Tuesday, October 26, 2021

The Mystery Behind a Nearby Alien Beacon Is Solved


Neel V. Patel
Mon, October 25, 2021

Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty

Back in April 2019, an Australian telescope picked up a very tantalizing radio signal that seemed to emanate from the sun's closest neighboring star. The signal didn’t have any obvious explanation. Instead, it seemed to possess the hallmarks of something created by intelligent alien life.

And in fact, that was the whole point of the research project that stumbled on the signal. Called Breakthrough Listen, the $100 million effort has spent the last five years using state-of-the-art telescopes around the world to listen in on signs of extraterrestrial life from around the galaxy.

The 2019 signal, called “blc1,” was exactly what the Breakthrough researchers were hoping to find. Detected by the Parkes Murriyang radio telescope in southeastern Australia, blc1 was coming right from Proxima Centauri, a star just 4.2 light-years away, and home to two planets—one of which is thought to be potentially habitable to life.

According to Sofia Sheikh from the Berkeley SETI Research Center, the signal was “uniquely similar to the kind of signal we would expect from space.” It was something that could only be made by technology—and technology from space to boot. It lasted several hours, which ruled out satellites or aircraft. If it had a natural origin, the signal should have repeated over time, but the team never observed it again in dozens of hours of follow-up observations of Proxima Centauri. Instead, it was the type of one-and-done signal expected from an intelligent civilization.

Over the last two years, the Breakthrough team has pored over the data and finally come back with a verdict on blc1.

Bad news: It’s not aliens.

“We can confidently say that blc1 is consistent with human radio frequency interference from some sort of ground-based technology,” Sheikh, a co-author of two new studies on blc1 published in Nature Astronomy, told The Daily Beast. “While of course we would love to find evidence of extraterrestrial life someday, the process of investigating blc1 was extremely scientifically valuable in its own right.”

Over the two years of analysis, the team found out that blc1 actually shares the same frequency as other radio interference that was picked up around the same time as blc1’s detection. A deep dive into the data found over 60 “copies” of the blc1 signal, all with very clear signs of being radio interference.

Though the team still doesn’t know exactly what created blc1, an alien origin has been ruled out.

Sheikh and her colleagues don’t consider this investigation to be a total loss. In her view, it’s an opportunity to improve the algorithms designed to weed out human interference, and improve the process designed to help evaluate this type of data more thoroughly. She’s also glad they have the type of hardware and software that can more rigorously scrutinize these signals these days. The infamous “Wow!” signal—named after scientists who observed it wrote “Wow!” on the readout of the data—was a similarly extreme blip detected in 1977 in Ohio, but scientists were unable to trace its origins.

“Without this new technology, a one-off signal like blc1 would remain in limbo as ‘maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t,’ like the Wow! signal,” said Sheikh.

The new findings are a drag, but scientists aren’t done with Proxima Centauri. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, billed as a successor to Hubble and launching next month, could detect signs of life on one of the star’s planets. And Breakthrough Listen’s sister project, Starshot, is planning to one day build and launch a fleet of small spacecraft to Proxima Centauri to get a glimpse of any alien life up close. That plan involves a giant laser cannon that may or may not be impossible to build, so we’ll wait to see how it pans out.

Read more at The Daily Beast.


‘One of the Clearest UFO Sightings’ Ever, Says The Sun of This Video from Chicago

By Caleb Howe
Oct 23rd, 2021, 


British tabloid The Sun shared a video on Twitter Saturday featuring footage caught and widely publicized earlier in October over Chicago, Illinois, calling it “one of the clearest UFO sightings we’ve ever seen.”

The video has been making rounds on various websites and publications for a few weeks, but The Sun’s latest tweet on the subject picked up steam pretty fast, for its presentation and for those of us who missed it the first time around.

In the intervening weeks since the incident no official explanation has been made, although there have been plenty of theories offered, from balloons to a kite and more.


It’s cool, if brief, footage, but the dramatic flair added by The Sun really gives it that October feel, don’t you think?

John Oliver Roasts Cops Protesting Vaccine Mandates: ‘If an Officer Wants to Quit Over This, F*cking Let Them’
Oct 25th, 2021,

John Oliver has roasted the cops protesting Covid-19 vaccine mandates, urging officers threatening to quit to leave the force.

