Ozone-depleting substances caused half of late 20th-century Arctic warming, says study

A scientific paper published in 1985 was the first to report a burgeoning hole in Earth's stratospheric ozone over Antarctica. Scientists determined the cause to be ...

Phys.org3 hours ago

bookmark_border

share

more_vert

CFCs are a major driver of Arctic warming, study finds

Ozone-depleting substances such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) have played an important and under-appreciated role in the rapid warming of the Arctic, ...

The Globe and Mail3 hours ago

bookmark_border

share

more_vert

Ozone-depleting gases might have driven extreme Arctic warming

The far north is heating up twice as fast as the global average.

Nature.com3 hours ago

bookmark_border

share

more_vert

CFCs responsible for half of Arctic sea-ice loss

Halogenated compounds responsible for one third of global warming in the late 20th century.

Chemistry World3 hours ago

bookmark_border

share

more_vert

Blame Your Old Air Conditioner for Melting the Arctic

The ozone hole was caused by chemicals formerly used in air conditioners and refrigerators. But new research shows that the same stuff is also behind half of ...

Gizmodo3 hours ago

bookmark_border

share

more_vert

View full coverage

LAURA TRUMP REPEATS EUROPEAN NATIONALISTS WHITE POWER TALKING POINT

Lara Trump Claims Angela Merkel's Welcoming Of Refugees Was The 'Downfall Of Germany'

A Fireball Flew Over Kyoto, Japan – Now Scientists Know What It Was and Where It Came From

TOPICS:MeteorsNAOJNational Institutes Of Natural Sciences
By NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF NATURAL SCIENCES JANUARY 20, 2020


These are images capturing the 2017 fireball from different angles and a map showing where the cameras were located. Credit: NAOJ/Kasuga et al.

At around 1 a.m. local standard time on April 29, 2017, a fireball flew over Kyoto, Japan. Compared to other fireballs spotted from Earth, it was relatively bright and slow. Now, scientists have determined not only what the fireball was, but also where it came from.

“We uncovered the fireball’s true identity,” says Toshihiro Kasuga, paper author and visiting scientist at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and Kyoto Sangyo University. “It has a similar orbit to that of the near-Earth asteroid 2003 YT1, which is likely its parent body.”

2003 YT1, a binary asteroid first detected in 2003, appears to have been active in the past, meaning it fissured and released dust particles, such as the one responsible for the 2017 fireball. It does not currently show any activity, though, according to Kasuga. However, the researchers found that the orbit, estimated radiant point, velocity and appearance date of the 2017 fireball are all consistent with dust particles that originated from 2003 YT1.

“The potential break-up of the rock could be dangerous to life on Earth,” Kasuga says. “The parent body 2003 YT1 could break up, and those resulting asteroids could hit the Earth in the next 10 million years or so, especially because 2003 YT1 has a dust production mechanism.”

The researchers found that this dust production mechanism, or the asteroid’s likelihood of releasing dust and rock particles, stems from its rotational instability in a process called the YORP effect. When the asteroid is warmed by the Sun, the energy results in a small thrust, which can produce a corresponding recoil, depending on the gravitational pull and other physical variables. The recoil can twist the asteroid, introducing a rotational change. The change can be at physical odds with the gravity and/or other forces, and force the asteroid to physically break — even just a little, a process which produces dust.

“The released particles can enter Earth’s atmosphere and appear as fireballs, which is exactly what happened in 2017,” says Kasuga.

According to Kasuga, that particular fireball was not a threat to Earth, as it was estimated to only be a few centimeters in size. Something so small would burn up before it reached the surface.

“The 2017 fireball and its parent asteroid gave us a behind-the-scenes look at meteors,” says Kasuga. “Next, we plan to further research predictions for potentially hazardous objects approaching the Earth. Meteor science can be a powerful asset for taking advanced steps towards planetary defense.”

Other contributors include Mikiya Sato, Masayoshi Ueda, and Yasunori Fujiwara, all of the Nippon Meteor Society. Chie Tsuchiya and Jun-Ichi Watanabe, both of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, also co-authored the paper.

