Researchers from ISGlobal and LSHTM call for incorporating heat stress indices into communication of dangerous heat waves

Coinciding with the publication of a paper in npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, ISGlobal launches a heat index calculator

Peer-Reviewed Publication

BARCELONA INSTITUTE FOR GLOBAL HEALTH (ISGLOBAL)

 

IMAGE: THIS EASY-TO-USE TOOL CALCULATES THE HEAT INDEX AND PROVIDES A GUIDANCE ON THE LEVEL OF RISK TOGETHER WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW TO STAY SAFE WHEN THE CONDITIONS ARE HAZARDOUS. view more 

CREDIT: ISGLOBAL

In the summer of 2022, over 20,000 excess deaths across Spain, France, Germany and Great Britain were suggested to have been linked to extremely hot weather. In the context of global warming where climate models point to the fact that extreme heat waves are likely to increase both in frequency and magnitude, preventive measures and adequate communication of dangerous conditions take on special relevance. In a Brief Communication published in npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by the ”la Caixa” Foundation, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) warn that relying solely on expected temperatures in communication of dangerous heatwave conditions can be insufficient to inform people about the true health risks. The team calls for the widespread use of so-called heat stress indices, which besides temperature take into account other meteorological factors such as humidity, to better communicate the impacts of extreme heat stress conditions.

“It is the wider set of meteorological conditions that can affect one’s response to outdoor heat – starting from the ambient temperature, as well as humidity of the surrounding air, the prevailing wind conditions, exposure to the direct sun versus being in shade, and finally the total duration of exposure to such conditions”, says Malcolm Mistry, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, and a co-author of the study. “Communicating expected maximum temperatures only,” he continues, “may not always reflect the true danger of ongoing heatwaves. For example, the same ambient temperature of 35°C can be uncomfortable at low humidity but dangerous to human health at high humidity, even for a short period of time.”

Although each person's threshold of resistance to heat varies according to a number of individual factors, different heat stress indices have been designed to describe the impact of meteorological conditions on the human body, including the point at which the conditions experienced can become a threat to human health.  Some of the better-known examples are, humidex (Hu), apparent temperature (AT), wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT), heat index (HI) and universal thermal climate index (UTCI). This is particularly relevant in view of the so-called "humid heat waves", which are expected to become more frequent as a consequence of climate change.

Different Perception of “Danger Zones”

The team looked into recent record-breaking heatwaves in Europe, North America and Asia and compared the maps of maximum daily temperatures with the maximum daily heat stress indices (humidex and indoor wet bulb globe temperature). The geographical areas where the heat indices revealed the highest risk of heat stress did not necessarily coincide with the regions where the highest temperatures were recorded.

For example, during the heatwaves in Europe in June and July 2019, records show that central and north-eastern Spain experienced the highest temperatures. However, calculating the heat stress indices, the researchers found that the areas with the most critical conditions were in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, countries that reported an excess mortality of 2,500 deaths. Another of the cases mentioned was the episode of extreme heat that occurred in western parts of Canada and the northwest United States in June 2021. While the maximum temperatures were recorded in the states of Washington and Oregon, heat stress indices revealed that Canadian provinces such as Alberta, the Northwest Territories and British Columbia also experienced dangerous conditions, with the latter recording 600 heat-related deaths.

Encouragingly, heat indices are being increasingly implemented in weather forecasts by the meteoservices around the world. Some examples include humidex in Canada, UTCI in Germany and Heat Index in USA. “What is still missing is having heat indices communicated to the population in a regular manner as it is traditionally done using temperatures”, states lead author Ivana Cvijanovic. “This could be helped by the scientific community reaching a consensus on which heat index is best to communicate and which danger levels to use.”

Another heat wave the team looked at was the major heat wave that hit India and Pakistan in May 2022, when temperatures over 50°C were recorded. Once again, the heat indices revealed danger zones that were not limited to those with the highest temperatures. "Episodes of extreme heat that push humans to the edge of survival, like the one recorded in India and Pakistan in May 2022, are likely to become more frequent as climate models highlight, and we need to do everything we can to be as well prepared as possible to deal with them," says Xavier Rodó, head of ISGlobal's Climate and Health programme and one of the authors of the study, “Unfortunately, health data from this heatwave was not available and would certainly be useful to the scientific and medical communities to both better understand the nature and extent of the effects of such mega heat waves, and to educate us on how to prepare for such outcomes”.

