DRILL, BABY, DRILL

Public lands to reopen for oil and gas drilling in a first under Biden

Interior department raises royalty rates by 50% as administration juggles high oil prices and climate impact

Guardian staff and wires

Sat 16 Apr 2022 

As federal officials weigh efforts to fight the climate crisis against pressure to bring down high gasoline prices, the interior department is moving forward with the first onshore sales of public oil and natural gas drilling leases under Joe Biden.

The move also calls for a sharp increase in royalty rates for companies, ostensibly to limit global emissions driving the climate crisis, though economists say the effect will be relatively small.

This is what Joe Biden should do to protect the US from a spiraling oil crisis

The royalty rate for new leases will increase to 18.75% from 12.5%. That’s a 50% jump and marks the first increase to royalties for the federal government since they were imposed in the 1920s

Biden suspended new leasing just a week after taking office in January 2021. A federal judge in Louisiana ordered the sales to resume, saying interior officials had offered no “rational explanation” for canceling them.

The government held an offshore lease auction in the Gulf of Mexico in November, although a court later blocked that sale before the leases were issued.

Friday’s announcement comes as Biden faces pressure to expand US crude production after the pandemic and war in Ukraine have caused a surge in fuel prices and otherwise generally roiled the world economy.

Last month, the Democratic president announced plans to release 1m barrels daily from the US strategic oil reserves to, as he put it, “ease the pain families are feeling right now” at the country’s fuel pumps because of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine.

Yet Biden also faces calls from within his own party to do more to curb emissions from fossil fuels that are driving the climate crisis.

Leases for 225 sq miles (580 sq kilometers) of federal lands primarily in the western US will be offered for sale in a notice to be posted on Monday, officials said. The parcels represent about 30% less land than officials had proposed for sale in November and 80% less than what was originally nominated by the industry.

The sales notices will cover leasing decisions in nine states: Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Montana, Alabama, Nevada, North Dakota and Oklahoma.

Interior department officials declined to specify which states would have parcels for sale or to give a breakdown of the amount of land by state, saying that information would be included in Monday’s sales notices. They said the reduced area being offered reflects a focus on leasing in locations near existing oil and gas development including pipelines.

Oil derricks owned by Extraction Oil & Gas pump in Weld County, Colorado.

 Photograph: Alex McIntyre/AP
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Hundreds of parcels of public land that companies nominated for leasing had been previously dropped from the upcoming lease sale because of concerns about wildlife being harmed by drilling rigs.

At the time, officials said burning fuel from the remaining leases could cost billions of dollars in climate crisis impacts. Fossil fuels extracted from public lands account for about 20% of energy-related US greenhouse gas emissions, making them a prime target for climate activists who want to shut down leasing.

Republicans want more drilling, saying it would increase US energy independence and help bring down the cost of crude. But oil companies have been hesitant to expand drilling because of uncertainty over how long high prices will continue.

Friday’s announcement comes after interior officials had raised the prospect of higher royalty rates and less land available for drilling in a leasing reform report issued last year.

“For too long, the federal oil and gas leasing programs have prioritized the wants of extractive industries,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “Today, we begin to reset how and what we consider to be the highest and best use of Americans’ resources.”

But the move brought condemnation from both ends of the political spectrum: Environmentalists derided the decision to hold the long-delayed sales, while oil industry representatives said the higher royalty rates would deter drilling.

Nicole Ghio with the environmental group Friends of the Earth said Biden was “auctioning off our public lands to big oil”, putting oil industry profits ahead of future generations that will have to deal with the worsening consequences of the climate crisis.

Meanwhile, American Petroleum Institute vice-president Frank Macchiarola said officials removed some of the most significant parcels that companies wanted to drill while adding “new barriers” that would discourage companies from investing in drilling on public lands.

Two oil drilling rigs seen in background behind a pump jack in an oil field near Midland, Texas.

 Photograph: Larry W Smith/EPA

Lease sales and royalties that companies pay on extracted oil and gas brought in more than $83bn in revenue over the past decade. Half the money from onshore drilling goes to the state where it occurred.

Most states and many private landowners require companies to pay royalty rates higher than 12.5%, with some states charging 20% or more, according to federal officials.

The royalty rate for oil produced from federal reserves in deep waters in the Gulf of Mexico is 18.75%. In the November auction that was later canceled, energy companies including Shell, BP, Chevron and ExxonMobil offered a combined $192m for offshore drilling rights in the Gulf.

