herraez / iStock / Getty Images Plus
German politicians from the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens on Wednesday proposed raising the value added tax (VAT) on meat to the standard rate of 19%. Currently, meat is taxed at a reduced rate of 7%.
"I am in favor of abolishing the VAT reduction for meat and earmarking it for more animal welfare," said Friedrich Ostendorf, agricultural policy spokesperson for the Greens.
His SPD counterpart Rainer Spieging added that: "a meat tax, such as increasing the VAT to 19%, could be a way forward."
The lawmakers proposed using the additional funds raised by the tax increase to support animal welfare in the country at a time when the meat industry is coming under increased scrutiny for how it treats livestock.
The agriculture spokesperson from Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) was open to the plans. Under one condition:
"Such a tax can be a constructive proposal," said Albert Stegemann. "However, the additional tax revenue should be used to support livestock farmers to help them restructure."
Controversial Measures
Meat consumption has come under increased scrutiny over the past decade, with meatless diets, such as vegetarianism and veganism, gaining traction across the globe.
Scientists have labeled the meat industry one of the highest emitters of CO2, a key contributor to climate change. They have called for bold measures to decrease meat consumption as part of a holistic approach to combating climate change.
Opposition parties, including the Left Party and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), have rejected the proposed measures, according to German media.
3 Reasons a Meat Tax Is a Good Idea https://t.co/azkVrDbXyc @peta @OrganicConsumer @regeneration_in @ewg @foodandwater #MeatTax
— EcoWatch (@EcoWatch) January 29, 2018
Reposted with permission from our media associate DW.
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As Biden Embraces More Ambitious Climate Plan, Fossil Fuel Execs Donate to Trump 'With Greater Zeal' Than in 2016
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U.S. Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a White House Clean Energy Investment Summit on June 16, 2015 in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC. Alex Wong / Getty Images
By Jake Johnson
With presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden's climate platform becoming increasingly ambitious thanks to nonstop grassroots pressure, fossil fuel executives and lobbyists are pouring money into the coffers of President Donald Trump's reelection campaign in the hopes of keeping an outspoken and dedicated ally of dirty energy in the White House.
<p><br/></p>
<p>The Houston Chronicle <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/Oil-donors-flock-to-Trump-as-Biden-hardens-15453270.php" target="_blank">reported</a> Monday that oil and gas executives "are writing checks to President Donald Trump with greater zeal than they did four years ago, as Biden campaigns on a climate plan that seeks to eliminate carbon emissions by mid-century."</p><p><a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?ind=E01&cycle=2020&recipdetail=P&mem=N&sortorder=U" target="_blank">According to</a> the Center for Responsive Politics, Trump's reelection campaign has thus far raised over $936,000 from the oil and gas industry — more than three times the $265,000 the industry has donated to Biden as of July 21. By contrast, the Chronicle noted, Trump only narrowly led Hillary Clinton in <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuel</a> industry donations during the 2016 campaign cycle.</p>
<p>"As the incumbent, Trump might seem a surer bet for companies than he was as a political outsider four years ago," the Chronicle reported. "At the same time, Biden's recent climate stance is very different from Clinton's, who as secretary of state had promoted the U.S. fracking industry overseas — Biden has sworn off donations from the oil and gas sector, though through loopholes executives are still giving."</p><p>Trump, for his part, is openly courting the oil and gas industry by warning that a Biden presidency would spell disaster for the fossil fuel sector, which has been <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/07/09/game-report-says-asset-sales-and-debt-driven-dividends-show-fossil-fuel-industry" target="_blank">hammered</a> by the coronavirus pandemic.</p><p>"If these far-left politicians ever get into power, they will demolish not only your industry but the entire U.S. economy," Trump <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-restoring-energy-dominance-permian-basin-midland-tx/" target="_blank">said</a> at the site of an active oil rig in Midland, Texas last week. The president went on to falsely claim that Biden supports a total ban on fracking. (Biden <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2020/07/31/us/ap-us-trump-biden-fact-check.html" target="_blank">only supports</a> banning fracking on public lands.)</p><p>"No fracking, no drilling, no oil," Trump said of the former vice president's position.</p><p>While Biden's refusal to commit to the Green New Deal and a complete fracking ban has drawn the ire of environmentalists and advocacy groups, the former vice president's release last month of a <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/07/14/more-work-do-major-step-forward-progressives-welcome-bidens-2-trillion-green-energy" target="_blank">$2 trillion green energy plan</a> was celebrated as an encouraging step in the right direction.</p>
<p>Biden's plan, as Common Dreams <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/07/14/more-work-do-major-step-forward-progressives-welcome-bidens-2-trillion-green-energy" target="_blank">reported</a>, calls for 100% clean electricity by 2035 and sweeping infrastructure upgrades that would create millions of new jobs.</p><p>"We've seen a pretty huge transformation in Biden's climate plan," Varshini Prakash, co-founder and executive director of the Sunrise Movement, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/how-joe-bidens-surprisingly-ambitious-climate-plan-came-together/2020/07/31/b73e78d0-cd11-11ea-91f1-28aca4d833a0_story.html" target="_blank">told</a> The Washington Post on Sunday. "What I've seen in the last six to eight weeks is a pretty big transition in upping his ambition and centering environmental justice."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/08/03/biden-embraces-more-ambitious-climate-plan-fossil-fuel-execs-donating-trump-greater" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
- Biden Vows to Ax Keystone XL if Elected - EcoWatch ›
- Oxford Endowment Ditches Fossil Fuels in 'Historic' Decision ... ›
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The Food and Drug Administration is now warning against more than 100 potentially dangerous hand sanitizers.