“Lessons learned from the recent major heatwaves suggest that improved protocols for action during heatwaves are needed. Once the meteorological warning has been issued there is need for a clear chain of responsibilities. The authorities need to act promptly and know when to close schools or stop outdoor sports activities, open cooling centers for socially vulnerable populations and ensure the sufficient emergency response.”, says Ivana Cvijanovic.

“Educating the general population on how to behave during heat waves is very important too. Knowing how to recognize the signs of heat related illness (and what to do in case of) and creating a “no one left behind” culture with people checking on their elderly neighbours or anyone seemingly vulnerable can help save lives. We also need to have solutions in place in case of power outages - when we cannot rely on cooling mechanisms such as air-conditioning. Finally, we must not forget animals and pets, as they will need protection during these times too”, concludes Cvijanovic.

ISGlobal Presents a Heat Index Calculator

In parallell to the communication paper published in npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, a team from ISGlobal has created a heat index calculator. The easy-to-use tool calculates the heat index and provides a guidance on the level of risk together with the recommendations on how to stay safe when the conditions are hazardous. To operate the calculator, users just need to introduce temperature and relative humidity values, both of which are provided by many of the domestic thermometer models in the market, and that way they can obtain an estimation of the conditions in any of the rooms of their homes.  

Although there are other heat index calculators available online, this is the first one to use the extended and corrected Heat Index that was recently developed by the UC Berkeley researchers. The tool is intended to provide estimates of indoor risk  and is openly available at www.isglobal.org/heat-index-calculator.

"In the same way that we consult forecasts on a daily basis —and especially whenever there is an extreme weather event coming—, we need to get used to incorporating tools like this heat index calculator to learn to live with sustained hazardous levels of heat like we never had before. A fundamental part of this is to communicate better and raise awareness of the importance of factors such as relative humidity in gauging risk", says Pau Rubio, Communication Coordinator at ISGlobal and a member of the team that developed the calculator.

For more information, visit ISGlobal’s Heat Index Calculator.

Reference

Ivana Cvijanovic, Malcolm N. Mistry, James D. Begg, Antonio Gasparrini, Xavier Rodó. Importance of humidity for characterization and communication of dangerous heatwave conditions. npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, 2023. doi:10.1038/s41612-023-00346-x 

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JOURNAL

npj Climate and Atmospheric Science

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Commentary/editorial

ARTICLE TITLE

Importance of humidity for characterization and communication of dangerous heatwave conditions

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

27-Apr-2023

Twilight zone at risk from climate change

UNIVERSITY OF EXETER

Life in the ocean’s “twilight zone” could decline dramatically due to climate change, new research suggests.

The twilight zone (200m to 1,000m deep) gets very little light but is home to a wide variety of organisms and billions of tonnes of organic matter.

The new study warns that climate change could cause a 20-40% reduction in twilight zone life by the end of the century.

And in a high-emissions future, life in the twilight zone could be severely depleted within 150 years, with no recovery for thousands of years.

“We still know relatively little about the ocean twilight zone, but using evidence from the past we can understand what may happen in the future,” said Dr Katherine Crichton, from the University of Exeter, and lead author of the study.

The research team, made up of palaeontologists and ocean modellers, looked at how abundant life was in the twilight zone in past warm climates, using records from preserved microscopic shells in ocean sediments.

“We looked at two warm periods in the Earth’s past, about 50 million years ago and 15 million years ago,” said Professor Paul Pearson of Cardiff University, who led the research.

“We found that the twilight zone was not always a rich habitat full of life.

“In these warm periods, far fewer organisms lived in the twilight zone, because much less food arrived from surface waters.”

Animals in the twilight zone mainly feed on particles of organic matter that have sunk down from the ocean surface.

The study showed that in warmer seas of the past, this organic matter was degraded much faster by bacteria – meaning less food reached the twilight zone.

“The rich variety of twilight zone life evolved in the last few million years, when ocean waters had cooled enough to act rather like a fridge, preserving the food for longer, and improving conditions allowing life to thrive,” said Dr Crichton.

This led the researchers to ask what will happen to life in the twilight zone in a future, warmer world.