Oliver began the Sunday night segment by playing a video of Washington state trooper Robert Lamay, who filmed himself resigning from his squad car.

“This is the last time you’ll hear me in a state patrol car—and Gov. Jay Inslee can kiss my ass,” Lamay said, dropping his walkie-talkie.

“Ohh, a walkie drop! You don’t see many of those! And that’s probably because it looks pathetic. Dropping a microphone is inherently exciting,” Oliver cracked after airing the clip. “You get the thud as it hits the floor, and the cheer of the crowd, but a walkie drop? That’s just a sad man sitting in a dark car, dropping a heavy object directly onto his penis.”

The host went on to explain that throughout the nation, a small group of cops have threatened to resign over Covid-19 mandates, and have been receiving “disproportionate coverage” for their actions.

“They frame this as a matter of individual liberty, even in cases where very little was being asked of them,” he added.

Oliver was referring to John Catanzara, president of Chicago’s Fraternal Order of Police, who lashed out when officers in the city were asked to register their vaccination status in an online portal, despite the fact that they could continue to work if they were unvaccinated and submitted regular testing.

The host decided against airing his opposition to the mandates and instead showed viewers his apology:

“In no way was I trying to tie forced vaccinations to the atrocities of the holocaust, which is why I never used the word holocaust. I should not have made the reference like I did to the showers and for that I am sorry.”

After mocking Catanzara for his pronunciation of “hole-ocaust,” Oliver shared that he has been “suspended eight times and has received more misconduct complaints per year of service than 96 percent of his fellow Chicago officers. And yet, this is who his union members chose to represent them.”

“So next time someone says to you, ‘not all cops are bad,’ you can respond, ‘no, just their favorite ones!'” Oliver quipped. “And Catanzara’s hostility to a vaccine mandate is particularly noteworthy given one of his predecessors as head of the union died of Covid just this month. Which actually brings us to a staggering fact.”

Four times as many officers have died from the coronavirus than as from gunfire since the start of the pandemic.

“That is a terrible statistic,” said Oliver, later adding, “Look, there is also the key matter of the fact that the police are supposed to be keeping the public safe. That is the point of their jobs, yet some don’t seem to give much of a shit about that.”

The host went on to hit at CNN for representing the statistic via a bar graph where one bar was only twice as high as the other despite the numbers indicating it should be four times as high.

“So welcome to CNN. If you want to instantly understand the different ways police die, it’s going to be tricky. But if you want to understand the one way a certain British royal died, it’s your lucky day! 9:00 P.M. Eastern, Sunday nights,” he joked. “Though no need to watch. Spoiler alert, it was the mother-in-law.”

“If an officer wants to quit over this, fucking let them,” Oliver added. “Let the individuals who clearly don’t care about public safety stop being in charge of public safety. It really is that simple.”

Watch via YouTube.


Anti-vaccine mandate protesters tried to storm Barclays Center before Nets game

Kurt Helin
Sun, October 24, 2021


A planned anti-vaccine mandate rally was planned for in front of the Barclays Center Sunday and the Brooklyn Nets home opener, done in support of Kyrie Irving.

That protest started peacefully, according to people on-site, but got out of hand when protestors — chanting “let Kyrie play” — stormed past barricades and tried to enter the Barclays Center, according to multiple witnesses on the scene and video evidence.

The Barclays Center was soon re-opened to fans with tickets, and none of the protestors were able to storm into the building.

Irving is not vaccinated and cannot play in home games in Brooklyn because there is a vaccine mandate in New York City for many public indoor gatherings. The Nets chose to tell Irving they didn’t want a part-time player and he would not practice with the team or play in road games until he was “fully eligible.” Irving is losing his game checks for home games (although the union can appeal that decision by the team and league), which could cost him around $16 million if this situation lasts the entire season.

New York is not expected to rescind its vaccine mandate anytime soon, and likely not in time for Irving to join the Nets even for the playoffs. Unless he gets vaccinated.

