COTW: Deny This At Your Peril!

The shocking spike in the extent of Greenland's ice cap melt is shown above.  Is it enough to obtain significant response from the world's government?  Global warming is become dangerously worse.  The alarm signals are increasing in number and intensity.  A leading example comes from Greenland where an event never before recorded by humans occurred on August 14, 2021: at Summit Station, 10, 551ft above sea level, it rained.  Scientist are so alarmed that they have resorted to street protests calling for action.

Per IPCC, “There is high confidence that climate change has already caused irreversible losses in terrestrial, freshwater and coastal and open ocean marine ecosystems.” Yet the signatories to 2015 Paris Accords take no significant action to reduce or reverse the rise in global temperatures.  Melting of the Arctic and Antarctic ice caps poses significant risks of flooding coast cities.  The ten most vulnerable to sea level rise are Miami, Bangkok, Amsterdam, Ho Chi Minh City, Cardiff, New Orleans, London, and Shenzhen.  Sea surface temperatures for the North Atlantic have risen more than 5 degrees in June, the highest rise 170 years.  What is disturbing is that the temperatures are not going down as they used to do in historical cycles.  These high temperatures are causing the ice caps to melt faster than previously.  From 116 billion tons in the 90's to 410 billion in 2017-2020, the most recent data.  That is a 250% increase in one decade.  Even the pro-capitalist Economist called Greenland a "goner", saying the ice sheet has melted past the point of no return. (April 25, 2020).  A US government study expect significant sea rise in the next thirty years, projecting 10-14 inches on average for the East Coast, 14-18 inches for the Gulf Coast and 4 to 8 inches for the West Coast,

The IPCC modeling of sea rise is too conservative, concludes a paper published in Geoscience (June, 2023).  The Greenland ice sheet is destabilizing due to millions of hairline cracks that cause hydro fracking leading to gaping caverns large enough to hold a cathedral.  Other studies show additional dynamic forces such as warm currents undercutting ice shelves, abnormal rainfall, and foreign surface particles increasing solar absorption at work to destabilize previously solid ice masses.  An international body monitoring ice melting announced in an April press release that melting is increasing by five times.

US Destroys Last Chemical Weapons

Workers in eastern Kentucky destroyed the last of the declared chemical weapons in US arsenal according to to President Joe Biden, who made the declaration on Friday.  That closed a chapter of US military history that began in WW1, more than a century ago.  By the end of the Cold War the chemical weapons stockpile grew to more than 30,000 tons.  Destruction of sarin nerve agent rockets represents the culmination of a process that began with the signing of the International Convention on Chemical Weapons in1997.  The announcement came on the same day the President decided to send cluster bomb munitions to Ukraine, a weapon two-thirds of NATO has banned from use as too dangerous to civilian populations. [photo credit: AP]

The US used mustard gas in WWI. Chemical weapons are thought have been responsible for killing at least 100,000. Subsequent use was banned by the Geneva Convention. Nearly 800,000 munitions containing mustard gas were stored at the Pueblo, CO Army Chemical Depot.  Workers there started to destroy the munitions in 2016 and completed neutralizing the entire stockpile in June.  The location and disposal process was always a concern to civic leaders. In Kentucky, the local community succeeded in stopping the building of an incineration facility to dispose of 520 tons of chemical agent. The Army responded by burning the munitions at remote sites on Johnson Atoll in the Pacific, or in the desert of Utah.  A Kentucky disposal facility using a dilution process was eventually built in 2015 that began operating in 2019. The Colorado and Kentucky sites were the last where chemical weapons were stockpiled and destroyed. Other sites included Arkansas, Alabama and Oregon.

Only three countries have not signed the chemical weapons treaty--Egypt, Sudan and North Korea. Israel has signed, but has not ratified the treaty. There is some concern among US officials that Russia and Syria still possess undeclared chemical weapons. Next on the disarmament agenda: nuclear weapons. The vice-chair of the Arms Control Association declared,“It shows that countries can really ban a weapon of mass destruction. If they want to do it, it just takes the political will, and it takes a good verification system.”