Combining the evidence on past warm periods with Earth System Model simulations, they simulated what might be happening now in the twilight zone, and what could happen in future decades, centuries and millennia due to climate warming driven by greenhouse gas emissions.

“Our findings suggest that significant changes may already be under way,” Dr Crichton continued.

“Unless we rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, this could lead to the disappearance or extinction of much twilight zone life within 150 years, with effects spanning millennia thereafter.

“Even a low-emissions future may have a significant impact, but that would be far less severe than medium- and high-emissions scenarios.

“Our study is a first step to finding out how vulnerable this ocean habitat may be to climate warming.”

The study’s three emissions scenarios are based on total carbon dioxide emissions after 2010. “Low” is 625 billion tonnes, “medium” is 2,500 billion tonnes, and “high” is 5,000 billion tonnes.

For context, the Global Carbon Budget (led by the University of Exeter) estimated total global carbon dioxide emissions of 40.6 billion tonnes in 2022 alone.

Emissions have been close to 40 billion tonnes every year from 2010-22, so most of the carbon dioxide (about 500 billion tonnes) for the study’s “low” scenario has already been emitted.

At the current rate, the “medium” scenario would be reached 50 years from now, and the “high” in just over a century.

Dr Jamie Wilson, from the University of Liverpool, said: “The twilight zone plays an important role in the ocean’s carbon cycle because most of the carbon dioxide taken up by phytoplankton ends up there as their remains sink down from the surface ocean.

“One of the challenges of predicting how this movement of carbon might change in the future is that there are many processes to disentangle in the modern ocean.

“By looking back at the twilight zone in past warm periods we can identify the most important processes and use those to predict the future.

“We found that this natural cycling of carbon is likely already changing and may be perturbed long into the future."

To increase our knowledge on the ocean twilight zone, a UN programme (JETZON) has been set up. It states: “It is poorly understood from almost any perspective. However, it contains possibly the world’s largest and least exploited fish stock and recycles ~80% of the organic material that sinks out of the productive surface waters.”

The new study was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council and includes researchers from the universities of Exeter, Liverpool, California Riverside, Bremen, Cardiff, and University College London.

The paper, published in the journal Nature Communications, is entitled: “What the geological past can tell us about the future of the ocean’s twilight zone.”

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JOURNAL

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-023-37781-6 

ARTICLE TITLE

What the geological past can tell us about the future of the ocean’s twilight zone

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

27-Apr-2023

The hidden power of Japanese food ― inhibiting the development of liver fibrosis

Intake of soy products, seafood, and seaweed is important

OSAKA METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: RESEARCHERS ANALYZED THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MEALS RATED BY THE 12-COMPONENT MODIFIED JAPANESE DIET INDEX (MJDI12), MUSCLE MASS, AND LIVER FIBROSIS PROGRESSION IN 136 PATIENTS WITH NONALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE (NAFLD) ATTENDING THE OSAKA METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL. view more 

CREDIT: OSAKA METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

Japanese food is popular worldwide and has been registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. There is a scoring system named “the 12-component modified Japanese Diet Index (mJDI12),” which focuses on the intake of the Japanese diet pattern. It includes 12 foods and food groups: rice, miso soup, pickles, soy products, green and yellow vegetables, fruits, seafood, mushrooms, seaweed, green tea, coffee, and beef and pork. Scores range from 0 to 12, with higher scores indicating a diet that conforms to the Japanese food pattern.

A research group led by Dr. Hideki Fujii M.D. and Associate Professor Yoshinari Matsumoto at the Osaka Metropolitan University analyzed the relationship between meals rated by mJDI12, muscle mass, and liver fibrosis progression in 136 patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) attending the Osaka Metropolitan University Hospital.

The research group found the following: the group with a higher mJDI12 showed a lower degree of liver fibrosis progression. Moreover, among the Japanese diet patterns, a high intake of soy products, seafood, and seaweed showed a suppressive effect on liver fibrosis progression. In addition, the group with a higher intake of soy products had higher muscle mass, and the group with higher muscle mass had a lower degree of liver fibrosis progression.

 “This study indicates that the Japanese diet pattern may be effective as a dietary treatment for NAFLD patients. We hope that further intervention studies will lead to the establishment of an effective diet for those patients,” concluded Professor Matsumoto.

Their findings were published in Nutrients.