Reference: “A Fireball and Potentially Hazardous Binary Near-Earth Asteroid (164121) 2003 YT1” by Toshihiro Kasuga, Mikiya Sato, Masayoshi Ueda, Yasunori Fujiwara, Chie Tsuchiya and Jun-ichi Watanabe, 13 January 2020, The Astronomical Journal.
DOI: 10.3847/1538-3881/ab4e1b

Libya Peace Still Elusive Despite 'Small Step' In Berlin
By Imed Lamloum with Rim Taher in Tripoli 01/20/20 

A peaceful solution to Libya's protracted conflict remains uncertain despite an international agreement struck in Germany, analysts say, as a fragile ceasefire between warring factions brought only a temporary truce.

On Sunday in Berlin, world leaders committed to ending all foreign meddling in Libya and to uphold a weapons embargo as part of a broader plan to end the country's conflict.

But overnight Sunday to Monday heavy bombardment again echoed south of Tripoli -- the capital of a country that has been in turmoil since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

Since April last year the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) based in Tripoli has fought back against an offensive launched by fighters loyal to eastern commander Khalifa Haftar.


The key players in the Libyan conflict after a ceasefire started Sunday Photo: AFP / Jonathan WALTER

GNA leader Fayez al-Sarraj and Haftar attended the Berlin summit but they refused to meet and the conference failed to get the two rivals to commit to a permanent truce.

The host, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, tried hard to get Sarraj and Haftar to engage in a serious dialogue.

But after the hours-long talks, she had to put on a brave face and admit she had no illusions concerning a peaceful outcome in Libya anytime soon.

---30---

HOME OF THE 1%
Business
The Bizarre, Fascinating World Of Monaco, The Wealthiest State On Earth
By Palash Ghosh @Gooch700 01/18/20 

KEY POINTS

Monaco has had no income tax since 1869

About one-third of Monaco’s residents are millionaires

All of Monaco could fit inside Central Park

As the global business and political elite prepare to meet in a pristine Alps resort in Switzerland next week, another place 330 miles to the south probably has more millionaires and billionaires per capita than even Davos will.

The tiny principality of Monaco, on the southern coast of France, has more super-wealthy residents per capita than anywhere else on the planet.

Occupying less than a square mile in diameter (smaller than Central Park in New York), Monaco has a population of approximately 38,000 – but about one-third of its residents are millionaires (versus one in 28 in London.) Moreover, about 2,800 of Monaco's residents are worth at least $10 million.

The Global Wealth Migration Review by AfrAsia Bank of Mauritius and New World Wealth, a global market research group, based in Johannesburg, South Africa, stated that the average wealth (defined as net assets) of a person living in Monaco was about $2.114 million in 2018 – the highest such figure in the world. Liechtenstein came a distant second at $786,000, followed by Switzerland ($315,000) and Luxembourg ($300,000). The corresponding figure for the U.S. was $186,000.


Monaco also has no poverty.

Damyana Bakardzhieva, a professor of economics at the International University of Monaco, said if one used France’s definition of poverty – that is, those people living on an income below $1,100 per month – than Monaco would have a poverty rate of zero.

A “country” this unique has many strange qualities. For example, Monaco is a constitutional monarchy run by the House of Grimaldi – the oldest dynasty in Europe -- and has been recognized as a sovereign state since 1861.

The natives of Monaco, called Monegasque, are vastly outnumbered in their own country, accounting for less than 25% of the population. The remainder comprise foreign residents primarily from France, Italy, U.K., Switzerland, Germany, Russia, and the U.S.

Citizens are forbidden from gambling or even entering their luxurious casinos.

Monaco has four casinos -- Casino de Monte Carlo, Casino Café de Paris, Sun Casino and Monte-Carlo Bay Casino -- all of which are operated by the Société des Bains de Mer, or SBM, a publicly traded company. For the 2017-2018 period, SBM reported revenues of $223 million

Monaco also provides free health care and free education to its citizens and even housing subsidies to qualified applicants.

But even Monaco has certain problems familiar to other nations – as a very densely populated state (more than 49,000 people per square mile, versus 317 for France), it has a housing shortage.

