Animals that can learn sounds have higher-pitched calls, study finds


Dolphins and other mammals capable of learning sounds may emit calls at higher pitches, a new study suggests. 

File photo by Neirfy/Shutterstock

Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Animals capable of learning sounds tend to produce calls at higher pitches, a study published Tuesday by the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences found.

Understanding these tendencies can help scientists better identify mammals capable of what is known as vocal learning, the researchers said.

It also could assist efforts to interpret the meaning of the sounds animals make, according to the researchers.

In their analysis of the vocal tendencies among several species, they noted that the manatee, or sea cow, produces calls that are higher than would be expected given its size, they said.

RELATED Species that use sound to 'fake' body size are usually skilled vocal learners

This may mean that the manatee, which to date has not been considered an animal capable of vocal learning, may have hidden vocal talents, the researchers said.

Similarly, non-vocalists who sound lower than expected, such as the Juan Fernandez fur seal, may turn out to have evolved specific anatomical adaptations to avoid predators, according to the researchers.

"We do not claim that all vocal learner species sound higher than expected for their body size," co-author Maxime Garcia said in a press release.

However, "there is a general trend, and this may help us to better characterize vocal communication in mammals," said Garcia, a post-doctoral researcher in evolutionary biology at the University of Zurich in Switzerland.

Some animals -- red deer, for example -- sound "bigger" than they really are, meaning they produce calls that are lower than would be expected based on their body size, according to Garcia and his colleagues.

Biologists think that this "faking" of body size might be a strategy to impress the opposite sex for mating purposes or to fool and intimidate potential predators.

In a study published last year, Garcia and colleague Andrea Ravignani, a research group leader in comparative bioacoustics at the Max Planck Institute Psycholinguistics in Germany, observed that animals who can fake their body size using their calls also tend to be good at learning sounds.

For this study, they expanded their earlier analyses of a wide range of mammals, including various breeds of bats, dolphins, porpoises, seals and whales.

Contrary to expectations, most vocal learners, such as dolphins, whales and seals, sounded higher than would be expected based on their body size, not lower, the researchers said.

This suggests animals that are good vocal learners usually emit sounds at higher pitches, they said.

Vocal learners who sounded lower than expected often had anatomical adaptations that could explain the lowered voice, such as a longer nose, according to the researchers.

"There might be an alternative evolutionary scenario in vocal learners, where selective pressures favor individuals that can change their tone of voice from low to high," Ravignani said in a press release.

House panel mulls ending forced arbitration in workplace sex assault disputes

By Annie Klingenberg, Medill News Service

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said forced arbitration deprives sexual harassment and assault survivors of their voice. 

File Pool Photo by Greg Nash/UPI | License Photo

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Lawmakers reached a moment of consensus on Tuesday during a House Judiciary Committee hearing: Forced arbitration clauses in employment contracts can be harmful to sexual assault victims.

"Forced arbitration has robbed survivors of sexual violence and sexual harassment of their voice," Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said.

Lawmakers introduced a bill in July to eliminate forced arbitration for disputes related to sexual abuse and are likely to pass a bill with bipartisan support out of committee on the need for the change.

Forced arbitration is often found in the fine print of employment contracts. If harmed by their company, workers under forced arbitration clauses have to solve disputes through a private arbitration rather than through a public trial in court. Arbitrations are used as an alternative to a trial process as a less expensive and faster way of resolving disputes.

"We all understand the benefits that arbitration provides, however if the arbitration system is not functioning properly, and is being used to stifle individual rights, we have an obligation to fix it," Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said.

Several witnesses during the hearing said people who face sexual assault in the workplace are harmed significantly by forced arbitrations. They said arbitration limited their legal options and constrained them from speaking about the issue to anyone besides the private arbitrator.

Four of the witnesses, including actress Eliza Dushku, are survivors of sexual harassment and assault who hadn't been able to share their experiences because of forced arbitration. The witnesses were only able to speak Tuesday because they were subpoenaed by the committee.

"I've worked as an actress since I was a child and signed countless contracts negotiated on my behalf, but never understood that there were mandatory arbitration clauses that would be used to keep what had happened to me a secret and would protect CBS and the sexual harassment perpetrator who had blatantly retaliated against me for trying to stop the harassment in my workplace," Dushku said.

The House is considering the bill, H.R.4445, Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021. On Wednesday, the committee is expected to complete a markup on the bill and could vote and pass the bill onto the full House. Its companion bill in the Senate was advanced out of committee to the full Senate with unanimous support last week.

