Disasters caused $210 billion in damage in 2020, showing growing cost of climate change

PUBLISHED THU, JAN 7 2021
Emma Newburger@EMMA_NEWBURGER

A record number of hurricanes, wildfires and floods exacerbated by climate change cost the world $210 billion in damage last year, a top insurer said.

The six costliest disasters of 2020 occurred in the U.S., topped by Hurricane Laura’s devastation, which caused $13 billion in damage after hitting Louisiana in August.

One major problem the report revealed is the lack of insurance coverage for disasters in developing countries.

Overall disaster losses in Asia totaled $67 billion, of which only $3 billion was insured.


A woman stands outside her home damaged due to heavy rain caused by Hurricane Eta, in Pimienta, Honduras November 6, 2020.
Jorge Cabrera | Reuters

A record number of hurricanes, wildfires and floods exacerbated by climate change cost the world $210 billion in damage last year, according to a report by reinsurance company Munich Re.

Damages totaled $95 billion in the U.S., nearly double the losses in 2019. The country experienced a record number of Atlantic hurricanes and the largest wildfires on record in California in 2020, the second-hottest year on record.

Climate change is causing more frequent and intense disasters like storms, heat waves and wildfires, and economic losses are also growing as more people build in disaster-prone areas.

“Natural catastrophe losses in 2020 were significantly higher than in the previous year,” Munich Re board member Torsten Jeworrek said in the report. “Climate change will play an increasing role in all of these hazards. It is time to act.”

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The six costliest disasters of 2020 occurred in the U.S, the worst of which was Hurricane Laura. The storm caused $13 billion in damage after it devastated parts of Louisiana in August. The Atlantic hurricane season saw a record 30 named storms and accounted for $43 billion in losses, almost half of the total disaster loss in the U.S. last year, the report said.

A line of severe thunderstorms in the Midwest in August caused $6.8 billion in losses and destroyed millions of acres of farmland in Iowa. Drought in the West also fueled dozens of massive wildfires that resulted in $16 billion in losses.

One major problem the report revealed is the lack of insurance coverage for disasters in developing countries. Overall disaster losses in Asia totaled $67 billion, of which only $3 billion was insured.

The single worst disaster last year was flooding across China from summer monsoons, which amounted to $17 billion in damage, of which only 2% was insured. Cyclone Amphan hit India and Bangladesh in May, causing $14 billion in damage, very little of which was insured, the report said.

After Court OKs Trump Arctic Refuge Auction, Biden Urged to Immediately Ban Drilling on Public Lands

"Trump's last-ditch effort to extract fossil fuels in this sacred region is a direct assault on Indigenous sovereignty, our climate, and communities."

by

Jessica Corbett, staff writer

Published on

Wednesday, January 06, 2021

by

Common Dreams

Caribou graze on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. (Photo: USFWS/Flickr/cc)

President-elect Joe Biden is facing renewed pressure to deliver on his promise of a bold climate agenda after a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration could move forward with a Wednesday auction of fossil fuel drilling leases for federally protected lands in Alaska.

"President-elect Biden can reverse these disastrous oil and gas industry plans by keeping his promise to ban fossil fuel extraction—including fracking—on our public lands and waters."
—Mitch Jones, Food & Water Watch

After decades of national debate over oil and gas development in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), Republicans in Congress opened up the region to drilling with a provision in the so-called "tax scam" that President Donald Trump signed in 2017.

Late Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason in Anchorage declined (pdf) to issue a preliminary injunction to block the auction. The request came from environmental groups and Indigenous people who are opposed to drilling in ANWR, which is home to over 280 species.

In a statement Wednesday, Mitch Jones, policy director at the advocacy group Food & Water Watch, urged Biden to prevent fossil fuel development in the refuge—and beyond—when he takes office in two weeks. The president-elect has previously said he "totally" opposes drilling in the ecologically sensitive region.

"Trump rushing through these lease sales as a final handout to his cronies in the oil and gas industry is outrageous, if not surprising," Jones declared. "Trump's consistent, willful ignorance of the realities of climate change has pushed our planet towards decades of increasing climate chaos."

