Cryptococcus yeasts (pictured), including ones that are hybrids, can cause life-threatening infections in primarily immunocompromised people. KATERYNA KON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Getty Images
By Jacob L. Steenwyk and Antonis Rokas
From the mythical minotaur to the mule, creatures created from merging two or more distinct organisms – hybrids – have played defining roles in human history and culture. However, not all hybrids are as fantastic as the minotaur or as dependable as the mule; in fact, some of them cause human diseases.
<p>We are evolutionary biologists who are trying to understand <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1008315" target="_blank">why certain fungi infect</a> hundreds of thousands of patients each year while others are harmless. We are particularly interested in infections caused by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2013.01.021" target="_blank"><em>Aspergillus</em> fungi</a>, a group of molds – multicellular fungi that typically grow by forming networks of hairlike filaments – that can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1128/CMR.00140-18" target="_blank">cause very serious infections in patients with weak immune systems</a>. While examining <em>Aspergillus</em> strains isolated from patients with lung-related diseases, we unexpectedly discovered <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2020.04.071" target="_blank">an <em>Aspergillus</em> hybrid</a> that infects humans. This finding is significant not only because this is the first known example of a hybrid mold infecting humans but also because accurate identification of the species causing disease is key for managing fungal infections.</p>
When Looking Through a Microscope Isn’t Close Enough.
<p>For the last few years, <a href="http://www.rokaslab.org/" target="_blank">our team at Vanderbilt University</a>, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/lab/Gustavo-Goldman-Lab" target="_blank">Gustavo Goldman's team at São Paulo University in Brazil</a> and many other collaborators around the world have been collecting samples of fungi from patients infected with different species of <em>Aspergillus</em> molds. One of the species we are particularly interested in is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1006/rwgn.2001.0082" target="_blank"><em>Aspergillus nidulans</em>, a relatively common and generally harmless fungus</a>. Clinical laboratories typically identify the species of <em>Aspergillus</em> causing the infection by examining cultures of the fungi under the microscope. The problem with this approach is that very closely related species of <em>Aspergillus</em> tend to look very similar in their broad morphology or physical appearance when viewing them through a microscope.</p><p>Interested in examining the varying abilities of different <em>A. nidulans</em> strains to cause disease, we decided to analyze their total genetic content, or genomes. What we saw came as a total surprise. We had not collected <em>A. nidulans</em> but <em>Aspergillus latus</em>, a close relative of <em>A. nidulans</em> and, as we were to soon find out, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2020.04.071" target="_blank">a hybrid species that evolved through the fusion of the genomes</a> of two other <em>Aspergillus</em> species: <em>Aspergillus spinulosporus</em> and an unknown close relative of <em>Aspergillus quadrilineatus</em>. Thus, we realized not only that these patients harbored infections from an entirely different species than we thought they were, but also that this species was the first ever <em>Aspergillus</em> hybrid known to cause human infections.</p>Several Different Fungal Hybrids Cause Human Disease.
<p>Hybrid fungi that can cause infections in humans are well known to occur in several different lineages of single-celled fungi known as yeasts. Notable examples include multiple different species of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/yea.3242" target="_blank">yeast hybrids</a> that cause the human diseases <a href="https://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/diseases/6218/cryptococcosis" target="_blank">cryptococcosis</a> and <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/diseases/candidiasis/index.html" target="_blank">candidiasis</a>. Although pathogenic yeast hybrids are well known, our discovery that the <em>A. latus</em> pathogen is a hybrid is a first for molds that cause disease in humans.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM3NDk4Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMTIwOTgyOX0.gCsk3b5GHdZq78oT3M2ajq3QYT9i-PrLNjoxB6AF1Dg/img.jpg?width=980" id="365cb" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e1f11ec0f5a0b5a5bc3a94b1fa86bd97" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
(Left) Candida yeasts live on parts of the human body. Imbalance of microbes on the body can allow these yeasts, some of which are hybrids, to grow and cause infection. (Right) Cryptococcus yeasts, including ones that are hybrids, can cause life-threatening infections in primarily immunocompromised people. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1008315" target="_blank">Why certain <em>Aspergillus</em> species are so deadly</a> while others are harmless remains unknown. This may in part be because <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fbr.2007.02.007" target="_blank">combinations of traits, rather than individual traits</a>, underlie organisms' ability to cause disease. So why then are hybrids frequently associated with human disease? Hybrids inherit genetic material from both parents, which may result in new combinations of traits. This may make them more similar to one parent in some of their characteristics, reflect both parents in others or may differ from both in the rest. It is precisely this mix and match of traits that hybrids have inherited from their parental species that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/14/science/14creatures.html" target="_blank">facilitates their evolutionary success</a>, including their ability to cause disease.</p>The Evolutionary Origin of an Aspergillus Hybrid.
<p>Multiple evolutionary paths can lead to the emergence of hybrids. One path is through mating, just as the horse and donkey mate to create a mule. Another path is through the merging or fusion of genetic material from cells of different species.</p><p>It is this second path that appears to have been taken by our fungus. <em>A. latus</em> appears to have two of almost everything compared to its parental species: twice the genome size, twice the total number of genes and so on. But unlike other hybrids, which are often sterile like the mule, we found that <em>A. latus</em> is capable of reproducing both asexually and sexually.</p><p>But how distinct were the parents of <em>A. latus</em>? By comparing the parts contributed by each parent in the <em>A. latus</em> genome, we estimate that its parents are approximately 93% genetically similar, which is about as related as we humans are with lemurs. In other words, <em>A. latus</em>, an agent of infectious disease, is the fungal equivalent of a human-lemur hybrid.</p>How A. Latus Differs From its Parents.
<p>Elucidating the identity of closely related fungal pathogens and how they differ from each other in infection-relevant characteristics is a key step toward reducing the burden of fungal disease. For example, we found that <em>A. latus</em> was three times more resistant than <em>A. nidulans</em>, the species it was originally identified as using microscopy-based methods, to one of the most common antifungal drugs, <a href="https://www.drugbank.ca/drugs/DB00520" target="_blank">caspofungin</a>. This result provides a clear example of the potential importance of accurate identification of the <em>Aspergillus</em> pathogen causing an infection.</p><p>We also examined how <em>A. latus</em> and <em>A. nidulans</em> interact with cells from our immune system. We found that immune cells were less efficient at combating <em>A. latus</em> compared to <em>A. nidulans</em>, suggesting the hybrid fungus may be trickier for our immune systems to identify and destroy.</p><p>In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, our quest to understand <em>Aspergillus</em> pathogens is becoming more urgent. Growing evidence suggests that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/myc.13096" target="_blank">a fraction of COVID-19 patients are also infected with <em>Aspergillus</em>.</a> More worrying is that these <a href="https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2607.201603" target="_blank">secondary <em>Aspergillus</em> infections</a> can worsen the clinical outcomes for those infected with the novel coronavirus. That being said, we stress that little is known about <em>Aspergillus</em> infections in COVID-19 patients due to a lack of systematic testing, and none of the infections identified so far appear to have been caused by hybrids.</p><p>So, when it comes to hybrids, some are fantastic (the minotaur), some are helpful (the mule) and some are dangerous (<em>Aspergillus latus</em>). Understanding more about the biology of <em>Aspergillus latus</em> may help in our understanding of how microbial pathogens arise and how to best prevent and combat their infections.</p>
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National Trails Day 2020 is now titled In Solidarity, AHS Suspends Promotion of National Trails Day 2020. The American Hiking Society is seeking to amplify Black voices in the outdoor community and advocate for equal access to the outdoors. Klaus Vedfelt / DigitalVision / Getty Images
This Saturday, June 6, marks National Trails Day, an annual celebration of the remarkable recreational, scenic and hiking trails that crisscross parks nationwide. The event, which started in 1993, honors the National Trail System and calls for volunteers to help with trail maintenance in parks across the country.
