Tuesday, October 25, 2022

With runoff election fast approaching, Big Tech failures in Brazil leave voters awash in disinformation

25 OCTOBER, 2022

As the clock ticks down to Brazil’s presidential runoff this Sunday, the high-stakes race between incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro and former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is being described as the most important election in recent history. Without a doubt, it is a stress test for the country’s three-decades-old democracy.

For Americans, following the headlines may invoke a strange sense of déjà vu. Throughout the campaign, Bolsonaro has consistently alleged, without evidence, that the country’s electronic voting system is vulnerable to widespread fraud and suggested the election is rigged against him. These claims have spawned a life of their own online, with some Brazilians openly plotting a January 6-style coup on social media if Bolsonaro loses.

“We have a full-blown Bolsonaro disinformation ecosystem,” the veteran Brazilian journalist Patrícia Campos Mello told the Columbia Journalism Review. “I am sure that, if he loses, he’s not going to accept the results. And he’s going to incite his supporters to go onto the streets.”

At the center of this so-called disinformation ecosystem are the Big Tech companies themselves. Election disinformation about Brazil is flourishing on YouTube, Facebook, Telegram, and WhatsApp. A recent study by the NGO Global Witness even found that Facebook and YouTube are approving advertisements featuring blatant election disinformation, despite repeated warnings. The tech giants are “fundamentally failing in their responsibility to stop democratic processes being undermined by false, misleading and purposeful deceit,” the organization wrote.

With voters awash in social media conspiracies and coup plots, ‌content moderation in Brazil has taken center stage, with lawmakers courting controversial policy proposals on both ends of the spectrum. Last year, Bolsonaro issued a now-defunct order essentially prohibiting social media companies from removing content from their platforms in the absence of a court order — a first in global tech policy. Then, last week, in an effort to crack down on election misinformation, Brazil’s electoral court went in the opposite direction. It passed a new set of rules granting the country’s top elections official — Alexandre de Moraes, a frequent target of Bolsonaro’s attacks — the power to order social media platforms to remove content that violated prior takedown orders from the court. Platforms that don’t comply with takedown orders within two hours can be suspended country-wide for up to 24 hours.

Bolsonaro’s order sought to prevent companies from moderating content altogether, including blatant lies, while these rules give a tremendous amount of latitude to one individual. Bolsonaro allies and civil rights experts alike have expressed concerns about the unilateral power the policy grants the elections chief and its potential to censor political speech. Proponents, on the other hand, say it will help curb the election fraud conspiracies that have accompanied Bolsonaro’s campaign, and that pose an existential threat to the country’s fragile democracy.

IN GLOBAL NEWS:

The Saudi government’s crackdown on social media criticism may land a U.S. citizen behind bars — for 16 years. Saad Ibrahim Almadi, a U.S. national who also has Saudi citizenship, was detained while traveling from Florida to Riyadh to visit family, apparently over a series of tweets he posted while in the U.S. On October 3, a Saudi court handed the 72-year-old a 16-year prison sentence and an equally long travel ban for allegedly attempting to “destabilize the kingdom and supporting and funding terrorism.” According to Almadi’s son, Ibrahim, the only evidence used to sentence his father was 14 tweets Almadi posted, some of which were critical of the Saudi regime. Ibrahim also alleges that the government has tortured his father in prison. Almadi’s sentence is just one of a string of draconian punishments the regime has recently doled out in response to criticism on social media, including a 45-year sentence for a Saudi woman over anonymous tweets.

Texas public schools are rolling out a grisly DNA collection system to help parents identify their kids’ bodies in emergencies. Under the policy, which was launched as part of a 2021 law establishing a “child identification program,” schools are sending kits that parents can use to store their children’s fingerprints and DNA and hand to police in case they go missing. The plan, which went into effect in the state’s largest school district last week, is generating fierce pushback in the wake of the Uvalde school massacre less than six months ago, when family members of students whose bodies were unidentifiable after being destroyed by gunfire provided DNA samples to help identify the children’s remains. “It makes me physically sick,” one mom said of the program. Parents and critics have also expressed privacy concerns over the kits and the implications of providing students’ DNA and fingerprint records to law enforcement.