New leases that are developed could keep producing crude long past 2030, when Biden has set a goal to lower greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50%, compared with 2005 levels. Scientists say the world needs to be well on the way to that goal over the next decade to avoid catastrophic climate crisis.

Economists say a higher royalty rate would have a relatively small effect on global emissions, because any reductions in oil and gas from federal lands would be largely offset by fuel from other sources.

Biden to resume oil, gas leases on federal land


Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland delivers remarks during a virtual Tribal Nations Summit as part of national Native American Heritage Month in the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building near the White House in November 2021. 

File Photo by Sarah Silbiger/UPI | License Photo

April 15 (UPI) -- The Department of the Interior announced Friday that President Joe Biden's administration would resume oil and gas leases on federal land but has increased the royalty rate that companies pay to the government.

The Interior Department described the royalty increase, which rose to 18.75% from 12.5%, as the "first-ever increase in the royalty rate" and said in a statement that it was made "to ensure fair return for the American taxpayer and on par with rates charged by states and private landowners."

The Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management will post the notices to begin auctioning 144,000 acres of public land in nine states, an 80% reduction from what the agency had previously identified as eligible land, on Monday.

The move to resume selling those leases, the first under the Biden administration, comes after the Interior Department had paused them in February amid a fight with Republican states over the use of a carbon cost metric that put a high dollar amount on damages caused by greenhouse gas emissions.

The decision on Friday to resume those leases, as well as the implementation of the royalty rate hike, was made as Biden faces pressure to lower energy costs while also battling climate change.

"For too long, the federal oil and gas leasing programs have prioritized the wants of extractive industries above local communities, the natural environment, the impact on our air and water, the needs of Tribal Nations, and, moreover, other uses of our shared public lands," said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland.

"Today, we begin to reset how and what we consider to be the highest and best use of Americans' resources for the benefit of all current and future generations."

The Interior Department also noted that the parcels that will be leased are near existing oil and gas developments and infrastructure to "help conserve the resilience of intact public lands and functioning ecosystems."

The new leases are the Biden administration's second attempt to increase the amount of federal property drilling after attempting to sell 80 million acres of leases in the Gulf of Mexico, which a federal judge in January blocked in January after ruling the impact on climate change was not properly assessed.

The United Nations last week released a 3,675-page report urging countries to make "immediate and deep emissions reductions" or face devastating climate change consequences.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which included 278 of the world's top economic and scientific researchers from 65 countries, provides details in the report on the last remaining paths to stop irreversible damage to the planet.

The report found that global greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced by 43% by 2030 and reach net zero in the 2050s to stabilize global warming at around 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature target agreed upon in the Paris Climate Accords. Methane will also need to be reduced by about 33%.

If the global emissions of greenhouse gasses are not reduced, it will lead to worsening natural disasters and the destruction of ecosystems among other threats to humanity.

Michigan protests continue after police shooting of immigrant


April 16 (UPI) -- Protests are continuing in Grand Rapids, Mich., in the wake of the police-involved shooting of 26-year-old immigrant from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

About 100 protesters marched through the city's downtown area for a fourth consecutive day on Friday, calling for justice for Patrick Lyoya, who was shot and killed by a Grand Rapids police officer last week, WZZM-TV and MLive.com reported.



The demonstrators gathered outside Grand Rapids Police Headquarters several times during the four-hour march, chanting the name of Lyoya.

Organizers said further demonstrations are planned for Saturday.

The protests have come following the release of body camera video and audio recordings of the confrontation between an unnamed officer and Lyoya, who were involved in a struggle during a traffic stop.

The video showed the officer's body camera deactivates at the moment Lyoya is fatally shot. Home security camera across the street and cellphone video from a passenger in Lyoya's car continued to document the shooting and aftermath.

The release of the footage sparked the renewed protests from frustrated Grand Rapids citizens demanding justice in the April 4 shooting and similar recent police-involved shootings.

Among Friday's demonstrators were a a group of medical students from Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine, who called themselves White Coats for Black Lives.

"I'm from West Michigan, and I have just never felt this much disappointment in my community," first-year medical student Marissa Solorzano told WOOD-TV. "So sure, we have to wait for this process, but I mean, you also have to help your community heal as we're processing that instantaneous disgust that you feel when you find out about these things."

Police were not present during Friday's demonstration by design, Grand Rapids Police Department Chief Eric Winstrom said.

"We're trying to accommodate the First Amendment rights of these individuals as well as we can," he told the broadcaster. "And so far it's been a successful few days of protests. We haven't made a single arrest and there haven't been any issues as far as safety is concerned."

