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A new omicron subvariant of the virus that causes COVID-19, BA.2, is quickly becoming the predominant source of infections amid rising cases around the world. Immunologists Prakash Nagarkatti and Mitzi Nagarkatti of the University of South Carolina explain what makes it different from previous variants, whether there will be another surge in the U.S. and how best to protect yourself.

What is BA.2, and how is it related to omicron?

BA.2 is the latest subvariant of omicron, the dominant strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. While the origin of BA.2 is still unclear, it has quickly become the dominant strain in many countries, including India, Denmark and South Africa. It is continuing to spread in Europe, Asia and many parts of the world.

The omicron variant, officially known as B.1.1.529, of SARS-CoV-2 has three main subvariants in its lineage: BA.1, BA.2 and BA.3. The earliest omicron subvariant to be detected, BA.1, was first reported in November 2021 in South Africa. While scientists believe that all the subvariants may have emerged around the same time, BA.1 was predominantly responsible for the winter surge of infections in the Northern Hemisphere in 2021.

The first omicron subvariant, BA.1, is unique in the number of alterations it has compared to the original version of the virus – it has over 30 mutations in the spike protein that helps it enter cells. Spike protein mutations are of high concern to scientists and public health officials because they affect how infectious a particular variant is and whether it is able to escape the protective antibodies that the body produces after vaccination or a prior COVID-19 infection.

BA.2 has eight unique mutations not found in BA.1, and lacks 13 mutations that BA.1 does have. BA.2 does, however, share around 30 mutations with BA.1. Because of its relative genetic similarity, it is considered a subvariant of omicron as opposed to a completely new variant.

Why is it called a ‘stealth’ variant?

Some scientists have called BA.2 a “stealth” variant because, unlike the BA.1 variant, it lacks a particular genetic signature that distinguishes it from the delta variant.

While standard PCR tests are still able to detect the BA.2 variant, they might not be able to tell it apart from the delta variant.

Is it more infectious and lethal than other variants?

BA.2 is considered to be more transmissible but not more virulant than BA.1. This means that while BA.2 can spread faster than BA.1, it might not make people sicker.

It is worth noting that while BA.1 has dominated case numbers around the world, it causes less severe disease compared to the delta variant. Recent studies from the U.K. and Denmark suggest that BA.2 may pose a similar risk of hospitalization as BA.1.

Does previous infection with BA.1 provide protection against BA.2?

Yes! A recent study suggested that people previously infected with the original BA.1 subvariant have robust protection against BA.2.

Because BA.1 caused widespread infections across the world, it is likely that a significant percentage of the population has protective immunity against BA.2. This is why some scientists predict that BA.2 will be less likely to cause another major wave

However, while the natural immunity gained after COVID-19 infection may provide strong protection against reinfection from earlier variants, it weakens against omicron.

How effective are vaccines against BA.2?

A recent preliminary study that has not yet been peer reviewed of over 1 million individuals in Qatar suggests that two doses of either the Pfizer–BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines protect against symptomatic infection from BA.1 and BA.2 for several months before waning to around 10%. A booster shot, however, was able to elevate protection again close to original levels.

Importantly, both vaccines were 70% to 80% effective at preventing hospitalization or death, and this effectiveness increased to over 90% after a booster dose.

How worried does the US need to be about BA.2?

The rise in BA.2 in certain parts of the world is most likely due to a combination of its higher transmissibility, people’s waning immunity and relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions.

CDC data suggests that BA.2 cases are rising steadily, making up 23% of all cases in the U.S. as of early March. Scientists are still debating whether BA.2 will cause another surge in the U.S.

[Climate change, AI, vaccines, black holes and much more. Get The Conversation’s best science and health coverage.]

Though there may be an uptick of BA.2 infections in the coming months, protective immunity from vaccination or previous infection provides defense against severe disease. This may make it less likely that BA.2 will cause a significant increase in hospitalization and deaths. The U.S., however, lags behind other countries when it comes to vaccination, and falls even further behind on boosters.

Whether there will be another devastating surge depends on how many people are vaccinated or have been previously infected with BA.1. It’s safer to generate immunity from a vaccine, however, than from getting an infection. Getting vaccinated and boosted and taking precautions like wearing an N95 mask and social distancing are the best ways to protect yourself from BA.2 and other variants.

Prakash Nagarkatti receives funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

Mitzi Nagarkatti receives funding from NIH.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has sparked global outrage and a desire to show support for Ukrainian citizens. Many people who are not in Ukraine have felt desperate to do something positive, something that will help.

Some have donated clothing and blankets. Others have registered to host refugees. And everywhere from government buildings to school playgrounds, the colours of the Ukrainian flag have been flown, solidarity writ large in blue and yellow.

But alongside this positive support for Ukraine is a more negative rejection of anything – and everything – associated with Russia. Military anthems by long-dead Russian composers have been stricken off concert playlists. Russian cats have been banned from international feline exhibitions.

This begs the question of what these actions seek to achieve and who is being impacted. As my research shows, the second world war offers multiple examples of destructive antagonism directed at German, Italian and Japanese citizens living in the UK and the US. As always in times of war, it is citizens who suffer the consequences of the actions of their government.

Amid the sanctions imposed on the Russian government, there have also been calls to boycott all things Russian, or even just Russian sounding. Boycotts, of course, give individuals a say through collective action. But many non-Russian products have been accidentally targeted.

Bar owners in the US have dumped Stoli Vodka, which is actually made in Latvia by a company headquartered in Luxembourg. The action may be symbolic but it is nonetheless misguided.

When Benito Mussolini declared war on Britain on June 10, 1940, there were riots across the UK. Italian shops were looted, Italian businesses had their windows smashed.

Similar scenes have played out recently across the US, with Russian restaurants having their premises vandalised. Both then and now, however, there is confusion over which businesses genuinely belong to “the enemy”. And no consideration is given to the suffering caused to innocent civilians caught in the crossfire between their native country and their country of domicile.

A lack of geographic knowledge and understanding among the general public has always caused issues in times of war. Ukrainians and Latvians are currently being targeted because people mistakenly think they’re Russian.

This is merely people’s continued manifestation of xenophobic bullying based on a desire to “do” something but with little understanding of how best to direct their anger. During the second world war, Asian Americans wore badges stating they were not Japanese, in order to stave off attacks on themselves or their property. Similarly, in the UK, the US and elsewhere, businesses whose names include the word “Russian” are having to change to names less likely to attract attention from xenophobes.

Civilians harmed

More concerning are the calls for deporting ordinary Russian citizens from western countries, even if they are opposed to Putin and his regime. In scenes that directly echo the treatment of so-called “enemy aliens” during the second world war, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, Californian congressman Eric Salwell suggested “kicking every Russian student out of the United States” as a means of retaliating against Putin.

In the UK, the MP for North Thanet in Kent, Roger Gale, went even further. He called for all Russians to be “sent home”, even though he acknowledged that many “good and honest” people would be caught as “collateral damage”. During the second world war, much harm was inflicted on innocent bystanders because of policies like these.

Most Italians who suffered during the rioting had lived in the UK for decades and held strong loyalties to Britain. This did not stop male Italians who had lived in the UK for less than 20 years from being interned behind barbed wire in camps on the Isle of Man, deported to camps in Canada or Australia, or, tragically for some, perishing on the torpedoed Arandora Star.

In the US, meanwhile, Japanese immigrants had called the west coast their home for decades before the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. They had raised their children and grandchildren as proud American citizens. Had anti-Asian legislation not existed to prevent Asians from naturalising, many Japanese immigrants would have become American citizens like their American children.

Denied this opportunity, all those with Japanese ancestry – including their Japanese American children, who were American citizens by right of their birth – were forcibly removed from their homes and places of work and incarcerated behind barbed wire. Research has shown the lasting trauma this has caused and how this was done in a manner tantamount to ethnic cleansing.

Calling for all Russian citizens to suffer for the actions of Vladimir Putin does nothing to place meaningful pressure on the Russian government. Death threats, damage to property, physical attacks and cyber stalking do nothing to help Ukrainians. This is simply bullying.

A clear distinction must be drawn between Russian government officials and those Russians who have earned their wealth via corruption and support of Putin, who need to be sanctioned, and ordinary Russian citizens living abroad. The latter find themselves in a dangerous situation, regardless of how staunchly they oppose their government’s invasion of Ukraine.

Many Russian citizens and Russian speakers –- which includes many Ukrainians – are suffering xenophobic abuse. If history is to be repeated, they are at risk of incarceration, and even deportation. What Ukraine needs is political, military and humanitarian assistance, not hatred directed at innocent Russian citizens living in the west.

Rachel Pistol does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Former Miss Ireland, Chelsea Farrell, recently shared the story of how she ended up in the emergency room in severe pain with a twisted ovarian cyst.

After over two-and-a-half years of symptoms, Farrell found out she had endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and an ovarian cyst. She had suffered pain, irregular periods, bloating and pain during sex, but thought this was normal.

Farrell’s story isn’t unique. Many women face difficulties getting diagnoses, care and treatment for such conditions – with some women even reportedly waiting up to 12 years for help.

There are many complex reasons behind why women with these conditions wait so long for proper help and treatment. But part of it comes down to how women’s pain is often normalised and dismissed in healthcare settings – and even society more widely.

Working to make a difference in the world but struggling to save for a home. Trying to live sustainably while dealing with mental health issues. For those of us in our twenties and thirties, these are the kinds of problems we deal with every day. This article is part of Quarter Life, a series that explores those issues and comes up with solutions.

More articles:

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In 2020, an Oxford school caused controversy after suggesting girls should not miss school because of period pain. It reportedly stated: “Learning to deal with a monthly inconvenience is all part of being a woman.”

Not only does this show a lack of understanding of how debilitating menstrual pain can be, but also how girls are taught early on to endure pain rather than to seek help or medical advice.

This could also mean girls living with possible signs of endometriosis or PCOS won’t seek the help that they need. In fact, many women with PCOS or endometriosis report they felt expected not to to complain and “get on with it”, and to accept that “it’s a woman’s lot to suffer.”

This attitude means that women are often not involved in their own care and that their complaints are often dismissed as “women’s problems”. This “arrogant culture” of not taking women’s concerns seriously has even led to decades of medical scandals, avoidable patient harm, and needless suffering.

Unnecessary wait

For the last decade, the average wait for an endometriosis diagnosis in the UK is eight years. Patients often have up to ten doctor visits before being diagnosed.

For PCOS, it can often take more than two years and appointments with around three doctors for a diagnosis. Both endometriosis and PCOS are complex conditions with symptoms that may vary widely and also resemble other conditions. So, the diagnostic process is also complex, which explains to some extent why diagnosis is slow.

But complexity around diagnosis is not just about symptoms. The UK government’s recent Women’s Health Survey captured how women continue to be dismissed and ignored when seeking care. It can be difficult for them to put their pain into words and they report not always being believed.

Having their pain dismissed leads many women on a quest for “credibility” in the hopes of being believed that symptoms are not just “in their head”. But when your experiences aren’t believed by healthcare professionals, it can lead to lower self esteem and even depression.

Gender health gap

The struggles that many women experience when trying to receive a diagnosis for these types of conditions is part of a larger problem when it comes to women’s health. Historically, women have experienced inequality in the kind of healthcare and treatment they have received – which is known as the gender health gap.