<p>The American Hiking Society (AHS) promotes the event. Last year, the AHS launched a campaign to set a world record to have the most people helping improve trails in one day. This year is a very different story, due to recent developments like social distancing from COVID-19 and the nationwide protests of systemic racism.</p><p>While National Trails Day will continue on a local level, AHS has canceled all of its promotions and activities lest it detract from the Black Lives Matter movement.</p>
<p>The official page for National Trails Day is now titled <a href="https://americanhiking.org/national-trails-day/suspended/" target="_blank">In Solidarity, AHS Suspends Promotion of National Trails Day 2020</a>. It goes on to advocate for equal access to the outdoors:</p><blockquote>"In its quest to be an ever-stronger ally, so as not to take space from the very important discussions and protests around racism in America and, in particular, around police brutality of Black bodies, American Hiking Society will suspend its promotion of National Trails Day this year. Instead, we will be taking allyship actions, including: amplifying Black voices in the outdoor community; sharing <a href="https://americanhiking.org/hiking-resources/racism-in-the-outdoors/" target="_blank">resources on racism in the outdoors</a> that will link back to publications and content authored by people of color; and urging our supporters to <a href="https://americanhiking.org/advocacy/cta-national-trails-day-2020/" target="_blank">call on Congress to pass legislation that provides equitable access to quality natural spaces for ALL </a>. We thank our partners who have supported this decision to re-focus our efforts where we feel they are needed most at this time."</blockquote>
<p>While calls to improve trails have mostly been suspended so people can keep a safe distance from each other, hiking trails across the country have seen an uptick in visitors as other activities have been closed to them.</p><p>"During the COVID-19 quarantines, more and more people have been discovering the mental and physical benefits of getting outside in their neighborhoods, to the point of a 200 percent increase in trail usage in cities across the country," according to an AHS <a href="https://www.eptrail.com/2020/06/02/national-trails-day-takes-place-on-saturday/" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p>
<p><br>On Martha's Vineyard, in Massachusetts, the Sheriff's Meadow Foundation and the Martha's Vineyard Land Bank Commission canceled its annual cross-island hike, even though attendance on trails has been up, according to the <a href="https://www.mvtimes.com/2020/06/03/not-usual-national-trails-day/" target="_blank">Martha's Vineyard Times</a>.</p><p>"We've noticed a surge in use of all of our trails and sanctuaries, and also of the TrailsMV app," said Adam Moore, executive director of Sheriff's Meadow Foundation, to the <a href="https://www.mvtimes.com/2020/06/03/not-usual-national-trails-day/" target="_blank">Martha's Vineyard Times</a>. "Even though there may not be an organized group hike, I think there may be more people out hiking than ever. It's been an extraordinary time for trails, for people's enjoyment of them, and for our need to keep them up and maintain them."</p>
<p>On the other side of the country, in Spokane, Washington, the <a href="https://www.evergreeneast.org/" target="_blank">Evergreen East</a> organization is asking for volunteers to help complete a mountain bike trail in a conservation area. According to T<a href="https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2020/jun/02/volunteers-needed-for-national-trails-day-project-/" target="_blank">he Spokesman-Review</a>, trail project leaders will be on hand for instruction and to ensure that current social distancing guidelines and safety precautions are followed to prevent the spread of COVID-19.</p><p>In Lyme, Connecticut, students from a local high school practiced safe social distancing all spring to groom three trails that are ready to open the public on National Trails Day, according to <a href="https://lymeline.com/2020/06/celebrate-national-trails-day-saturday-take-a-hike-on-old-lymes-newest-town-open-space-the-mcculloch-family-property/" target="_blank">Lyme Line</a>.</p><p>In Portland, Maine, the South Portland Land Trust is releasing a new map of five trails just in time for National Trails Day.</p><p>"Now more than ever, trails and open space are critical to the mental and physical well-being of the city," the land trust said in a release, as the <a href="https://www.pressherald.com/2020/06/04/south-portland-land-trust-celebrates-national-trails-day/" target="_blank">Portland Press Herald</a> reported. "While some beaches and other parks are closed, land trust trails all over the state, including South Portland, are providing a relief valve."</p>
<p>Even though a lot of volunteering opportunities are canceled, there are ways to enjoy National Trails Day and lower your carbon footprint. Suzan Bellincampi, sanctuary director for Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary in Martha's Vineyard, shared recommendations with the <a href="https://www.mvtimes.com/2020/06/03/not-usual-national-trails-day/" target="_blank">Martha's Vineyard Times</a>.</p><p>"I'd recommend people think about exploring a new place they haven't seen, or maybe something right in their backyard. In times of climate change, the lower your carbon footprint, the better," said Bellincampi. "That would also protect, from a global perspective, all these places that we hold so dear."</p>
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Indigenous people from the Parque das Tribos community mourn the death of Chief Messias of the Kokama tribe from Covid-19, in Manaus, Brazil, on May 14, 2020. MICHAEL DANTAS / AFP / Getty Images
By John Letzing
This past Wednesday, when some previously hard-hit countries were able to register daily COVID-19 infections in the single digits, the Navajo Nation – a 71,000 square-kilometer (27,000-square-mile) expanse of the western US – reported 54 new cases of what's referred to locally as "Dikos Ntsaaígíí-19."
<p>That brought the total number of reported cases in the <a href="https://www.ihs.gov/navajo/navajonation/" target="_blank">designated home</a> of the Navajo people to 5,533, as the number of known deaths reached 252. For an area with an <a href="https://www.census.gov/tribal/?st=04&aianihh=2430" target="_blank">estimated population</a> of 172,875, that translates into an infection rate more than five times that of the US <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/cases-in-us.html" target="_blank">as a whole</a>. The Navajo Nation is not an isolated example. <a href="https://time.com/5808257/indigenous-communities-coronavirus-impact/" target="_blank">Around the world</a>, COVID-19 still poses a disproportionate threat to indigenous communities even as it recedes elsewhere.</p><p>According to the <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/covid-19.html" target="_blank">United Nations</a>, indigenous peoples' traditional lifestyles can create greater risks of spreading infection when they involve large gatherings to mark events like harvests, or living in multi-generational housing with elderly family members. The indigenous also <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/publication/un-desa-policy-brief-70-the-impact-of-covid-19-on-indigenous-peoples/" target="_blank">suffer</a> from a relatively high degree of socio-economic marginalization that makes them more vulnerable. This dynamic is not new.</p><p>The Navajo Nation <a href="https://www.navajo-nsn.gov/index.htm" target="_blank">government</a> issued a stay-at-home order as COVID-19 spread, implemented a curfew, and mandated the use of masks in public. But it has <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/05/navajo-nation-hit-hard-coronavirus-200526171504037.html" target="_blank">struggled</a> with issues including the fact that nearly a third of the homes in the area (detailed in the map below) lack running water for hand washing.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM3NDY4Ni9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMDAzNDk2NX0.vVWmJG9OhDMQ0-QJQYWbzO97J96n3HTkYnrNoYN31Xo/img.png?width=980" id="ab1a9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4583f8be3269a8dd27b5a836a20ceaac" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
The Navajo Nation covers the corners of three different states. Google Maps
<p>In Brazil, an advocacy group reported last month that the COVID-19 mortality rate among indigenous people was <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/23/world/coronavirus-indigenous-death-apib-intl/index.html" target="_blank">nearly twice</a> that of the country as a whole. Prior to that, a mapping service had published an <a href="https://infoamazonia.org/en/2020/05/distantes-de-utis-e-respiradores-indigenas-da-amazonia-tentam-se-blindar-do-virus/#!/story=post-51141" target="_blank">analysis</a> showing that villages in the Amazon are on average 315 kilometers (195 miles) away from the nearest intensive care bed in the Brazilian public health system – and more than half of the villages analyzed were more than 200 kilometers (124 miles) away from any intensive care unit.</p><p>Brazil is <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)31236-8/fulltext" target="_blank">just one</a> of the countries in the World Health Organization's Americas region with significant and remote indigenous populations deemed vulnerable to the pandemic. The WHO <a href="https://cnnphilippines.com/world/2020/6/2/americas-rapid-increase-coronavirus-cases-WHO-says.html" target="_blank">said</a> the region recently accounted for half of the 10 countries in the world reporting the highest new number of cases over a 24-hour span.</p>
