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I'm just wondering how those billionaires and politicians can live with themselves. How are we even the same species!? 😡🤷🏻♀️
New Scientist: *The Nepal Disaster: How Climate Change is Reshaping the World*
https://youtube.com/watch?v=0LK9budwbAw
"A devastating climate disaster has killed at least 1,200 people in Nepal. A mass of ice and rock came crashing down off the Langtang mountain into the valley below. The climate crisis has made events like this much more likely.
This is just one of many retreating glaciers. We’re also on track for a record year of ice-loss in the European alps. As the world is reshaped before our eyes, what does this mean for the planet - and the 1.9 billion people who live downstream of glacier ice mountains?
This all comes as experts predict this year’s Super El Nino event will be the biggest in 1,000 years - plus an admittance from The UN Environment Programme that we will overshoot 1.5 degrees of global warming.
To discuss the tragedy in Nepal and the growing concern in the Alps, Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet are joined by Professor of Glaciology Bethan Davies and climate journalist Alec Luhn.
Image Credit: The aftermath of severe flooding along the Bhotekoshi river in Nuwakot, Nepal, on 28 August Ambir Tolang/JNA/ZUMA Press/Alamy
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What does the latest science actually mean for us? Each week, New Scientist editors Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet dig into the biggest stories in science alongside expert scientists, from the mysteries of consciousness to the search for dark matter, to feed your curiosity and make sense of an uncertain world." -
I'm just wondering how those billionaires and politicians can live with themselves. How are we even the same species!? 😡🤷🏻♀️
New Scientist: *The Nepal Disaster: How Climate Change is Reshaping the World*
https://youtube.com/watch?v=0LK9budwbAw
"A devastating climate disaster has killed at least 1,200 people in Nepal. A mass of ice and rock came crashing down off the Langtang mountain into the valley below. The climate crisis has made events like this much more likely.
This is just one of many retreating glaciers. We’re also on track for a record year of ice-loss in the European alps. As the world is reshaped before our eyes, what does this mean for the planet - and the 1.9 billion people who live downstream of glacier ice mountains?
This all comes as experts predict this year’s Super El Nino event will be the biggest in 1,000 years - plus an admittance from The UN Environment Programme that we will overshoot 1.5 degrees of global warming.
To discuss the tragedy in Nepal and the growing concern in the Alps, Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet are joined by Professor of Glaciology Bethan Davies and climate journalist Alec Luhn.
Image Credit: The aftermath of severe flooding along the Bhotekoshi river in Nuwakot, Nepal, on 28 August Ambir Tolang/JNA/ZUMA Press/Alamy
---
What does the latest science actually mean for us? Each week, New Scientist editors Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet dig into the biggest stories in science alongside expert scientists, from the mysteries of consciousness to the search for dark matter, to feed your curiosity and make sense of an uncertain world." -
I'm just wondering how those billionaires and politicians can live with themselves. How are we even the same species!? 😡🤷🏻♀️
New Scientist: *The Nepal Disaster: How Climate Change is Reshaping the World*
https://youtube.com/watch?v=0LK9budwbAw
"A devastating climate disaster has killed at least 1,200 people in Nepal. A mass of ice and rock came crashing down off the Langtang mountain into the valley below. The climate crisis has made events like this much more likely.
This is just one of many retreating glaciers. We’re also on track for a record year of ice-loss in the European alps. As the world is reshaped before our eyes, what does this mean for the planet - and the 1.9 billion people who live downstream of glacier ice mountains?
This all comes as experts predict this year’s Super El Nino event will be the biggest in 1,000 years - plus an admittance from The UN Environment Programme that we will overshoot 1.5 degrees of global warming.
To discuss the tragedy in Nepal and the growing concern in the Alps, Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet are joined by Professor of Glaciology Bethan Davies and climate journalist Alec Luhn.
Image Credit: The aftermath of severe flooding along the Bhotekoshi river in Nuwakot, Nepal, on 28 August Ambir Tolang/JNA/ZUMA Press/Alamy
---
What does the latest science actually mean for us? Each week, New Scientist editors Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet dig into the biggest stories in science alongside expert scientists, from the mysteries of consciousness to the search for dark matter, to feed your curiosity and make sense of an uncertain world." -
I'm just wondering how those billionaires and politicians can live with themselves. How are we even the same species!? 😡🤷🏻♀️
New Scientist: *The Nepal Disaster: How Climate Change is Reshaping the World*
https://youtube.com/watch?v=0LK9budwbAw
"A devastating climate disaster has killed at least 1,200 people in Nepal. A mass of ice and rock came crashing down off the Langtang mountain into the valley below. The climate crisis has made events like this much more likely.
This is just one of many retreating glaciers. We’re also on track for a record year of ice-loss in the European alps. As the world is reshaped before our eyes, what does this mean for the planet - and the 1.9 billion people who live downstream of glacier ice mountains?
This all comes as experts predict this year’s Super El Nino event will be the biggest in 1,000 years - plus an admittance from The UN Environment Programme that we will overshoot 1.5 degrees of global warming.
To discuss the tragedy in Nepal and the growing concern in the Alps, Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet are joined by Professor of Glaciology Bethan Davies and climate journalist Alec Luhn.
Image Credit: The aftermath of severe flooding along the Bhotekoshi river in Nuwakot, Nepal, on 28 August Ambir Tolang/JNA/ZUMA Press/Alamy
---
What does the latest science actually mean for us? Each week, New Scientist editors Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet dig into the biggest stories in science alongside expert scientists, from the mysteries of consciousness to the search for dark matter, to feed your curiosity and make sense of an uncertain world." -
I'm just wondering how those billionaires and politicians can live with themselves. How are we even the same species!? 😡🤷🏻♀️
New Scientist: *The Nepal Disaster: How Climate Change is Reshaping the World*
https://youtube.com/watch?v=0LK9budwbAw
"A devastating climate disaster has killed at least 1,200 people in Nepal. A mass of ice and rock came crashing down off the Langtang mountain into the valley below. The climate crisis has made events like this much more likely.
This is just one of many retreating glaciers. We’re also on track for a record year of ice-loss in the European alps. As the world is reshaped before our eyes, what does this mean for the planet - and the 1.9 billion people who live downstream of glacier ice mountains?
This all comes as experts predict this year’s Super El Nino event will be the biggest in 1,000 years - plus an admittance from The UN Environment Programme that we will overshoot 1.5 degrees of global warming.
To discuss the tragedy in Nepal and the growing concern in the Alps, Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet are joined by Professor of Glaciology Bethan Davies and climate journalist Alec Luhn.
Image Credit: The aftermath of severe flooding along the Bhotekoshi river in Nuwakot, Nepal, on 28 August Ambir Tolang/JNA/ZUMA Press/Alamy
---
What does the latest science actually mean for us? Each week, New Scientist editors Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet dig into the biggest stories in science alongside expert scientists, from the mysteries of consciousness to the search for dark matter, to feed your curiosity and make sense of an uncertain world." -
Who should I vote for in a climate emergency?
It is getting increasingly difficult to sort out fact from fiction when discussing local politics. Blatant lies are sometimes told on election leaflets, and misinformation is deliberately spread on social media. How do we get to the truth, and who should we vote for to prioritise environmental action?
Greenpeace has been on the streets encouraging people to register to vote and support politicians who prioritise tackling the climate and nature emergencies. One volunteer told me, “I talked to a group of workmen in hi-viz. They were very disillusioned with politics, 3 of the 4 said they were not going to vote because of the cost of living and suggested the Council wasn’t going to change things. Then one very unexpectedly said, “Look at this Council, if they wanted to do something about cars, they’d make public transport free!”
At present, Sheffield City Council has 84 Councillors. There are 36 Labour, 27 Liberal Democrats, and 14 Greens that share power in a cooperation agreement. The opposition is made up of 6 Independents and one Reform Councillor. So talk in election leaflets of one party funding this, or being responsible for that, is a bit disingenuous, as the funding comes mainly from us, the Council Tax payers and Government grants. To get anything done, there has to be agreement between at least two of the parties. One third of the Councillors are up for election this year, but due to resignations, two wards have two votes.
I don’t think there has ever been a broader choice of candidates in Sheffield elections. Most wards have the choice of Labour, Lib Dem, Green, Conservative, TUSC and Reform. There are also candidates from Restore UK in some wards. This is a party further to the right of Reform, but they are called “Independent” on the ballot papers. These should not be confused with Independent candidates in some wards, standing on a pro-Palestine ticket. With such a massive choice of candidates, if the vote is evenly split, one party could win with a very small proportion of the vote. Our first past the post voting system was designed for two-party contests. The Government must bring in fair proportional voting as soon as possible.
This opinion poll indicates that the Labour vote has collapsed, and they could lose all their seats in this election. The poll has them hanging on to Darnall by just 2%. Greens could gain Labour strongholds Manor Castle, Walkley, Burngreave and Crookes and Crosspool and Ecclesall and Graves Park from the Lib Dems. while holding City, Hillsborough and Gleadless Valley. Reform could gain Birley, Woodhouse, Southey, Shiregreen and Brightside from Labour and Beighton from the Lib Dems. Lib Dems could gain East Ecclesfield from Labour, and hold Beauchief, Dore and Totley, Fulwood, Mosborough, Stannington and West Ecclesfield. So overall, massive gains for Greens and Reform and a massive collapse for Labour.
But this is only a poll: the only one that counts is on May 7th.
So, which parties should interest you if you are making environmental issues your priority? Three parties, Reform, the Conservatives and Restore, are now ideologically opposed to the concept of Net Zero carbon emissions. They oppose measures that improve life for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users in pursuit of drivers’ votes. They oppose renewable energy schemes in favour of a Trump-like “drill baby drill” attitude, hoping to exploit more oil in the North Sea, which we can’t afford to burn if we are going to avoid climate tipping points. Their disbelief or scepticism in the science of climate change is deeply worrying, but not surprising when you examine where their funds come from. These parties have deep vested interests in oil and tech companies and the millionaires associated with them.
I could only find local manifestos for 3 parties, Labour, Lib Dems and Greens. If you are not sure who to vote for, do examine the policies carefully.
It’s hard to find mentions of environmental issues in most election leaflets. But it’s disappointing to see untruths being told. Some Labour leaflets and social media posts, for instance, are taking full credit for Green Bonds, an idea brought to the Council by the Green Party. The Bonds quickly raised £1 million pounds for solar panels on school roofs.
Another hot potato is the Greenbelt. Liberal Democrats and Reform are both criticising the Green Party for voting for the Local Plan, and campaigners have bombarded social media with memes, objecting to the Local Plan. The Lib Dem leaflet for Ecclesall says “The Lib Dems voted to protect our Greenbelt and nature from Labour’s building plans. The Green Party voted with Labour to pave over our greenbelt in yet another let down!” The Green Party say that a Local Plan is vital to stop developments throughout the Greenbelt and in other areas of special interest not protected by the Greenbelt. They voted to give as much protection to the Greenbelt as possible and will oppose planning applications on Greenbelt land in future. So they did not vote to “pave over the Greenbelt”, they voted to protect it.
Only the Green Party mentions the climate crisis in their manifesto, but one crucial detail is missing from all the election leaflets I’ve seen. How are we going to meet the Council’s commitment to reach Net Zero by 2030?
This graph, produced by Sam Wakeling, shows that we are way off track. The Council declared a Climate Emergency in 2019, but has never taken monitoring of CO2 seriously. Extinction Rebellion was saying at the time that we need to aim for Net Zero by 2025. They were right. Today, we may already be too late to save the Coral Reefs, which are home to a quarter of the planet’s marine species. We are dangerously close to other tipping points, like the collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Ocean Circulation, without which Britain would be 5 degrees C colder, with agricultural production falling dramatically worldwide. All politicians, at every level of Government, need to be prioritising climate action and working out how we can be more resilient as a country, ready for shocks like the closure of the Straits of Hormuz or the next extreme weather event.
I don’t blame political parties or the electorate for their silence on AMOC and other climate tipping points. Political parties need to attract votes and appeal to the demands of their supporters. But most people are completely in the dark regarding the threats climate tipping points now pose to us. And the electorate isn’t demanding climate action because the mainstream media don’t inform them. This week George Monbiot published an excellent article on AMOC, but there has been very little on the BBC or the popular press. Maybe this will change soon, because the BBC are being taken to a tribunal for suppressing the most important climate news. There will be more on this in future posts.
If we are to have any chance of meeting Sheffield’s emissions target, we urgently need more Green Councillors in the Town Hall who will make the climate and nature emergencies a priority. Wherever you live in Sheffield, Vote Green Party on May 7th.
#2026 #AMOC #BritainVotesNow #GeorgeMonbiot #GreenBonds #GreenParty #Greenbelt #LabourParty #LiberalDemocrats #LocalElection #news #politics #Reform #Restore #SheffieldCarbonEmissions #TUSC -
Lazy Caturday Reads: Trump’s War on Americans
Good Morning!!
Patrice Preveirault, Le Pastel
It’s just the beginning of the storm season, and we are beginning to see the damage from Trump/DOGE cuts to the National Weather Service (NWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). There’s a terrible tragedy playing out in the Texas hill country right now.
The Texas Tribune: Death toll from Hill Country flash floods rises to 24 as rescue efforts continue.
State officials said Friday night that at least 24 people have died in the catastrophic flood that swept through Kerr County early Friday morning, and 23 girls from Camp Mystic, a private Christian girls’ camp, are still unaccounted for.
In a news conference in Kerrville, Gov. Greg Abbott signed an emergency disaster declaration, which allows numerous counties affected by the floods to get the state resources needed to help with ongoing search-and-rescue efforts.
Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said one other person was found dead in nearby Kendall County but it’s unclear if that person was a flood victim.
Nim Kidd, the chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, said local officials were caught off guard by the volume of rain, adding that the National Weather Service advisory issued Thursday “did not predict the amount of rain that we saw.”
Gen. Thomas Suelzer, the head of the Texas Military Department, said 237 people have been rescued and evacuated so far. Officials said they couldn’t provide the number of people who are unaccounted for, but they include the 23 girls from Camp Mystic.
In an earlier press conference Friday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said the dead include adults and children, and some were found in cars “that were washed out upstream.” He said officials aren’t sure whether any of the bodies were children from Camp Mystic, and stressed that the campers are only considered missing at this point….
As much as 10 inches of heavy rain fell in just a few hours overnight in central Kerr County, causing flash flooding of the Guadalupe River. Patrick said the river, which winds through Kerr County in Central Texas, rose 26 feet in 45 minutes during torrential rains overnight.
Were there warnings this was coming?
A flood watch issued Thursday afternoon estimated isolated amounts up to 7 inches of rising water. That shifted to a flood warning for at least 30,000 people overnight.
According to the National Weather Service website, the flash flood watch, which included Kerr County, was issued at 1:18 p.m. Thursday. Nearly 12 hours later, a “life threatening” flash flood warning was issued at 1:14 a.m., according to the website.
When asked about the suddenness of the flash flooding overnight, Kelly said “we do not have a warning system” and that “we didn’t know this flood was coming,” even as local reporters pointed to the warnings and pushed him for answers about why more precautions weren’t taken.
“Rest assured, no one knew this kind of flood was coming,” he said. “We have floods all the time. This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States.”
There’s much more at the link.
The New York Times has live updates on the tragedy: Death Toll in Texas Flood Rises to at Least 24, With as Many as 25 Missing.
Here’s the latest:
Search and rescue teams were working throughout the night in Central Texas after flooding that began early Friday swept through a summer camp and homes, killing at least 24 people and leaving as many as 25 girls missing from the camp.
The girls were at Camp Mystic along the Guadalupe River in Hunt, in Kerr County, according to the county sheriff. Desperate parents posted photos of their children online, seeking any information, and others went to reunification centers to try to find missing loved ones. An unknown number of other people were also missing, Kerr County said in an update on Friday night, citing the sheriff, Larry Leitha.
By Katya Vigovskaya
The deadly flooding surprised many, including Texas officials, who said that some National Weather Service alerts had underestimated the risks. The most urgent alerts came in overnight, in the early hours of Friday.
Hundreds of emergency personnel were searching for stranded people. The Texas National Guard made 237 rescues and evacuations using helicopters and rescue swimmers, Maj. Gen. Thomas M. Suelzer, the guard’s commander, said at a news conference Friday evening.
Gov. Greg Abbott signed an emergency disaster declaration encompassing 15 counties in Central Texas. The declaration will expedite state funding for the areas that experienced significant damage.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said earlier in the day that Camp Mystic was contacting the parents of campers who remained unaccounted for. He said that parents with children who had not heard from camp officials should assume their children were safe. The camp has some 750 campers, he said.
Ron Filipkowski at Meidas: Texas Officials Blame Agency Gutted by Trump for Results of Deadly Storm.
As the best and the brightest were being fired at the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration by senseless and draconian ‘DOGE’ cuts earlier this year under Trump, with no reason given except for the need to cut a paltry amount of the government’s budget, experts warned repeatedly that the cuts would have deadly consequences during the storm season. And they have.
Dozens and dozens of stories have been written in the media citing hundreds of experts which said that weather forecasting was never going to be the same, and that inaccurate forecasts were going to lead to fewer evacuations, impaired preparedness of first responders, and deadly consequences. I quoted many of them in my daily Bulletins and wrote about this issue nearly 20 different times.
And the chickens have come home to roost. Hundreds of people have already been killed across the US in a variety of storms including deadly tornadoes – many of which were inaccurately forecasted. And we are just entering peak hurricane season. Meteorologist Chris Vagasky posted earlier this spring on social media: “The world’s example for weather services is being destroyed.”
Now, after severe flooding in non-evacuated areas in Texas has left at least 24 dead with dozens more missing, including several young girls at a summer camp, Texas officials are blaming their failure to act on a faulty forecast by Donald Trump’s new National Weather Service gutted by cuts to their operating budget and most experienced personnel.
Forewarnings:
Reuters published a story just a few days ago, one of many warning about this problem: “In May, every living former director of the NWS signed on to an open letter with a warning that, if continued, Trump’s cuts to federal weather forecasting would create ‘needless loss of life’. Despite bipartisan congressional pushback for a restoration in staffing and funding to the NWS, sharp budget cuts remain on pace in projections for the 2026 budget for the NOAA, the parent organization of the NWS.”
But Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, whose agency oversees NOAA, testified before Congress on June 5 that the cuts wouldn’t be a problem because “we are transforming how we track storms and forecast weather with cutting-edge technology. Under no circumstances am I going to let public safety or public forecasting be touched.” Apparently the “cutting edge technology” hasn’t arrived yet.
And now presumably FEMA will be called upon to help pick up the pieces of shattered lives in Texas – an agency that Trump said repeatedly that he wants to abolish. In fact, Trump’s first FEMA director Cameron Hamilton was fired one day after he testified before Congress that FEMA should not be abolished.
Filipkowski notes that so far the “president” has had nothing to say about the tragedy in Texas.
In April, Abraham Lutgarten of ProPublica warned about the danger of gutting U.S. weather services: White House Proposal Could Gut Climate Modeling the World Depends On.