"President-elect Biden can reverse these disastrous oil and gas industry plans by keeping his promise to ban fossil fuel extraction—including fracking—on our public lands and waters," he added. "This is a step he can, and must, take upon taking office."

Jones' call for Biden to intervene to protect ANWR's coastal plain came after environmental and Indigenous leaders expressed disappointment with Gleason's decision not to block the auction while also emphasizing that her ruling doesn't mark the end of their fight against drilling rights in the refuge.

Four lawsuits have been filed since August challenging the lease plans, according to Reuters. The National Audubon Society and other groups had argued that the auction shouldn't go forward until the broader challenge to the drilling is resolved.

The Anchorage Daily News reports that Erik Grafe, an Earthjustice attorney representing the Audubon Society, said the case "is by no means over."

"The court concluded only that for now there is no harm that justifies an injunction. It also recognized that such an action could come very soon with issuance of seismic permits," he said. "We will continue to press our case that the agency approved the program unlawfully and that its decision should be overturned."

Bernadette Demientieff, executive director of the Gwich'in Steering Committee, which represents some of the area's Indigenous people, similarly said Tuesday that "today's ruling is disappointing but does nothing to change the strength of our lawsuit or our resolve."

Demientieff's people have relied on the region's Porcupine Caribou Herd for thousands of years. The Gwich'in call the coastal plain, which the caribou use as their calving grounds, "Iizhik Gwats'an Gwandaii Goodlit" or "The Sacred Place Where Life Begins."

As The Guardian reported ahead of the ruling Tuesday:

Oil from drilling west of the refuge, at Prudhoe Bay, has fueled the economic development the state has depended on to fill its coffers and write annual revenue checks to residents. That extraction also led to the most damaging oil spill in history, when the Exxon Valdez tanker spewed millions of barrels off Alaska's southern coast in 1989.

Prudhoe Bay "was the largest oil field ever discovered in North America. Since then we have had more than 1,500 square miles of oil and gas development in the Alaskan Arctic… but [ANWR] has been off limits," said Adam Kolton, executive director of the Alaska Wilderness League.

"For us, it symbolizes just what's at stake here. If you can't draw a line at the tundra and keep this one area of the Arctic off limits, then the question is, where can you draw the line and what protected part or wildlife refuge in the United States will remain off limits?"

For the first-ever ANWR auction, the Bureau of Land Management "plans open bids from companies seeking 10-year leases," according to the Daily News. "Up for grabs to the highest bidder are 22 tracts on the refuge's coastal plain, most of them about 50,000 acres. Together, the tracts represent about 5% of the 19-million-acre refuge."

It remains unclear if any fossil fuel companies will even bid on the leases—especially given that major U.S. banks, under pressure from environmental and Indigenous groups, have adopted policies of refusing to finance drilling in the Arctic, including ANWR, which was designated by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1960.

EPA: Fuel efficiency dropped in 2019

Ben Geman, author of Generate

Data: EPA; Chart: Axios Visuals

The average fuel efficiency of cars and light trucks sold in the U.S. dipped in model year 2019, newly released federal data shows.

Why it matters: Transportation is the nation's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. The overall trends (see above) show that the sector is far from steep emissions cuts.

How it works: Per Reuters, "The shift to larger vehicles was the biggest factor hurting fuel economy. In 2019, 44% of the fleet were cars and 56% were light-duty trucks, a category that includes SUVs, the highest percentage of trucks on record."

What they're saying: EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said the data justifies his agency's decision to weaken Obama-era rules on mileage and CO2 emissions to allow smaller increases through the mid-2020s.

• "This report shows in detail how few auto manufactures were able to meet the unrealistic emissions standards set by the Obama administration without resorting to purchasing emission credits," he said.

The other side: Dan Becker, an advocate for much tougher emissions standards, said the data show why the incoming administration must reverse Trump policy.