Nets briefly put Barclays Center on lockdown after protest for Kyrie Irving turns ugly



·Writer

Kyrie Irving was neither seen nor heard at the Brooklyn Nets' home opener on Sunday, but the effects of his decision to refuse to get vaccinated were on full display.

Ahead of the game, a large group of vaccine mandate protesters appeared outside the Barclays Center, demanding Irving be allowed to play NBA games again. Even though he is barred from only Nets home games due to New York protocols, the Nets have announced Irving will not play until the situation is resolved.

Wearing shirts reading slogans such as "Stand with Kyrie" and chanting "Let Kyrie play," the crowd soon turned aggressive and stormed past the barricades outside the arena.

Newsday's Barbara Barker reported the group included supporters of President Donald Trump and people with Black Lives Matter signs, while another source claimed to hear a reference to the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol.

The situation was ugly enough that the Nets shut down admission into the Barclays Center while trying to keep protesters out of the building, per Barker. The lockdown was ultimately brief, with Newsday's Greg Logan reporting minutes later that arena personnel and police got the situation under control and fans with tickets were being admitted again.

The Barclays Center later released a short statement confirming the lockdown:

"Barclays Center briefly closed its doors today in order to clear protestors from the main doors on the plaza and ensure guests could safely enter the arena. Only ticketed guests were able to enter the building and the game proceeded according to schedule."

The effects of Kyrie Irving's vaccine refusal

As the situation of his vaccine refusal has escalated, Irving has become a figure around which anti-vaccine mandate voices have rallied, garnering shows of support from several conservative figureheads, including Senator U.S. Senator Ted Cruz and Donald Trump Jr.

Current New York vaccine statutes require home players to be vaccinated to get on the court, which led to Irving missing the Nets' media day and preseason games. The Nets found a loophole so he could practice, but the team eventually decided it didn't want Irving playing if he was limited to only road games. It has also held off on any talks regarding a potential $186 million extension for the star point guard.

The repercussions of Irving's refusal to get vaccinated as his team begins its season have led to a predictable uproar even as the player himself has remained relatively quiet, limiting his statements to cryptic tweets and a single Instagram Live session in which he insisted he has no plans to retire.

Irving has tried to stress that he is not anti-vaccine and merely trying to be a "voice for the voiceless," as a member of his camp put it, but it seems the people behind him have plenty of voice if Sunday's events are any judge.

Kyrie Irving's silence on Barclays Center lockdown speaks volumes

The parallels are uncanny. A prominent conspiracy theorist proudly lets misinformation fester, and when his supporters turn violent in the name of his cause, storming the very institution he represents, he goes silent.

When you are an NBA star whose season is ripped from ex-President Donald Trump's Jan. 6 playbook, you are doing something wrong. Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving should reconsider the company he is keeping.

In a scene reminiscent of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol nine months earlier, protesters chanting "no vaccine mandate" and "let Kyrie play" pushed past a barricaded Barclays Center entrance before Sunday's game against the Charlotte Hornets, forcing security to lock down the arenaOne was armed with a pair of baseball batsAnother sported a swastika. Most were vocally anti-vaccination. No one was hurt, thankfully.

Irving, an opponent of New York City's COVID-19 vaccination requirement to play in Brooklyn, was nowhere to be seen on Sunday, also barred from the premises and mute to his 26 million followers on social media. 

Irving claims to be "a voice for the voiceless," or at least that is what anonymous sources close to him had us believe in a story leaked to The Athletic's Shams Charania earlier this month. When Irving has lent his voice, he has spent an inordinate amount of time nonsensically circling a stance sans supporting evidence.

In light of Sunday's events, consider Irving's 25-minute anti-media rant on Instagram Live on Oct. 13. Long after he declared, "I do not talk to pawns," Irving again described the media as "puppets" to his 15.4 million Instagram followers, repeating in one form or another, "Nobody's going to hijack my voice. Nobody's going to take the power away from me that I have for speaking on these things. ... I'm real enough to stand up when I feel like I'm being put in an f'ed up position. ... I'm not going to be used as a person in this agenda."

Too late. Irving's voice was hijacked Sunday and leveraged for an anti-vaccination agenda, like it or not.

