding the environment. We do this by helping farmers grow more and lose less of what they produce, combating threats to agriculture and the environment from pests and diseases, protecting biodiversity from invasive species, and improving access to agricultural and environmental scientific knowledge. Our 49-member countries guide and influence our core areas of work, which include development and research projects, scientific publishing, and microbial services.

We gratefully acknowledge the core financial support from our member countries (and lead agencies) including the United Kingdom (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office), China (Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs), Australia (Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research), Canada (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada), Netherlands (Directorate-General for International Cooperation, and Switzerland (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation). Other sources of funding include programme/project funding from development agencies, the fees paid by our member countries and profits from our publishing activities which enable CABI to support rural development and scientific research around the world.

 

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JOURNAL

Human-Animal Interactions

DOI

10.1079/hai.2024.0002 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Literature review

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Exploring Strategies for Pet Owners Experiencing Homelessness: A Rapid Scoping Review

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

19-Feb-2024

A shallow lake in Canada could point to the origin of life on Earth

Ayurella Horn-Muller, CNN
Sat, February 17, 2024 

Imagine an entirely barren world. Before you is a volcanic landscape, devoid of flora and fauna. Scattered throughout this gray and black expanse are shallow bodies of water. In each of these natural pools brews a precise blend of chemicals and physical conditions that could serve as the source of life on our planet.

Some scientists have theorized the scene might have looked much like this, rather than an ocean setting, when life first emerged on Earth roughly 4 billion years ago, and a study centered around a present-day lake in the Canadian province of British Columbia offers new support for that idea.

The shallow, salty body of water situated on volcanic rock — known as Last Chance Lake — holds clues that carbonate-rich lakes in ancient Earth could have been a “cradle of life,” according to study coauthor David Catling, a University of Washington professor of geosciences. The finding, published in the journal Nature on January 9, could advance scientific understanding of how life began.

“We were able to look for the specific conditions that people use to synthesize the building blocks of life in nature,” Catling said. “We think that we have a very promising place for the origin of life.”

Catling and his colleagues first became aware of the lake as a place to focus their research after a literature review unearthed an unpublished master’s thesis from the 1990s that had recorded unusually high levels of phosphate there. But the researchers had to see it for themselves.

Last Chance Lake

Last Chance Lake is no more than 1 foot deep. Located on a volcanic plateau in British Columbia over 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) above sea level, it contains the highest levels of concentrated phosphate ever recorded in any natural body of water on Earth.

A critical component of biological molecules, phosphate is a chemical compound that contains the life-sustaining element phosphorus. It’s found in molecules such as RNA and DNA as well as ATP, a molecule necessary for energy production in all life forms. The abundance of phosphate at Last Chance Lake is more than 1,000 times more than what is typical for oceans or lakes, according to Sebastian Haas, a postdoctoral researcher studying the microbiology and chemistry of aquatic environments at the University of Washington who led the paper.

Between 2021 and 2022, the team of researchers visited Last Chance Lake to collect and analyze water and sediment samples.

Haas displays a piece of dry-season lake crust taken from Last Chance Lake in September 2022. The researchers used the lake as an "analog environment" to understand soda lakes on early Earth. - David C. Catling

That’s when they discovered that Last Chance Lake isn’t just a hotbed for phosphate but also the mineral dolomite, which allows phosphorus to build up in this environment and had formed in response to a reaction in the lake between calcium, magnesium and carbonate. The compounding chemical processes, influenced by minerals from the volcanic rock that the lake formed upon, as well as an arid climate, effectively produced the unique concentrations of phosphate — a set of conditions that researchers believe could have once led to the emergence of life on Earth, according to Haas.

“We are adding credibility to the idea that this type of environment would be favorable to the origin of life, and is plausible,” he said.

Last Chance Lake isn’t 4 billion years old — in fact, it’s estimated to have been around less than 10,000 years. The site is simply a modern analog, or a natural snapshot of the past that ultimately offers scientists a chance to better understand what primordial Earth may have looked like outside of a lab.

“There’s every reason to believe that similar lakes would have occurred on the first land about 4 billion years ago, because the volcanic rocks that Last Chance Lake sits on are basically a prerequisite for forming soda lakes,” Haas said. “And what we’re partially showing here is that soda lake water chemistry is the prerequisite for these high phosphate levels.”

Darwin’s warm little ponds

“Soda lakes” such as Last Chance Lake are shallow bodies of water rife with dissolved sodium and carbonate — much like baking soda — which typically come from interactions between water and volcanic rocks. They can be found throughout the world but are far less common than other saline bodies of water.

“These kinds of lakes, they have the highest levels of phosphate that match what people use in the lab to make (genetic molecules),” Catling said.