Over the past two months, the Trump administration has taken steps to eliminate regulations addressing climate change, pull back funding for climate programs and cancel methods used to evaluate how climate change is affecting American society and its economy. Now it is directly undermining the science and research of climate change itself, in ways that some of the nation’s most distinguished scientists say will have dangerous consequences.
Proposed cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the agency whose weather and climate research touches almost every facet of American life, are targeting a 57-year-old partnership between Princeton University and the U.S. government that produces what many consider the world’s most advanced climate modeling and forecasting systems. NOAA’s work extends deep into the heart of the American economy — businesses use it to navigate risk and find opportunity — and it undergirds both American defense and geopolitical planning. The possible elimination of the lab, called the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, in concert with potential cuts to other NOAA operations, threatens irreparable harm not only to global understanding of climate change and long-range scenarios for the planet but to the country’s safety, competitiveness and national security.
The gutting of NOAA was outlined earlier this month in a leaked memo from the Office of Management and Budget that detailed steep reductions at the Department of Commerce, which houses the science agency. The memo, which was viewed by ProPublica, has been previously reported. But the full implications of those cuts for the nation’s ability to accurately interpret dynamic changes in the planet’s weather and to predict long-term warming scenarios through its modeling arm in Princeton have not.
According to the document, NOAA’s overall funding would be slashed by 27%, eliminating “functions of the Department that are misaligned with the President’s agenda and the expressed will of the American people” including almost all of those related to the study of climate change. The proposal would break up and significantly defund the agency across programs, curtailing everything from ocean research to coastal management while shifting one of NOAA’s robust satellite programs out of the agency and putting another up for commercial bidding. But its most significant target is the office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research ⎯ a nerve center of global climate science, data collection and modeling, including the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory ⎯ which would be cut by 74%. “At this funding level, OAR is eliminated as a line office,” the memo stated.
A bit more:
The total loss of OAR and its crown jewel in Princeton represents a setback for climate preparedness that experts warn the nation may never recover from.
“If we don’t understand what’s happening and why it’s happening, you can’t be adapting, you can’t be resilient. You’re just going to suffer,” Don Wuebbles, an atmospheric scientist who sits on NOAA’s scientific advisory board, told ProPublica. “We’re going to see huge impacts on infrastructure and lives lost in the U.S.”
By Jo Potocki
There are other national climate models, but they also appear to be in jeopardy of losing funding. The National Science Foundation supports the National Center for Atmospheric Research, but the foundation announced it was freezing all research grants on April 18. NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies has a model, but the institute could see cuts of up to 47%. And the Department of Energy, home to a fourth climate modeling system, is also under budget pressure.
Without the models, and all the sensor networks and supporting NOAA research programs that feed them, “We’ll go back to the technical and proficiency levels we had in the 1950s,” said Craig McLean, a 40-year veteran of NOAA who, until 2022, was the agency’s top administrator for research and its acting chief scientist. “We won’t have the tools we have today because we can’t populate them by people or by data.” [….]
Princeton and NOAA together built America’s global supremacy in weather and climate science over generations. After World War II, the United States refocused its scientific superiority ⎯ and its early computing capabilities ⎯ on understanding how the weather and the planet works. The Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory was established in 1955 and moved to Princeton in 1968. Under NOAA, which was established by President Richard Nixon in 1970, the lab advanced early forecasting, using sensors in the oceans and the sky. It developed theories for how fluids and gases interact and came to understand that the oceans and the atmosphere drive weather ⎯ what today has become known as climate science.
The GFDL’s models, including the first hurricane model, became the basis for both short-term weather outlooks and longer-range forecasts, or climate prediction, which soon became one and the same. Those models now form the underlying modeling architecture of many of NOAA’s other departments, including the forecasts from the National Weather Service. The GFDL has trained many of the world’s best climate scientists, who are leading the most prestigious research in Japan, the U.K. and Germany, and in 2021 an alumnus of its staff won the Nobel Prize in physics. The U.S. agencies periodically run their models in competition, and last time they did, the GFDL’s models came out ahead. The lab is “the best that there is,” McLean said. “It’s really a stunningly impressive and accomplished place. It is a gem. It is the gem.”
But to Trump, tax cuts for billionaires who don’t need them are more important than predicting weather disasters.
With the passage and signing of Trump’s big ugly bill, we are soon going to be dealing with even worse horrors than bad weather. With the funds allocated to ICE in the bill, Trump plans to create a U.S. police state and a concentration camp system. I wonder, did the Republicans include funds for boxcars in the bill?
Trump’s coming police state and his war on citizens:
Josh Kovensky at Talking Points Memo: Congress Throws More Money at Removing Immigrants than Most Countries Spend on Their Armies.
It’s hard to convey just how big the new budget makes the country’s immigration enforcement infrastructure.
The Bureau of Prisons? Bigger than that. The FBI? Bigger. The Marine Corps? Bigger even than that, by some estimates.
All in all, the bill directs around $170 billion through 2029 to various forms of immigration enforcement, according to an analysis by the American Immigration Council and TPM’s own read of the legislation. ICE, responsible for enforcement, detentions, and removals, will oversee much of the spending.
The picture is not so much of an expanded immigration enforcement system, but of an entirely new one.
“It’s going to get really scary,” Adriel Orozco, senior policy counsel for the American Immigration Council, told TPM. “I do think that we are in a place where the Trump administration is centering a lot of the law enforcement authority of the federal government into the Department of Homeland Security.”
The bill gives ICE $29.8 billion to hire new staff and conduct deportations. That will lead to a hiring spurt of deportation officers; an additional $4.1 billion bump goes to Customs and Border Protection for new personnel….
We’re Listening, by Elisheva Nesis
For immigration detention, also overseen by ICE, the bill allocates a whopping $45 billion.
If that’s not enough, there’s more: Remember the wall? It was Trump’s big immigration-related promise during the 2016 campaign. It didn’t get built during his first term (and Mexico never paid for it, as Trump promised). Congress allocated $46.5 billion for its construction in this legislation. (A Senate source tells TPM that this, too, was drafted in such a way as to be fungible, so it could be used for building detention facilities as well.)
It’s a headspinning increase from ICE’s 2024 funding, that, per a recent CRS report, stood at $9.9 billion.
At the same time, the bill adds only a modest number of immigration judges, capping the number at 800 starting in November 2028 — an increase from the current approximately 700.
Read the rest at TPM.
A guest essay at The New York Times by Greg Grandin, Professor History at Yale (gift link): Trump Is Waging War on His Own Citizens.
Use the gift link to read learn about the history of the use of “America” to refer to the United States, as well as the notion of internationalism in the U.S.No president in the history of the Republic has used the word “America” as effectively as Donald Trump — not as a symbol to invoke unity but as kerosene to keep the home fires of our culture wars burning.
America, America: Make it great. It already is great. Keep it great. America must. America will. America First. “America,” said Stephen Miller, Mr. Trump’s deputy chief of staff and the driver of much of his nativist domestic policy, “is for Americans and Americans only.”
But what does it mean to be an American if armed, masked men can sweep anybody, citizen or not, off the street, forcing people into unmarked S.U.V.s — to be, if Mr. Trump has his way, disappeared to remote Louisiana or taken to a prison camp in El Salvador?
Mr. Trump and operatives like Mr. Miller are waging a war not only on migrants but also on the concept of citizenship. According to one report, Immigration and Customs Enforcement expelled as many as 66 citizens during Mr. Trump’s first term, and now he has issued an executive order ending birthright citizenship. His government is exiling children who were born in the United States, including a 4-year-old boy with late-stage cancer. The Justice Department says it is “prioritizing denaturalization,” establishing a framework to revoke citizenship from naturalized citizens the White House deems undesirable.
Vice President JD Vance admits the expansion of ICE is the mainspring of the White House’s agenda. In a series of social media posts, he pushed back against worries about the president’s signature reconciliation bill. Nothing else in the bill mattered, he said — not debt, not Medicaid cuts — compared to securing “ICE money.” Now, the agency — which already acts like a secret police — will have an additional $75 billion to build detention centers, hire new agents and supercharge its operations.
Mr. Trump’s war on citizenship goes hand in hand with his politicization of the name of America, and though the first is unprecedented in its intensity, the second taps into a long, well, American tradition, one as old as the nation itself.
Alligator Alkatraz and Trump’s dream of a concentration camp system:
The Washington Post: Heat, storms, mosquitos the big threats at Alligator Alcatraz, experts say.
The hastily constructed detention camp in the Everglades that began processing immigrant detainees late this week has already flooded once, may not meet hurricane codes and is not officially approved or funded by the federal government.
Experts say detainees and staff will face far more common hazards than the swampland terrors gleefully envisioned by state and national Republicans to discourage escapes. Mosquitoes and hurricanes are more likely to harm the expected 3,000-plus detainees and 100-member staff than are alligators and Burmese pythons.
With a cat by Galya Didur (2024)
“The risk of mosquito-borne disease at this site is significant,” said Durland Fish, a professor emeritus of epidemiology at the Yale University School of Public Health. And the viruses detected during a mosquitos study he conducted in the Everglades — including at Big Cypress Swamp, where the detention center is located — can cause neurological damage, including encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain.
“There’s no treatment for these,” Fish said….
The facility, which includes large tents over cells erected with chain-link fencing, portable showers and portable toilets, was put together in eight days. State lawmakers who have spoken about it say that work was done secretly, after they had ended their annual legislative session.
The camp is located on an infrequently used airfield in the heart of the protected Everglades. Before Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) commandeered it, the site consisted of a long runway built in the late 1960s as an initial stage in a project intended to create a mega-airport. But environmentalists and Indigenous tribes successfully fought back, and the area, surrounded by the Big Cypress National Preserve and next door to Everglades National Park, is now part of an ongoing $25 billion Everglades restoration project.
Trump views the location as a plus for his crackdown with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “We’re surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland, and the only way out is really deportation,” he said.
And state officials are defending their rapid construction of the facility and its “soft-sided” cells — some of which started to flood during Trump’s visit, as seen in videos shot by local media. According to the state’s emergency management director, Kevin Guthrie, the 158,000 square feet of housing is “a fully aluminum frame structure rated for winds of 110 miles an hour,” the top-end equivalent of a Category 2 hurricane. He said Wednesday that the department has an evacuation plan in case a major storm threatens but released no details.
Andrea Pitzer, author of One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps, at MSNBC: Don’t call it ‘Alligator Alcatraz.’ Call it a concentration camp.
For many Americans, the word “concentration camp” evokes another country, a time long ago and a facility operating in the dark of night, away from the prying eyes of an outraged public. But a new concentration camp opened in Florida’s Everglades this week, and it’s the opposite of a secret.
President Donald Trump toured the facility with reporters in tow. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other officials posed with him, laughing in front of cages meant for human beings. The Florida Republican Party launched merchandise and gave the camp a nickname, “Alligator Alc
atraz,” that the state made official.
But it’s not just a new prison, Alcatraz or otherwise. I visited four continents to write a global history of concentration camps. This facility’s purpose fits the classic model: mass civilian detention without real trials targeting vulnerable groups for political gain based on ethnicity, race, religion or political affiliation rather than for crimes committed. And its existence points to serious dangers ahead for the country.
This camp stands apart from other immigration detention facilities for a few reasons. First, its projected capacity of 5,000 beds is several times the average detention center (though Immigration and Customs Enforcement is looking at even larger facilities). Its improvised tents and chain-link cages put detainees on display reminiscent of El Salvador’s CECOT prison. And it is billed as a “temporary” camp, with the theory being that the administration can seamlessly process massive numbers of detainees with rapid-fire judicial hearings by National Guard members-turned-immigration judges. In practice, this is unlikely to go smoothly.
By Marie Laurencin
While concentration camps have historical roots in earlier forms of mass detention, they themselves are modern. The patenting and mass production of barbed wire and automatic weapons over a century ago made it possible to detain large groups with a small guard force for the first time.
At the turn of the twentieth century, imperial powers such as Spain and Britain set up concentration camps in colonial regions. The camps had staggering death tolls that made early systems unpopular. But World War I led to a revival of the concept, with nearly a million people detained globally. The wartime camps paved the way for similar systems after the conflict ended, such asthe Soviet Gulag and the detention of homeless people in multiple countries.
Those were all in place before the Nazis came to power, so Hitler’s camps aren’t the lone precedent for the Everglades project. But even the extreme case of Germany offers disturbing parallels — and not just because the Nazis also allowed reporters to tour their camps.
Please click the MSNBC link and read the rest.
One more from Timothy Snyder at his Substack: Concentration Camp Labor Cannot Become Normal.
With the passage of Trump’s death bill, we face the prospect of many great harms, including an archipelago of concentration camps across the United States.
Concentration camps are sites of tempting slave labor. Among many other aims, the Soviets used concentration camp labor to build canals and work mines. The Nazi German concentration camp system followed a capitalist version of the same logic: it drew in businesses with the prospect of inexpensive labor.
We know this and have no excuse not to act.
What happens next in the U.S.? Workers who are presented as “undocumented” will be taken to the camps. Perhaps they will work in the camps themselves, as slaves to government projects. But more likely they will be offered to American companies on special terms: a one-time payment to the government, for example, with no need for wages or benefits. In the simplest version, and perhaps the most likely, detained people will be offered back to the companies for which they were just working. Their stay in the concentration camp will be presented as a purge or a legalization for which companies should be grateful. Trump has already said that this is the idea, calling it “owner responsibility.”
We should remember what drew I.G Farben into Auschwitz: profit. But there are of course precedents for extreme exploitation in American history, including but not limited to the history of chattel slavery. And slavery is not entirely illegal in the United States. The Thirteenth Amendment allows slavery if only as punishment for a crime. The people described as “undocumented” or “denaturalized” (and other categories sure to be invented soon) are portrayed as criminals.
If the Trump regime tries to enslave such people on a large scale, there will be a court case. But waiting for the Supreme Court to do the right thing is, to put it gently, no substitute for action. It would be good if there were explicit legislation banning slave labor in all circumstances. But such a law is unlikely without a movement behind it.
The government is putting before us the temptation to cooperate in fascist dehumanization on a grand scale. But that does not mean we must do so. This is an area where actions by individuals, by civil society, by the professions, and by companies can be decisive.
Again, please follow the link and read the rest.
That’s it for me today. I know this is scary stuff, but it’s becoming real now. We are in the midst of fascist takeover. I was shocked to hear Rachel Maddow say those words last night on MSNBC, but that made it more read for. This is really happening, and we have to fight it in every way we can.
Take care everyone. I love you all.
#CampMystic #climateModeling #concentrationCamps #fascistTakeover #FEMA #ICE #NationalOceanicAndAtmosphericAdministration #NationalWeatherService #NOAA #NWS #policeState #slaveLabor #TexasFloods #weatherEmergencies
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Lazy Caturday Reads: Trump’s War on Americans
Good Morning!!
Patrice Preveirault, Le Pastel
It’s just the beginning of the storm season, and we are beginning to see the damage from Trump/DOGE cuts to the National Weather Service (NWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). There’s a terrible tragedy playing out in the Texas hill country right now.
The Texas Tribune: Death toll from Hill Country flash floods rises to 24 as rescue efforts continue.
State officials said Friday night that at least 24 people have died in the catastrophic flood that swept through Kerr County early Friday morning, and 23 girls from Camp Mystic, a private Christian girls’ camp, are still unaccounted for.
In a news conference in Kerrville, Gov. Greg Abbott signed an emergency disaster declaration, which allows numerous counties affected by the floods to get the state resources needed to help with ongoing search-and-rescue efforts.
Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said one other person was found dead in nearby Kendall County but it’s unclear if that person was a flood victim.
Nim Kidd, the chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, said local officials were caught off guard by the volume of rain, adding that the National Weather Service advisory issued Thursday “did not predict the amount of rain that we saw.”
Gen. Thomas Suelzer, the head of the Texas Military Department, said 237 people have been rescued and evacuated so far. Officials said they couldn’t provide the number of people who are unaccounted for, but they include the 23 girls from Camp Mystic.
In an earlier press conference Friday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said the dead include adults and children, and some were found in cars “that were washed out upstream.” He said officials aren’t sure whether any of the bodies were children from Camp Mystic, and stressed that the campers are only considered missing at this point….
As much as 10 inches of heavy rain fell in just a few hours overnight in central Kerr County, causing flash flooding of the Guadalupe River. Patrick said the river, which winds through Kerr County in Central Texas, rose 26 feet in 45 minutes during torrential rains overnight.
Were there warnings this was coming?
A flood watch issued Thursday afternoon estimated isolated amounts up to 7 inches of rising water. That shifted to a flood warning for at least 30,000 people overnight.
According to the National Weather Service website, the flash flood watch, which included Kerr County, was issued at 1:18 p.m. Thursday. Nearly 12 hours later, a “life threatening” flash flood warning was issued at 1:14 a.m., according to the website.
When asked about the suddenness of the flash flooding overnight, Kelly said “we do not have a warning system” and that “we didn’t know this flood was coming,” even as local reporters pointed to the warnings and pushed him for answers about why more precautions weren’t taken.
“Rest assured, no one knew this kind of flood was coming,” he said. “We have floods all the time. This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States.”
There’s much more at the link.
The New York Times has live updates on the tragedy: Death Toll in Texas Flood Rises to at Least 24, With as Many as 25 Missing.
Here’s the latest:
Search and rescue teams were working throughout the night in Central Texas after flooding that began early Friday swept through a summer camp and homes, killing at least 24 people and leaving as many as 25 girls missing from the camp.
The girls were at Camp Mystic along the Guadalupe River in Hunt, in Kerr County, according to the county sheriff. Desperate parents posted photos of their children online, seeking any information, and others went to reunification centers to try to find missing loved ones. An unknown number of other people were also missing, Kerr County said in an update on Friday night, citing the sheriff, Larry Leitha.
By Katya Vigovskaya
The deadly flooding surprised many, including Texas officials, who said that some National Weather Service alerts had underestimated the risks. The most urgent alerts came in overnight, in the early hours of Friday.
Hundreds of emergency personnel were searching for stranded people. The Texas National Guard made 237 rescues and evacuations using helicopters and rescue swimmers, Maj. Gen. Thomas M. Suelzer, the guard’s commander, said at a news conference Friday evening.
Gov. Greg Abbott signed an emergency disaster declaration encompassing 15 counties in Central Texas. The declaration will expedite state funding for the areas that experienced significant damage.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said earlier in the day that Camp Mystic was contacting the parents of campers who remained unaccounted for. He said that parents with children who had not heard from camp officials should assume their children were safe. The camp has some 750 campers, he said.
Ron Filipkowski at Meidas: Texas Officials Blame Agency Gutted by Trump for Results of Deadly Storm.
As the best and the brightest were being fired at the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration by senseless and draconian ‘DOGE’ cuts earlier this year under Trump, with no reason given except for the need to cut a paltry amount of the government’s budget, experts warned repeatedly that the cuts would have deadly consequences during the storm season. And they have.
Dozens and dozens of stories have been written in the media citing hundreds of experts which said that weather forecasting was never going to be the same, and that inaccurate forecasts were going to lead to fewer evacuations, impaired preparedness of first responders, and deadly consequences. I quoted many of them in my daily Bulletins and wrote about this issue nearly 20 different times.