Crews work to fix sinking decommissioned destroyer 

USS The Sullivans


Crews are working to fix the hull of USS The Sullivans, a 78-year-old decommissioned Fletcher-Class destroyer, that was pictured apparently sinking at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park. 

Photo courtesy U.S. Coast Guard Buffalo Sector/Facebook

April 15 (UPI) -- Crews are working to fix the hull of USS The Sullivans, a 78-year-old decommissioned Fletcher-Class destroyer, that was sinking at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park.

The ship, which earned 11 battle stars in World War II, as well as the Korean War and Cuban missile crisis, has been in the care of the nonprofit military park in western New York. The Buffalo Naval Park has been working since November 2021 to repair its hull.

The USS The Sullivans began taking water Wednesday night and was tipping on its starboard side by Thursday morning, according to photos shared by the nonprofit.

"The breach that occurred yesterday appears to be a new issue and we are working diligently to understand the cause and address it as quickly as possible," the military park said in a statement.

"We appreciate everyone's support and the offers to help. This is truly the City of Good Neighbors and this historic ship continues to guide us to stick together."

A dive team and other emergency crews from Bidco Marine Group have been working to determine what caused the breach on the aft, or back, side of the ship, WKBW reported. Water pumps have been able to keep the ship in equilibrium with as much water being pumped out as is entering the vessel.

The U.S. Coast Guard's Sector Buffalo said in a statement that it has been using large pumps capable of removing more than 13,000 gallons a minute.

"The Coast Guard will continue to monitor progress and we look forward to USS The Sullivans' return to operational status," the statement reads.

Local residents who flocked to the pier told WIVB that they were "devastated" to see the listing 2,100-ton destroyer.

"It's such a legend. Such a historical feature in our area so when you say the words heartbreaking and tragic, if somehow this is unable to be saved it truly is heartbreaking," local resident Michele Starwalt-Woods said.

USS The Sullivans, now a historic landmark, was commissioned in 1943 and named after five brothers from Waterloo, Iowa, according to the Buffalo Marine Park.

It was responsible for "shooting down eight Japanese planes, bombarding Iwo Jima and Okinawa, as well as rescuing American pilots and crew from burning or sinking vessels."

The destroyer was initially intended to be named the USS Putnam, but the name was changed to honor the five brothers from Waterloo who all died when the USS Juneau sunk during the battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942, according to Naval History and Heritage Command.

The brothers -- whose names were Albert Leo, Francis Henry, George Thomas, Joseph Eugene and Madison Abel -- had insisted that the U.S. Navy station them on the same ship.

"The brothers all received the Purple Heart Medal posthumously and were entitled to the American Defense Service Medal, Fleet Clasp; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with four engagement stars and the World War II Victory Medal," according to the Naval History and Heritage Command.

"They had also earned the Good Conduct Medal."

The Sulllivans were survived by their parents and a sister, as well as Albert Leo Sullivan's wife Katherine Mary Sullivan and their son, James Thomas.

China's Shenzhou 13's crew of 3 lands after 6 months in orbit


Astronaut Zhai Zhigang is shown exiting from the return capsule of the Shenzhou 13 spaceship at the Dongfeng landing site in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. 

Photo by Cai Yang/Xinhua/EPA-EFE

April 16 (UPI) -- Three astronauts in China's Shenzhou 13 capsule landed safely Saturday morning after a record six months in orbit.

The crew of three landed in the Dongfeng landing site in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region after departing from the Tianhe core module of the Tiangong space station.

All the astronauts, including Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu, radioed into China National Space Administration's mission control center in Beijing that they were feeling fine shortly after landing, prompting applause.

The astronauts, or taikonauts, as Chinese astronauts are called, had launched into space on the Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert on Oct. 15.

They spent most of their time in orbit aboard the Tianhe.

From Tianhe, the astronauts performed two spacewalks, conducted more than 20 different science experiments, and delivered two live educational lectures.

"A real-time, interactive event with China's taikonauts highlights the reality of the country's technological achievement and displays the competencies and utility of its space program," Molly Silk, doctoral researcher of Chinese space policy at the University of Manchester in England, told Space.com recently. "Such an event serves to enhance national pride and to encourage young citizens to pursue science-based careers."

The taikonauts also spent time getting ready for the next crewed mission, the Shenzhou 14, which is expected to launch in early June.

Their time in orbit nearly doubled the prior record of three Chinese astronauts sent to the same space station for 92 days on the Shenzhou 12 mission.