When scientists have tried in a lab to replicate the chemical reactions that make the biomolecules believed to be key to the origin of life, the necessary phosphate concentrations are up to a million times higher than what is normally found in the world’s natural bodies of water.

“If you had these types of lakes on the ancient Earth, they would be really high in phosphate, just like Last Chance Lake,” Catling added.

Bodies of water such as these have long been on scientists’ radar as potential sources of primordial life. In the 1800s, Charles Darwin first wrote about his “warm little pond” theory, which proposed that warm, shallow, phosphate-rich lakes could have been where the first molecules of life formed.

“Part of what (Darwin’s) envisioning is these bubbling pools … like Yellowstone,” said Matthew Pasek, a professor at the University of South Florida who studies phosphorus chemistry and origin of life sciences.

But this isn’t the only popular theory on how life first appeared on Earth billions of years ago. Another is that life began in hydrothermal vents in the deep sea.

The new study adds to the body of evidence that supports the warm little pond hypothesis, according to Pasek, who wasn’t involved with the research.

“The main point, that you can have such high phosphate concentrations in these ponds, is definitely bolstered by this finding,” he said. “And it shows, ‘This is how that can happen.’”

Still, phosphate in mass abundance isn’t the sole substance needed for the origin of life. That list of prerequisites also includes carbon and nitrogen sources, as well as the right chemical and physical elements — including phenomena known as wet-dry cycles — that allow for the formation of necessary chemical compounds and reactions.

But the authors said they’re not making the case that today’s Last Chance Lake has all the components needed for the building blocks of life — just that it contains a few critical pieces.

“Present-day Last Chance Lake doesn’t contain several chemicals that we now think are probably crucial for the origin of life,” Haas said, citing cyanide as one example. Past studies suggest a primordial version of the soda lake may very well have included the substance.

While this work “doesn’t uniquely solve the question of where life originated,” according to Woodward Fischer, a geobiologist at the California Institute of Technology who was not involved with the study, it “highlights environments at the Earth’s surface today that scientists can study in greater detail to better understand the mechanics responsible for establishing life on our planet and potentially elsewhere.”
The origin of life on Earth — and beyond

If life really did emerge in soda lakes on land, instead of at the bottom of the ocean, that knowledge could theoretically help the search for evidence of life beyond Earth.

“If you thought that life originated at the bottom of the ocean, you might have a closer look at the subglacial ocean on the moons of Saturn and Jupiter,” Haas said. “But if you think that life originated on Earth’s land surfaces, planets like Mars might be much more important.”

The same type of rock formation that produces soda lakes can be found on much of the surface of rocky planets such as Mars — which suggests that life may have formed in a similar fashion elsewhere in the universe.

“Understanding how life originated on Earth has this importance for our search for life outside of Earth,” Haas told CNN. “Getting a better understanding of how life originated on Earth informs where to look for life on other planets, or moons of other planets, in the solar system.”

Ayurella Horn-Muller has reported for Axios and Climate Central. Her book, “Devoured: The Extraordinary Story of Kudzu, the Vine That Ate the South,” is due out in the spring.

Potassium depletion in soil threatens global crop yields

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON

Potassium deficiency in agricultural soils is a largely unrecognised but potentially significant threat to global food security if left unaddressed, finds new research involving researchers at UCL, University of Edinburgh and the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.

The study, published in Nature Food, found that more potassium is being removed from agricultural soils than is being added, throughout many regions of the world. It also gives a series of recommendations for how to mitigate the issue.

Potassium is a vital nutrient for plant growth that helps with photosynthesis and respiration, the lack of which can inhibit plant growth and reduce crop yields. Farmers often spread potassium-rich fertilisers over their fields to replenish the depleted nutrient, but supply issues can inhibit its use, and there are lingering questions about its environmental impact.

The researchers report that globally, about 20% of agricultural soils face severe potassium deficiency, with particular regions likely to experience more critical shortages, including 44% of agricultural soils in South-East Asia, 39% in Latin America, 30% in Sub-Saharan Africa and 20% in East Asia, largely due to more intensive agricultural practices.

Co-author Professor Mark Maslin (UCL Geography) said: “Potassium is critical to sustaining the crop yields that keep the world fed, and its depletion poses a significant threat to the food security of millions of people around the world. This is an overlooked issue that needs to be addressed with a range of actions as the world population continues to grow.”

Farmers often rely on potash as a fertiliser to replenish their field’s potassium, but the price of the mineral can be quite volatile. Potash production is highly concentrated, with just twelve countries dominating the nearly £12 billion international market for potassium fertilisers, with Canada, Russia, Belarus and China producing 80% of the world’s total raw potash.