IN GLOBAL NEWS:

WHAT WE’RE READING

This harrowing Motherboard piece about how police are conjuring up images of suspects they’ve never seen based on DNA samples.
This incisive look at the “rise of luxury surveillance” — technologies that millions of people happily buy into because they think they will improve their lives. “These gadgets are analogous to the surveillance technologies deployed in Detroit and many other cities across the country in that they are best understood as mechanisms of control,” writes surveillance expert Chris Gilliard for The Atlantic.
Four years ago, researchers published a pioneering report that pulled back the curtain on racial and gender bias in facial recognition software. Nature explores how the landmark study is influencing research and regulation today. The researchers behind this study went on to found the Algorithmic Justice League. If you’d rather watch than read, check out Coded Bias, Shalini Kantayya’s acclaimed documentary about their work.
An exposé by Forbes revealed that a team at TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, planned to use the popular app to spy on the locations of specific Americans. “It is unclear from the materials whether data about these Americans was actually collected; however, the plan was for a Beijing-based ByteDance team to obtain location data from U.S. users’ devices,” writes Emily Baker-White.

Rayan El Amine, Isobel Cockerell, and Rebekah Robinson contributed to this edition.

From biometrics to surveillance — when people in power abuse technology, the rest of us suffer

Authoritarian Tech

Our weekly newsletter on how people in power are abusing technology — and what it means for all of us

Diwali 2022: India celebrates the festival with a dazzling display of lights

Image caption,
Diwali is also called the festival of lights

India's streets and homes are lit up with colourful lanterns and glowing lamps as millions celebrate the Hindu festival of Diwali.

But the celebrations are also sparking concerns about air pollution, including in the national capital, Delhi.

A time for feasts, prayers and fireworks, Diwali is one of the most important festivals in India. It is known as the festival of lights as people illuminate oil lamps or candles to symbolise the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil.

People illuminate their homes with oil lamps and draw rangolis - traditional designs made using colourful powders - outside their doors to welcome good luck and positivity into their lives.

Families gather to offer prayers, light fireworks and enjoy festive meals. People visit friends and family and exchange sweets, gifts and good wishes.

Image caption,
People draw rangolis for good luck

Image caption,
Millions of Indians celebrate Diwali

The exact dates of the festival change each year and are determined by the position of the moon, but it typically falls between October and November. This year, Diwali is being celebrated on Monday.

For the past two years, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, festivities were held with restrictions or were cancelled altogether. However this year, with restrictions being lifted, people are celebrating the festival with gusto.

The widely-celebrated festival also brings with it concerns about the rising levels of air pollution.

Despite governments in several states imposing partial or complete bans on firecrackers, thousands of people continue to light them, causing thick plumes of smoke to pollute the air.

Image caption,
People hang lanterns outside their homes

Image caption,
Thousands throng markets to shop for Diwali goods

In Delhi - the world's most polluted capital - fireworks during Diwali worsen the air quality, which is already quite poor in the winter months as farmers in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana burn crop stubble to clear their fields.

Like in previous years, this year too the Delhi government has banned firecrackers to curb air pollution. Those lighting firecrackers could be jailed for up to six months and fined 200 rupees ($2.41; £2.15).

Image caption,
Lamps called 'diyas' are lit to illuminate the home

Image caption,
People wear traditional garments and visit friends and family

Sudanese security forces fire tear-gas at protesters on coup anniversary

Sudanese security forces fired tear gas at pro-democracy protesters, who rallied as they marked the first anniversary of a coup that derailed a transition to civilian

The New Arab Staff & Agencies
25 October, 2022

Sudanese security forces shot tear gas as protesters waved Sudanese flags chanting 'no negotiation with the putschists' [Getty]

Sudanese security forces shot tear gas Tuesday as thousands of pro-democracy protesters marked the first anniversary of a coup that derailed a transition to civilian rule and sent hunger and inflation soaring.

Waving Sudanese flags, thousands of demonstrators in Khartoum and its suburbs defied security forces who have carried out deadly crackdowns on past rallies, demanding that "soldiers go back to the barracks".

"No partnership, no negotiation with the putschists," protesters chanted, calling out what has become a pro-democracy rallying cry.