And the chickens have come home to roost. Hundreds of people have already been killed across the US in a variety of storms including deadly tornadoes – many of which were inaccurately forecasted. And we are just entering peak hurricane season. Meteorologist Chris Vagasky posted earlier this spring on social media: “The world’s example for weather services is being destroyed.”
Now, after severe flooding in non-evacuated areas in Texas has left at least 24 dead with dozens more missing, including several young girls at a summer camp, Texas officials are blaming their failure to act on a faulty forecast by Donald Trump’s new National Weather Service gutted by cuts to their operating budget and most experienced personnel.
Forewarnings:
Reuters published a story just a few days ago, one of many warning about this problem: “In May, every living former director of the NWS signed on to an open letter with a warning that, if continued, Trump’s cuts to federal weather forecasting would create ‘needless loss of life’. Despite bipartisan congressional pushback for a restoration in staffing and funding to the NWS, sharp budget cuts remain on pace in projections for the 2026 budget for the NOAA, the parent organization of the NWS.”
But Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, whose agency oversees NOAA, testified before Congress on June 5 that the cuts wouldn’t be a problem because “we are transforming how we track storms and forecast weather with cutting-edge technology. Under no circumstances am I going to let public safety or public forecasting be touched.” Apparently the “cutting edge technology” hasn’t arrived yet.
And now presumably FEMA will be called upon to help pick up the pieces of shattered lives in Texas – an agency that Trump said repeatedly that he wants to abolish. In fact, Trump’s first FEMA director Cameron Hamilton was fired one day after he testified before Congress that FEMA should not be abolished.
Filipkowski notes that so far the “president” has had nothing to say about the tragedy in Texas.
In April, Abraham Lutgarten of ProPublica warned about the danger of gutting U.S. weather services: White House Proposal Could Gut Climate Modeling the World Depends On.
Over the past two months, the Trump administration has taken steps to eliminate regulations addressing climate change, pull back funding for climate programs and cancel methods used to evaluate how climate change is affecting American society and its economy. Now it is directly undermining the science and research of climate change itself, in ways that some of the nation’s most distinguished scientists say will have dangerous consequences.
Proposed cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the agency whose weather and climate research touches almost every facet of American life, are targeting a 57-year-old partnership between Princeton University and the U.S. government that produces what many consider the world’s most advanced climate modeling and forecasting systems. NOAA’s work extends deep into the heart of the American economy — businesses use it to navigate risk and find opportunity — and it undergirds both American defense and geopolitical planning. The possible elimination of the lab, called the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, in concert with potential cuts to other NOAA operations, threatens irreparable harm not only to global understanding of climate change and long-range scenarios for the planet but to the country’s safety, competitiveness and national security.
The gutting of NOAA was outlined earlier this month in a leaked memo from the Office of Management and Budget that detailed steep reductions at the Department of Commerce, which houses the science agency. The memo, which was viewed by ProPublica, has been previously reported. But the full implications of those cuts for the nation’s ability to accurately interpret dynamic changes in the planet’s weather and to predict long-term warming scenarios through its modeling arm in Princeton have not.
According to the document, NOAA’s overall funding would be slashed by 27%, eliminating “functions of the Department that are misaligned with the President’s agenda and the expressed will of the American people” including almost all of those related to the study of climate change. The proposal would break up and significantly defund the agency across programs, curtailing everything from ocean research to coastal management while shifting one of NOAA’s robust satellite programs out of the agency and putting another up for commercial bidding. But its most significant target is the office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research ⎯ a nerve center of global climate science, data collection and modeling, including the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory ⎯ which would be cut by 74%. “At this funding level, OAR is eliminated as a line office,” the memo stated.
A bit more:
The total loss of OAR and its crown jewel in Princeton represents a setback for climate preparedness that experts warn the nation may never recover from.
“If we don’t understand what’s happening and why it’s happening, you can’t be adapting, you can’t be resilient. You’re just going to suffer,” Don Wuebbles, an atmospheric scientist who sits on NOAA’s scientific advisory board, told ProPublica. “We’re going to see huge impacts on infrastructure and lives lost in the U.S.”
By Jo Potocki
There are other national climate models, but they also appear to be in jeopardy of losing funding. The National Science Foundation supports the National Center for Atmospheric Research, but the foundation announced it was freezing all research grants on April 18. NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies has a model, but the institute could see cuts of up to 47%. And the Department of Energy, home to a fourth climate modeling system, is also under budget pressure.
Without the models, and all the sensor networks and supporting NOAA research programs that feed them, “We’ll go back to the technical and proficiency levels we had in the 1950s,” said Craig McLean, a 40-year veteran of NOAA who, until 2022, was the agency’s top administrator for research and its acting chief scientist. “We won’t have the tools we have today because we can’t populate them by people or by data.” [….]
Princeton and NOAA together built America’s global supremacy in weather and climate science over generations. After World War II, the United States refocused its scientific superiority ⎯ and its early computing capabilities ⎯ on understanding how the weather and the planet works. The Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory was established in 1955 and moved to Princeton in 1968. Under NOAA, which was established by President Richard Nixon in 1970, the lab advanced early forecasting, using sensors in the oceans and the sky. It developed theories for how fluids and gases interact and came to understand that the oceans and the atmosphere drive weather ⎯ what today has become known as climate science.
The GFDL’s models, including the first hurricane model, became the basis for both short-term weather outlooks and longer-range forecasts, or climate prediction, which soon became one and the same. Those models now form the underlying modeling architecture of many of NOAA’s other departments, including the forecasts from the National Weather Service. The GFDL has trained many of the world’s best climate scientists, who are leading the most prestigious research in Japan, the U.K. and Germany, and in 2021 an alumnus of its staff won the Nobel Prize in physics. The U.S. agencies periodically run their models in competition, and last time they did, the GFDL’s models came out ahead. The lab is “the best that there is,” McLean said. “It’s really a stunningly impressive and accomplished place. It is a gem. It is the gem.”
But to Trump, tax cuts for billionaires who don’t need them are more important than predicting weather disasters.
With the passage and signing of Trump’s big ugly bill, we are soon going to be dealing with even worse horrors than bad weather. With the funds allocated to ICE in the bill, Trump plans to create a U.S. police state and a concentration camp system. I wonder, did the Republicans include funds for boxcars in the bill?
Trump’s coming police state and his war on citizens:
Josh Kovensky at Talking Points Memo: Congress Throws More Money at Removing Immigrants than Most Countries Spend on Their Armies.
It’s hard to convey just how big the new budget makes the country’s immigration enforcement infrastructure.
The Bureau of Prisons? Bigger than that. The FBI? Bigger. The Marine Corps? Bigger even than that, by some estimates.
All in all, the bill directs around $170 billion through 2029 to various forms of immigration enforcement, according to an analysis by the American Immigration Council and TPM’s own read of the legislation. ICE, responsible for enforcement, detentions, and removals, will oversee much of the spending.
The picture is not so much of an expanded immigration enforcement system, but of an entirely new one.
“It’s going to get really scary,” Adriel Orozco, senior policy counsel for the American Immigration Council, told TPM. “I do think that we are in a place where the Trump administration is centering a lot of the law enforcement authority of the federal government into the Department of Homeland Security.”
The bill gives ICE $29.8 billion to hire new staff and conduct deportations. That will lead to a hiring spurt of deportation officers; an additional $4.1 billion bump goes to Customs and Border Protection for new personnel….
We’re Listening, by Elisheva Nesis
For immigration detention, also overseen by ICE, the bill allocates a whopping $45 billion.
If that’s not enough, there’s more: Remember the wall? It was Trump’s big immigration-related promise during the 2016 campaign. It didn’t get built during his first term (and Mexico never paid for it, as Trump promised). Congress allocated $46.5 billion for its construction in this legislation. (A Senate source tells TPM that this, too, was drafted in such a way as to be fungible, so it could be used for building detention facilities as well.)
It’s a headspinning increase from ICE’s 2024 funding, that, per a recent CRS report, stood at $9.9 billion.
At the same time, the bill adds only a modest number of immigration judges, capping the number at 800 starting in November 2028 — an increase from the current approximately 700.
Read the rest at TPM.
A guest essay at The New York Times by Greg Grandin, Professor History at Yale (gift link): Trump Is Waging War on His Own Citizens.
Use the gift link to read learn about the history of the use of “America” to refer to the United States, as well as the notion of internationalism in the U.S.No president in the history of the Republic has used the word “America” as effectively as Donald Trump — not as a symbol to invoke unity but as kerosene to keep the home fires of our culture wars burning.
America, America: Make it great. It already is great. Keep it great. America must. America will. America First. “America,” said Stephen Miller, Mr. Trump’s deputy chief of staff and the driver of much of his nativist domestic policy, “is for Americans and Americans only.”
But what does it mean to be an American if armed, masked men can sweep anybody, citizen or not, off the street, forcing people into unmarked S.U.V.s — to be, if Mr. Trump has his way, disappeared to remote Louisiana or taken to a prison camp in El Salvador?
Mr. Trump and operatives like Mr. Miller are waging a war not only on migrants but also on the concept of citizenship. According to one report, Immigration and Customs Enforcement expelled as many as 66 citizens during Mr. Trump’s first term, and now he has issued an executive order ending birthright citizenship. His government is exiling children who were born in the United States, including a 4-year-old boy with late-stage cancer. The Justice Department says it is “prioritizing denaturalization,” establishing a framework to revoke citizenship from naturalized citizens the White House deems undesirable.
Vice President JD Vance admits the expansion of ICE is the mainspring of the White House’s agenda. In a series of social media posts, he pushed back against worries about the president’s signature reconciliation bill. Nothing else in the bill mattered, he said — not debt, not Medicaid cuts — compared to securing “ICE money.” Now, the agency — which already acts like a secret police — will have an additional $75 billion to build detention centers, hire new agents and supercharge its operations.
Mr. Trump’s war on citizenship goes hand in hand with his politicization of the name of America, and though the first is unprecedented in its intensity, the second taps into a long, well, American tradition, one as old as the nation itself.
Alligator Alkatraz and Trump’s dream of a concentration camp system:
The Washington Post: Heat, storms, mosquitos the big threats at Alligator Alcatraz, experts say.
The hastily constructed detention camp in the Everglades that began processing immigrant detainees late this week has already flooded once, may not meet hurricane codes and is not officially approved or funded by the federal government.
Experts say detainees and staff will face far more common hazards than the swampland terrors gleefully envisioned by state and national Republicans to discourage escapes. Mosquitoes and hurricanes are more likely to harm the expected 3,000-plus detainees and 100-member staff than are alligators and Burmese pythons.
With a cat by Galya Didur (2024)
“The risk of mosquito-borne disease at this site is significant,” said Durland Fish, a professor emeritus of epidemiology at the Yale University School of Public Health. And the viruses detected during a mosquitos study he conducted in the Everglades — including at Big Cypress Swamp, where the detention center is located — can cause neurological damage, including encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain.
“There’s no treatment for these,” Fish said….
The facility, which includes large tents over cells erected with chain-link fencing, portable showers and portable toilets, was put together in eight days. State lawmakers who have spoken about it say that work was done secretly, after they had ended their annual legislative session.
The camp is located on an infrequently used airfield in the heart of the protected Everglades. Before Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) commandeered it, the site consisted of a long runway built in the late 1960s as an initial stage in a project intended to create a mega-airport. But environmentalists and Indigenous tribes successfully fought back, and the area, surrounded by the Big Cypress National Preserve and next door to Everglades National Park, is now part of an ongoing $25 billion Everglades restoration project.
Trump views the location as a plus for his crackdown with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “We’re surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland, and the only way out is really deportation,” he said.
And state officials are defending their rapid construction of the facility and its “soft-sided” cells — some of which started to flood during Trump’s visit, as seen in videos shot by local media. According to the state’s emergency management director, Kevin Guthrie, the 158,000 square feet of housing is “a fully aluminum frame structure rated for winds of 110 miles an hour,” the top-end equivalent of a Category 2 hurricane. He said Wednesday that the department has an evacuation plan in case a major storm threatens but released no details.
Andrea Pitzer, author of One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps, at MSNBC: Don’t call it ‘Alligator Alcatraz.’ Call it a concentration camp.
For many Americans, the word “concentration camp” evokes another country, a time long ago and a facility operating in the dark of night, away from the prying eyes of an outraged public. But a new concentration camp opened in Florida’s Everglades this week, and it’s the opposite of a secret.
President Donald Trump toured the facility with reporters in tow. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other officials posed with him, laughing in front of cages meant for human beings. The Florida Republican Party launched merchandise and gave the camp a nickname, “Alligator Alc
atraz,” that the state made official.
But it’s not just a new prison, Alcatraz or otherwise. I visited four continents to write a global history of concentration camps. This facility’s purpose fits the classic model: mass civilian detention without real trials targeting vulnerable groups for political gain based on ethnicity, race, religion or political affiliation rather than for crimes committed. And its existence points to serious dangers ahead for the country.
This camp stands apart from other immigration detention facilities for a few reasons. First, its projected capacity of 5,000 beds is several times the average detention center (though Immigration and Customs Enforcement is looking at even larger facilities). Its improvised tents and chain-link cages put detainees on display reminiscent of El Salvador’s CECOT prison. And it is billed as a “temporary” camp, with the theory being that the administration can seamlessly process massive numbers of detainees with rapid-fire judicial hearings by National Guard members-turned-immigration judges. In practice, this is unlikely to go smoothly.
By Marie Laurencin
While concentration camps have historical roots in earlier forms of mass detention, they themselves are modern. The patenting and mass production of barbed wire and automatic weapons over a century ago made it possible to detain large groups with a small guard force for the first time.
At the turn of the twentieth century, imperial powers such as Spain and Britain set up concentration camps in colonial regions. The camps had staggering death tolls that made early systems unpopular. But World War I led to a revival of the concept, with nearly a million people detained globally. The wartime camps paved the way for similar systems after the conflict ended, such asthe Soviet Gulag and the detention of homeless people in multiple countries.
Those were all in place before the Nazis came to power, so Hitler’s camps aren’t the lone precedent for the Everglades project. But even the extreme case of Germany offers disturbing parallels — and not just because the Nazis also allowed reporters to tour their camps.
Please click the MSNBC link and read the rest.
One more from Timothy Snyder at his Substack: Concentration Camp Labor Cannot Become Normal.
With the passage of Trump’s death bill, we face the prospect of many great harms, including an archipelago of concentration camps across the United States.
Concentration camps are sites of tempting slave labor. Among many other aims, the Soviets used concentration camp labor to build canals and work mines. The Nazi German concentration camp system followed a capitalist version of the same logic: it drew in businesses with the prospect of inexpensive labor.
We know this and have no excuse not to act.
What happens next in the U.S.? Workers who are presented as “undocumented” will be taken to the camps. Perhaps they will work in the camps themselves, as slaves to government projects. But more likely they will be offered to American companies on special terms: a one-time payment to the government, for example, with no need for wages or benefits. In the simplest version, and perhaps the most likely, detained people will be offered back to the companies for which they were just working. Their stay in the concentration camp will be presented as a purge or a legalization for which companies should be grateful. Trump has already said that this is the idea, calling it “owner responsibility.”
We should remember what drew I.G Farben into Auschwitz: profit. But there are of course precedents for extreme exploitation in American history, including but not limited to the history of chattel slavery. And slavery is not entirely illegal in the United States. The Thirteenth Amendment allows slavery if only as punishment for a crime. The people described as “undocumented” or “denaturalized” (and other categories sure to be invented soon) are portrayed as criminals.
If the Trump regime tries to enslave such people on a large scale, there will be a court case. But waiting for the Supreme Court to do the right thing is, to put it gently, no substitute for action. It would be good if there were explicit legislation banning slave labor in all circumstances. But such a law is unlikely without a movement behind it.
The government is putting before us the temptation to cooperate in fascist dehumanization on a grand scale. But that does not mean we must do so. This is an area where actions by individuals, by civil society, by the professions, and by companies can be decisive.
Again, please follow the link and read the rest.
That’s it for me today. I know this is scary stuff, but it’s becoming real now. We are in the midst of fascist takeover. I was shocked to hear Rachel Maddow say those words last night on MSNBC, but that made it more read for. This is really happening, and we have to fight it in every way we can.
Take care everyone. I love you all.
#CampMystic #climateModeling #concentrationCamps #fascistTakeover #FEMA #ICE #NationalOceanicAndAtmosphericAdministration #NationalWeatherService #NOAA #NWS #policeState #slaveLabor #TexasFloods #weatherEmergencies
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Lazy Caturday Reads: Trump’s War on Americans
Good Morning!!
Patrice Preveirault, Le Pastel
It’s just the beginning of the storm season, and we are beginning to see the damage from Trump/DOGE cuts to the National Weather Service (NWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). There’s a terrible tragedy playing out in the Texas hill country right now.
The Texas Tribune: Death toll from Hill Country flash floods rises to 24 as rescue efforts continue.
State officials said Friday night that at least 24 people have died in the catastrophic flood that swept through Kerr County early Friday morning, and 23 girls from Camp Mystic, a private Christian girls’ camp, are still unaccounted for.
In a news conference in Kerrville, Gov. Greg Abbott signed an emergency disaster declaration, which allows numerous counties affected by the floods to get the state resources needed to help with ongoing search-and-rescue efforts.
Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said one other person was found dead in nearby Kendall County but it’s unclear if that person was a flood victim.
Nim Kidd, the chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, said local officials were caught off guard by the volume of rain, adding that the National Weather Service advisory issued Thursday “did not predict the amount of rain that we saw.”
Gen. Thomas Suelzer, the head of the Texas Military Department, said 237 people have been rescued and evacuated so far. Officials said they couldn’t provide the number of people who are unaccounted for, but they include the 23 girls from Camp Mystic.
In an earlier press conference Friday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said the dead include adults and children, and some were found in cars “that were washed out upstream.” He said officials aren’t sure whether any of the bodies were children from Camp Mystic, and stressed that the campers are only considered missing at this point….
As much as 10 inches of heavy rain fell in just a few hours overnight in central Kerr County, causing flash flooding of the Guadalupe River. Patrick said the river, which winds through Kerr County in Central Texas, rose 26 feet in 45 minutes during torrential rains overnight.
Were there warnings this was coming?
A flood watch issued Thursday afternoon estimated isolated amounts up to 7 inches of rising water. That shifted to a flood warning for at least 30,000 people overnight.
According to the National Weather Service website, the flash flood watch, which included Kerr County, was issued at 1:18 p.m. Thursday. Nearly 12 hours later, a “life threatening” flash flood warning was issued at 1:14 a.m., according to the website.
When asked about the suddenness of the flash flooding overnight, Kelly said “we do not have a warning system” and that “we didn’t know this flood was coming,” even as local reporters pointed to the warnings and pushed him for answers about why more precautions weren’t taken.
“Rest assured, no one knew this kind of flood was coming,” he said. “We have floods all the time. This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States.”
There’s much more at the link.
The New York Times has live updates on the tragedy: Death Toll in Texas Flood Rises to at Least 24, With as Many as 25 Missing.