###

About OMU 

Osaka Metropolitan University is a new public university established in April 2022, formed by merger between Osaka City University and Osaka Prefecture University. For more research news visit https://www.omu.ac.jp/en/ or follow @OsakaMetUniv_en and #OMUScience.

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JOURNAL

Nutrients

DOI

10.3390/nu15051175 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Severity of Liver Fibrosis Is Associated with the Japanese Diet Pattern and Skeletal Muscle Mass in Patients with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Prolonged droughts likely spelled the end for Indus megacities

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE

 

IMAGE: A SECTION THROUGH THE DHARAMJALI STALAGMITE THAT THE AUTHORS STUDIED view more 

CREDIT: ALENA GIESCHE

New research involving Cambridge University has found evidence — locked into an ancient stalagmite from a cave in the Himalayas — of a series of severe and lengthy droughts which may have upturned the Bronze Age Indus Civilization.

The beginning of this arid period — starting at around 4,200 years ago and lasting for over two centuries — coincides with the reorganization of the metropolis-building Indus Civilization, which spanned present-day Pakistan and India.

The research identified three protracted droughts — each lasting between 25 and 90 years — during this arid period. “We find clear evidence that this interval was not a short-term crisis but a progressive transformation of the environmental conditions in which Indus people lived,” said study co-author Prof Cameron Petrie, from Cambridge’s Department of Archaeology.

The researchers charted historic rainfall by examining growth layers in a stalagmite collected from a cave near Pithoragarh, India. By measuring a range of environmental tracers — including oxygen, carbon and calcium isotopes — they obtained a reconstruction showing relative rainfall at seasonal resolution. They also used high-precision Uranium-series dating to get a handle on the age and duration of the droughts.

“Multiple lines of evidence allow us to piece together the nature of these droughts from different angles — and confirm they are in agreement,” said lead author of the research Alena Giesche, who conducted the research as part of her PhD in Cambridge’s Department of Earth Sciences.

Giesche and the team identified distinct periods of below-average rainfall in both the summer and winter seasons. “The evidence for drought affecting both cropping seasons is extremely significant for understanding the impact of this period of climate change upon human populations,” said Petrie. He adds that the droughts during this period increased in duration, to the point where the third would have been multi-generational in length.

The findings support existing evidence that the decline of the Indus megacities was linked to climate change. “But what’s been a mystery until now is information on the drought duration and the season they happened in,” said Giesche. “That extra detail is really important when we consider cultural memory and how people make adaptations when faced with environmental change.”

According to Petrie: “The archaeological evidence indicates that over a 200 year period, the ancient inhabitants took various steps to adapt and remain sustainable in the face of this new normal.” During this transformation, larger urban sites were depopulated in favour of smaller rural settlements towards the eastern extent of the area occupied by Indus populations. At the same time, agriculture shifted towards reliance on summer-crops, especially drought-tolerant millets, and the population transitioned to a lifestyle that appears to have been more self-reliant.

Megadroughts have recently become a popular cause to explain a number of cultural transformations, including the Indus Valley, explains David Hodell, study co-author from Cambridge’s Department of Earth Sciences: “But the links are generally fuzzy because of difficulties involved in comparing climatic and archaeological records.” This is now changing because, “Palaeoclimate records are becoming progressively better at refining changes in rainfall on a seasonal and annual basis, which directly affects people's decision making,” said Hodell.  

The team are now looking to expand their climate reconstructions to western parts of the Indus River Region, where the winter rainfall system becomes more dominant than the Indian Summer Monsoon, “What we really need are more records like this, from a west-east oriented transect across the region where the summer and winter monsoons interact — and, crucially, capturing the beginning of this arid period,” said Giesche.

“Currently, we have a huge blind spot on our maps extending across Afghanistan and Pakistan where the Indian summer monsoon and the Westerlies interact,” said Prof Sebastian Breitenbach, co-author and palaeoclimatologist at Northumbria University. “Sadly, the political situation is unlikely to allow for this kind of research in the near future."

“There’s more work to be done by both palaeoclimatologists and archaeologists,” said Hodell. “We are fortunate in Cambridge to have the two departments next door to one another.”

Tracking down how interacting rain zones influenced the Indus Civilisation has been one of the questions at the centre of the TwoRains Project, a collaboration between Cambridge and Banaras Hindu University, which was funded by the European Research Council (ERC).

