Heard NFTs are bad for the environment? Here's what that means

Related to the cryptocurrency craze, NFT stands for nonfungible token.

By Austa Somvichian-Clausen | March 24, 2021

Story at a glance

The world of blockchain is currently abuzz with the introduction of NFTs, or nonfungible tokens.

Like the signature on an original painting, owning an NFT ensures the new owner exclusive rights to a piece of digital property.

Most NFTs utilize the blockchain Ethereum, whose energy consumption has come under scrutiny as of late.

According to estimates, the annual energy usage of Ethereum is enough to rival that of small countries like Bahrain.

This Monday, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey combined past and future when he sold his first-ever tweet as an NFT, or nonfungible token, for $2.9 million. A simple introduction to what grew to be one of the largest social media platforms in the world, the tweet read: “just setting up my twttr.

That small piece of social media history is now owned by Sina Estavi, the chief executive officer of Malaysian blockchain service Bridge Oracle. Estavi, who likened his new internet real estate to Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, is just one of the growing number of savvy investors getting involved in the confusing world of NFTs. In fact, the market for NFTs is already being valued at $1 billion.

NFTs draw upon the same blockchain technology that digital currencies rely upon, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, to both ascribe ownership to the digital works and authenticate purchases. So, while we can all still see, read, embed and screenshot Dorsey’s tweet, Estavi has digital proof of ownership over it.

For digital artists, the newly emerging world of NFTs is a fever dream — a new, highly lucrative way for them to monetize their works. Even lesser known digital artists have been cashing in on thousands of dollars thanks to the quick-paced sales and current high demand for NFTs, and a bonus of the model allows ownership to be extended to resales of that token. That means artists continue making money, even as the NFT is resold multiple times.

Sound too good to be true? That’s yet to be seen, and many financial advisors are cautioning their clients against hitting the gas on NFTs just yet. Besides the mystique of the NFT market, rumors have also been swirling about their environmental impact, throwing even more confusion into the mix.

Earth pays a hefty price for the art

While NFTs hold promise for artists and investors alike, its critics say that the blockchain mining that makes them possible is perhaps one of the most direct examples of cashing in on the pollution of this planet.

The problem is that many creators, especially those who jumped on the NFT bandwagon in its earliest stages, are separated from that energy-consumption process. Many do not realize that creating the NFTs they are now profiting from required an enormous amount of raw computing power. Ethereum mining consumes about 26.5 terawatt-hours of electricity a year. To put that into perspective — that is nearly as much energy used annually by the entire country of Ireland.

Theoretically, mining energy could come from renewable sources in the future. For now, though, the major marketplaces for NFT art such as MakersPlace, Nifty Gateway and SuperRare conduct their sales through Ethereum. Ethereum’s developers have planned a shift to a less carbon-intensive form of security, called proof-of-stake, via a blueprint called Ethereum 2.0. But this has been in the works for years, and while they have promised a launch of the new system in 2022, nothing is certain.

“That would essentially mean that Ethereum’s electricity consumption will literally over a day or overnight drop to almost zero,” Michel Rauchs, a research affiliate at the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, told The Verge.

When picturing how the world of blockchain works, many overlook the physical, real world aspects of the practice of “mining.” Since crypto first began to boom, miners have taken over basements and warehouses, filling these vast spaces with air conditioning and endless rows of high powered computers running software.

These cryptocurrency operations have sprung up anywhere from Texas to Iraq to Inner Mongolia, and even smaller mining operations can overload local grids. Some mining hotspots that have gained popularity for cheap hydropower have even had to ban new operations over concern that the intense energy usage needed for mining would push neighboring energy users to dirtier energy sources.

Fortunately, those concerned about the environmental impact of NFTs are already working on a number of solutions to the issue. While there are some buyers against the idea of purchasing works not backed by Ethereum, others are looking into the possibilities associated with private blockchains, which allow them to sidestep some of the issues with cryptocurrencies. For environmentally conscious digital creators, users on platforms like Github have already begun creating guides on creating more eco-friendly NFTs.

“I realized that the issue of sustainable platforms not only needs to be part of the crypto conversation, it is the conversation — into which systems, functional applications, and power structures are all enmeshed,” said artist Memo Akten in a recent interview with Flash. A digital creator himself, Akten revealed through his own research that the carbon footprint of an average single-edition NFT is equivalent to driving a car for 1,000 kilometers, and for higher editions, the figures are equivalent to dozens of transatlantic flights.

“Digital artists absolutely should be able to earn a living making the work they love. But this should not involve the immense footprint it does presently nor the current lack of transparency. New businesses and platforms must align with the values we are hoping to carry into the future.”