Irving should know this routine well by now, having once declared, "The Earth is flat," doubled down and urged everyone to "do your own research," which he admittedly conducted on Instagram. When a middle school teacher later detailed to NPR how Irving's misinformation spread to studentshe finally apologized.

Irving has not learned that lesson. He has taken another misguided position, dismissed science and rallied support against reality. Sound familiar? Irving's "these dudes are puppets" is the new "corrupt, fake news."

"The way that they're trying to paint everything that's going on, I just want to try to stay aware that they're trying to use me as an example for some odd reason, continuing to go at this, go at that, but it's OK," Irving added on Oct. 13. "I'm gonna be OK, but the people who support me, just know, I'm rocking with you."

Only, Irving's loudest supporters have been Donald Trump Jr., U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and the hundreds of protesters involved in Sunday's unrest. The middle three words of Cruz's Sept. 29 statement — "I stand with Kyrie Irving" — were emblazoned on signs in Sunday's crowd. They have used him as their example for obvious reasons. He is becoming their puppet, their pawn. They are the voice for his voicelessness.

Irving's Twitter posts have made no clearer his beliefs. "My mask is off. Now take yours off. No fear." "Step into your power." "I am protected by God and so are my people. We stand together." And his pinned tweet:

The only unity Irving would have found outside his workplace on Sunday was people from all walks, some reportedly sporting "Black Lives Matter" shirts and others "Make America Great Again" hats, chanting his name in staunch opposition to a vaccine that has proven overwhelmingly effective against hospitalization and death from the coronavirus — all while the proudly unvaccinated slow serious efforts to stem the disease.

In his Instagram Live diatribe, which spanned the entire spectrum from, "You can't be on both sides," to, "I'm on both sides of all this," Irving said in his closing remarks, "This is not a political thing here. And it's not about the NBA. It's not about any organization. It's really about my life and what I'm choosing to do."

Only, it has become political, largely because Trump — despite being vaccinated himself — discredited government officials and medical experts tasked with safely delivering a solution to a pandemic he denied.

Irving's choice is not personal, either, especially not as an NBA star, which Sunday made clear. Your choice not to receive a COVID-19 vaccine can impact your family, friends, coworkers and the community at large. Your choice could mean life or death for you and your neighbor. At what point does the certainty of more deaths now outweigh the possibility of adverse side effects from an FDA-approved vaccine in the future?

Irving is free to make his choice, but he should not be surprised when his inability to provide a supporting rationale beyond the stance itself threatens the very security sworn to protect him. You can imagine loops of newsreels from Jan. 6 playing front of mind for guards at Barclays Center on Sunday, all because their more influential coworker chose not to trust overwhelming scientific evidence, and nary a word from Irving.

He may not have asked for this, but with fame comes fans, and as Irving conceded earlier this month, "I'm responsible for that influence." Yet, he has been louder in his opposition to critics in the media than he has been of his misguided supporters on Sunday, and that speaks volumes about the company he is keeping.

Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving dons a mask during the only preseason game he could attend this preseason. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving dons a mask during the only preseason game he could attend this preseason. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

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Ben Rohrbach is a staff writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach





The head of NASA says life probably exists outside Earth


The head of NASA suspects that we are not alone in the universe—or multi-universes, for that matter.


Sarah Todd
Sun, October 24, 2021

NASA administrator Bill Nelson speaks against a backdrop photo of Earth

Bill Nelson, who was sworn in as NASA administrator in May, sounded remarkably open-minded about the possibility of extraterrestrial life during an interview with the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics last week.

“My personal opinion is that the universe is so big, and now, there are even theories that there might be other universes. If that’s the case, who am I to say that planet Earth is the only location of a life form that is civilized and organized like ours?” Nelson told Larry Sabato, a professor of politics at UVA. He continued: “Are there other planet Earths out there? I certainly think so, because the universe is so big.”

Are UFO sightings signs of extraterrestrial life?


Nelson, a Democrat, has advocated for space programs throughout his Congressional career, first as a Florida House representative and then as a senator. He even traveled to space himself aboard the Columbia shuttle in 1986.