• "Without tough rules from the Biden administration, automakers will keep pushing gas-guzzling Trumpmobiles on consumers rather than deliver clean cars that cut pollution," said Becker, who's with the Center for Biological Diversity.

 

BUSINESS

Ontario students push teachers to pressure pension fund to divest from fossil fuels

By The Canadian Press

Thu., Jan. 7, 2021

TORONTO - An environmental coalition is appealing to Ontario teachers to pressure their pension fund to divest from companies that develop or transport fossil fuel products.

In a four minute YouTube video, a group of students from across Ontario read a letter to their teachers, asking them to push the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan to stop investing their retirement savings in oil, gas, coal, and pipeline companies.

The coalition — which consists of activist groups Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health, Fridays for Future Toronto and a group of working and retired Ontario teachers — demands that Teachers’ halt all new investments in oil and gas and phase out current investments the industry by 2025, set targets for increased investments in profitable climate solutions; and invest in infrastructure and companies that help build a zero-carbon economy.

In the video, Grade 11 student Aliya Hirji urges teachers to “step up and take action now” and “stop investing your money in climate failure.”

A Teachers’ spokesman said in an email that climate change is a top priority for the organization and that its work on the subject is ongoing and vital to the sustainability of the pension plan.

The video is similar to one released by a U.S. environmental group in late 2019. In that campaign, residents of Boulder, Colo., asked Canadians to pressure CPP Investments, which manages billions of dollars for the Canada Pension Plan, to stop investing in Crestone Peak Resources, which they accused of polluting their air and water.

The campaign comes amid growing pressure on pension funds and other institutional investors to divest from fossil fuels and allocate funds into low or zero carbon energy products. In early 2020, Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, announced it would stop investing in Calgary-based Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Cenovus Energy Inc., Suncor Energy Inc. and Imperial Oil Ltd. after concluding they produce unacceptable levels of greenhouse gas emissions.

“We have taken significant steps to address climate change by investing in climate-friendly opportunities, working to make the companies we invest in greener and more resilient, and advocating for industry change,“ said the Teachers’ spokesman.

With $207.4 billion in assets under management, Teachers’ is the third-largest pension fund in Canada.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 7, 2021.

Companies in this story: (TSX:CVE, TSX:SU, TSX:IMO, TSX:CNQ).

TRUDEAU GREEN NEW DEAL; NUKE CANADA

10/3 podcast: Why Canada is betting on nuclear to get to net-zero carbon

Author of the article: Dave Breakenridge

Publishing date: Jan 07, 2021 •

Natural Resources Minister Seamus O'Regan speaks

 to media during the Liberal Cabinet retreat in Winnipeg on Jan. 20, 2020. 

LISTEN Why Canada is betting on nuclear to get to net-zero carbon https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/force-cdn/highwinds/ten-three/2021_01_06_10-3_geoff-morgan_Mixdown_1.mp3

Prime minister Justin Trudeau has set the lofty goal of Canada being net-zero for carbon emissions for 2050.

And as part of that strategy, the country has bet on nuclear power to help get us there.

Financial Post energy reporter Geoffrey Morgan joins Dave to talk about why the government is looking at nuclear power, what communities could eventually see mini-reactors at use, and why some are opposed to the technology.

BACKGROUND READING:

‘Long-term play’: Ottawa bets on mini nuclear as it targets net-zero carbon in 205

AUSTRALIA

Flatulent cows no longer on the nose with seaweed solution to climate problem

By Mike Foley
January 6, 2021 — 

Australian scientists and entrepreneurs have begun rolling out a commercial solution to a major source of greenhouse gases with a seaweed feed to block gassy livestock burps, and promising results offering more than a whiff of global potential.

Two Australian companies, CH4 Global and Sea Forest, are kicking off world-first commercial trials with major dairy and beef companies of a feed supplement they say can enable the livestock to become carbon neutral.

Livestock production currently generates around 10 per cent of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions.

CREDIT:JUSTIN MCMANUS

They are using intellectual property licensed to FutureFeed, CSIRO's commercial venture, for a feed additive made from the native asparagopsis seaweed species, which reduces livestock emissions by more than 80 per cent.