To solve this, Monaco is constructing new luxury beachfront homes and boutiques through a land reclamation project set to cost $2.23 billion. Due for completion next year, the construction will comprise about 646,000 square feet of luxury accommodation, 33,000 square feet of retail space and a new private port.

Also, it’s very costly to live here.

Savills, the global real estate firm, stated that Monaco boasts the most expensive prime residential market on the planet. In 2018, its prime residential values were 10% higher than in Hong Kong, 96% higher than New York, 176% higher than London and 237% higher than Paris.

Monaco’s average price per square mile surged by 18.1% in 2018 to $5,028 per square foot while the average price growth in the world’s leading prime city housing markets was a sluggish 2.3%.

Monaco is also the most expensive market for prime rental property. In December 2018, the average rental value amounted to about $124 per square foot -- versus less than half that figure in London.

Not surprisingly, many who work in Monaco in “ordinary” jobs cannot afford to live in the principality and commute daily from France or Italy.

Monaco is widely renowned as a tax haven – one of the many reasons it attracts so many high net worth individuals.

Monaco residents pay no income tax because in 1869 the Grand Casino de Monte Carlo was so successful the government decided to cease collecting income tax. Monaco also does not charge capital gains tax nor a wealth tax.

However, Monaco is not entirely tax free.

French citizens who reside in Monaco are subject to personal income tax based on French laws and which are paid directly to the French government.

While there are no property taxes in Monaco, rental properties are taxed at a rate of 1% of the annual rent plus other applicable charges. When property is sold, the seller is hit with a 33.3% tax on profits.

Also, while there is no general corporate income tax in Monaco, certain businesses have to pay taxes on profits – for example, companies that have 25% or more of their operations outside of Monaco.

Belying its fairy tale image, Monaco has a heavy and highly visible police presence.

There is one police officer for every 74 residents, while more than 560 CCTV cameras monitor every corner of the country 24 hours a day.

"Monaco has the highest density of police per capita in Europe by far," said Hans Muhlbacher, research director at International University of Monaco. "There are observation cameras well-hidden to tourists and visitors all over the principality."

Former ruler Prince Rainier once declared: "Monaco must have total security.” Monaco police officers have to undergo a strict 2-year training program.

As a consequence. Monaco is virtually free of crime. The tiny state averages about one homicide per decade.

Perhaps the most high-profile murder to occur in recent times was when billionaire banker Edmond Safra, a personal friend of Prince Rainier, was found dead in his heavily fortified Monte Carlo apartment in 1999.

---30---

RELATED STORIES
Monaco Ousts Justice Chief After Russian Billionaire Scandal

Troops fire tear gas as migrants try to storm into Mexico

January 20, 2020 By Agence France-Presse

Hundreds of Central Americans from a new migrant caravan tried to force their way into Mexico Monday by crossing the river that divides the country from Guatemala, prompting the National Guard to fire tear gas.

The Central Americans, from the so-called “2020 Caravan” of around 3,500 undocumented migrants, gathered on the Guatemalan side of the Suchiate River at dawn, demanding migratio

When authorities did not immediately respond, the migrants began fording the river, which is shallow this time of year.

Mexican troops fired tear gas in an attempt to force them back. Scores of migrants, many with cloths tied around their faces to protect them from the tear gas, pelted the military police guarding the river with large stones, as the latter sheltered behind riot shields.

“Let us through! Put your hands on your hearts,” shouted a Honduran migrant named Jorge, who was traveling with his wife and two young children.

“They’re trying to trick us. They tell us to register (with the authorities), but then they deport us,” said another migrant, Tania, who has been with the caravan since it formed last week in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, around 650 kilometers (400 miles) away.

“We got desperate because of the heat. It’s been exhausting, especially for the children,” Honduran migrant Elvis Martinez, 33, told AFP on the Guatemalan side of the border as he prepared to ford the river

“I’m asking (Mexican President Andres Manuel) Lopez Obrador to consider his conscience” and let the migrants through, he added.