A year ago to the day, army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan seized power and arrested the civilian leaders with whom he had agreed to share power in 2019, when mass protests compelled the army to depose one of its own, long-time autocrat Omar al-Bashir.

Protesters, calling out that the "revolution continues", have demanded the creation of "a civil democratic Sudan".

Eyewitnesses said thousands also took to the streets in the cities of Wad Madani and El Obeid south of the capital, Gedaref and Port Sudan in the east, Atbara in the north and Nyala in the southwestern Darfur region.

In an attempt to stem protests, authorities restricted internet access across the country, online monitor NetBlocks said.

- Security forces deployed -

The authorities in Khartoum ordered all public institutions, schools, and businesses shut Tuesday, as security forces blocked roads and bridges.

"We've been protesting for a year now, and that has enabled us to contain the coup" that gained no "international or regional recognition", one protester in Khartoum told AFP.

Another, the Sudan flag draped across his shoulders, said: "It's the first time in history we're seeing a coup failing to move forward even an inch in a whole year."

For 12 months, near weekly anti-coup protests have been met with force, most recently on Sunday when security forces shot dead a protester, according to pro-democracy medics.

At least 118 people have been killed while demanding a return to civilian rule, a condition for Western governments to resume crucial aid they halted in response to the coup.

RELATED Sudan coup: Half of Khartoum democratic sit-ins dismantled

Already one of the world's poorest countries, Sudan has plunged into a worsening economic crisis.

Between three-digit inflation and chronic food shortages, a third of the country's 45 million inhabitants suffer from hunger, a 50 percent increase compared with 2021, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).

The cost of food staples has jumped 137 percent in one year, which the WFP says has forced Sudanese to spend "more than two-thirds of their income on food alone, leaving little money to cover other needs".

Many worry that three years after the 2019 uprising that toppled Bashir, signs point to a reversal of their revolution.

Since the coup, several Bashir-era loyalists have been appointed to official positions, including in the judiciary, which is currently trying the former dictator.

Burhan's pledge of elections next year is seen as far-fetched, no civilian leaders have taken up the mantle of the army chief's promised civilian government, and international mediation efforts are stalled.

"Sudan doesn't have the luxury of zero-sum games and political manoeuvres," UN envoy to Sudan Volker Perthes said Saturday. "All political actors need to put aside differences and focus on the best interest of the Sudanese people."

- Deadly clashes -

On Friday, 31 protesters were injured, including three who were hit in the eye by tear gas canisters, according to pro-democracy medics.

Western embassies on Monday urged security forces "to refrain from using violence against protesters and to fulfil their obligation to protect freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly".

A broader security breakdown nationwide has also left nearly 600 dead and more than 210,000 displaced as a result of ethnic violence this year, according to the United Nations.

Sudan is the world's fifth most vulnerable country to the impacts of climate change, according to a 2020 ranking in the Global Adaptation Index, compiled by the Notre Dame University in the United States.

More than two-fifths of people depend on farming for a living, and conflicts regularly erupt over access to land, water and livestock grazing.

In the southern Blue Nile state, an area awash with automatic weapons after decades of civil war, some 250 people were killed in clashes between rival groups over land last week, the UN said.

Sudan Suspends NGO That Took Government to Court Over Internet Access

October 23, 2022
Agence France-Presse

A man flashes the victory sign during a protest to denounce the October 2021 military coup, in Khartoum, Sudan, Jan. 9, 2022.

KHARTOUM, SUDAN —

Sudan's military government has withdrawn the accreditation of a consumer protection group that took it to court over internet cuts during last year's military coup, the group said Sunday.

The Sudanese Consumer Protection Society (SCPS) asked a court last year to order the government to restore internet services blocked during the October 25 coup, a power grab that has derailed a fragile transition to civilian rule.

A court had twice ruled that the internet should be restored, to no avail, before services eventually resumed on November 18 last year.

Yasir Mirghani, head of the SCPS, told AFP he was handed on Sunday a decision dated October 9 to revoke the group's permit after 24 years of operations.