Antonio_Diaz / Getty Images
Antonio_Diaz / Getty Images
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is now warning against more than 100 potentially dangerous hand sanitizers.
<p><br>Since June, the agency has been <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/fda-hand-sanitizers-list-2646412872.html" target="_self">expanding</a> its list of hand sanitizers that may be contaminated with deadly methanol alcohol. But on Friday, the FDA announced a new problem. While some hand sanitizers contain the wrong kind of alcohol, others don't have enough of the right kind.</p><p>"FDA test results show certain hand sanitizers have concerningly low levels of ethyl alcohol or isopropyl alcohol, which are active ingredients in hand sanitizer products," the FDA <a href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-updates-hand-sanitizers-consumers-should-not-use" target="_blank">wrote</a>. "The agency urges consumers not to use these subpotent products."</p>
<p>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/show-me-the-science-hand-sanitizer.html" target="_blank">recommends</a> washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds as the best hand hygiene method to prevent the spread of disease. Soap and water is more effective than hand sanitizer at killing certain germs, and some people do not use hand sanitizer correctly, either wiping it off too early or not using enough.</p><p>However, if soap and water are not available, the CDC recommends using a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent ethanol alcohol.</p><p>"Many studies have found that sanitizers with an alcohol concentration between 60–95% are more effective at killing germs than those with a lower alcohol concentration or non-alcohol-based hand sanitizers," the CDC explained. "Hand sanitizers without 60-95% alcohol 1) may not work equally well for many types of germs; and 2) merely reduce the growth of germs rather than kill them outright."</p><p>The rise in hand sanitizer demand has been driven by attempts to stop the spread of the new <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a>, so it is important that products actually work.</p>
<p>The FDA flagged the following hand sanitizers for being less effective:</p><ol><li>dgreen Advanced Sanitizer Alcohol Free</li><li>dgreen Advanced Hand Sanitizer Antibacterial Gel</li><li>Biokaab Inc. Hand Sanitizer</li><li>Biokaab Inc. Hand Sanitizer Gel</li><li>Clean Humans Hand Sanitizer</li><li>Medicare Alcohol Antiseptic Topical Solution</li><li>NeoNatural</li><li>Datsen Hand Sanitizer</li><li>Alcohol Antiseptic 62% Hand Sanitizer</li><li>Bernal Hand Sanitizer</li><li>Inflatables LLC Alcohol Antiseptic 65% Hand Sanitizer and Alcohol Antiseptic 70% Hand Sanitizer</li></ol>
<p>In addition to the subpotent hand sanitizers, the FDA continues to warn against hand sanitizers that contain methanol, or wood alcohol, which is toxic when absorbed through the skin and can be deadly when swallowed. There have been reports of people going blind, damaging their hearts or nervous systems, being hospitalized and even dying because of exposure to these toxic hand sanitizers, the agency <a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-reiterates-warning-about-dangerous-alcohol-based-hand-sanitizers" target="_blank">said in a news release</a>. One of the deaths was associated with Blumen Hand Sanitizer, which is distributed by 4e North America and manufactured by 4E Global in Mexico. The company has recalled an expanded list of products.</p><p>"Practicing good hand hygiene, which includes using alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water are not readily available, is an important public health tool for all Americans to employ. Consumers must also be vigilant about which hand sanitizers they use, and for their health and safety we urge consumers to immediately stop using all hand sanitizers on the FDA's <a href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-updates-hand-sanitizers-consumers-should-not-use" target="_blank">list</a> of dangerous hand sanitizer products," FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen M. Hahn said in the press release. "We remain extremely concerned about the potential serious risks of alcohol-based hand sanitizers containing methanol. Producing, importing and distributing toxic hand sanitizers poses a serious threat to the public and will not be tolerated. The FDA will take additional action as necessary and will continue to provide the latest information on this issue for the health and safety of consumers."</p><p>There are now 115 hand sanitizers on the agency's "do-not-use list," mostly manufactured in Mexico, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/03/health/fda-hand-sanitizers-list-expands-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN reported</a>. As such, the FDA has issued import alerts to stop the products from entering the U.S.</p><p>It also sent a warning letter to one of the companies involved, Eskbiochem S.A. de C.V., for poor manufacturing practices, distributing hand sanitizers made at a facility that has undeclared methanol and falsely claiming its products are FDA approved.</p>
From Your Site Articles
- What to Do if There's a Disinfectant Shortage in Your Area - EcoWatch ›
- FDA Expands List of Potentially Deadly Hand Sanitizers - EcoWatch ›
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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks at a news conference on July 1, 2020 in New York City. Byron Smith / Getty Images
While the nation overall struggles with rising COVID cases, New York State is seeing the opposite. After peaking in March and April and implementing strict shutdowns of businesses, the state has seen its number of positive cases steadily decline as it slowly reopens. From coast-to-coast, Governor Andrew Cuomo's response to the crisis has been hailed as an exemplar of how to handle a public health crisis.