Market demand is being driven by farmers' response to social pressure to tackle climate change, and Australia's red meat industry has committed to become carbon neutral by 2030.

As steady rain hits much of Australia's drought-hit pastoral lands, graziers are switching their focus from selling for slaughter to breeding, kicking off the long process of rebuilding the nation's livestock herds from their lowest numbers in decades.

But more cows and sheep mean more greenhouse gas. Their gassy burps are loaded with methane, generated by their digestion process that involves microorganisms including methanogens, which produce methane as a byproduct.

Livestock production generates around 10 per cent of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions, according to CSIRO, and around 20 per cent of global emissions.

A feed supplement for livestock made from asparagopsis seaweed reduces livestock emissions by more than 80 per cent.

CSIRO scientist and Future Feed director Michael Battaglia explained that the asparagopsis has a "chemical that disrupts the last step in the breakdown process by the methanogens and stops them producing methane".

General manager of rural think tank the Australia Farm Institute Katie McRobert said livestock producers' commitment to climate action is driven by consumer expectations and powerful market forces.

"They recognise the leverage this offers in trade negotiations, market access and access to competitive finance and insurance," Ms McRobert said. "Moves by significant agrifood corporate players are unambiguous market signals that Australian agriculture needs to be on the front foot when it comes to sustainability."

The asparagopsis seaweed being grown on converted mussel leases at Triabunna, Tasmania

Sea Forest is growing asparagopsis seaweed, a cold water species, on converted mussel farm leases at Triabunna, Tasmania.

The company is selling its feed additive to dairy giant Fonterra for a trial on 2000 dairy cows, Sea Forest chief executive Sam Elsom said.

"We are also engaged with or have spoken to virtually every major producer in the country," Mr Elsom said. "The interest in using the supplement and tackling climate change is enormous."

RELATED ARTICLE

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Drought-breaking rain likely to cause greenhouse emissions to rise

CH4 Global on South Australia's York Peninsula grows seaweed on both land-based facilities and offshore leases. It has an agreement in place with a South Australian abattoir and is supplying trials with sheep and dairy producers in Australia and New Zealand.

"It's not far-fetched stuff now, it's off the shelf technology," CH4 Global chief executive Adam Main said. "There's no downside to it, or impacts on other species. The seaweed creates fish habitat and improves water quality by filtering nutrients and run-off into the ocean."

Dr Battaglia said sales of the seaweed feed had begun in intensive livestock industries like feedlots at abattoirs and dairies, where livestock can be fed the supplement regularly, and techniques to feed free-ranging cattle was under investigation.

In Australia about 23 million head graze on rangelands, about 1.5 million in feedlots and 2 million in dairies.




Mike Foley is the climate and energy correspondent for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.

AUSTRALIA

Black Summer bushfires made worse by climate change, risk to 'rapidly intensify'

By Peter Hannam
January 7, 2021

Last year's Black Summer bushfires were made worse by climate change, and future risks will likely rapidly intensify for south-eastern Australia without significant efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions, researchers say.

The review paper, published Thursday in the Communications Earth & Environment journal, found the warming climate contributed to elevating the threat, from drying out fuel loads to worsening bushfire weather.


The risk of bushfires will intensify faster than expected, researchers say.

CREDIT:NICK MOIR

"There are multiple ways where the effects of climate change are acting to increase fire risks," said Nerilie Abrams, a climate scientist at Australian National University and lead author of the paper. "What you expect to see is not just a gradual increase...but a very rapid intensification of fire risks."

In particular, the projected continued reduction in winter and spring rainfall was likely to pre-condition south-eastern Australia, particularly in Victoria, to forest fire.
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Bushfires
Is there a link between climate change and bushfires?

Increased forest dieback in response to heat stress and the reduction in cool-season rainfall would add to the risks, the paper said.

Fire weather could also worsen, with "some evidence that these extreme front events [that draw heat from inland Australia to the coast] will become more frequent in southern Australia", the report said.