Here’s the latest:
Search and rescue teams were working throughout the night in Central Texas after flooding that began early Friday swept through a summer camp and homes, killing at least 24 people and leaving as many as 25 girls missing from the camp.
The girls were at Camp Mystic along the Guadalupe River in Hunt, in Kerr County, according to the county sheriff. Desperate parents posted photos of their children online, seeking any information, and others went to reunification centers to try to find missing loved ones. An unknown number of other people were also missing, Kerr County said in an update on Friday night, citing the sheriff, Larry Leitha.
By Katya Vigovskaya
The deadly flooding surprised many, including Texas officials, who said that some National Weather Service alerts had underestimated the risks. The most urgent alerts came in overnight, in the early hours of Friday.
Hundreds of emergency personnel were searching for stranded people. The Texas National Guard made 237 rescues and evacuations using helicopters and rescue swimmers, Maj. Gen. Thomas M. Suelzer, the guard’s commander, said at a news conference Friday evening.
Gov. Greg Abbott signed an emergency disaster declaration encompassing 15 counties in Central Texas. The declaration will expedite state funding for the areas that experienced significant damage.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said earlier in the day that Camp Mystic was contacting the parents of campers who remained unaccounted for. He said that parents with children who had not heard from camp officials should assume their children were safe. The camp has some 750 campers, he said.
Ron Filipkowski at Meidas: Texas Officials Blame Agency Gutted by Trump for Results of Deadly Storm.
As the best and the brightest were being fired at the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration by senseless and draconian ‘DOGE’ cuts earlier this year under Trump, with no reason given except for the need to cut a paltry amount of the government’s budget, experts warned repeatedly that the cuts would have deadly consequences during the storm season. And they have.
Dozens and dozens of stories have been written in the media citing hundreds of experts which said that weather forecasting was never going to be the same, and that inaccurate forecasts were going to lead to fewer evacuations, impaired preparedness of first responders, and deadly consequences. I quoted many of them in my daily Bulletins and wrote about this issue nearly 20 different times.
And the chickens have come home to roost. Hundreds of people have already been killed across the US in a variety of storms including deadly tornadoes – many of which were inaccurately forecasted. And we are just entering peak hurricane season. Meteorologist Chris Vagasky posted earlier this spring on social media: “The world’s example for weather services is being destroyed.”
Now, after severe flooding in non-evacuated areas in Texas has left at least 24 dead with dozens more missing, including several young girls at a summer camp, Texas officials are blaming their failure to act on a faulty forecast by Donald Trump’s new National Weather Service gutted by cuts to their operating budget and most experienced personnel.
Forewarnings:
Reuters published a story just a few days ago, one of many warning about this problem: “In May, every living former director of the NWS signed on to an open letter with a warning that, if continued, Trump’s cuts to federal weather forecasting would create ‘needless loss of life’. Despite bipartisan congressional pushback for a restoration in staffing and funding to the NWS, sharp budget cuts remain on pace in projections for the 2026 budget for the NOAA, the parent organization of the NWS.”
But Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, whose agency oversees NOAA, testified before Congress on June 5 that the cuts wouldn’t be a problem because “we are transforming how we track storms and forecast weather with cutting-edge technology. Under no circumstances am I going to let public safety or public forecasting be touched.” Apparently the “cutting edge technology” hasn’t arrived yet.
And now presumably FEMA will be called upon to help pick up the pieces of shattered lives in Texas – an agency that Trump said repeatedly that he wants to abolish. In fact, Trump’s first FEMA director Cameron Hamilton was fired one day after he testified before Congress that FEMA should not be abolished.
Filipkowski notes that so far the “president” has had nothing to say about the tragedy in Texas.
In April, Abraham Lutgarten of ProPublica warned about the danger of gutting U.S. weather services: White House Proposal Could Gut Climate Modeling the World Depends On.
Over the past two months, the Trump administration has taken steps to eliminate regulations addressing climate change, pull back funding for climate programs and cancel methods used to evaluate how climate change is affecting American society and its economy. Now it is directly undermining the science and research of climate change itself, in ways that some of the nation’s most distinguished scientists say will have dangerous consequences.
Proposed cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the agency whose weather and climate research touches almost every facet of American life, are targeting a 57-year-old partnership between Princeton University and the U.S. government that produces what many consider the world’s most advanced climate modeling and forecasting systems. NOAA’s work extends deep into the heart of the American economy — businesses use it to navigate risk and find opportunity — and it undergirds both American defense and geopolitical planning. The possible elimination of the lab, called the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, in concert with potential cuts to other NOAA operations, threatens irreparable harm not only to global understanding of climate change and long-range scenarios for the planet but to the country’s safety, competitiveness and national security.
The gutting of NOAA was outlined earlier this month in a leaked memo from the Office of Management and Budget that detailed steep reductions at the Department of Commerce, which houses the science agency. The memo, which was viewed by ProPublica, has been previously reported. But the full implications of those cuts for the nation’s ability to accurately interpret dynamic changes in the planet’s weather and to predict long-term warming scenarios through its modeling arm in Princeton have not.
According to the document, NOAA’s overall funding would be slashed by 27%, eliminating “functions of the Department that are misaligned with the President’s agenda and the expressed will of the American people” including almost all of those related to the study of climate change. The proposal would break up and significantly defund the agency across programs, curtailing everything from ocean research to coastal management while shifting one of NOAA’s robust satellite programs out of the agency and putting another up for commercial bidding. But its most significant target is the office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research ⎯ a nerve center of global climate science, data collection and modeling, including the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory ⎯ which would be cut by 74%. “At this funding level, OAR is eliminated as a line office,” the memo stated.
A bit more:
The total loss of OAR and its crown jewel in Princeton represents a setback for climate preparedness that experts warn the nation may never recover from.
“If we don’t understand what’s happening and why it’s happening, you can’t be adapting, you can’t be resilient. You’re just going to suffer,” Don Wuebbles, an atmospheric scientist who sits on NOAA’s scientific advisory board, told ProPublica. “We’re going to see huge impacts on infrastructure and lives lost in the U.S.”
By Jo Potocki
There are other national climate models, but they also appear to be in jeopardy of losing funding. The National Science Foundation supports the National Center for Atmospheric Research, but the foundation announced it was freezing all research grants on April 18. NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies has a model, but the institute could see cuts of up to 47%. And the Department of Energy, home to a fourth climate modeling system, is also under budget pressure.
Without the models, and all the sensor networks and supporting NOAA research programs that feed them, “We’ll go back to the technical and proficiency levels we had in the 1950s,” said Craig McLean, a 40-year veteran of NOAA who, until 2022, was the agency’s top administrator for research and its acting chief scientist. “We won’t have the tools we have today because we can’t populate them by people or by data.” [….]
Princeton and NOAA together built America’s global supremacy in weather and climate science over generations. After World War II, the United States refocused its scientific superiority ⎯ and its early computing capabilities ⎯ on understanding how the weather and the planet works. The Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory was established in 1955 and moved to Princeton in 1968. Under NOAA, which was established by President Richard Nixon in 1970, the lab advanced early forecasting, using sensors in the oceans and the sky. It developed theories for how fluids and gases interact and came to understand that the oceans and the atmosphere drive weather ⎯ what today has become known as climate science.
The GFDL’s models, including the first hurricane model, became the basis for both short-term weather outlooks and longer-range forecasts, or climate prediction, which soon became one and the same. Those models now form the underlying modeling architecture of many of NOAA’s other departments, including the forecasts from the National Weather Service. The GFDL has trained many of the world’s best climate scientists, who are leading the most prestigious research in Japan, the U.K. and Germany, and in 2021 an alumnus of its staff won the Nobel Prize in physics. The U.S. agencies periodically run their models in competition, and last time they did, the GFDL’s models came out ahead. The lab is “the best that there is,” McLean said. “It’s really a stunningly impressive and accomplished place. It is a gem. It is the gem.”
But to Trump, tax cuts for billionaires who don’t need them are more important than predicting weather disasters.
With the passage and signing of Trump’s big ugly bill, we are soon going to be dealing with even worse horrors than bad weather. With the funds allocated to ICE in the bill, Trump plans to create a U.S. police state and a concentration camp system. I wonder, did the Republicans include funds for boxcars in the bill?
Trump’s coming police state and his war on citizens:
Josh Kovensky at Talking Points Memo: Congress Throws More Money at Removing Immigrants than Most Countries Spend on Their Armies.
It’s hard to convey just how big the new budget makes the country’s immigration enforcement infrastructure.
The Bureau of Prisons? Bigger than that. The FBI? Bigger. The Marine Corps? Bigger even than that, by some estimates.
All in all, the bill directs around $170 billion through 2029 to various forms of immigration enforcement, according to an analysis by the American Immigration Council and TPM’s own read of the legislation. ICE, responsible for enforcement, detentions, and removals, will oversee much of the spending.
The picture is not so much of an expanded immigration enforcement system, but of an entirely new one.
“It’s going to get really scary,” Adriel Orozco, senior policy counsel for the American Immigration Council, told TPM. “I do think that we are in a place where the Trump administration is centering a lot of the law enforcement authority of the federal government into the Department of Homeland Security.”
The bill gives ICE $29.8 billion to hire new staff and conduct deportations. That will lead to a hiring spurt of deportation officers; an additional $4.1 billion bump goes to Customs and Border Protection for new personnel….
We’re Listening, by Elisheva Nesis
For immigration detention, also overseen by ICE, the bill allocates a whopping $45 billion.
If that’s not enough, there’s more: Remember the wall? It was Trump’s big immigration-related promise during the 2016 campaign. It didn’t get built during his first term (and Mexico never paid for it, as Trump promised). Congress allocated $46.5 billion for its construction in this legislation. (A Senate source tells TPM that this, too, was drafted in such a way as to be fungible, so it could be used for building detention facilities as well.)
It’s a headspinning increase from ICE’s 2024 funding, that, per a recent CRS report, stood at $9.9 billion.
At the same time, the bill adds only a modest number of immigration judges, capping the number at 800 starting in November 2028 — an increase from the current approximately 700.
Read the rest at TPM.
A guest essay at The New York Times by Greg Grandin, Professor History at Yale (gift link): Trump Is Waging War on His Own Citizens.
Use the gift link to read learn about the history of the use of “America” to refer to the United States, as well as the notion of internationalism in the U.S.No president in the history of the Republic has used the word “America” as effectively as Donald Trump — not as a symbol to invoke unity but as kerosene to keep the home fires of our culture wars burning.
America, America: Make it great. It already is great. Keep it great. America must. America will. America First. “America,” said Stephen Miller, Mr. Trump’s deputy chief of staff and the driver of much of his nativist domestic policy, “is for Americans and Americans only.”
But what does it mean to be an American if armed, masked men can sweep anybody, citizen or not, off the street, forcing people into unmarked S.U.V.s — to be, if Mr. Trump has his way, disappeared to remote Louisiana or taken to a prison camp in El Salvador?
Mr. Trump and operatives like Mr. Miller are waging a war not only on migrants but also on the concept of citizenship. According to one report, Immigration and Customs Enforcement expelled as many as 66 citizens during Mr. Trump’s first term, and now he has issued an executive order ending birthright citizenship. His government is exiling children who were born in the United States, including a 4-year-old boy with late-stage cancer. The Justice Department says it is “prioritizing denaturalization,” establishing a framework to revoke citizenship from naturalized citizens the White House deems undesirable.
Vice President JD Vance admits the expansion of ICE is the mainspring of the White House’s agenda. In a series of social media posts, he pushed back against worries about the president’s signature reconciliation bill. Nothing else in the bill mattered, he said — not debt, not Medicaid cuts — compared to securing “ICE money.” Now, the agency — which already acts like a secret police — will have an additional $75 billion to build detention centers, hire new agents and supercharge its operations.
Mr. Trump’s war on citizenship goes hand in hand with his politicization of the name of America, and though the first is unprecedented in its intensity, the second taps into a long, well, American tradition, one as old as the nation itself.
Alligator Alkatraz and Trump’s dream of a concentration camp system:
The Washington Post: Heat, storms, mosquitos the big threats at Alligator Alcatraz, experts say.
The hastily constructed detention camp in the Everglades that began processing immigrant detainees late this week has already flooded once, may not meet hurricane codes and is not officially approved or funded by the federal government.
Experts say detainees and staff will face far more common hazards than the swampland terrors gleefully envisioned by state and national Republicans to discourage escapes. Mosquitoes and hurricanes are more likely to harm the expected 3,000-plus detainees and 100-member staff than are alligators and Burmese pythons.
With a cat by Galya Didur (2024)
“The risk of mosquito-borne disease at this site is significant,” said Durland Fish, a professor emeritus of epidemiology at the Yale University School of Public Health. And the viruses detected during a mosquitos study he conducted in the Everglades — including at Big Cypress Swamp, where the detention center is located — can cause neurological damage, including encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain.
“There’s no treatment for these,” Fish said….
The facility, which includes large tents over cells erected with chain-link fencing, portable showers and portable toilets, was put together in eight days. State lawmakers who have spoken about it say that work was done secretly, after they had ended their annual legislative session.
The camp is located on an infrequently used airfield in the heart of the protected Everglades. Before Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) commandeered it, the site consisted of a long runway built in the late 1960s as an initial stage in a project intended to create a mega-airport. But environmentalists and Indigenous tribes successfully fought back, and the area, surrounded by the Big Cypress National Preserve and next door to Everglades National Park, is now part of an ongoing $25 billion Everglades restoration project.
Trump views the location as a plus for his crackdown with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “We’re surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland, and the only way out is really deportation,” he said.
And state officials are defending their rapid construction of the facility and its “soft-sided” cells — some of which started to flood during Trump’s visit, as seen in videos shot by local media. According to the state’s emergency management director, Kevin Guthrie, the 158,000 square feet of housing is “a fully aluminum frame structure rated for winds of 110 miles an hour,” the top-end equivalent of a Category 2 hurricane. He said Wednesday that the department has an evacuation plan in case a major storm threatens but released no details.
Andrea Pitzer, author of One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps, at MSNBC: Don’t call it ‘Alligator Alcatraz.’ Call it a concentration camp.
For many Americans, the word “concentration camp” evokes another country, a time long ago and a facility operating in the dark of night, away from the prying eyes of an outraged public. But a new concentration camp opened in Florida’s Everglades this week, and it’s the opposite of a secret.
President Donald Trump toured the facility with reporters in tow. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other officials posed with him, laughing in front of cages meant for human beings. The Florida Republican Party launched merchandise and gave the camp a nickname, “Alligator Alc
atraz,” that the state made official.
But it’s not just a new prison, Alcatraz or otherwise. I visited four continents to write a global history of concentration camps. This facility’s purpose fits the classic model: mass civilian detention without real trials targeting vulnerable groups for political gain based on ethnicity, race, religion or political affiliation rather than for crimes committed. And its existence points to serious dangers ahead for the country.
This camp stands apart from other immigration detention facilities for a few reasons. First, its projected capacity of 5,000 beds is several times the average detention center (though Immigration and Customs Enforcement is looking at even larger facilities). Its improvised tents and chain-link cages put detainees on display reminiscent of El Salvador’s CECOT prison. And it is billed as a “temporary” camp, with the theory being that the administration can seamlessly process massive numbers of detainees with rapid-fire judicial hearings by National Guard members-turned-immigration judges. In practice, this is unlikely to go smoothly.
By Marie Laurencin
While concentration camps have historical roots in earlier forms of mass detention, they themselves are modern. The patenting and mass production of barbed wire and automatic weapons over a century ago made it possible to detain large groups with a small guard force for the first time.
At the turn of the twentieth century, imperial powers such as Spain and Britain set up concentration camps in colonial regions. The camps had staggering death tolls that made early systems unpopular. But World War I led to a revival of the concept, with nearly a million people detained globally. The wartime camps paved the way for similar systems after the conflict ended, such asthe Soviet Gulag and the detention of homeless people in multiple countries.
Those were all in place before the Nazis came to power, so Hitler’s camps aren’t the lone precedent for the Everglades project. But even the extreme case of Germany offers disturbing parallels — and not just because the Nazis also allowed reporters to tour their camps.
Please click the MSNBC link and read the rest.
One more from Timothy Snyder at his Substack: Concentration Camp Labor Cannot Become Normal.
With the passage of Trump’s death bill, we face the prospect of many great harms, including an archipelago of concentration camps across the United States.
Concentration camps are sites of tempting slave labor. Among many other aims, the Soviets used concentration camp labor to build canals and work mines. The Nazi German concentration camp system followed a capitalist version of the same logic: it drew in businesses with the prospect of inexpensive labor.
We know this and have no excuse not to act.
What happens next in the U.S.? Workers who are presented as “undocumented” will be taken to the camps. Perhaps they will work in the camps themselves, as slaves to government projects. But more likely they will be offered to American companies on special terms: a one-time payment to the government, for example, with no need for wages or benefits. In the simplest version, and perhaps the most likely, detained people will be offered back to the companies for which they were just working. Their stay in the concentration camp will be presented as a purge or a legalization for which companies should be grateful. Trump has already said that this is the idea, calling it “owner responsibility.”
We should remember what drew I.G Farben into Auschwitz: profit. But there are of course precedents for extreme exploitation in American history, including but not limited to the history of chattel slavery. And slavery is not entirely illegal in the United States. The Thirteenth Amendment allows slavery if only as punishment for a crime. The people described as “undocumented” or “denaturalized” (and other categories sure to be invented soon) are portrayed as criminals.
If the Trump regime tries to enslave such people on a large scale, there will be a court case. But waiting for the Supreme Court to do the right thing is, to put it gently, no substitute for action. It would be good if there were explicit legislation banning slave labor in all circumstances. But such a law is unlikely without a movement behind it.
The government is putting before us the temptation to cooperate in fascist dehumanization on a grand scale. But that does not mean we must do so. This is an area where actions by individuals, by civil society, by the professions, and by companies can be decisive.
Again, please follow the link and read the rest.
That’s it for me today. I know this is scary stuff, but it’s becoming real now. We are in the midst of fascist takeover. I was shocked to hear Rachel Maddow say those words last night on MSNBC, but that made it more read for. This is really happening, and we have to fight it in every way we can.
Take care everyone. I love you all.
#CampMystic #climateModeling #concentrationCamps #fascistTakeover #FEMA #ICE #NationalOceanicAndAtmosphericAdministration #NationalWeatherService #NOAA #NWS #policeState #slaveLabor #TexasFloods #weatherEmergencies
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New Research: Indigenous Communities Reduce Amazon Deforestation by 83%”
Although #deforestation rates in the Brazilian #Amazon have halved, this globally critical biome is still losing more than 5,000km² every year. That’s an area three times larger than Greater London. By combining satellite imagery for the entire Amazon region with data from the Brazilian national census, our new study found that deforestation in areas protected by #Indigenous communities was up to 83% lower compared to unprotected areas.
Results demonstrate that returning lands to Indigenous communities can be extremely effective at reducing deforestation and boosting #biodiversity to help address #climatechange. Yet, forest conservation should not come at an economic cost to people living in Indigenous-managed lands.