Forced arbitrations are used in the workplace to solve non-sexual harassment disputes, as well. However, this bill would only eliminate forced arbitration for disputes of a sexual nature.

Face masks don't hide emotions from kids, study shows

By HealthDay News

A recent study showed that kids successfully read emotions more than 67% of the time when actors wore masks and more than 70% when they didn't wear masks. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

For children, masks don't mask the emotions of others, a new study shows.

It included nearly 300 children, ages 3-6, who were shown 90 pictures featuring actors who expressed joy, sadness or anger. In half of the pictures, the actors wore face masks.

In most cases, the children correctly identified the actors' emotions whether they were wearing a mask or not, according to the study published Nov. 15 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

Overall rates of successfully reading emotions were more than 67% when the actors wore masks and more than 70% when they didn't wear masks. Older children had higher success rates. About a quarter of preschoolers had greater difficulty distinguishing sadness from anger and about 21% sometimes confused joy for anger or sadness.

"Actual face masks depicted in static pictures were significantly associated with emotion recognition in healthy preschool children, although differences were small and effect sizes were weak," the researchers from University Hospital Lausanne in Switzerland wrote.

The findings challenge concerns raised by some that the use of face masks in schools may harm younger children's development.

"Even with masks being worn, little kids can probably still make reasonable inferences about other people's emotions," Ashley Ruba, a developmental psychology expert in the Child Emotion Lab at University of Wisconsin-Madison who has made similar findings during the pandemic, told CNN.

"I like to point out that the face isn't the most important way we communicate our emotions, it is only one way. We also use tone of voice, we have body posture, we have other kinds of contextual clues that kids and adults can use to figure out how people are feeling," Ruba said.

More information

Visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more on masks.

SOURCE: JAMA Network Open, Nov. 15, 2021 CNN

Copyright 2021 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Coffee, tea may lower stroke, dementia risk, study finds


Drinking coffee and tea can help reduce the risk for stroke and dementia, a new study has found. Photo by Christoph/Pixabay

Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Drinking coffee or tea may a lower a person's risk for stroke and dementia, a study published Tuesday by the journal PLOS Medicine found.

Drinking coffee also was associated with a lower risk dementia, or memory loss and reduced cognitive function, after a stroke, the researchers said.

People who drank two or three cups of coffee or three to five cups of tea per day, or a combination of four to six cups of coffee and tea, had up to a 20% lower risk for stroke or dementia compared with those who consumed neither beverage, the data showed.

Those who drank two to three cups of each beverage daily -- about the amount recommended in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans -- had a 32% lower risk for stroke and 28% reduced risk for dementia compared with non-drinkers, according to the researchers.

RELATED Coffee, green tea reduce stroke risk

The dietary guidelines are drafted by the federal Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services.

Intake of coffee alone or in combination with tea was also associated with lower risk for post-stroke, or vascular, dementia, which occurs following a stroke, of up to 40%, the researchers said.

"Our findings suggested that moderate consumption of coffee and tea separately or in combination were associated with lower risk of stroke and dementia," researchers from Tianjin Medical University in China wrote.

RELATED Coffee linked to lower risk of death

"However, whether the provision of such information can improve stroke and dementia outcomes remains to be determined," the said.

Strokes, or when poor blood flow to the brain leads to cell damage, cause 10% of deaths globally, according to the World Health Organization.

For years, studies have suggested that coffee and tea consumption can help stave off these significant health events, while drinking the beverages at midlife may lower an adult's risk for dementia.

RELATED Midlife coffee may help stave off dementia

Still, what is new about this study is that it demonstrates risk reduction for specific quantities of both beverages, which contain caffeine and other compounds that seem to provide protective benefits for the brain.

For this study, the researchers analyzed data for 365,682 participants from the UK Biobank, a national database of health information for residents of the British Isles.

Study participants were recruited between 2006 and 2010 and followed until 2020, the researchers said.

At the beginning of the study, participants self-reported their coffee and tea intake, according to the researchers.

Over the study period, 5,079 participants developed dementia and 10,053 experienced at least one stroke, the data showed.

"Consuming the two beverages in combination may have a joint health benefit for preventing the risk of stroke and dementia," the researchers wrote.

However, "further validation" of the effects on the beverages on the brain "in animal experiments is warranted to examine coffee and tea's potential joint associations on dementia," they said.

Ohio Public Pension Fund sues Facebook alleging it misled the public about effect on children


Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has announced a lawsuit against Facebook parent Meta over accusations the company misled the public about the negative effects its products have on the health and wellbeing of children.

