Category Archives: High Seas

Ten University of Hawaii students have been selected to receive $1,000 each through a new award program aimed at completing a project to conserve the living resources of the ocean. The Ocean Conservation Awards are funded by a donation from the Global High Seas Marine Preserve organization, and administered by the UH Foundation. The student practitioners were chosen by faculty mentors for the 202122 academic year.

The Ocean Conservation Award program is a wonderful way to recognize, support and mentor students who wish to make a positive difference for our oceans, said program manager Mark Hixon, the Hsiao Endowed Professor of Marine Biology in the School of Life Sciences at UH Mnoa.

Danny Quintana, Global High Seas Marine Preserve president and founder, is motivated by the need for immediate action to save the seas. We will succeed. Failure is not an option, he said.

The faculty mentors, who are all experts on ocean conservation issues, will guide the development and implementation of student projects during the academic year. Student awardees range from first-year undergraduates to post-baccalaureate students in multiple disciplines, focusing on a variety of projects:

To save our imperiled oceans we need more than just marine biologists to be engaged, Winter said. Empowering our youth and our communities will catalyze the change we desperately need. This program aims to do just that.

Kaneshiro added, It is an extreme honor for NREM students to participate in the first annual UH Ocean Conservation Awards! Their projects will showcase their dedication to marine life conservation and give them an opportunity to use their science communication skills beyond books. They are also looking forward to sharing their science with communities here at home, on the web and social media!

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Students win new UH awards to protect oceans | University of Hawaii System News - UH System Current News

Global food prices are rising along with many other commodities and constitute a major part of the inflation picture.

According to UN Food and Agriculture Organisations biannual global food outlook, prices had risen by 40% in the 15 months to June and the trend has continued. That is the largest increase since 2010-11, which students are geopolitical events will know was one of the major triggers of the so called Arab Spring that red to a revolution in Egypt and upheaval elsewhere.

Now the latest data from the FAO shows prices up 30% in the past 12 months alone.

In other words, high food prices is not just an economic problem but a social one. And it is even more of a problem economically and socially in developing countries, where people spend proportionally more of their income on food.

As with energy price inflation, food costs could also prove to be a hindrance to maintaining the economic recovery in the wake of the Covid pandemic. Thats certainly the view of JpMorgan. It expects to see a purchasing power squeeze on households and expects the drag on the recovery to persist into next year.

Food and energy prices are excluded from core inflation data because they can be more volatility, affected such things as the vagaries of the weather in the case of food, and so can have distorting effects on inflation. But for ordinary people, such methodological niceties have no bearing on the real inflation that they are experiencing.

But in addition to weather and climate, food supply is being disrupted by the same supply chain dislocation that is hurting in non-agricultural sectors such as manufacturing.

We should also add too that the vagaries of weather and climate may become something more systemic as feared in the droughts that are affecting many key agricultural regions of the global economy, such as Brazil and California.

Droughts in Latin America are particularly severe and the agricultural powerhouse Brazil is in the eye of the storm.

Brazil is facing its worst drought in 91 years, hitting both the agriculture sector but also the extensive hydroelectric power. Hydro power generation is down by 35% in a country where 70% of electricity comes from that source. Beef prices in Brazil are up 43%. The weakness of the Brazilian Real (BRL) is not helping matters encouraging demand for its exports while making imports more expensive.

Argentina the largest grower of soya bean has seen the harvest drop by 10%. Fodder for cattle is in short supply, helping to push beef prices. As the global economy responds to a surge in demand as lockdowns are ended in Western countries, oil and gas prices have risen accordingly.

In Paraguay the Paran River is 10 feet below its normal level. Thats a huge problem for Paraguay because it is the main transport conduit in the land-locked country 85% of foreign trade is conducted on the river. In Mexico, 70% of the country is suffering from drought and Mexico City is threatened by a lack of water supply. The countrys central bank blames the drought for adding to inflation.

Food inflation in fact began to take root before the pandemic kicked in. Take the example of pork prices in China, the largest consumer of the meat in the world.

In 2018 swine fever hit the country, decimating the hog herd, which amounted at the time to half of the world population of pigs. That had a huge knock-on effect globally by sending pork prices in China through the roof, which in turn pushed up pork and other animal protein prices across the world.

Lockdowns wreaked havoc with supply chains, putting pressure on prices. Also, habits started to change, with less people eating out and more groceries being bought for home consumption i addition to outbreaks of hoarding and stockpiling but a significant number of consumer, led to more upward pressure on prices.

The US is one of the worlds major exporters of food, from cereals to orange juice and the appreciation in the value of the US dollar didnt help matters for non-dollar buyers. Prices topped out in April 2020 and had begun to moderate by summer 2020, so this changing consumption patterns and the lockdowns can'[t by themselves account for the food inflation.

According to analysis by the IMF, although food prices may be rising at your grocery store and supermarket, that is not yet contributing to headline inflation, but they expect it may do so next year. However producer prices are a different these had spiked in the first half of the year, although this can take six to 12 months to flow through into consumer food prices.

So where is the major driver right now for the food prices increases consumers are seeing show up in their shopping bills? Shipping costs.

We already know about the driver shortages that had started to impact the supply of petrol to pumps in the UK fuel crisis, worsened by panic buying. But the shipping on the high seas is the big picture.

Ocean freight rates have doubled and even tripled over the past year, according to Baltic Dry Index data. Container prices have doubled since May shows data from the Drewry World Container Index.

These jumps in transport costs feed through into how much we pay for our food in the shops, leading to food price inflation.

Data from the IMF shows that since April 2020 producer food prices rose 47% to May 2021.

Between May 2020 to May 2021, soybean and corn prices jumped a massive 86% and 111%, respectively.