Growing Contribution
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM3NDY5Ny9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NjM4MTgyM30.IuQTKQs1stvYYKD6vaVTrqAyoBsUG0BhDvlhxsyKwPA/img.png?width=980" id="02a05" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2841f82b1785df5d5ed7bf64d3bb882b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />World Economic Forum
<p>There are exceptions, however. Some of the world's indigenous populations appear not to be overly impacted by COVID-19. In New Zealand, for example, the Māori <a href="https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-current-situation/covid-19-current-cases#ethnicity" target="_blank">accounted for</a> 9% of reported cases as of 4 June, but <a href="https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/new-zealands-population-reflects-growing-diversity#:~:text=The%20next%20largest%20ethnic%20group,from%2011.8%20percent%20in%202013." target="_blank">represent</a> more than 16% of the country's population. And in Canada, <a href="https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1581964230816/1581964277298" target="_blank">government figures</a> have not indicated an unusual infection rate for indigenous people – though there are <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/indigenous-leaders-covid19-data-testing-1.5562555" target="_blank">concerns</a> that indigenous cases in the country are being undercounted.</p><p>For more context, here are links to further reading from <a href="https://intelligence.weforum.org/" target="_blank">the World Economic Forum's Strategic Intelligence platform</a>:</p><ul><li>COVID-19 is not the only thing indigenous people in Brazil have to worry about. According to this report, indigenous lands in the country are being devastated as the outside world has been distracted by the pandemic. <em>(</em><a href="https://theconversation.com/brazils-jair-bolsonaro-is-devastating-indigenous-lands-with-the-world-distracted-138478" target="_blank"><em>The Conversation</em></a><em>)</em></li></ul><ul><li>Perhaps no community in North America has been more shaped by infectious disease than Native tribes, according to this report. <em>(</em><a href="https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/2020/0430/For-Native-Americans-coronavirus-looks-heartbreakingly-familiar" target="_blank"><em>Christian Science Monitor</em></a><em>)</em></li></ul><ul><li>In Colombia, the killing of indigenous leaders increased after a coronavirus-related lockdown in March made them easier to locate in isolation, according to this report. <em>(</em><a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/wps/2020/05/20/the-impact-of-colombias-covid-19-response-on-indigenous-inclusion-in-peace-processes/" target="_blank"><em>LSE</em></a><em>)</em></li></ul><ul><li>In some countries consultations with indigenous people are now being abruptly suspended in order to force through megaprojects relating to agribusiness, mining, dams and infrastructure, according to a UN independent expert. <em>(</em><a href="https://www.ecosystemmarketplace.com/articles/covid-19-impact-on-worlds-indigenous-goes-well-beyond-health-threat/" target="_blank"><em>Ecosystem Marketplace</em></a><em>)</em></li></ul><ul><li>Mining sites, deemed an essential business during the pandemic, are placing indigenous communities in Canada and several other countries at high risk of infection, according to this report. <em>(<a href="https://e360.yale.edu/digest/as-mining-continues-during-coronavirus-local-indigenous-communities-at-high-risk" target="_blank">YaleE360</a>)</em></li></ul><ul><li>The Secoya community fled by canoe to isolate themselves from the outbreak in the central wetlands of Lagarto Cocha in Ecuador, only to suffer 15 confirmed cases and two deaths among its population of 744, according to this report. <em>(</em><a href="https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/feature/2020/05/11/coronavirus-Latin-America-Amazon-indigenous-communities" target="_blank"><em>The New Humanitarian</em></a><em>)</em></li></ul><ul><li>Well ahead of government action, indigenous federations across the Amazon launched extensive campaigns to mitigate the pandemic and its socie-economic consequences, according to this report. <em>(</em><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-indigenous-people-in-the-amazon-are-coping-with-the-coronavirus-pandemic-137041" target="_blank"><em>The Conversation</em></a><em>)</em></li></ul><p>On the <a href="https://intelligence.weforum.org/" target="_blank">Strategic Intelligence</a> platform, you can find visualizations and feeds of expert analysis related to <a href="https://intelligence.weforum.org/topics/a1G0X000006O6EHUA0?tab=publications" target="_blank">COVID-19</a>, <a href="https://intelligence.weforum.org/topics/a1Gb00000038pGiEAI?tab=publications" target="_blank">Global Health</a> and hundreds of additional topics. You'll need to register to view.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/covid-19-presents-an-inordinate-threat-to-indigenous-people/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Experts are worried that COVID-19, a primarily respiratory and airway disease, could have permanent effects on lungs, inhibiting the ability for divers to continue diving. Tiffany Duong / Ocean Rebels
Scuba divers around the world are holding their metaphorical breath to see if a coronavirus infection affects the ability to dive.
<p>Some preliminary data, while inconclusive, indicates that permanent lung damage can occur even in mild cases. All experts are advocating for further studies to examine potential permanent effects.</p><p>"Like other respiratory illnesses, COVID-19 can cause lasting lung damage," said Dr. Matias Nochetto, director of medical service at Divers Alert Network (DAN). The doctor addressed the fears of many scuba divers in a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DiversAlertNetwork/videos/691682591631410" target="_blank">company webinar</a> on diving after a COVID-19 infection.</p>
<p>Joseph Dituri, the principal investigator in a study to use hyperbaric medicine to treat coronavirus patients, explained to EcoWatch that lung cells are damaged by both the coronavirus infection and the body's inflammatory reaction to it, reducing lung function and gas exchange capabilities. Nochetto noted in the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DiversAlertNetwork/videos/691682591631410" target="_blank">webinar</a> that the inflammation causes leakage of fluid and pus into the lungs that can result in irreparable <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/covid-19-recovered-patients-have-partially-reduced-lung-function/a-52859671" target="_blank">lung scarring and damage</a>.</p><p>"This is not good for anyone's lungs, let alone diving," the doctor added. "There is no proof that any lungs have fully recovered from COVID-19. Everyone that has had COVID so far, even if they had COVID in January, their lungs are likely still recovering, so it is too soon to say if they are or are not gonna be able to dive."</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM3NDA3MC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwMjcxOTg2Mn0.zzMhWKDnhrVtj9HFXefdjLWW1bKKO9Kh3AZCLu-J3kA/img.png?width=980" id="49f9e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c47b0ecdd76153f9ce088ef76fba00eb" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
DAN medical experts explained the difference between normal lungs, on the left, and "very serious lungs caused by COVID-19," on the right. Matias Nochetto / Divers Alert Network (DAN)
<p>An April 15 report from Austria put the dive world on high alert. Dr. Frank Hartig treated six infected divers who only suffered mild symptoms, were not hospitalized and recovered at home, reported <a href="https://www.caymancompass.com/2020/04/24/divers-face-long-term-health-impact-from-covid-19/?fbclid=IwAR1RQXV50frrwU3YnG8Qh12oMQ0m1l9iJ61eanApvk7_twmqduOsKwNgbEs" target="_blank">Cayman Compass</a>.</p><p>Although "clinically recovered," all six patients exhibited "irreversible" long-term lung damage which made a full recovery "unlikely," Hartig said. Two exhibited asthmatic-like, irritated lungs, two suffered low oxygen supplies, and four showed "significant changes" to lung structure, reported <a href="https://www.caymancompass.com/2020/04/24/divers-face-long-term-health-impact-from-covid-19/?fbclid=IwAR1RQXV50frrwU3YnG8Qh12oMQ0m1l9iJ61eanApvk7_twmqduOsKwNgbEs" target="_blank">Cayman Compass</a>.</p><p>"None of the six divers can be released for diving for the time being, despite their well-being," Hartig said, reported <a href="http://divemagazine.co.uk/skills/8907-serious-problems-diving-after-covid19" target="_blank">Dive Magazine</a>.</p>