The lawsuit alleges that between April 29 and Oct. 21, Facebook and some senior executives violated federal security law by misleading shareholders about how its products can harm children.

It also alleges that the company's platforms facilitate division, and favor high-profile users, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other company officials knew they were making false statements about the safety, security and privacy of its platforms.

The lawsuit filed on behalf of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System and other investors said the truth emerging over roughly a month caused a devaluation in Facebook's stock of $54.08 per share, costing OPERS and other Facebook investors $100 billion.

Plaintiffs cited Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, who testified in the Senate last month that the social media company knew its products harmed children and facilitated division, but failed to make necessary changes because it was more concerned about profit.

They also cited the Wall Street Journal's reporting in September, which showed that Facebook's cross-check shields millions of celebrities, politicians, and other high profile users from its normal content moderation rules. The company admitted in internal documents obtained by WSJ for the article: "We are not actually doing what we say we do publicly."

Last month, Facebook's oversight board similarly found that the platform lacks transparency about a program shielding high-profile users from content moderation rules.

"Facebook said it was looking out for our children and weeding out online trolls, but in reality was creating misery and divisiveness for profit," Yost said in a statement Monday. "We are not people to Mark Zuckerberg, we are the product and we are being used against each other out of greed."

The complaint refers to the parent company as Facebook for ease of reference, but noted that Facebook changed the corporate name of its parent company to Meta late last month.

Along with seeking to recover $100 billion, the lawsuit also calls for Facebook to make significant reforms to ensure it does not mislead the public about its internal practices.

Meta spokesperson Joe Osborne said in a statement emailed to The Verge the lawsuit is "without merit and we will defend ourselves vigorously."

CNBC similarly confirmed a Meta spokesperson called the suit "without merit."

Yost plans to ask the court to appoint OPERS as the lead plaintiff in his Facebook securities fraud action by a December 27 deadline, and has welcomed other Facebook investors to join him in holding the company and its executives accountable.

As of December 31, 2020, OPERS managed assets of approximately $125 billion on behalf of more than 1.1 million active members, retirees, and beneficiaries, according to the lawsuit.

The system "purchased shares of Facebook Class A common stock at artificially inflated prices" period between April 29 and Oct. 21, and "suffered damages as a result of the violations of the federal securities laws alleged," according to the lawsuit.

In May, Yost joined 43 other attorneys general in sending a letter to Zuckerberg urging him to halt plans to introduce Instagram app for kids.

In late September, Facebook halted Instagram Kids to study the issue of child safety.

House memo: 'Minor security lapses' left companies vulnerable to ransomware

A memo by the House Oversight and Reform Committee found that "relatively minor security lapses," led to ransomware attacks on CNA Financial Corporation, JBS USA and Colonial Pipeline. 


File Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo



Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Several major companies fell victim to ransomware attacks due to "relatively minor security lapses," according to a memo by House lawmakers Tuesday.

The House Oversight and Reform Committee released the memo in response to a panel investigation into meat producer JBS USA, insurance group CNA Financial Corporation and Colonial Pipeline, which saw all three companies pay ransoms demanded by the attackers.

"Ransomware attackers took advantage of relatively minor security lapses, such as a single user account controlled by a weak password, to launch enormously costly attacks," the memo states. "Even large organizations with seemingly robust security systems fell victim to simple initial attacks, highlighting the need to increase security education and take other security measures prior to an attack."

CNA paid $40 million in bitcoin after an employee accepted a fake browser update from a cybercriminal group called Phoenix, JBS paid $11 million in bitcoin after hackers gained access to an old account with a weak password and Colonial Pipeline, which is responsible for nearly half of the East Coast's fuel supply, paid ransomware gang Darkside $4.4 million in bitcoin after they gained access to the company through a single stolen password.

The committee also determined that some of the companies lacked "clear initial points of contact" with the federal government, delaying their ability to respond to the attacks.

"Depending on their industry, companies were confronted with a patchwork of federal agencies to engage regarding the attacks they faced," the memo reads. "For example, two companies' initial requests for assistance were forwarded around to different FBI offices and personnel before reaching the correct team."

This issue was compounded by the fact that the companies faced pressure to quickly pay the ransom under the promise from attackers that they would release the data and allow the companies to avoid negative publicity.

"Given the uncertainty over how quickly systems could be restored using backups and whether any sensitive data was stolen, the companies appeared to have strong incentives to quickly pay the ransom," the committee said.

Also Tuesday, the nation's top cybersecurity experts testified on the Biden administration's efforts to combat ransomware and improve public-private sector coordination.