The controversy over wildlife killing contests

A graphic documentary opens eyes about the  bloody sport. GENOCIDE

By Austa Somvichian-Clausen | March 23, 2021

Story at a glance

Wildlife killing contests are currently legal in more than 40 U.S. states on both public and private lands.

These contests specifically target predator species, with coyotes being the most targeted.

Wildlife management experts and scientists say that these contests are an inhumane and inefficient way to control predator populations.

“Do you think you have what it takes to win the highest paying hunting contest in the country? Then put your money where your mouth is, and enter the West Texas Big Bobcat Contest.”

The tagline of the West Texas Big Bobcat Contest, this call to action refers to only one of more than 600 wildlife killing contests in the state of Texas.

These privately organized events involve a growing number of participants competing for prizes, whether in the form of cash or hunting equipment, by either killing the most animals or the largest ones within a specified time period. Depending on the rules of the contest, competitors target predator species, such as bobcats, coyotes, pumas and foxes.

“The whole approach to hunting is not valued in these contests,” said Stephanie Garcia Richard, the Commissioner of Public Lands in New Mexico. “What’s valued in these contests is to win.”

Richard contributes her thoughts on the contests to a newly launched documentary by National Geographic wildlife videographer Filipe DeAndrade and his production company, Comfort Theory. DeAndrade’s film, simply titled “Wildlife Killing Contests,” attempts to shed light on what many experts consider to be an unjust practice. Viewers are brought into the makeshift natural arenas that represent the boundaries of these contests, as participants attempt to rack up as many kills as possible. DeAndrade tells us that he visited many of these contests himself for a first hand look.



“In the U.S., they’ve been happening for, that we know of, at least between 20 and 30 years. At first it was mostly happening in western states, where livestock was more prevalent in agriculture, but it's really picked up as of the last five or 10 years,” said DeAndrade.

“We followed a hunter around, with his permission, on one of these 24-hour hunts, and he told us, because of the prizes, because of the technology, because of the money that's now involved — it's becoming a sport.”

The roots of hunting competitions

Many of the hunting competition participants, including those interviewed in DeAndrade’s short film, claim that the culling of predators helps with wildlife management and protects livestock on nearby farms and ranches.

“For me it’s hard to explain to somebody who absolutely hates it, but like I know that in my heart what I’m doing is for a good cause,” said a regular contest participant featured in the film who chooses to remain unnamed.

Scientific evidence has yet to be presented in favor of these claims, and studies cited by Texas Parks & Wildlife (TPWD) show that general predator removal applied randomly with no specific management objective is not actually an effective way to control predators or reduce livestock predation.

“Such haphazard removal of individuals can have unintended consequences such as disrupting population age and social structure, as well as increasing litter sizes of certain targeted predators,” according to the TPWD statement.

A single contest can result in more than 1,000 animal deaths within the span of a single night, and a lack of fair chase principles mean that the predators being stalked for slaughter can be lured by distress calls and the promise of food. It is estimated that in the U.S. alone, more than half a million coyotes are killed by humans each year — about one per minute.

“It’s so much easier to kill predators than it is to kill anything else,” said DeAndrade, “because all they do is just call them in. They use the techniques, like playing the sound of another dying animal, which obviously triggers a predatory response. It means that they’re not even ‘hunting’, they're just calling these animals in and shooting them. So, it's a lot easier to kill something that way than it is to do a proper tracking and hunt. Then, by targeting public lands where animals have or should have protection, you're obviously going to have more predators to do that with.”

Perhaps a better case is made for contests with a concentration on nonfurred invasive species, such as a recent killing contest in eastern Texas that eliminated 350 feral hogs from the area. There are more than 3 million feral hogs in the state, and the invasive species is responsible for more than $90 million in crop damage as well as $25 million in predation and disease issues associated with livestock. It has been estimated that just one wild pig can significantly disturb about 6.5 square feet of soil in just one minute, which can increase soil erosion rates and have detrimental effects to sensitive ecological areas and critical habitats for species of concern.

In the case of endemic species predator hunting, both wildlife biologists and scientific studies agree that that isn't an effective way to control predators.

“Coyote killing contests as a measure of predator control actually does not work,” said Richard. “Especially, in particular, for this species, wiping them out actually has the opposite effect, and we will experience an overrun of the population. That will have devastating consequences.”

Damaging to the reputation of ethical hunters?

Lately, an increasing number of state wildlife management agencies and commissions are beginning to acknowledge that killing contests have the potential to cast a large shadow on the reputation of ethical hunters.

“Coyote hunting contests are not only ineffective at controlling coyote populations, but these kinds of competitive coyote hunts are raising concerns on the part of the public and could possibly jeopardize the future of hunting and affect access to private lands for all hunters,” The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department said in a statement.