Demand for staples for both people and animals remains elevated, partly because of growing demand in China and stockpiling.

Also droughts we mention earlier are having an effect by reducing harvest yields, so in addition to the US, Brazil and Argentina that we mentioned, we can add Russia and Ukraine.

Then there is demand for biofuels and speculation associated with that. According to Drewry this has led to supply tightness in soybean oil.

Finally some countries are preventing food stuffs being moved out of their country in the name of food security.

Consumer food price inflation is set to move higher from here, with retailers no longer able to absorb price increases. The IMF expects a pass through of 20% from producer to consumer prices because consumer prices also include things like transport and packaging costs.

The IMF thinks this implies an increase in consumer food price inflation of 3.2% and 1.75% on average worldwide in 2021 and 2022, respectively. A further 1% could be attributed in 2021 to higher freight rates.

But averages hide the variations, and some countries will undoubtedly be hit harder than others.

In the UK there are problems of labour shortages associated with Brexit that is adding to production costs.

For sure, emerging market countries in region such as sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East and North Africa could struggle the most because of the high proportion of imported food that they rely on.

And more generally, again as previously mentioned, emerging market populations will tend to spend a greater proportion of their income on food, so will be impacted much more from prices rises.

These food price hikes also come at a time when the pandemic has already weakened the ability of households in the less developed countries to cope with more economic shocks.

One last point a strengthened dollar is bad news for emerging and developing economies as it means paying relatively more for food stuffs that are for the most part traded in US dollars.

All of the above is now combining with energy price inflation to magnify food inflation.

Its this combination of things thats beginning to get very worrying, said Abdolreza Abbassian, the senior economist at the FAO.

Gary was the production editor for 15 years at highly regarded UK investment magazine Money Observer. He covered subjects as diverse as social trading and fixed income exchange traded funds. Gary initiated coverage of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies at Money Observer and for three years to July 2020 was the cryptocurrency analyst at the UKs No. 2 investment platform Interactive Investor. In that role he provided expert commentary to a diverse number of newspapers, and other media outlets, including the Daily Telegraph, Evening Standard and the Sun. Gary has also written widely on cryptocurrencies for various industry publications, such as Coin Desk and The FinTech Times, City AM, Ethereum World News, and InsideBitcoins. Gary is the winner of Cryptocurrency Writer of the Year in the 2018 ADVFN International Awards.

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Food Prices Are Soaring Worldwide Here's Why and What Comes Next - EconomyWatch.com

Scorching heat waves, flooding rains, and raging wildfires have affected large swaths of Earths surface in recent months, breaking records yet again and aligning with climate model projections suggesting that extreme weather will continue to become more frequent and more severe. The leading edge of the climate crisis is setting in.

Understanding what potentially lies ahead has never been more important for the long-term well-being of Earths people and ecosystems. However, predictions of what exactly will happen to the climate in the future are riddled with uncertainties that hinder efforts to implementor sometimes even to considerplans aimed at mitigating or adapting to change. One promising approach to improving our understanding of the future and reducing uncertainty is to examine the geological past.

Miocene climate archives represent an opportunity to retroactively gain insights into processes affected by climatic warming.

Warmer intervals of the Eocene (5634 million years ago), Miocene (235 million years ago), and Pliocene (52.6 million years ago) epochswhose climates can be reconstructed using proxies preserved in the geologic record as well as through computer simulationsserve as analogues for future warm climates. Studying these periods provides unique perspectives that can help us anticipate the patterns and impacts of future warming [Burke et al., 2018; Lear et al., 2020; Tierney et al., 2020].

Miocene climate archives, for example, represent an opportunity to retroactively gain insights into processes affected by climatic warming [Steinthorsdottir et al., 2021a]. During the Miocene, continental positions resembled their configuration today, and Earths systems and life formsin the ocean and on land, from the atmosphere to the cryosphereexperienced dynamic changes.

In the early and late Miocene, widespread glaciations prevailed at high latitudes, whereas the middle Miocene was characterized by greenhouse conditions (Figure 1). By the late Miocene, many key components of the Earth system as we know it today had developed, including perennial Arctic ice, the El NioSouthern Oscillation, strong monsoon systems, the tundra-permafrost biome, widespread grasslands, and modern forests with their associated ecosystems, as well as modern-type coral reefs. Many of these systems, however, are now viewed as vulnerable to impending climate change if conditions like those that were typical during the middle Miocene recur. It is therefore of enormous interest to study this past period as a possible future-climate analogue.

The Miocene Climatic Optimum (MCO), from about 16.9 million to 14.7 million years ago, is a particularly appropriate analogue for assessing near-term future climate scenarios and the predictive accuracy of numerical climate models [Schellnhuber et al., 2016]. The MCO was a transient episode when carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations were between about 400 and 650 parts per million [Steinthorsdottir et al., 2021a] (for comparison, the global average in 2019 was 410 parts per million). Average temperatures during the MCO were roughly 6C8C warmer than today, on par with the upper range of future warming predictions calculated using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes Representative Concentration Pathways [Steinthorsdottir et al., 2021a, 2021b].

Over the past decade, the paleoclimatology community has cooperated to make headway in evaluating warm climate analogues in the Pliocene and Eocene through model intercomparison projects (MIPs) such as the Pliocene MIP (PlioMIP) and the Deep-Time MIP (DeepMIP) [Haywood et al., 2016; Lunt et al., 2021]. In contrast, the Miocene has received comparatively little such attention; but that is beginning to change.