"We have followed the money flows and apprehended that money when and wherever possible," National Cyber Director Chris Inglis testified, describing the administration's response. "We have used our intelligence resources to assist the private sector in understanding what the threats to them are, and at the same time give them best practices so they up their game and become a harder target."

RELATED U.S. offers $10M reward for information on DarkSide hackers

Executive Director for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Bryan Vorndran testified that passing legislation requiring companies to report cyberattacks to federal agencies was "a top priority."

"We need the information because that enables CISA and the FBI to both engage with that victim, offer our assistance, understand what's happening from on their networks and protect other victims," Vorndran said.

Navajo Nation opposes Biden's drilling ban at Chaco Canyon, wants smaller buffer

The Chaco Culture National Historic Park in New Mexico is considered a UNESCO World Heritage site.

 File Photo by Brendakochevar/Wikimedia Commons



Nov. 16 (UPI) -- The Navajo Nation said Tuesday that it disagrees with the Biden administration's proposal to ban oil and gas drilling within a 10-mile radius of Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, and instead prefers a smaller buffer.

DUTY TO CONSULT

The Navajo Nation's Council -- the legislative body of the government -- called on the administration to work with Navajo leaders regarding the proposed 20-year ban on drilling around the Chaco Culture National Historical Park.

"The Biden administration bypassed previous requests to Congress for field hearings and for leaders to hear directly from our Navajo families affected in the Chaco Canyon region," a statement from Speaker Seth Damon said.

"The position of the Navajo Nation Council is for the creation of a 5-mile buffer within and around this sacred site. It is important that the federal government consider and work with our Navajo allottees to further advance development.

"The administration must respect our tribal sovereignty and what the government-to-government relationship entails."

President Joe Biden's administration announced the proposed protections around the Chaco Culture National Historical Park in northwestern New Mexico on Monday while holding a Tribal Nations summit at the White House. The White House described the greater Chaco region as one of "great cultural, spiritual and historical significance to many Pueblos and Indian Tribes" which contains "thousands of artifacts that date back more than 1,000 years."

Chaco cultural sites were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 and are one of only 24 such sites in the United States.

LOCKEAN PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS

The proposal, under consideration by the Interior Department, doesn't apply to individual allotments owned by private, state or Tribal entities. But Rickie Nez, Navajo Resources and Development Committee chairman, indicated the proposed ban would prevent Navajo families from leasing their allotments.

"Protecting the interests of the Navajo people in the Eastern Agency is vital to our roles as the governing of the Navajo Nation," Nez said. "We must ensure the livelihood of Navajo allotted land owners in the greater Chaco Canyon area are maintained."

Nez called on the Biden administration to work with the Navajo Nation on the issue.

The Interior Department on Tuesday announced the formation of a new Secretary's Tribal Advisory Committee to provide a way for Tribal leaders to converse directly with Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.

"Tribes need a seat at the decision making table before policies are made that impact their communities. The creation of this new Tribal Advisory Committee is a timely and much-needed development that will ensure Tribal leaders can engage at the highest levels of the department on the issues that matter most to their people," Haaland said.

Fog of emissions, ‘greenwashing’ choking India’s most vulnerable

 “We are vulnerable communities, but in my experience, inside the COP, they were not talking about social justice.”

Issued on: 16/11/2021

A labourer loading coal into a truck in the eastern Indian city of Dhanbad in Jharkhand state on September 24, 2021. © Altaf Qadri, AP (file photo)

Text by :Leela JACINTO

As India pushed for a “phase down” compromise on coal at the COP26 summit, a toxic fog enveloped New Delhi, highlighting pollution concerns in the world’s third-largest carbon emitter. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi has embraced solar power as an offset, activists warn that large scale renewable energy projects are marginalising vulnerable tribal and farming communities.

Shubham Tigga made an exceptional journey this month when he left his home state of Chhattisgarh in central India’s coal belt region for the first time ever to attend the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

It was a major milestone for the 27-year-old activist, blogger and freelance journalist who hails from India’s indigenous, or Adivasi, community.

But the experience turned out to be disappointing. “Inside the COP, we didn’t get a chance to talk, it was very exclusionary,” recounted Tigga in a phone interview to FRANCE 24 days after the UN climate summit ended.

While the protests and events outside the climate conference were more lively, the young Adivasi man felt overwhelmed and unheard. “I thought Glasgow would be a very good chance to get our voices heard, I wanted our identity to be recognised on a global platform. Our identity is very important because in India, when there are any environmental issues, the first communities to be affected are Adivasi, tribal or indigenous groups,” he explained. “We are vulnerable communities, but in my experience, inside the COP, they were not talking about social justice.”