The gender health gap may explain why women are more likely to suffer poorer outcomes when treated by male doctors. It may also be why women are more likely to die from heart attacks, as their symptoms can be different from men’s, whose symptoms still dominate medical textbooks and messaging around first aid.

Women’s pain is treated less aggressively than men’s even when they rate it more severely, it lasts longer or occurs more often.

The gender health gap is even wider for black women living in the US and UK. Black women are less likely to be diagnosed with endometriosis than white women. They’re also more likely to develop uterine fibroids and are significantly more likely to have debilitating symptoms because of them.

Black women may also be more disproportionately affected by PCOS. Though the reasons for this aren’t fully understood, it might partly be due to poorer access to healthcare.

While problems with women’s health are increasingly being recognised, repeated calls in the past to raise awareness and education for girls, women, and healthcare professionals haven’t led to much-needed change. It’s essential that better, evidence-based resources are developed for both women and health professionals to ensure that every woman – no matter her health needs or experiences – can receive the right care.

But it’s simplistic to assume that the difficulties women face in accessing equitable healthcare and the right diagnosis will be solved by more information alone.

We must also address the larger societal issues of stigmatising and de-prioritising women’s health, the inadequate funding for women’s health research and the implicit gender and racial biases that underpin current health inequalities.

It’s unlikely that significant changes in the way women’s healthcare is delivered will happen anytime soon. So for now, it will be important that women continue to advocate for their own health.

If you suspect you may have endometriosis or PCOS, continue to seek help. Consider keeping track of your pain and symptoms so you can discuss them with your GP. Remember, pain is not something you have to put up with.

Anne-Marie Boylan has received funding from the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR).

Annalise Weckesser has received funding from NIHR and ESRC previously.

Sharon Dixon work on endometriosis in primary care was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Primary Care Research (project number: 403).

On Friday, U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced the “Strengthening Measures to Advance Rights Technologies Copyright Act of 2022, better known as the SMART Copyright Act.

The act aims to reform the relationship between online service providers and content creators by promoting the use of “standard technological measures” that would, theoretically, help prevent infringing material from being reuploaded to the service after it is removed.

Almost immediately, various groups representing creators and rightsholders came out in favor of the bill. This includes the RIAA/NMPA, MPAA, Author’s Guild, the Association of American Publishers and many more. 

However, critics have also lined up against the bill, including Re:Create, a tech-backed organization that calls for “balanced copyright”.

The prospects for this bill are, in general, seen as not good. According to an article on Politco, not only has there been no similar legislation introduced in the House of Representatives, but the bill faces an uphill climb against both the tech industry and other legislative priorities. 

Still, it is an interesting piece of legislation and represents a new direction in copyright discussion. However, as we will quickly see, it’s not that the concepts themselves are new, just the possibility of them being enforced so broadly.

Background on the SMART Copyright Act

Understanding the SMART Copyright Act actually first requires a revisit of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which was passed in 1998. 

One of the key parts of the DMCA set up what we know today as the notice-and-takedown system. This system provides safe harbor to online service providers that host content for their users. This protects sites from the site of Facebook and YouTube all the way to small forums and image hosts. 

In short, such providers cannot be held liable for copyright infringement by their users as long as they meet certain criteria. Among that criteria is that they designate a DMCA agent to receive notices of copyright infringement and then work to remove or disable access to any works they are notified about.

However, the law also requires that such providers must “accommodate and not interfere with standard technical measures (STM).” However, that element of the law has largely fallen off the radar. It is rarely enforced and rarely applied. 

According to the Senators, this is for two reasons. First, hosts and other service providers fear losing safe harbor security if they implement such tools. Second, the original definition of an STM was so narrow that none have been identified since the law passed 20+ years ago. This is despite the fact that multiple technological solutions exist, many of which are already in use, that could fill that role.

The SMART Copyright Act aims to address that issue, and it does so through a process that is both novel and familiar.

Breaking Down the SMART Copyright Act

The SMART Copyright Act aims to identify and name STMs by handing the issue over the U.S. Copyright Office and the Librarian of Congress.

Specifically, the act creates a rulemaking process, which would be overseen by the Librarian of Congress, The process would be a public one where all relevant parties are represented as well as public comments accepted. 

In short, every three years the Librarian of Congress would determine what tools, services or approaches qualify to be considered STM. The rulemaking will also consider what services such an STM would apply to and to what kinds of content they apply to. 

From there, the technical measure will become a designated technical measure (DTM). The law makes it clear that such DTMs must be available on nondiscriminatory terms and either royalty-free or on a “reasonable royalty basis.” The goal is to ensure that providers are not overly burdened by this process.

Providers that run afoul of this may be hit with statutory damages. Those damages are capped at $150,000 for the first violation, with subsequent violations multiplying. Whether the provider is an innocent infringer may also be weighed and damages reduced accordingly.

If this process sounds familiar to you, it’s because it is. The triennial rulemaking process is extremely similar to the process the U.S. Copyright Office already undergoes for Section 1201 of the DMCA, which oversees anti-circumvention regulations. 

That sections of the DMCA deals with the circumvention of digital rights management (DRM). The DMCA made such DRM circumvention broadly illegal, but allowed the Copyright Office to craft exemptions to the rule, which are determined every three years.

According to the Senators, this process proves that the U.S. Copyright Office has both the ability and the expertise to perform such duties when it comes to STMs. 

This likely won’t do much to appease critics of the bill, including tech companies that fear additional regulations and various groups that fear such technology could overreach and harm free speech online.

What Will It Do?

It’s impossible to say what it would look like if this particular bill should pass. The reason is that the bill setups a process for determining what STMs should be used and by whom, but says nothing about what measures could or should be implemented.

In short, all that we know is that, if this bill becomes law, there will be a new rulemaking process on this issue and what that process will entail. We do not know what technological measures will be adopted, who they will apply to, or what kinds of content they will be required to block.

That is deeply frustrating but also unavoidable. The bill recognizes that technology evolves and advances. Tools that were once industry standards fall behind while new ones emerge. Any system that is going to require online service providers to block infringing uploads needs to be flexible.

This was understood with Section 1201 of the DMCA, which is why that rulemaking process was created. This bill simply takes that idea, and applies it to the technological measures to prevent infringing content from being uploaded.

While it’s impossible to predict how the U.S. Copyright Office would implement this, the Section 1201 process has shown that they do tend to be conservative with their use of their powers, reserving it for issues where there is limited dispute. That would likely carry over here.

Still, the uncertainty that this bill creates is understandable and there is simply no way to know for certain what the Copyright Office might carve out if given the chance.

Bottom Line

As I said before, the prospects for this bill do not look particularly great. However, that will likely not be the end of it. The CASE Act, for example, was only passed in 2019. That act created the Copyright Small Claims Board, an idea that had its roots as far back as 2006. 

Ultimately, the CASE Act was simply the last of several attempts to institute such a board. 

Even if the SMART Copyright Act doesn’t progress very far, it’s kicking off a new conversation in copyright. The idea likely will be back again and again, especially with the backing of so many rightsholders.

This is an idea and a direction that is likely going to be talked about a great deal more over the coming years. Even if it doesn’t pass this go around, it’s almost a guarantee that we’ll see this concept come up in the future.

After all, it’s an idea that’s literally 23 years in the making. 

The post Understanding the SMART Copyright Act appeared first on Plagiarism Today.

You may have noticed a whole bunch of stories about copyright lawsuits lately against famous musicians for having songs that sound just kind of like some other songs. I’d been meaning to write up something talking about all of these stories about how Ed Sheeran is supposedly a “magpie” who “borrows” songs, or about how Dua Lipa was sued not once, but twice, claiming her song “Levitating” infringes on the copyrights of others. Or maybe about how it took Katy Perry eight years to finally have an appeals court note that she didn’t actually infringe on someone else’s copyright.

But then I came across this moderately infuriating Guardian article talking about a few of these cases, and saying that “music industry figures” are claiming that all of these lawsuits show how copyright needs to change because “making music is so different to how it was 50 years ago.”

Hayleigh Bosher, associate dean of intellectual property law at Brunel University, who researches the music industry, said “the law needs to move with the times” as “making music is so different to how it was 50 years ago”.

She added: If Sheeran loses, I imagine we will see even more cases. I don’t think copyright is doing its job properly if songwriters are afraid, that’s stifling creativity.”

And, yes, obviously, copyright law needs to change. These lawsuits are crazy, and we’ve been saying that for a long while now.

But there seems to be something worth noting when the industry is only starting to come around on this because of a bunch of lawsuits targeting famous white songwriters. Because for all the talk about how “music is so different” today, we went through another period of time when a whole bunch of brilliant musicians were sued over copyright infringement… and the response from the industry was a lot more muted.

Back in the late 80s and early 90s there was a flood of sampling lawsuits — almost all of which were targeting hip hop artists. And then you had crazy legal rulings like Bridgeport Music v. Dimension Films in which a court announced “get a license or do not sample” and (ridiculously) “we do not see this as stifling creativity in any significant way.”

But did we see the music industry screaming about how we needed to fix copyright laws back then? Nope. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend watching Kembrew McLeod’s one hour documentary Copyright Criminals (which, apparently, is now available on YouTube), which does such a great job of showing how copyright basically destroyed a whole genre of hip hop music, but the industry didn’t much care, because hip hop involved mostly artists of color, rather than white pop music.

One great line in that documentary is that after someone says that hip hop artists sampling other musicians is “lazy,” someone notes that it’s not that different than saying a photographer is lazier than a painter because they just snap a picture of what’s already there, rather than painting it from scratch.

The simple fact is that copyright law has gotten in the way of creativity for ages. Creativity has always been based on building on the works of people who came before you. Sometimes it’s homage. Sometimes it’s appropriation. Sometimes it’s just because there are only so many ways certain notes can be played together.

But if people are getting sued over creating new music, and musicians are now afraid of getting sued for making music, then it’s a huge problem. And it was a huge problem in the 80s, 90s, 2000s and today. Perhaps it’s good that more people are realizing how broken the system is and how it’s stifling creativity, but it does seem at least slightly infuriating that it’s only once it’s famous white pop singers are facing the same thing that black hip hop artists faced in the 80s and 90s that its treated as a “real” problem.

Superficially, Tolkien and Orwell pose in opposition: Tolkien the devout Catholic buried in English origins, Orwell the committed Socialist unraveling English outcomes. But much was shared, writes Darcy Moore, in abstract and detail alike.

· hatred of authoritarianism
· deep concern over the corruption of language and politics by lies, propaganda and poor writing
· propensity to value clarity of language and honesty of intentions
· vehement rejection of totalitarianism of any hue, left or right
· genuine belief in equality and democracy
· love of private life and all its pleasures and joys
· distaste for supervision and intrusion

Lidless eyes, all the way down. — Read the rest

Africa’s forests are some of the natural wonders of the world. As someone who has spent decades studying the ecology and management of tropical forests, I’m constantly amazed by the unique forest ecosystems on the continent.

Some of them are most likely unknown to the public at large, yet so fascinating and important to face our world’s current biodiversity and climate challenges. Starting in the north-west and ending in the south-east, I’d like to share the ones that are special to me. This is a totally personal choice; others would have chosen other unique African forests, so large is the choice. But for how long?