The community recognized the opportunity to provide a collaboratively developed, updatable, and freely accessible data portal for Miocene temperature data

A necessary first step in developing a Miocene MIP, or MioMIP, is to build a comprehensive synthesis of proxy-derived observational data for comparison against numerical simulation outputs. In June 2019, a multidisciplinary group of scientists interested in all aspects of Miocene climate and biota gathered for MioMeet at the Bolin Centre for Climate Research at Stockholm University. Participants at the meeting committed to inventorying and collating all existing Miocene temperature data sets starting with sea surface temperature to create MioMIP, following the examples of PlioMIP and DeepMIP. (Additional outcomes of the meeting included a special collection of papers published in Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology in 2020 and 2021, a comprehensive review paper on Miocene research published in the same journal, and a Miocene-focused session at AGU Fall Meeting 2020.)

Efforts to collate records highlighted an extensive existing suite of marine temperature data sets from the Miocene [Burls et al., 2021]. Rather than concluding its work with a static compilation of these accumulated data, however, the community recognized the opportunity to build on this foundation to provide a resource that would continue to be usefula collaboratively developed, updatable, and freely accessible data portal for Miocene temperature data.

The inventory of ocean temperature records initiated at MioMeet revealed more than 40 published ocean temperature records from individual stations around the world, but more than a dozen more such records were in development or in the publication pipeline. Most of these records span millions of years of Earth history and typically represent hundreds of individual temperature estimates collected over a span of years. The prospect of the existing inventory of temperature records soon growing by 25% or more made clear that the Miocene research community needed a platform to support data access and discovery for researchers, including modelers and scientists from outside the discipline.

An enormous amount of effort goes into obtaining these recordseach spot on the map in Figure 2 arises from a dedicated ocean or land-based geological sampling expedition (most often deep-sea coring). Each record also requires countless hours of subsequent lab work to isolate signal-carrying materials (e.g., microscopic calcareous fossils or organic remains that preserve climate information; see Figure 3), establish precise sample ages, and perform geochemical analyses. In addition, raw geochemical data must be transformed into robust temperature estimates using state-of-the-art calibration equations that relate the abundance of certain chemical species in the samples (e.g., trace amounts of magnesium in the calcium carbonate shells of plankton) to the environmental temperature at the time the material grew.

The Miocene temperature portal was born of collaboration between this community and experts from the Bolin Centre Database Team, who together produced a supported contribution in the established climate database framework. The portal itself is not a data repository, because paleoclimate data are not actually archived there. Rather, it is designed as an up-to-date and easy-to-use routing center to help scientists find published Miocene temperature records at the repositories where they are archived.

The portal offers researchers a way to identify gaps in the Miocene temperature record and develop much-needed new records, and to explore potential interpretations of their data sets.

The portals user interface provides map visualizations of sites for which existing data are available and the ability to sort or filter entries to identify data on the basis of proxy type, ocean basin, and age. It also offers one-click links to the source publications and to data repository pages where the archived data can be accessed. The organization of the portal offers researchersincluding emerging researchers new to the study of Miocene climatea way to identify spatial or temporal gaps in the Miocene temperature record and develop much-needed new records, to explore potential interpretations of their data sets, or to test hypotheses by comparing new data sets to previously published records.

The portal also provides a simple interface by which community members can add new entries to the inventory. All entries provide source metadata, including URL addresses, so other researchers can readily access newly published temperature records and associated peer-reviewed publications. Paleotemperature experts screen new metadata entries prior to their addition to the portal to ensure quality control. This process entails vetting metadata accuracy but makes no judgment about the temperature proxy data themselves or about how the data were calibrated (considerations that would have been addressed previously in the peer review process).

The ability for researchers to contribute information about new records provides a mechanism for the portal to remain a useful community resource in perpetuity. Whereas the current version 1.0 contains only ocean surface temperature records, the soon-to-be-released version 2.0 will also include Miocene bottom water temperatures, and a potential future version could include terrestrial temperature records.

The Miocene temperature portal offers a robust starting point as the Miocene data community undertakes the development of an exhaustive data synthesis in support of a MioMIP effort. This effort entails not only collating but also reviewing and recalibrating all existing temperature records. We are confident that the portal will also stimulate other collaborative research projects among Miocene researchers.

For example, the portal should be especially useful for assembling disparate data from various climate proxies and locations for studies comparing model outputs with cataloged observations. These studies are the gold standard for using paleodata to inform our understanding of modern climate change. In addition, researchers specializing in reconstructing atmospheric CO2 in the Miocene could benefit from the portal because it provides an easy means of accessing ocean temperature records that will enable them to assess climate sensitivity (the climate systems response to changes in atmospheric CO2). By providing a centralized overview of available records from different proxies, the portal may aid in proxy comparison studies evaluating the robustness of existing paleothermometers and assessing whether estimates from different proxies can be compiled into a comprehensive and reliable Miocene climate synthesis.

The portal contributes to the growing number of volunteer-driven, discipline-wide efforts to create publicly available, continuously updated databases that support data discovery and access.

The Miocene temperature portal contributes to the growing number of volunteer-driven, discipline-wide efforts to create publicly available, continuously updated databases (e.g., SISAL (Speleothem Isotopes Synthesis and Analysis), Paleo-CO2) that support data discovery and access. Similar recent efforts, such as in the speleothem research community, provide additional examples of the approach we describe and the benefits we anticipate with this portal.

The collaborative effort to develop this temperature platform has helped galvanize the Miocene data community to plan a Past Global Changes (PAGES) working group. This working group will coordinate efforts to synthesize existing and new paleodata to determine the drivers and mechanisms of Miocene climate change, to support the initiation of a MioMIP, and to gain insights about consequences that future warming may hold for Earth.

The portal should also broaden participation in Miocene climate research by helping avoid repetition of effort in the data synthesis stage. It should also reduce barriers to participation for students or for experienced researchers who have studied other time periods and are seeking to understand data coverage and locate key data-based works from the Miocene.