<p>The doctor said that patients who felt fully recovered could still suffer lung damage which could permanently prohibit scuba diving and other forms of exercise. He implored dive professionals like dive instructors and commercial divers to avoid contracting the disease at all costs.</p><p>In a <a href="https://www.uhms.org/images/Position-Statements/Return_to_Diving_Post_COVID-19_Final_NB_4-27-2020.pdf" target="_blank">responsive position statement</a>, the <a href="https://www.uhms.org/" target="_blank">Undersea Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS)</a> called the findings "generalized" and "premature." The medical society emphasized, "At the present time, we simply do not have sufficient data to support or refute the definitive proclamations made by this case series." UHMS, the primary source of scientific information regarding diving, noted that more time and studies are needed to accurately access the potential impact of the disease on individuals' health and ability to dive.</p><p>UHMS also highlighted that COVID-19 shares many features with other serious viral pneumonia, including requiring a "weeks or months" period of convalescence before returning to full activities, including diving.</p>
<p>In their <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DiversAlertNetwork/videos/691682591631410" target="_blank">webinar</a>, DAN's doctors similarly did not set a specific timeline for a return to diving after infection, instead advocating for individual medical assessments and fitness tests by doctors trained in dive medicine to uncover potential residual issues. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jim Chimiak emphasized the need to evaluate any residual damage to lung structure and function due to coronavirus before considering diving again.</p><p>"It's never bad to be conservative especially as you return to diving after a long delay," he said. "It's not automatically sating you can no longer dive, but it needs to be assessed on a case by case basis."</p><p>Dr. Douglas Ebersole, a cardiology consultant for DAN, avid tech diver and recovering COVID-19 patient, agreed that there was no "one size fits all" answer to when divers who have been infected with coronavirus can safely return to the sport, reported <a href="https://www.divetech.com/post/diving-in-the-era-of-covid-19" target="_blank">Dive Tech</a>.</p><p>Ebersole agreed with UHMS and DAN that it was too early to conclude whether infections could lead to permanent, sidelining injuries, but compared the coronavirus to its close viral cousin, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). A 2004 study found that half of "recovered" SARS patients exhibited pulmonary function defects three months after hospital discharge, but that impairment was "mild" in most cases, Ebersole wrote.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.sbmhs-bvoog.be/2020%200412%20Position%20of%20the%20BVOOG.pdf" target="_blank">Belgian Society for Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine</a> said in a statement, "A person who has had COVID-19 infection with severe pulmonary symptoms may suffer from prolonged or even permanent pulmonary damage, even if the lung function seems to have returned to (near) normal," putting them at higher risk for lung barotrauma injuries.</p><p>The society recommending that infected, symptomatic divers wait two to three months after recovery and undergo complete pulmonary function testing, CT lung scanning, cardiac evaluations and exercise tests before attempting to dive again.</p><p>"There's no one fully recovered," Chimiak concluded. "Stay tuned. It's a new disease. I think this story is not over; the book has not been written."</p>
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U.S. Ranks 24th in New Environmental Performance Index, Near Bottom of Developed Countries
04 June
Politics
A coke storage area is seen as steam rises from the quench towers at the US Steel Clairton Works on Jan. 21, 2020, in Clairton, Pennsylvania. White plumes of smoke billow above western Pennsylvania's rolling hills as scorching ovens bake coal, which rolls in by the trainload along the Monongahela River. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images
President Trump's claim that the U.S. has the cleanest air and water in the world has been widely refuted by statistics showing harmful levels of pollution. Now, a new biannual ranking released by researchers at Yale and Columbia finds that the U.S. is nowhere near the top in environmental performance, according to The Guardian.
<p>Not only is the U.S. not in the top 10, it's not in the top 20. It ranks 24th in the 2020 <a href="https://epi.yale.edu/2020-epi" target="_blank">Environmental Performance Index</a> (EPI), which was released on Thursday. The top ranked country, Denmark, has made commitments to a carbon-free future, renewable energy and sustainable agriculture. By contrast, the U.S., during the Trump administration, has worked at breakneck speed to rollback environmental regulations, expand <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuel</a> development, and ditch international treaties protecting the environment. He has even questioned climate science and ridiculed its findings.</p><p>"If you look at Denmark, they're doing great but they're a tiny fraction of overall carbon emissions or greenhouse gas emissions broadly," said Zach Wenderling, lead researcher on the index, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/04/us-ranks-24th-in-the-world-on-environmental-performance" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported. "The U.S. is one of the top five players in every greenhouse gas, so we need to do better than just OK if we're going to generate the best practices."</p>
<p>Many signatories to the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement">Paris agreement</a> have ramped up their commitments to have net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, especially in Europe. European countries performed the best in the new index. After Denmark, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom rounded out the top four, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/04/us-ranks-24th-in-the-world-on-environmental-performance" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.</p><p>Researchers at Yale and Columbia universities produce the global report, which is released every two years. It ranks 180 of the world's nations on 24 key indicators in 10 categories related to environmental health and ecosystem vitality.</p><p>The data-driven and empirical approach to environmental protection makes it easier to spot problems, track trends, highlight policy successes and failures, identify best practices, and optimize the benefits of investing in environmental protection, said Daniel Esty, a professor of environmental law and policy at Yale, in a university <a href="https://environment.yale.edu/news/article/dan-esty-on-the-2020-environmental-performance-index" target="_blank">press release</a>.</p><p>"[T]he EPI provides a clear and compelling way to see which countries are leading issue by issue, who is lagging, and what the best policy practices look like across a range of critical environmental challenges," said Esty, in the university <a href="https://environment.yale.edu/news/article/dan-esty-on-the-2020-environmental-performance-index" target="_blank">press release</a>.</p>
<p>Since the EPI was created in the year 2000, the U.S has never reached the top of the rankings.</p><p>"Countries that make an effort do better than those that don't don't and the U.S. right now is not making an effort. That shows up in a stagnation in the rankings where others are really seeing some significant improvements," said Esty, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/04/us-ranks-24th-in-the-world-on-environmental-performance" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p><p>The U.S., which is the second largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions after China, is near the bottom of the rankings for advanced industrial countries. China, which suffers from poor air quality, has made significant investments in solar energy and reducing its dependence on coal, and climbed the rankings to 120th place. China is still a big polluter but has made "much more dramatic progress than other countries," Esty said, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/04/us-ranks-24th-in-the-world-on-environmental-performance" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p><p>China's ranking as the world's worst contributor to the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis">climate crisis</a> is only recent. Over time, the U.S. has put more heat trapping gases into the air than any other country. India, which also sees its cities choking under polluted air quality, ranked 168th.</p>
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Some reservations are reporting infection rates many times higher than those observed in the general U.S. population. grandriver / Getty Images
By Lindsey Schneider, Joshua Sbicca and Stephanie Malin
The SARS-CoV-2 virus is novel, but pandemic threats to indigenous peoples are anything but new. Diseases like measles, smallpox and the Spanish flu have decimated Native American communities ever since the arrival of the first European colonizers.