The world’s largest #rainforest the #Amazon 🫁🌳🌿 is vanishing. Yet a bright spark of hope finds #deforestation in #Indigenous protected areas is 83% lower. They are the KEY to saving the #forests and animals! #BoycottGold4Yanomami #Boycott4Wildlife https://wp.me/pcFhgU-8SM
Share to BlueSky Share to TwitterWritten by Johan Oldekop, Reader in Environment and Development, University of Manchester; Bowy den Braber, Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, and Marina Schmoeller, PhD Candidate, Ecology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG)vThis article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Tarcisio Schnaider/ShutterstockDespite this win for indigenous-led conservation, our results also show that Indigenous communities had the lowest levels of socioeconomic development. Incomes in Indigenous territories were up to 36% lower compared to other land uses.
Indigenous people are among the most disadvantaged groups of people in the world. Although Indigenous communities in Brazil have strengthened their political representation in recent years, 33% of people living below the poverty line are Indigenous.
Improving the economic wellbeing of Indigenous people is not only the socially just thing to do but can also be environmentally effective. Research in Nepal showed that communities with higher levels of socioeconomic development are less likely to trade off development with deforestation. Providing communities with the ability to protect and conserve their local forests and develop economically can be a win-win for both people and the environment.
In 2022, governments across the world agreed to protect 30% of the planet’s surface by 2030. To meet the commitments of this 30×30 agenda, many countries need to drastically increase their conservation efforts to reverse deforestation in the Amazon and beyond.
Governments and philanthropic organisations pledged unprecedented political and financial support for forests and Indigenous peoples and local communities at the 2021 COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. These pledges have helped raise the voices of Indigenous peoples and ushered in a new era of commitments to return ancestral lands.
Yet, forests and their resources across the world remain coveted by many different interest groups, including mining and large agribusiness. The Supreme Court in Brazil is currently debating the constitutional validity of the controversial “Marco Temporal” or time limit framework which could substantially limit the ability of Indigenous peoples across the country to make claims for lands. This legal theory states that Indigenous peoples are only entitled to make claims for lands if they can prove that they were in possession of them on or before October 5 1988 when the Brazilian constitution came into effect.
Perhaps surprisingly, our results show that agricultural business development of the Brazilian Amazon is unlikely to provide greater socioeconomic benefits for local, non-indigenous communities than protection-focused alternatives that preserve forest cover but allow sustainable resource use by rural communities. But the agribusiness lobby in Brazil, who are often in direct conflict with Indigenous people, often argues that agricultural expansion will provide economic development for the region.
Our results demonstrate that returning lands to Indigenous communities can be extremely effective at reducing deforestation and boosting biodiversity to help address climate change. Yet, forest conservation should not come at an economic cost to people living in Indigenous-managed lands.
Access to land and opportunity
Indigenous communities need to regain access to their ancestral lands while also gaining access to development opportunities. Indigenous people in Brazil are eligible to receive support from social welfare programmes, such as the family allowance scheme (or bolsa familia in Portuguese), which is credited with lifting millions of Brazilians out of poverty and reducing inequality.
Protesters hold placards expressing their opinion during the demonstration. The Marco Temporal thesis, indigenous, and supporters of the indigenous movement met in downtown Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in May 2023. ZUMA Press Inc / Alamy Stock PhotoHowever, many rural and isolated communities face substantial difficulties accessing support. For example, fuel costs to take long boat trips from remote communities to urban centres to collect payments are high and many communities lack access to technology to even apply for such schemes.
President Lula Da Silva’s government is considering developing an Indigenous family allowance programme to address access problems faced by Indigenous communities in Brazil. As efforts to return rights to land ramp up in the wake of the 30×30 agenda, more governments and nongovernmental organisations should support the many other rights that Indigenous peoples have and reduce the structural barriers that prevent rural communities from claiming them.
Written by Johan Oldekop, Reader in Environment and Development, University of Manchester; Bowy den Braber, Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, and Marina Schmoeller, PhD Candidate, Ecology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG)vThis article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
ENDS
Read more about human rights and indigenous rights
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Palm Oil Is Ruining Kalangala Uganda — Locals Paying the Price
A catastrophic storm in #Uganda’s Kalangala district left nearly 1,000 households homeless. The real culprit? Rampant #deforestation for #palmoil. Once rich in native forests that buffered storms, Kalangala is now a fragile landscape…
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The Great Malaysian Timber and Palm Oil Swindle
A joint investigation by Malaysiakini and Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Investigations Network (RIN) reveals alarming deforestation in Pahang, #Malaysia, caused by one of the country’s largest #palmoil plantations. The plantation threatens endangered species like…
The origins of animal words in SE Asia and what this reveals to us about our connection to them
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Pledge your support#Amazon #AmazonRainforest #biodiversity #BoycottGold #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottGold4Yanomami #Brazil #climatechange #deforestation #forests #humanRights #indigenous #IndigenousActivism #indigenousKnowledge #indigenousMedicine #indigenousRights #landRights #PalmOil #rainforest #Yanomami
-
New Research: Indigenous Communities Reduce Amazon Deforestation by 83%”
Although #deforestation rates in the Brazilian #Amazon have halved, this globally critical biome is still losing more than 5,000km² every year. That’s an area three times larger than Greater London. By combining satellite imagery for the entire Amazon region with data from the Brazilian national census, our new study found that deforestation in areas protected by #Indigenous communities was up to 83% lower compared to unprotected areas.
Results demonstrate that returning lands to Indigenous communities can be extremely effective at reducing deforestation and boosting #biodiversity to help address #climatechange. Yet, forest conservation should not come at an economic cost to people living in Indigenous-managed lands.
The world’s largest #rainforest the #Amazon 🫁🌳🌿 is vanishing. Yet a bright spark of hope finds #deforestation in #Indigenous protected areas is 83% lower. They are the KEY to saving the #forests and animals! #BoycottGold4Yanomami #Boycott4Wildlife https://wp.me/pcFhgU-8SM
Share to BlueSky Share to TwitterWritten by Johan Oldekop, Reader in Environment and Development, University of Manchester; Bowy den Braber, Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, and Marina Schmoeller, PhD Candidate, Ecology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG)vThis article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Tarcisio Schnaider/ShutterstockDespite this win for indigenous-led conservation, our results also show that Indigenous communities had the lowest levels of socioeconomic development. Incomes in Indigenous territories were up to 36% lower compared to other land uses.
Indigenous people are among the most disadvantaged groups of people in the world. Although Indigenous communities in Brazil have strengthened their political representation in recent years, 33% of people living below the poverty line are Indigenous.
Improving the economic wellbeing of Indigenous people is not only the socially just thing to do but can also be environmentally effective. Research in Nepal showed that communities with higher levels of socioeconomic development are less likely to trade off development with deforestation. Providing communities with the ability to protect and conserve their local forests and develop economically can be a win-win for both people and the environment.
In 2022, governments across the world agreed to protect 30% of the planet’s surface by 2030. To meet the commitments of this 30×30 agenda, many countries need to drastically increase their conservation efforts to reverse deforestation in the Amazon and beyond.
Governments and philanthropic organisations pledged unprecedented political and financial support for forests and Indigenous peoples and local communities at the 2021 COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. These pledges have helped raise the voices of Indigenous peoples and ushered in a new era of commitments to return ancestral lands.
Yet, forests and their resources across the world remain coveted by many different interest groups, including mining and large agribusiness. The Supreme Court in Brazil is currently debating the constitutional validity of the controversial “Marco Temporal” or time limit framework which could substantially limit the ability of Indigenous peoples across the country to make claims for lands. This legal theory states that Indigenous peoples are only entitled to make claims for lands if they can prove that they were in possession of them on or before October 5 1988 when the Brazilian constitution came into effect.
Perhaps surprisingly, our results show that agricultural business development of the Brazilian Amazon is unlikely to provide greater socioeconomic benefits for local, non-indigenous communities than protection-focused alternatives that preserve forest cover but allow sustainable resource use by rural communities. But the agribusiness lobby in Brazil, who are often in direct conflict with Indigenous people, often argues that agricultural expansion will provide economic development for the region.
Our results demonstrate that returning lands to Indigenous communities can be extremely effective at reducing deforestation and boosting biodiversity to help address climate change. Yet, forest conservation should not come at an economic cost to people living in Indigenous-managed lands.
Access to land and opportunity
Indigenous communities need to regain access to their ancestral lands while also gaining access to development opportunities. Indigenous people in Brazil are eligible to receive support from social welfare programmes, such as the family allowance scheme (or bolsa familia in Portuguese), which is credited with lifting millions of Brazilians out of poverty and reducing inequality.
Protesters hold placards expressing their opinion during the demonstration. The Marco Temporal thesis, indigenous, and supporters of the indigenous movement met in downtown Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in May 2023. ZUMA Press Inc / Alamy Stock PhotoHowever, many rural and isolated communities face substantial difficulties accessing support. For example, fuel costs to take long boat trips from remote communities to urban centres to collect payments are high and many communities lack access to technology to even apply for such schemes.
President Lula Da Silva’s government is considering developing an Indigenous family allowance programme to address access problems faced by Indigenous communities in Brazil. As efforts to return rights to land ramp up in the wake of the 30×30 agenda, more governments and nongovernmental organisations should support the many other rights that Indigenous peoples have and reduce the structural barriers that prevent rural communities from claiming them.
Written by Johan Oldekop, Reader in Environment and Development, University of Manchester; Bowy den Braber, Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, and Marina Schmoeller, PhD Candidate, Ecology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG)vThis article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
ENDS
Read more about human rights and indigenous rights
Concerns Mount Over Palm Oil Expansion in Nagaland
Concerns Mount Over Palm Oil Expansion in Nagaland | The Nagaland Climate Change Adaptation Forum (NCCAF) has raised grave concerns about the environmental and social impacts of expanding palm oil plantations in the…
Palm Oil Is Ruining Kalangala Uganda — Locals Paying the Price
A catastrophic storm in #Uganda’s Kalangala district left nearly 1,000 households homeless. The real culprit? Rampant #deforestation for #palmoil. Once rich in native forests that buffered storms, Kalangala is now a fragile landscape…
Violence for Palm Oil Against Peasant Communities in Honduras Meets Resistance
In the Aguán Valley of northern Honduras, peasant communities reclaiming ancestral lands face increasing violence and intimidation from armed groups linked to organised crime. The Dinant Corporation, a prominent palm oil producer, is…
The Great Malaysian Timber and Palm Oil Swindle
A joint investigation by Malaysiakini and Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Investigations Network (RIN) reveals alarming deforestation in Pahang, #Malaysia, caused by one of the country’s largest #palmoil plantations. The plantation threatens endangered species like…
The origins of animal words in SE Asia and what this reveals to us about our connection to them
South East Asia is home to many fascinating creatures and rich biodiversity. The secrets of animal origins and ancient legends are revealed in their names: #Orangutan, #Gibbon, #Binturong and #Siamang in South East…
Load more posts
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
Take Action in Five Ways
1. Join the #Boycott4Wildlife on social media and subscribe to stay in the loop: Share posts from this website to your own network on Twitter, Mastadon, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube using the hashtags #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife.
Enter your email address
Sign Up
Join 1,385 other subscribers2. Contribute stories: Academics, conservationists, scientists, indigenous rights advocates and animal rights advocates working to expose the corruption of the palm oil industry or to save animals can contribute stories to the website.
Mel Lumby: Dedicated Devotee to Borneo’s Living Beings
Anthropologist and Author Dr Sophie Chao
Health Physician Dr Evan Allen
The World’s Most Loved Cup: A Social, Ethical & Environmental History of Coffee by Aviary Doert
How do we stop the world’s ecosystems from going into a death spiral? A #SteadyState Economy
3. Supermarket sleuthing: Next time you’re in the supermarket, take photos of products containing palm oil. Share these to social media along with the hashtags to call out the greenwashing and ecocide of the brands who use palm oil. You can also take photos of palm oil free products and congratulate brands when they go palm oil free.
https://twitter.com/CuriousApe4/status/1526136783557529600?s=20
https://twitter.com/PhillDixon1/status/1749010345555788144?s=20
https://twitter.com/mugabe139/status/1678027567977078784?s=20
4. Take to the streets: Get in touch with Palm Oil Detectives to find out more.
5. Donate: Make a one-off or monthly donation to Palm Oil Detectives as a way of saying thank you and to help pay for ongoing running costs of the website and social media campaigns. Donate here
Pledge your support#Amazon #AmazonRainforest #biodiversity #BoycottGold #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottGold4Yanomami #Brazil #climatechange #deforestation #forests #humanRights #indigenous #IndigenousActivism #indigenousKnowledge #indigenousMedicine #indigenousRights #landRights #PalmOil #rainforest #Yanomami
-
New Research: Indigenous Communities Reduce Amazon Deforestation by 83%”
Although #deforestation rates in the Brazilian #Amazon have halved, this globally critical biome is still losing more than 5,000km² every year. That’s an area three times larger than Greater London. By combining satellite imagery for the entire Amazon region with data from the Brazilian national census, our new study found that deforestation in areas protected by #Indigenous communities was up to 83% lower compared to unprotected areas.
Results demonstrate that returning lands to Indigenous communities can be extremely effective at reducing deforestation and boosting #biodiversity to help address #climatechange. Yet, forest conservation should not come at an economic cost to people living in Indigenous-managed lands.
The world’s largest #rainforest the #Amazon 🫁🌳🌿 is vanishing. Yet a bright spark of hope finds #deforestation in #Indigenous protected areas is 83% lower. They are the KEY to saving the #forests and animals! #BoycottGold4Yanomami #Boycott4Wildlife https://wp.me/pcFhgU-8SM
Share to BlueSky Share to TwitterWritten by Johan Oldekop, Reader in Environment and Development, University of Manchester; Bowy den Braber, Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, and Marina Schmoeller, PhD Candidate, Ecology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG)vThis article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Tarcisio Schnaider/ShutterstockDespite this win for indigenous-led conservation, our results also show that Indigenous communities had the lowest levels of socioeconomic development. Incomes in Indigenous territories were up to 36% lower compared to other land uses.
Indigenous people are among the most disadvantaged groups of people in the world. Although Indigenous communities in Brazil have strengthened their political representation in recent years, 33% of people living below the poverty line are Indigenous.
Improving the economic wellbeing of Indigenous people is not only the socially just thing to do but can also be environmentally effective. Research in Nepal showed that communities with higher levels of socioeconomic development are less likely to trade off development with deforestation. Providing communities with the ability to protect and conserve their local forests and develop economically can be a win-win for both people and the environment.
In 2022, governments across the world agreed to protect 30% of the planet’s surface by 2030. To meet the commitments of this 30×30 agenda, many countries need to drastically increase their conservation efforts to reverse deforestation in the Amazon and beyond.
Governments and philanthropic organisations pledged unprecedented political and financial support for forests and Indigenous peoples and local communities at the 2021 COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. These pledges have helped raise the voices of Indigenous peoples and ushered in a new era of commitments to return ancestral lands.
Yet, forests and their resources across the world remain coveted by many different interest groups, including mining and large agribusiness. The Supreme Court in Brazil is currently debating the constitutional validity of the controversial “Marco Temporal” or time limit framework which could substantially limit the ability of Indigenous peoples across the country to make claims for lands. This legal theory states that Indigenous peoples are only entitled to make claims for lands if they can prove that they were in possession of them on or before October 5 1988 when the Brazilian constitution came into effect.
Perhaps surprisingly, our results show that agricultural business development of the Brazilian Amazon is unlikely to provide greater socioeconomic benefits for local, non-indigenous communities than protection-focused alternatives that preserve forest cover but allow sustainable resource use by rural communities. But the agribusiness lobby in Brazil, who are often in direct conflict with Indigenous people, often argues that agricultural expansion will provide economic development for the region.
Our results demonstrate that returning lands to Indigenous communities can be extremely effective at reducing deforestation and boosting biodiversity to help address climate change. Yet, forest conservation should not come at an economic cost to people living in Indigenous-managed lands.
Access to land and opportunity
Indigenous communities need to regain access to their ancestral lands while also gaining access to development opportunities. Indigenous people in Brazil are eligible to receive support from social welfare programmes, such as the family allowance scheme (or bolsa familia in Portuguese), which is credited with lifting millions of Brazilians out of poverty and reducing inequality.
Protesters hold placards expressing their opinion during the demonstration. The Marco Temporal thesis, indigenous, and supporters of the indigenous movement met in downtown Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in May 2023. ZUMA Press Inc / Alamy Stock PhotoHowever, many rural and isolated communities face substantial difficulties accessing support. For example, fuel costs to take long boat trips from remote communities to urban centres to collect payments are high and many communities lack access to technology to even apply for such schemes.
President Lula Da Silva’s government is considering developing an Indigenous family allowance programme to address access problems faced by Indigenous communities in Brazil. As efforts to return rights to land ramp up in the wake of the 30×30 agenda, more governments and nongovernmental organisations should support the many other rights that Indigenous peoples have and reduce the structural barriers that prevent rural communities from claiming them.
Written by Johan Oldekop, Reader in Environment and Development, University of Manchester; Bowy den Braber, Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, and Marina Schmoeller, PhD Candidate, Ecology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG)vThis article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
ENDS
Read more about human rights and indigenous rights
Concerns Mount Over Palm Oil Expansion in Nagaland
Concerns Mount Over Palm Oil Expansion in Nagaland | The Nagaland Climate Change Adaptation Forum (NCCAF) has raised grave concerns about the environmental and social impacts of expanding palm oil plantations in the…
Palm Oil Is Ruining Kalangala Uganda — Locals Paying the Price
A catastrophic storm in #Uganda’s Kalangala district left nearly 1,000 households homeless. The real culprit? Rampant #deforestation for #palmoil. Once rich in native forests that buffered storms, Kalangala is now a fragile landscape…
Violence for Palm Oil Against Peasant Communities in Honduras Meets Resistance
In the Aguán Valley of northern Honduras, peasant communities reclaiming ancestral lands face increasing violence and intimidation from armed groups linked to organised crime. The Dinant Corporation, a prominent palm oil producer, is…
The Great Malaysian Timber and Palm Oil Swindle
A joint investigation by Malaysiakini and Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Investigations Network (RIN) reveals alarming deforestation in Pahang, #Malaysia, caused by one of the country’s largest #palmoil plantations. The plantation threatens endangered species like…
The origins of animal words in SE Asia and what this reveals to us about our connection to them
South East Asia is home to many fascinating creatures and rich biodiversity. The secrets of animal origins and ancient legends are revealed in their names: #Orangutan, #Gibbon, #Binturong and #Siamang in South East…
Load more posts
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
Take Action in Five Ways
1. Join the #Boycott4Wildlife on social media and subscribe to stay in the loop: Share posts from this website to your own network on Twitter, Mastadon, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube using the hashtags #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife.
Enter your email address
Sign Up
Join 1,385 other subscribers2. Contribute stories: Academics, conservationists, scientists, indigenous rights advocates and animal rights advocates working to expose the corruption of the palm oil industry or to save animals can contribute stories to the website.