During his conversation with Sabato, Nelson emphasized the search for extraterrestrial life as a part of NASA’s explorations, and said that Navy pilots have reported more than 300 sightings of unidentified flying objects since 2004. He continued:

“And they don’t know what it is, and we don’t know what it is. We hope it’s not an adversary here on Earth that has that kind of technology. But it’s something. And so, this is a mission that we’re constantly looking — what, who is out there? Who are we? How did we get here? How did we become as we are? How did we develop? How did we civilize? And are those same conditions out there in a universe that has billions of other suns in billions of other galaxies — it’s so large I can’t conceive it.”

The US government in recent years has become increasingly forthright about pilots’ encounters with UFOs, though it has been careful not to suggest that these sightings are proof of alien life. A Pentagon report, released in June, did not reach conclusions about the provenance of the sightings, keeping a number of other possible explanations—such as the idea that the UFOs are in fact advanced technologies from countries like Russia or China, or that they are simply the result of natural phenomenon messing with the military planes’ sensors—in play.

Looking for extraterrestrial life is “part of NASA’s mission”


Nelson, too, doesn’t claim to have any definitive explanations. But it’s certainly noteworthy that the leader of the US space agency is both receptive to the idea that life may exist beyond Earth and invested in the idea of NASA trying to uncover answers. “What do you think we’re doing on Mars? We’re looking for life. This is a part of NASA’s mission,” he said.

At the same time, Nelson said that the possibility of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe only underscores the importance of taking care of our home planet.

“I’ll tell you what that makes me think. I’d better be a better steward of what we have, because we’re messing it up, and we’re messing it up just the way we’re treating each other,” he said. “So I know what my mission is, to be a better steward of this planet and be a better citizen of planet Earth.”

You can watch Nelson’s complete interview in the YouTube video below, with his comments on extraterrestrial life starting around the 53:17 mark.


 

Want to hear what it sounds like on Mars? NASA's Perseverance rover gives you the chance.

Less than two months after collecting its first sample of rocks from Mars, the Perseverance rover is collecting another incredible sample from the red planet: sound.

The rover, which first arrived on Mars in February, has two microphones attached to it. It has so far recorded around five hours of sound, including "Martian wind gusts, rover wheels crunching over gravel, and motors whirring as the spacecraft moves its arm," NASA says.

With the help of those microphones, NASA created an interactive experience that shows what sounds on Earth, such as ocean waves, bicycle bells and even humans speaking, would sound like on Mars. You can hear what it sounds like here. NASA suggests wearing headphones.

Many factors change the sound quality on the two planets, NASA says.

Mars is significantly colder than Earth, and the well-below-freezing temperatures mean sound takes longer to travel. The speed of sound on Earth is 760 miles per hour, while on Mars it's 540 miles per hour. The density of Mars' atmosphere is 100 times less than Earth, so sound is softer there.

Plus, Mars' atmosphere is made up of 96% carbon dioxide, which absorbs high-pitched sounds, so only low-pitched noises would travel from afar. That's why if you try to listen to the Mars version of a bicycle bell, you may hear almost nothing.

"If you were standing on Mars, you’d hear a quieter, more muffled version of what you’d hear on Earth, and you’d wait slightly longer to hear it," NASA says.

Baptiste Chide, a planetary scientist studying the audio at L’Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie in France, says all the differences give Mars strong bass vibrations that "you can really feel" with headphones on.

“It’s like you’re really standing there,” Chide said. "I think microphones will be an important asset to future Mars and solar system science."

Besides listening to audio on the planet, Perseverance's microphones are also being used to check the spacecraft for any maintenance needs, like any engine issues or any subtle differences in the wheels.

"We routinely listen for changes in sound patterns on our test rover here on Earth, which can indicate there’s an issue that needs attention," said Vandi Verma, Perseverance’s chief engineer for robotic operations.

Follow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jordan_mendoza5.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mars sounds: NASA's Perseverance rover lets us hear Martian wind

AP-NORC/EPIC poll: Majority in US concerned about climate

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER, EMILY SWANSON and NATHAN ELLGREN


The shoreline is receding at Emerald Bay on the southwest corner of Lake Tahoe on Oct. 20, 2021 east of South Lake Tahoe, Calif. Drought fueled by climate change has dropped Lake Tahoe below its natural rim and halted flows into the Truckee River. President Joe Biden heads to a vital U.N. climate change summit at a time when a majority of Americans regard the deteriorating climate as a problem of high importance to them. That's the finding of a new poll by the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago. 
(AP Photo/Scott Sonner)


WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden heads to a vital U.N. climate summit at a time when a majority of Americans regard the deteriorating climate as a problem of high importance to them, an increase from just a few years ago.