<p>Now COVID-19 is having similarly devastating impacts in Indian country. Some reservations are reporting infection rates <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/how-covid-19-is-impacting-indigenous-peoples-in-the-u-s" target="_blank">many times higher</a> than those observed in the general U.S. population.</p><p>We are social scientists who study many aspects of <a href="http://environmentaljustice.colostate.edu/" target="_blank">environmental justice</a>, including <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=p3jvlSAAAAAJ&hl=en" target="_blank">the politics of food access and food sovereignty</a>, the impacts of <a href="https://www.libarts.colostate.edu/people/samalin/" target="_blank">extractive resource industries</a> like uranium and fossil fuels, and how Indigenous communities <a href="https://ethnicstudies.colostate.edu/people/schneidl/" target="_blank">navigate relationships</a> with state and federal governments to maintain their traditional practices. As we see it, Native American communities face structural and historical obstacles related to settler colonial legacies that make it hard for them to counter the pandemic, even by drawing on innovative indigenous survival strategies.</p>
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History Reverberates on Native Lands
<p>Native communities in North America have been disrupted and displaced for centuries. Many face long-standing food and water <a href="http://www.nativepartnership.org/site/DocServer/2017-PWNA-NPRA-Food-Insecurity-Project-Grow.pdf?docID=7106" target="_blank">inequities</a> that are further complicated by this pandemic.</p><p>On the Navajo reservation, which covers more than 27,000 square miles in Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, 76% of households already <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235390130_High_levels_of_household_food_insecurity_on_the_Navajo_Nation" target="_blank">have trouble affording enough healthy food</a>, and the nearest grocery store is often hours away. COVID-related restrictions have further curtailed access to food supplies.</p><p>Clean water for basic sanitary measures like hand-washing is also scarce. Native Americans are <a href="http://uswateralliance.org/sites/uswateralliance.org/files/Closing%20the%20Water%20Access%20Gap%20in%20the%20United%20States_DIGITAL.pdf" target="_blank">19 times more likely</a> to lack indoor plumbing than whites in the U.S. Nearly one-third of Navajo households <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/coronavirus-hits-indian-country-hard-exposing-infrastructure-disparities-n1186976" target="_blank">lack access to running water</a>.</p><p>Many <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6915e3.htm" target="_blank">health issues</a> that can increase COVID-19 mortality rates occur at high levels among Native Americans. These <a href="http://www.ncai.org/news/articles/2020/03/18/the-national-congress-of-american-indians-calls-for-more-attention-to-covid-19-impacts-to-indian-country" target="_blank">underlying</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30893-X" target="_blank">preexisting</a> conditions – things like hypertension, diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease – are <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6913e2.htm" target="_blank">linked to diet</a> and stem from <a href="https://www.oupress.com/books/15107980/indigenous-food-sovereignty-in-the-united-sta" target="_blank">disruption and replacement</a> of Indigenous food systems.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM3MTU0NC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyOTk2NTM0NX0.3CE9pzZY4kFQuxBt-qbXzL3k3eZ2kWECmfUQDuaXB1g/img.png?width=980" id="9280a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ce361030764cdb944feafe177d19b2c1" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) experience higher rates of chronic diseases than non-Hispanic Whites. Urban Indian Health Institute; data from CDC, CC BY-ND
<p>Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/04/07/828688372/overcrowding-makes-it-hard-for-native-americans-to-socially-distance" target="_blank">housing shortages</a> on reservations and <a href="https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/homeless-vulnerable-and-no-option-for-self-isolation--DGU3-v-FEWmTxrdIH73OA" target="_blank">homelessness</a> in urban Native communities make social distancing to reduce COVID-19 transmission impossible.</p>High Exposure Rates
<p>These factors have clear health impacts. On the Navajo reservation, for instance, through May 27, 2020, <a href="https://www.navajo-nsn.gov/News%20Releases/OPVP/2020/May/FOR%20IMMEDIATE%20RELEASE%20-%201620%20recoveries_102%20new%20cases%20of%20COVID-19_and%20one%20more%20death%20reported.pdf" target="_blank">4,944 people</a> out of a population of 173,000 had tested positive for COVID-19, and 159 had died.</p><p>This infection rate per capita exceeds those in hot spots such as <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandrasternlicht/2020/05/19/navajo-nation-has-most-coronavirus-infections-per-capita-in-us-beating-new-york-new-jersey/#11a4fac08b10" target="_blank">New York and New Jersey</a>. Importantly, however, it may also reflect a much <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/04/19/navajo-nation-has-higher/" target="_blank">more proactive approach to testing</a> on reservations than in many other jurisdictions.</p><p>The fact that elderly people are especially vulnerable to COVID-19 could worsen the pandemic's effects in Indian Country. Elders are the <a href="https://ais.washington.edu/research/publications/spirits-our-whaling-ancestors" target="_blank">keepers of traditional knowledge, tribal languages and culture</a> – legacies whose loss already threatens the persistence of indigenous communities.</p><p>Elders also play key roles in preserving traditional plant and medicine knowledge. In the absence of COVID-19 interventions from Western medicine, many elders have been called on to perform healing practices, which increases their exposure risk.</p>Little Help From Federal and State Governments
<p>Many tribal members rely on the federal government's <a href="https://www.ihs.gov/" target="_blank">Indian Health Service</a> for health care. But <a href="https://theconversation.com/tribal-leaders-face-great-need-and-dont-have-enough-resources-to-respond-to-the-coronavirus-pandemic-134372" target="_blank">lack of capacity</a> at the agency has hampered its response. Budget shortfalls, <a href="https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/report-grossly-inaccurate-data-used-to-divvy-up-relief-funds-for-tribes-9qkkHmeXj0uhRC42mXYqCA" target="_blank">inaccurate data</a>, the challenges of providing <a href="https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/coronavirus-risk-is-compounded-by-the-rural-DC-rMTUzzE6WDGee8jbENQ" target="_blank">rural health care</a> and ongoing personnel shortages in IHS clinics are compounded by staff being <a href="https://navajotimes.com/reznews/dikos-ntsaaigii-doodaa-nation-musters-defense-against-covid-19/" target="_blank">pulled away</a> to fight the virus in large cities.</p><p>And while many states have raised frustrations with the Trump administration's unwillingness to distribute protective supplies from the <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/4/3/21206170/us-emergency-stockpile-jared-kushner-almost-empty-coronavirus-medical-supplies-ventilators" target="_blank">dwindling national stockpile</a>, IHS and tribal health care authorities <a href="https://www.azpm.org/p/home-articles-news/2020/3/17/167874-bill-calls-for-more-tribal-community-access-to-federal-stockpile-of-medical-supplies/" target="_blank">never had access</a> to the stockpile at all.</p><p>Although the federal government has begun <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2020/05/22/hhs-announces-500-million-distribution-to-tribal-hospitals-clinics-and-urban-health-centers.html" target="_blank">distributing relief funds</a> to IHS agencies, there have been serious problems with the accompanying supplies. The Navajo Nation has received <a href="https://www.indianz.com/News/2020/05/22/propublica-former-trump-aide-provided-fa.asp" target="_blank">faulty masks</a>, and a Seattle Native health center asked for tests but <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/native-american-health-center-asked-covid-19-supplies-they-got-n1200246" target="_blank">received body bags instead</a>.</p><p>Meanwhile, federally imposed limits on tribal sovereignty have obstructed tribal governments' efforts to deal with the pandemic themselves. Federal and state governments are <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/makah-tribe-fights-coronavirus-with-self-reliance-and-extreme-isolation/" target="_blank">challenging tribes' jurisdictional authority</a> to <a href="https://www.azfamily.com/news/mayor-of-page-accused-of-racist-social-media-comment-toward-navajo-nation-president/article_e2e6efd6-8db4-11ea-a8a2-7f6976d702f6.html" target="_blank">close borders to tourists</a> who may carry the virus. South Dakota's governor has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/14/sioux-coronavirus-roadblocks-south-dakota-governor" target="_blank">threatened legal action</a> against two tribes who set up checkpoints to monitor incoming traffic on their reservations.</p><iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1263623015209725952" id="twitter-embed-1263623015209725952" lazy-loadable="true" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1263623015209725952&created_ts=1590106178.0&screen_name=WestRiverEagle1&text=%23CheyenneRiverSiouxTribe+Chairman+Harold+Frazier%3A+Our+checkpoints+are+saving+lives+and+no+one%E2%80%99s+going+to+do+it+but%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FbAzHmY1CN6&id=1263623015209725952&name=West+River+Eagle+Official" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="7f93e7825d266dabf962ece41883a742"></iframe>
Environmental Injustices on Native Land