African forests, like many others, are threatened by over-exploitation, conversion to other land uses and climate change. Many will likely disappear or be degraded to such an extent as to pass tipping points and become something else, something less.

I hope this trip across Africa will help raise interest and trigger the urge to better conserve and manage these unique ecosystems.

Morocco’s argan trees

Not far from Agadir, on the Moroccan Atlantic coast, grows the argan tree (Argania spinosa). It is the only member of the large Sapotaceae family growing in the northern hemisphere, the only species of its genus and endemic to an area of about 800,000 hectares.

It’s been exploited and managed by humans for more than 3,000 years for argan oil. Argan oil is the most expensive oil in the world, costing up to US$300 a litre in a US$500 million market. Argan oil is perhaps most commonly used as a moisturiser and is often found in products such as lotions, soaps and hair conditioners.

In addition to the oil, argan trees are also a source of wood for fencing, charcoal and fodder for goats. It’s a true multipurpose tree, critical especially for women’s livelihoods.

Unfortunately, despite its status as a UNESCO biosphere reserve, the argan forest is slowly dying from over-grazing, deforestation and climate change. Hopefully the argan oil boom will help to conserve and restore this unique forest ecosystem.

Congo Basin rainforest

Flying south-east, over the Sahara Desert and the Sahelian savannas, we reach the Congo Basin rainforest.

The Congo Basin rainforest is the second largest rainforest in the world (after the Amazon). It’s home to many forest giants, trees like the Sipo or Moabi. These and other giants are the origin of precious timber but also of important resources for local people, such as food and medicines. It’s also home to animals like forest elephants, buffaloes, and lowland gorillas.

Deep in the heart of the Congo Basin forests lies the largest peat swamp forest of the world. Only recently “discovered” by science, this place was known by the Aka community who live there as the place where roamed the Mokele Mbembe, a mythical dinosaur-like monster the size of an elephant.

No one has never seen it but now we know that this peatland forest stores more than 30 billion tonnes of carbon. Should these be released, by clearing the forest above, into the atmosphere, we will have unleashed a much worse monster than the Mokele Mbembe.

Fortunately, because of its remoteness and difficulty of access, the Congo Basin peatland complex has been naturally protected till now, but it could be threatened soon by oil exploration should we not pay attention.

East Africa’s Afromontane forests

At the eastern border of the Congo Basin rise the Ruwenzori mountains. On the mountain slopes are the last Afromontane forests.

These forests are home to the tallest tree in Africa, a whopping 81.5 metres tall Entandrophragma excelsum hidden in a remote valley of Mount Kilimanjaro.

These forests harbour a high level of endemism – meaning many of the trees can only be found here – and biodiversity. They also act as water towers, regulating and providing water for the lowlands and their inhabitants.

Read more: African tropical mountain forests store far more carbon than previously thought – new research

These Afromontane forests store more carbon per hectare than the Amazon rainforest. Sadly, in the past 20 years, 0.8 million hectares of mountain forests have been lost to agriculture. This is mostly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Ethiopia. This has resulted in over 450 million tonnes of carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere.

Miombo woodlands

Continuing our journey down south, we soon reach the immense area of Miombo woodlands. They span an estimated total area of around 2.7 million km² from Angola in the west to Tanzania in the east, and down to the northern edge of South Africa.

Over 65 million people rely on these ecosystems for their livelihoods, making use of resources such as fuelwood, timber, charcoal production, fruits, honey, mushrooms, medicinal plants, and fodder for livestock.

One tree species only makes the canopy, Colophospermum mopane.

They are an important ecosystem for large mammal diversity and biomass in southern Africa, including some of the most significant remaining populations of black rhinoceros, elephant, white rhinoceros, hippopotamus, buffalo, giraffe and greater kudu.

The forest is also the only source of a less emblematic but very important animal: the mopane worm. Gonimbrasia belina, by its Latin name, is a very important seasonal source of protein for the populations living near mopane woodlands.

Unfortunately, decline in mopane tree density, lower-than-normal precipitation, and higher-than-normal temperatures have significantly affected mopane worm availability and outbreak events, threatening the already precarious livelihoods of local populations.

Madagascar’s Spiny Forest

Crossing the Mozambique channel, we arrive in Madagascar. On the south-west of the “Grande Ile” grows the Spiny Forest. It’s a place like nowhere else on Earth, where endemic oddities like the octopus tree (Didierea madagascariensis) and other strange members of the Didieraceae family grow mixed with swollen baobabs (Adansonia rubrostipa) and other bottle trees (Pachypodium geayi).

The Spiny Forest is inhabited by even weirder animals, ghostly white lemurs impervious to thorns, birds that sing communally and a chameleon that spends most of its life as an egg.

Unfortunately like the other unique forest wonders of Africa, the Spiny Forest is threatened by over-exploitation for charcoal production as local farmers have been put out of business by the more and more unpredictable climate and have few other opportunities in the impoverished and dry Madagascar south-west.

We have reached the end of our trip over Africa. Our choices are subjective and we could have presented other forest wonders but we hope this will be enough to convince you of the importance of these ecosystems and of their threatened status because of us, humans. We should better protect and manage these ecosystems as we depend on them for our survival.

Robert Nasi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Gun and ammunition sales in the U.S. have skyrocketed in recent years. And although it may come as a surprise, this trend has supported conservation activities.

That’s because every firearm and bullet produced or imported into the U.S. is subject to an excise tax dedicated to wildlife conservation and restoration. In 1998, these taxes generated about US$247 million in inflation-adjusted apportionments to state fish and wildlife agencies from the federal U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which collects and manages these funds. By 2018, these revenues had more than tripled to $829 million.

These taxes on guns and ammunition sales provide a growing share of budgets for state fish and game agencies. But as scholars of environmental politics, conservation and wildlife management, we have found that the growth in conservation funding driven by exploding guns sales presents at least three critical moral and ethical issues.

First, the original argument for using gun taxes to fund conservation was that most gun users were hunters who used lands and wildlife, and should help to support those resources. But our research shows that gun use is increasingly unrelated to hunting.

Second, the recent spike in gun sales is linked to violence and social unrest. Even if most gun owners never commit a crime, this means that overall, conservation is benefiting from gun-related social strife and harm.

Finally, recent changes to the law allow the use of gun-related excise taxes to support activities with little or no connection to hunting, wildlife or outdoor recreation.

A marriage of guns and conservation

At the end of the 19th century, many wild species across the U.S. were threatened by over-hunting and unregulated markets for wild game products. Companies used bison bones to make “bone china” and bird plumage to decorate hats. Many species were hunted to the brink of extinction. Some, like the passenger pigeon, were fully exterminated.

In an effort to restore game populations for sport hunters, federal and state governments established fish and wildlife agencies. But these offices were often underfunded.

The Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937, commonly known as the Pittman-Robertson Act, increased conservation funding by redirecting an existing excise tax on firearms to a dedicated wildlife management fund. Over time, the law expanded to include excise taxes that manufacturers today pay on long guns, handguns, ammunition and archery equipment. To access these funds, states must use fees from hunting licenses exclusively to support fish and wildlife agencies.

Pittman-Robertson funds make up a large fraction of state fish and wildlife agency budgets. In 2018, for example, we estimate that about 25% of the Ohio Division of Wildlife’s $62 million appropriations came from excise taxes generated by Pittman-Robertson. In Massachusetts, the number was 43%.

Fewer hunters, more gun sales

The idea behind Pittman-Robertson was simple enough: Taxes on hunting supplies should support the agencies that manage wildlife. This idea persists today. Gun manufacturers and fish and game agencies regularly celebrate hunters’ financial contributions to conservation.

Since the early 2000s, however, gun and ammunition sales have begun to disconnect from hunting. Nationally, the number of hunters declined from a peak of 17 million in 1982 to 11.5 million in 2016. By comparison, in the same year, Gallup estimated that about 93 million Americans owned guns.

These numbers suggest that only about 1 in 8 gun owners hunted in 2016. This pattern echoes a 2015 analysis by Southwick Associates, a consulting firm that works closely with the firearms industry, that found that 80% of firearms sales in 2015 were for nonhunting activities like sport shooting, gun collecting and self-defense.

Other outdoor recreational activities, meanwhile, are growing. Birding, hiking and backpacking are consistently among the fastest growing outdoor recreation activities. Birding increased by 232% from 1983 to 2001. Unlike hunting and fishing, there is no federal requirement for people who engage in these activities to contribute to conservation.

Profiting from social violence

Although most guns sold in the U.S. will not be involved in violent crimes, Pittman-Robertson does not differentiate between firearms and ammunition used for hunting and sport shooting versus those that are used to harm people. The guns and bullets involved in over 45,000 gun-related deaths in 2020 generated excise taxes used to fund wildlife conservation. This means that protecting public lands and wildlife is irrevocably linked to social violence. It is also why some commentators worry that gun regulations could hurt conservation efforts.

Data also shows that firearms sales are motivated by fears of violence and social unrest. Gun sales have increased following mass shootings and racial justice protests and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Anecdotal evidence suggests that over the past two years, some African Americans and Asian Americans purchased their first guns out of fears of rising anti-Black and anti-Asian violence.

Wildlife conservation is benefiting from the fear, racism and sustained social conflict that drive gun sales. This raises a moral question: Is this the right way to fund conservation?

Promoting nonhunting gun use

As gun sales grow, the firearms industry has pushed to use Pittman-Robertson funds to support nonhunting gun uses. Gun manufacturers and sportsmen groups endorsed a set of reforms to Pittman-Robertson that became law in 2020. These changes allow state and federal agencies to use Pittman-Robertson funds to promote recreational shooting and purchase land for shooting ranges.

Some organizations are concerned that these changes will redirect funding from wildlife restoration to target practice and marksmanship. But hunting and shooting organizations argue that the new rules will generate more money for conservation activities. As a former president of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies stated in a recent interview: “The goal is to improve and build more shooting ranges, this is where the money comes from.”

New sources for conservation funding

Other groups have proposed ways to make wildlife conservation less dependent on guns.

One idea from some backcountry hunters and Forest Service employees is to create a “backpack tax” on equipment used for outdoor activities like hiking and birding. The outdoor industry has opposed these proposals, arguing that it is impossible to discern the actual use of outdoor products, and that such taxes may create more barriers for low-income individuals to participate in outdoor activities.

Another proposal – this one embraced by the outdoor industry – asserts that Congress should leverage existing funds from other sources to support conservation. Moving away from funds generated by hunters could also give state agencies greater freedom to undertake projects for species other than popular game like deer and elk, which often are the focus of state conservation policies.

This idea has bipartisan support and is moving through Congress as part of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act. That bill would direct $1.3 billion from the Treasury to the Pittman-Robertson Account, with a dedicated portion for endangered species recovery.

So long as hunting is part of the U.S. model of wildlife management, firearms will be intertwined with conservation. As we see it, though, proposals to change funding sources could help to address the moral concerns that grow out of this relationship, and could create opportunities for more effective conservation.

[Get fascinating science, health and technology news. Sign up for The Conversation’s weekly science newsletter.]

John Casellas Connors receives funding from the National Science Foundation.

Christopher Rea does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

A cryptic, Rosicrucian-inspired text of disputed authorship, featuring engravings rich in alchemical symbolism.

A new blueprint on open access to digital cultural heritage collections in the United Kingdom (UK) has been hailed as a significant opportunity to prevent historical works from being “locked down” behind copyright walls.