---

DOI

10.1038/s43247-023-00763-z 

ARTICLE TITLE

Recurring summer and winter droughts from 4.2-3.97 thousand years ago in north India

«Worrisome» new Public Order Law in the UK raises concern at the UN

Story by Daniel Stewart • 




Environmental protest in central London - Stefan Rousseau/Pa Wire/Dpa© Provided by News 360

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, has described as ''worrying'' the Public Order Act passed in the British House of Commons on Wednesday, which, among other things, gives new powers to the police to disperse demonstrators without waiting for incidents.

For Turk, ''this new law imposes severe and unjustified restrictions'' on basic freedoms such as freedom of expression, assembly and association. These limits ''are neither necessary nor proportional to achieve the legitimate purpose required by international law,'' Turk warned.

In this sense, he recalled Thursday in a statement that British security forces can already act ''against violent or disruptive demonstrations'', so the reform, also questioned by NGOs such as Amnesty International, would be ''unnecessary'', in a context marked precisely by the upsurge of environmental mobilizations.

According to the new law, the police will have more leeway to clear streets in case of blockades, for example. The High Commissioner is wary of the fact that the courts can prohibit citizens from going to a certain place at a certain time and the surveillance measures that can be carried out to check that such an order is actually complied with.

The UN believes that the text may even be incompatible with the UK's international human rights obligations. It is particularly worrying that the law expands police powers to stop and search individuals, even without suspicion, defines new offences in a vague manner and imposes unnecessary and disproportionate penalties on people who organize or participate in peaceful protests,'' Turk said.

Thus, he pointed out that although governments are sovereign when it comes to avoiding possible incidents in demonstrations, what is at stake in this case is the respect of basic rights and freedoms, so he urged the Executive of Rishi Sunak to repeal the law ''as soon as possible''.

Source: (EUROPA PRESS)

Alarming rates of teen suicide continue to increase in the US

Research postulates major roles of social media, school stress and firearms

Peer-Reviewed Publication

FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: RESEARCHERS FROM FAU'S SCHMIDT COLLEGE OF MEDICINE AND COLLABORATORS SUGGEST SOCIAL MEDIA, SCHOOL STRESS AND FIREARMS ARE MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS. view more 

CREDIT: ALEX DOLCE, FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY

In the United States suicide has become the second leading cause of premature death among those ages 10 to 24; it is the leading cause of death among teens ages 13 to 14.

Researchers from Florida Atlantic University’s Schmidt College of Medicine and collaborators conducted a study exploring trends in rates of suicide among 13 to 14 year olds in the U.S. from 1999 to 2018. They also explored possible modifications by sex, race, level of urbanization, census region, month of the year and day of the week.   

Results, published online ahead of print in the journal Annals of Pediatrics and Child Health, showed that among children ages 13 to 14, suicide rates more than doubled from 2008 to 2018, following a rise in social media and despite significant declines in suicide mortality in this age group previously from 1999 to 2007. These trends were similar in urban and rural areas but were more common in boys in rural areas where firearms are more prevalent.

These statistically significant increasing trends were similar by sex, race, urbanization and census regions. In rural areas, firearms were used in 46.7 percent of suicides in boys and 34.7 percent in metropolitan areas. Suicides occurred significantly more often between September and May and were highest on Monday followed by the rest of the weekdays, suggesting school stress as a contributor.    

“While further analytic studies are needed, there are certainly important clinical and public health implications based on our study findings,” said Sarah K. Wood, M.D., senior author, professor of pediatrics, vice dean for medical education, and interim chair, Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, in FAU’s Schmidt College of Medicine. “Specifically, these descriptive data have temporal correlates with social media, school stress, and firearms, which require further research. In the meanwhile, there are clinical and public health initiatives for those at highest risks.”

From 2007 to 2018, in suicides among U.S. youths aged 13 to 14 years in metropolitan areas (large central, large fringe, medium and small), 56.7 percent were due to hanging, strangulation or suffocation, while in 34.7 percent, firearms were used. In medium and small metro, 38.9 percent of suicides were due to hanging, strangling or suffocation, 38.9 percent were due to firearms. In rural (micropolitan and non-core, non-metro) areas, 46.9 percent of suicides were due to hanging, strangulation or suffocation, while 46.7 percent were due to firearms. 