<p>Seeing the numbers go the wrong way in other parts of the country has prompted Cuomo to rail against the federal response to the crisis, and, in particular, the dearth of leadership from the White House. On Monday, Cuomo called President <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/" target="_self">Trump</a>'s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic "the worst government blunder in modern history," as <a href="https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Cuomo-Trump-COVID-19-response-worst-government-15454992.php" target="_blank">The Times-Union</a> in Albany reported.</p><p>During a press briefing in New York City, Cuomo passionately listed off a list of false statements and poor decisions that Trump and various White House officials made over the course of the crisis that underplayed the severity of the disease and resulted in many downplaying the risks and underpreparing for an outbreak.</p><p>"It was a mistake to say, 'It's just the flu,'" he said, as <a href="https://gothamist.com/news/coronavirus-updates-us-hits-monthly-high-new-cases-dr-birx-says-some-americans-should-wear-masks-home" target="_blank">Gothamist</a> reported.</p>
<p>In a video that Cuomo posted to <a href="https://twitter.com/NYGovCuomo/status/1290363480277688320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1290363480277688320%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fgothamist.com%2Fnews%2Fcoronavirus-updates-us-hits-monthly-high-new-cases-dr-birx-says-some-americans-should-wear-masks-home" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, he asked the president to tell the truth and reiterated his list of grievances, writing, "The president has to tell the American people the truth. It was a mistake to downplay COVID. It was a mistake to say it would be gone by Easter. It was a mistake to say it will magically disappear. And it was a mistake to not set up a national testing program."</p><p>In his press conference, Cuomo said the nation should have learned the lessons New York did earlier and prepared better in the spring. He compared the deaths due to the virus to the loss of life in the Vietnam War.</p><p>"This was a colossal blunder, how COVID was handled by this federal government," Cuomo said, as <a href="https://www.syracuse.com/coronavirus/2020/08/coronavirus-in-ny-hospitalizations-down-federal-response-a-colossal-blunder-cuomo-says.html" target="_blank">Syracuse.com</a> reported. "Shame on all of you."</p>
<p>He noted that states that opened too soon like Texas and Florida followed the federal government's lead in downplaying the pandemic.</p><p>"The reason they didn't (believe the gravity of the crisis) is because they were listening to the president," Cuomo said, as the Times-Union reported. "COVID kills Republicans and COVID affects red states. It is deadly serious."</p><p>According to Gothamist, he added: "This was not a political issue and it shouldn't have been politicized. This is public health, that's what this was, and it should have never been turned into a political symbol which is what this president did."</p><p>Cuomo also noted that medical experts were saying that the country needs to again "reset" by shutting down. And yet, he questioned if that would be effective if Trump did not change what he was saying about the seriousness of the infectious disease tearing through the country.</p><p>"If we don't tell the truth on the reset, COVID will never end," Cuomo said, according to the Times-Union. "And it will just bounce across the country."</p><p>The percentage of people testing positive in New York is around 1 percent. Hospitalizations reached a new low on Sunday after a peak of 18,000 in April. As Syracuse.com reported, 136 people were in intensive care units on Sunday and 62 people were intubated due to the virus, the lowest numbers since March.</p>
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A whale shark swims in the Egyptian Red Sea. Derek Keats / Wikimedia Commons / CC by 2.0
By Gavin Naylor
Sharks elicit outsized fear, even though the risk of a shark bite is infinitesimally small. As a marine biologist and director of the Florida Program for Shark Research, I oversee the International Shark Attack File – a global record of reported shark bites that has been maintained continuously since 1958.