In “Wildlife Killing Contests,” David K. Langford, the former executive director of the Texas Wildlife Association, said he can’t imagine a worse public perception of hunting than predator killing contests with cash prizes.



“It jeopardizes hunting, the hunting industry, and all wildlife-related issues,” Langford said.

Multiple authorities within state Game and Fish commissions have come out to denounce the practice, pointing out that that these contests, which rarely bring in new hunters and are practiced by a small subset of the hunting community, reflect on the overall community and have the potential to threaten hunting as a legitimate wildlife management function.

“Awarding prizes for wildlife killing contests is both unethical and inconsistent with our current understanding of natural systems,” said Michael Sutton, former president of the California Fish and Game Commission — a body that promulgates hunting regulations. “Such contests are an anachronism and have no place in modern wildlife management.”

As pointed out in a piece by the Yale School of Environment, it is rare to see agreement between the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the Boone and Crockett Club, which advocates for “the ethical, sportsmanlike, and lawful pursuit” of big game. Despite this, Mark Streissguth of Boone and Crockett replied, “They got at least this part right,” to HSUS’s identification of wildlife killing contests as “grisly spectacles that are about as far as one can get from ethical, fair-chase hunting.”

States taking action

In 2014, California became the first state to institute a ban on killing contests. Since then, Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Mexico and Vermont have all joined in outlawing killing contests for coyotes, foxes, bobcats and other species, and several other states are now considering similar action.

Washington became the seventh state to ban the contests as of last September. The ban, put forth by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, prohibits wildlife killing contests involving any species that could be killed in unlimited numbers, or without a “bag limit,” including coyotes.

“The decision to ban these cruel killing sprees is a vital step in promoting scientific management of the state’s native wildlife and aligning our laws with the values of the majority of the people of Washington,” said Sophia Ressler, Washington wildlife advocate and staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity.

In Nevada, opposers of such contests have remained in a yearslong battle to have them banned, starting in 2015 when the state wildlife commission considered a public petition to ban the contests, but ultimately dismissed the petition as incomplete. Now, at the end of a recent two-day hearing, the state Wildlife Commission voted five-to-four to take up a proposal to ban wildlife killing contests at a later date — most likely this summer.

Farmworkers say they are essential workers without essential protections

March 25-31 is officially designated as National Farmworker Awareness Week.

By Austa Somvichian-Clausen | March 28, 2021
HECTOR MATA/AFP via Getty Images

Story at a glance

Though farmworkers were deemed essential and have started to finally receive vaccines, many of them, especially those who are undocumented, face multiple barriers that keep them isolated and vulnerable.

Farmworkers suffer from a lack of protections and benefits that keep them living a hand-to-mouth existence.

Organizations such as Justice for Migrant Women and Farmworker Justice are working to push forward policies that better protect farmworkers.

When Norma Flores López was growing up, her least favorite crop to pick was the onion.

“For any 12-year-old coming back from spring break, the last thing they want us to smell like was onions, and let me tell you: once you have that smell on your hands, you cannot wash it off,” says López.

“That made me very not popular at school [she laughs], so those were actually sort of my first moments of realizing, oh man, I'm not like some of these other kids. These kids were coming back from spring break with a suntan from the beach, and I was coming back very tan because I was out in the field helping my parents.”

Now the Chief Programs Officer for Justice for Migrant Women, López comes from generations of agricultural and farm workers. Despite being a natural-born U.S. citizens, both of her parents dropped out of school by the end of the sixth grade — heading to the fields to help their parents out.

“It didn’t matter that they were U.S. born, and I point that out because I think that people tend to think like this is an issue of people who are undocumented,” she says. “Pointing out the desperate poverty that my U.S. born [parents] grew up in is important. They ended up not being able to get an education, but instead were dedicated to a life of working in the field, and that's what we ended up being raised as well.”

López’ parents are two of the nation’s 2.5 million farmworkers, an estimated 32 percent of which are female, including thousands of teens and girls as young as 12. While the exact number is unknown, at least 300,000 farmworkers are under the age of 18.

As she got older, López began to work with programs meant to aid families of farmers and migrant children. It is through sharing her firsthand experiences that made her realize the power of storytelling to create a lasting change and impact.

Now, she works alongside other inspiring women such as Mónica Ramírez, a lawyer and activist who founded the organization Justice for Migrant Women. Ramírez also came from a family of farmworkers and has devoted her life to serving this key group of essential workers that are often forgotten, most recently raising more than $4 million in aid for farmworkers affected by the pandemic.

“I think what's important to notice is that farmworkers have been historically left out of a lot of protections that I think many people take for granted,” says López. “They don't have the right to organize, don’t have guaranteed overtime pay, the benefit of retirement, and those that are undocumented are particularly vulnerable. They're doing everything to be able to help this country, but in the end they will not have any sort of benefits, or any retirement plan.”