SEE ALSO:
Sudan Protester Shot Dead as Coup Anniversary Looms

A copy of the order, which has been seen by AFP, stipulated the "deregistration, seizure of assets and property, and the freezing of assets and accounts of the Sudanese Consumer Protection Society in all banks within and outside Sudan," but did not list the group's alleged violations.

Sudan has been in turmoil since army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan ousted the mainstream civilian bloc from a power-sharing government a year ago, triggering widespread international condemnation.

The power-sharing administration had been established in 2019 after the military ousted longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir amid enormous street protests.

Since last year's coup, the protest movement has revived but been met by force that has killed at least 117 people, according to pro-democracy medics.

New U.S. Arctic Strategy: A new field of rivalry between superpowers?

The Arctic is home to more than four million people. Despite its low population densities, the Arctic has strategic importance due to its extensive natural resources and military context. The Biden administration has pursued a comprehensive foreign policy, as evidenced by its new Arctic strategy seeking to grant Washington an advantage over other Arctic claimant nations.

SOURCE: TWITTER (ARCTIC TODAY)

Date: 24 October 2022

The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Denmark (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States (Alaska). Its territory is not subject to any regulation by international law. Two doctrines might regulate what country holds what Arctic land. The high seas doctrine says that the whole Arctic territory is open to all nations and may not be subjected to national sovereignty. According to the sector theory, Arctic countries could pursue claims to all discovered and undiscovered territories in their respective sectors. The Arctic holds an estimated 90 billion barrels of the world’s undiscovered oil resources and 1.67 billion cubic meters of its undiscovered natural gas resources, according to an assessment conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey. It accounts for 22 percent of the world’s oil and gas resources.[1] The Arctic contains a huge quantity of methane clathrate. Thus many countries have submitted claims to Arctic natural resources.

According to an official White House statement, the United States seeks an Arctic region that is peaceful and cooperative. The new National Strategy for the Arctic Region is an update of the 2013 agenda, poised to take a decade to realize this vision. This paper, however, addresses the climate crisis with bigger accuracy and accounts for increasing strategic competition in the Arctic, exacerbated by climate change, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the People’s Republic of China’s increased efforts to garner influence in the region.

What might have prompted a Chinese threat in the Arctic was an Alaska summit, the first major meeting with Chinese officials under a new U.S. administration. Where they met must have been a clue for U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. As tensions sour across the Pacific, many officials seem to overlook Chinese ambitions to become “a polar power” by 2030.[2] “China describes the Arctic as one of the world’s “new strategic frontiers,” ripe for rivalry and extraction. China sees the Arctic—along with the Antarctic, the seabed, and space—as ungoverned or undergoverned spaces,” according to the Brooking Institution report Northern expedition: China’s Arctic activities and ambitions, compiled jointly by Rush Doshi, Alexis Dale-Huang, and Gaogi Zhang. China is another country that has openly channeled its efforts into the Arctic.

For Russia, the Arctic poses a similar challenge as for other claimant states. Moscow has yet adopted a slightly distinctive perspective. As the United States and China seem to have taken the lead across the region, Russia is indeed losing its influence there. And yet, Russia’s coastline accounts for 50 percent of the Arctic Ocean’s coastline while the country has the world’s biggest icebreaker fleet.[3] How salient the Arctic is for the Russian invasion of Ukraine and NATO’s expansion was expressed in May by Nikolai Korchunov, a Russian diplomat. Finland and Sweden’s expected accession to NATO might prompt some clashes, he said.[4]

As global warming melts sea ice across the Arctic, some shipping routes may be opening up. Against this backdrop, world powers will begin efforts to grab the biggest chunk of Arctic shipping lanes. These territories could potentially see some heightened tensions. Unblocking all shipping lanes in the Arctic could provide a direct link between North America and Eurasia. Easier access to shipping lanes would, however, pose some risks. A new Arctic maritime path will open up the shortest passage between the United States and its rivals in the Pacific.

Washington’s new Arctic strategy involves four pillars:

Security

The Biden administration’s highest priority is to deter any threats to the United States. The U.S. government pledged to work closely with allies to jointly develop and lead shared approaches to address security challenges together. Washington also seeks to keep its military and diplomatic presence across the Arctic.