Iceland Suspends Whaling

Iceland, one of the few remaining whaling nations, has suspended its fin whale hunt on ground of animal welfare until August 31st.   Its fishery minister, Svandis Svavarsdottir, took the action after an Animal Welfare Board found that the methods used for killing whales do not conform to the requirements of the Animal Welfare Act.  The news comes as a blow to the last remaining commercial whaling operation, Havlur hf. Owner, Kristan Loftsson, a regular Captain Ahab, has fought hard to keep the industry in Iceland alive.  The unprecedented study found that 40% of the fin whales taken suffered slow and painful deaths.  Surveillance video showed that some whales took two hours to die.  Apparently the Icelandic government has concluded there is no future in an outdated cultural practice which justifies the tremendous suffering inflicted on the marine mammals. [photo credit: BBC]

During the 2022 hunting season 148 whales were killed, 73% of which were female with eleven being pregnant at the time of their death, which is a violation of the Animal Welfare Act.  Havlur hf was forced to allow observers from the Fisheries Directorate on board their vessels. Whalers use cannons to launch harpoons tipped with an explosive device.  They do not always result in a kill shot, and the grenades do not always explode. Havlur hf resumed whaling in 2009, killing 993 whales since then.  The meat is exported primarily to Japan. 2,576 tons of meat were shipped to Japan in 2023. The IFAW maintains that there is no humane way to kill an intelligent, sentient mammal as large as a whale short of destroy its entire carcass.  Fin whales are the second largest whale in the oceans, weighing 38 to 50 tons,  and are fast swimmers.  The ICUN considers the species vulnerable to extinction.  The US has imposed diplomatic sanctions on Iceland since 2014 because of its whaling trade.

TWIT: Enough Already!

credit: D. Granlund
Wackydoodle sez: Bring in some Cokes, Walt!

US Person bringing you up to speed: Walt Nauta, former Navy cook and Trump minion, was finally arraigned today after being granted two continuances.  He claimed he was unable to find local counsel to stand next to him to plead to the six charges against him*.  As expected, he pleaded not guilty to all charges on Thursday.  The FBI affidavit supporting the search warrant is heavily redacted, but the magistrate judge ordered a few tidbits to be unsealed.  The unsealed portions show Nauta and Trump playing hide and seek with his boxes containing highly classified material.  Video tape reveals Nauta, allegedly at Trumpilini's direction, moving boxes out of the storage room just before Trump attorney Evan Corcoran examined the room and its contents. Cocoran then directed a junior attorney sign a certification to the DOJ that all classified material had been turned over. However, only fifteen boxes were returned, the rest were scattered in Trumpilini's personal residence and ballroom at his resort, which contained 100 classified documents. 18 of those are marked "Top Secret".  It is very likely he showed some of this classified material to unauthorized persons, another violation of the Espionage Act. The grand jury investigation of the Mar-a-Lago Papers case continues; more indictments may follow.  Informed observers point to the fact that the affidavit remains heavily redacted, apparently to protect sources and lines of inquiry.

In the January 6th Insurrection investigation, Mike Roman, the former Election Day director for the Trump campaign, and who was responsible for turning over fake elector certifications to Congress, has testified under a proffer agreement with the Special Prosecutor.  He is the latest in a group of Trumpilini's closest co-conspirators in the plot to overthrow the government to testify.  He received a subpoena  months ago, but only recently reached an agreement to interview with investigators. Roman previously invoked the Fifth Amendment when questioned by the House Select Committee.  Meanwhile™ his former boss and sociopath, Don "Legit" Trumpilini continues to pollute the nation with his outlandish exculpations and attacks against his political opponents.  What is even more tragic than his bizarre sideshow is that the cult of personality that is now the Republican Party, is too weak to find a viable alternative to the Ochre Menace. 

credit: Margulies
BC Idonwanna sez: Tell that to Aileen!

*Nauta's attorneys are paid for by one of Legit Don's PACs.  He has raised a reported $35 million for his political and 'get out of jail' campaign.  Some of that money is being used to pay his legal bills.  Money is power, so Jack Smith knows he has his hands full.  He must go big or go home.

Another Conservation Success Story

In a world where the type of military weapon you should be using (Falcon versus Prowler?) gets more headlines than the hottest day on record, US Person wants to focus on conservation stories. There is a positive one coming from Tanzania. The Kipunji (Rungwecebus kipunji)is a lesser known monkey living in the country's southern highlands. The population there has increased by 65% following twenty years of intense conservation effort by the Wildlife Conservation Society in partnership with the Tanzania government. The monkey was facing extinction multiple times over the decades since 2003 when conservationists heard from local hunters that a monkey lived on the slopes of Mt. Rungwe they had never heard of existing. They were skeptical since the locals have a reputation for story-telling.