Also considered by experts to be highly vulnerable are the many women and girls working in agriculture, whose jobs are low-paid, dangerous and isolated, putting them at risk of sexual abuse, including sexual harassment and exploitation, by bosses, crew leaders and co-workers. López tells us this is an issue that has only been exacerbated by the pandemic, as female farmworkers and migrants have been stuck at home in small communities and often subject to domestic abuse.

For many farmworkers working in rural areas, it has also been a challenge to book appointments to receive a coronavirus vaccination. For those who are able to prove residency, challenges such as access to broadband, language assistance, transportation and proximity all pose barriers to these essential workers, who aren’t able to access essential services.

“These are the kinds of issues that we try to flag for many top political leaders—you know, as they’re putting policies together, asking them to recognize that there are people that are being left out and those that are being left out are particularly vulnerable,” says López.

For many undocumented workers, their top priority remains establishing a direct pathway to citizenship. A vision for that pathway seems to be getting increasingly clear. Just a few days ago, the House passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act with bipartisan support, providing seasonal workers with a program to earn legal status if they are continually employed in the agriculture sector.

“We’re behind the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, behind the American Dream and Promise Act, and we know that our larger undocumented community needs that pathway to citizenship,” says López.

 New study suggests bacon and processed meats may increase chances of dementia

Health experts unaffiliated with the research, however, warned against reading too much into the results.

By Joseph Guzman | March 23, 2021 THE HILL

Story at a glance

• The study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that consuming a 25-gram serving of processed meat per day is associated with a 44 percent increased risk of developing dementia.
• In contrast, researchers found eating some unprocessed red meat, such as beef, pork or veal, could actually help protect against dementia.
• The research led by Leeds University analyzed the possible link between meat and dementia by using data from nearly 500,000 people in the U.K.

A new study suggests consuming processed meats such as bacon  everyday could increase a person’s risk of developing dementia. 

The cohort study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that consuming a 25-gram serving of processed meat a day is associated with a 44 percent increased risk of developing dementia. 

---

In contrast, researchers in the same study found eating some unprocessed red meat, such as beef, pork or veal, could actually help protect against dementia. The study said consuming 50 grams of unprocessed red meat daily was associated with a 19 percent reduction in risk. 

The research led by Leeds University analyzed the possible link between meat and dementia using data from the UK Biobank database, which contains genetic and health information from nearly half a million people aged 40-69 collected between 2006 and 2010. The data included the frequency at which people consumed different types of meat. 

Researchers found 2,896 cases of dementia emerged among participants over eight years of follow up. These people were generally male, older, more economically deprived, less educated, more likely to smoke, less physically active and more likely to have stroke history and family dementia history. While those with a genetic risk for dementia were three to six times more likely to develop the illness, researchers said the risk tied to eating processed meat stayed the same whether or not a person was genetically predisposed to dementia. 

“Worldwide, the prevalence of dementia is increasing and diet as a modifiable factor could play a role. Our research adds to the growing body of evidence linking processed meat consumption, to increased risk of a range of non-transmissible diseases,” Huifeng Zhang, a PhD student from the University of Leeds’ School of Food Science and Nutrition and lead researcher, said. 

Health experts unaffiliated with the research, however, warned against reading too much into the results, saying the findings do not establish anything for certain. 

“Although this study will be important when we are in a position to combine the results from multiple studies, as the study is small for this type of work, we should definitely not over-interpret the results,” Clive Ballard, professor and pro-vice chancellor at the University of Exeter said, according to Science Media Centre. 

“We should not assume from this research that one rasher of bacon a day increases your risk of dementia by 44% - it is simply impossible to demonstrate that in a study like that,” Ballard said.

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#UBI
Oakland will begin paying $500 to low-income families

Oakland joins 40 other cities in experimenting with a universal basic income.

By Alexandra Kelley | March 23, 2021

Announced on Tuesday, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf launched a pilot program allocating $500 to low-income families.

Other cities, including Stockton, Calif., are implementing similar programs to add evidence of its effectiveness in reducing racial poverty gaps.

The city of Oakland, Calif., officially announced its implementation of a pilot guaranteed income program, which would allocate $500 per month to qualifying low-income households to use at their discretion.

Mayor Libby Schaaf (D) confirmed the launch of the program on Twitter on Wednesday. It is set to expire in 18 months, with 600 Oakland families being the first to participate in the trial run.

“Our vision is an Oakland that has closed the racial wealth gap and where all families thrive,” Schaaf said. “And we believe that guaranteed income is the most transformative policy to achieve this vision and whose time has come.”