<p>Energy development and resource extraction have had <a href="https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/898-all-our-relations" target="_blank">disproportionate impacts</a> on tribes for many years. Today, many Native American leaders worry that ongoing energy production – <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/research/labor-and-employment/covid-19-essential-workers-in-the-states.aspx" target="_blank">an "essential" activity under federal guidelines</a> will bring outsiders into close contact with reservation communities, worsening COVID risks.</p><p>The owners of the Keystone XL oil pipeline have announced that they intend to continue construction, which will bring an influx of workers along the proposed route through Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota and Fort Belknap Indian community in Montana have filed for a <a href="https://www.narf.org/keystone-xl/" target="_blank">temporary restraining order</a>, and a key permit for the pipeline was <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2020/4/16/headlines/us_judge_revokes_crucial_permit_for_keystone_xl_pipeline" target="_blank">revoked in April 2020</a>, but work continues at the U.S.-Canada border.</p><p>Construction is accelerating on the <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/border-issues/2020/03/17/border-patrol-waives-laws-border-wall-construction-southern-arizona/5063618002/" target="_blank">southern border wall</a>, which bisects the <a href="http://www.tonation-nsn.gov/" target="_blank">Tohono O'odham reservation</a> in Arizona and Mexico. The Trump administration has <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/border-coronavirus-military-immigration/" target="_blank">increased patrols at the border</a>, despite the tribe's concern that the patrols' presence is <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/04/06/coronavirus-cbp-160-cases-covid-19-officers-agents/2958736001/" target="_blank">spreading coronavirus</a> on the reservation.</p><p>And in Bristol Bay, Alaska, a salmon fishing season that brings in thousands of temporary workers is <a href="https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/it-s-hard-when-you-love-something-xlS49l2N20KZjqumwfzZfQ" target="_blank">set to open in June</a> because the federal government has also deemed commercial fishing "<a href="https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/CISA-Guidance-on-Essential-Critical-Infrastructure-Workers-1-20-508c.pdf" target="_blank">essential critical infrastructure</a>." Many local Native villages depend on the fishery for income, but have nonetheless pleaded with state regulators to <a href="https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/urgent-calls-to-close-the-massive-bristol-bay-fishery-8lYsGkUeDUyCBW7FMwpSfA?fbclid=IwAR1710u4rQnriq_MgH2ueQxOFtfGiGiH8I2ZdJRCZS9f28Zl-JNkPLpnzZo" target="_blank">cancel the season</a>. The regional hospital has just four beds for possible COVID-19 patients.</p>Bold Action in Native Communities
<p>Native communities are taking decisive action to reduce the spread of COVID-19. They're imposing aggressive <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/us/coronavirus-navajo-nation.html" target="_blank">quarantine</a> measures like lockdowns, curfews and border closures. Communities are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/18/covidcoronavirus-native-american-lummi-nation-trailblazing-steps" target="_blank">ramping up health care capacity</a> and elder support services, and banishing nontribal members who <a href="https://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/oglala-sioux-council-banishes-non-member-with-covid-19-from-reservation/article_60b665c3-9d1b-5d48-a576-51774e4fb41a.html" target="_blank">violate travel restrictions</a>.</p><p>Other strategies include helping hunters <a href="https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/ammo-fuel-for-hunters-to-feed-others-Ki3zK6du-ky-UogoB9-aNQ" target="_blank">provide traditional foods</a> to their communities, <a href="https://ndncollective.org/indigenizing-and-decolonizing-community-care-in-response-to-covid-19/" target="_blank">mobilizing to support tribal health care workers</a>, and <a href="https://www.ehn.org/coronavirus-native-americans-2645923635.html" target="_blank">linking the pandemic and the climate crisis</a>. Looking ahead to a post-COVID future, we believe one priority should be attending to <a href="http://www.beacon.org/As-Long-as-Grass-Grows-P1445.aspx" target="_blank">front-line environmental justice struggles</a> that center tribes' sovereignty to act on their own behalf at all times, not just during national crises.</p>From Your Site Articles
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A helicopter view of a diesel fuel spill in Siberia on June 2, 2020. Andrei Marmyshev\TASS via Getty Images
Russian President Vladimir Putin declared an emergency after 20,000 tons of diesel fuel spilled into a river in the Arctic Circle.
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<p>The accident is the second largest <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oil-spill" target="_self">oil spill</a> in terms of volume in modern Russian history, the Word Wildlife Fund (WWF) told AFP, as <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-52915807?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science_and_environment&link_location=live-reporting-story" target="_blank">BBC News reported</a>. The oil spread around 7.5 miles from the fuel site, turning the Ambarnaya river bright red, and contaminated a total of 135 square miles.</p><p>"The incident led to catastrophic consequences and we will be seeing the repercussions for years to come," Sergey Verkhovets, coordinator of Arctic projects for WWF Russia, said in a statement <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/03/europe/russia-putin-oil-spill-norilsk-intl/index.html" target="_blank">reported by CNN</a>. "We are talking about dead fish, polluted plumage of birds, and poisoned animals."</p>
<p>Russia's environmental ministry Rosprirodnadzor is already reporting contaminant levels in the water that are tens of thousands of times higher than the safe limit.</p><p>"[T]here has never been such an accident in the Arctic zone, " former deputy head of Rosprirodnadzor Oleg Mitvol told BBC News.</p><p><a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/global/" target="_blank">Greenpeace</a> compared the disaster to the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">There was a huge fuel spill near the city of Norilsk in Russia. Putin apparently found out 2 days after and a state of emergency has been ordered. Last week a fuel reservoir at a power plant collapsed <a href="https://t.co/35j5VfR9Sf">https://t.co/35j5VfR9Sf</a></p>— Olga Lautman (@olgaNYC1211) <a href="https://twitter.com/olgaNYC1211/status/1268408029768269824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>The spill occurred last Friday when a fuel tank at a power plant near the city of Norilsk in Siberia collapsed. The plant is owned by a subsidiary of Norilsk Nickel, the world's No. 1 producer of nickel and palladium. Its factories are also the reason why Norilsk is one of the most polluted places on Earth, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/03/vladimir-putin-orders-state-of-emergency-huge-fuel-spill-siberia-power-plant-kerch" target="_blank">The Guardian reported</a>.</p><p>The plant initially attempted to clean the spill on their own and did not tell authorities about the incident for two days, Ministry of Emergency Situations head Evgeny Zinichev said, according to CNN.</p><p>Alexei Knizhnikov of WWF said his group was the first to inform cleanup specialists of the spill, according to The Guardian.</p><p>"These are huge volumes," he said. "It was difficult for them to cover it up."</p>
<p>The governor of the Krasnoyarsk region, where the spill took place, told Putin he only learned of it Sunday from social media posts.</p><p>"Why did government agencies only find out about this two days after the fact? Are we going to learn about emergency situations from social media? Are you quite healthy over there?" Putin scolded Sergei Lipin, the head of NTEK, as the subsidiary that owns the plant is called.</p><p>Norilsk Nickel countered that NTEK had alerted authorities in a "timely and proper" fashion.</p>
<p>The Russian government has opened three criminal investigations into the incident and detained one plant employee.</p><p>The emergency declaration will increase resources for the cleanup. However, the river will be difficult to clean because it is too shallow for barges and in a remote area with few roads.</p><p>The accident may have partly been caused by the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a>, CNN pointed out. That is because melting <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/permafrost" target="_self">permafrost</a> may have caused the storage tank to sink.</p><p>"Right now we can assume ... that due to abnormally mild summer temperatures recorded in the past years, permafrost could have melted and the pillars under the platform could have sank," Norilsk Nickel chief operating officer Sergey Dyachenko told the TASS news agency, as CNN reported.</p>
<p>The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world.</p><p>Northern Asia and Siberia have recorded temperatures on average more than four degrees Celsius above normal during the first four months of 2020. That is the most above normal of any region so far this year.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">An "astonishing" heat wave is gripping Siberia, where temperatures are hotter than they are in D.C. Temperature anomalies are about 40 deg F above average. Oh, and have we mentioned the possibility of "zombie fires?" Yeah, that's a thing. <a href="https://t.co/gKpgnvhF74">https://t.co/gKpgnvhF74</a> <a href="https://t.co/3ivj1m0ZSO">pic.twitter.com/3ivj1m0ZSO</a></p>— Capital Weather Gang (@capitalweather) <a href="https://twitter.com/capitalweather/status/1263888557682368512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 22, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>In late May, Siberia was hotter than Washington, DC and recorded temperatures about 40 degrees Fahrenheit above average.</p>
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The sun shines over the Southern Ocean in Antarctica. Rebecca Yale / Moment / Getty Images Plus
Atmospheric researchers have pinpointed the spot on Earth with the cleanest air. It's not in the midst of a remote jungle, nor on a deserted tropical island. Instead, the cleanest air in the world is in the air above the frigid Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica, as CNN reported.