<p>We are careful to emphasize how rare shark bites are: You are 30 times more likely to be struck by lightning than be bitten by a shark. You are more likely to die while <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-people-risk-their-lives-for-the-perfect-selfie-55937" target="_blank">taking a selfie</a>, or be <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/shark-attacks/odds/compare-risk/nyc-biting-injuries/" target="_blank">bitten by a New Yorker</a>. In anticipation of the anxiety that's typically generated by the Discovery Channel's <a href="https://www.discovery.com/shark-week/2019/s/shark-week-announcement-2019" target="_blank">Shark Week programming</a>, here are a few things about sharks that are often overlooked.</p>
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz_foeEj4D0/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz_foeEj4D0/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; 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font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"> View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div></a> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz_foeEj4D0/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Dr. Greg Skomal, of @massmarinefisheries, working with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, tagged 4 sharks today off Wellfleet and Truro, bringing the total tagged this season to 12.</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/a_whiteshark/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Atlantic White Shark Cons.</a> (@a_whiteshark) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2019-07-16T21:05:54+00:00">Jul 16, 2019 at 2:05pm PDT</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
A Big, Diverse Family
<p>Not all sharks are the same. Only a dozen or so of the roughly 520 shark species pose any risk to people. Even the three species that account for almost all shark bite fatalities – the <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/carcharodon-carcharias/" target="_blank">white shark</a> (<em>Carcharodon carcharias</em>), <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/galeocerdo-cuvier/" target="_blank">tiger shark</a> (<em>Galeocerdo cuvier</em>) and <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/carcharhinus-leucas/" target="_blank">bull shark</a> (<em>Carcharhinus leucas</em>) – are behaviorally and evolutionarily very different from one another.</p><p>The tiger shark and bull shark are genetically as different from each other as a dog is from a rabbit. And both of these species are about as different from a white shark as a dog is from a kangaroo. The evolutionary lineages leading to the two groups split 170 million years ago, during the age of dinosaurs and before the origin of birds, and <a href="https://www.ck12.org/book/CK-12-Human-Biology/section/7.2/" target="_blank">110 million years before the origin of primates</a>.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUzMzc3OC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NTA0NjYyMX0.CGw2QD-PB_OK1hjp_qZxj-XUZxGCxY99hXS1IOdhoK4/img.png?width=980" id="2694f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="48367745897fee27f4750d3fc43cc6d8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
White, tiger and bull sharks are distinct species that diverged genetically tens of millions of years ago. Gavin Naylor / CC BY-ND
<p>Yet many people assume all sharks are alike and equally likely to bite humans. Consider the term "shark attack," which is scientifically equivalent to "mammal attack." Nobody would equate dog bites with hamster bites, but this is exactly what we do when it comes to sharks.</p><p>So, when a reporter calls me about a fatality caused by a white shark off Cape Cod and asks my advice for beachgoers in North Carolina, it's essentially like asking, "A man was killed by a dog on Cape Cod. What precautions should people take when dealing with kangaroos in North Carolina?"</p>Know Your Species
<p>Understanding local species' behavior and life habits is one of the best ways to stay safe. For example, almost all shark bites that occur off Cape Cod are by white sharks, which are a large, primarily cold-water species that spend most of their time in isolation feeding on fishes. But they also aggregate near seal colonies that provide a reliable food source at certain times of the year.</p><p>Shark bites in the Carolinas are by warm-water species like bull sharks, tiger sharks and <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/carcharhinus-limbatus/" target="_blank">blacktips</a> (<em>Carcharhinus limbatus</em>). Each species is associated with particular habitats and dietary preferences.</p><p>Blacktips, which we suspect are responsible for most relatively minor bites on humans in the southeastern United States, feed on schooling bait fishes like menhaden. In contrast, bull sharks are equally at home in fresh water and salt water, and are often found near estuaries. Their bites are more severe than those of blacktips, as they are larger, more powerful, bolder and more tenacious. Several fatalities have been ascribed to bull sharks.</p><p>Tiger sharks are also large, and are responsible for a significant fraction of fatalities, particularly off the coast of volcanic islands like Hawaii and Reunion. They are tropical animals that often venture into shallow water frequented by swimmers and surfers.</p><span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1cfa1c9590e386ecc9455b4762b87518"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yDqzGOa-adc?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
Humans Are Not Targets
<p>Sharks do not "hunt" humans. Data from the International Shark Attack File compiled over the past 60 years show a tight association between shark bites and the number of people in the water. In other words, shark bites are a simple function of the probability of encountering a shark.</p><p>This underscores the fact that shark bites are almost always cases of mistaken identity. If sharks actively hunted people, there would be many more bites, since humans make very easy targets when they swim in sharks' natural habitats.</p><p>Local conditions can also affect the risk of an attack. Encounters are more likely when sharks venture closer to shore, into areas where people are swimming. They may do this because they are following bait fishes or seals upon which they prey.</p><p>This means we can use environmental variables such as temperature, tide or weather conditions to better predict movement of bait fish toward the shoreline, which in turn will predict the presence of sharks. Over the next few years, the Florida Program for Shark Research will work with colleagues at other universities to monitor onshore and offshore movements of tagged sharks and their association with environmental variables so that we can improve our understanding of what conditions bring sharks close to shore.</p>More to Know