Recommendations in the report, “A Culture of Copyright, A scoping study on open access to digital cultural heritage collections in the UK” was commissioned by the Towards a National Collection programme (TaNC) and should soon be adopted by the UK’s galleries, libraries, archives and museums (the GLAM sector).

The study concludes there is no consensus in the sector on what open access means, or should mean, and policies across the country vary widely.
The UK’s institutions hold an immense amount of cultural heritage in trust for the public and in stewarding these collections, GLAMs can make use of new technologies and CC licenses and tools to open access to collections online to enable wider public participation. But several institutions still engage in the mistaken practice of claiming copyright over faithful digital reproductions of works.

While the situation is legally clear in the United States and settled at the EU level, where no new rights can arise in reproductions of works of visual art that are in the public domain, it has not been resolved in the UK.
The new report recommends that no new rights should be able to arise in non-original reproduction media generated around public domain works in the UK.

Brigitte Vézina, director of policy for open culture and GLAM with Creative Commons, said:

“GLAMs’ open sharing of public domain heritage content can unlock limitless creativity. When public domain works are widely shared by GLAMs, anyone can reuse them and build upon them to create something new and unexpected. Open access to cultural heritage holds the promise of many benefits for GLAMs themselves, including increased global visibility, new and greater audiences, and enhanced relevance in today’s digital society. This report shows that we must prevent historical works from being locked down and seize the opportunity to deliver open access so that we can advance universal access to and sharing of knowledge and culture, thus fostering creativity, innovation, and collaboration for a brighter future.”

The post Blueprint on open access to UK’s digital cultural heritage collections welcomed appeared first on Creative Commons.

Who isn’t thinking about gas prices these days? For so many, especially those on a fixed income or those in entry-level jobs, pump prices over $4 a gallon can cause considerable financial pain. A local St. Pete bank has some easy tips on how to save gas and prepare for the future.

Climate First Bank in St. Petersburg is offering some solid advice on what to do to save gas money and loosen the grip fossil fuels have on so many lives.

“I think these prices are just a sign of what is to come,” said Lauren Dube’, director of Client and Mission Partnerships for Climate First Bank. “Fossil fuels are a limited resource and as we continue to use them, there is only going to be more wars” and other upheaval in the world revolving around resources that are detrimental to the planet.

Related: Board Members at Climate First Bank to Further Environmental Mission

As a bank, Climate First focuses on ESG—Environmental, Social and Governance—as its three pillars of business. “Those principles give Climate First Bank a framework to stay transparent and accountable to our mission,” Dube’ said.

Finance, she said, is a big motivator when it comes to deciding about what to invest in. “We can use that as a force for good.”

Going electric

For those who can afford it, now is the time to purchase an electric vehicle, something the bank promotes, Dube’ said. “As the supply of fossil fuels decreases and the demand remains, it impacts prices at the pump. Solar and EV don’t rely on those resources. We have the ability to be independent from those resources as we continue to make changes.”

And changes, such as switching to electric vehicles, will have a positive effect on the environment, she said. “Look at the impact climate change is having on our environment. Global temperatures are rising, which impact sea level, which affects our coastal communities. Car emissions impact pollution levels. All we are doing right now is buying ourselves time, but things are only getting worse.”

Gas prices are having a dire impact on low-income communities, so the bank encourages local communities to build more EV charging networks so more people have access.

Gas saving tips

• Keep up with routine vehicle maintenance. Including oil changes and tire pressure to help vehicles run more efficiently.
• Drive less aggressively. Avoid speeding, then stopping quickly. It saves gas and makes you a more considerate driver.
• Consider joining a carpool. “A lot of people are averse to carpooling, especially with COVID, but if you have friends you are comfortable with, carpooling is a great way to save on gas,” Dube’ said.
• Combine errand runs. While running out to the grocery store, hit the post office, the hardware store and the nail salon all in one trip.
• Carpool kids to school. For those already hauling their youngster to school, team up with other parents to share rides. If three students are riding, parents can take turns transporting them to school and home each day. “It’s important with gas prices so high and it makes you a better neighbor,” Dube’ said.
• Take the most fuel-efficient route. When using a GPS, use the feature that gives an option for taking the most fuel-efficient option. “Every time I pull up my phone, I find new ways to travel that are better on gas, routes I might never have considered,” Dube’ said.
• Turn off the car air conditioner during these cooler days of spring. “My grandfather used to always yell at me about the AC in the car,” Dube’ said. “It affects fuel consumption. One thing I try to do is if I don’t need it, I turn it off. If I am only a few miles from home, I turn off the AC and just use the cooled car for those last few miles.”
• Leave the car windows down when driving locally. But once a car is on the interstate, driving with the windows down causes a drag, so roll them up.
• Be mindful of what might be in your car. Rooftop travel rack? Remove it if it is not in use. That trunk full of tiles? Get them out of the car to drive with more fuel efficiency.
• Use mass transit if available. It makes for a more relaxing commute to work without spending so much to travel back and forth.
• WFH. Businesses should employees to continue working from home or give them a hybrid schedule, where they only come to the office when necessary.

“Gas can be a good percentage of someone’s income,” Dube’ said. So, using some simple tips can save some of that money.

The post Tips on How to Save on Gas appeared first on ModernGlobe.

Many Florida residents are building their backyards for more eco-friendly activities during the summer. If you want your backyard to be a place to learn about native Florida wildlife and connect to nature, follow these tips.

Florida is home to some of the richest and most biodiverse ecosystems in the country. Our everglades, protected wetlands, beautiful beaches, and miles of state park trails offer incredible opportunities to observe and learn about wildlife within your region. However, you don’t have to plan a trip to the park to discover some of Florida’s most incredible wildlife. 

More wildlife news: Audubon’s Jay Watch Hits 20th Anniversary

Observing the wildlife in your neighborhood is a great hobby that brings you closer to nature and can provide an educational opportunity for yourself and your children. If you want to discover more wildlife in your backyard, the best way is to make your backyard more eco-friendly. 

Animals need food, water, and shelter to thrive in any environment. By adding these elements to your backyard, you are more likely to find birds, bugs, reptiles, and other wildlife in your yard and neighborhood:

Add a bird feeder and house

A bird house with a built-in feeder will provide both food and shelter for a variety of native birds. This may also attract squirrels, chipmunks, and other small animals that can feed on the birdseed.

Build a rain garden or bird bath

Animals will be more likely to stay if they have access to water and food. A small rain garden (a garden planted in a depression in the ground that creates a small pond when raining) or a birdbath can offer a source of water for birds, small reptiles, and other wildlife to enjoy. Running water sources can also attract wildlife and are often safer in mosquito-prone areas. 

Grow your garden

Gardens provide sources of food, water, and shelter to local wildlife. Edible plants can feed both your family and the local animals, and help keep water in the soil for animals to keep cool in the summer. A lush garden provides plenty of shelter from predators, which will have animals flocking to your backyard to enjoy throughout the year. 

Once you’ve created a wildlife-friendly backyard, get out a journal and camera and start recording the changes you see in your backyard. Record what animals you see every day, and how they interact with the ecosystem you’ve created. You’ll be amazed at the changes that occur even over the course of a few weeks, as well as from season to season. 

For more information about wildlife activities to enjoy in Hillsborough County, visit the Hillsborough County Park and Recreation site here. 

The post How to Make Your Backyard Friendly for Native Florida Wildlife appeared first on ModernGlobe.

As part of its deadly assault on Ukraine, Russia has taken the rare step to use intellectual property rights as a war tactic. In early March, the Russian government issued a decree saying that Russian companies are no longer obliged to compensate owners of patents, utility models and industrial designs from “unfriendly” countries. These are the western states who have issued sanctions against Russia, including the UK and US.

This means that Russian businesses can use intellectual property, such as patented inventions or fashion designs, without having to pay or seek the consent of the rights holders. Affected companies cannot enforce their patents and designs against Russian imitators.

This effectively legalises intellectual piracy in a country already known for failing to adequately protect intangible assets. Last year, Russia was added to a US government “priority watch list” of countries which do not sufficiently protect US intellectual properties.

Vladimir Putin’s move is clearly a reaction to the west’s economic sanctions and suspension of Russia’s trade privileges. It is also an answer to many multinational companies’ decisions to cease doing business with Russian companies.

Sanctions and boycotts have massively affected the Russian economy to the extent that the country is now on the verge of bankruptcy with interest rates having doubled. The stock market has remained closed for weeks and the rouble has fallen dramatically.

Unprecedented attack on intellectual property

The suspension of intellectual property rights as an economic weapon in the context of a conflict is unprecedented, at least in recent decades. Historical examples date back to the first world war, when the US introduced the Trading With the Enemy Act. This act seized copyright and patents owned by enemy countries, including the patent to aspirin, famously a German invention.

Following the war, the Aspirin trademark owned by the German pharmaceutical company Bayer was given up to the US, France, UK and Russia, as part of Germany’s war reparations agreed in the Treaty of Versailles.

Russian officials have hinted that other intellectual property rights owned by western countries may be soon restricted, including software and trademarks. This could allow local entrepreneurs to appropriate and exploit – without permission and for free – brands such as McDonald’s. One Russian restaurant chain has even recently adopted, and applied to register locally, a logo very similar to the famous golden arches.

The sanctions have also led a Russian judge to dismiss a copyright and trademark infringement lawsuit brought by the British company that produces animated series Peppa Pig. Andrei Slavinsky said in court that the “unfriendly actions of the United States of America and affiliated foreign countries” influenced his decision.

Ukraine, for its part, has not been inactive in this intellectual property battle. Its ministry of defence recently hacked and leaked confidential documents it claimed to have taken from a Russian nuclear power station.

Does it violate international law?

Russia’s suspension of patents and other intellectual property rights owned by western companies may violate international treaties which protect these assets at global level. All countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) need to respect these laws and guarantee that foreign businesses can enforce intellectual property rights against imitators.

Countries damaged by the Russian measure may bring Russia to a WTO court and ask for additional sanctions to be imposed. This would again hit Russian businesses, especially those which rely on brands and patented technology, as well as the creative industry sector.

The only way Russia could justify the measure would be to rely on a security exception made available by the WTO itself. This exception allows countries to take any action they consider necessary to protect their essential security interests in times of war. But it has never been invoked by any state in the context of an armed conflict, and therefore never tested before the WTO judges.

If Russia is expelled from the WTO club, as has been proposed, that would, paradoxically, insulate it from global intellectual property challenges. No country would be able to bring Russia before a court of an organisation it is no longer a member of.

These are predictions of what could happen if the war continues. It goes without saying that a prompt end to the conflict may instead relax the tension between the west and Russia, and put an end to the current intellectual property battle.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Like pretty much everything else he's done, I didn't expect it to be quite this good.

Households making less than $25,000 a year are audited by the IRS at a rate of 13 per 1,000 returns. Households making more are audited at a rate of 2.6 per 1,000 returns. These figures come from researchers at Syracuse University, who data-mined public IRS records. — Read the rest

The US Senate just passed a bill that would make Daylight Savings Time permanent, starting in 2023. From Reuters:

The Senate approved the measure, called the Sunshine Protection Act, unanimously by voice vote. The House of Representatives, which has held a committee hearing on the matter, still must pass the bill before it can go to President Joe Biden to sign.