On Saturday night, as Tigga waited for the release of the final COP26 deal, his country’s delegation was driving a hard negotiating bargain. At India’s urging, a “phase out” of coal-fired power was changed to “phase down” in the 10-page COP26 deal.

Meanwhile in New Delhi, a thick toxic fog descended on the city over the weekend, forcing the country’s top court to order an environmental lockdown in the world’s most polluted capital.

India’s lingering embrace of coal – which accounts for nearly 70 percent of the country’s electricity generation – is driven by its need to fuel development, according to officials.

The development drive has seen India set its net zero emissions target to 2070 – a decade behind China and two decades behind the 2050 goal adopted by the EU and the US, which scientists say is necessary to slow global warming.

While India trails in emission reduction targets, it is a world pollution chart-topper. A 2020 report by Swiss organisation IQAir found that 22 of the world's 30 most polluted cities were in India, with Delhi ranked the most polluted capital.

The alarming situation on the ground though is far removed from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public discourse on national and international platforms, where the Indian leader touts his own targets and talking points.

At the start of the COP26 meeting, for instance, Modi unveiled his “Panchamrit” (five nectar) commitment, set to be achieved by 2030. These include generating 500 GW non-fossil energy and committing to produce 50 percent of the country’s energy through renewables, particularly solar power.

India’s commitment to renewable – or green – energy, is welcomed as a step in the right direction for a country with low per capita emissions with hundreds of millions of its citizens living in entrenched poverty.

The problem, though, is that not everyone is convinced the Modi administration’s path to progress – whether it is fueled by coal or renewables – will service India’s most marginalised communities.

Net zero commitments may be announced, but when mining interests are driving indigenous communities off their ancestral lands due to deforestation, those carbon neutral commitments might not get off the ground.

To make matters worse, the intimidation of tribal rights activists, coupled with impunity for corporations skirting already diluted environmental frameworks, make India a climate change powder keg.

Expanded coal production, depleted forests

On October 2, barely a month before Modi’s COP26 speech, hundreds of Adivasis from Chhattisgarh staged a 300-kilometre march against coal mining in their forested ancestral lands.

The protesters hailed from Chhattisgarh’s Hasdeo Aryana forests, one of the largest contiguous stretches of dense forest on the subcontinent, which is rich in biodiversity and wildlife, including elephant corridors that are critical for forestation.

But the Hasdeo forests are also rich in coal. In 2011, the area’s protected “no-go zone” status was revoked, triggering a decade-long, low intensity local campaign to save the forests from coal mining.

The Modi administration’s recent commitment to expand coal production to a massive 1 billion tonnes by 2024 has driven an aggressive expansion of coal mining in Hasdeo. In the lead-up to COP26, desperate villagers made a long trek to the Chhattisgarh state capital, Raipur, where their protest received national and international media coverage.

>> Click here for more on Modi’s coal push in tribal lands

But just weeks later, the government granted a mining clearance in the contested Parsa East-Kente Basan (PEKB) coal block, shocking Hasdeo villagers and local activists.

“The Hasdeo campaign is an overlap of so many issues. The central issue is of local communities and their access to sustainable livelihoods. It’s about large corporations operating in indigenous habitats, landgrabs, displacements. It’s about biodiversity preservation and maintaining elephant corridors to fight the human-elephant conflict in areas where elephants have been mined out of their habitat,” explained Priya Pillai, one of India’s leading environmentalists, in a phone interview with FRANCE 24 from New Delhi.

Pillai shot into the international spotlight a year after Modi was elected to his first term, when Indian authorities took her off a flight bound for London. The environmentalist, who was working for Greenpeace back in 2015, was to testify to a British parliamentary group looking into the coal mining activity of a UK-registered firm in a forest area in Madhya Pradesh, a state that borders Chhattisgarh.

The Delhi High Court subsequently overturned Pillai’s flight ban order, with Justice Rajiv Shakdher reminding the government that, “You cannot muzzle dissent in a democracy.”

Activists jailed or trying to stay out of jail

But that has not stopped the Modi administration from silencing its critics, sending India plummeting down press freedom listings. Activists working on tribal rights issues are particularly targeted, with leading human rights defenders arrested on charges of plotting a Maoist conspiracy against the government under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

Rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly called for a repeal of the “abusive” UAPA law, which was passed in the 1960s and has been broadened to include “an overbroad definition of terrorism…including non-violent political activity, according to Human Rights Watch.