<p>There still is much to learn about sharks, especially the 500 or so species that have never been implicated in a bite on humans. One example is the tiny <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/one-worlds-rarest-sharks-also-one-most-adorable-325280" target="_blank">deep sea pocket shark</a>, which has a strange pouch behind its pectoral fins.</p><p>Only two specimens of this type of shark have ever been caught – one off the coast of Chile 30 years ago, and another more recently in the Gulf of Mexico. We're not sure about the function of the pouch, but suspect it stores luminous fluid that is released to distract would-be predators – much as its close relative, the <a href="https://sharkdevocean.wordpress.com/2015/04/23/second-ever-pocket-shark-discovered-in-gulf-of-mexico/" target="_blank">tail light shark</a>, releases luminous fluid from a gland on its underside near its vent.</p><span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5783b39d0838d6e410344a852ed0dcc3"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UTO5debfmsg?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>Sharks range in form from the bizarre <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/mitsukurina-owstoni/" target="_blank">goblin shark</a> (<em>Mitsukurina owstoni</em>), most commonly encountered in Japan, to the gentle filter-feeding <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/rhincodon-typus/" target="_blank">whale shark</a> (<em>Rhincodon typus</em>). Although whale sharks are the largest fishes in the world, we have yet to locate their nursery grounds, which are likely teeming with thousands of <a href="https://www.earthtouchnews.com/oceans/sharks/baby-whale-shark-rescued-from-gillnet-in-india-video/" target="_blank">foot-long pups</a>. Some deepwater sharks are primarily known from submersibles, such as the giant <a href="https://twitter.com/gavinnaylor/status/1146144452681113601" target="_blank">sixgill shark</a>, which feeds mainly on carrion but probably also preys on other animals in the deep sea.</p><p>Sharks seem familiar to almost all of us, but we know precious little about them. Our current understanding of their biology barely scratches the surface. The little we do know suggests they are profoundly different from other vertebrate animals. They've had 400 million years of independent evolution to adapt to their environments, and it's reasonable to expect they may be hiding more than a few tricks up their gills.</p>
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A girl sits under a temporary shade made by joining two bed in Churu, Rajasthan on June 4, 2019. Temperatures in the Indian desert city hit 50 degrees C (122 F) for the second time in three days, sending residents scrambling for shade. MONEY SHARMA / AFP via Getty Images
Current efforts to curb an infectious disease show the potential we have for collective action. That action and more will be needed if we want to stem the coming wave of heat-related deaths that will surpass the number of people who die from all infectious diseases, according to a new study, as The Guardian reported.
<p>By the end of this century, extreme heat spells could kill roughly as many people as all infectious diseases combined, including HIV, malaria and yellow fever, according to <a href="http://impactlab.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/CIL_NBER_MortalityPaper_3Aug2020.pdf" target="_blank">a new study</a> from the Climate Impact Lab, a group of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis" target="_self">climate</a> economists and researchers at several U.S. universities. Specifically, the study projects that climate change's effect on temperatures could raise global mortality rates by 73 deaths per 100,000 people in 2100 if greenhouse gas emissions stay where they are, according to <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/08/03/1005965/climate-change-fueled-heatwaves-could-kill-millions/" target="_blank">MIT Technology Review</a>. Under a scenario of continued high emissions, the researchers estimate that climate change's impact on mortality will cost the world roughly 3.2 percent of global economic output in 2100, according to the <a href="http://www.impactlab.org/news-insights/global-death-rate-from-rising-temperatures/" target="_blank">Climate Impact Lab</a>.</p><p>"The global cost to human health from warming is likely to be profound," said Solomon Hsiang, a climate policy researcher at UC Berkeley and an author of the study, in a UC Berkeley <a href="https://news.berkeley.edu/story_jump/without-action-climate-deaths-could-soar-by-centurys-end-says-new-study/" target="_blank">press release</a>. "We are studying the risk of death faced by our own children. Today's 10-year-old fifth-grader will turn 65 in 2075, facing mortality risks from climate change every year of their retirement. Failing to address climate change is not that different from driving your kids around without a seat belt: you are putting their lives at risk."</p>
<p>To conduct the study, the authors analyzed the historic links between temperature records and mortality data in dozens of nations, and projecting future deaths using highly regional climate projections. They sifted through the information in an enormous global dataset of 399 million death records across 41 countries, accounting for 55 percent of the global population. They also looked at temperature records to see how the two are related. That methodology allowed them to pinpoint both direct causes such as heat stroke and less obvious links such as a spike heart attacks during a heat wave, as The Guardian reported.</p><p>The researchers accounted for the mitigations that wealthy countries make, like air conditioning and cooling centers, leading them to the conclusion that poorer countries will bear the brunt of the suffering from extreme heat.</p>
<p>"A lot of older people die due to indirect heat [effects]," said Amir Jina, an environmental economist at the University of Chicago and a co-author of the study, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, as The Guardian reported. "It's eerily similar to Covid – vulnerable people are those who have pre-existing or underlying conditions. If you have a heart problem and are hammered for days by the heat, you are going to be pushed towards collapse."</p><p>In the worst-hit countries, including Ghana, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sudan, climate change could be responsible for an additional 200 or more deaths per 100,000 by the end of the century, the research shows, according to the Climate Impact Lab. By contrast, places like Canada and Norway will see fewer weather-related deaths and fewer people will die from freezing temperatures as they become less frequent.</p><p>"You see the really bad impacts at the tropics," added Jina. "There's not one single worldwide condition, there's a lot of different changes with poorer people much more affected with limited ability to adapt. The richer countries, even if they have increases in mortality, can pay more to adapt to it. It's really the people who have done the least to cause climate change who are suffering from it."</p>
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Should Plants and Animals That Relocate Because of Climate Change Be Considered Invasive?