Brightline continues to grow in the state of Florida. Officials have their sites set on a connection to Tampa, next.

“That ultimate connection to Tampa is our vision and we are working closely with FDOT to accommodate us in the I-4 corridor,” said Christine Kefauver with Brightline. Kefauver told the Hillsborough Transportation Planning Organization that Brightline is working with Tampa officials to determine where a terminal should be located, along with the most effective route.

“The last thing we want to do is disrupt communities. And no additional tall operational ramps and so forth for Brightline,” Kefauver said. “So the closer we can stay to impacted corridors, we feel the better it is for the communities at hand.”

Brightline continues to connect major Florida cities

Another major project that would extend its current system from West Palm Beach to Orlando International Airport is about 75% complete and should be finished in early 2023.

The Tampa terminal location is still TBD. Brightline will most likely set up its hub in Historic Ybor City. The connection between Tampa and Orlando could provide a major boost to the local economy. This would also potentially open up the job market for those living in either Tampa or Orlando, and give residents easier access to the major attractions here in the Sunshine State. A comprehensive mass transit system would also broaden the appeal of Tampa, and the entire region to major companies looking to move/expand their headquarters.

Strong WiFi is available in Brightline stations and onboard the trains. Riders can enjoy a contactless ticketing process. Food and beverages are also available in a majority of Brightline stations.  trains are designed to easily welcome all guests using wheelchairs, walkers, and other assistive devices.

Bike- and pet-friendly rides

Did you know that Brightline trains are also pet-friendly? Yes, the high-speed service can accommodate your furry friend. Bike racks are also available on board, and guests traveling with large luggage are more than welcome to check their bags.

You can learn more about the rail service online.

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The post High-speed rail Brightline eyes new terminal in Tampa appeared first on That's So Tampa.

Mad Hatter’s (Gin &) Tea Party is an immersive experience in a wonderland installation. The concept has traveled to major cities across the US and received rave reviews. Visitors will enjoy a trip down the rabbit hole and head straight to one of the most whimsical parties around. The location of the event is still a secret. Its precise location will revealed to ticket holders at a later date.

The experience lasts 90 minutes. Please arrive 5-10 minutes before the start time on your ticket. Doors will close at the start time on your ticket. No late entry is permitted. This is a 21+ event, though alcohol free beverages will be available to guests. The dress is casual, but Alice in Wonderland costumes are of course encouraged.

Mad Hatter’s Gin & Tea Party brings Wonderland to Tampa

“The Mad Hatter, Dormouse, and the March Hare are unleashing teatime mayhem with a brand new experience and taste of Wonderland in Tampa,” write the event organizers. “Your hosts for the evening, The Mad Hatter and his even madder guests, invite you to delight and bewitch the senses as you enjoy a colorful 90-minute cocktail menu.”

Three tantalizing cocktails await each mad guest, and each carefully constructed beverage is brimming with ingredients that’ll befuddle your taste buds. The festivities begin on June 30, 2022 and run though July 24. Tickets and official showtimes are available online.

Event organizer Fever is known for its wild events across the globe. Fever is the leading global entertainment discovery platform, helping over 50 million people every month to discover the best experiences in their cities. 

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The post Immersive Mad Hatter’s Gin & Tea Party experience coming to Tampa appeared first on That's So Tampa.

The massive Howard Frankland expansion project is underway, and officials say the project is on track to be completed by 2025. FDOT is rebuilding the existing northbound bridge, which was originally constructed in 1959, and adding capacity to alleviate traffic congestion.

““A project this size is a large logistical effort,” FDOT project manager Austin Petersen said in an interview with WTSP.

The plan for the Howard Frankland Bridge was announced back in 2017. Following the announcement the Florida Department of Transportation conducted public outreach as part of the Tampa Bay Next process and gathered valuable input to enhance the project.

In March 2020, construction costs for the project were estimated to be $865 million.

Howard Frankland Bridge expansion include bike/pedestrian lanes

The new bridge provides four general purpose lanes and two tolled express lanes in each direction. The project also includes a bike/pedestrian path that will connect Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties. Once complete, drivers can use use four general purpose lanes and two tolled express lanes in each direction.

The new design improves incident management in emergency response situations and provides additional capacity along a critical evacuation route. A portion of the new bridge is being constructed to hold additional weight and can accommodate potential future transit, up to a light rail transit system. Should light rail transit be locally supported for implementation, the existing southbound (1991) bridge would then be widened and travel lanes shifted to the widened bridge.

The bike and pedestrian path is being constructed to provide the community another way across Tampa Bay. The path is approximately 12 feet wide and is separated from the roadway by a barrier. Along the path, four bridge overlooks provide users a resting spot with shade and seating. The pedestrian path connects near 4th Street in Pinellas County and near Reo Street in Hillsborough County.

A massive design-build project that will include express lanes

This project is a design-build project, which means that an overall design concept was put out to bid with design requirements specified in a Request for Proposals. The successful contractor was selected from multiple qualified firms bidding on the contract.

The project includes two tolled express lanes in each direction to provide additional capacity, relieve congestion and provide a more reliable travel time option for passenger and transit vehicles. Tolling will be “dynamic” meaning prices change based on the amount of traffic in the express lanes which maintains a steady traffic flow in the lanes.

You can learn more about the project on the FDOT’s website.

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The post Howard Frankland Bridge expansion on track to be completed by 2025 appeared first on That's So Tampa.

If you’ve been paying attention to how Russian President Vladimir Putin talks about the war in Ukraine, you may have noticed a pattern. Putin often uses words to mean exactly the opposite of what they normally do.

He labels acts of war “peacekeeping duties.”

He claims to be engaging in “denazification” of Ukraine while seeking to overthrow or even kill Ukraine’s Jewish president, who is the grandson of a Holocaust survivor.

He claims that Ukraine is plotting to create nuclear weapons, while the greatest current threat of nuclear war appears to be Putin himself.

Putin’s brazen manipulation of language is drawing attention. Kira Rudik, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament, recently said of Putin in a CNN interview:

“When he says, ‘I want peace,’ this means, ‘I’m gathering my troops to kill you.’ If he says, ‘It’s not my troops,’ he means ‘It’s my troops and I’m gathering them.’ And if he says, ‘OK, I’m retreating,’ this means ‘I’m regrouping and gathering more troops to kill you.’”

As a philosophy professor who studies the British author George Orwell, I am reminded by Rudik’s comments about Putin of another set of claims: “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” These are the words etched onto the side of the building for the government agency called the “Ministry of Truth” in Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984,” published in 1949.

Orwell uses this feature of the novel to draw attention to how totalitarian regimes – like the book’s fictional state of Oceania – perversely warp language to gain and retain political power. Orwell’s keen understanding of this phenomenon was the result of having witnessed it himself.

Lies more frightening than bombs

In grappling with Putin’s lies and spin, it’s helpful to look at what previous thinkers and writers, like Orwell, have said about the relationship between language and political power.

Orwell, an Englishman who lived from 1903 to 1950, experienced war, imperialism and poverty during the first half of his life. These experiences led Orwell to identify as a socialist and member of the British political left.

It might seem inevitable, then, that Orwell would have favorably viewed Soviet Communism, a leading force on the political left in Europe at the time. But this was not so.

Instead, Orwell believed that Soviet Communism shared the same defects as Nazi Germany. Both were totalitarian states where the desire for total power and control crowded out any room for truth, individuality or freedom. Orwell did not think Soviet Communism was truly socialist, but rather that it only had a socialist façade.

At age 33, Orwell served as a volunteer soldier in the Spanish Civil War. He fought with a small militia as part of a larger left-leaning coalition that was trying to stop an insurrection from Spain’s Nationalist right. This left-leaning coalition was receiving military support from the Soviet Union.

But the small militia Orwell was fighting with ultimately became a target of Soviet propagandists, who leveled a range of accusations against the militia, including that its members were spies for the other side. This was a byproduct of the Soviet Union’s attempts to use its involvement in Spain as a way of gaining political power.

Orwell observed how the militia he had fought with was maligned in the European press as part of this Soviet smear campaign. He explained in his book “Homage to Catalonia” that this smear campaign included telling demonstrable lies about concrete facts. This experience deeply troubled Orwell.

He later reflected on this experience, writing that he was frightened by the “feeling that the very concept of objective truth is fading out of the world.” That prospect, he claimed, frightened him “much more than bombs.”

Language shapes politics – and vice versa

Such fears influenced much of Orwell’s most influential writing, including his novel “1984” and his essay “Politics and the English Language.”

In that essay, Orwell reflects on the relationship between language, thought and politics. For Orwell, language influences thought, which in turn influences politics. But politics also influences thought, which in turn influences language. Thus, Orwell – like Putin – saw how language shapes politics and vice versa.

Orwell argues in the essay that if one writes well, “one can think more clearly,” and in turn that “to think clearly is a necessary first step toward political regeneration,” which I believe meant to him that a political order could recover from destructive political influences like totalitarianism. This makes good writing a political task.

Orwell’s desire to avoid bad writing is not the desire to defend rigid rules of grammar. Rather, Orwell’s goal is for language users “to let the meaning choose the word, and not the other way about.” Communicating clearly and precisely requires conscious thought. It takes work.

But just as language can illuminate thought and regenerate politics, so too language can be used to obscure thought and degenerate politics.

Putin sees this clearly and seeks to use this to his advantage.

‘Doublethink,’ ‘doublespeak’

Orwell warned against the kind of abuses of language Putin commits, writing that “if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.”

Orwell explored what mutual corruption of language and politics in a totalitarian regime looks like in his dystopian “1984.” In the world of “1984,” the only crime is “thoughtcrime.” The ruling class seeks to eliminate the possibility of thoughtcrime by eliminating the language needed to have the thoughts they had criminalized – which included any thought that would undermine the party’s totalitarian control. Limit language and you limit thought, or so the theory goes. Thus, the Russian Parliament passed, and Putin has signed, a law that could result in criminal charges for using the Russian word for “war” to describe the Ukraine war.

Orwell also uses “1984” to explore what happens when communication conforms to the desires of political power instead of demonstrable fact.

[Over 150,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletters to understand the world. Sign up today.]

The result is “doublethink,” which occurs when a fractured mind simultaneously accepts two contradictory beliefs as true. The slogans “War is peace,” “Freedom is slavery” and “Ignorance is strength” are paradigmatic examples. This Orwellian idea has given rise to the concept of doublespeak, which occurs when one uses language to obscure meaning to manipulate others.

Doublespeak is a tool in the arsenal of tyranny. It is one of Putin’s weapons of choice, as it is for many authoritarians and would-be authoritarians around the world. As Orwell warned: “Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.”

Mark Satta does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

In February this year, reports surfaced on Twitter and Facebook that the Ukrainian government was undertaking a mass genocide of civilians. Around the same time, conspiracy theorists began saying Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy was an agent of the “New World Order”.

These claims have been thoroughly debunked, but not before attracting millions of views and offering a purported justification for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. More recently, Russian and Chinese officials have claimed the United States has funded bioweapons research in Ukraine.

Read more: Russia's false claims about biological weapons in Ukraine demonstrate the dangers of disinformation and how hard it is to counter – 4 essential reads

Social media has played a crucial role in the spread of these and other false claims. We have identified a network of dozens of Russian government Twitter accounts using a loophole in the platform’s rules to run a coordinated program of disinformation.