The researchers highlight how in April 2022, the price of potash increased 500% above the previous year following a “perfect storm” of factors, including rising fertiliser demand, escalating fuel prices, recovery from the pandemic, a range of government actions around the world, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia and Belarus together export about 42% of the word’s potash supply, but following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the UK, US, Canada and the EU imposed import sanctions on the two countries, disrupting global supplies and exacerbating the price spike.

Since the initial price spike, the cost of potash has fallen by about 50%, but remains elevated, raising concerns that farmers will not be able to access sufficient fertiliser to maintain food supplies under the current system.

Co-author Dr Peter Alexander of the University of Edinburgh said: “The volatility of potash prices has major implications across the global food system. Access to potassium is vital for farmers to maintain their crop yields, but the recent high cost of potash makes it more difficult for the most vulnerable to obtain.”

This market concentration and vulnerability is one of the reasons the researchers have called for better potassium management and a robust intergovernmental coordination mechanism. Currently there are no national or international policies or regulations governing the sustainable management of soil potassium akin to the systems that are being established for other vital crop nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus.

In 2021, global potash consumption reached 45 million tonnes, with global production projected to rise to about 69 million tonnes in 2025 with new projects starting up in Belarus, Canada, Russia, Australia, Eritrea and the UK. However, potash mining has raised human rights concerns and has significant impacts on the environment. Potash mining generates millions of tonnes of refuse mostly composed of sodium chloride salts, which can leach into soils and salinise soil and water tables, harming plants and animals.

The impacts of potassium fertiliser runoff into local ecosystems are poorly understood, and the researchers recommend more study about its effects.

Lead author Will Brownlie of the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, said: “The environmental impact of potash mining and use in agriculture is something that needs greater scrutiny. There’s much that we still don’t understand about the effects that artificial potassium enrichment has on nearby ecosystems. By wisely handling nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium together, we can reap multiple benefits, prevent pollution, boost crop yields, and minimise nutrient loss. It's about coordinating our approach for better farming outcomes.”

The researchers put forward six recommendations for policies and practices to prevent potential crop yield declines, safeguard farmers from price volatility and address environmental concerns. The recommendations include:

1. Setting up a global assessment of current potassium stocks and flows to identify the most at-risk countries and regions
2. Establishing national capabilities for monitoring, predicting and responding to potassium price fluctuations
3. Helping farmers maintain sufficient soil potassium levels with further research about the yield implications of limited potassium in various crops and soils
4. Evaluating the environmental effects of potash mining and developing sustainable application practices
5. Developing a global circular potassium economy that minimises the use and maximises the reuse and recycling of the nutrient
6. Increasing intergovernmental cooperation through the UN and other agencies to develop global policy coordination akin to what’s been developed for nitrogen

 

Notes to Editors

For more information or to speak to the researchers involved, please contact Michael Lucibella, UCL Media Relations. T: +44 (0)75 3941 0389, E: m.lucibella@ucl.ac.uk

Will J. Brownlie, Peter Alexander, Mark Maslin, Miguel Cañedo-Argüelles, Mark A. Sutton, Bryan M. Spears, ‘Global Food Security Threatened by Potassium Neglect’ will be published in Nature Food on Monday 19 February 2024, 10:00 UK time/05:00 US Eastern Time and is under a strict embargo until this time.

The DOI for this paper will be: 10.1038/s43016-024-00929-8.

After publication, the paper will be available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-024-00929-8

Additional material

• Professor Mark Maslin's academic profile
• Dr Peter Alexander’s academic profile
• Dr Will Brownlie’s academic profile
• UCL Geography
• UCL Social & Historical Sciences
• University of Edinburgh
• UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

 

About UCL – London’s Global University

UCL is a diverse global community of world-class academics, students, industry links, external partners, and alumni. Our powerful collective of individuals and institutions work together to explore new possibilities.

Since 1826, we have championed independent thought by attracting and nurturing the world's best minds. Our community of more than 50,000 students from 150 countries and over 16,000 staff pursues academic excellence, breaks boundaries and makes a positive impact on real world problems.

The Times and Sunday Times University of the Year 2024, we are consistently ranked among the top 10 universities in the world and are one of only a handful of institutions rated as having the strongest academic reputation and the broadest research impact.

We have a progressive and integrated approach to our teaching and research – championing innovation, creativity and cross-disciplinary working. We teach our students how to think, not what to think, and see them as partners, collaborators and contributors.  

For almost 200 years, we are proud to have opened higher education to students from a wide range of backgrounds and to change the way we create and share knowledge.

We were the first in England to welcome women to university education and that courageous attitude and disruptive spirit is still alive today. We are UCL.

www.ucl.ac.uk | Follow @uclnews on Twitter | Read news at www.ucl.ac.uk/news/ | Listen to UCL podcasts on SoundCloud | View images on Flickr | Find out what’s on at UCL Mind

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JOURNAL

Nature Food

DOI

10.1038/s43016-024-00929-8 

ARTICLE TITLE

Global Food Security Threatened by Potassium Neglect

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

19-Feb-2024

What does it mean to claim the US is a Christian nation, and what does the Constitution say?