6h
Animals
America Pikas are found from the Sierra Nevada to the Rocky Mountains, and have been migrating to higher elevations. Jon LeVasseur / Flickr / Public Domain
By Jenny Morber
Caribbean corals sprout off Texas. Pacific salmon tour the Canadian Arctic. Peruvian lowland birds nest at higher elevations.
<p>In the past 100 years, the planet has warmed in the range of <a title="" href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/GlobalWarming/page3.php" target="_blank">10 times faster</a> than it did on average over the past 5,000. In response, thousands of species are traveling poleward, climbing to higher elevations, and diving deeper into the seas, seeking their preferred environmental conditions. This great migration is challenging traditional ideas about native species, the role of conservation biology and what kind of environment is desirable for the future.</p><p>In a <a title="" href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/355/6332/eaai9214?rss=1" target="_blank">2017 review for <em>Science</em></a>, University of Tasmania marine ecology professor Gretta Pecl and colleagues wrote, "[C]limate change is impelling a universal redistribution of life on Earth. For marine, freshwater, and terrestrial species alike, the first response to changing climate is often a shift in location." In fact, Pecl says, data suggest that at least 25% and perhaps as much as 85% of Earth's estimated 8.7 million species are already shifting ranges in response to climate change.</p><p>But when they arrive, will they be welcome? Traditional definitions classify species according to place. "Native" species arrived without human help and usually before widespread human colonization, so are likely to have natural predators and are unlikely to go rogue. Non-natives are newcomers and suspect. Though 90% cause no lasting damage, 10% become invasive — meaning that they harm the environment, the economy or human health. Last year <a title="" href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/" target="_blank">a multinational report</a> flagged invasive species as a key driver of Earth's biodiversity crisis.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUzMzA5My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMzM0MTI3NH0.oMhAPPXcPHecfraPvGcNqifWPj2zCRImoy-dGHjAIwA/img.jpg?width=980" id="89fd0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5acc10628b03ca297c3b53aefdcaacb2" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Known and anticipated changes in species distribution due to climate change around the world have implications for culture, society ecosystems, governance and climate change. Figure used with permission from Gretta T. Pecl, originally published on 31 Mar 2017 in Science 355(6332).
<p>How we define species is critical, because these definitions influence perceptions, policy and management. The U.S. National Invasive Species Council (NISC) defines a biological invasion as "the process by which non-native species breach biogeographical barriers and extend their range" and states that "preventing the introduction of potentially harmful organisms is … the first line of defense." But some say excluding newcomers is myopic.</p><p>"If you were trying to maintain the status quo, so every time a new species comes in, you chuck it out," says Camille Parmesan, director of the French National Centre for Scientific Research, you could gradually "lose so many that that ecosystem will lose its coherence." If climate change is driving native species extinct, she says, "you need to allow new ones coming in to take over those same functions."</p><p>As University of Florida conservation ecologist Brett Scheffers and Pecl warned in a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-019-0526-5" target="_blank">2019 paper in <em>Nature Climate Change</em></a>, "past management of redistributed species … has yielded mixed actions and results." They concluded that "we cannot leave the fate of biodiversity critical to human survival to be randomly persecuted, protected or ignored."</p>Existing Tools
<p>One approach to managing these climate-driven habitat shifts, suggested by University of California, Irvine marine ecologist Piper Wallingford and colleagues in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-020-0768-2" target="_blank">a recent issue of Nature Climate Change</a>, is for scientists to adapt existing tools like the <a href="https://www.iucn.org/theme/species/our-work/invasive-species/eicat" target="_blank">Environmental Impact Classification of Alien Taxa (EICAT)</a> to assess potential risks associated with moving species. Because range-shifting species pose impacts to communities similar to those of species introduced by humans, the authors argue, new management strategies are unnecessary, and each new arrival can be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.</p><p>Karen Lips, a professor of biology at University of Maryland who was not associated with the study, echoes the idea that each case is so varied and nuanced that trying to fit climate shifting species into a single category with broad management goals may be impractical. "Things may be fine today, but add a new mosquito vector or add a new tick or a new disease, and all of a sudden things spiral out of control," she says. "The nuance means that the answer to any particular problem might be pretty different."</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUzMzEwOC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5Nzc3Mzg5OH0.mfmERsqdqXWZxoqSAKjoS_djEwYmc5sqJGvc3vaxQhM/img.jpg?width=980" id="5d0ac" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0b6c13afe6f55afc739919773358c08f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
In recent years, northern flying squirrels in Canada have found themselves in the company of new neighbors — southern flying squirrels expanding their range as the climate warms. Public Domain / USFW