<p>Air pollution is a global public health problem that claims 7 million lives every year, stunts the growth of children, and increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and pulmonary disorders. So, if you're seeking the cleanest air in the world, you will need to pack a very warm coat.</p><p>The Southern Ocean that surrounds Antarctica has the air that shows the smallest concentration of particles caused by human pollution. The first of its kind study of the bioaerosol composition of the Southern Ocean was conducted by researchers from Colorado State University, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/02/world/cleanest-air-intl-scli-scn-climate/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a>.</p>
<p>The study, which described the air as "truly pristine," was published Monday in the journal of the <em><a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/05/28/2000134117" target="_blank">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a></em>.</p><p>The researchers noted that the air that forms the lower clouds in the area was free from any particles produced by man-made activity or dust from other continents.</p>
<p>The study sampling of the air was taken from a research ship that sailed from Tasmania to within 24 miles of the Antarctic ice edge to conduct "bacterial profiling" from air filter samples. The scientists were surprised to find that the air was so clear there was barely any bacterial DNA to profile, according to <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/antarctica-scientists-reveal-location-of-worlds-cleanest-air-11999692#:~:text=Experts%20say%20Antarctica%20appears%20isolated,other%20continents%20to%20the%20north.&text=The%20world's%20cleanest%20air%20is,pristine%22%20and%20unaffected%20by%20pollution." target="_blank">Sky News</a>.</p><p>"We were able to use the bacteria in the air over the Southern Ocean (SO) as a diagnostic tool to infer key properties of the lower atmosphere," said Thomas Hill, a researcher in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at Colorado State University and a coauthor on the study, in a university <a href="https://engr.source.colostate.edu/csu-atmospheric-scientists-identify-cleanest-air-on-earth-in-first-of-its-kind-study/" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p>
<p>Hill went on to explain how the airborne bacteria is a diagnostic tool to infer the properties of the lower atmosphere.</p><p>"For example, that the aerosols controlling the properties of SO clouds are strongly linked to ocean biological processes, and that Antarctica appears to be isolated from southward dispersal of microorganisms and nutrient deposition from southern continents. Overall, it suggests that the SO is one of very few places on Earth that has been minimally affected by anthropogenic activities," he added.</p>
<p>The scientists analyzed the structure of the airborne microbes, which are dispersed by the wind and travel thousands of miles. The researchers looked at the microbes' DNA, tracked their sources, and analyzed wind trajectories to see where they came from. The microbes they analyzed around Antarctica were from the ocean as opposed to from an airborne pollutant like coal emissions, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/02/world/cleanest-air-intl-scli-scn-climate/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a>.</p><p>According to the university <a href="https://engr.source.colostate.edu/csu-atmospheric-scientists-identify-cleanest-air-on-earth-in-first-of-its-kind-study/" target="_blank">statement</a>, the bacterial composition of the microbes also was differentiated into broad latitudinal zones, which suggested that aerosols from distant land masses and human activities, such as pollution or soil emissions driven by land use change, were not traveling south into Antarctic air.</p>
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People sit in circles to observe social distance in Domino Park amid the coronavirus pandemic on May 21, 2020 in New York City. New research says preventative measures such as social distancing and wearing face masks should not be relaxed as temperatures warm up. Alexi Rosenfeld / Getty Images
Researchers have found that warm temperatures in the U.S. this summer are unlikely to stop the coronavirus that causes the infectious disease COVID-19, according to a new study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Disease.
<p>The findings of the scientists refute <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/08/health/coronavirus-stays-warmer-weather/index.html" target="_blank">President Trump's claim</a> in March that "when it gets a little warmer [the virus] miraculously goes away." It also refutes his insistence in April, when he cited <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-says-coronavirus-could-be-thwarted-by-summer-heat-citing-dhs-study-2020-04-23" target="_blank">Department of Homeland Security data</a>, that summer heat will kill the virus, which led him to wonder about shining a UV light inside the body or injecting disinfectant into the bloodstream, both of which are extremely dangerous.</p>
<p>While the flu is seasonal, researchers who have tested the coronavirus in the lab found that the coronavirus is sensitive to heat and light, but those are at extremes. Summer temperatures may account for a slight decline in cases, but nothing that will allow us to return to normal or kill the virus, as <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/coronavirus-spread-warm-summer-weather-america-study-1507994" target="_blank">Newsweek</a> reported.</p><p>"There is an association between temperature and rate of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 virus which may result in modest decline in the community transmission of SARS-CoV-2 with warmer weather," the researchers wrote in their conclusion, according to <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/coronavirus-spread-warm-summer-weather-america-study-1507994" target="_blank">Newsweek</a>. "This effect is modest, however, and is unlikely to slow down disease spread if containment measures are relaxed."</p>
<p>Higher humidity and warmer temperatures seem to make the virus less stable. In warmer temperatures, the small virus-bearing droplets sent into the air by a cough or sneeze are more likely to attract water vapor, become heavier and drop out of the air before infecting someone. The opposite happens during colder, drier conditions when the droplets are lighter and stay airborne for longer, as <a href="https://www.pix11.com/news/coronavirus/harvard-study-says-warm-weather-probably-wont-slow-covid-19-transmission" target="_blank">WPIX</a> in New York reported.</p>
<p>Co-author Dr. Shiv T. Sehra, assistant professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, said in a statement, according to <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/coronavirus-spread-warm-summer-weather-america-study-1507994" target="_blank">Newsweek</a>: "While the rate of virus transmission may slow down as the maximum daily temperature rises to around 50 degrees [Farenheit], the effects of temperature rise beyond that don't seem to be significant.</p><p>"Based on our analysis, the modest association suggests that it is unlikely that disease transmission will slow dramatically in the summer months from the increase in temperature alone."</p><p>The team, led by Harvard researchers, says the findings are evidence we should not forego preventative measures such as social distancing and wearing face masks just because the temperature has warmed up, as the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-8380465/Warmer-weather-NOT-stop-spread-virus-without-social-distancing.html" target="_blank">Daily Mail</a> reported.</p>
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Medical Groups Call Racism a Public Health Issue, Condemn Police Brutality
03 June
Health + Wellness
Protesters gather to protest the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota by police, on May 27, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
The glaring numbers that show how disproportionately racial minorities have been affected by the coronavirus and by police brutality go hand-in-hand. The two are byproducts of systemic racism that has kept people of color marginalized and contributed to a public health crisis, according to three prominent medical organizations — the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association and American College of Physicians, as CNN reported.