The dangers of disinformation

By “disinformation”, we mean factually incorrect material distributed with the aim of unsettling or damaging something or someone: a politician, a political party or system, or a way of life.

Since the 2016 US elections, disinformation has been recognised as a growing threat to democracy.

Democracy relies on citizens’ ability to make informed decisions about policy, politics and world affairs. This ability is severely compromised when fake and (deliberately) misleading claims are promoted as fact.

Read more: Disinformation campaigns are murky blends of truth, lies and sincere beliefs – lessons from the pandemic

As we have seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, disinformation can also pose a grave threat to public health and safety.

Disinformation itself is not new, but over the past decade it has found an ideal place to flourish on social media platforms.

Why disinformation loves social media

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and many other platforms are designed as amplification systems. They are built to be open to all comers and increase the volume on any type of content.

Anyone with an internet connection can access social media, where all kinds of content can be shared with a speed and reach that was impossible with heritage media.

The sheer speed at which disinformation is disseminated – especially via automated “bot accounts” – makes it hard for content moderators to keep up. The emotive, partisan nature of much online disinformation also means internet users and journalists are more likely to spread it without checking it too closely.

Russian accounts on Twitter

Russian government Twitter accounts have played a key role in the spread of pro-Russia disinformation. While Twitter has fewer users than Facebook or Instagram, it is a pivotal site for the production and dissemination of news.

We tracked the Twitter activity of 75 official Russian government accounts and found they are a major source and amplifier of disinformation. At time of writing these accounts together have a total of 7,366,622 followers. They have been retweeted 35.9 million times, received 29.8 million likes, and 4 million replies.

Between 25 February and 3 March 2022, about these accounts made 1,157 tweets – and around three quarters were about Ukraine. The accounts have tried to spread false narratives to justify the invasion.

The tweets below show Russian government accounts spreading disinformation narratives: delegitimising Ukraine as a sovereign state, sowing doubt and mistruths about the Ukraine government and neo-Nazi infiltration, spreading “whataboutisms” that downplay the Ukraine invasion by drawing attention to alleged war crimes by other countries, and spreading conspiracy theories about Ukraine/US bioweapons research.

A loophole for governments

Twitter has recognised the disinformation possibilities of state-affiliated media, putting warning labels on their content and not recommending or amplifying them.

However, these rules do not apply to government-controlled accounts not labelled as media, such as foreign embassies.

As a result, these accounts are flooding the platform with propaganda. This is a critical gap in Twitter’s moderation practices, and one that has received little attention.

A coordinated network

The 75 Russian government accounts we studied are also working together to amplify disinformation. We analysed their tweets and found they often retweet the same content at about the same time.

This is a well-known tactic of coordinated disinformation or “astroturfing”, where a network of accounts retweet content together repeatedly to amplify it and maximise its reach.

The picture above shows a network visualisation of coordinated retweet behaviour among the 75 Russian government accounts. Larger nodes coordinate more often, links indicate retweeting within 60 seconds of one another, and the colours represent “communities” of accounts that tend to co-retweet especially frequently.

The most prominent accounts re the two Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs accounts (@mfa_russia and @mid_rf), the Russian Mission in Geneva (@mission_russian), and the Russian Embassy in USA (@rusembusa).

What can be done?

Twitter needs to do more to safeguard the platform from harmful content by state actors. Government accounts are still free to flood the space with false information.

Twitter’s policies and rules need to be modified to suit special circumstances such as war. They also need to adapt to non-Western contexts where disinformation is easily missed by automated moderation tuned to the English language and the norms of the US and western Europe.

Platforms have traditionally taken their cues from the techno-libertarian adage that “information wants to be free”. This has turned out to be a disaster for liberal democracy and public health.

Some positive changes have been made, particularly after the January 6 Capitol riots in the US, but platforms are still designed on the principle that the other side should always be heard.

This design is not simply the result of an impoverished understanding of political theory by young white male Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. It’s good for business: blocking government disinformation could result in governments blocking platforms in retaliation, cutting off valuable users.

Do your homework

Individual Twitter users can also help stem the spread of state-issued disinformation by doing exactly what conspiracists and disinformation actors have long encouraged: their own research.

Users can and should ask themselves: How accurate is this claim? How can the claim be verified? Who is posting this information about Russia? What stake does that person or persons have in Russian state affairs? How might amplifying this content, even to criticise it, unwittingly spread it further?

If a piece of information cannot be verified, or appears to be driven by bias or prejudice, it is in everyone’s best interest not to tweet or retweet.

Read more: Fake viral footage is spreading alongside the real horror in Ukraine. Here are 5 ways to spot it

Timothy Graham receives funding from the Australian Research Council for his Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DE220101435), 'Combatting Coordinated Inauthentic Behaviour on Social Media'. He also receives funding from the Australian Government Department of Defence.

Jay Daniel Thompson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Have you ever felt a creeping sensation that someone’s watching you? Then you turn around and you don’t see anything out of the ordinary. Depending on where you were, though, you might not have been completely imagining it. There are billions of things sensing you every day. They are everywhere, hidden in plain sight – inside your TV, fridge, car and office. These things know more about you than you might imagine, and many of them communicate that information over the internet.

Back in 2007, it would have been hard to imagine the revolution of useful apps and services that smartphones ushered in. But they came with a cost in terms of intrusiveness and loss of privacy. As computer scientists who study data management and privacy, we find that with internet connectivity extended to devices in homes, offices and cities, privacy is in more danger than ever.

Internet of Things

Your appliances, car and home are designed to make your life easier and automate tasks you perform daily: switch lights on and off when you enter and exit a room, remind you that your tomatoes are about to go bad, personalize the temperature of the house depending on the weather and preferences of each person in the household.

To do their magic, they need the internet to reach out for help and correlate data. Without internet access, your smart thermostat can collect data about you, but it doesn’t know what the weather forecast is, and it isn’t powerful enough to process all of the information to decide what to do.

But it’s not just the things in your home that are communicating over the internet. Workplaces, malls and cities are also becoming smarter, and the smart devices in those places have similar requirements. In fact, the Internet of Things (IoT) is already widely used in transport and logistics, agriculture and farming, and industry automation. There were around 22 billion internet-connected devices in use around the world in 2018, and the number is projected to grow to over 50 billion by 2030.

What these things know about you

Smart devices collect a wide range of data about their users. Smart security cameras and smart assistants are, in the end, cameras and microphones in your home that collect video and audio information about your presence and activities. On the less obvious end of the spectrum, things like smart TVs use cameras and microphones to spy on users, smart lightbulbs track your sleep and heart rate, and smart vacuum cleaners recognize objects in your home and map every inch of it.

Sometimes, this surveillance is marketed as a feature. For example, some Wi-Fi routers can collect information about users’ whereabouts in the home and even coordinate with other smart devices to sense motion.

Manufacturers typically promise that only automated decision-making systems and not humans see your data. But this isn’t always the case. For example, Amazon workers listen to some conversations with Alexa, transcribe them and annotate them, before feeding them into automated decision-making systems.

But even limiting access to personal data to automated decision making systems can have unwanted consequences. Any private data that is shared over the internet could be vulnerable to hackers anywhere in the world, and few consumer internet-connected devices are very secure.

Understand your vulnerabilities

With some devices, like smart speakers or cameras, users can occasionally turn them off for privacy. However, even when this is an option, disconnecting the devices from the internet can severely limit their usefulness. You also don’t have that option when you’re in workspaces, malls or smart cities, so you could be vulnerable even if you don’t own smart devices.

Therefore, as a user, it is important to make an informed decision by understanding the trade-offs between privacy and comfort when buying, installing and using an internet-connected device. This is not always easy. Studies have shown that, for example, owners of smart home personal assistants have an incomplete understanding of what data the devices collect, where the data is stored and who can access it.

Governments all over the world have introduced laws to protect privacy and give people more control over their data. Some examples are the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Thanks to this, for instance, you can submit a Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) to the organization that collects your data from an internet-connected device. The organizations are required to respond to requests within those jurisdictions within a month explaining what data is collected, how it is used within the organization and whether it is shared with any third parties.

Limit the privacy damage

Regulations are an important step; however, their enforcement is likely to take a while to catch up with the ever-increasing population of internet-connected devices. In the meantime, there are things you can do to take advantage of some of the benefits of internet-connected without giving away an inordinate amount of personal data.

If you own a smart device, you can take steps to secure it and minimize risks to your privacy. The Federal Trade Commission offers suggestions on how to secure your internet-connected devices. Two key steps are updating the device’s firmware regularly and going through its settings and disabling any data collection that is not related to what you want the device to do. The Online Trust Alliance provides additional tips and a checklist for consumers to ensure safe and private use of consumer internet-connected devices.

If you are on the fence about purchasing an internet-connected device, find out what data it captures and what the manufacturer’s data management policies are from independent sources such as Mozilla’s Privacy Not Included. By using this information, you can opt for a version of the smart device you want from a manufacturer that takes the privacy of its users seriously.

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Last but not least, you can pause and reflect on whether you really need all your devices to be smart. For example, are you willing to give away information about yourself to be able to verbally command your coffee machine to make you a coffee?

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

On March 11, 2022, Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s U.N. ambassador, told the U.N. Security Council that Russia had discovered evidence of U.S.-funded biological weapons research in Ukraine. U.S. officials denied the claims, accused Russia of using the U.N. to spread disinformation, and warned that Russia’s accusations could be a prelude to it using biological weapons.

The statements followed several days of Russian officials making the claim, and Chinese officials echoing it. Several prominent right-wing figures in the U.S. amplified the claims by mischaracterizing Senate testimony from Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland about U.S. support for biological research in Ukraine.

Russia’s claims are part of a strategy of spreading disinformation before and during the invasion of Ukraine. The disinformation aims to bolster support for the war within Russia, undermine Ukrainian morale and sow confusion and discord in the U.S. and Europe. The biological warfare claims show how pernicious disinformation can be: difficult to counter and highly consequential.

Here are four articles from our archive to help you understand how Russia used disinformation to justify the invasion, how disinformation fits into Russia’s use of technology in warfare, what makes disinformation so challenging, and how targets of Russia’s disinformation have learned to respond.

1. False flags, provocations and disinformation

In the run-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, U.S. officials warned that Russia was preparing false flag attacks, that is attacks on its own forces to create the appearance of aggression by Ukraine. University of Washington’s Scott Radnitz explains the long history of false flag attacks and how difficult they are to pull off in the age of satellites, smart phones and the internet.

Radnitz also explains that false flag attacks are just one of many tools in Russia’s propaganda toolkit. Ubiquitous information technologies are fertile ground for disinformation campaigns. “With the prevalence of disinformation campaigns, manufacturing a justification for war doesn’t require the expense or risk of a false flag – let alone an actual attack,” he writes.

“At the start of its incursion into Crimea in 2014, the Kremlin used ‘active measures,’ including disinformation and deception, to prevent Ukrainian resistance and secure domestic approval,” he writes. “Russia and other post-Soviet states are also prone to claim a ‘provocation,’ which frames any military action as a justified response rather than a first move.”

Read more: What are false flag attacks – and did Russia stage any to claim justification for invading Ukraine?