Climate change and environmental protection

The Biden administration declared it would partner with Alaskan communities and the state of Alaska to build resilience to the impacts of climate change in the North Pole.

Sustainable economic development

The U.S. government pledged to pursue sustainable development and improve livelihoods in Alaska, investing in infrastructure and supporting growing economic sectors.

International cooperation and governance

Despite the challenges to Arctic cooperation resulting from Russia’s war in Ukraine, the United States will work to sustain institutions for Arctic cooperation, including the Arctic Council. The U.S. administration also seeks to uphold international law, rules, norms, and standards in the Arctic.

Washington’s new Arctic strategy spans both domestic and international issues. Not only does the Biden administration consider the free access doctrine in the Arctic, but it will also seek to build up its presence in the area. A boost in Alaska’s strategic importance will increase the U.S. influence across the Arctic. There are nearly 22,000[5] U.S. troops in Alaska in nine military facilities around the state. As new shipping routes open up in the Arctic and with Washington’s new Arctic paper, perhaps the U.S. will deploy more troops to the area. To accurately tackle a new geopolitical challenge, the country’s armaments industry––so far focused on building new ships––must channel its efforts into building a fleet of icebreaking vessels.

[1]US Congressional Hearing. “Strategic Importance of the Arctic in US Policy.” [page 15]

[2]https://www.brookings.edu/research/northern-expedition-chinas-arctic-activities-and-ambitions/

[3]https://pism.pl/publikacje/Polityka_Rosji_wobec_Arktyki

[4]https://www.money.pl/gospodarka/rosja-ostrzega-wojna-moze-przeniesc-sie-na-nowy-teren-6771579480996352a.html

[5]https://www.jber.jb.mil/Units/Alaskan-Command/

JAN HERNIK – JAN HERNIK IS A GRADUATE OF THE AMERICAN STUDIES CENTER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WARSAW. HE SPECIALIZES IN THE THEORY OF RELIGION, RACE AND ETHNICITY FOR POLITICAL CHOICE IN THE U.S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS. HIS RESEARCH INTERESTS ALSO INCLUDE US ACTIVITY IN THE INDO-PACIFIC REGION

Op-Ed: Hiding Brexit – Nice try Financial Times, but the black hole is getting bigger

ByPaul Wallis
PublishedOctober 23, 2022

The vote ends five years of a Brexit saga in which Britain and Europe also sealed a divorce deal that bitterly divided the UK

The paywall-free Financial Times video discussing Brexit received a lot of praise for being straightforward and politically unbiased reporting. So it is. The word missing from the video is “revenue”. Debt is mentioned, but not explored in any detail.

OK, fair enough. You don’t insert the entire text of Lord of the Rings into a weather report, either. …But let’s not forget the markets had a fit and the pound went into free fall as the result of a mention of less revenue due to proposed tax cuts.

Try and find an instance of the market reacting to tax cuts anywhere else on Earth the way it reacted to the UK’s mere mention of such a simple policy. The market usually loves tax cuts. Not this time. Why?

If you search UK debt on Google News using the search dropdown, do you know what you get? Absolutely nothing. It’s not news. The UK now has a 100% debt-to-GDP ratio. That means you borrow as much as you earn. So far from Thatcher’s “can’t pay ourselves more than we earn”, this is the epitome of doing just that.

That’s £2.2 trillion with a Brexit pre-shrunk economy. It’s a pretty expensive hobby. As the revenue base shrinks with everyone, particularly Brexiteers moving their businesses and assets to the EU, it’s a much more expensive gambling-addict mode. According to a chart published last month, the actual debt is £2.4 trillion.

This is not to suggest that the UK is at risk of instant foreclosure. Quite the opposite. The moving vans won’t be arriving in any hurry, for a very pragmatic reason. Lenders want their money, not some deranged melodrama getting it. However, the fact that paying for the debt is now based on such a massive number doesn’t help.

As revenue shrinks, more borrowing will inevitably be required. This picture can’t change at all under Brexit. Strategically, it’s like driving your car over the White Cliffs of Dover and meanwhile taking out a personal loan before you hit the ground.