Taikonaut Wang also set a record as the first woman to set foot aboard the Tianhe and the first Chinese woman to conduct a spacewalk.

Six months is the typical duration of a mission to the International Space Station, with missions sometimes spanning much longer than that, but China is not a part of that program.

Last month, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov returned to earth after a record-breaking 355 days in space.

Two robotic cargo spacecraft have also been launched to Tianhe, and another is expected to launch to the core module next month.

ANTI-FASCISTS
VS

ARYAN NATIONALISTS

Hanuman Jayanti procession pelted with stones in Delhi

Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi, visits the Hanuman Mandir temple after the Aam Aadmi Party won the Delhi Assembly elections in February 2020. File Photo by EPA-EFE/STR



April 16 (UPI) -- A procession for Hanuman Jayanti, a Hindu religious festival, was allegedly pelted with stones in the Jahangirpuri area of Delhi on Saturday, officials said.

Senior police officials told The Times of India that a "clash broke out" between two groups throwing rocks at each other that led to several injuries including police officers, as well as some torched vehicles.

It was not immediately clear who the opposing groups were and why the violence had broken out.

Delhi Police Commissioner Shri Rakesh Asthana said in a statement that the situation is now "under control" and that law enforcement had deployed "adequate additional force" in Jahangirpuri and other "sensitive" areas.

"Senior officers have been asked to remain in field and closely supervise the law-and-order situation and undertake patrolling," he said. "Strict action will be taken against rioters. Citizens are requested to not to pay heed to rumors and fake news on social media."

Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, called the stone-pelting incident "highly condemnable" in a statement to Twitter and said he had spoken with the region's lieutenant governor Anil Baijal.

"He assured that all steps are being taken to ensure peace and that guilty will not be spared," Kejriwal said.

Leaders of the nation's ruling political party Bharatiya Janata also condemned the violence on Twitter and called for investigations into the incident. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not yet publicly addressed the fighting.

Adesh Gupta, head of the party in Delhi, said the violence was "not a coincidence but a big conspiracy."

"I appeal to all Delhiites to maintain peace. We demand that the culprits should be given the strictest punishment," he said.

Kapil Mishra called the incident a "terrorist act" perpetrated by "Bangladeshi infiltrators" in a statement posted to Twitter.

"The settlement of Bangladeshi infiltrators is now daring to attack the citizens of India," he said. "Now it has become necessary to remove illegal infiltrators from the country by checking the papers of each of them."

ONE OF THE GREATS

Mike Bossy, prolific scorer for NHL's Islanders, dies at 65

By Alex Butler

April 15 (UPI) -- Mike Bossy, one of the most prolific goal-scorers in NHL history, died after a battle with lung cancer, his daughter announced Friday. The New York Islanders legend was 65.

"It is with great sorrow that I announce the passing of my father, Mike Bossy," daughter Tonya said in a news release issued through TVA Sports. "He left us on April 15, and he is no longer in pain.

"My dad loved hockey, sure, but first and foremost he loved life. And until the end of his journey, he hung on. He wanted to live more than anything. This life, which he held at the end of his arms, decided otherwise, for reasons that escape us."

The Islanders selected Bossy with the No. 15 overall pick in the 1977 NHL Draft. The Montreal native spent his entire 10-year NHL career with the franchise. He won four-consecutive Stanley Cup titles from 1980 through 1983.

The eight-time All-Star also was a three-time winner of the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, an award given for sportsmanship combined with playing ability. He claimed the Calder Memorial Trophy as the 1977-78 Rookie of the Year.

Bossy also won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1981-82 as the MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He led the NHL in goals in 1978-79 and 1980-81.

"The New York Islanders organization mourns the loss of Mike Bossy, an icon not only on Long Island but across the entire hockey world," Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello said in a news release. "His drive to be the best every time he stepped on the ice was second to none."

Bossy's 573 career goals rank No. 22 in NHL history. Wayne Gretzky leads that list with 894 career scores, followed by Gordie Howe (801), Alex Ovechkin (776), Jaromir Jagr (766) and Brett Hull (741), among NHL legends.

Bossy, who later worked as an analyst for TV Sports channel, retired from that role last year. He announced then that he was battling lung cancer.

"On behalf of TVA Sports, we would like to offer our most sincere condolences to the family of our colleague Mike Bossy, his wife Lucie, his daughters Josiane and Tanya, his grandchildren whom he loved so much, as well as his loved ones," TVA Sports said.