Similarly, the number of days favouring extreme pyrocumulonimbus clouds – fire-induced storm cells –forming over firegrounds are also projected to have "significant increases" under a high greenhouse gas emissions future.

During the satellite era up to 2019, 60 such fire-induced weather events were recorded or suspected in Australia, the researchers found. During the 2019-20 fire season, at least 29 such events occurred including at least 18 in a single week.



While communities can make some changes to adapt to the rising fire risks, they should also address what is driving the increase, specifically the rising greenhouse gas emissions, scientists said.

CREDIT:ALEX ELLINGHAUSEN

The week-long flurry had "previously undocumented impacts on winds and chemical composition into the stratosphere, and a planetary-scale radiative forcing effect equivalent to a moderate volcanic eruption", the paper found.

Driving the increased fire risk was how the warming climate was forecast to alter natural climate variability, such as increasing the likelihood of extreme El Nino events and positive phases of the so-called Indian Ocean Dipole that typically reduce rainfall in south-eastern Australia.

"[T]he potential exists for more frequent years with extreme hot and dry conditions in southeast Australia, beyond that expected from mean temperature and rainfall trends alone," the research found. "If this potential is realised, fuels in south-east Australia will be dry from winter to summer more often, and dangerous fire weather during fire seasons will occur more frequently.

Professor Abrams said that, while communities can seek to add adapt to the rising bushfire risks, it was important that governments examined why they were increasing and how they might be limited.

“We don’t expect every summer to be like 2019-2020 – and this La Niña year is a good example of that," she said.

‘‘However, ... if we can bring ourselves onto a low greenhouse gas emission pathway, these projected climate changes won’t be as extreme and will be easier to adapt to than if we were on a high-emissions pathway’’.

'Just think of the carnage had they not been white':

CAPTAIN AMERICA responds to MAGA carnage 

Filmmaker Ava DuVernay: 'The language of white supremacy is a language of cowardice disguised as dominance.' 

 

A number of celebrities took to social media after supporters of President Donald Trump violently stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday to protest his election loss to President-elect Joe Biden, leading to the death of one woman and politicians scrambling to safety.

Amid Wednesday's events, authorities lost control as rioters entered the Capitol building vandalizing and trespassing, with some of the MAGA mob making it in to Nancy Pelosi's office. Four people died in the chaos.

Leading the messages was Captain America actor Chris Evans, who penned: 'I'm speechless. Just think of the carnage had they not been white. So many people enabled this.'

Along with Chris, many others questioned the effectiveness of authorities on hand, stating that the response would have been significantly different if the rioters were black. 

Filmmaker Ava DuVernay shared a clip from the day's events, writing: 'The language of white supremacy is a language of cowardice disguised as dominance.' speechless,' said Captain America actor Chris Evans. 'Just think of the carnage had they not been white. So many people enabled this'. Filmmaker Ava DuVernay shared a clip from the day's events, writing: 'The language of white supremacy is a language of cowardice disguised as dominance'

A number of celebrities took to social media after supporters of President Donald Trump violently stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday to protest his election loss to President-elect Joe Biden, leading to the death of one woman and politicians scrambling to safety.

• A number of celebrities took to social media on Wednesday while supporters of President Donald Trump violently stormed the U.S. Capitol, leaving many injured and four people dead 
• Ava DuVernay, Chris Evans, Bette Midler and Armie Hammer led stars taking to Twitter to speak out 
• Trump's Twitter account was suspended after a number of his tweets did little to quell the violence
• A host of stars mused over how the incident response would have differed if the rioters were black 
• Celebrities urged politicians to invoke the 25th amendment - which legislates for the Vice President to take control if the Commander-in-Chief is 'unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office' - and end the former Apprentice star's term two weeks earlier than planned 

READ THE REST HERE

US Capitol riots: Chris Evans among stars reacting on Twitter | Daily Mail Online

Trump officials are resigning over the US Capitol siege

Following the storming of the US Capitol by a pro-Trump mob on Wednesday, several top White House officials have resigned, with others reportedly considering whether or not to step down. 