About 6 out of 10 Americans also believe that the pace of global warming is speeding up, according to a new survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago.

As Biden struggles to pass significant climate legislation at home ahead of next week’s U.N. climate summit, the new AP-NORC/EPIC poll also shows that 55% of Americans want Congress to pass a bill to ensure that more of the nation’s electricity comes from clean energy, and less from climate-damaging coal and natural gas.

Only 16% of Americans oppose such a measure for electricity from cleaner energy. A similar measure initially was one of the most important parts of climate legislation that Biden has before Congress. But Biden’s proposal to reward utilities with clean energy sources and penalize those without ran into objections from a coal-state senator, Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia, leaving fellow Democrats scrambling to come up with other ways to slash pollution from burning fossil fuels.

For some of the Americans watching, it’s an exasperating delay in dealing with an urgent problem.

“If you follow science, the signs are here,” said Nancy Reilly, a Democrat in Missouri who’s retired after 40 years as a retail manager, and worries for her children as the climate deteriorates. “It’s already here. And what was the first thing they start watering down to get this bill through? Climate change.”

“It’s just maddening,” Reilly said. “I understand why, I do — I get the politics of it. I’m sick of the politics of it.”

After President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris climate accord, the Biden administration hoped to help negotiate major emissions cuts globally to slow the rise of temperatures. But it’s not clear whether Biden will be able to get any significant climate legislation through Congress before the U.N. summit starts Sunday.

In all, 59% of Americans said the Earth’s warming is very or extremely important to them as an issue, up from 49% in 2018. Fifty-four percent of Americans cited scientists’ voices as having a large amount of influence on their views about climate change, and nearly as many — 51% — said their views were influenced by recent extreme weather events like hurricanes, deadly heat spells, wildfires and other natural disasters around the world.

Over the last 60 years, the pollution pumped out by gasoline and diesel engines, power plants and other sources has changed the climate and warmed the Earth by 1.7 degrees Fahrenheit, making the extremes of weather more extreme.

In east Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains, leaf-peeper websites this year are advising fall foliage tourists that leaves are taking days longer than normal to turn from green to fiery orange and red. It’s not evidence of climate change as a one-off instance, but typical of the changes Americans are seeing as the Earth heats up.

“Normally you get the four seasons, fall, spring, and winter, and it goes in that way. But lately, it’s not been that,” said Jeremy Wilson, a 42-year-old who votes independent and works the grounds at a scenic chairlift park that runs people up to the top of the Smoky Mountains. “It’s been either way hotter, or way colder.”

Seventy-five percent of Americans believe that climate change is happening, while 10% believe that it is not, the poll found. Another 15% are unsure.

Among those who say it is happening, 54% say that it’s caused mostly or entirely by human activities compared to just 14% who think — incorrectly, scientists say — that it’s caused mainly by natural changes in the environment. Another 32% of Americans believe it’s a mix of human and natural factors.

And while Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say climate change is happening, majorities of both parties agree that it is. That breaks down to 89% of Democrats and and 57% of Republicans.

The poll also gauged Americans’ willingness to pay for the cost of cutting climate-wrecking pollution as well as mitigating its consequences.

Fifty-two percent said they would support a $1 a month carbon fee on their energy bill to fight climate change, but support dwindles as the fee increases.

“I would say, like 5, 10 dollars, as long as it’s really being used for what it should be,” said Krystal Chivington, a 46-year-old Republican in Delaware who credits her 17-year-old daughter for reviving her own passion for fighting climate change and pollution.

It’s not ordinary consumers who should bear the brunt of paying to stave off the worst scenarios of climate change, said Mark Sembach, a 59-year-old Montana Democrat who works in environmental remediation.

“I think it needs to fall a great deal on responsible corporations that’s — and unfortunately ... most corporations aren’t responsible,” Sembach said. “And I think there needs to be a lot of pushback as to who ultimately pays for that.”