"Mike was recognized not only as one of the greatest players in the history of the National Hockey League, but also as a passionate, courageous, outspoken and generous gentleman."

Bossy was inducted into the National Hockey League Hall of Fame in 1991. His No. 22 was retired by the Islanders in 1992.

Dogs on vegan diet might be healthier, survey suggests

By Amy Norton, HealthDay News

While dogs are generally known for eating meat and chewing on animal bones, new research 

suggests a vegan diet could be healthier for them. 

Photo by SNGPhotography/Pixabay

Dogs may be famous meat lovers, but canines who follow a vegan diet might be a bit healthier, a new survey suggests.

British and Australian researchers found that dogs on vegan diets -- one without animal products or byproducts -- tended to have fewer health problems, based on their guardians' reports, than those who ate "conventional" meat-based products.

Owners in the vegan group reported lower rates of obesity, digestive troubles, arthritis and issues with eye and ear health.

Overall, 70% rated their vegan canine companion as "healthy," versus 55% of owners whose dogs ate conventional dog food.

Those numbers, however, do not prove vegan diets are healthier for dogs, according to veterinary nutritionists who reviewed the findings.

"This is really a study of owners' perceptions," said Dr. Julie Churchill, a professor of veterinary nutrition at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine.

It's very likely, Churchill noted, that "pet parents" who give their dogs a vegan diet are themselves vegan. That complicates the survey results for a number of reasons.

Because those individuals believe veganism is the healthiest diet choice, they may see their dogs as healthier. Beyond that, Churchill said, vegan humans probably have generally healthier lifestyles -- including more physical activity for themselves and their dogs.

In general, evidence is lacking that vegan dog foods actually help dogs live longer, healthier lives, said Dr. Joseph Wakshlag, a professor at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine.

Like Churchill, he said the current findings may reflect the perceptions and lifestyles of the humans surveyed, rather than effects of their dogs' diets.

Those caveats made, both veterinarians said it's possible for dogs to get the nutrition they need on a vegan diet. What's critical, they said, is that dogs eat high-quality commercial products that are formulated to meet their nutrient requirements.

Dogs do need a lot of protein, Churchill said, and that's easier to achieve with meat sources. Vegan diets need to be more carefully crafted to meet that goal. If you want to use vegan commercial products, she advised talking to your veterinarian about your dog's nutritional needs, and which products will meet them.

Of course, Churchill said, it's always wise to consult your vet about dog food products, vegan or meat-based. The market is full of them, she noted, but they are not all equal in quality.

The current study, funded by the food awareness organization ProVeg International, included more than 2,500 dog owners. Most, 54%, said they fed their dog conventional meat-based diets. One-third reported using raw meat diets, and 13% vegan diets.

Respondents generally used commercial pet foods, rather than homemade, according to lead researcher Andrew Knight, a veterinary professor of animal welfare at the University of Winchester Center for Animal Welfare in the United Kingdom.

Overall, half of respondents in the conventional-diet group said their dog had some type of health issue, versus 43% of those who used raw meat, and 36% in the vegan group.

Dogs eating raw meat made fewer visits to the vet. But that does not necessarily mean they were healthier, all three veterinarians stressed.

Vets generally warn against giving dogs raw meat, because of the risk of contamination with pathogens. So people in that raw-meat group may have tended to shun veterinarians' advice, the experts said.

According to Knight, a growing number of companies are making high-quality vegan dog food products.

"We have sufficient confidence, scientifically, that dogs can be healthy -- and indeed, thrive -- on nutritionally sound vegan diets," he said.

Churchill cautioned, though, that she would not recommend vegan diets for still-growing puppies or pregnant dogs, whose nutritional needs are greater. Plant-based diets, she noted, are less digestible because of the fiber content.

Again, Churchill said, it all comes back to talking to your vet about what products are right for your dog, and understanding that will change based on life stage.

Talking about portion size is a good idea, too.

"Dogs gorge, by nature," Churchill said, and when they are constantly "seeking" food, that can be misread as true hunger.

Obesity is one of the top canine health issues. While there are multiple reasons, Churchill said, overeating and lack of exercise are prime contributors.

The study was published this week in the journal PLOS ONE.

More information

The American Kennel Club has more on dog nutrition.

Copyright © 2022 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Survey: Kids think farm animals deserve same treatment as pets

By HealthDay News

Children think farm animals should be treated more like people and pets, and they're less likely than adults to think it's morally acceptable to eat animals, according to a study conducted in Britain. 