The market reaction to even the suggestion of reduced UK revenue was based on a much more demanding reality. When numbers don’t make sense, the markets don’t like it. Brexit has demolished trade with the EU. The US isn’t interested in doing anything, and much less interested if the Northern Ireland Protocol is compromised. The US could react very negatively.

This particularly tangled web created by alcoholic/coke and meth-based spiders underpins Brexit. The UK doesn’t want the European Court of Justice involved. Why not? Perhaps because it’s an external jurisdiction. That’d be at least consistent, but it’s also the presiding court in the EU. The ECJ can’t be uninvolved because there are member states involved. It’s not even a rational position for the UK to take, but as usual, it’s the default position regarding Brexit.

The debt is just to keep the wheels spinning while falling down the cliff. The UK has 66 million people, infrastructure, etc. to maintain. That can’t be paid for with thin air. The ever-shrinking Brexit economy can’t pay for that. Buildings have to keep standing, people must be paid, and water must keep pumping. Deregulated and privatized Britain had only one serious economic hot tap – The financial sector. That was big money, good for revenue, and that’s disappearing ASAP.

Project Near

The Tories made a huge deal out of Project Fear. Things would be fine. There was no sudden blowout. Just a mass migration of people, businesses, and money. That was OK, according to someone.

Presumably, if you can’t see them, things do look fine. The simple fact is that Brexit is so wide-ranging that the visible negative effects are everywhere. You don’t distinguish between individual raindrops when you’re getting flooded out, either. You also don’t solve a jigsaw puzzle when you can’t see all the pieces.

People with no economic, financial, or political education can’t even interpret what they’re seeing. Nor, thanks to the world’s most utterly craven media, do these people have any idea how to find collateral information, let alone collateral damage.

The cumulative effects of Brexit are that deep. The UK is in “systemic shock” at this point. The nervous system still works, but it’s basically babbling. The UK is lucky the Bank of England stepped in when it did. It was under no obligation to do so, and may not be able to do so again if things get worse.

There are no handy hard numbers for revenue receipts and debts including projected interest rate rises.

Debt coverage is not a topic?

There are no projections for improving the trade situation.

Northern Ireland is critical and not a topic?

What else isn’t a topic?

Government by silence is hardly reassuring under these circumstances. Economic illiteracy is expected from Western governments. It’s been such a triumph in the past. The fact that a collection of Smugbridge-educated fools can’t even justify their own policies is a lot less reassuring.

The markets can be expected to continue to react very negatively to any further blows to revenue. Brexit is appropriately dying of its own hubris. The markets have read the riot act, and no further drivel will be tolerated.

Let’s put it this way – No numbers, no credibility.

What the World Will Lose if Ancient Trees Die Out

Monday, 24 October, 2022
Jared Farmer

Old trees are in big trouble.

Whole forests with fire-resistant giant sequoias up to 3,000 years in age have recently gone up in flames. Whole stands of drought-resistant Great Basin bristlecone pine, a species that can reach 5,000 years in age, have been sucked dry by bark beetles. Monumental baobabs, the longest-living flowering plants, buckle under the stress of drought in southern Africa. The iconic cedars of Mount Lebanon, ancient symbols of longevity, struggle in warmer, drier conditions. Millennial kauris in New Zealand and centenarian olive trees in Italy succumb to invasive diseases.

Cumulatively, this is more than a cyclical turnover. This is a great diminution: fewer megaflora (massive trees), fewer elderflora (ancient trees), fewer old-growth forests, fewer ancient species, fewer species overall.

Although Earth’s “tree cover” — three trillion plants covering roughly 30 percent of all land — has expanded of late, the canopy increasingly consists of trees planted for timber, paper pulp and cooking oil and for services such as protecting soil from wind erosion and offsetting carbon emissions. It’s young stuff. Old-growth communities are scarce and getting scarcer.

Ancient trees provide services too, but really, they are gift givers. Of all their gifts, the greatest are temporal and ethical. They inspire long-term thinking and encourage us to be sapient. They engage our deepest faculties: to revere, analyze and meditate. If we can recognize how they call upon our ethical imperative to care for them, then we should slow down climate change now, and pay forward to people who will need a future planet with chronodiversity as well as biodiversity.