___

The AP-NORC poll of 5,468 adults was conducted Sept. 8-24 using a combined sample of interviews from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population, and interviews from opt-in online panels. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 1.7 percentage points. The AmeriSpeak panel is recruited randomly using address-based sampling methods, and respondents later were interviewed online or by phone.

Indigenous Australians sue government over climate change


Issued on: 26/10/2021 - 

Brisbane (Australia) (AFP)



Indigenous residents of low-lying islands off northern Australia filed a landmark lawsuit Tuesday aimed at forcing the government to protect them from climate change through deeper cuts to carbon emissions.

The Torres Strait Islanders say rising sea levels represent an existential threat to their homelands and culture, putting them "on the frontline of the climate crisis".

Lawyers for traditional land owners from Boigu and Saibai -- among the worst-impacted islands -- want the Federal Court to order the government "to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to a level that will prevent Torres Strait Islanders from becoming climate refugees".

It is believed to be the first such climate change class action launched by Indigenous Australians.

The lawsuit comes on the same day Australia's conservative government unveiled a 2050 net zero target, with a light-on-detail plan that attracted criticism for relying heavily on undeveloped technologies and carbon offsets.

Fewer than 5,000 people live in the Torres Strait, also known as Zenadth Kes, a collection of about 274 islands between Australia's mainland and Papua New Guinea.

The lawsuit argues some islands are expected to become uninhabitable if global temperatures rise more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, which the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned could be breached by 2030.

Under current global commitments, the world is on track to warm 2.7 degrees Celsius by 2100, according to the United Nations.


Plaintiff Paul Kabai says worsening flooding and salt-ruined soils had left his people facing a potentially dire future TALEI ELU GRATA FUND/AFP

Plaintiff Paul Kabai, who lives on Saibai island, said worsening flooding and salt-ruined soils had left his people facing a potentially dire future.

"Becoming climate refugees means losing everything: our homes, our culture, our stories and our identity," he said.

"If you take away our homelands, we don't know who we are. We have a cultural responsibility to make sure that doesn't happen."

The lawsuit comes after eight Australian teenagers scored a major victory in May when a federal judge agreed that expanding a coal mine near Sydney would cause them climate-related harm.

Australians and people around the world are increasingly turning to the courts in an effort to prod slow-moving governments into climate action.

In 2019, a group of Torres Strait Islanders lodged a separate complaint with the United Nations accusing the authorities of violating their human rights by failing to tackle climate change.

Australia has asked for that complaint to be dismissed, but UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva has yet to officially respond.

© 2021 AFP

 


Police confirm no action will be taken on Crystal Palace fans' banner

The banner was made in protest against Newcastle United's Saudi-led owners

Croydon Police have confirmed that no further action will be taken against Crystal Palace after fans protested the Saudi-led Newcastle United takeover.

A section of supporters displayed a banner during the club's game against the Magpies which took aim at the Premier League's 'Owners and Directors' test which ensures clubs are ran properly after the Saudi consortium, the Public Investment Fund were allowed to complete the takeover, despite concerns surrounding the Middle Eastern state's human rights records.

As a result, Police were contacted and made a full investigation after receiving reports of an 'offensive banner' at Selhurst Park.

In a statement on Monday afternoon, Croydon Police confirmed that "Following an assessment, officers have concluded that no offences have been committed. No further action will be taken."

Crystal Palace supporters group, the 'Holmesdale Fanatics' made a statement after the game last weekend confirming they were responsible for the banner.

The banner itself seemed to have a checklist making a mockery of the Owners and Directors test with a list containing all alleged offences that have been made by the Saudi regime which include: 'Terrorism, beheading, civil rights abuses, murder, censorship and persecution'.

Many have opposed the takeover given that the chair of the PIF - Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman - is subject to accusations of a number of human rights records, whilst large-profile organisations such as Amnesty International have condemned the takeover.

Meanwhile, during Newcastle's first game under the new ownership, a poster with the caption "Justice for Jamal" in reference to journalist Jamal Khashoggi who was murdered in the Saudi consulate in 2018 was seen outside St James' Park as an act of protest.