In the future, funding agencies should prioritize grants for collaborative meetings and data portals to ensure that sustainable data platforms are developed and maintained to provide gateways for sharing, accessing, and visualizing published scientific data within given research disciplines. We hope the Miocene temperature portal inspires other research communities to undertake similar efforts in support of access to and advancement of scientific inquiry in their own fields.

The authors thank Anders Moberg and Rezwan Mohammad from the Bolin Centre Database Team for their technical expertise and collaborative spirit. The authors also thank the Miocene research community, most especially Natalie Burls, Matthew Huber, Sevasti Modestou, Francesca Sangiorgi, Timothy Herbert, Carrie Lear, and Ann Pearson, for their contributions to the Miocene temperature portal.

Burke, K. D., et al. (2018), Pliocene and Eocene provide best analogs for near-future climates, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A., 115(52), 13,28813,293, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1809600115.

Burls, N. J., et al. (2021), Simulating Miocene warmth: Insights from an opportunistic multi-model ensemble (MioMIP1), Paleoceanogr. Paleoclimatol., 36(5), e2020PA004054, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020PA004054.

Haywood, A. M., et al. (2016), The Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project (PlioMIP) Phase 2: Scientific objectives and experimental design, Clim. Past, 12, 663675, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-663-2016.

Kershaw, F. (2008), Mean annual sea surface temperature, for the period 20032007, using data from NASAs Ocean Color database, in Integrating Highly Migratory Species into High Seas Marine Protected Area Planning: A Global Gap Analysis, 113 pp., Oxford Univ. Cent. for the Environ., U.N. Environ. Progr. World Conserv. Monit. Cent., Cambridge, U.K., https://doi.org/10.34892/6r3c-ay71.

Lear, C. H., et al. (2020), Geological Society of London Scientific Statement: What the geological record tells us about our present and future climate, J. Geol. Soc., 178(1), jgs2020-239, https://doi.org/10.1144/jgs2020-239.

Lunt, D. J., et al. (2021), DeepMIP: Model intercomparison of early Eocene climatic optimum (EECO) large-scale climate features and comparison with proxy data, Clim. Past, 17(1), 203227, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-203-2021.

Schellnhuber, H. J., S. Rahmstorf, and R. Winkelmann (2016), Why the right climate target was agreed in Paris, Nat. Clim. Change, 6, 649653, https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate3013.

Steinthorsdottir, M., et al. (2021a), The Miocene: The future of the past, Paleoceanogr. Paleoclimatol., 36(4), e2020PA004037, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020PA004037.

Steinthorsdottir, M., P. E. Jardine, and W. C. Rember (2021b), Near-future pCO2 during the hot Miocene Climatic Optimum, Paleoceanogr. Paleoclimatol., 36(1), e2020PA003900, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020PA003900.

Tierney, J. E., et al. (2020), Past climates inform our future, Science, 370(6517), eaay3701, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aay3701.

Kira T. Lawrence (lawrenck@lafayette.edu), Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, Lafayette College, Easton, Pa.; Helen K. Coxall, Department of Geological Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm; also at Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm; Sindia Sosdian, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, U.K.; and Margret Steinthorsdottir, Department of Paleobiology, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm; also at Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm

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Navigating Miocene Ocean Temperatures for Insights into the Future - Eos

The NorthLight Foundation and Dan and Sheryl Tishman are giving more than $11.12 million to help the School for Environment and Sustainability expand its environmental justice efforts and impact at a pivotal time for social justice.

The gift is the largest in SEAS history and will help address the growing urgency and increasing demand for environmental justice expertise and professionals.

It will establish the Tishman Center for Social Justice and the Environment, the Tishman Scholarship Fund, and two Tishman Professorships in Environmental Justice in both SEAS and the College of Engineering, building on SEAS rich history of leadership in environmental justice.

President Mark Schlissel announced the gift and the creation of the new center, scholarship fund and professorships during his Leadership Address on Oct. 7.

SEAS forerunner at U-M, the School of Natural Resources and Environment, was the first school in the nation to launch an academic program in environmental justice nearly 30 years ago.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, environmental justice is the idea that all people, especially vulnerable populations, have the right to the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards, as well as equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn and work.

The Tishman Center will enable SEAS and the university to expand the scope of their environmental justice program and integrate environmental justice more effectively into all solutions for the planet.

The gift will provide funding to hire and retain additional top environmental scholars across disciplines and create more cross-campus partnerships to embed environmental justice within all fields. To that end, the new faculty positions will be hired within both SEAS and CoE.

It also will provide for expanded justice programming and training, and allow for the recruiting of top students from underrepresented backgrounds who lack the resources to study in SEAS preeminent environmental justice program.

We are grateful to the Tishmans for their incredibly meaningful gift, which will help SEAS, Engineering and the University of Michigan expand our work to ensure that justice and equity are at the core of the transition to a more environmentally sound and sustainable low-carbon world, said Jonathan Overpeck, the Samuel A. Graham Dean and William B. Stapp Collegiate Professor of Environmental Education at SEAS.

There is no sustainability without justice, and this gift comes at a time when were seeing a greater emphasis on incorporating justice into all aspects of infrastructure and economic development, transportation, energy, public health, business, climate action and more. The new center will help ensure that SEAS is positioned to have the greatest impact in the communities with the greatest need.

Overpeck said it is often people of color who are disproportionately affected by climate change and environmental hazards, including air pollution, toxic waste and flooding. Communities on the frontlines of injustice live in urban and rural areas, and are more likely to be affected by income inequality.

We need to be equity-centered in our solutions, acknowledging and correcting for who benefits and who is harmed, said Alec D. Gallimore, the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering, the Richard F. and Eleanor A. Towner Professor of Engineering, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor and professor of aerospace engineering.