PETER SMITH
Sat, February 17, 2024 

A statue of Benjamin Franklin is seen at The Franklin Institute, in Philadelphia. Franklin, like some other key founders, admired Jesus as a moral teacher but would not pass a test of Christian orthodoxy.

 (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)


Many Americans believe the United States was founded as a Christian nation, and the idea is energizing some conservative and Republican activists. But the concept means different things to different people, and historians say that while the issue is complex, the founding documents prioritize religious freedom and do not create a Christian nation.

Does the U.S. Constitution establish Christianity as an official religion?

No.


What does the Constitution say about religion?

“(N)o religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” (Article VI)

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” (First Amendment)

If it says “Congress,” does the First Amendment apply to the states?

It does now. Early in the republic, some states officially sponsored particular churches, such as the Congregational Church in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Within a few decades, all had removed such support. The post-Civil War 14th Amendment guaranteed all U.S. citizens “equal protection of the laws” and said states couldn't impede on their “privileges or immunities” without due process. In the 20th century, the Supreme Court applied that to a number of First Amendment cases involving religion, saying states couldn't forbid public proselytizing, reimburse funding for religious education or sponsor prayer in public schools.

What does it mean to say America is a Christian nation?

It depends on whom you ask. Some believe God worked to bring European Christians to America in the 1600s and secure their independence in the 1700s. Some take the Puritan settlers at their word that they were forming a covenant with God, similar to the Bible's description of ancient Israel, and see America as still subject to divine blessings or punishments depending on how faithful it is. Still others contend that some or all the American founders were Christian, or that the founding documents were based on Christianity.

That's a lot to unpack. Let's start at the top. What about the colonies?

Several had Christian language in their founding documents, such as Massachusetts, with established churches lasting decades after independence. Others, such as Rhode Island, offered broader religious freedom. It's also arguable whether the colonies' actions lived up to their words, given their histories of religious intolerance and their beginnings of centuries-long African slavery and wars on Native Americans.

What about the founders?

The leaders of the American Revolution and the new republic held a mix of beliefs — some Christian, some Unitarian, some deistic or otherwise theistic. Some key founders, like Benjamin Franklin, admired Jesus as a moral teacher but would fail a test of Christian orthodoxy. Many believed strongly in religious freedom, even as they also believed that religion was essential to maintain a virtuous citizenry.

Were the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution based on Christianity and the Ten Commandments?

References to the Creator and Nature's God in the Declaration reflect a general theism that could be acceptable to Christians, Unitarians, deists and others. Both documents reflect Enlightenment ideas of natural rights and accountable government. Some also see these documents as influenced, or at least compatible, with Protestant emphasis on such ideas as human sin, requiring checks and balances. In fact, believers in a Christian America were some of the strongest opponents of ratifying the Constitution because of its omission of God references.

Were most early Americans Christian?

Many were and many weren't. Early church membership was actually quite low, but revivals known as the First and Second Great Awakenings, before and after the Revolution, won a lot of converts. Many scholars see religious freedom as enabling multiple churches to grow and thrive.

Were Catholics considered Christian?

Not by many early Americans. Some state constitutions barred them from office.

How did that change?

Gradually, but by the time of the Cold War, many saw Catholics, Protestants and Jews as God-believing American patriots, allied in the face-off with the atheistic, communist Soviet Union.

Was it only conservatives citing the idea of a Christian nation?

No. Many proponents of the early 20th century social gospel saw their efforts to help the needy as part of building a Christian society. During World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt prayed on national radio for God’s blessing “in our united crusade ... over the unholy forces of our enemy.”

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote that civil rights protesters stood for "the most sacred values in our Judeo-Christian heritage.”

What do progressive Christians say today?

“Christian nationalism has traditionally employed images that advocate an idealized view of the nation’s identity and mission, while deliberately ignoring those persons who have been excluded, exploited, and persecuted,” said a 2021 statement from the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, an umbrella group that includes multiple progressive denominations.

What do Americans believe about this?

Six in 10 U.S. adults said the founders originally intended America to be a Christian nation, according to a 2022 Pew Research Center survey. Forty-five percent said the U.S. should be a Christian nation, but only a third thought it was one currently.

Among white evangelical Protestants, 81% said the founders intended a Christian nation, and the same number said that the U.S. should be one — but only 23% thought it currently was one, according to Pew.

In a 2021 Pew report, 15% of U.S. adults surveyed said the federal government should declare the U.S. a Christian nation, while 18% said the U.S. Constitution was inspired by God.