Schaaf is one of the 40 U.S. mayors who are members of the advocacy organization Mayors for a Guaranteed Income (MGI), a group devoted to testing the effectiveness of a flat guaranteed income as a means to reducing poverty, primarily among communities of color who have been socioeconomically redlined from building wealth.

MGI was founded in June 2020 by former Stockton, Calif., Mayor Michael D. Tubbs (D). Rooted in civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr. 's philosophies, the concept gained more mainstream traction during the 2020 Democratic Presidential Primaries, when former candidate Andrew Yang introduced it as a major campaign platform.

Since then, 40 cities have decided to join MGI and work to test drive a universal basic income plan, including Stockton, Baltimore, Houston and Madison, Wis., among others.

“Part of this demonstration in Oakland and demonstration throughout this nation is really to reckon with the fact that we understand the issue isn’t that people don’t work, the issue isn’t that people don’t want to work, the issue is that the economy does not work for people,” Tubbs said.

While Schaaf and other local leaders aim to help relieve the economic burden of structural racism in Oakland, the larger goal of the pilot program is to prove that it can be done on a national level in the hopes of catching federal attention.

 

Covid 'most likely' passed to humans from bats via other animal, draft WHO study finds

Covid-19 was most likely passed to humans from bats via another animal, the draft study found. Picture: PA

 By Nick Hardinges @NHardinges 29 March 2021

Covid-19 was "most likely" passed to humans via another animal that caught the virus from bats, a leaked draft copy of a joint World Health Organisation (WHO) study has found.

Claims that coronavirus was spread following a laboratory leak are "extremely unlikely", according to the report that was obtained by the Associated Press.

The news agency said it received "what appeared to be a near-final version (of the study) on Monday from a Geneva-based diplomat from a WHO-member country".

However, the AP added that it was unclear whether the report might still be altered prior to its official publication.

The WHO diplomat did not want to be identified as they did not have the authority to release the information before it is published.

Read more: Covid didn't start in Wuhan wet market and 'lab leak' theory dismissed by WHO

Although the findings produced no great surprises, many questions remain unanswered. Therefore, the team proposed further research in every area except for the lab leak hypothesis.

The release date of the study has been repeatedly delayed, raising questions about whether China was trying to skew the conclusions to prevent it from being blamed for the pandemic.

Researchers listed four scenarios in order of likelihood, concluding that transmission through a second animal was likely to very likely.

They also evaluated direct spread from bats to humans as likely and said that spread through "cold-chain" food products was possible but not likely.

The closest relative of the virus that causes Covid-19 has been found in bats, which are known to carry coronaviruses. However, the report says that "the evolutionary distance between these bat viruses and SARS-CoV-2 is estimated to be several decades, suggesting a missing link".

It said that highly similar viruses have been found in pangolins, but also noted that mink and cats are susceptible to the virus, which suggests they could be carriers.

The report is based largely on a visit by a WHO team of international experts to Wuhan, the Chinese city where Covid-19 was first detected, from mid-January to mid-February.

Peter Ben Embarek, the WHO expert who led the Wuhan mission, said on Friday that the report had been finalised and was being fact-checked and translated.

"I expect that in the next few days, that whole process will be completed and we will be able to release it publicly," he said.

Lab leak of COVID-19 'extremely unlikely' according to draft of WHO report

IGNORE AMERICAN IMPERIALIST PAPER TIGER ACCUSATIONS AGAINST CHINA

By KEN MORITSUGU, Associated Press

Monday, March 29, 2021 

BEIJING (AP) -- A joint WHO-China study on the origins of COVID-19 says that transmission of the virus from bats to humans through another animal is the most likely scenario and that a lab leak is "extremely unlikely," according to a draft copy obtained by The Associated Press.

The findings were largely as expected and left many questions unanswered, but the report provided in-depth detail on the reasoning behind the team's conclusions. The researchers proposed further research in every area except the lab leak hypothesis.

The report's release has been repeatedly delayed, raising questions about whether the Chinese side was trying to skew the conclusions to prevent blame for the pandemic falling on China. A World Health Organization official said late last week that he expected it would be ready for release "in the next few days."

The AP received what appeared to be a near-final version on Monday from a Geneva-based diplomat from a WHO-member country. It wasn't clear whether the report might still be changed prior to its release. The diplomat did not want to be identified because they were not authorized to release it ahead of publication.

WATCH: Duke University experts talk about origins of COVID-19 virus

The researchers listed four scenarios in order of likelihood for the emergence of the virus named SARS-CoV-2. Topping the list was transmission through a second animal, which they said was likely to very likely. They evaluated direct spread from bats to humans as likely, and said that spread through "cold-chain" food products was possible but not likely.