This gift will give SEAS and Engineering greater capacity to collaborate and work in partnership with communities and their leaders to ensure solutions are developed with them and truly work for them.

Citing an increased focus on environmental justice at federal and state levels, Overpeck said the Tishman Center will allow SEAS to meet the demand to educate more students who will make sure environmental justice is an integral part of whatever they choose to do in their careers.

It is more critical than ever, he said, that those in interdisciplinary fields across U-M, including engineering, have a firm understanding of how to integrate environmental justice into real-world solutions that address climate change and sustainability.

This gift empowers us at SEAS to foster the educational experience that communities affected by injustice have been demanding of universities, said Kyle Whyte, the George Willis Pack Professor of Environment and Sustainability at SEAS, who also serves on the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council.

We can mobilize the best knowledge and methods to prepare generations of new leaders on how to center justice in their environmental advocacy, and develop new programming for cultivating justice-grounded leaders who can act to solve the most pressing environmental crises, from climate equity to food sovereignty.

Through their NorthLight Foundation, the Tishmans make investments at the intersection of human and environmental landscapes and work with organizations to deliver high impact and systemic change.

The family has a multigenerational legacy at U-M. Daniel Tishmans late father, John, and son Gabe are U-M alumni. The familys combined charitable gifts, which include donations to the College of Engineering, Michigan Athletics and this most recent commitment, total more than $25 million.

As environmental funders, for decades we have discovered that frontline communities have been largely left behind by the environmental movement, Dan and Sheryl Tishman said. These communities have very little voice in the battle for a clean environment and climate change, but sadly have been the most impacted. It is our mission to invest our philanthropy in places where there is a great need and little investment.

Environmental justice is at the heart of solving the greatest environmental challenges of the day. We know of no other university that has been willing to establish a center focused on environmental justice. We are so excited to be partnering with Michigan to create this one-of-a-kind program.

Added Schlissel: Societal challenges such as climate change harm us globally, but they do not affect us all equally. Its crucial that we understand the intersection between sustainability and social justice. By elevating important voices and centering affected communities, the Tishman Center for Social Justice and the Environment will advance the University of Michigans mission to serve the people of Michigan and the world.

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SEAS receives $11M gift to expand environmental justice work | The University Record - The University Record

Cruise ships have returned to the Port of San Diego. As passengers board once again, they may notice some changes on their voyage.

"They are constantly cleaning everything," said Dorian Strevig, a passenger on a Disney Cruise ship to Mexico. "When they said they were adding more hand sanitizers I didn't know how they could do that, they already have so many on board."

Other passengers also said there are some changes. For instance, requiring facemasks while indoors. It's not always ideal, but many said they're just glad to see things opening up.

"I know that they've taken this very seriously with COVID," Lynne Austin said. "You have to wear a mask indoors, we get that, we're used to that."

As people are looking to book vacations that they had to cancel last year, interest in cruises is up. Doug Shupe of the Auto Club of Southern California said they are receiving lots of calls about cruises for 2022.

"People who take cruises are very loyal passengers," Shupe said. "They've missed this experience of being out there on the high seas."

If you are looking to book a cruise, Shupe said there are some things to expect.

"You're going to have to have proof of vaccination as well as proof of a negative COVID test taken within 48 hours of leaving," Shupe said. "Masks are also required when you're inside the vessel."

There's also an increased focus on social distancing.

"The cruise lines are sailing at 40 to 70% capacity right now," Shupe explained.

Also, be sure to check the cruise line's policies.

"Some cruise lines are requiring all passengers be fully vaccinated," Shupe said. "For those under 12, that might not be an option."

Additionally, expect changes to the food buffets, such as not being able to serve yourself. There may also be more regular cleaning, and some ships have even gone cashless. Shupe said if you're interested, book early as he expects 2022 to be a big year for the industry.

"Interest level for those cruises is huge right now," he said.

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Planning a Cruise? Here's What You Need to Know - NBC San Diego

The families of Renzo Spasiano and Carlos Jurez, the Argentine crew members of the missing yacht in Mexico, ask that the Mexican Navy continue the operation to find them since they assure that after a week without traces they entered a process of Passive search.

Both families confirmed this to the media, while the Cancun International Rescue Brigade a humanitarian organization that has been collaborating in the search also confirmed that the Mexican authorities decided to enter a passive search.

We do not know if Mexico wants to withdraw the search today or tomorrowHe told the agency Telam from Mexico Liliana Zagari, mother of Renzo, the 20-year-old who was on board the MOI Guadalupe, the yacht that has been missing since last September 28.

Martin Juarez, Carloss older brother -43 years old and owner of the company that offers rides on luxury yachts for Carmen beach He affirmed that in Mexico they have stopped actively searching for them, which means that there were ships and planes that were looking for them, but now they have cut off that tracking due to a protocol they have and only passive search has been left.

This passive search, as he explained, means that only if the ships that are out there on the high seas see them, the alarm is activated again and they look for it again by plane.

While the Argentine consul in Playa del Carmen, Lautaro Filchtinsky, indicated to Telam There are no results in the search for the yacht MOI Guadalupe, in which the Mexican Martn Vega Argaez, 44, and the Cuban Denis Manuel Fernndez Daz, 46, were also traveling.

From the Cancun International Rescue Brigade, they reported that unfortunately we do not have good news so far, and specified that today the Mexican Navy entered into a passive search process where they informed us that for 48 hours they will monitor the currents to see if they determine the presence or absence of remains of the boat or any indication of shipwreck .

The Brigades emergency coordinator, Enrique Ochoa, explained that paSadas these 48 hours they will declare suspended the searchAnd stressed the need to request the support of the Mexican authorities so that they do not suspend the active search.

For now, the search is still in force only that it passes a period of passivity, so the request is that the active search be resumed, he added.