In May of that years they found out that the hunters were truth telling.  While working on a biodiversity project in the area, conservationists got their first look at the unusual monkey. After many months of trekking through thick montane forest, they found a species new to science.  But the Kipunji were in trouble.  The mountain where they live contains 93% of the total population and it is unprotected.  Human activity--logging, charcoal burning, and agriculture--were rapidly encroaching on their home.  The attention garnered by the discovery allowed support to arrive for the species' conservation.  Over the past 13 years signs of human disturbance has dropped by 81% says a journal article in the International Journal of Primatology.  The paper concludes that intervention successfully achieved preservation of the species.  The authors' survey shows 1,866 individuals in groups living in Livingston Forest (Kitulo National Park), Mt. Rungwe Nature Reserve and Madehani Village Forest (unprotected).  A habituated group also studied showed a 121% increase in size.

Kipunji eat a wide range of foods found in the forest.  They live in mixed groups and are territorial. Farmers in the area grow a variety of crops--bananas, corn, potatoes and carrots. Monkey groups occasionally approach the edge of the forest to raid fields.  Farmers retaliated by laying crude traps. WCS staff tried a number of deterrents; a combination of chili paste and dung smeared on corn stalks worked the best.  Farmers adapted by planting less preferred crops like avocados and potatoes close to the forest. WCS also worked to strengthen forest protections.  Livingston Forest was added to the newly formed Kitulo National Park (2005) and Mt. Rungwe was designated a nature reserve (2009). WCS also provided financial and technical support for personnel to protect these areas, while creating economic opportunities such as woodlots, beekeeping, tree planting, and community ranger programs.  Educational programs for youth living near the forest also played a significant role in reducing human disturbances and creating a sense of pride in the animals they live near. [photos credit: T. Davenport]

Despite all of these efforts the population of Kipunji is still classified as endangered by IUCN. The Kipunji was on the "Primates in Peril" list three times--2006-08, 2008-10, 2018-20--fortunately it is not on the most recent list. The most recent population estimate is 1966 including the Udzungwa Mountains population of 60-150 individuals.  The study shows that population size is increasing.  If they continue to be protected, the population could double in the next 25 years and expand into the forests.

New Plan for Mexican Wolves

US Fish & Wildlife Service unleashed a draft new plan for the recovery of the Mexican wolf (Canis lupus Baillei) in the southwestern US. Since the subspecies was declared endangered in 1976, recovery plans have been mired in controversy.  Between 1978 and 1980 captive breeding began with three lineages introduced onto three ranches   By 1999 the captive wolf population reached 178 individuals.  They were released into the Apache National Forest and allowed to recolonize east-central Arizona and south-central New Mexico.  These wolves bread successfully, increasing their numbers, spreading into central Arizona and southern New Mexico.  Wolves were also released in Mexico.  As of February 2023 there are approximately 241 wild Mexican wolves living in the US.  The captive population is 380 spread across 60 facilities.  

Coronado Forest pack

However, the USFWS set a population cap of 325 wolves as part of its wolf management plan. The Service was ordered by a federal court to review its population cap.  Consequently, a new plan was drafted and released eliminating the population cap, but wolf advocates say the plan does not go far enough to insure the complete recovery and genetic diversity of the US population. Ignoring the effect of government policy on genetic diversity of a species in contrary to the spirit if not the letter of the Endangered Species Act. Ranching interests, of course, are concerned that removing the population cap will encourage larger wolf numbers that will have an adverse effect on livestock.  Wolves prey on large, wild ungulates.  Rocky Mountain elk make up 76-80% of their prey, but they will take livestock if given an opportunity.  Consequently, herders must take responsibility for protecting their herds especially if those animals graze year-round on public land.  Compensation is available for owners who loose livestock to confirmed wolf predation.

Federal officials hope to see their population goal of 320 wolves living in the wild by 2028. A criteria for downgrading their protected status to threatened is a stable, wild population over eight consecutive years averaging 320.  According to officials the new plan includes, for the first, time genetic health considerations which will result in a 90% likelihood of the species surviving in the wild into the next century.

Oregon Looses Another Wolf

A yearling wolf of Oregon's newest pack, Indigo, was killed along Hwy 138.  Wildlife experts think his behavior around humans indicated he was being fed by travelers from their vehicles. OR 143 was a member of one of the few remaining packs living in southwest Oregon.  He was killed by a vehicle strike.  In its update report, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife stated, "The level of illegal wolf take in Oregon remains unacceptably high..."

The annual report for 2022 was released in April, and it shows another stagnant year for Oregon wolves due to poaching.  Of the 27 known deaths, 17 were human caused Wolves have found sanctuary in areas where they are still federally protected west of Hwy 395.  According to Oregon Wild, a conservation group, the states wildlife management agency rubber stamps about half of the number of human kills.  Only one kill was known to have occurred from animal predation (cougar).  Statistics show that when legal protections are reduced, poaching increases.