2. Information warfare

Disinformation campaigns are part of a constellation of Russian high-tech warfare methods, including intelligence gathering, information warfare, cyberwarfare and electronic warfare. Rochester Institute of Technology’s Justin Pelletier explains how these overlapping modes of warfare work and how Russia is using them in Ukraine.

Disinformation is part of Russia’s information warfare strategy. “There is an ongoing contest to control the narrative about what is happening in Ukraine,” he writes.

There is a flood of information about Ukraine on social media, and much of it is neither verified nor debunked. “This underscores how difficult it is to be certain of the truth with a high volume of fast-changing information in an emotionally charged, high-stakes situation like warfare,” he writes.

Read more: Intelligence, information warfare, cyber warfare, electronic warfare – what they are and how Russia is using them in Ukraine

3. The murky nature of disinformation

This difficulty in determining the truth is by design, explains University of Washington’s Kate Starbird. Disinformation campaigns are blends of truth, lies and beliefs that can have particular strategic aims but are also designed to undermine democratic societies, she writes.

“The notion of disinformation often brings to mind easy-to-spot propaganda peddled by totalitarian states, but the reality is much more complex,” she writes. “Though disinformation does serve an agenda, it is often camouflaged in facts and advanced by innocent and often well-meaning individuals.”

“Disinformation has its roots in the practice of dezinformatsiya used by the Soviet Union’s intelligence agencies to attempt to change how people understood and interpreted events in the world,” she writes. “It’s useful to think of disinformation not as a single piece of information or even a single narrative, but as a campaign, a set of actions and narratives produced and spread to deceive for political purpose.”

Read more: Disinformation campaigns are murky blends of truth, lies and sincere beliefs – lessons from the pandemic

4. Baltic elves

Disinformation is difficult but not impossible to counter. Decades of Russian disinformation campaigns have given its targets experience in responding. Terry Thompson of Johns Hopkins University describes how the Baltic states have defended themselves in recent years.

Latvia is home to the Strategic Communications Center of Excellence, a NATO organization that counters Russian influence, including by publishing reports on Russian disinformation activities. The people of the Baltics have also taken up the cause. “‘Baltic elves’ – volunteers who monitor the internet for Russian disinformation – became active in 2015 after the Maidan Square events in Ukraine,” Thompson writes.

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“Disinformation is a key part of Russia’s overall effort to undermine Western governments. As a result, the battle is ever-changing, with Russians constantly trying new angles of attack and target countries like the Baltic nations identifying and thwarting those efforts,” he writes. “The most effective responses will involve coordination between governments, commercial technology companies and the news industry and social media platforms to identify and address disinformation.”

Read more: Countering Russian disinformation the Baltic nations' way

Editor’s note: This story is a roundup of articles from The Conversation’s archives.

We know that eating burgers and steaks can have a negative impact on the environment. Our food system accounts for a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions, with livestock responsible for at least two-thirds of agricultural emissions in North America, Asia, Europe and Oceania.

Livestock has been blamed for contributing to deforestation, biodiversity loss, competition for edible grains and poor animal welfare conditions.

Some of the proposed solutions include switching to more plant-based foods in our diets, which is good, but not perfect, as livestock supports the livelihoods of millions of people. Replacing cattle, goats and sheep with chickens and pigs, is also often suggested, but it is a shortsighted approach that trades one catastrophe for another.

But an alternative agricultural system could solve this issue. Not only does it address the environmental impacts of livestock, but it also provides farmers with social and economic benefits that include creating new jobs, developing new skills, reducing costs and improving their incomes.

As a veterinarian and PhD candidate at McGill University who has been investigating sustainability transitions in the Mexican livestock sector, I know that this encouraging alternative lies in silvopastoralism.

Making livestock part of the solution

Silvopastoral systems use agroforestry, an agricultural technique that mimics natural forest ecosystems, and adds livestock to the mix. It involves naturally occurring or cultivated trees, shrubs and grasses that are managed with rotational grazing.

In practice, pastures are divided into smaller paddocks and livestock are moved from one paddock to the next every few days. This way, the grazed paddocks get a rest period that allows vegetation to regrow and distributes manure more evenly to better nourish the soil. Moreover, the animals are not dependent on grasses, and complement their diets with shrubs, tree leaves and fallen fruits.

The simplest and cheapest forms of silvopastoral systems use existing natural forests. Farmers introduce animals to graze in these vast swaths of land where they benefit from shade and abundant forage.

The more management-intensive forms of silvopastoral systems combine high-density cultivation of trees for commercial use, such as fruit or timber, with high-protein shrubs and tropical grasses of higher quality and improved performance. These systems provide higher yields, but also require greater technical knowledge and initial investments to implement.

In between these two, there exists a great diversity of silvopastoral practices that can adapt to a variety of geographies, ecosystems and budgets.

Environmental benefits of this age-old system

Scientists have been studying the silvopastoral systems in use around the world for decades and the accumulated research shows encouraging results.

First, planting new trees (and maintaining existing ones) helps tackle climate change by storing carbon. It also boosts biodiversity by providing habitats for multiple species. Increased biodiversity means there are more birds and insects helping control populations of ticks and other pests, which benefits the livestock.

Second, it contributes to strengthening animal welfare as trees provide much needed shade and a cooler climate under their canopy, helping reduce heat stress. Animals are also able to explore, graze and browse, as their biology motivates them to do.

Not only does rotational grazing allow the land to recover, it also helps boost productivity and animal health by interrupting the life cycles of the parasites that affect livestock.

Higher yields and profits

Studies show that silvopasture practices can improve the productivity of land that is usually managed separately for agriculture or forests by up to 55 per cent.

Silvopastoral systems have also been reported to increase cattle’s weight and milk production when compared to conventional one-crop grazing systems.

The increased availability and higher nutritional value of the forages in these systems — made possible without the need for expensive chemical fertilizers and pesticides — lead to additional savings.

Furthermore, the diversification offered by silvopastoral systems helps improve cash flows and reduce farmers’ vulnerability in unfavourable market conditions and weather-related events. This can be directly from the sale of timber, fruits, forage, animals or animal products, and indirectly thanks to the beneficial effects of trees, such as increasing water infiltration into the soil to reduce flood risks and providing food for the animals during drought seasons.

Grass-based diet

Reducing the use of high-energy feeds, chemical fertilizers and pesticides is key to guaranteeing a sustainable system, and it just makes financial sense. Feeding animals grasses, shrubs and crop residues that are inedible to humans is a cheaper and more efficient use of resources.

Let’s not forget that cattle’s digestive system is adapted to consume grass-based diets and they are able — with the help of micro-organisms in their gut — to convert the hard-to-digest cellulose from grasses into high-quality protein. There’s no need for them to compete for crops that might otherwise be eaten by people, and challenge global food security.

In fact, high rations of grains in cattle’s diets can cause them serious digestive disorders and account for up to 33 per cent of cattle deaths in feedlots. With 0.4 billion hectares of croplands around the world producing feed for livestock in a way that competes with crop production for human food, an alternative approach to livestock feeding should certainly be a priority.

Scaling-up: Challenges and opportunities

If silvopastoral systems offer a triple-win solution to economic, social and environmental challenges of animal agriculture, why are they not more widely spread?

Agroforestry is probably as old as agriculture itself, but capitalist markets and policies in the never-ending pursuit of higher profits have restructured agriculture towards specialization and industrialization, at the expense of so-called invisible social and environmental costs.

Science has shown the many benefits of silvopastoral systems. Now, we need more research into the challenges that are limiting their adoption in different local contexts around the world. We need research into policy and market innovations that can encourage the transition. And we also need societal willingness towards a healthy reduction of meat consumption, particularly in wealthier nations.

Progress is underway. We already have almost a billion hectares of agricultural landscapes with over 10 per cent tree cover and a further 1.6 billion hectares of the globe’s land has the potential to be managed under agroforestry.

There is no time like the present to take an active role in the transformation of our food systems and start demanding and supporting sustainable alternatives.

Vivian's PhD research is funded by a scholarship from the National Council of Science and Technology in Mexico (CONACyT).

Even before the Russian army crossed into Ukraine, food prices had been on the rise for the past year. But the world has seen large jumps in the cost of food over the the last two months.

Globally, food is 20 per cent more expensive now than it was a year ago, with prices rising four per cent since January this year. In Canada, the annual food inflation rate hit 6.5 per cent in January, the highest in more than a decade.

A variety of factors have caused these price increases, including rising transportation costs, supply chain disruptions and rising commodity prices, such as corn and wheat.

The war in Ukraine will continue to push up food prices as the supply from the “Breadbasket of Europe” is cut in the short term and, possibly, the long term depending on how the conflict plays out.

War and wheat prices

Ukraine and Russia represent around 10 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively, of global wheat production, and nearly 30 per cent of all wheat exports come from these two countries. Most of this wheat is imported by countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

For example, Lebanon and Tunisia, two countries with vulnerable economies, import more than half of their wheat from Ukraine. Consequently, production from Ukraine, or lack thereof, influences global food security. While Ukraine has been a consistent supplier in the past, we’ve seen global shortages impact food security before.

The wheat export supply chains from Ukraine have been disrupted by the conflict. Port facilities in Ukraine have suspended commercial operations, preventing the outflow of the wheat crop harvested in 2021.

While the 2022 wheat crop was planted last fall, other crops need to be planted soon. Final production for all crops in Ukraine depends on farmers being in their fields, not fighting a war, to fertilize, harvest and move the crop, if the supply chain is sturdy enough.

Since Russia invaded the Ukraine, concerns about supply disruptions have pushed up wheat prices on the Chicago Board of Trade by over 50 per cent to nearly US$13 per bushel. Prices rose by the maximum possible allowed by the board for the first five trading days of March — an unprecedented increase.

Domestic and international impacts

Higher wheat prices will translate into higher food prices for all. But the impact will depend on the farmer share of their food dollar, and the percentage of an individual’s income spent on food.

A significant increase in the price of wheat won’t mean an equally large increase in the price of bread in Canada and the United States. This is because the average farmer’s share for every dollar spent on a loaf of bread is four cents (four per cent). For flour, which is less processed than bread, the farmer’s share is 19 cents (19 per cent).

Overall, the farmer share of the food dollar in the U.S. is approximately 15 per cent, and it’s slightly higher in Canada. The greater degree of value added to the product beyond the farm gate, the lower the farm share.

In contrast, there is a strong correlation between wheat price and bread price in developing countries, where the farmer share of the food dollar can be close to 50 per cent. Wheat price increases will have a significant impact on the price paid for wheat-based products.

Income matters too

The relative effect of any food price increase will also depend on the share of income spent on food. This share declines with the wealth of the nation or consumer, as summarized by Engel’s Law.

The average Canadian household spends less that 10 per cent of its income on food. An increase in the cost of food can be absorbed, although it will lower the amount of disposable income for other goods and services. Food price increases take away income for things like leisure activities.

In less-developed countries — and for poorer households domestically — the share of income spent on food can be above 40 per cent. For example, Lebanon and Yemen will need to import wheat at a higher cost than what they were paying for wheat from Ukraine, in a tight market. The large price increase will force a corresponding large increase in the price of bread, given the higher farmer share of the food dollar.

The financial consequences for those consumers will be large given the relatively high percentage of income spent on food, and bread in particular. With less room to divert income from other expenditures, food security may be compromised. Low-income Canadians who are also facing rent increases will be similarly squeezed.