Meanwhile leading US newspapers have done investigative reports on the planting of evidence on the detained activists’ computers. The “evidence” – which prosecutors allege prove the activists’ Maoist links – were planted using malware, according to US digital forensics experts.

But dozens of tribal rights activists continue to languish in jails without trials under the draconian UAPA law. Fr. Stan Swamy, an ailing, octogenarian Jesuit priest working with Adivasi groups in central India, died in custody earlier this year. Meanwhile Sudha Bharadwaj, a human rights lawyer working with Adivasi communities affected by land acquisitions in Chhattisgarh, spent her birthday in prison this month for the fourth consecutive year.

Pillai, a friend of many of the detained activists, is no stranger to the climate of intimidation. “Activists are either jailed or, the ones outside, are running from one court to another. The amount of time – and energy and money – that I spend to keep myself out of jail is time I could spend on my work,” she noted.

Going green without environmental checks

Adivasi villagers and activists are pitted against powerful mining interests, including state bodies and corporations with close ties to the Modi administration.

The PEKB mine in Hasdeo is operated by Indian billionaire tycoon Gautam Adani and more coal blocks in the forest are set to be operated by his Adani Group, which also owns the controversial Carmichael coal mine in Australia, according to the Financial Times.

Noting the close links between Adani and Modi, the Financial Times last year reported that, “Since Mr Modi came into office, Mr Adani’s net worth has increased by about 230 per cent to more than $26bn as he won government tenders and built infrastructure projects across the country.”

The tenders have extended into the renewable energy sector with the launch of a new subsidiary, Adani Green Energy, which operates massive solar plants in several states, including the Kamuthi photovoltaic plant, one of the largest solar plants in the world.

The plant “spans a vast area of 2,500 acres, equivalent to about 950 Olympic-size football fields,” notes the company’s website, and “the entire facility was completed within a record eight months”.

But the acquisition of these vast tracts of land has also seen the company battling court petitions and protests against the takeovers.

The Adani Group routinely denies any wrongdoing, but activists say the cases highlight the problem of India’s environmental regulatory frameworks.

“Investments in renewables do not require EIAs [environment impact assessments]. Single window clearances open up land to large scale renewable energy projects. Once you have the “go green” label, the environmental assessment processes are loose and lax,” said Pillai.

Losing livelihoods and dignity

While Pillai welcomes the shift away from fossil fuels, she is dismayed by the energy transition process under the Modi administration.

“This transition is an opportunity to bring more equality and social justice. Instead, what we are basically doing is moving investment from one sector and pushing it into large scale renewables. The question is, is large scale renewable energy any different from fossil fuels? The large scale renewable energy paradigm in this country is no different from the fossil fuel paradigm. It operates very similarly, it involves the same players and the same issues,” she noted.

As an environmentalist, Pillai calls for social justice in the transition to green energy, including smaller scale, community-led renewable energy projects. “The fight against climate change needs to be aligned with social equality,” she maintained.

For many Adivasis such as Tigga, identity lies at the heart of a socially just energy transition.

Adivasi groups are outside the Hindu caste system and their lives are guided by indigenous belief systems that attach spiritual value to every feature of the forests. Tigga says it is a way of life that is derided by what he calls “mainstream” Indians.

“There is a false perception that indigenous people don’t want development. This is bogus. We want development, but not for mining. We want social infrastructure, access to healthcare and education,” said Tigga. “When we talk about government policies and its impact on our land, our forests, our air, then they say we are [Maoist] terrorists – it’s just heart-wrenching.”

As a journalist, Tigga has reported in the Hasdeo area, which is not far from his family’s ancestral village, witnessing the havoc of land dispossessions. “I found some people who took the compensations from Adani and had turned alcoholics because there are deeper, structural problems that need to be addressed. If you give people money, they come to the city, they lose their dependence on the forest and they lose their dignified life,” he explained.

At the COP26, Tigga was immersed in discussions of carbon neutrality and net zero emissions. But in his ancestral village thousands of miles from Glasgow, he finds it hard to square the climate rhetoric circle. “Carbon neutrality means having to absorb more carbon than is emitted,” he explained. “So, they talk about carbon sinks and reforestation. But they’re cutting down dense forests. There’s so much superficial talk and no one’s talking about our issues.”

'New World Order': Asia's Virtual Influencers Offer Metaverse Glimpse


By Dene-Hern CHEN, Jing Xuan TENG in Beijing
11/16/21 

Sporting neon hair and flawless skin, Bangkok Naughty Boo is one of a new generation of influencers in Asia promising to stay forever young, on-trend, and scandal-free -- because they are computer generated.