The closest relative of the virus that causes COVID-19 has been found in bats, which are known to carry coronaviruses. However, the report says that "the evolutionary distance between these bat viruses and SARS-CoV-2 is estimated to be several decades, suggesting a missing link."


It said highly similar viruses have been found in pangolins, but also noted that mink and cats are susceptible to the COVID virus, which suggests they could be carriers.

The report is based largely on a visit by a WHO team of international experts to Wuhan, the Chinese city where COVID-19 was first detected, from mid-January to mid-February.

Peter Ben Embarek, the WHO expert who led the Wuhan mission, said Friday that the report had been finalized and was being fact-checked and translated.

"I expect that in the next few days, that whole process will be completed and we will be able to release it publicly," he said.

The draft report is inconclusive on whether the outbreak started at a Wuhan seafood market that had one of the earliest clusters of cases in December 2019.


The discovery of other cases before the Huanan market outbreak suggests it may have started elsewhere. But the report notes there could have been milder cases that went undetected and that could be a link between the market and earlier cases.

"No firm conclusion therefore about the role of the Huanan market in the origin of the outbreak, or how the infection was introduced into the market, can currently be drawn," the report says.

As the pandemic spread globally, China found samples of the virus on the packaging of frozen food coming into the country and, in some cases, have tracked localized outbreaks to them.

The report said that the cold chain, as it is known, can be a driver of long-distance virus spread but was skeptical it could have triggered the outbreak. The report says the risk is lower than through human-to-human respiratory infection, and most experts agree.

"While there is some evidence for possible reintroduction of SARS-CoV-2 through handling of imported contaminated frozen products in China since the initial pandemic wave, this would be extraordinary in 2019 where the virus was not widely circulating," the study said.

 In Photos: ‘Super Worm Moon,’ 2021’s First Of Four Supermoons, Dazzles Sky-Watchers Across The World 

What is a supermoon? It’s a full Moon that coincides (or thereabouts) with the Moon’s perigee—the closest point in the Moon’s monthly orbit of Earth. It’s a result of the Moon’s orbit being slightly elliptical, which make the full Moon sometimes looks slightly larger. 

There is no official definition of what a supermoon technically is, and is not, but astronomer Fred Espenak defines a supermoon as a full Moon at perigee occurring “within 90% of its closest approach to Earth in a given orbit.” Since it was 362,170 km from Earth, that makes the “Worm Moon” a supermoon. However, other definitions preclude it from being called a supermoon. 

Either way, there are three more superman’s coming up—April 27’s “Super Pink Moon”, May 26’s “Super Flower Moon” (the closest and largest full Moon of 2021) and June 24’s “Super Strawberry Moon.”

FOR MORE PHOTOS CLICK ON HEADLINE

International investigation discovers bald eagles' killer

Invasive water plant becomes breeding ground for a lethal cyanobacteria

UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

Research News

 

IMAGE: A BALD EAGLE'S DROOPED WINGS SHOW SIGNS OF BRAIN INFECTION CAUSED BY THE BACTERIA AETOKTHONOS HYDRILLICOLA, WHICH GROWS ON THE LEAVES OF THE INVASIVE HYDRILLA PLANT IN HUMAN-MADE LAKES.... view more 

CREDIT: UGA

The alarm bells began ringing when dozens of eagles were found dead near an Arkansas lake.

Their deaths--and, later, the deaths of other waterfowl, amphibians and fish--were the result of a neurological disease that caused holes to form in the white matter of their brains. Field and laboratory research over nearly three decades has established the primary clues needed to solve this wildlife mystery: Eagle and waterfowl deaths occur in late fall and winter within reservoirs with excess invasive aquatic weeds, and birds can die within five days after arrival.

But until recently, the toxin that caused the disease, vacuolar myelinopathy, was unknown.

Now, after years spent identifying a new toxic blue-green algal (cyanobacteria) species and isolating the toxic compound, an interdisciplinary research group from the University of Georgia and international collaborators have confirmed the structure of this toxin. The results were recently published in the journal Science.

The cyanobacteria grows on the leaves of an invasive water plant, Hydrilla verticillata, under specific conditions: in manmade lakes when bromide is present.

The bacteria--and animal deaths from the disease it causes--has been documented in watersheds across the southeastern United States. This is why it's important for anyone in the outdoors--anglers, hunters, birdwatchers and more--to be aware of the signs of this neurological infection and avoid consuming infected animals.

"We want people to recognize it before taking birds or fish from these lakes," said Susan Wilde, an associate professor of aquatic science at the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources who first discovered the cyanobacteria. In some animals, such as birds, turtles, salamanders and even a beaver, the disease manifests as erratic movements or convulsions. Anglers must be even more cautious, though, as it's impossible to detect toxin in fish without obvious symptoms.