One-third of U.S. adults surveyed in 2023 said God intended America to be a promised land for European Christians to set an example to the world, according to a Public Religion Research Institute/Brookings survey. Those who embraced this view were also more likely to dismiss the impact of anti-Black discrimination and more likely to say true patriots may need to act violently to save the country, the survey said.

___

Sources: Pew Research Center; Public Religion Research Institute/Brookings; “Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?” by John Fea.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Christian-nation idea fuels US conservative causes, but historians say it misreads founders' intent

PETER SMITH

Sat, February 17, 2024 

The U.S. Constitution doesn’t mention Christianity or any specific religion. The Declaration of Independence famously proclaims that people’s rights come from a “Creator” and “Nature’s God” — but doesn’t specify who that is.

Yet large numbers of Americans believe the founders intended the U.S. to be a Christian nation, and many believe it should be one.

Such views are especially strong among Republicans and their white evangelical base. Already such views are being voiced by supporters of Donald Trump amid his bid to recapture the presidency.

The idea of a Christian America means different things to different people. Pollsters have found a wide circle of Americans who hold general God-and-country sentiments.

But within that is a smaller, hardcore group who also check other boxes in surveys — such as that the U.S. Constitution was inspired by God and that the federal government should declare the U.S. a Christian nation, advocate Christian values or stop enforcing the separation of church and state.

For those embracing that package of beliefs, it’s more likely they’ll have unfavorable views toward immigrants, dismiss or downplay the impact of anti-Black discrimination and believe Trump was a good or great president, according to a 2021 Pew Research Center survey.

This latter group reflects a movement widely called Christian nationalism, which fuses American and Christian values, symbols and identity and seeks to privilege Christianity in public life.

The idea of Christian nationhood fills Americans’ need for an origin story, a belief that “we’ve come here for something special, and that we’re here for God’s work,” said Eric McDaniel, an associate professor of government at the University of Texas.

It creates a sense of “national innocence,” so adherents resist confronting uglier parts of U.S. history, he said.

The belief connects to other beliefs past and present, from the Manifest Destiny doctrine that justified continental conquest to Trump’s America First and Make America Great Again slogans, said McDaniel, a co-author of “The Everyday Crusade: Christian Nationalism in American Politics.”

Trump has echoed some of these ideas, vowing to bar immigrants who “don’t like our religion.”

Many conservatives and Republicans embrace the idea of Christian national origins, even as many reject the “Christian nationalist” label.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has proclaimed that America is and was founded as a Christian nation and that Thomas Jefferson was “divinely inspired” in his writing of the Declaration of Independence, according to a 2015 sermon that drew wider attention with his recent election as speaker.

WallBuilders, an organization Johnson credits for its “profound influence” on him, has spread materials claiming that “revisionist” historians have downplayed America’s Christian origins, but the group has been widely criticized for historically dubious claims.

A lawsuit on its behalf is challenging the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s refusal to run its bus ads touting the purported beliefs of founders.

Vocal supporters of Trump have described current politics as spiritual warfare for the destiny of a country that former Trump aide Steve Bannon described as the “New Jerusalem” and conservative activist Charlie Kirk said was founded by “courageous Bible believing Christians.”

Recent Texas, Oklahoma and Kentucky Republican Party platforms proclaim the country was founded on “Judeo-Christian” principles.

The Rev. Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, said he doesn’t identify as a Christian nationalist, but does believe America was founded as a Christian nation.

“I’m not claiming that all of our founders were Christians,” he said in an interview. “Some were deists, some were atheists, but the majority were Christians. I’m also not saying that non-Christians shouldn’t have the same rights as Christians in our country.”

But he said “there’s a case to be made that the Judeo-Christian faith was the foundation for our laws and many of our principles.” He cited founder John Jay — the first Supreme Court chief justice — asserting it was Americans’ duty “in our Christian nation, to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.”

Jeffress said he doesn’t believe America is privileged by God but, as with any nation, “God will continue to bless America to the extent that we follow him.”

Anthea Butler, chair of religious studies at the University of Pennsylvania, said history precludes any idea of a Christian nation.

“It doesn’t mean that Christians weren’t a part of the founding of this nation,” said Butler, a historian of African American and American religion. “What it does mean is that if you believe that America is a Christian nation and you happen to subscribe to Christian nationalism as a part of that, you’re buying into a myth.”

That America-as-a-Christian-nation idea is “a trope of exclusion,” she said, centering American history on white Anglo-Saxon Protestants as “the ones that are willing and should be running the country both then and now.”

That justifies viewing others as “heathens,” including the enslaved Blacks and the Native Americans whose land was being taken.

Those arguing for a Christian America are generally not historians and not really talking about history — they’re talking politics, said John Fea, author of the 2011 book “Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?”