“During the years immediately preceding the onset of increases in rates of suicide among 13 and 14 year olds, several prominent social media platforms used by teens, including Reddit, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and Tumblr were launched. In aggregate, all of these sites have grown to billions of users, but large as they are, by 2018, all but YouTube were surpassed in terms of teen use by Instagram and Snapchat,” said Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., DrPH, co-author, first Sir Richard Doll Professor of Medicine, senior academic advisor to the dean, and interim chair, Department of Population Health and Social Medicine, in FAU’s Schmidt College of Medicine, and an adjunct professor of family and community medicine, at Baylor College of Medicine.   

Among the four U.S. Census regions, there were remarkably similar and statistically significant increases in all areas, namely the Northeast, Midwest, South and West.

“Our data show that non-metropolitan areas have higher rates of teen suicide, regardless of method and rural areas have higher rates due to firearms,” said Hennekens.

For the study, researchers used publicly available data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “Multiple Cause of Death” fields.

Co-authors of the study are Robert S. Levine, M.D., first author and professor of Family and Community Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, and an affiliate professor in FAU’s Schmidt College of Medicine; Elliott M. Levine, an undergraduate student at the University of Minnesota; Alexandra Rubenstein, an entering medical student at Tufts University School of Medicine; Vishnu Muppala, M.D., an emergency department physician resident at Maimonides Hospital, and graduate of FAU’s Schmidt College of Medicine; Maria C. Mejia, M.D., MPH, associate professor; Sandra Gonzalez, Ph.D., assistant professor; and Roger J. Zoorob, M.D., MPH, professor and chair, all in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.

- FAU -

About the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine:

FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine is one of approximately 156 accredited medical schools in the U.S. The college was launched in 2010, when the Florida Board of Governors made a landmark decision authorizing FAU to award the M.D. degree. After receiving approval from the Florida legislature and the governor, it became the 134th allopathic medical school in North America. With more than 70 full and part-time faculty and more than 1,300 affiliate faculty, the college matriculates 64 medical students each year and has been nationally recognized for its innovative curriculum. To further FAU’s commitment to increase much needed medical residency positions in Palm Beach County and to ensure that the region will continue to have an adequate and well-trained physician workforce, the FAU Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine Consortium for Graduate Medical Education (GME) was formed in fall 2011 with five leading hospitals in Palm Beach County. The Consortium currently has five Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accredited residencies including internal medicine, surgery, emergency medicine, psychiatry, and neurology.

 

About Florida Atlantic University:
Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students across six campuses located along the southeast Florida coast. In recent years, the University has doubled its research expenditures and outpaced its peers in student achievement rates. Through the coexistence of access and excellence, FAU embodies an innovative model where traditional achievement gaps vanish. FAU is designated a Hispanic-serving institution, ranked as a top public university by U.S. News & World Report and a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.

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METHOD OF RESEARCH

Meta-analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Continuing Alarming Increases in Suicide in American youths: Clinical and Research Challenges

Liberals fund women's rights abroad as Trudeau to raise abortion politics in New York

Story by The Canadian Press • 


OTTAWA — The Liberal government is announcing funding for women's rights abroad, in an apparent bid to showcase the Liberals' position on reproductive rights against that of conservatives, both in Canada and the United States.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to reaffirm the Canadian government's commitment to supporting reproductive freedom in New York City Thursday, where he is attending a star-studded summit.

Ahead of that event, International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan told reporters in Ottawa Thursday morning that the government will spend $195 million over five years and $43 million every year after that to help women's rights organizations that are focused gender equality.

He said the funding is needed because abortion access can be "swiftly" restricted across the world, including in the United States.

The money will fall under the government's Women's Voice and Leadership Program, first launched in 2017.

The government says it has worked with about 1,500 organizations through the program so far.

The announcement comes at a time when the Liberals appear to be cutting their overall development spending, which had been boosted to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

This year's federal budget shows spending will be down about 15 per cent in the coming fiscal year.

Sajjan used the announcement to contrast the Liberals' and Conservatives' positions on women's rights.

"When it comes to women's rights, our government is unapologetically pro-choice," Sajjan he said at a press conference on Parliament Hill.

"The Conservatives continue to look for ways to reopen the debate on abortion access, and unlike them we will never be silent on these issues."

Abortion rights have long been a political lightning rod in both countries, but the debate took on new heat in the U.S. last year when the Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 abortion rights ruling known as Roe v. Wade.