Photo by Jai79/Pixabay

Life would be much better for farm animals if children were in charge, a new British study suggests.

Unlike adults, children believe farm animals should be treated the same as people and pets, and children are less likely to view eating animals as morally acceptable.
The study included 479 people in England from three age groups -- 9-11, 18-21 and 29-59 -- who were asked their views on the treatment of pigs on farms, pet dogs and people.

The results suggest that "speciesism" -- giving different value to different animals -- is learned during adolescence, according to the authors of the study.

"Something seems to happen in adolescence, where that early love for animals becomes more complicated and we develop more speciesism," said study co-author Luke McGuire, of the University of Exeter.

The researchers also found that as people age, they are more likely to classify farm animals as "food" rather than "pets," while children are equally likely to include pigs in either of these categories.

"It's important to note that even adults in our study thought eating meat was less morally acceptable than eating animal products like milk," McGuire pointed out in a university news release. "So aversion to animals -- including farm animals -- being harmed does not disappear entirely."

People's relationship with animals is "full of ethical double standards," according to McGuire. "Some animals are beloved household companions, while others are kept in factory farms for economic benefit. Judgments seem to largely depend on the species of the animal in question: dogs are our friends, pigs are food."

While changes in attitudes are a natural part of growing up, the "moral intelligence of children" is also valuable, McGuire said.

"If we want people to move towards more plant-based diets for environmental reasons, we have to disrupt the current system somewhere," he suggested.

RELATED Monoclonal antibody for arthritis in cats receives FDA approval

"For example, if children ate more plant-based food in schools, that might be more in line with their moral values, and might reduce the 'normalization' towards adult values that we identify in this study," McGuire said.

The results were published this week in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.

More information

The benefits of ethical farming are outlined by the Ethical Farming Fund.

Copyright © 2022 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

‘Magic mushrooms’ for therapy? Vets help sway conservatives

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST

Matthew Butler, who spent 27 years in the Army, holds a 2014 photograph of himself during his last deployment in Kabul Afghanistan, on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, in Sandy, Utah. Butler is now one of the military veterans in several U.S. states who are helping convince conservative lawmakers to take cautious steps toward allowing the therapeutic use of hallucinogenic mushrooms and other psychedelic drugs. The therapeutic used of so-called magic mushrooms and other psychedelic drugs is making inroads in several U.S. states, including some with conservative leaders, as new research points to their therapeutic value and military veterans who have used them to treat post-traumatic stress disorder become advocates. 

(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)


SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Matthew Butler spent 27 years in the Army, but it took a day in jail to convince him his post-traumatic stress disorder was out of control.

The recently retired Green Beret had already tried antidepressants, therapy and a support dog. But his arrest for punching a hole in his father’s wall after his family tried to stage an intervention in Utah made it clear none of it was working.

“I had a nice house, I had a great job, whatever, but I was unable to sleep, had frequent nightmares, crippling anxiety, avoiding crowds,” he said. “My life was a wreck.”

He eventually found psychedelic drugs, and he says they changed his life. “I was able to finally step way back and go, ‘Oh, I see what’s going on here. I get it now,’” said Butler, now 52. Today his run-ins with police have ended, he’s happily married and reconciled with his parents.

Butler, who lives in the Salt Lake City suburbs, is among military veterans in several U.S. states helping to persuade lawmakers to study psychedelic mushrooms for therapeutic use.

Conservative Utah has become at least the fourth state over the last two years to approve studying the potential medical use of psychedelics, which are still federally illegal. A string of cities have also decriminalized so-called magic mushrooms and an explosion of investment money is flowing into the arena.

Experts say the research is promising for treating conditions ranging from PTSD to quitting smoking, but caution some serious risks remain, especially for those with certain mental health conditions.

Oregon is so far the only state to legalize the therapeutic use of psilocybin, the psychedelic active ingredient in certain mushrooms. But studying them for therapy has made inroads not only in blue states like Hawaii, Connecticut and Maryland, but also GOP-led Texas, Utah and Oklahoma, which passed a study bill through the state House this year.

The progress stands in contrast to medical marijuana, which Utah lawmakers refused to allow until a ballot measure helped push it through. However, the proposal to study a broad range of psychedelic drugs passed easily this year.

Texas has yet to legalize medical marijuana, but former Republican Gov. Rick Perry helped shepherd through a bill last year to use $1.4 million to fund a study of psilocybin for treating PTSD.