Old trees are necessary for sustaining the rich communities of species in forests. They drop seeds and litter eaten and used by animals on the ground; up high, they host epiphytes and birds. In the ecologist Meg Lowman’s formulation, there’s a lively “eighth continent” in the canopy.

The ecosystem underground might as well be the ninth. Trees share nutrients through mycorrhizae, the symbiotic association between fungi and plants at the root level. Preliminary research on these networks, called the “Wood-Wide Web,” demonstrates that big old trees have outsize importance, serving as hubs for hundreds of other trees.

These hubs redistribute the life-giving nutrients of nitrogen and carbon — first to their own kind, secondarily to out-of-kin plants, sometimes even to competitor plants. For a seedling, the assistance of a big old tree may mean the difference between death and a long, long life. Suzanne Simard at the University of British Columbia, a leading ecologist in this field, refers to well-connected givers as “mother trees.” The destruction of old growth destroys not just standing trees but also the underground links among them.

Each ancient tree is also a precious genetic repository. According to models, one-quarter of the trees in an old-growth forest will be triple or quadruple the median age, and one one-hundredth will be 10 or 20 times the median age. Each plant in the latter group arose at a specific moment in the past when favorable conditions allowed for their establishment — conditions that may not recur for centuries. As bridges between pasts and possible futures, these plants contribute genetic resilience to the population.

The eldest are irreplaceable for science, too. Only about 25 plant species can, without human assistance, live beyond one millennium, and they are mainly conifers of primeval lineage. Their genetic code — the product of hundreds of millions of years of evolution — contains information scientists have barely begun to analyze. As the technology of genetic sequencing advances, people may find new applications for the DNA of thousand-year-old trees.

Certain millennial conifers such as bristlecone pines have distinct utility. Their tree rings are living data — proxies for temperatures, winter snows, summer droughts and supervolcanic eruptions. Dendrochronologists use them to reconstruct past climates and model future ones. As climate recorders, tree rings are comparable to ice layers, only more sensitive.

On a purely utilitarian level, populations of ancient trees temporarily absorb some of the excess carbon in the atmosphere. The slower that big old trees grow, the higher their potential for negative emissions; the longer they delay death and decomposition, the longer they can sequester greenhouse gases inside their wood.

For this reason, some organizations and corporations scrambling to offset their emissions have single-mindedly pursued tree planting. But these initiatives have a spotty record. Protecting existing old-growth should take priority over generating new tree cover.

The stakes and the scale of forest stewardship have changed in the climate crisis. Large-scale preservation of habitat is no longer enough; it must be paired with rapid decarbonization of the economy. Otherwise, the future for old growth is ashes.

Can we care enough in time? History suggests we can. Tales of sacred plants — and their keepers and desecraters — are among the oldest living stories, from Gilgamesh in the Cedar Forest to the Buddha beneath the Bodhi tree.

Around the globe, at shrines and temples and churchyards, locals give protection to trees planted centuries ago — or just recently — the latest in a long, unbroken sequence of consecrated plantings. Sacred groves are traditional features of many cultures and religions. And state-protected areas with big old trees — secular sacred groves — can be found from Alishan National Forest Recreation Area in Taiwan to Waipoua Forest in New Zealand to Alerce Costero National Park in Chile.

Among plants, there are ephemerals, annuals, biennials, perennials — and beyond them all a category I call “perdurables.” Perdurance is resilience over time. Humans can recultivate this attribute by caring for old trees and the old-to-be. Sustaining long-term relationships with long-lived plants is a rejection of The End, an affirmation that there will be — must be — tomorrow. That is a gift.

The New York Times

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for TREES

https://www.ursulakleguin.com/the-word-for-world-is-forest

The Word for World is Forest - Ursula K. Le Guin

The Word for World Is Forest was originally published in the anthology Again, Dangerous Visions in 1972. It was published as a standalone book in 1976 by ...

https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/ursula-k-le-guin-the-word-for-world-is-forest-1

The Word for World Is Forest | The Anarchist Library

Written in the glare of the United States' war on Indochina, and first published as a separate book in that war's dire aftermath, The Word for World is Forest ...