But Lopez Obrador’s government faces intense pressure to do just the opposite from President Donald Trump, who last year threatened to impose steep tariffs on Mexico if it did not do more to stop a surge of undocumented Central Americans arriving at the US-Mexican border.
© 2020 AFP

#AMLO IS NOT A SOCIAL DEMOCRAT HE IS A NEOLIBERAL POPULIST 

‘Embarrassingly incompetent’: NAACP official scolds Kellyanne Conway who can’t explain Trump’s diss of MLK Day

 January 20, 2020 By David Edwards


Sherrilyn Ifill, who serves as president of the NAACP Defense Fund, on Monday lashed out at presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway after she could not explain what President Donald Trump was doing to mark Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

“He’s preparing for Davos,” Conway said in a Monday morning interview, “and agrees with many of the things that Dr. Martin Luther King stood for and agreed with for many years, including unity.”

“What an embarrassingly incompetent answer,” Ifill later told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell. “There’s is no answer that she can give that would be acceptable because he’s doing nothing to commemorate MLK Day, and frankly, it would be hypocritical if he tried to do that.”


“Just in the last week, the tweets that he’s put up, knowing that [the pro-gun rally in Virginia] was coming today, knowing that the governor of Virginia had declared a state of emergency today because of credible threats of violence given what happened in 2017 in Charlottesville,” she continued. “We’ve now reset what the president is supposed to do. He’s not supposed to call for calm and peace.

“He just gets to tweet whatever he wants,” Ifill pointed out. “He’s not doing anything to commemorate MLK Day and that’s why it’s important that we do that work. We don’t need Mr. Trump to lead us in knowing what to do around equality and justice.”

Watch the video below from MSNBC.

Trump likens himself to Martin Luther King Jr while boasting about low black unemployment

Kellyanne Conway claims civil rights leader would not support impeachment

Alex Woodward New York Tuesday 21 January 2020 

Donald Trump has linked his achievements on the anniversary of being sworn in as president with Martin Luther King Jr‘s birthday, as the he boasted of low unemployment among black Americans.

On Twitter, the US president wrote: “It was exactly three years ago today, January 20, 2017, that I was sworn into office. So appropriate that today is also MLK jr DAY. African-American Unemployment is the LOWEST in the history of our Country, by far. Also, best Poverty, Youth, and Employment numbers, ever. Great!”

Asked how Mr Trump is celebrating this year’s nationwide memorial recognising the murdered civil rights leader, White House adviser Kellyanne Conway said the president “agrees with many of the things” Dr King stood for, including “unity and equality”.

Then she pivoted to the president’s upcoming impeachment trial in the Senate, saying: ”He’s not the one trying to tear the country apart.”

Ms Conway said Dr King’s “vision” did not include “Americans dragged through the process where the president is not going to be removed from office”.

The adminisrion listed no public events celebrating Dr King on Monday. The president issued a proclamation on 17 January in advance of the federal holiday, writing that the administration “works each day to ensure that all Americans have every opportunity to realise a better life for themselves and their families regardless of race, class, gender, or any other barriers that have arbitrarily stood in their way”.

Mr Trump and Mike Pence, the vice president, did visit Dr King’s memorial marker in Washington DC. This year, his campaign’s Twitter account posted a photograph showing Mr Trump walking through the memorial – a photo taken at last year’s wreath-laying ceremony – to “honour the life” of Dr King, but it did not disclose that the image was from last year.

His campaign account also juxtaposed images of Dr King with footage of the president appearing with black Americans as part of a fundraising video.

Mr Trump largely spent the day in Washington in 2019 because of a government shutdown that effectively grounded the first family. In 2018, he was in Palm Beach, Florida. He spent this weekend in Florida and Texas, where he addressed the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Ms Conway said she spent the morning “reading some of the lesser-known passages by Dr King” and said that she appreciates that “we as a nation respect him by giving him his own day”.

This morning, the White House issued a message on Twitter, saying the president will “pause to honour the incredible life and accomplishments” of Dr King, who was assassinated on 4 April 1968 at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, where he was addressing striking sanitation workers amid preparations for a Poor People’s Campaign.

Minutes later, the president wrote his support for a “Lobby Day” rally in which thousands of gun rights activists – including far-right militia members – gathered in Virginia to protest gun control legislation in the state.

The president accused Democrats of “working hard to take away” Second Amendment rights. “This is just the beginning. Don’t let it happen, VOTE REPUBLICAN in 2020!”