© Andrew Harnik/AP Deputy National Security Adviser Matthew Pottinger in the White House on September 11, 2020.

The extraordinary events, which left one person dead, led to reports that some senior administration officials were discussing the use of the 25th Amendment to remove President Donald Trump from power or resigning themselves.

By Thursday morning, it appeared some of the senior officials who were rumored to be considering resigning, such as National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien, will instead serve out the last two weeks of Trump’s term. O’Brien was reportedly persuaded by some of his colleagues to remain in his post.

While there is still a lot of uncertainty about how widespread any resignations will be, the White House has seen several staff members step down already:
Matt Pottinger, deputy national security adviser
Stephanie Grisham, chief of staff to first lady Melania Trump
Sarah Matthews, deputy press secretary
Rickie Niceta, White House social secretary
Mick Mulvaney, special envoy to Northern Ireland and former White House chief of staff
Ryan Tully, senior director for European and Russian affairs at the National Security Council
John Costello, deputy assistant secretary of commerce
Elaine Chao, Transportation secretary and wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

“As someone who worked in the halls of Congress I was deeply disturbed by what I saw today,” Matthews said in a statement. “I’ll be stepping down from my role, effective immediately. Our nation needs a peaceful transfer of power.”

The president’s incitement of the riot also drew a rebuke from Congress, where the House and Senate reconvened to affirm President-elect Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in the 2020 election, and Democrats began openly discussing impeachment and the 25th Amendment. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) said on the Senate floor: “What happened today was an insurrection incited by the president of the United States.”

Early Thursday morning, two months after Election Day and the day after blood had been spilled at the US Capitol, Trump appeared to commit to an orderly transition to the Biden administration.

“Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th,” the president said in a statement.

Republicans who objected to the Electoral College helped inspire the Capitol insurrection.

They must face consequences and be removed.

© Jon Cherry/Getty Images A member of a pro-Trump mob bashes an entrance of the Capitol Building in an attempt to gain access on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. Jon Cherry/Getty Images

Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building in an attempt to disrupt the certification of the presidential election.

The rioters were pushed to act by Trump and his Republican enablers, who led them to believe that the election was stolen from them.

The members of Congress who objected to the Electoral College and inspired the mob should be removed from office.

If Republicans don't face consequences for this, we'll doom future generations to the same fate.

This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author.

Years of lies, accusations, and delusion have culminated in what can only be described as an American tragedy. While Congress worked to certify the results of President-elect Joe Biden's election victory, a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building in an attempt to disrupt the process.

They broke windows, ransacked offices, and even had a standoff with armed security. One woman was shot and killed. Potential explosive devices were found by police. It was the most significant breach of the Capitol building since the British did so during the War of 1812.

The rioters deserve to be charged for their crimes, but they didn't act alone. President Donald Trump and Republican members of the House and Senate have been fanning the flames of insurrection for months. If they don't face legitimate consequences for their actions, we'll risk normalizing treasonous behavior for future generations.
A broken oath

Section 3 of the 14th amendment to the US Constitution states that no elected official "shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against [the Constitution]." Make no mistake: Sen. Ted Cruz, Sen. Josh Hawley, and many others helped incite this insurrection by following Trump's lead in objecting to the results of the election. They supported the idea that the election was stolen from Trump, despite having no evidence, and invigorated his base in doing so.

By seeking to overturn the election in their official capacity, they gave congressional legitimacy to a cause that has been known to excite Trump's supporters. They are complicit in the violence that occurred today in DC, and as lawyers and Harvard Law school lecturer Deepak Gupta tweeted these actions could very well amount to a violation of the 14th amendment.

Some Republican leaders knew well how dangerous this objection ploy could be. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Ben Sasse called for Republicans to drop the challenge, but it didn't work.

Video: Pence sends letter to Congress denying his authority to change Electoral College vote (MSNBC)


GOP Rep. Paul Gosar officially objected to the election results during the certification process. He received a standing ovation on the floor from his fellow Republicans and - since every objection from a House member needs to be supported by a senator - was followed by Ted Cruz.