The Conservatives' position on abortion in Canada has never been fully aligned with that of their Republican counterparts south of the border, but anti-abortion advocates are a loud voice within the party's base.

Nonetheless, leader Pierre Poilievre has described himself as pro-choice.

Trudeau's trip to New York will also include a focus on trade in critical minerals.

He is scheduled to meet with a UN task force on sustainable development and speak to the influential Council on Foreign Relations think tank.

Experts on both sides of the border hope to hear more about how Ottawa plans to rapidly grow its critical minerals sector.

Former diplomat Louise Blais, now a senior adviser with the Business Council of Canada, said it's time to detail the plan for getting those 21st-century riches out of the ground.

Trudeau is aiming to capitalize on the momentum from what most observers say was a successful and productive visit last month from President Joe Biden.

He's also stopping in at Global Citizen NOW, an annual summit meeting of change-minded celebrities, activists and lawmakers.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2023.

The Canadian Press

Canada Becomes Global Leader In Green Tax Credits

By Rystad Energy - Apr 26, 2023, Canada’s new renewable energy investment tax credit will make the country a global leader in favorable financial conditions for green energy projects.

• Canada is already a global leader in renewable energy power generation, with 83% of its grid power coming from renewable and nuclear sources. 
• 
  
• Alberta has emerged as a surprising leader in solar and wind developments.

Canada’s new renewable energy investment tax credit (ITC), unveiled in the 2023 federal budget, will make the country a global leader in favorable financial conditions for green energy projects. Rystad Energy’s renewable economic modeling shows that these new tax breaks will raise the value of some projects by more than 50% over their lifetime, positioning Canada as the second most attractive place for renewable developers, behind only the US. The ‘made in Canada’ strategy is part of a growing global trend of policies prioritizing domestic production and labor, similar to the US Inflation Reduction Act. The ITC – a refundable incentive that offers up a percentage of the cost of capital investment – will provide a 30% tax write-off for renewable technologies deployed through 2034.

Thanks to this reimbursement, a 250-megawatt (MW) project built in Canada will now boast a full lifecycle net present value of $202 million after-tax, up from $131 million before the ITC was announced.* This marks a significant rise in value, which is likely to encourage further developments and revitalize some projects that have been sidelined due to unfavorable economics.

Canada looked at its southern neighbor’s renewable tax breaks and the influx of investment it’s set to trigger and thought: “I want some of that.” And its answer to the Inflation Reduction Act could have wide-ranging implications. In the short term, it will shake loose projects that hit snags due to recent economic conditions. However, in the long term, it could unleash a wave of new investments. Geoff Hebertson, senior renewables and power analyst, Rystad Energy

*Analysis of a fictional asset in Alberta, with a $45 per megawatt-hour (MWh) power purchase agreement (PPA) that increases with inflation at 2% annually.

Canada is already a global leader in renewable energy power generation, with 83% of its grid power coming from renewable and nuclear sources. We expect that share to hit 97% by 2050, with most of the additional capacity supported by solar project development.

As previously reported, Alberta has emerged as a surprising leader in solar and wind developments. The province’s determination to reach its net zero goals has spurred solar, wind and storage capacity growth through corporate PPAs. Our forecasts show that the region will pass 20 gigawatts (GW) of installed renewable capacity by 2030. The new federal plan will further bolster investments in the province and push projects across the line that struggled in the previous economic environment.

The full ITC applies to geothermal, solar, wind and energy storage projects and will be in effect through December 2033, falling to 15% in 2034 and being phased out after 2034. Hydrogen projects also stand to benefit from a government-backed credit line for new projects. The plan provides up to 40% tax credits for green hydrogen projects emitting less than 0.75 kg CO2e per kg of clean hydrogen. Gray or blue hydrogen projects could see 5% to 25% ITC, depending on labor conditions. Furthermore, the Canadian government has lined up a 30% tax credit to incentivize investment in machinery and equipment used to manufacture clean energy projects, including storage equipment and recycling of critical materials used in electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries.

“While an investment tax credit is not a silver bullet, countries trying to compete for a share of global renewable investments and reach net zero should consider its benefits. Thoughtful policy moves, like an ITC, can support the uptake of renewables and ensure competitiveness with economic rivals,” says Hebertson.

By Rystad Energy