“They appeal to a false view of the founding, or at least a partial view of the founding, to advance political agendas of the present,” said Fea, a history professor at Messiah University, a Christian university in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. “These agendas are built on a very weak historical foundation.”

The belief in America’s Christian origins is mainstream.

Six in 10 U.S. adults said the founders intended America to be a Christian nation, according to a 2022 Pew Research Center survey. About 45% said the U.S. should be a Christian nation. Four in five white evangelical Protestants agreed with each assertion.

By some measures, Democratic President Joe Biden might be seen in that category, citing the importance of his Catholic faith and calling for God’s blessings on America and its troops — but also invoking shared values “whether you’re Christian, whether you’re Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, or any other faith, or no faith at all. ”

One-third of U.S. adults surveyed in 2023 said God intended America to be a promised land for European Christians to set an example to the world, according to a Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI)/Brookings report.

Such surveys have found a smaller, more ardent group of believers in Christian nationhood. In another survey, PRRI identified about 10% of Americans as the most committed adherents.

The Constitution prohibits any religious test for office, and its First Amendment bars congressional establishment of any religion, along with guaranteeing free exercise of religion.

Defenders of Christian nationhood can point out that several of the 13 original states funded Protestant churches at their origins, though within a few decades all had followed Virginia’s example in halting the practice. They can point to Christian rhetoric by some founders, such as John Jay, Patrick Henry and Samuel Adams.

But several key founders would never pass a test of orthodoxy. Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin viewed Jesus as a great teacher but not as God.

“Could you find stuff where John Adams talks about religion being the foundation of the republic, like George Washington said in his farewell address?” asked Fea. “Are there states where Christianity was privileged? Yes, you can find all those things. You can also find things to show the Constitution wants to keep religion and government separate.”

Some secular activists today advocate for an opposite view — that U.S. founders sought to banish religion from public life. Fea said that also goes too far: “When you’re dealing with the 18th century, nuance and complexity is essential,” he said.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: American Fairy Tale 

Natural pesticides gain ground in 'agri-tox' capital Brazil


Morgann JEZEQUEL
Sun, 18 February 2024 

Agricultural engineer Adriano Cruvinel checks on his soybean plants in Montividiu, Brazil (Sergio Lima)

Inspecting a thriving green field, Brazilian farmer Adriano Cruvinel is beaming: Using a fraction of the chemical products he used to, he is growing even more soy, thanks to natural pesticides.

Agricultural powerhouse Brazil may be the world leader in chemical pesticide use, but Cruvinel is part of a growing trend of farmers turning to natural products known as "biopesticides."

"Our soy is doing great," says the 36-year-old agricultural engineer, giving a tour of his 1,400-hectare (nearly 3,500-acre) farm in the central-western county of Montividiu, as combine harvesters work their way across a field.

"Thanks to the microorganisms we apply to the crop, it's a lot more resistant to pests and disease."

Brazil, the world's biggest exporter of soy, corn and cotton, is also the top consumer of chemical pesticides: nearly 720,000 metric tons in 2021, or one-fifth of global sales, according to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization.

Seeking to improve his profits, in 2016 Cruvinel started transitioning toward so-called "regenerative" agriculture.

The technique seeks to restore the soil's biodiversity, replacing chemical fertilizers and pesticides with natural alternatives.

He still uses genetically modified soy, widespread in Brazil. But near those fields he built an ultra-modern laboratory and factory.

Inside, refrigerators conserve fungi and bacteria, some harvested from forestland on his farm.

He cultivates them en masse in vats, then uses them to treat his fields.

"Here, we imitate nature on a giant scale," says Cruvinel, who has replaced 76 percent of the chemical pesticides he formerly used with natural products.

The approach is good for health and the environment, but also business: His production costs have fallen by 61 percent, while his soy yields have risen by 13 percent, he says.

- 'Long way to go' -

Natural pesticides "could revolutionize Brazilian and global agriculture," says Marcos Rodrigues de Faria, a researcher at Embrapa, Brazil's public agricultural research agency.

But "there's a long way to go," he adds.

Brazil still relies heavily on chemical pesticides, known here as "agrotoxicos," or "agri-toxic" products.

Natural products grew from four percent of total pesticide sales in Brazil in 2020 to nine percent in 2022.

Their use has expanded four times faster in Brazil than internationally, says Amalia Borsari, of CropLife Brasil, an organization representing the agricultural chemicals industry.

"There has been exponential growth," she says.

Geographer Larissa Bombardi, an expert on pesticide use in Brazil, calls the trend "interesting."

But she says it is not yet changing Brazil's dominant model of massive, land-intensive mono-crop agriculture, which leaves little room for small-scale producers or more environmentally friendly practices.