   Martin Luther King's daughter calls out  Kellyanne Conway for saying her father would oppose Trump's impeachment

The youngest daughter of Martin Luther King Jr has condemned Kellyanne Conway after she claimed that the impeachment of Donald Trump would have been against King's values. 

Speaking to NBC News on Martin Luther King Day, Conway was asked what the president is doing to commemorate the day. In reply, she said:

I can tell you that the president is preparing for Davos and agrees with many of the things that Dr King stood for including unity and equality and he's not the one trying to tear the country apart through an impeachment process and lack of substance which is really very shameful at this point. 

I've held my opinion on it for a very long time but when you see the articles of impeachment that came out, I don't think it was within Dr King's vision to have Americans dragged through a process where the president is not going to be removed from office, is not going to be charged with bribery, extortion or high crimes and misdemeanours.

Conway's egregious and completely baseless comments on King's values sparked a strong reply from Bernice King, who is now the CEO of the King Centre in Atlanta, Georgia. 

The 56-year-old quote retweeted the above video, asking Conway and the Trump administration to refrain from using King's name to somehow justify their own issues. 

Unfortunately, Conway wasn't the only Trump loyalist to invoke King's name on Monday, as a way of almost trying to prove that nothing they have ever said could be interpreted as bigoted. 

Jeff Sessions, a former senator for Alabama and member of the Trump administration tweeted a King quote that said:

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

Journalist Britanny Packnett Cunningham then quote retweeted Sessions with a quote from Coretta Scott King, Martin Luther King Jr's wife, where she strongly criticised the appointment of Sessions to government. 

As an almost perfect tonic to this level of hypocrisy from modern-day Republicans, Bernice King delivered a speech complaining that due to the resurgence in racism and white supremacism, a day to celebrate the legacy of her father "is not enough."

Watch more
The story behind Martin Luther King Jr Day

 MLK’s ‘I Have A Dream’ speech


SEE  https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=MLK

SEE  https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=MLKDAY

Germany To Support 'Bio-economy' With 3.6 Bn Euros
By AFP News 01/15/20 

Silicon Valley Innovators Launch $15M Breakthrough Prize In Life Sciences

German ministers on Wednesday agreed an action plan for the "bio-economy" worth 3.6 billion euros to help sustainable resources replace material of fossil origin in everyday products.

Research and agriculture ministers Anja Karlizcek and Julia Kloeckner will oversee the scheme that is set to back more than 1,000 projects and last until 2024.

Farming is to benefit from 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion) of the total, while a little more than one billion euros is to be devoted to research.

"Renewables can be developed around the corner, in our meadows, fields and forests, whereas we have to import many fossil raw materials," Kloeckner told reporters.

The "bio-economy" uses plants, microorganisms or fungi to develop chemical products, medications and other inputs for consumer goods Photo: dpa / Sven Hoppe

The term bio-economy refers to the practice of using plants, microorganisms or fungi to develop chemical products, medications and other inputs for consumer goods, rather than deriving them from fossil deposits like gas or oil.

The ministers highlighted different examples of bio-economy products, including car tyres made from dandelions, a flax-based car door as an alternative to carbon fibre, spider-silk trainers and a lightweight wooden cycle helmet.

"Sustainable bioproducts will be economically competitive over the long term," Karlizcek said, given the scheduled ratcheting up of prices for emitting carbon dioxide (CO2) in Berlin's latest climate protection plans.

Kloeckner noted that "conflicts" must be avoided between the bio-economy and traditional farming, warning that "growing demand for renewable raw materials shouldn't endanger food security."

Copyright AFP. All rights reserved.

SARS PANDEMIC China Confirms Human-to-human Transmission As WHO Emergency Group Meets

By Laurent Thomet and Eva Xiao 01/20/20

A SARS-like virus that has spread across China and reached three other Asian nations is contagious between humans, a government expert said Monday, and the World Health Organization announced that a key emergency committee would meet this week to discuss the infections.

The new coronavirus strain, first discovered in the central city of Wuhan, has caused alarm because of its connection to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed nearly 650 people across mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003.

The total number of people diagnosed with the new virus has risen to 218.