Mel Lumby: Dedicated Devotee to Borneo’s Living Beings
Anthropologist and Author Dr Sophie Chao
Health Physician Dr Evan Allen
The World’s Most Loved Cup: A Social, Ethical & Environmental History of Coffee by Aviary Doert
How do we stop the world’s ecosystems from going into a death spiral? A #SteadyState Economy
3. Supermarket sleuthing: Next time you’re in the supermarket, take photos of products containing palm oil. Share these to social media along with the hashtags to call out the greenwashing and ecocide of the brands who use palm oil. You can also take photos of palm oil free products and congratulate brands when they go palm oil free.
https://twitter.com/CuriousApe4/status/1526136783557529600?s=20
https://twitter.com/PhillDixon1/status/1749010345555788144?s=20
https://twitter.com/mugabe139/status/1678027567977078784?s=20
4. Take to the streets: Get in touch with Palm Oil Detectives to find out more.
5. Donate: Make a one-off or monthly donation to Palm Oil Detectives as a way of saying thank you and to help pay for ongoing running costs of the website and social media campaigns. Donate here
Pledge your support#Amazon #AmazonRainforest #biodiversity #BoycottGold #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottGold4Yanomami #Brazil #climatechange #deforestation #forests #humanRights #indigenous #IndigenousActivism #indigenousKnowledge #indigenousMedicine #indigenousRights #landRights #PalmOil #rainforest #Yanomami
-
New Research: Indigenous Communities Reduce Amazon Deforestation by 83%”
Although #deforestation rates in the Brazilian #Amazon have halved, this globally critical biome is still losing more than 5,000km² every year. That’s an area three times larger than Greater London. By combining satellite imagery for the entire Amazon region with data from the Brazilian national census, our new study found that deforestation in areas protected by #Indigenous communities was up to 83% lower compared to unprotected areas.
Results demonstrate that returning lands to Indigenous communities can be extremely effective at reducing deforestation and boosting #biodiversity to help address #climatechange. Yet, forest conservation should not come at an economic cost to people living in Indigenous-managed lands.
The world’s largest #rainforest the #Amazon 🫁🌳🌿 is vanishing. Yet a bright spark of hope finds #deforestation in #Indigenous protected areas is 83% lower. They are the KEY to saving the #forests and animals! #BoycottGold4Yanomami #Boycott4Wildlife https://wp.me/pcFhgU-8SM
Share to BlueSky Share to TwitterWritten by Johan Oldekop, Reader in Environment and Development, University of Manchester; Bowy den Braber, Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, and Marina Schmoeller, PhD Candidate, Ecology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG)vThis article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Tarcisio Schnaider/ShutterstockDespite this win for indigenous-led conservation, our results also show that Indigenous communities had the lowest levels of socioeconomic development. Incomes in Indigenous territories were up to 36% lower compared to other land uses.
Indigenous people are among the most disadvantaged groups of people in the world. Although Indigenous communities in Brazil have strengthened their political representation in recent years, 33% of people living below the poverty line are Indigenous.
Improving the economic wellbeing of Indigenous people is not only the socially just thing to do but can also be environmentally effective. Research in Nepal showed that communities with higher levels of socioeconomic development are less likely to trade off development with deforestation. Providing communities with the ability to protect and conserve their local forests and develop economically can be a win-win for both people and the environment.
In 2022, governments across the world agreed to protect 30% of the planet’s surface by 2030. To meet the commitments of this 30×30 agenda, many countries need to drastically increase their conservation efforts to reverse deforestation in the Amazon and beyond.
Governments and philanthropic organisations pledged unprecedented political and financial support for forests and Indigenous peoples and local communities at the 2021 COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. These pledges have helped raise the voices of Indigenous peoples and ushered in a new era of commitments to return ancestral lands.
Yet, forests and their resources across the world remain coveted by many different interest groups, including mining and large agribusiness. The Supreme Court in Brazil is currently debating the constitutional validity of the controversial “Marco Temporal” or time limit framework which could substantially limit the ability of Indigenous peoples across the country to make claims for lands. This legal theory states that Indigenous peoples are only entitled to make claims for lands if they can prove that they were in possession of them on or before October 5 1988 when the Brazilian constitution came into effect.
Perhaps surprisingly, our results show that agricultural business development of the Brazilian Amazon is unlikely to provide greater socioeconomic benefits for local, non-indigenous communities than protection-focused alternatives that preserve forest cover but allow sustainable resource use by rural communities. But the agribusiness lobby in Brazil, who are often in direct conflict with Indigenous people, often argues that agricultural expansion will provide economic development for the region.
Our results demonstrate that returning lands to Indigenous communities can be extremely effective at reducing deforestation and boosting biodiversity to help address climate change. Yet, forest conservation should not come at an economic cost to people living in Indigenous-managed lands.
Access to land and opportunity
Indigenous communities need to regain access to their ancestral lands while also gaining access to development opportunities. Indigenous people in Brazil are eligible to receive support from social welfare programmes, such as the family allowance scheme (or bolsa familia in Portuguese), which is credited with lifting millions of Brazilians out of poverty and reducing inequality.
Protesters hold placards expressing their opinion during the demonstration. The Marco Temporal thesis, indigenous, and supporters of the indigenous movement met in downtown Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in May 2023. ZUMA Press Inc / Alamy Stock PhotoHowever, many rural and isolated communities face substantial difficulties accessing support. For example, fuel costs to take long boat trips from remote communities to urban centres to collect payments are high and many communities lack access to technology to even apply for such schemes.
President Lula Da Silva’s government is considering developing an Indigenous family allowance programme to address access problems faced by Indigenous communities in Brazil. As efforts to return rights to land ramp up in the wake of the 30×30 agenda, more governments and nongovernmental organisations should support the many other rights that Indigenous peoples have and reduce the structural barriers that prevent rural communities from claiming them.
Written by Johan Oldekop, Reader in Environment and Development, University of Manchester; Bowy den Braber, Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, and Marina Schmoeller, PhD Candidate, Ecology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG)vThis article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
ENDS
Read more about human rights and indigenous rights
Concerns Mount Over Palm Oil Expansion in Nagaland
Concerns Mount Over Palm Oil Expansion in Nagaland | The Nagaland Climate Change Adaptation Forum (NCCAF) has raised grave concerns about the environmental and social impacts of expanding palm oil plantations in the…
Palm Oil Is Ruining Kalangala Uganda — Locals Paying the Price
A catastrophic storm in #Uganda’s Kalangala district left nearly 1,000 households homeless. The real culprit? Rampant #deforestation for #palmoil. Once rich in native forests that buffered storms, Kalangala is now a fragile landscape…
Violence for Palm Oil Against Peasant Communities in Honduras Meets Resistance
In the Aguán Valley of northern Honduras, peasant communities reclaiming ancestral lands face increasing violence and intimidation from armed groups linked to organised crime. The Dinant Corporation, a prominent palm oil producer, is…
The Great Malaysian Timber and Palm Oil Swindle
A joint investigation by Malaysiakini and Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Investigations Network (RIN) reveals alarming deforestation in Pahang, #Malaysia, caused by one of the country’s largest #palmoil plantations. The plantation threatens endangered species like…
The origins of animal words in SE Asia and what this reveals to us about our connection to them
South East Asia is home to many fascinating creatures and rich biodiversity. The secrets of animal origins and ancient legends are revealed in their names: #Orangutan, #Gibbon, #Binturong and #Siamang in South East…
Load more posts
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
Take Action in Five Ways
1. Join the #Boycott4Wildlife on social media and subscribe to stay in the loop: Share posts from this website to your own network on Twitter, Mastadon, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube using the hashtags #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife.
Enter your email address
Sign Up
Join 1,385 other subscribers2. Contribute stories: Academics, conservationists, scientists, indigenous rights advocates and animal rights advocates working to expose the corruption of the palm oil industry or to save animals can contribute stories to the website.
Mel Lumby: Dedicated Devotee to Borneo’s Living Beings
Anthropologist and Author Dr Sophie Chao
Health Physician Dr Evan Allen
The World’s Most Loved Cup: A Social, Ethical & Environmental History of Coffee by Aviary Doert
How do we stop the world’s ecosystems from going into a death spiral? A #SteadyState Economy
3. Supermarket sleuthing: Next time you’re in the supermarket, take photos of products containing palm oil. Share these to social media along with the hashtags to call out the greenwashing and ecocide of the brands who use palm oil. You can also take photos of palm oil free products and congratulate brands when they go palm oil free.
https://twitter.com/CuriousApe4/status/1526136783557529600?s=20
https://twitter.com/PhillDixon1/status/1749010345555788144?s=20
https://twitter.com/mugabe139/status/1678027567977078784?s=20
4. Take to the streets: Get in touch with Palm Oil Detectives to find out more.
5. Donate: Make a one-off or monthly donation to Palm Oil Detectives as a way of saying thank you and to help pay for ongoing running costs of the website and social media campaigns. Donate here
Pledge your support#Amazon #AmazonRainforest #biodiversity #BoycottGold #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottGold4Yanomami #Brazil #climatechange #deforestation #forests #humanRights #indigenous #IndigenousActivism #indigenousKnowledge #indigenousMedicine #indigenousRights #landRights #PalmOil #rainforest #Yanomami
-
New Research: Indigenous Communities Reduce Amazon Deforestation by 83%”
Although #deforestation rates in the Brazilian #Amazon have halved, this globally critical biome is still losing more than 5,000km² every year. That’s an area three times larger than Greater London. By combining satellite imagery for the entire Amazon region with data from the Brazilian national census, our new study found that deforestation in areas protected by #Indigenous communities was up to 83% lower compared to unprotected areas.
Results demonstrate that returning lands to Indigenous communities can be extremely effective at reducing deforestation and boosting #biodiversity to help address #climatechange. Yet, forest conservation should not come at an economic cost to people living in Indigenous-managed lands.
The world’s largest #rainforest the #Amazon 🫁🌳🌿 is vanishing. Yet a bright spark of hope finds #deforestation in #Indigenous protected areas is 83% lower. They are the KEY to saving the #forests and animals! #BoycottGold4Yanomami #Boycott4Wildlife https://wp.me/pcFhgU-8SM
Share to BlueSky Share to TwitterWritten by Johan Oldekop, Reader in Environment and Development, University of Manchester; Bowy den Braber, Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, and Marina Schmoeller, PhD Candidate, Ecology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG)vThis article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Tarcisio Schnaider/ShutterstockDespite this win for indigenous-led conservation, our results also show that Indigenous communities had the lowest levels of socioeconomic development. Incomes in Indigenous territories were up to 36% lower compared to other land uses.
Indigenous people are among the most disadvantaged groups of people in the world. Although Indigenous communities in Brazil have strengthened their political representation in recent years, 33% of people living below the poverty line are Indigenous.
Improving the economic wellbeing of Indigenous people is not only the socially just thing to do but can also be environmentally effective. Research in Nepal showed that communities with higher levels of socioeconomic development are less likely to trade off development with deforestation. Providing communities with the ability to protect and conserve their local forests and develop economically can be a win-win for both people and the environment.
In 2022, governments across the world agreed to protect 30% of the planet’s surface by 2030. To meet the commitments of this 30×30 agenda, many countries need to drastically increase their conservation efforts to reverse deforestation in the Amazon and beyond.
Governments and philanthropic organisations pledged unprecedented political and financial support for forests and Indigenous peoples and local communities at the 2021 COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. These pledges have helped raise the voices of Indigenous peoples and ushered in a new era of commitments to return ancestral lands.
Yet, forests and their resources across the world remain coveted by many different interest groups, including mining and large agribusiness. The Supreme Court in Brazil is currently debating the constitutional validity of the controversial “Marco Temporal” or time limit framework which could substantially limit the ability of Indigenous peoples across the country to make claims for lands. This legal theory states that Indigenous peoples are only entitled to make claims for lands if they can prove that they were in possession of them on or before October 5 1988 when the Brazilian constitution came into effect.
Perhaps surprisingly, our results show that agricultural business development of the Brazilian Amazon is unlikely to provide greater socioeconomic benefits for local, non-indigenous communities than protection-focused alternatives that preserve forest cover but allow sustainable resource use by rural communities. But the agribusiness lobby in Brazil, who are often in direct conflict with Indigenous people, often argues that agricultural expansion will provide economic development for the region.
Our results demonstrate that returning lands to Indigenous communities can be extremely effective at reducing deforestation and boosting biodiversity to help address climate change. Yet, forest conservation should not come at an economic cost to people living in Indigenous-managed lands.
Access to land and opportunity
Indigenous communities need to regain access to their ancestral lands while also gaining access to development opportunities. Indigenous people in Brazil are eligible to receive support from social welfare programmes, such as the family allowance scheme (or bolsa familia in Portuguese), which is credited with lifting millions of Brazilians out of poverty and reducing inequality.
Protesters hold placards expressing their opinion during the demonstration. The Marco Temporal thesis, indigenous, and supporters of the indigenous movement met in downtown Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in May 2023. ZUMA Press Inc / Alamy Stock PhotoHowever, many rural and isolated communities face substantial difficulties accessing support. For example, fuel costs to take long boat trips from remote communities to urban centres to collect payments are high and many communities lack access to technology to even apply for such schemes.
President Lula Da Silva’s government is considering developing an Indigenous family allowance programme to address access problems faced by Indigenous communities in Brazil. As efforts to return rights to land ramp up in the wake of the 30×30 agenda, more governments and nongovernmental organisations should support the many other rights that Indigenous peoples have and reduce the structural barriers that prevent rural communities from claiming them.
Written by Johan Oldekop, Reader in Environment and Development, University of Manchester; Bowy den Braber, Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, and Marina Schmoeller, PhD Candidate, Ecology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG)vThis article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
ENDS
Read more about human rights and indigenous rights
Concerns Mount Over Palm Oil Expansion in Nagaland
Concerns Mount Over Palm Oil Expansion in Nagaland | The Nagaland Climate Change Adaptation Forum (NCCAF) has raised grave concerns about the environmental and social impacts of expanding palm oil plantations in the…
Palm Oil Is Ruining Kalangala Uganda — Locals Paying the Price
A catastrophic storm in #Uganda’s Kalangala district left nearly 1,000 households homeless. The real culprit? Rampant #deforestation for #palmoil. Once rich in native forests that buffered storms, Kalangala is now a fragile landscape…
Violence for Palm Oil Against Peasant Communities in Honduras Meets Resistance
In the Aguán Valley of northern Honduras, peasant communities reclaiming ancestral lands face increasing violence and intimidation from armed groups linked to organised crime. The Dinant Corporation, a prominent palm oil producer, is…
The Great Malaysian Timber and Palm Oil Swindle
A joint investigation by Malaysiakini and Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Investigations Network (RIN) reveals alarming deforestation in Pahang, #Malaysia, caused by one of the country’s largest #palmoil plantations. The plantation threatens endangered species like…
The origins of animal words in SE Asia and what this reveals to us about our connection to them
South East Asia is home to many fascinating creatures and rich biodiversity. The secrets of animal origins and ancient legends are revealed in their names: #Orangutan, #Gibbon, #Binturong and #Siamang in South East…
Load more posts
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
Take Action in Five Ways
1. Join the #Boycott4Wildlife on social media and subscribe to stay in the loop: Share posts from this website to your own network on Twitter, Mastadon, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube using the hashtags #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife.
Enter your email address
Sign Up
Join 1,385 other subscribers2. Contribute stories: Academics, conservationists, scientists, indigenous rights advocates and animal rights advocates working to expose the corruption of the palm oil industry or to save animals can contribute stories to the website.
Mel Lumby: Dedicated Devotee to Borneo’s Living Beings
Anthropologist and Author Dr Sophie Chao
Health Physician Dr Evan Allen
The World’s Most Loved Cup: A Social, Ethical & Environmental History of Coffee by Aviary Doert
How do we stop the world’s ecosystems from going into a death spiral? A #SteadyState Economy
3. Supermarket sleuthing: Next time you’re in the supermarket, take photos of products containing palm oil. Share these to social media along with the hashtags to call out the greenwashing and ecocide of the brands who use palm oil. You can also take photos of palm oil free products and congratulate brands when they go palm oil free.
https://twitter.com/CuriousApe4/status/1526136783557529600?s=20
https://twitter.com/PhillDixon1/status/1749010345555788144?s=20
https://twitter.com/mugabe139/status/1678027567977078784?s=20
4. Take to the streets: Get in touch with Palm Oil Detectives to find out more.
5. Donate: Make a one-off or monthly donation to Palm Oil Detectives as a way of saying thank you and to help pay for ongoing running costs of the website and social media campaigns. Donate here
Pledge your support#Amazon #AmazonRainforest #biodiversity #BoycottGold #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottGold4Yanomami #Brazil #climatechange #deforestation #forests #humanRights #indigenous #IndigenousActivism #indigenousKnowledge #indigenousMedicine #indigenousRights #landRights #PalmOil #rainforest #Yanomami
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Marvelous Market: Best New Comics August 19
All the comics fit to print, and several others too
Hello and welcome to the Marvelous Market, my weekly guide for anyone interested in going to a comic book store today. In addition to a full list of new # 1s and new volume 1s, I’ll be giving you my top 4 recommendations in 4 categories. Like Houston legend Mike Jones rapped, “We’re still tippin’ on four-fours.” I’m going to give you the top four new comics, top four ongoing comics, the top four graphic novels, and the top 4 preorders.
The work going into this curation is made possible by readers like you. For less than the cost of a cup of coffee a month, you can help make this work possible.
New Issue # 1s
BUG WARS: THE COMING OF THE WARDOOM # 1
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The backyard battlefield heats up and it’s even more brutal and bloodier than before.
Superstar creators JASON AARON & MAHMUD ASRAR return to the savage suburban epic that feeds Honey, I Shrunk the Kids through a war grinder and marinates it in Conan-flavored myth and mayhem.
Six months after the Yard ran red with insect blood, uneasy peace is shattered as ancient enemies rise from the Woods, corporate extermination forces close in, and Slade Slaymaker is dragged back into a brutal world where roach knights ride, squirrel armies gather, and survival means choosing your side in a war no human was meant to fight.
Welcome back to BUG WARS: THE COMING OF THE WARDOOM.
THE LAST DRIVER # 1
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AMERICA, THE NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE — NO ONE KNOWS HOW TO DRIVE…EXCEPT FOR HIM!
As technology in America advanced, cities began creating the GRID — a robotic transportation system that not only made cars obsolete, it made them illegal. But an outlaw named “Clutch” has no choice but to get behind the wheel one more time. What starts out as a race to save his granddaughter’s life quickly turns into a rebellion against technology, fascism, and the future of a divided America.
Superstar artist and longtime gearhead SEAN GORDON MURPHY (Batman: White Knight, TOKYO GHOST, Punk Rock Jesus, The Wake) writes and draws this highly anticipated ongoing series.
SHELLSHOCK # 1
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NEW WARS! NEW SOLDIERS! SAME OLD PRICE TO PAY… Kiss your rifle and swallow your fear, because EC Comics is rotating back into combat for the 21st century’s first dose of two-fisted fury with staggering new tales of war and fighting men in our next giant-sized special!