<p>"Racism is a public health issue," the American Academy of Pediatrics wrote on Twitter. "The AAP condemns violence, especially when perpetrated by authorities, and calls for a deep examination of how to improve the role of policing. Systemic violence requires systemic response."</p><p>The tweet linked to the <a href="https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/144/2/e20191765" target="_blank">organization's 2019 statement</a> on the impact of racism on child and adolescent health.</p>
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<p>"The same broad-sweeping structural racism that enables police brutality against black Americans is also responsible for higher mortality among black Americans with COVID-19," said Maimuna Majumder, a Harvard epidemiologist working on the COVID-19 response, to <a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2020/6/1/21276828/pandemic-protests-police-public-health-black-lives-matter" target="_blank">Vox</a>.</p><p>"One in every 1,000 black men and boys can expect to be killed by police in this country," she said "To me, this clearly illustrates why police brutality is a public health problem; anything that causes mortality at such a scale is a public health problem."</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.apha.org/news-and-media/news-releases/apha-news-releases/2020/racism-is-a-public-health-crisis" target="_blank">statement</a>, the American Public Health Association (APHA) also drew attention to the health challenges that systemic and institutional racism cause. "Racism attacks people's physical and mental health. And racism is an ongoing public health crisis that needs our attention now," said the APHA. The group went on to say discrimination can be seen in all aspects of life, including housing, education, the criminal justice system, and employment and it has been amplified during this pandemic as communities of color face inequities "in everything, from a greater burden of COVID-19 cases to less access to testing, treatment, and care."</p>
<p>Last week, the American Medical Association's (AMA) president and board chair teamed up to issue a joint <a href="https://www.ama-assn.org/about/leadership/police-brutality-must-stop" target="_blank">statement</a> that "police brutality must stop," as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/01/health/racism-public-health-issue-police-brutality-wellness-bn/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported.</p><p>"AMA policy recognizes that physical or verbal violence between law enforcement officers and the public, particularly among Black and Brown communities where these incidents are more prevalent and pervasive, is a critical determinant of health and supports research into the public health consequences of these violent interactions," the <a href="https://www.ama-assn.org/about/leadership/police-brutality-must-stop" target="_blank">statement</a> said.</p><p>"Recognizing that many who serve in law enforcement are committed to justice, the violence inflicted by police in news headlines today must be understood in relation to larger social and economic arrangements that put individuals and populations in harm's way leading to premature illness and death," they wrote, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/01/health/racism-public-health-issue-police-brutality-wellness-bn/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported. "Police violence is a striking reflection of our American legacy of racism — a system that assigns value and structures opportunity while unfairly advantaging some and disadvantaging others based on their skin color."</p>
<p>The statement also cited studies that people of color can suffer mental health consequences and feelings of trauma just by knowing that unarmed black men were victims of police brutality. "Racism as a driver of health inequity is also particularly evident in <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)31130-9/fulltext" target="_blank">findings from a 2018 study showing that law enforcement-involved deaths</a> of unarmed black individuals were associated with adverse mental health among Black American adults — a spillover effect on the population, regardless of whether the individual affected had a personal relationship with the victim or the incident was experienced vicariously," the AMA <a href="https://www.ama-assn.org/about/leadership/police-brutality-must-stop" target="_blank">statement</a> said.</p><p>"The trauma of violence in a person's life course is associated with chronic stress, higher rates of comorbidities and lower life expectancy, all of which bear extensive care and economic burden on our healthcare system while sapping the strength of affected families and communities," the <a href="https://www.ama-assn.org/about/leadership/police-brutality-must-stop" target="_blank">statement</a> continued, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/01/health/racism-public-health-issue-police-brutality-wellness-bn/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported.</p>
<p>In a similar vein, the American College of Physicians (ACP) released a <a href="https://www.acponline.org/acp-newsroom/internists-gravely-concerned-about-discrimination-and-violence-by-public-authorities-and-others" target="_blank">statement</a> on Friday that its members are terribly concerned about "discriminatory enforcement and violence."<br></p><p>"ACP has long held that hate crimes, prejudice, discrimination, harassment and violence against any person based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, or country of origin is a public health issue," wrote Dr. Heather Gantzer, chair of the board of regents for the American College of Physicians, in the <a href="https://www.acponline.org/acp-newsroom/internists-gravely-concerned-about-discrimination-and-violence-by-public-authorities-and-others" target="_blank">statement</a>, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/01/health/racism-public-health-issue-police-brutality-wellness-bn/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported. "The issue of how to ensure that policing does not result in discriminatory enforcement and violence is a multifaceted and complex one."</p>
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Coronavirus patients wait to be evacuated on Tuesday ahead of Cyclone Nisarga in Mumbai. Ashish Vaishnav / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images
At least 100,000 people were evacuated along India's west coast as the country's financial capital of Mumbai awaits its first cyclone in more than 70 years.
<p>Cyclone Nisarga comes as Mumbai struggles to contain the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a> pandemic. The city is the worst hit in India, with more than 40,000 confirmed cases and almost 1,400 deaths, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-52900967" target="_blank">BBC News reported</a>.</p><p>"Everything we didn't want to happen right now is happening," one city official said on TV, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/03/cyclone-nisarga-india-evacuates-100000-as-mumbai-braces-for-historic-storm" target="_blank">The Guardian reported</a>.</p>
<p>The storm made landfall around 1 p.m. local time with wind speeds of up to 68 miles per hour, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said, as <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/03/asia/cyclone-nisarga-mumbai-india-intl-hnk/index.html" target="_blank">CNN reported</a>. Before making landfall, it strengthened over the Arabian Sea into to a Severe Cyclonic Storm in the West Pacific, the equivalent of slightly less than a Category 1 Atlantic <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/hurricanes" target="_self">hurricane</a>. The biggest threat from the storm is likely to be <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/flooding" target="_self">flooding</a>. It is projected to rain heavily and could produce a storm surge of up to 3.3 to 6.6 feet that could swamp parts of Mumbai, Thane and Raigad districts.</p><p>The storm made landfall in Alibag town, south of Mumbai. Alibag is "Mumbai's answer to Martha's Vineyard," a beach-side town where many of Mumbai's wealthy have vacation homes, The Guardian pointed out.</p><p>The storm is the first cyclone to hit Mumbai since 1948, when a storm killed 12 and injured more than 100.</p>
<p>However, scientists say the historically calm Arabian Sea is spawning more cyclones because of changes wrought by the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a>, <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/news-analysis/story/as-cyclone-nisarga-eyes-mumbai-blame-is-on-climate-change-1684690-2020-06-02" target="_blank">India Today reported</a>.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/" target="_blank">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a> (IPCC) found that the Arabian Sea's surface temperature was rising. Tropical cyclones tend to form over waters 30 to 33 degrees Celsius, and that was around the surface temperature of the Arabian Sea when Nisarga consolidated.</p><p>IMD also noted that the sea spawned more storms than normal in 2019.</p><p>"During 2019, 8 cyclonic storms formed over the Indian seas. Arabian Sea contributed 5 out of these 8 cyclones against the normal of 1 per year, which equals the previous record of 1902 for the highest frequency of cyclones over the Arabian Sea. This year also witnessed development of more intense cyclones over the Arabian Sea," IMD <a href="https://mausam.imd.gov.in/backend/assets/press_release_pdf/Statement_on_Climate_of_India_during_2019.pdf" target="_blank">wrote</a>.</p>
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<p>These changes are now likely to have real consequences for Mumbai and the surrounding region. BBC correspondent Janhavee Moole said it had been raining in the city since Tuesday.</p><p>"I can see the trees shaking violently," Moole said. "All beaches in the city are closed to the public and a police patrol van is making announcements, asking people to stay indoors. All safety precautions possible are being taken, but I do feel worried because the city is also in the grip of a pandemic."</p>
<p>Coronavirus patients were among those evacuated ahead of the storm. Around 150 were moved from a newly-built field hospital to a place with a concrete roof that could better withstand high wind speeds, The Guardian reported.</p><p>In addition to Mumbai, the storm also threatens people living in shacks or shanties near the coast of the state of Maharashtra, where Mumbai is located. More than 21,000 villagers were evacuated in the state's Palghar district.</p><p>The entire state is also the hardest hit in India by the coronavirus pandemic, CNN reported, with more than 72,300 cases and more than 2,400 deaths.</p><p>The storm also threatens the state of Gujarat, the Union Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. In Gujarat, more than 50,000 people living along the coast have been evacuated.</p><p>"In wake of the coronavirus outbreak all standard operating procedures are being followed at the temporary shelters which have been sanitised and instructions have been issued on following safe distancing," Arpit Sagar, an official in Valsad, Gujarat said, according to The Guardian.</p>Cyclone Nisarga strikes about two weeks after <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/cyclone-amphan-india-bangladesh-2646063894.html" target="_self">Cyclone Amphan</a> walloped part of India's east coast, as well as neighboring Bangladesh, killing more than 100, BBC News reported. Cyclone Amphan also intensified over warm ocean surface waters.
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