"The surface area of land under cultivation in Brazil increased by 29 percent from 2010 to 2019, while pesticide use increased by 78 percent," she says.

- 'Gift to agribusiness' -

The agribusiness sector accounts for nearly a quarter of Latin America's biggest economy, making the pesticide debate politically charged.

After a long standoff with Congress, where agribusiness interests are a powerful force, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed a bill into law in December softening regulations on agricultural chemicals.

The veteran leftist used his line-item veto to block some controversial aspects of the bill. But the final text significantly lowered the bar for regulatory approval of new pesticides, drawing scathing criticism from environmentalists.

Chemicals that can cause cancer and mutations or harm the environment are no longer automatically banned -- only those found to represent an "unacceptable risk."

Bombardi calls the law a "tragedy" and "a gift to the agribusiness and agricultural chemicals industries."

The stakes go beyond Brazil.

The country's massive use of pesticides is one of the main objections voiced by opponents of a landmark trade deal between the European Union and South American bloc Mercosur, in which Brazil is the biggest player.

mje/tmo/jhb/mdl/bfm

Replica of Great Escape tunnel commemorates 80 years since epic breakout

Gareth Corfield
Sun, 18 February 2024

The replica consists of 6ft sections made from pine and was assembled by a team of around 30 volunteers - Charlotte Graham

The upcoming 80th anniversary of the Great Escape has been marked with the unveiling of an 80ft replica tunnel at a former prisoner-of-war camp in Yorkshire.

The original Great Escape saw 76 British, US and Commonwealth prisoners of war carrying out a mass breakout from captivity at a camp in modern-day Poland.

It was the single-largest escape from a prison camp during the Second World War, passing into legend after being immortalised in a 1963 film starring Richard Attenborough and Steve McQueen.

The breakout on March 24 1944 has now been commemorated with a replica of the tunnel used during the escape. It was set up at Eden Camp, a former prisoner-of-war camp in Yorkshire, ahead of anniversary celebrations scheduled to take place in Poland at the site of the original Great Escape.

The escape plan was masterminded by South African RAF Sqd Ldr Roger Joyce Bushell but he was recaptured and later killed. His direct descendant Patrick Flint attended the camp to see the replica tunnel.

Mike Jackson, 60, the historical re-enactor behind the replica tunnel project, said: “It’s one foot for every year, which we thought was quite apt for the 80th anniversary.”

He added: “We decided to push the boat out and do something special.

“It was my suggestion… without actually realising how long 80ft was when I started!”

The team of historical re-enactors behind the replica tunnel project - Charlotte Graham

Around a thousand visitors saw the replica tunnel over the weekend, with children able to clamber inside a special section to enable them to experience how claustrophobic the original was.

The replica consists of 6ft sections made from pine and was assembled by a team of around 30 volunteers.

Summer O’Brien, the former PoW camp’s collections and engagement manager, said: “Eden Camp is incredibly honoured and excited to host such an interactive event, that not only brings history to life but helps to commemorate all those involved in the Great Escape.”

The Great Escape is synonymous with the struggle of the 170,000 British officers and soldiers taken prisoner during the Second World War.

Under the leadership of Sqd Ldr Bushell, 76 inmates of the Stalag Luft III prisoner-of-war camp secretly dug a 344ft tunnel beneath its barbed-wire surrounds and made a break for freedom.

Two similar tunnels had to be abandoned, one because it was discovered by guards and the other because its planned exit point was left exposed after the Germans cleared the area to expand the camp.

 

Just three of those who broke out of Stalag Luft III made it back to the UK. The remaining 73 were all recaptured. Of those, 50 were shot by the Gestapo, Nazi Germany’s notorious paramilitary police force, on the personal orders of Adolf Hitler.

“What people need to realise is that the story of the Great Escape is far darker than the film makes out,” historian Guy Walters said last year. “At its heart, it’s a story of recklessness and murder.”

UK
NHS spending on private-sector scans triples in five years, despite the number falling

Laura Donnelly
Sun, 18 February 2024

Official data shows 150,000 patients have been waiting more than 13 weeks for a diagnostic test, including 90,000 patients waiting for tests and scans used to detect cancer - PHIL BOORMAN/IMAGE SOURCE

NHS spending on scans by the private sector has tripled - while the number carried out has fallen, official figures show.

Labour said the NHS spent £1.1bn on outsourced radiology in the past five years, while the number of scans carried out fell by 200,000 in 2022/23, compared with 2018/19.

Meanwhile the cost per scan went from £31 to £100, the analysis found.


The figures, disclosed in a parliamentary answer, show £368,858 spent in 2022/23 on around 3,7 million outsourced diagnostic scans. In 2018/19 spending on such activity amounted to £123,817 on around 3.9 million scans.