"For fish, it's tough. I would avoid eating fish with lesions or some sort of deformities; we do see affected fish with slow swimming speeds, but anglers won't be able to see that," added Wilde. "We want people to know the lakes where this disease has been documented and to use caution in consuming birds and fish from these lakes."

Wilde and Warnell graduate students studying the cyanobacteria have compiled maps and a list of affected watersheds.

The most recent study details new mapping of the bacteria's genome, a final piece in the puzzle to understand how it develops and survives. Wilde and others have been studying the cyanobacteria since 2001, when bald eagles began dying in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. The following decades saw the discovery of the cyanobacteria itself, Aetokthonos hydrillicola (Latin for "eagle killer that grows on Hydrilla"), and connections made between the invasive aquatic plant and the animals that eat it.

But until recently, said professor Timo Niedermeyer of the Institute of Pharmacy at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg in Germany, the origin of the brain-decimating disease was a mystery.

Niedermeyer, who has worked with cyanobacteria natural products for years, wanted to help put the pieces together. He contacted Wilde and offered to collaborate. Samples of Hydrilla collected in the field were sent to him, and his lab cultivated the cyanobacteria in the laboratory and sent them back to UGA for further testing. But the tests came back negative: The cyanobacteria from the lab did not induce the disease.

"It's not just the birds that were going crazy, we were too. We wanted to figure this out," said Niedermeyer. Once again, he had colonized leaves sent to him from UGA.

Steffen Breinlinger, a doctoral student in his research group, then used a new imaging mass spectrometer to investigate the composition on the surface of the plant's leaf, molecule by molecule. He discovered a new substance that only occurs on the leaves where the cyanobacteria grows but is not produced in the cyanobacteria cultures. His investigations into the chemical structure of the isolated molecule revealed five bromine atoms.

"The structure is really spectacular," said Breinlinger. The properties are unusual for a molecule formed by cyanobacteria, and they provide an explanation for why the toxin did not form under laboratory conditions, where bromide isn't present. "We then added bromide to our lab cultures, and the cyanobacteria started producing the toxin."

After almost a decade of testing the isolated molecule and collaboration between the labs in Germany and Georgia, they had their proof: the molecule does trigger vacuolar myelinopathy. The researchers call their discovery aetokthonotoxin, "poison that kills the eagle."

"Finally, we did not only catch the murderer, but we also identified the weapon the cyanobacteria used to kill those eagles," said Wilde.

The neurological disease has not yet occurred in Europe, and no instance of the toxin-forming cyanobacterium has been reported. Humans are not yet known to be affected by vacuolar myelinopathy, although the study did successfully affect chickens with the toxin, and Wilde continues to test fish and waterfowl such as ducks and coots for the disease.

CENOBITES NOT CYANOBACTERIA

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#ECOCIDE

Indonesia Pertamina Aims to Restart Refinery in Days After Blaze



BY BERNADETTE CHRISTINA and Fransiska Nangoy

 By Reuters, Wire Service Content March 28, 2021

JAKARTA (Reuters) -Indonesian state oil company Pertamina said on Monday it hoped to restore operations at its Balongan oil refinery in West Java in four or five days, as firefighters worked to extinguish a massive blaze that broke out overnight, injuring six people.

Pertamina shut the plant and evacuated about 950 nearby residents, with videos shared on social media showing huge flames engulfing the 125,000 barrels per day facility, while a large explosion could be heard.

Pertamina chief executive Nicke Widyawati told reporters the fire was concentrated in the refinery's storage tanks and there had been no impact on the processing plant.

"The main equipment at the refinery is not affected," she said. "We hope the plant can be operational again soon after we put out the fire so there are no disruptions to supply."

Separately, Nicke told local media that only four storage tanks were affected, out of the total 72 tanks in Balongan with total capacity of 1.35 million kilo litres.

Efforts to estinguish the blaze were continuing, she said, adding that the fire had been contained to a small area and she's optimistic it will be put out soon.

Pertamina expects operations can be restored in four to five days, Pertamina director Mulyono said.

The fire started just after midnight during bad weather, Pertamina said, although the cause was currently unknown.

Six people were being treated in hospital for burns, a company statement said. No Pertamina staff were hurt.



FUEL STOCK "SECURE"

Pertamina's Mulyono said the company had "secure" levels of fuels stocks to supply Indonesia, including for the upcoming Islamic holidays of Eid Al-Fitr.

"There is no need for panic because stock is abundant. This is of course because demand conditions are not fully normal yet, so the stock is still very high," Mulyono said.

Balongan, one of Pertamina's biggest refineries, supplies fuel to Jakarta and the western regions of Java island.

Pertamina will use fuel from its refineries in Cilacap and Tuban to help provide supplies to Jakarta while Balongan is shut, Mulyono added.