Blurring the lines between fantasy and reality, these stars are hugely popular with teenagers in the region and will yield increasing power as interest grows in the "metaverse", industry experts say.

"I'm 17 forever, non-binary, with a dream of becoming a pop star," Bangkok Naughty Boo -- who uses they/them pronouns -- said in an introductory video sent to AFP.

Created by fashion designer Adisak Jirasakkasem and his friends, who envisioned a gender-fluid persona to hang the ideals of the artist community, the character is one of a tribe of "Made in Thailand" virtual influencers borne from COVID-19 pressures.

Digital character Ai-Ailynn is one of a tribe of 'Made in Thailand' virtual influencers borne from COVID-19 pressures 

Photo: SIA Bangkok via AFP / Handout


In September, Ai-Ailynn made her debut -- she was created after her agency became frustrated by the "limitations on human influencers" during COVID-19 lockdowns

Virtual influencers "are suitable for the new normal," SIA Bangkok told AFP.

Artificial intelligence creations are establishing a foothold worldwide in the lucrative influencer market, which is expected to be worth $13.8 billion in 2021, according to data giant Statista.

But industry analysts say Asia is where the industry will really boom in the coming decade.

Sporting neon hair and flawless skin, Bangkok Naughty Boo is one of a new generation of influencers in Asia promising to stay forever young, on-trend, and scandal-free -- because they are computer generated Photo: AFP / Lillian SUWANRUMPHA

"We think Asia will be an area of rapid growth in the sector of virtual influencers. Generation Z is the largest group of internet users in Asia, and it is a digitally adept generation that is highly familiar with social media and all things virtual," explained Nick Baklanov, a marketing specialist with Hype Auditor.

The number of virtual influencers has more than tripled to 130 in two years, according to Baklanov, who predicted Facebook's investment in the metaverse -- dubbed a VR version of the internet -- will mean an industry boom.

"Virtual influencers are better suited to the role of the first inhabitants of the metaverse than anyone else," he added.

Blurring the lines between fantasy and reality, virtual influencers are hugely popular with teenagers and will yield increasing power as interest grows in the 'metaverse', industry experts say 

Photo: AFP / Lillian SUWANRUMPHA

The biggest virtual earner is believed to be Lil Miquela, the LA-based "robot It-Girl" who has worked with Prada and Calvin Klein, and makes an estimated $7,000 per post.

The World Health Organization recruited Knox Frost, a 21-year-old AI "universal adapter" from Atlanta, to spread coronavirus safety messages to his 700,000 followers.

In Asia, computer-generated pop stars including Japan's Hatsune Miku and Luo Tianyi from China, as well as virtual K-Pop groups Eternity and K/DA, have paved the way for newer "stars" as technology improves.

To create Bangkok Naughty Boo, Adisak photographed a model in different locations across the Thai capital before creating the character's face online.

Human influencer Mutchima Wachirakomain says she is not worried about the rise of virtual rivals

 Photo: AFP / Lillian SUWANRUMPHA

He merged the computer-generated face and the real life model's body to make his virtual idol.

Bangkok Naughty Boo has already been signed to a leading Thai -- human -- modelling agency, while Ai-Ailynn has already secured a deal to be the face of a major mobile operator.

"Influencers yield more power in the East and provide more lucrative brand and engagement opportunities, as the idol and fandom concepts are more rooted in culture," Saisangeeth Daswani, a fashion and beauty industry analyst at market intelligence company Stylus, explained.

With trouble-free pasts, a round-the-clock work ethic, and easily controlled public personas, the fictional avatars are also respite for companies weary of reputational damage.

"Some brands enjoy the safety of associating with (virtual) influencers who have a pre-defined backstory and future," commented Christopher Travers, the founder of Virtual Humans, a website tracking the industry.

And with authorities in some Asian nations policing freedom of expression, businesses may prefer the ability to control everything.

"The Chinese government's recent crackdown on exorbitantly paid, 'vulgar' and 'immoral' influencers is likely to further boost the appeal of virtual influencers," explained Chen May Yee, APAC director for Wunderman Thompson Intelligence.

"They won't make impolitic comments or be embroiled in sex scandals."

SIA Bangkok say there has been huge interest in Ai-Ailynn with businesses in pandemic-ravaged Asia looking to "innovation and a new world order".

A shake-up of the status quo may have some flesh-and-blood content creators worried, but human influencer Mutchima Wachirakomain welcomes the newcomers.