Labour has pledged to double NHS scanning capacity, with use of services on a seven-day basis, in order to cut backlogs.

Official figures show there are currently 1.6 million people waiting for diagnostic scans and tests in England, three times the number in 2010.

The data shows 150,000 patients have been waiting more than 13 weeks for a diagnostic test, including 90,000 patients waiting for tests and scans used to detect cancer.
Diagnostic test

The NHS target is for 99 per cent of patients to wait less than six weeks for a diagnostic test, but this has not been met in England since February 2017.

Wes Streeting, shadow health secretary, said: “Under the Tories, we’re paying more but getting less. The NHS can’t afford money to be wasted as the Conservatives have – it needs every penny spent wisely.

“Having gone through kidney cancer, I know that an early diagnosis can be the difference between life and death. The Conservatives have failed to arm our NHS with the tools to do its job, and patients are paying the price.”

He said Labour would double the number of scanners, with AI used in every hospital, funding the expansion by abolishing the non-dom status.

The Conservatives have repeatedly questioned whether abolition of the non-dom status would be sufficient to fund a raft of NHS policies Labour has proposed.

Both parties have said they intend to expand use of the private sector to help cut waiting lists.

Analysis by the King’s Fund think tank has shown that diagnostic capacity in the UK is falling behind that of other comparable countries. The UK ranks 25th out of 28 OECD countries for CT scanners, with fewer scanners per person than in Greece.'

Cancer patients

It comes as the Liberal Democrats highlighted waits for cancer patients, with just one in four cancer patients starting treatment within 62 days.

Official NHS figures show more than 100,000 patients with cancer waited at least two months to start treatment last year.

The party’s analysis shows that at some trusts, just one in four cancer patients start treatment within 62 days. At Liverpool Women’s NHS Trust just 23 per cent of patients were treated within 62 days. At Royal Papworth it was 38 per cent and at Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust it was just 44 per cent, the analysis found.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for a legal right for cancer patients to start receiving treatment within two months.

Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson, Daisy Cooper MP, said: “It is heart-wrenching to see such a stark postcode lottery of cancer care across the country. We know how important it is to find and treat cancer early to give people the best chance of survival. Sadly, under this Conservative government, this is happening far too little.”

“Behind every single one of these numbers is a story of fear, discomfort and anxiety for thousands of families up and down the country. This Conservative government has failed to prioritise cancer treatment times so people are simply not getting the care they need in time. It is a shameful indictment of their neglect of our health service.”

Russian security services drag ‘gay night’ party-goers out into snow and beat them



Telegraph reporters
Sun, 18 February 2024 

Security forces raided the Typography cultural centre in Tula, where a party about 'openness and sexuality' was taking place. One of the participants was taken out and kicked in the head

Russian police raided a party they accused of spreading LGBT propaganda and beat its attendees in the snow, as part of a crackdown sweeping the country.

The Typography club in the city of Tula, 100 miles south of Moscow, was holding a night it described as promoting “love, openness and sexuality”.

Though not advertised, overtly at least, as a gay night, authorities interpreted it that way and shut it down.

In a video posted by Russian media, a man wearing a mask and plain clothes kicks and punches a part-goer lying in the snow outside the club.

Another man wearing a military uniform and helmet stands by watching.

In this video posted by Russian media, a man wearing a mask and plain clothes kicks and punches a part-goer lying in the snow outside the club

OVD-Info, a Russian rights organisation, said that the video was filmed on Saturday night.

“The security forces forced the party participants to lie on the floor. Those present were photographed, beaten, and threatened with being forced into the war in Ukraine,” it said.

OVD-Info also said that police then picked out nine of the “most feminine-looking” men from the party to drive to a police station and charge them with spreading LGBT propaganda.

Russia’s opposition media quoted one of the partygoers as saying that he believed he would have been even more badly beaten if he hadn’t known the words to the official Tula region anthem that the security forces forced him to sing.

“They grabbed me by the hair and asked who I was,” said the unnamed party-goer. “‘This is a Hero City! Sing the anthem!’ Thank God, I know the Tula anthem because I grew up here.”

Kremlin has effectively outlawed homosexuality

The Kremlin has effectively outlawed homosexuality, framing gay rights as a feature of decadent Western culture. Police have raided nightclubs and bars in Moscow and St Petersburg because they consider them to be hotbeds of anti-war sentiment.

Videos from these raids have previously shown young hipsters and rock fans being forced to sing the Russian national anthem as uniformed policemen look on and casually tap their truncheons.

Vladimir Putin has made promoting Russia as a bastion of traditional values central to his image. Over Christmas, Russian authorities imposed major fines on TV and internet celebrities who had attended what Putin considered to be an excessively lurid and louche “nearly naked” party at a Moscow nightclub.