<p>Laura Meyerson, a professor in the Department of Natural Resources Science at the University of Rhode Island says scientists should use existing tools to identify and address invasive species to deal with climate-shifting species. "I would like to operate under the precautionary principle and then reevaluate as things shift. You're sort of shifting one piece in this machinery; as you insert a new species into a system, everything is going to respond," she says. "Will some of the species that are expanding their ranges because of climate change become problematic? Perhaps they might."</p><p>The reality is that some climate-shifting species may be harmful to some conservation or economic goals while being helpful to others. While sport fisherman are excited about red snapper moving down the East Coast of Australia, for example, if they eat juvenile lobsters in Tasmania they could harm this environmentally and economically important crustacean. "At the end of the day … you're going to have to look at whether that range expansion has some sort of impact and presumably be more concerned about the negative impacts," says NISC executive director Stas Burgiel. "Many of the [risk assessment] tools we have are set up to look at negative impact." As a result, positive effects may be deemphasized or overlooked. "So that notion of cost versus benefit … I don't think it has played out in this particular context."</p>Location, Location, Location
<p>In a <a href="https://www-nature-com.ezp3.lib.umn.edu/articles/s41558-020-0770-8" target="_blank">companion paper</a> to Wallingford's, University of Connecticut ecology and evolutionary biology associate professor Mark Urban stressed key differences between invasive species, which are both non-native and harmful, and what he calls "climate tracking species." Whereas invasive species originate from places very unlike the communities they overtake, he says, climate tracking species expand from largely similar environments, seeking to follow preferred conditions as these environments move. For example, an American pika may relocate to a higher mountain elevation, or a marbled salamander might expand its New England range northward to seek cooler temperatures, but these new locations are not drastically different than the places they had called home before.</p><p>Climate tracking species may move faster than their competitors at first, Urban says, but competing species will likely catch up. "Applying perspectives from invasion biology to climate-tracking species … arbitrarily chooses local winners over colonizing losers," he writes.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUzMzExOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNDcyNzA3Mn0.n_ebiiONrITEyBQmEWJFAbXDUd4ZWzPOBE8CKnyHm1Q/img.jpg?width=980" id="ec01c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="84cbbac4ee5597e41544f6cedfcce139" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
The marbled salamander, a native of the eastern U.S., is among species whose range could expand northward to accommodate rising temperatures. Seánín Óg / Flickr / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
<p>Urban stresses that if people prevent range shifts, some climate-tracking species may have nowhere to go. He suggests that humans should even <a href="https://ensia.com/features/time-for-trees-to-pack-their-trunks/" target="_blank">facilitate movement</a> as the planet warms. "The goal in this crazy warming world is to keep everything alive. But it may not be in the same place," Urban says.</p><p>Parmesan echoes Urban, emphasizing it's the distance that makes the difference. "[Invasives] come from a different continent or a different ocean. You're having these enormous trans-global movements and that's what ends up causing the species that's exotic to be invasive," she says. "Things moving around with climate change is a few hundred miles. Invasive species are moving a few thousand miles."</p><p>In 2019 University of Vienna conservation biology associate professor Franz Essl published a similar argument for species classification beyond the native/non-native dichotomy. Essl uses "neonatives" to refer to species that have expanded outside their native areas and established populations because of climate change but not direct human agency. He argues that these species should be considered as native in their new range.</p>They Never Come Alone
<p>Meyerson calls for caution. "I don't think we should be introducing species" into ecosystems, she says. "I mean, they never come alone. They bring all their friends, their microflora, and maybe parasites and things clinging to their roots or their leaves. … It's like bringing some mattress off the street into your house."</p><p>Burgiel warns that labeling can have unintended consequences. We in the invasive species field … focus on non-native species that cause harm," he says. "Some people think that anything that's not native is invasive, which isn't necessarily the case." Because resources are limited and land management and conservation are publicly funded, Burgiel says, it is critical that the public understands how the decisions are being made.</p><p>Piero Genovesi, chair of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Invasive Species Specialist Group, sees the debate about classification — and therefore about management — as a potential distraction from more pressing conservation issues.</p><p>"The real bulk of conservation is that we want to focus on the narrow proportion of alien species that are really harmful," he says. In Hawaii "we don't discuss species that are there [but aren't] causing any problem because we don't even have the energy for dealing with them all. And I can tell you, no one wants to remove [non-native] cypresses from Tuscany. So, I think that some of the discussions are probably not so real in the work that we do in conservation."