Meet mankind’s greatest enemy of all — himself — as commanding writers Julio Anta (This Land Is Our Land: A Blue Beetle Story), John Arcudi (B.P.R.D.), Benito Cereno (Invincible Presents: Atom Eve), and Michael W. Conrad (Double Walker) lead a joint campaign alongside artistic bombardiers Tom Fowler (EC’s Catacomb of Torment), David Lapham (Stray Bullets), Albert Monteys (Slaughterhouse-Five: The Graphic Novel), and Shawn Martinbrough (Thief of Thieves) that will always bring enemy and ally, private and general, to the same reward in the end: a flag-draped casket and glory posthumously conferred. Plus: This 56-page testament to fortitude also features another all-time EC classic, painstakingly remastered and restored!
You’ve warmed yourselves by the pyres of SHIVER SUSPENSTORIES… You’ve grabbed OUTLAW SHOWDOWN by both red-hot barrels… And you’ve felt the poison touch of TORTURED HEARTS. But nothing can prepare you for what awaits — or who you will become — when you finally reach the front line. Here, there can be no peace — only SHELLSHOCK!
WHAT IF…? RUNAWAYS # 1
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WHAT IF… THE RUNAWAYS HADN’T RUN AWAY?
Every year, a group of philanthropists gather for a charitable fundraiser… or so their children Alex Wilder, Chase Stein, Gertrude Yorkes, Karolina Dean, Molly Hayes and Nico Minoru thought. When they discover their parents form the Pride, a sinister, sacrificial group that answers to a godly race called the Gibborim , the teens are terrified, shocked and… intrigued? Their destiny awaits, and there’s no running away.
ONGOING SERIES
ABSOLUTE GREEN ARROW # 4
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BORN ON A MONDAY… RISES ABSOLUTE SOLOMON GRUNDY! Dinah’s search for the Green Arrow Killer has led them both to discover the truth behind the Island — a place far more horrifying than either of them could ever dream. But most disturbing of all is who they discover there — as Absolute Green Arrow debuts the first appearance of a new Absolute take on a classic DC character.
G.I. JOE # 25
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IT HAD TO HAPPEN: G.I. JOE VS. NIGHT FORCE!
Everything has been leading to this EXTRA-SIZED landmark issue as Joe battles Joe, friends become enemies, and the chart-topping team of JOSHUA WILLIAMSON and TOM REILLY kick off the biggest G.I. JOE story in Energon Universe history!
KAYA # 36
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The Great Oracle calculates her next move as Jin and his companions march ever closer to their confrontation with her. While far to the south, KAYA believes she may have found a new family…
THOR #800
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AN ASGARDIAN MILESTONE: THOR #800!
The Serpent has trapped Sigurd Jarlson in the worst of all possible worlds for his greatest trial. Now, without even a weapon in his hand, he must prove himself worthy to enter the Realms of the Gods. Somewhere in the city, a man without even a hammer begins the ultimate quest… the quest for Thor!
Plus: Bonus stories, including a thrilling new tale by Chris Condon (Ultimate Wolverine) & Jesse Lonergan (Drome)!
Trade Paperbacks, Hardcovers, and OGNs
ASSORTED CRISIS EVENTS vol. 2 TP
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The second volume in the action-packed series following normal people navigating an alternate world where time is having a crisis, and just stepping outside your door can send you on an unexpected adventure.
Time is (still) having a crisis!
In this volume, Sasha struggles with her role as caretaker for her husband as he slips through time, Tom tries to live in a world where dead bodies with his face and finger prints keep appearing, a homeless comic book artist literally falls into the gutters, and a look into the temporal gig economy.
The hit series returns with more sad, beautiful, experimental, funny, gory stories of people and time in crisis!
Collects issues #6-9.
EXQUISITE CORPSES vol. 3 TP
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Trick-or-treating. Clocking in for your shift at work. Going to the annual Halloween party down at the Pit. For the citizens of Oak Valley, Maine, any one of these activities could spell a gruesome death as twelve of the most dangerous killers in the world turn their sleepy little town into the playing field for a game that will decide the fate of the entire country for years to come.
As the sun begins to rise on the unlucky town chosen as this year’s arena, the last remaining killers gather to determine the winner. But the civilians of Oak Valley have been pushed to their limits, and with nothing left to lose, they’re not going to let the powers-that-be play the game by their rules any longer…
JAMES TYNION IV (THE DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH) and MICHAEL WALSH (THE SILVER COIN) are joined by TYLER BOSS (YOU’LL DO BAD THINGS), JORDIE BELLAIRE (REDLANDS), CHE GRAYSON (Dark Spaces: Good Deeds), VALENTINE DE LANDRO (BITCH PLANET), MARIANNA IGNAZZI (Catwoman), and GAVIN FULLERTON (THE CLOSET) as they conclude the blood-soaked first season of the groundbreaking horror epic!
Collects EXQUISITE CORPSES #9-13
MEDIEVAL SPAWN TP
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MEDIEVAL SPAWN’S origins have long been shrouded in mystery, but this miniseries finally sheds light on the story of one of the most intriguing Hellspawns. As SIR JON OF YORK, he battles dragons, wizards, and relentless hordes of monsters, carving a bloody legacy throughout history. This exploration promises to captivate fans and newcomers alike, revealing the depth and complexity of a character that has fascinated audiences for years.
Collects MEDIEVAL SPAWN #1-4.
MISS TRUESDALE AND THE RISE OF MAN HC
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Hellboy creator Mike Mignola and artist Jesse Lonergan continue their acclaimed Miss Truesdale saga in this new comics miniseries.
Finally at peace with her past lives, Anum Yassa now must fight to protect the future as a dark force endeavors destroy it.The fate of mankind rests in her hands.
The secretary Miss Truesale turned gladiator Anum Yassa wanders the forest to learn about her lives—past, present, and future. Monster after monster, foe after foe, Anum Yassa fights them off—but something or someone is behind them all. The gladiator-secretary must protect the future of man before a powerful evil can stop mankind’s destiny and replace it with a darker fate—and the evil forces will not be stopped so easily.
Collects Miss Truesdale and the Rise of Man #1–#4 and bonus material.
Preorders on Final Order Cutoff
AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE Deluxe Edition HC
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R.I.P. Riverdale! Once in a generation, a story so potent, so powerful, so horrifying rises from the grave to redefine the comics medium’s greatest icons. Enter: The first-ever deluxe collection of Afterlife with Archie — collecting the totality of the groundbreaking, cemetery-shaking comics masterpiece from Harvey Award–winning writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Stephen King’s The Stand: American Nightmare) and Eisner Award–winning artist Francesco Francavilla (Batman: The Black Mirror) that first introduced Riverdale’s teenage icons into a merciless world of ritual magic, undead terror, and survival at any cost!
When a tragic death befalls Jughead Jones’s closest companion, his grief drives him to the doorstep of Sabrina the Teenage Witch… and into the thrall of a dark magic that will soon turn the whole of Riverdale into a ravenous pack of undead zombies fueled by a desire for human flesh. Hunted by the reanimated corpses of their friends and loved ones, can Archie, Betty, Veronica, and the rest of America’s most beloved teenagers battle back by a legion of the dead… and live long enough to stop the entire world from being consumed by the same unholy hunger? Pal vs. pal. Classmate vs. classmate. Living vs. dead. They swore to be friends until the end… but they never expected the end to look quite like this.
This definitive hardcover collection of the riveting and relentless milestone that the New York Times calls “gruesome [and] masterly” re-presents the entirety of the Afterlife with Archie saga—including the never-before-collected issues #6–10—in an oversized format that also features a complete cover gallery and behind-the-scenes materials on the development of Archie Comics’ first all-out horror epic.
Collecting Afterlife with Archie #1–10.
AVENGERS # 1
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IN THE WAKE OF ARMAGEDDON, A NEW TEAM ASSEMBLES… Superstar team Chip Zdarsky & Marco Checchetto reunite for a trailblazing new era of AVENGERS! With the world order completely rewritten after AVENGERS: ARMAGEDDON, there comes a day, a day unlike any other, when a new group of Earth’s mightiest heroes find themselves united to avenge the Marvel Universe: Spider-Man, Wolverine, Captain Marvel, Daredevil, Luke Cage and [REDACTED]! The Avengers take center stage once again in the Marvel Universe, and it all starts here. Don’t miss it!
LEGACY #808
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER # 1
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Eisner-winning writer KELLY THOMPSON (Absolute Wonder Woman, Black Widow) and superstar artist STEPHEN BYRNE (Wonder Twins) present a vision of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER you’ve got to read to believe! Featuring the comics debut of a beloved Buffy fan-favorite character!
Into every generation, a slayer is born. And Buffy Summers may have broken the mold. Though Buffy’s powers were varied and great, it was the love and devotion she inspired that was perhaps her greatest power. And when she gave her life to save the world, the people who loved her couldn’t live with that. This is that story.
THREE WORLDS / THREE MOONS: SHIFT # 1
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From the New York Times bestselling and multi-Eisner Award-nominated creator of East of West, The Manhattan Projects, Decorum, and more comes this ambitious, science fiction universe presented by comics titan Jonathan Hickman.
Explore the beginnings of the 3 Worlds/3 Moons Universe in this stunning prestige format comic book written by Jonathan Hickman, with art and colors by Mike del Mundo!
Set generations before the current science cycle, in a time when magic is at its peak and Kaoso is thriving, Syg the White Hart eschews the wishes of his family and the will of the Academy, by hitching a ride on a Vojoganto to the center of the universe — Akva — to understand the cause behind what he believes to be the inevitable collapse of the universe as he knows it. Accompanied by his lifelong friend, an accused heretic named Markus, the two set out to unlock the secrets of life and stop the worlds’ collapse. At the same time, there are forces set out to bring about the inevitable change and reawaken the God Machine of Ordo, thereby kickstarting the beginning of the next science cycle and the downfall of magic. Will Syg and Markus be able to complete their mission, or will their time be cut short by the next cosmic shift?
What did I miss?
If there are some great comics, collected or in single issues, that you think I should be reading, tell me about them! And if you do try out any of these series, let me know how you liked them, or didn’t. This is a safe space for haters. If you enjoy this service, please share this article on social media or tell someone that you know reads comics about it.
Divining Comics is brought to you by generous support from the “Best Friends of Divining Comics”: Alex Seubert. Dustin Commet
Divining Comics is also brought to you by the support of the “Friends of Divining Comics”: Comic Book Herald.
If you would like to add your name to the list of friends, best friends, or best friends forever, support this work for less than the cost of one cup of coffee a month at patreon.com/diviningcomics. You can also leave a one-time tip/buy my zines at ko-fi.com/spikestonehand. Or, if you can’t afford to support me financially at this time, simply follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Bluesky and share my posts there.
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Marvelous Market: Best New Comics July 1
RIP Absolute Martian Manhunter
Hello and welcome to the Marvelous Market, my weekly guide for anyone interested in going to a comic book store today. In addition to a full list of new # 1s and new volume 1s, I’ll be giving you my top 4 recommendations in 4 categories. Like Houston legend Mike Jones rapped, “We’re still tippin’ on four-fours.” I’m going to give you the top four new comics, top four ongoing comics, the top four graphic novels, and the top 4 preorders.
The work going into this curation is made possible by readers like you. For less than the cost of a cup of coffee a month, you can help make this work possible.
New Issue # 1s
100 BULLETS: THE US OF ANGER # 1
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HAPPY 250TH, AMERICA. LONO’S BACK. YOU WON’T SURVIVE THE YEAR. Not many people made it out alive from the fall of the Trust in 100 Bullets. Lono did — just barely — and it sent him spiraling on a yearslong international odyssey. His one-time protégé, Loop Hughes, was the only one smart enough to walk away clean. But now tragedy has come knocking on Loop’s door, and the scent of blood has attracted a dangerous stray dog. Lono’s back in the United States, and he’s on the hunt… through a network of good ol ‘ boys and militias, megachurches, millionaires, and madmen. In Brother Lono, Lono unsuccessfully tried to save his own soul; in The US of Anger, he’ll play Satan to a host of demons tempting the United States to sell hers. The multi-Eisner Award-winning team of Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso has returned to its most famous creation, unleashing a new chapter in Vertigo’s greatest crime saga — told for the first time in stunning black and white!
BEAST OF BORIKEN # 1
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A thrilling new True Weird series from Tiny Onion by co-creators Julio Anta (Frontera; Sí, Se Puede) and Daniel Irizarri (Xino, Cementary Kids Don’t Die) bringing el Chupacabra to life!
In contemporary Puerto Rico, Loli Flores is a fierce activist fighting the overdevelopment of the island by outside investors. When a ground-breaking ceremony is violently interrupted by a supernatural force, Loli discovers that the stories of el Chupacabra are not just echoes from the past, but a brutal protector of generations extending back to the indigenous people of the island. As Loli uncovers the horrors firstand, el Chupacabra is on a parallel path with elemental destruction left in his wake.
This issue includes a haunting True Weird short story by Justin Jordan, Tony Akins and Aditya Bidikar!
THE DOGSITTER # 1
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Heel… sit… stay — for a summer rom-com with bark and bite!
Gemma Monroe should be reveling in her ’20s. Instead, she’s on a leave of absence from veterinarian school to save for rising tuition, stacking shifts at a flower shop and juggling her side gig as a dogsitter. Gemma’s favorite canine client — an Akita with an identity crisis — comes with the most demanding dog-mom: Portia Ross, a high-powered executive with deep pockets who sees Gemma as a pet project of her own. It’s delicate, but Gemma knows that getting her life back on track means this customer is always right. And the policy works… until Gemma locks eyes with the charming Neal Mandell, and what starts as a welcome casual fling unleashes a transactional love triangle that could throw her future to the dogs.
Jamie S. Rich and Megan Levens, the veteran romance collaborators behind Ares & Aphrodite and Madame Frankenstein, reunite for a new romp — and a lineup of dog-crazy cover artists joins the pack! All variants for this series will feature the artist’s real-life four-legged friends, beginning with…
THE SHAOLIN COWBOY: STAYING A.I. LIVE # 1
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The Shaolin Cowboy faces an icy reception when he leaves his wasteland retreat on a mission of mercy, following the considered consul of a desert swallow and a horned toad, both endangered species. But none as endangered as the wandering ex monk becomes, once again because in this typical AMERIGUNN small town he learns euthanASIA is the new import duty on foreign imports!!!
ONGOING SERIES
ABSOLUTE MARTIAN MANHUNTER # 12
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THE JAW-DROPPING FINAL ISSUE! It all comes together here: green and white, life and death, husbands and wives, fathers and sons, free will and fate, crime and punishment. Beginnings and endings. Why do people do the things they do? Read this issue to find out.
COMICS! THE MAGAZINE # 5
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THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE MONSTERS! MARK SPEARS REVEALS ALL! Mark Spears creates the massive hit series, MONSTERS, and draws in-demand variant covers for titles from DC Comics, The Energon Universe, and Spawn, but WHO is this man? Where did he come from? How did he become the artist he is today? How did he build an independent comic book empire that took the industry by surprise? ALL THIS AND MUCH MORE IN A HORROR-CENTRIC ISSUE OF THE MOST ENTHUSIASTIC COMICS MAGAZINE OF ALL TIME!
MINOR ARCANA # 16
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Experience a blast from the past with the beginning of a brand-new arc in Minor Arcana!
Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth) and Letizia Cadonici team up for Part One of The Lovers, sending us back in time to Theresa and Missy’s humble beginnings and the origins of their intense connection.
In the present, Missy leans on Theresa as desperate times call for desperate measures. Can Theresa move on from their past, or will it continue to haunt her?
Jeff Lemire’s poignant story continues with the start of this powerful new arc!
THE MORTAL THOR # 12
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SECRETS AND LIES! Sigurd Jarlson has love, friendship and a human soul. The man called Blake has none of these… but he has the one thing his enemy doesn’t. Donald Blake knows exactly who and what he is… and he’s ready to tell Sigurd everything. Somewhere in the city, a man with a hammer is learning the truth...
Trade Paperbacks, Hardcovers, and OGNs
CAPTAIN AMERICA vol. 1: OUR SECRET WARS TP
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A new era begins here!
Witness the modern retelling of Captain America’s origin and his previously unknown first encounter with Doctor Doom in this foundational text for the current Marvel Universe!
While Captain America slumbered in ice, the world changed — for better and for worse. Steve Rogers awakens to a reality where battles are fought in the shadows through secrets and subterfuge, and villains aren’t so easy to identify. And when a fledgling dictator named Victor Von Doom conquers Latveria, Steve faces a critical decision: adapt to a new kind of warfare, or forge his own path? What will the choice he makes in the past mean for his future? Plus: Who is David Colton, and can Steve trust him to have his back as they infiltrate a hostile country with the new Howling Commandos? Experience the untold tale of Captain America’s first encounter with Doctor Doom as Chip Zdarsky and Valerio Schiti team up for a game-changing run!
Collecting: CAPTAIN AMERICA (2025) #1-5.
GEORGE PÉREZ’S NEW TEEN TITANS: Artist’s Edition HC
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Experience a unique inside look at the stunning artistry from George Perez that went into the creation of one of the most iconic teams in superhero history, the New Teen Titans!
Go behind the scenes of the formation of one of the most iconic teams in comic book history with GEORGE PÉREZ’S NEW TEEN TITANS ARTIST’S EDITION.
Marv Wolfman and George Pérez created a massive hit for DC Comics when The New Teen Titans hit comic shop shelves in 1980. The team of Robin, Starfire, Wonder Girl, Raven, Kid Flash, Cyborg, and Beast Boy stole everyone’s hearts, rivaling even the X-Men for preeminence in the comic market.
This Artist’s Edition of George Pérez’s stunning work will give a unique view into how the teen titans came to be, featuring a large selection of the artist’s original art including beautiful covers and a curated selection of pages from issues #1-40 and more of The New Teen Titans. Plus, a heartfelt introduction by Pérez’s longtime collaborator and New Teen Titans co-creator, Marv Wolfman.
Although appearing to be in black and white, all the art is scanned in color, enabling the reader to see the work as close to the original as possible – ink gradients, blue pencil, and all the unique nuances that make original art so special – are all clearly visible and printed at the same size as drawn.
This is an art book disguised as a comic collection. The only better way to see these pages would be looking over Pérez’s shoulder at his drawing board!
MOTHER PLEASE DON’T GIVE BIRTH TO A MONSTER TP
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MOOOO! Lord Momon cries out, ready for her meal. MOOOO! Baby sister cries out, miserable and cold. As a young teen, sweet Miki learns the bizarre truth about her family: for centuries, they have harnessed half-cow, half-human beasts known as “kudan” for their wealth and power. And soon, another shall be born. The hour approaches. Her mother moans in pain as the contractions begin. But all poor Miki can plead is MOTHER, PLEASE DON’T GIVE BIRTH TO A MONSTER! Published in 1988 at the end of the classic era of horror manga, MOTHER, PLEASE DON’T GIVE BIRTH TO A MONSTER is a revolting and zany tour de force by the incomparable Shirakawa Marina. The author’s last published graphic novel, this manga marks the ultimate elaboration of Shirakawa’s creepy, crackpot synthesis of Japanese history, legend, and the occult, as made famous in his cult favorite UFO MUSHROOM INVASION.