Cruz has supported Trump's lies on election fraud for months. In the Senate, he delivered a speech objecting to Biden's win, saying "For those who respect the voters, simply telling the voters, go jump in a lake, the fact that you have deep concerns is of no moment to us...that jeopardizes...the legitimacy of this and subsequent elections." Cruz chose to obfuscate the process of democracy, knowing that the move would encourage Trump supporters - many of whom had gathered near the Capitol.

Shortly before the meeting of Congress, Hawley was photographed waving to the Trump supporters who showed up at the Capitol. Those supporters were encouraged to be there by Trump himself.

The certification process was interrupted by the rioters who breached the Capitol building, but at least 140 Republicans planned to object to the results, actively lying to their constituents about election fraud, causing them to march on the Capitol and engage in violence.

In response to former Democratic Rep. Beto O'Rourke's accusation of sedition, Cruz tweeted that "violence is wrong." Hawley tweeted "the violence must end." But these messages are too little, too late.

And while the senators at least tried to condemn the violence they helped stoke, Trump romanticized the rioters' cause, tweeting: "These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long."

Regardless of their reactions, the damage is done. Every single representative and senator who objected to results should face justice. By objecting, they legitimized unfounded claims of election fraud, inspiring Trump's supporters to react. By violating the 14th amendment, they broke their oath of office and deserve expulsion. Trump is also a walking threat of violence at this point and should be impeached.

Already, freshman Democratic Rep. Cori Bush said she plans to introduce a bill to remove the House members who objected to the Electoral College for helping to inspire the riot. This should be taken seriously and a similar move should be taken in the Senate.

We've tolerated the bombastic behavior of Trump and his enablers for far too long. If they don't face justice for an act as egregious as insurrection, we'll give this behavior credibility and doom future Americans to the same fate.

Read the original article on Business Insiderlers for far too long. If they don't face justice for an act as egregious as insurrection, we'll give this behavior credibility and doom future Americans to the same fate.

Read the original article on Business Insider

An epidemic of overdiagnosis: Melanoma diagnoses sky rocket

Melanoma of the skin is now the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in the US

BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL

 NEWS RELEASE 6-JAN-2021

Research News

 

WHO H. Gilbert Welch MD, MPH, Senior Investigator, Center for Surgery and Public Health, Brigham and Women's Hospital; co-author of a new Sounding Board article published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

WHAT Melanoma of the skin is now the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in the U.S. Diagnoses of melanoma are six times as high today as they were 40 years ago. While incidence of melanoma has been rising steeply, melanoma mortality has been generally stable. In a Sounding Board article, Welch and colleagues present evidence for why they believe that increased diagnostic scrutiny is the primary driver of the rapid rise in melanoma diagnoses.

"Melanoma is now the posterchild for overdiagnosis," said Welch. "Although the conventional response has been to recommend regular skin checks, it is far more likely that more skin checks are the cause of the epidemic -- not its solution."

Among many examples, Welch and co-authors describe a study in which nine dermatopathologists reviewed skin-biopsy specimens used for diagnosis 20 years earlier. Many of the specimens previously diagnosed as benign were now diagnosed as melanoma. Welch and co-authors also share data showing that among the Medicare population, the proportion of beneficiaries biopsied increased every year from 2004 to 2017, nearly doubling over that time. Over the same period, the incidence of melanoma in adults 65 and older also doubled.

The authors point out that there are many potential harms in over-diagnosing melanoma, from the immediate -- scarring, wound infection, out-of-pocket costs -- to longer term effects such as impeding access to care for people with symptomatic skin diseases.

"Despite the best of intentions by all parties, increased diagnostic scrutiny can produce a cycle of increasing overdiagnosis and intervention in any disease with a reservoir of subclinical forms. Melanoma is no exception," the authors write. "The economic disruption caused by Covid-19 obliges clinicians to protect people from the financial stress of needlessly being turned into a patient."

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