On this point, Ochoa explained that the active search includes the dispatch of aircraft and boats to the area to make overflights and tours to try to locate them on site.

Instead, the passive search It consists of no longer making overflights or sending boats, but only waiting for a notification from a particular or public boat or aircraft that is flying over the region, he concluded.

The yacht lost contact on September 28 when it returned to the Mexican town of Puerto Aventuras, their port of origin, after a humanitarian aid mission in Haiti.

That they look for them by air would be something logical, everything seems that they are still without engines adriftJuarez said hopefully.

For this, the relatives faced a collection of money to continue the search privately.

I have a younger brother there and I here, in Mendoza, trying to find the most money we can and we hope that the bank will pass us on to the official dollar to collect the most amount we can since costs range from $ 5,000 to $ 20,000 the time of the plane, according to the hours it is used , said the man from Mendoza.

The management of Puerto Aventuras issued a $ 10,000 reward notice for those who provide decisive information that allows the discovery of the MOI Guadalupe.

Disclaimer: This article is generated from the feed and not edited by our team.

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Mexico wants to abandon them: relatives denounce that the search for the yacht that disappear... - Market Research Telecast

Taking Digital India at high seas, the Indian Navy and State Bank of India (SBI) launched SBIs NAV-eCash Card onboard Indias largest Naval Aircraft Carrier INS Vikramaditya. The launch of this card was done in presence of C S Setty, Managing Director (Retail & Digital Banking), SBI and Vice Admiral R Harikumar, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command.

The launch of SBIs NAV-eCash Card is an important milestone for digital payment solutions and SBIs commitment towards the GOIs vision of Digital India and a conscious shift towards a less-cash economy. The unique infrastructure at naval ships inhibits traditional payment solutions particularly when the ship is on high seas where there is no connectivity. NAV-eCash Card with its dual-chip technology will facilitate both online as well as offline transactions.

The Card will obviate the difficulties faced by personnel onboard in handling physical cash during deployment of the ship at high seas. The idea of such a card was jointly nurtured by SBI and Navy officials and the card takes care of the requirements of the Navy to provide a seamless onboard experience. The new journey envisioned in the form of NAV- eCash Card will change the payment ecosystem while the ship is sailing with no dependency on cash for utilization of any of the services on board.

Speaking at the occasion, CS Setty, MD (Retail & Digital Banking), SBI, emphasized the Banks commitment towards defence forces and the long relationship with the armed forces of India. He also expressed the feeling of pride in being associated with defence forces. The concept will be replicated at other naval ships and various defence establishments for creating a secured, convenient and sustainable payment ecosystem.

State Bank of India is the largest commercial bank in terms of assets, deposits, branches, customers, and employees. It is also the largest mortgage lender in the country which has so far fulfilled the home buying dreams of 30 lakh Indian families.

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SBI launches NAV-eCash Card. Check features and benefits here - Mint

After months of relative restraint, the Korean Peninsula is experiencing a new arms race. Since the announcement of the Medium-term Defense Program in 2020, South Korea commissioned a 3,800-ton Dosan Ahn Changho-class submarine and test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) on September 15. The U.S.-Republic of Korea (ROK) missile guideline was terminated in June, freeing South Korea to develop long-range missiles, and the ROK Navy (ROKN) is expected to commission a light aircraft carrier within years. North Korea also test-fired its new cruise missile that flew approximately 1,500 km and recently resumed its ballistic missile testing after a six-month break. While South Korea has been preparing for the future wartime operational control (OPCON) transfer from the United States by acquiring cutting-edge platforms and enhancing its capabilities for autonomous military operations, there has been a lack of debate on a comprehensive strategy to counter North Korean conventional and asymmetrical military threats.

Strategy is not simply about gaining technological superiority over adversaries. As Richard Betts defined strategy, it is a plan for using military means to achieve political ends. Before discussing the necessity of new platforms, experts and practitioners in South Korea must carefully examine North Koreas military strategy and devise tailored operational plans that can best deter North Korean aggression. Because there is no consensus on strategy, South Korea is wasting valuable time overcoming domestic discord on the necessity of certain platforms. Similarly, when South Korea announced plans to deploy U.S. Terminal High Altitude Aerial Defense (THAAD) batteries in 2016, strong domestic resistance delayed the installment of related facilities. The fundamental cause of the delay was the absence of strategy, or the deficiency of a persuasive explanation on the necessity of novel defense systems.

This article intends to facilitate discussions on South Korean military strategy by laying out North Korean capabilities and aims at sea. First, North Korea is absent of a blue-water navy and is focusing on developing asymmetrical capabilities. North Korea has approximately 700 surface vessels but they are mostly small and old. The bulk of its surface ships are high-speed missile boats and patrol ships, capable of conducting operations only in the near seas. Vessels that are considered relatively large are two Najin-class frigates and two Nampo-class helicopter frigates, but the Najin-class frigates were first introduced back in the early 1970s, possessing insignificant armaments, and the Nampo-class frigates cannot compare to the ROKN Dokdo-class nor the Sejong the Great-class Aegis destroyers. Instead, North Korea has approximately seventy submarines; its Gorae-class submarines have demonstrated its capability for launching nuclear-tipped SLBMs. What must be of central concern for the ROKN is, therefore, North Koreas underwater capabilities.

However, the real question is what North Koreas objectives at sea are. Compared to South Korea, which has open access to high seas, not only are North Korean waters separated east-west but they are also obstructed by the existence of South Korea and Japan to its south and east. International sanctions have impeded North Korean imports and exports overseas and numerous regimes such as the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) have forced North Korea to rely on illegal maritime transshipment of goods. Furthermore, North Korea does not have the necessary naval power to protect its limited sea lines of communication. Therefore, North Koreas aims at sea cannot be equivalent to the Mahanian concept of commercial access to which the American strategy of freedom of navigation and overflight is based upon. On the other hand, North Korea is keenly aware of its naval modesty and is likely to have concentrated on developing anti-access capabilities.