“The stigma attached to psilocybin and most psychedelics dates back to the 60s and 70s. It’s been very hard for them to overcome,” said Democratic Rep. Alex Dominguez, who sponsored the bill. “My approach was, ‘Let’s find the group that all sides claim that they are supportive of.’ And that would be veterans.”

He also heard from conservatives like Perry who support the use of psilocybin to treat PTSD — and let advocates from that end of the political spectrum take the lead publicly.

Maryland also gave bipartisan approval to spending $1 million this year to fund alternative therapies for veterans, including psychedelics. Democratic sponsor Sen. Sarah Elfreth, whose district includes the U.S. Naval Academy, noted the spike in suicides among veterans.

“I don’t envision the VA acting anytime soon,” she said. “We’re at a true crisis level and it’s time for the states to step up.”

Psilocybin has been decriminalized in nearby Washington, D.C., as well as Denver, which decriminalized it in 2019, followed by Oakland and Santa Cruz in California, Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Cambridge, Massachusetts.

There’s also plenty of venture capital being invested from people who have had positive experiences and are “highly motivated” to invest in psychedelics as treatment, said John Krystal, the chair of psychiatry at Yale University.

Rhode Island lawmakers are weighing a proposal to decriminalize psilocybin this year, and in Colorado there’s an effort to get statewide decriminalization on the ballot. But similar measures have stalled in Statehouses elsewhere, including California and Maine.

Studying psychedelics, though, has gained more traction. In Oklahoma, a bill from Republican Reps. Daniel Pae and Logan Phillips would legalize research on psilocybin.

“I believe the research will show that there is a way to use this drug safely and responsibly, and it could save the lives of thousands of Oklahomans,” Pae said in a statement. The bill passed the House last month and is now under consideration in the Senate.

It’s a stunning turnaround for a field that captivated researchers in the 1950s and 1960s, before mushrooms and LSD became known as recreational drugs. They were federally outlawed during the Nixon administration, sending research to a screeching halt.

New studies, though, have indicated psilocybin could be useful in the treatment of everything from major depression to alcoholism, said Ben Lewis, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Utah Huntsman Mental Health Institute.

“People are referring to this current period of time as the psychedelic Renaissance,” he said. Up to 30% of depression sufferers are considered resistant to current treatment, and there have been few recent leaps forward in drug innovation, he added.

The risk of addiction or overdose is considered low with psychedelics, especially under medical supervision, and while some cardiac conditions can present a physical risk, many people’s physical reactions aren’t dangerous.

But there are serious psychological risks, especially for people with certain forms of mental illness or a family history of conditions like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

“Then there’s a possibility that a high-dose psychedelic experience could sort of trigger that and lead to long-lasting mental health issues,” said Albert Garcia-Romeu, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Classic psychedelics include LSD, mescaline, psilocybin and ayahuasca. Plant-based psychedelics have long been used in indigenous cultures around the world.

Today, their therapeutic use at Johns Hopkins is carefully monitored, Garcia-Romeu said. Patients are rigorously screened and typically have at least three appointments: one for preparation, a second to take the drugs and a third to work through the psychedelic experience.

For Butler, the 2018 arrest at his parents’ home was a turning point. He started researching new ways to deal with the PTSD he has suffered since deploying six times to Iraq and Afghanistan and working in counterterrorism and hostage rescues in Somalia for the U.S. Special Forces before retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 2017.

Eventually he came across ayahuasca, long a part of traditional cultures in South America. Last summer, he took part in a ceremony involving the psychoactive brew, overseen by a woman knowledgeable about its effects. She talked to him as the experience took hold, including a feeling of euphoria, the sight of geometric shapes and a sense he was entering his subconscious.

She spoke to him about his childhood and how the military had shaped his life.

“It really was as simple as having an experienced person who understood the medicine, who understood that subconscious space and understood PTSD. It was as simple as listening to her,” he said.

He credits that single session with getting his PTSD about 80% under control, though he occasionally does another if he finds his symptoms returning.

About two-thirds to three-quarters of people in studies have experienced significant improvements in their symptoms, Garcia-Romeu said. Those are promising results, especially for quitting smoking, where current treatments only work for about one-third of people, he said.

The Food and Drug Administration designated psilocybin a “breakthrough therapy” in 2018, a label that’s designed to speed the development and review of drugs to treat a serious condition. MDMA, often called ecstasy, also has that designation for treatment of PTSD.

How quickly states move from study to wider availability remains to be seen. Connecticut recommended legal medical use only after psilocybin is approved by the FDA, which may take until 2025 or later as the agency works through its process, including risk assessment.