"They are freaking cool," exclaimed the 25-year-old, who shares glamour shots alongside "no filter" makeup-free looks to her 21,100 followers on Instagram.

"People still yearn for authenticity, the realness of a real-life influencer," she said as she prepped for a shoot at an avocado-themed cafe.

"The characters can't replace the intimate connections humans have with each other."

But Bangkok Naughty Boo is prepared to try.

Their Instagram is a mix of cheeky ensembles shot against the backdrop of Thailand's concrete jungle capital as well as daily life snippets like getting a first vaccine shot and spilling bubble milk tea.

"I hope I can meet you all in person one day. Love you!" they told AFP, signing off with a kiss.

China's millennial 'new farmers' opt to live off the land

China's millennial 'new farmers' opt to live off the landHu Siqin is part of a nascent back-to-the-farm movement in which young Chinese professionals are quitting the rat race for the simple joys of an organic, agrarian lifestyle (AFP/Jessica YANG)More

Dan Martin
Tue, November 16, 2021

Hu Siqin had a promising career in Shanghai with a Fortune 500 company and more than enough money, but something was missing under the bright lights of the big city, a sense of what she calls "roots".

So the 33-year-old chucked it all in to lay down literal roots as part of a nascent back-to-the-farm movement in which young Chinese professionals are quitting the rat race for the simple joys of an organic, agrarian lifestyle.

"People like me don't feel that material comforts stimulate us, and deep down we remain unsatisfied," said Hu.

"So we’ve started thinking, what is the purpose of our lives? What am I living for?"

In many ways, it's a homecoming. Before the 20th century China was a primarily agrarian country for thousands of years, most of its vast population scratching out a life from the soil.

The ruling Communist Party, however, has for decades officially encouraged urbanisation and migration to growing cities to help lift millions out of rural poverty and build a more modern, consumer-oriented economy.

But with a measure of national prosperity now reached, attitudes are reversing among some people.

Millions of young Chinese are increasingly uninspired by modern society's long work hours and meagre pay, urban congestion and high living costs, and parental pressure for success and grandchildren -- spawning a succession of viral online memes encapsulating millennial despair.

- Empty inside -

Hu, who has worked in marketing and supply chains for French companies like personal-care giant L'Oreal and sports retailer Decathlon, said that in her career she "appeared happy on the outside, but felt empty inside."

She now sows organic, pesticide- and fertiliser-free sweet potatoes, long beans and other crops on rented plots of land with like-minded friends on Chongming, a large, primarily agricultural island on Shanghai's outskirts.

Hu, a petite dynamo with a shovel, can barely contain her delight as she pops sweet potatoes out of the soil and samples sorghum plants that tower over her.

"So sweet!" she exclaims, biting into a stalk of the grain.

According to the government, around 20 million people have joined what it terms a "new farmer" movement, some of whom have millions of social media followers as they post on their lifestyles.

China's government has recognised the potential advantage of an influx of tech- and business-savvy millennials bringing new ideas and enthusiasm to an ag sector still largely dominated by longtime peasant farmers, and has pledged financial and policy supports.

The movement also ties into efforts by fast-growing start-ups like Pinduoduo, whose platforms help small farmers tap into a swelling Chinese market for freshly delivered produce.

Former advertising executive Liang Funa became a farmer after feeling burnt out by long work (AFP/Jessica YANG)

- Another path -

For "new farmers" like Liang Funa, 34, its about enjoying a healthy, peaceful and more sustainable life.

The former ad executive felt burnt-out due to excessive work hours and a deeply unhealthy lifestyle.

"Our generation is under huge pressure, and people who stay in cities can't see many other choices," he said.

"The people around them talk constantly about buying a house or a car or getting married, like these are the only measures of success and there are no other roads available."

Liang, who moved to Chongming three years ago, has had to rapidly learn horticulture -- his farmer neighbours and internet websites help -- while dabbling in side work online for extra income.

But his life is now relatively stress-free, and Liang has realised just how few consumer goods he really needs.

And by eating only his own organic vegetables, he feels healthier, mitigating the need for trips to the doctor.

Convincing parents to accept this life choice is another matter.

Hu's parents are baffled, accusing her of "going backwards" in life.

But she is unconcerned, and is now negotiating a long-term lease on a farmstead of her own in rural Zhejiang province near Shanghai.

She hopes to sow her first crop in the spring.

"I jumped out of my comfort zone and went to an unfamiliar and uncertain place, and it has been very profound," she said.

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