North Koreas submarine force is best suited to the purpose of anti-access. Today, underwater detection is a formidable task since the seas are vastly wide and immensely deep. High-end sonars attached to a couple of warships and several buoys installed by surveillance aircraft are insufficient for detection. The only viable measure is to maintain a close watch of berthed submarines and to stay alert once those submarines disappear. In addition to submarines, North Korea also possesses twice as many mine warfare vessels as South Korea, multiple coastal artillery guns, and a variegated set of anti-aircraft missiles such as the SA-2s and the SA-5s to prevent the deployment of adversarial forces into its operational theaters.

In wartime, these assortments of anti-access technologies pose a significant challenge to U.S.-ROK operations at sea. With multiple layers of defensive capabilities, strategic air bombings and landing operations become increasingly difficult and the navigation of aircraft carriers off the coasts of North Korea may be too risky. In other words, another Inchon landing that overturned the unfavorable Korean War situation will be impossible in the future scenario. Also, once an outright war erupts in the Korean Peninsula, the potential exchange of nuclear weapons will cloud any other tactical considerations.

Then, can North Korean anti-access capabilities be largely ignored during peacetime? At first glance, North Korean waterways are insignificant as trade routes and commercial traffic is nearly absent above the northern demarcation lines. Ferries regularly sail north to Vladivostok and fishing vessels operate near the northern limit line (NLL) in the West Sea and the East Sea, but are strictly banned from trespassing pre-designated areas and pathways. Chinese anti-access capabilities are particularly threatening since the South China Sea carries approximately one-third of global shipping. However, if the sea lines of communications close to North Korean shores are insignificant, why should we care about North Koreas anti-access capabilities that are defensive in nature? Paradoxically, it is because North Korea is using them for offensive purposes.

Enter the concept of a gray zonea space between peace and war. It also refers to activities that aim to achieve ones security objectives without resort[ing] to direct and sizable use of force. In the context of North Korea, it is the use of asymmetrical anti-access capabilities to drive a wedge between South Korea and the United States, to weaken the credibility of U.S. commitment, and to eventually drive U.S. forces out of the Korean Peninsula.

North and South Korea are neither in a state of peace nor war. The Korean War ended with an armistice in 1953 but has prevented the resumption of war for almost seventy years. Most recently, the two Koreas signed the Comprehensive Military Agreement in 2018 to establish a land/maritime peace zone near the demarcation lines. Despite years of relative peace without a major war on the peninsula, North Korea is taking advantage of the gray zone to achieve its political ends. The Yellow Sea is especially murky. Since the United Nations Command commander General Mark Clark unilaterally promulgated the NLL in 1953, North Korea largely abided by the de facto demarcation line. But during the military armistice commission meeting in December 1973, North Korea demanded prior permission to enter the five islands (Baekryeong, Daecheong, Socheong, Yeonpyeong, and U Island) and in 1977, declared an exclusive economic zone that covered areas beneath the NLL. In addition to diplomatic protests, North Korea provoked armed skirmishes several times in the West Sea, culminating in the sinking of ROKN Cheonan by a midget submarine in 2010.

After 2010, North Korean gray zone operations in the West Sea became increasingly sophisticated. Instead of directly clashing with superior ROK naval forces, North Korea is emulating Chinese artificial island-building in the South China Sea to construct military facilities in contested waters. Representatively, Hambak Island was an uninhabited island before 2017 when North Korea started to install military facilities. Hambak Island is only 8 km north of South Korean U Island and within 60 km of Incheon Airportone of the busiest international airports in Asia. Not much is known about the exact armaments and purpose of this militarization, but in contingencies, North Korea can readily deploy forces close to South Korea. In 2015, North Korea also installed coastal guns and artillery on other islands adjunct to the NLL such as Gal, Ari, and Changrin Island.

As with Chinese artificial island-building in the South China Sea, North Koreas militarization of uninhabited islands in the West Sea not only violates the good faith of previous agreements with South Korea but also establishes gradual fait accomplis in contested gray areas. Considering that ambiguity, asymmetry, and incrementalism are three characteristics of gray zone operations, North Korea is using its asymmetrical forces in an ambiguous manner to incrementally change the status quo without suffering any severe repercussions. The ultimate goal is to impose limited costs on South Korea, weaken U.S. extended deterrence by engaging in operations that fall short of stated red lines, and eventually drive out U.S. influence from the Korean Peninsula. It is for this reason that Song Kim, North Koreas ambassador to the United Nations, called on the United States to take the first step toward giving up its hostile policy, only days after its test launch of ballistic missiles.

In sum, North Korea perfectly understands its position of weakness in the maritime domain and is emulating Chinasrevisionist strategy of gray zone operations to gradually overturn the status quo. As such, South Korea must first understand North Korean strategy and respond with tailored measures that prevent the achievement of adversarial aims. The recent additions of 3,800-ton submarines, SLBMs, and future light aircraft carriers will certainly advance South Korean military capabilities. But to reiterate, North Korea perfectly understands its position of technological inferiority and has nonetheless devised a gray zone strategy to achieve its political ends. What ultimately deters North Korea is a reliable nuclear second-strike capability. Will North Korea be deterred by South Korean conventional SLBMs and a slightly bigger carrier than the ROKN Dokdo-class? These are the questions that practitioners must answer before acquiring new platforms and promoting wartime OPCON transfer.