</p><p>Indigenous frameworks offer another way to look at species searching for a new home in the face of climate change. According to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11625-018-0571-4" target="_blank">a study</a> published in Sustainability Science in 2018 by Dartmouth Native American studies and environmental studies associate professor Nicholas Reo, a citizen of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, and Dartmouth anthropology associate professor Laura Ogden, some Anishnaabe people view plants as persons and the arrival of new plants as a natural form of migration, which is not inherently good or bad. They may seek to discover the purpose of new species, at times with animals as their teachers. In their paper Reo and Ogden quote Anishnaabe tribal chairman Aaron Payment as saying, "We are an extension of our natural environment; we're not separate from it."</p>The Need for Collaboration
<p>The successful conservation of Earth's species in a way that keeps biodiversity functional and healthy will likely depend on collaboration. Without global agreements, one can envision scenarios in which countries try to impede high-value species from moving beyond their borders, or newly arriving species are quickly overharvested.</p><p>In Nature Climate Change, Sheffers and Pecl call for a Climate Change Redistribution Treaty that would recognize species redistribution beyond political boundaries and establish governance to deal with it. Treaties already in place, such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which regulates trade in wild plants and animals; the Migratory Bird Treaty Act; and the Agreed Measures for the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora, can help guide these new agreements.</p><p>"We are living through the greatest redistribution of life on Earth for … potentially hundreds of thousands of years, so we definitely need to think about how we want to manage that," Pecl says.</p><p>Genovesi agrees that conservationists need a vision for the future. "What we do is more to be reactive [to known threats]. … It's so simple to say that destroying the Amazon is probably not a good idea that you don't need to think of a step ahead of that." But, he adds, "I don't think we have a real answer in terms of okay, this is a threshold of species, or this is the temporal line where we should aim to." Defining a vision for what success would look like, Genovesi says, "is a question that hasn't been addressed enough by science and by decision makers."</p><p>At the heart of these questions are values. "All of these perceptions around what's good and what's bad, all [are based on] some kind of value system," Pecl says. "As a whole society, we haven't talked about what we value and who gets to say what's of value and what isn't."</p><p>This is especially important when it comes to marginalized voices, and Pecl says she is concerned because she doesn't "think we have enough consideration or representation of Indigenous worldviews." Reo and colleagues <a href="https://cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/sites.dartmouth.edu/dist/9/52/files/2012/10/Reo_etal_AIQ_invasive_species_2017.pdf" target="_blank">wrote in American Indian Quarterly in 2017</a> that climate change literature and media coverage tend to portray native people as vulnerable and without agency. Yet, says Pecl, "The regions of the world where [biodiversity and ecosystems] are either not declining or are declining at a much slower rate are Indigenous controlled" — suggesting that Indigenous people have potentially managed species more effectively in the past, and may be able to manage changing species distributions in a way that could be informative to others working on these issues.</p><p>Meanwhile, researchers such as Lips see species classification as native or other as stemming from a perspective that there is a better environmental time and place to return to. "There is no pristine, there's no way to go back," says Lips. "The entire world is always very dynamic and changing. And I think it's a better idea to consider just simply what is it that we do want, and let's work on that."</p>
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Biologists are studying the impact of climate change on the Nenets and their reindeer herds. Deutsche Welle
Biologist Egor Kirillin is on a special mission. Deep in the Siberian wilderness in the Russian Republic of Sakha, he waits on the Olenjok river until reindeer come thundering into the water.
<p>The river crosses the huge herd's migration route south, and provides Kirillin's one chance to tag them with radio transmitters. It's not a job for the faint of heart, but it is the only way to gather vital data on these animals' migration patterns — and try to uncover why their numbers are falling.</p><p>Meanwhile, Kirillin's colleague at the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, ethnologist Alexander Volkovitsky is researching the life and customs of the Nenets. </p><p>Nomadic reindeer herders who move with their domesticated herds animals by season, the Nenets cover exhausting distances across the Russian Arctic. Even small climatic changes can have a dramatic effect on their environment, and Volkovitsky wants to understand what global warming will mean for the Nenets' traditional way of life.</p><p><em>A film by Boas Schwarz</em></p>
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<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/reindeer-and-their-nomadic-herders-face-climate-change/a-54432629?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle.</a></em></p>From Your Site Articles
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