Television footage earlier showed a massive column of black smoke rising from the site, which is about 225 km (140 miles) east of the capital Jakarta.

Ahmad Dofiri, West Java police chief told local media that police suspected there was a leak at the site prior to the fire.

"Initial information we received is that there was a leak at the plant. While the leak was being handled, the lightning struck," Dofiri said, adding that police are looking into what ignited the fire.

Nicke said investigation is still ongoing.

A nearby resident told Metro TV she was awoken by a pungent smell of oil fumes and saw lightning strikes in the sky.

"We smelled a strong fuel scent first, so strong that my nose hurt, while we heard lightning strikes," said Susi, who gave only one name

"Suddenly the sky was orange," she said.

The refinery is expected to receive about 600,000 barrels of Rabi crude from Gabon onboard tanker Aristodimos on April 10, shipping data on Refinitiv Eikon showed.


(Additional reporting by Agustinus Beo Da Costa, Florence Tan; Editing by Ed Davies, Lincoln Feast, Richard Pullin and Louise Heavens)

Forests on caffeine: coffee waste can boost forest recovery

BRITISH ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Research News

 

IMAGE: COFFEE PULP DELIVERY (DAY 1) view more 

CREDIT: REBECCA COLE

A new study finds that coffee pulp, a waste product of coffee production, can be used to speed up tropical forest recovery on post agricultural land. The findings are published in the British Ecological Society journal Ecological Solutions and Evidence.

In the study, researchers from ETH-Zurich and the University of Hawai`i spread 30 dump truck loads of coffee pulp on a 35 × 40m area of degraded land in Costa Rica and marked out a similar sized area without coffee pulp as a control.

"The results were dramatic" said Dr Rebecca Cole, lead author of the study. "The area treated with a thick layer of coffee pulp turned into a small forest in only two years while the control plot remained dominated by non-native pasture grasses."

After only two years the coffee pulp treated area had 80% canopy cover compared to 20% in the control area. The canopy in the coffee pulp area was also four times taller than that of the control area.

The addition of the half metre thick layer of coffee pulp eliminated the invasive pasture grasses which dominated the land. These grasses are often a barrier to forest succession and their removal allowed native, pioneer tree species, that arrived as seeds through wind and animal dispersal, to recolonise the area quickly.

The researchers also found that after two years, nutrients including carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous were significantly elevated in the coffee pulp treated area compared to the control. This is a promising finding given former tropical agricultural land is often highly degraded and poor soil quality can delay forest succession for decades.

Dr Cole said: "This case study suggests that agricultural by-products can be used to speed up forest recovery on degraded tropical lands. In situations where processing these by-products incurs a cost to agricultural industries, using them for restoration to meet global reforestation objectives can represent a 'win-win' scenario."

As a widely available waste product that's high in nutrients, coffee pulp can be a cost-effective forest restoration strategy. Such strategies will be important if we are to achieve ambitious global objectives to restore large areas of forest, such as those agreed in the 2015 Paris Accords.

The study was conducted in Coto Brus county in southern Costa Rica on a former coffee farm that is being restored to forest for conservation. In the 1950's the region underwent rapid deforestation and land conversion to coffee agriculture and pasture with forest cover reduced to 25% by 2014.

In 2018, the researchers set out two areas of roughly 35 × 40m, spreading coffee pulp into a half meter-thick layer on one area and leaving the other as a control.

The researchers analysed soil samples for nutrients immediately prior to the application of the coffee pulp and again two years later. They also recorded the species present, the size of woody stems, percentage of forest ground cover and used drones to record canopy cover.

Dr Cole warns that as a case study with two years of data, further research is needed to test the use of coffee pulp to aid forest restoration. "This study was done at only one large site so more testing is needed to see if this strategy works across a broader range of conditions. The measurements we share are only from the first two years. Longer-term monitoring would show how the coffee pulp affected soil and vegetation over time. Additional testing can also assess whether there are any undesirable effects from the coffee pulp application."

A limitation of using coffee pulp or other agricultural by-products is that its use is mostly limited to relatively flat and accessible areas where the material can be delivered and the risk of the added nutrients being washed into nearby watersheds can be managed.

On further research into the use of coffee pulp, Dr Cole said: "We would like to scale up the study by testing this method across a variety of degraded sites in the landscape. Also, this concept could be tested with other types of agricultural non-market products like orange husks.

"We hope our study is a jumping off point for other researchers and industries to take a look at how they might make their production more efficient by creating links to the global restoration movement."

CAPTION

Year 1: Edge between coffee pulp and control plot.

CREDIT

Rebecca Cole.

CAPTION

Year 3 Coffee pulp plot.

CREDIT

Rebecca Cole.