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North Korea Is Weaponizing the Naval 'Gray Zone' Against the South - The National Interest

The Minnesota Timberwolves are parting ways with president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas Shams tweeted. Like many of the Wolves faithful, I was shocked to hear this news. All summer I carefully and meticulously pieced together some semblance of hope for this upcoming season, and in an instant, it all crumbled to dust. I have been a long-time Gersson Rosas believer and this felt like the season that things would start to come together. Board by board Rosas built the ship he was to sail alongside first mates Chris Finch and Karl-Anthony Towns. I thought that if they could stay the course and ride the current toward contention, someday soon, we could all be watching the Minnesota Timberwolves compete again. But, internal dissension came crashing in like the waves from a mighty storm on the high seas. Gerssons journey has come to an end. Is that poetic enough for you, Phil Ford?

The fact is, Ive spent a lot of time over the last few years admiring Rosas and the work that he was doing for the Minnesota Timberwovles (haha). In fact, Ive written a lot of words that spell out his successes and excuse his mistakes. I was a true believer in the Prosas. Now, I sit with everything that has unfolded the last few days a toxic work environment, a salacious interoffice relationship, and a manner of conducting his business that was directly opposed to the family mentality that he so often preached. Like many fans, I feel tricked.

I believed that the Wolves could make it back to contention; I was really satisfied with the direction the team was headed. Now, I feel disappointed, disgusted, and grateful that those who worked beneath him no longer have to work in that environment.

Simply put, Im faced with a dilemma: What happens when bad people do good things?

As Jon Hollinger wrote on The Athletic, once again the Timberwolves chose the Wrong Guy which is true. Rosas is not the man that any basketball team wants to have in charge, and yet the basketball decision-making was sound. For those who did not have access to the inner workings of the front office, the optics made him look like the right guy. He was definitely bold at times, but for the first time in a long time, it felt like the Wolves were being shepherded by a competent and compassionate individual. Alas.

This is exactly what Im grappling with. I am glad that the Timberwolves moved on from Rosas simply for the sake of everyone in that front office. Ive had bad bosses before, but he was truly abusing his power and creating a dynamic that was unacceptable. At the same time, I feel concerned about how Minnesota will move forward in its basketball decision-making process. Sachin Gupta may be the right guy, or maybe they will be back in their infinity loop of turmoil and ineptitude.

Right now, the Wolves are in a better place than they were when Rosas took the job. Here is the depth chart from opening night of the 2019-20 season paired with the projected depth chart for this season:

McLaughlin, Reid, and Nowell are absent from the 2019-20 depth chart because they spent much of the beginning of the season with the G-League team. Similarly, Nathan Knight and McKinley Wright are absent from this years depth chart.

In two years, Rosas was able to take an aging roster built around Towns and Wiggins and transform it into something else entirely. Whether or not this new roster can find success on the court is yet to be seen but, the current team is full of players who have not yet hit their prime. Even if you have qualms with Rosas giving away such a lightly protected pick to acquire Russell, or is disappointed by the big miss on Culver, its clear that this roster has more potential. I cant see a valid argument to the contrary.

Although I loved a lot of Rosass moves, I find myself looking back on the last two years, but this time displayed in a much different light. Just like when I read about Drake giving a 14-year-old girl advice about boys over text, the old hits dont sound the same.

They say never meet your heroes. Rosas wasnt a hero in my life, but he was a public figure I respected. Public figures are indeed humans like the rest of us, which can be hard to remember sometimes. As you know, humans are flawed some of us more than others. I feel deeply for his family and for the employees who were subject to such a horrible situation. But, its a new day.

When faced with the dilemma of how to feel about a bad person who has done good things, I suppose its best to move on. The world keeps turning and the Wolves will keep playing basketball.

Now the focus shifts to Ant Jr., the only soul who can save this franchise.

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What Should We Think When Bad People Do Good Things? - Zone Coverage

A good cinema is part and parcel of a luxury superyacht, but acclaimed German yacht designer and naval architect Frank Neubelt has really upped the ante with his latest concept.

The 230-footer, aptly christened Screen, features not one but two movie theaters onboard for second-to-none cinematic bingeing on the high seas. And thats just the start of the lavish onboard amenities.

The vessel, which was unveiled by Neubelts eponymous firm and German Yacht Couture at this years Monaco Yacht Show, boasts a generous 1,400 GT interior with just shy of 7,600 square feet of living space, along with ample outdoor areas for lounging and sunning.

The sun deck has one cinema and the beach club has the other.German Yacht Couture

The superyacht is spread across four decks and comes equipped with an elevator by Lift Emotion to make navigating a breeze. She can sleep 14 in total across seven cabins. Quite rightly, the standout is the master stateroom, which is located on the dedicated owners deck and flanked by private terraces to the fore and aft. Guest accommodation, meanwhile, comprises four twin cabins on the lower deck and two VIP suites on the upper deck that each come with their own private terrace, lounge and office.

While cruising, seafarers can make use of the sprawling beach club that spans some 1,184 square feet, as well as the sizable 26-foot infinity pool, sauna, steam bath and gym. If thats not enough, the vessel also sports a sundeck with a Jacuzzi, a swim platform to the aft and a garage forward thats jam-packed with toys and tenders measuring up to 30 feet.

The sizable infinity pool measures 26 feet.German Yacht Couture

Screen is ripe for global adventures, too. Featuring a fast-displacement hull, the vessel packs a quartet of hybrid diesel-electric Rolls Royce engines that reportedly give her a top speed of 18 knots and range of 9,000 nautical knots when cruising at 10 knots.

We imagine there will be quite a few marine enthusiasts and movie buffs vying to score some Screen time.

Check out more photos below:

German Yacht Couture

German Yacht Couture

German Yacht Couture

German Yacht Couture

German Yacht Couture

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This Epic 230-Foot Superyacht Concept Comes With Not One But Two Movie Theaters - Robb Report