No human-to-human transmission has been confirmed so far, but Wuhan's health commission has previously said the possibility 'cannot be excluded' Photo: AFP / STR

Beijing and Shanghai confirmed their first cases on Monday while more than a dozen more emerged in southern Guangdong province and 136 new ones were found over the weekend in Wuhan, according to state broadcaster CCTV.


A third person died in Wuhan, the local health commission said.



TOP ARTICLES2/3Shooting At San Antonio Bar Leaves 2Dead, 5 Injured



Scientists have scrambled to determine the mode of transmission, with a seafood market in Wuhan believed to be the centre of the outbreak.

A seafood market is believed to be the centre of the outbreak in the city, but health officials have reported that some patients had no history of contact with the facility Photo: AFP / NOEL CELIS

But Zhong Nanshan, a renowned scientist at the National Health Commission who helped expose the scale of the SARS outbreak, said patients could contract the new virus without having visited the city

"Currently, it can be said it is affirmative that there is the phenomenon of human-to-human transmission," he said in an interview with CCTV.

In Guangdong, two patients were infected by family members who visited Wuhan, Zhong explained.

Map of China locating Wuhan and the seafood market identified at the centre of a mysterious pneumonia outbreak that has sickened dozens and killed three. Photo: AFP / Gal ROMA

Fourteen medical personnel helping with coronavirus patients have also been infected, he said, though he added that more than 95 of the total cases were related to Wuhan.

Zhong predicted an increase of viral pneumonia cases during the Lunar New Year holiday -- when millions travel in China -- but expressed confidence in curbing the spread of the virus, China's official Xinhua news agency reported.

The World Health Organization panel will meet in Geneva on Wednesday to determine whether to declare the outbreak "a public health emergency of international concern" -- a rare designation only used for the gravest epidemics.

A mysterious SARS-like virus has spread around China -- including to Beijing -- authorities said Monday, fuelling fears of a major outbreak as millions begin travelling for the Lunar New Year in humanity's biggest migration. Photo: AFPTV / Leo RAMIREZ

WHO said earlier that an animal source seemed to be "the most likely primary source" with "some limited human-to-human transmission occurring between close contacts."

Wuhan has 11 million inhabitants and serves as a major transport hub, including during the annual Lunar New Year holiday, which begins later this week and sees hundreds of millions of Chinese people travel across the country to visit family.

Weighing in on the matter for the first time, President Xi Jinping said Monday that safeguarding people's lives should be given "top priority" and that the spread of the epidemic "should be resolutely contained," according to CCTV.

During the annual Lunar New Year holiday hundreds of millions of Chinese people travel across the country to visit family Photo: AFP / NOEL CELIS

Xi said it was necessary to "release information on the epidemic in a timely manner and deepen international cooperation," and ensure people have a "stable and peaceful Spring Festival," the broadcaster said.

Five cases were reported in Beijing, while in Shanghai a 56-year-old woman who had come from Wuhan was hospitalised and in stable condition, local health authorities said.

South Korea on Monday also reported its first case -- a 35-year-old woman who flew in from Wuhan. Thailand and Japan have previously confirmed a total of three cases -- all of whom had visited the Chinese city.

There are also six suspected cases in Shanghai and in four provinces and regions in the east, south and southwest of the country.

The virus did not slow down the annual holiday travel rush, though some travellers wore masks at crowded railway stations in Beijing and Shanghai.

The WHO said the new cases in China were the result of "increased searching and testing for (the virus) among people sick with respiratory illness."

Scientists with the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College in London warned in a paper published Friday that the number of cases in Wuhan was likely to be closer to 1,700, much higher than the official figure.

Wuhan authorities said they have installed infrared thermometers at airports and railway and coach stations across the city. Passengers with fever were being registered, given masks and taken to medical institutions.

State TV footage showed medical staff working inside an isolation ward at a Wuhan hospital in hazmat suits.

In Hong Kong, health officials said they were expanding enhanced checks on arrivals to include anyone coming in from Hubei province, not just its capital Wuhan. More than 100 people are being monitored in the city.

In Wuhan, 170 people are still being treated at hospital, including nine in critical condition, the city's health commission said.

Copyright AFP. All rights reserved.