Another factor influencing the distributional impact of an increase in wheat price is whether the household or region is a wheat producer or consumer. Developing countries with a large share of poor households in urban areas are especially vulnerable to the financial hit of an increase in wheat price.

A decade ago, when crop prices last rose significantly, food riots broke out in countries with a high concentration of poor consumers in urban areas, including Egypt, Mexico and Pakistan. In contrast, other developing countries with a high proportion of small farms can sell some of their crop into the market. These farmers benefit from a commodity price increase and the benefits also accrue to the broader economy as these small farmers have a bit more money to spend.

The compounding factor of energy prices

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has also shocked energy markets. Russia produces 23 per cent of the world’s natural gas, and about 40 per cent of the European Union’s natural gas comes from Russia. Russia is also a major exporter of oil.

Sanctions have helped pushed up Brent crude oil prices by more than 60 per cent since the beginning of the year, although they are not the only reason the price of oil is high.

Read more: Why gasoline prices have soared to record highs

In developed countries, including Canada, the increase in energy prices is the major driver of food inflation. The food supply chain from the production at the farm level to the transportation, processing, storing and eventually selling at retail, relies heavily on energy. In developing countries, the increase in energy prices does not have the same relative impact but it will further exacerbate the increase in food prices.

The impacts felt most by the most vulnerable

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has set off a series of direct and indirect supply shocks to commodity markets. The impacts of these shocks will vary with the degree of reliance on wheat and energy from these countries.

The most vulnerable are net importing food countries that are dependent on Ukraine. The risk to global food security in these regions can be mitigated to a degree by allowing food trade to continue. One means is to avoid sanctioning Russian food exports, and the other as advocated by G7 agricultural ministers, is for other countries to not use export bans that would restrict movement of food out of their country.

However, the only way to ultimately reduce the impact is stop the conflict in Ukraine and get wheat flowing again.

Alfons Weersink receives funding from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Canada First Research Excellence Fund Program.

Michael von Massow receives funding from a variety of organizations including the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Genome Canada, and Protein Industries Canada.

When you hear the words Sulphur Springs, Tampa, you may think of a few things. Perhaps the landmark Sulphur Springs Water Tower or the public Sulphur Springs Pool. But few people remember what Sulphur Springs used to be — a popular vacation spot. Luckily, the Sulphur Springs Museum and Heritage Center is here to remind us of this vibrant, local history.

Florida’s own Coney Island

From the late 19th century until the 1940s, the independent community of Sulphur Springs was a national tourist attraction. People came to bathe in the beautiful mineral water and ride on the 40-foot water slide. There was even an alligator farm and the Sulphur Springs Hotel and Arcade, Florida’s first indoor shopping venue.

“It was like its own amusement park before Busch Gardens even opened here,” says Amy Dao, director of the Sulphur Springs Museum and Heritage Center.

Josiah Richardson, the original owner of the property, built up an oasis for the middle and working class. The Sulphur Springs Hotel and Arcade featured apartments, shops, post office, barbershop, sheriff, jail and bank. It was recognized in Ripley’s Believe It or Not as an entire city under one roof.

More community stories: Rich History of Black Leadership in Hillsborough County

That all changed in the 60s when the springs shut down. Sulphur Springs experienced bacterial outbreaks in the water because of nearby sinkholes and pollution. Even after the springs were shut down to swimmers, the City of Tampa still pumped water from the springs to its reservoir whenever the city experienced a drought. The continued abuse and pollution have made the springs unsalvageable. And despite public opposition, the city tore down the Arcade in 1975 in order to make extra parking for the local dog track.

Keeping the history alive

Sulphur Springs, Tampa may never return to its glory days. But the Sulphur Springs Museum and Heritage Center is determined to keep the history of the area alive. Founded in 2006 with USF, the museum is dedicated to contributing to the community’s economic growth, increasing respect and preservation of natural features, and providing educational resources and opportunities for all who visit. Museum director Amy Dao wants the museum to be a resource and exciting cultural center.

“We want to show people the rich history. There was a lot going on here back in the day that people don’t know about. So we’re here to be an education resource center for the neighborhood,” Dao says.

Along with a permanent exhibits that highlight the history of Sulphur Springs, Tampa, the museum also has rotating exhibits. Currently, an exhibit celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Riders is on display until March 27. The next exhibit starting April 8, is Have Blues, Will Travel: Driving While Black. It will highlight the dangers Black musicians faced while traveling in the Jim Crow era.

More culture stories: FWC approves harvest of goliath grouper

There’s also Speaker Sundays, a monthly event at the museum where a guest speaker talks about issues related to the current exhibit. This March features guest speaker and journalist Kenya Woodard who will discuss the history of the Black press in Florida. Speaker Sundays happens every third Sunday of the month. Admission is free and refreshments are provided. In April, John Capouya will talk about soul music and the Civil Rights movement.

The Sulphur Springs Museum and Heritage Center is open Wednesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

All photo courtesy of Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System.

The post Sulphur Springs, Tampa: A Hidden History appeared first on ModernGlobe.

This summer, the Eastern Seaboard of the United States can expect a new type of visitor. The Joro spider from Japan. While the Joro spider in Florida isn’t a concern yet, it could be in the future.

Just catching a ride

The Joro spider has actually been found in Georgia and South Carolina since 2013. In fact, it was researchers at the University of Georgia that first determined that the spiders will be on the move this summer. This summer, millions of them will travel to New England via “ballooning.” This is when they use their silk webs to travel by the wind. They also travel through human interaction. The first Joro spider probably came to the United States via shipping container. Now they can hitch a ride to new locations by car or luggage. The Joro spider in Florida could be the next big thing.

Don’t fear the Joro spider in Florida — or anywhere

While they may look intimidating, they are harmless. Well, they are venomous, as most spiders are. But, their fangs are so small they cannot break human skin. Plus, they only bite when they feel cornered. They are really more of a nuisance than a threat. And according to science, we have no one to blame but ourselves.

“There’s really no reason to go around actively squishing them,” says Benjamin Frick, undergraduate researcher in the School of Ecology at the University of Georgia. “Humans are at the root of their invasion. Don’t blame the Joro spider.”

Related story: Brown Pelican entanglements a worrying issue

Joro spiders don’t appear to have much of an effect on local in Georgia. So hopefully they won’t bother ecosystems in the rest of the country. They may even serve as an additional food source for native predators like birds.

How to help track the Joro spider in Florida

Still worried about the Joro spider in Florida? Then you can help track their movements. Researchers at the University of Georgia use records from iNaturalist to track sightings. iNaturalist is a joint venture from the National Geographic Society and California Academy of Sciences that plots user reports of animals to create location data on a variety of species. 

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As people in the U.S. prepare to turn their clocks ahead one hour in mid-March, I find myself bracing for the annual ritual of media stories about the disruptions to daily routines caused by switching from standard time to daylight saving time.

About a third of Americans say they don’t look forward to these twice-yearly time changes. An overwhelming 63% to 16% majority would like to eliminate them completely.

But the effects go beyond simple inconvenience. Researchers are discovering that “springing ahead” each March is connected with serious negative health effects.

I’m a professor of neurology and pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, and the director of our sleep division. In a 2020 commentary for the journal JAMA Neurology, my co-authors and I reviewed the evidence linking the annual transition to daylight saving time to increased strokes, heart attacks and teen sleep deprivation.

Based on an extensive body of research, my colleagues and I believe that the science establishing these links is strong and that the evidence makes a good case for adopting permanent standard time nationwide – as I testified at a recent Congressional hearing.

Missing sleep, worse health

“Falling back” – going from daylight saving time to standard time each November by turning the clocks back one hour – is relatively benign. While some people may feel thrown off balance and need a few weeks to recover, research hasn’t linked it to serious impacts on health.

Springing forward is harder on the body, however. This is because our clock time is moved an hour later; in other words, it feels like 7 a.m. even though our clocks say it is 8 a.m. So it’s a permanent shift to later morning light for almost eight months – not just for the day of the change or a few weeks afterward. This is particularly notable because morning light is valuable for helping to set the body’s natural rhythms: It wakes us up and improves alertness.

Although the exact reasons are not yet known, this may be due to light’s effects on increasing levels of cortisol, a hormone that modulates the stress response or the effect of light on the amygdala, a part of the brain involved in emotions.

In contrast, exposure to light later into the evening delays the brain’s release of melatonin, the hormone that promotes drowsiness. This can interfere with sleep and cause us to sleep less overall, and the effect can last even after most people adjust to losing an hour of sleep at the start of daylight saving time.

Because puberty also causes melatonin to be released later at night, meaning that teenagers have a delay in the natural signal that helps them fall asleep, adolescents are particularly susceptible to sleep problems from the extended evening light of daylight saving time. This shift in melatonin during puberty lasts into our 20s.

Adolescents also may be chronically sleep deprived due to school, sports and social activity schedules. For instance, many children start school around 8 a.m. or earlier. This means that during daylight saving time, many young people get up and travel to school in pitch darkness.

The “western edge” effect

Geography can also make a difference in how daylight saving time affects people. One study showed that people living on the western edge of a time zone, who get light later in the morning and light later in the evening, got less sleep than their counterparts on the eastern edge of a time zone.

This study found that western edge residents had higher rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and breast cancer, as well as lower per capita income and higher health care costs. Other research has found that rates of certain other cancers are higher on the western edge of a time zone.

Scientists believe that these health problems may result from a combination of chronic sleep deprivation and “circadian misalignment”. Circadian misalignment refers to a mismatch in timing between our biological rhythms and the outside world. In other words, the timing of daily work, school or sleep routines is based on the clock, rather than on the sun’s rise and set.

A brief history of daylight saving time

Congress instituted daylight saving time during World War I and again during World War II, and once again during the energy crisis of the early 1970s. The idea was that having extra light later into the afternoon would save energy by decreasing the need for electric lighting. This idea has since been proved largely inaccurate, as heating needs may increase in the morning in the winter, while air conditioning needs can also increase in the late afternoon in the summer.

Another pro-daylight saving argument has been that crime rates drop with more light at the end of the day. While this has been proved true, the change is very small, and the health effects appear to outweigh the lower rates of crime.

After World War II, it was left to state governments to set the start and end dates for daylight saving time. Because this created many railroad scheduling and safety problems, however, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act in 1966. This law set the nationwide dates of daylight saving time from the last Sunday in April until the last Sunday in October.

In 2007, Congress amended the Uniform Time Act to expand daylight saving time from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, dates that remain in effect today.

The law allows states and territories to opt out of daylight saving time, however. Arizona and Hawaii are on permanent standard time, along with Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam and American Samoa. Now, many other states are considering whether to stop falling back and springing ahead.

The question then becomes: Should they pick permanent daylight saving time or permanent standard time?

The strong case for permanent standard time

Americans are split on whether they prefer permanent daylight saving time or permanent standard time. However, my colleagues and I believe that the health-related science for establishing permanent standard time is strong.

Standard time most closely approximates natural light, with the sun directly overhead at or near noon. In contrast, during daylight saving time from March until November, the natural light is shifted unnaturally by one hour later.

Based on abundant evidence that daylight saving time is unnatural and unhealthy, I believe we should abolish daylight saving time and adopt permanent standard time.

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I am listed on the endorsements page of Save Standard Time. I provided an individual endorsement. I do not receive any financial, grant, or other support from this organization.

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