Approval is important to safety as well as access, the Connecticut assessment said — without it, many insurance companies likely wouldn’t cover the treatment, leaving it open only to the wealthy.

In Utah, the study team is expected to complete its work in the fall.

“We’ll see what can and can’t be done,” said Republican Rep. Brady Brammer, who sponsored the bill. “If if they feel like it’s safe, it’ll be an interesting ride.”


Associated Press writers Brian Witte in Annapolis, Maryland; Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City; Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut, and Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas, contributed to this report.

Students make video to prove their high school needs repairs

By JEFF MARTIN

Druid Hills High School is shown in this undated photo, in suburban Atlanta. On Monday, April 18, 2022, the DeKalb County School Board is expected to consider renovations for the high school after a video documentary by students highlighted issues with the crumbling school.

 (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

THE SCHOOL IS 100 YEARS OLD IF NOT MORE

The short documentary video opens with a high school student explaining how human waste flows up from the ground and floods an area where he and his friends eat lunch.

In the eight-minute video with background music and captions of key quotes, students at Druid Hills High School use iPhones to document the classrooms, hallways and bathrooms that are crumbling around them.

In several scenes, plaster is falling off walls, and water is dripping around electrical outlets in one area. So much water has leaked into the weight room that it oozes up from the floor when a student steps on it. Another student demonstrates how one of the holes in a ceiling is so large that he can put his entire hand through it.

“You can tell someone about the conditions but when you visually see it, it’s a lot more impactful,” sophomore Harley Martz, one of the students who produced the video, told The Associated Press in an interview. “Some of the things we pointed out in the video are very undeniable.”

“As you walk through the school now, you can smell the mold and it’s kind of really nasty,” Montrice Berry, a junior student at Druid Hills, says in the video. “So I tend to walk outside just so I can avoid the smell.”

Now, after the video came out, “every time I go walking the halls, people are like ‘I’m so proud of you for speaking up,’” Berry said in an interview.

The video, which has garnered more than 27,000 views so far since it was posted on YouTube this month, has prompted outrage among some parents in the suburban area just east of Atlanta who want repairs made. It was produced after the DeKalb County School Board in February removed Druid Hills from a list of schools in need of priority renovations.

The video won praise from other students.

“I walked into my first period and my fellow students were applauding,” Martz said.

It is the latest effort by students, parents and teachers across the nation to show people what conditions are like in their schools – and make their case that improvements are badly needed.

In Virginia, journalism students documented conditions at Maury High School and showed the video on the YouTube channel they use for school news broadcasts. Administrators ordered them to remove the video from the YouTube channel in 2019.

The same year in Louisiana, a video by residents exposed problems at Block High School in Jonesville, about 90 miles (about 145 kilometers) northwest of Baton Rouge. In Duvall County, Florida, the county produced a similar video in 2019 to persuade voters to approve a sales tax measure that would pay for repairs.

In Georgia, the DeKalb County School Board will consider a resolution “to modernize Druid Hills High School,” according to the meeting agenda. The school has been in operation since the 1920s and is among the oldest in Georgia, according to historical accounts from the school district. Film crews used it as the backdrop for several scenes in the 2000 film “Remember the Titans.”

The agenda for Monday’s meeting includes no specifics, so it’s unclear what the board will discuss or ultimately do.

The video showed “many areas of concern throughout the building that we have long known about and have been working to address in meaningful ways,” Superintendent Cheryl Watson-Harris said in an April 13 letter to community members the district also shared with the media.

“As always, we are grateful for the advocacy of these students for themselves and future generations of learners,” she wrote.

The school district and board “remain fully committed to ensuring that all scholars are in positive learning environments,” she wrote, adding that she expects the board’s next steps will be to “move forward with renovations at the school, including addressing immediate needs.”

But students are waiting to see concrete steps being taken to improve their school.

“So far I feel like they’re just talking,” Berry said. “I don’t really see a change so far. No one has really done anything.”

Brain Tumor Diagnoses Lead To Radiation Investigation In New Jersey Township

A New Jersey town is trying to understand a heartbreaking mystery of dozens diagnosed with brain tumors across three decades. Al Lupiano and his wife, Michele, share a rare non-cancerous brain tumor diagnosis. After the death of his sister, Lupiano found more people with the same diagnosis. He says they share one commonality: they either went to or worked at the same high school in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. Woodbridge’s mayor has begun an investigation for radiation on school grounds.