Never before reprinted even in Japan, and with an essay about Shirakawa’s mysterious life and career, MOTHER, PLEASE DON’T GIVE BIRTH TO A MONSTER is the eighth volume of Smudge, a line of vintage horror and dark fantasy manga curated by award-winning historian Ryan Holmberg and published by Living the Line.
JOHN CARPTENTER’S NIGHT TERRORS: CHAPLAIN TP
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An aging and increasingly weary chaplain discovers an ancient, unknowable monster stalking his hospital, forcing him to confront the existential terror of his own mortality. Along with his energetic young protégé, he is pushed to the brink of insanity as his convictions and very grasp on reality begin to unravel. Violent, surreal, and darkly funny, Chaplain presents a demented journey of psychological anguish and grotesque body horror in stunning psychedelic style. As the sinister presence closes in, the Chaplain must face his deepest buried nightmares or be consumed by them forever.
Preorders on Final Order Cutoff
THE BLOOD BROTHERS MOTHER HC
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NEW GRAPHIC NOVEL DEBUT from Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso-the legendary creative team behind the seminal crime series 100 Bullets!
In the old American West, three children set off across the wild Texas frontier to rescue their mother-kidnapped by ruthless outlaws who gunned down their preacher father. Throughout their journey, they’ll face the harsh elements of an unforgiving landscape, deadly animals hungry for blood, merciless bounty hunters and so much more… all in a relentless quest to rescue their family.
Along the way, they’ll learn the terrible cost of revenge — not just in lives, but in how it stains a soul. While revenge may be satisfying in the moment, it leaves a yearning behind that lasts a lifetime. And once you taste it, nothing else is ever so sweet.
In the tradition of The Searchers and The Outlaw Josey Wales comes a brutal new western series from writer BRIAN AZZARELLO and artist EDUARDO RISSO-the Eisner award-winning team behind the Vertigo crime classic, 100 Bullets and Image Comics, Moonshine!
For fans of 1883, BLOOD MERIDIAN, & THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY.
EXQUISIT CORPSES vol. 3 TP
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Trick-or-treating. Clocking in for your shift at work. Going to the annual Halloween party down at the Pit. For the citizens of Oak Valley, Maine, any one of these activities could spell a gruesome death as twelve of the most dangerous killers in the world turn their sleepy little town into the playing field for a game that will decide the fate of the entire country for years to come.
As the sun begins to rise on the unlucky town chosen as this year’s arena, the last remaining killers gather to determine the winner. But the civilians of Oak Valley have been pushed to their limits, and with nothing left to lose, they’re not going to let the powers-that-be play the game by their rules any longer…
JAMES TYNION IV (THE DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH) and MICHAEL WALSH (THE SILVER COIN) are joined by TYLER BOSS (YOU’LL DO BAD THINGS), JORDIE BELLAIRE (REDLANDS), CHE GRAYSON (Dark Spaces: Good Deeds), VALENTINE DE LANDRO (BITCH PLANET), MARIANNA IGNAZZI (Catwoman), and GAVIN FULLERTON (THE CLOSET) as they conclude the blood-soaked first season of the groundbreaking horror epic!
Collects EXQUISITE CORPSES #9-13
THE FOUNDRY # 1
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Long before Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. defended the world against supernatural threats of all types, the men and women of the Foundry protected Queen Victoria’s Empire. But the operatives of the Foundry were adventurers and explorers with no time for the paranormal or the occult, only interested in the scientific applications of the artifacts that their expeditions uncovered or what engineering marvels could be devised from ancient discoveries. In The Foundry: In Peril on the Seas, Major Karam Singh and his fellow members of the Foundry go in search of an unknown menace that appears to threaten enemies and allies alike, unsure whether they are in pursuit of some sort of monster or something far worse.
GODZILLA’S MONSTERPIECE THEATRE PRESENTS: ROAR OF THE WORLDS # 1
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The explosive literary mashup series continues — Godzilla is taking on the classics one story at a time!
In this oversize one-shot, comic book legend Kyle Baker joins the fun to help Godzilla defend the planet against invaders from Mars! The War of the Worlds regaled readers with the story of what happened in England when faraway invaders arrived. This comic asks a much more important question… what was going on in Japan? The answer: Martians were getting smashed left and right by the King of the Monsters!
And that’s not all — this issue contains part three of Tom Scioli’s “Robin Hood and the Monster of Nottingham.”
What did I miss?
If there are some great comics, collected or in single issues, that you think I should be reading, tell me about them! And if you do try out any of these series, let me know how you liked them, or didn’t. This is a safe space for haters. If you enjoy this service, please share this article on social media or tell someone that you know reads comics about it.
Divining Comics is brought to you by generous support from the “Best Friends of Divining Comics”: Alex Seubert. Dustin Commet
Divining Comics is also brought to you by the support of the “Friends of Divining Comics”: Comic Book Herald.
If you would like to add your name to the list of friends, best friends, or best friends forever, support this work for less than the cost of one cup of coffee a month at patreon.com/diviningcomics. You can also leave a one-time tip/buy my zines at ko-fi.com/spikestonehand. Or, if you can’t afford to support me financially at this time, simply follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Bluesky and share my posts there.
#art #books #ComicBooks #comics #DC #dcComics #fantasticFour #marvel #marvelComics #MarvelousMarket #NewComicDay -
My 2025 in Review (Best Science Fiction Novels and Short Fiction, Reading Initiatives, and Bonus Categories)
- Graphic created by my father
Here’s to happy reading in 2026! I hope you had a successful reading year. Whether you are a lurker, occasional visitor, a regular commenter, a follower on Bluesky or Mastodon, thank you for your continued support. As I say year after year, It’s hard to express how important (and encouraging) the discussions that occur in the comments, social media, and via email are to me. I’m so thankful for the lovely and supportive community of readers, writers, and discussion partners that stop by.
What were your favorite vintage SF reads–published pre-1985–of 2025? Let me know in the comments.
Throughout the later part of the year I’ve dropped hints about a research project. Perceptive readers might have parsed together the contours of the research: late 19th/early 20th century, utopian, African American, the American South, radical politics… It’s taking longer than expected. I’ve read a good ten monographs, five dissertations, countless articles. I’ve written twenty pages. I hoped to have it posted by early in this year. Alas. It’s coming together–slowly. Stay tuned.
Without further ado, here are my favorite novels (I only read a few) and short stories (I read a ton of those) I read in 2025 with bonus categories. I made sure to link my longer reviews where applicable if you want a deeper dive.
Check out my 2024, 2023, 2022, and 2021 rundowns if you haven’t already. I have archived all my annual rundowns on my article index page if you wanted to peruse earlier years.
My Top 5 Science Fiction Novels of 2025
- Alan Gutierrez’s cover for the 1985 edition
1. Octavia E. Butler’s Clay’s Ark (1984), 4.5/5 (Very Good). Full review.
Octavia E. Butler’s Clay’s Ark is the final published volume of her Patternist sequence (1976-1984). It is the third novel according to the internal chronology of the series. Clay’s Ark is, without doubt, the most horrifyingly bleak science fiction novel I have ever read. It’s stark. It’s sinister. It’s at turns deeply affective before descending into extreme violence and displaced morality. The moral conundrum that underpins the central problem, the spread of an extraterrestrial disease, unfurls with an unnerving alien logic. Butler’s characters are trapped by the demands of the alien microbes, scarred by the pervasive sense that their humanity is slipping away, and consumed by the fear of starting an epidemic. A true confrontation of the moment cannot lead to anything other than suicide or the first steps towards an apocalyptic transformation.
- Mark Weber’s cover for the 1st edition
2. Kim Stanley Robinson’s Icehenge (1984), 4.5/5 (Very Good). Full review.
Kim Stanley Robinson’s Icehenge, a fix-up from two previously published stories “To Leave a Mark” (1982) and “On the North Pole of Pluto” (1980), tells three interconnected tales that all connect to a mysterious monolith left on Pluto (the titular Icehenge). By design Icehenge instead follows the action after the action: men and women attempting to figure out their own place in a world characterizes by lifespans that stretch hundreds and hundreds of years. And its this brilliant interconnection between self-conception and the operations of history that Robinson succeeds and casts his spell. The story is well-told, polished, and filled with fascinating details (technological and sociological).
- Peter Jones’ cover for the 1978 UK edition
3. Joe Haldeman’s All My Sins Remembered (1977), 4/5 (Good). Full review.
The vast Confederación is comprised of radically distinct worlds ruled by the entire spectrum of political systems with both alien and non-alien inhabitants. There are few rules: don’t take advantage of indigenous populations and don’t wage wars on neighboring planets. At 22, the naive Otto McGavin, an Anglo-Buddhist, joins the Confederación as an agent to protect the rights of humans and non-humans. But there’s a twist. Under deep hypnosis a construct of Otto McGavin will be created for each mission. He’ll take on the identity–under a sheath of plasticine flesh–of whatever person he needs to be depending on the task. The story follows Otto on three missions over many years. The interlocking segments convey the deep trauma Otto must confront before he’s immersed in another persona and sent on another mission. His idealism clashes with the violence he must perpetuate. His sense of self conflicts with the violent actions of his “constructs.” The looming sense of dread and despair must finally have its reckoning.
- Uncredited cover for the 1983 edition
4. Zoë Fairbairns’ Benefits (1979), 3.75/5 (Good). Full review.
Zoë Fairbairns charts the struggles of the British women’s liberation movement in a dystopic near future. An anti-feminist fringe political party called FAMILY comes to power, simultaneously proclaiming family values while systematically dismantling the welfare state. Benefits effectively eviscerates governmental doublespeak and champions the need to organize and educate in order to fight against patriarchal forces and messianic movements that promise to solve all our ills.
- Colin Hay’s cover for the 1976 edition
5. Edgar Pangborn’s The Company of Glory (1975), 3.5/5 (Good). Full review.
Edgar Pangborn is an unsung SF hero in my book. At his best, he’s a deeply humanistic writer interested in moments of effective metafictional play on the nature of narrative. The Company of Glory (serialized 1974, 1975) is the third novel in the Tales of Darkening World sequence. It forms a prequel to Pangborn’s masterpiece Davy (1964). As with Davy, The Company of Glory attempts to create multiple interlocking layers of narrative, stories within the stories, quotations from various diaries, and the interjections of the overarching narrator of the entire collection of texts who remains anonymous until the final pages. Unfortunately, The Company of Glory is a deeply flawed novel. Recommended only for Pangborn’s fans. Read Davy first if you’re new to his work.
My Top 20 Science Fiction Short Stories Reads of 2025 (click titles for my full review)
1. Philip K. Dick’s “Foster, You’re Dead” (1955), 5/5 (Masterpiece): I featured on a podcast about this story. When the episode is posted, I’ll make sure to link it. Mike Foster spends his school days practicing survival skills–digging, making knives, weaving baskets–in case of a nuclear attack. The kids snicker at him as he walks past. They don’t own a fallout shelter at home. His father refuses to pay into the NATS (National Security fund). If a bomb hit, Mike wouldn’t even be granted access to the school shelter. He’s possessed by a deep, perpetual, encompassing trauma.
2. Fritz Leiber’s “Coming Attraction” (1950), 5/5 (Masterpiece): A rare reread! Leiber imagines an America transformed after a limited nuclear war with the Soviet Union. The physical landscape mirrors the psychological scars of New York’s inhabitants. Perverse new forms of TV entertainment, in particular male wrestlers pitted against masked women, transfix all audiences.
3. Jack Dann’s “A Quiet Revolution for Death” (1978), 5/5 (Masterpiece): Roger and his family head out of the city for a picnic in a vast cemetery. Roger dreams that he is an angel of God guiding mankind through the realm. Visiting the cemetery is an act of devotion. While other kids plug themselves into feelies, Bennie is a fanatic disciple of his father’s pseudo-philosophy of embracing the macabre. Sandra, Roger’s wife, plays along. The kids see through her dislike of the cemetery and the burial rituals happening around them.
4. Izumi Suzuki’s“Terminal Boredom” (1984, trans. by Daniel Joseph 2021), 4.5/5 (Very Good): A nameless young female main character recounts her interactions her one-time boyfriend. HE wants to reconnect with his mother, who abandoned his family. HE joins a staged show called The Psychoanalysis Room in an attempt to convince his mother to take “pity and come and find” him. She also has a dysfunctional family. Her mother, a TV executive, struggles/refuses to connect to her daughter. Like some manifestation of the modern hikikomori, they often refuse to communicate with others, eat as a group or eat at all for days on end, or leave their dwellings for the sun and vista of the aboveground. Both find solace and escape in the vacuities and artifice of television.
5. Philip K. Dick’s “Explorers We” (1959), 4.5/5 (Very Good): Six astronauts return to earth from a voyage to Mars. But they are not treated as heroes. Instead people flee. I found “Explorers We” a well-crafted existential terror. The story plays with narrative expectation and hints at a cosmic enormity that will, at least in this iteration, remain unknown.
6. James Tiptree, Jr.’s “Painwise” (1972), 4.5/5 (Very Good): An explorer who feels no pain is hurled mercilessly from planet to plant where is he tortured, experimented upon, and broken again, and again, and again. His sense of time dissipates. Space becomes a hellscape that he cannot escape. And each time he’s lifted back to his scout ship where a mechanical boditech stitches him back together.
7. Jack Dann’s “The Dybbuk Dolls” (1975), 4.5/5 (Very Good): Chaim Lewis works at a sex shop down below in the Undercity, one of many identical spheres, one mile in diameter, buried one thousand feet below the ground. As Chaim finishes up his shift in the dingy shop, a group of visitors ask about his hook-ins and 21st century pornos. Eventually one of them asks him about his alien sex doll collection. And when he returns to the room with the dolls, he discovers they’ve all been unpacked and they imprint themselves on his mind! Cue a descent into the bizarre…
8. Jack Williamson’s “Guinevere for Everybody” (1955), 4.5/5 (Very Good): An artificially created Guinevere stands “chained” in a “vending machine” tempting sleepy passengers in an airport with her plaintive calls. I did not know Williamson had this type of vision in him! The surprise of the year!
9. George H. Smith’s “The Last Days of L. A.” (1959), 4/5 (Good): A nameless character (“you”) wakes from a recurring dream: “the dream that has haunted the whole world since that day in 1945.” A dream of apocalyptic annihilation, in infinite variations. A narrative repetition takes form: Nuclear nightmare. The waking moment. The aimless quest for understanding. Communing with other lost souls. The retreat to the bottle. Fragments of the news suggest a world unraveling.
10. Theodore Sturgeon’s “The Stars Are the Styx” (1950), 4/5 (Good): The premise: Humans created Curbstone, an artificial satellite around Earth, to facilitate the ultimate scientific achievement–near instantaneous transportation across the galaxy. How? Individual spaceships, with a solitary crew person or couple, will be hurled out from Curbstone at various points across the space time continuum. The story revolves around the aging (and rotund) Senior Release Officer on Curbstone, who certifies, counsels, and guides the strange collection of humans who gather at the station willing to take such a risk.
11. Richard Matheson’s “Dance of the Dead” (1955), 4/5 (Good): In a drug and alcohol drenched near-future, a group of young adults take a break-neck road drip and stray from the path set out by parents and small town community. Manifesting the SPEED of the car, Matheson’s prose resonates with pulse and hum, snippets of song and signage, slang and youthful lust. It’s frantic. It’s zappy. It’s vibrant. Recommended for fans of the more linguistically experimental (and bleak) of 50s visions.
12. Jack Dann’s “Rags” (1973), 4/5 (Good): Joanna wanders the streets without seeing a single person. Everything she sees—from garbage cans to parked cars–seem in be various states of decay (“dented, rusted, and discolored”). She teaches herself a new way to walk to avoid the “invisible beings” that flit around her (6). She remembers a past sickness. Deaths in the family. She makes new rules of movement and perception as an act of preservation. And suddenly she sees The Purple Cat.
13. Jack Dann’s “Fragmentary Blue” (variant title: “There are no Bannisters”) (1973), 4/5 (Good): he elderly dwell underground in large domed cities. It’s a commercial and media-inundated world — tiny machines grant “feeling” as you watch commercials. Professor Fleitman, who “could not rationalize having an orgasm over a cigarette advertisement,” presents a new idea to galvanize the elderly to Entertainment Committee. Rather than a feelie or a movie he wants to put on a circus.
14. Arkady and Boris Strugatsky’s “Wanderers and Travellers” (1963, trans. 1966), 4/5 (Good): Stanisław Ivanovich spends his days submerged in lakes and rivers tagging septopods, a new octopus-like species discovered on Earth. His daughter, Marsha, assists from above. When he emerges from a lake, Marsha is deep in conversation with Leonid Andreevich Gorbovsky, an astroarchaeologist implied to be on leave from an expedition. The two scientists–IIvanovich, with his eyes on earthly mystery, and Gorbovsky, untangling the traces of potential intelligences across the cosmos–and Marsha engage in a series of discussions about the nature of the universe.
15. John Wyndham’s “The Man From Beyond” (variant title: “The Man from Earth”) (1934), 3.5/5 (Good): Somewhere on the Venusian surface the Valley of Dur, with its amalgamation of gasses, traps unsuspecting denizens who wander into its depths. In the city of Takon, Venusians, six-limbed creatures with silvery hair, ogle the strange beasts extricated and caged and exhibited from the Valley. The child, transfixed by the man’s noises and scrawls, pushes his stylus and pad under the bars. And Morgan Gratz, stranded astronaut and self-confessed murderer, draws for the child the respective locations of their planets.
16. Katherine MacLean’s “Contagion” (1950), 3.5/5 (Good) is a contact with an alien planet tale that’s legitimately odd. A hunting party looking for specimens of alien life in order to dissect, sets off from the spaceship Explorer across an alien planet called Minos. Reasonably, the crew is obsessed with a minute medical analysis of flora and fauna. The hunting party encounters a majestically shaped human who spins a crazy tale of adaptation and disease.
17. Cherry Wilder’s “The Ark of James Carlyle” (1974), 3.5/5 (Good): Carlyle spends his tour of duty in a hut with a wood platform on small landmass surrounded by an “oily purple sea” on an alien planet. A crisis hits — and he suddenly learns the reason for the singular trees that grow in the center of each island.
18. E. C. Tubb’s“Without Bugles” (1952), 3.5/5 (Good): A naive journalist struggles to confront her heroic idealism, regurgitated through the media, in her attempt to save the Mars colony afflicted with a futuristic case of the black lung.
19. Frank K. Kelly’s “Famine on Mars” (1934), 3.5/5 (Good): President Herbert Hoover infamously proclaimed on the eve of the Great Depression that “given the chance to go forward with the policies of the last eight years, we shall soon with the help of God, be in sight of the day when poverty will be banished from this nation.” “Famine on Mars,” published five years into the Great Depression, evokes similar paradigmatic shifts between propagandistic proclamation and harsh reality. Kelly spins a nightmare account of a famine on Mars and a plan to save the starving legions.
20. Gerald Kersh’s “Whatever Happened to Corporal Cuckoo?” (1953), 3.5/5 (Good): Kersh imagines a literary version of himself returning to New York City from WWII interacting with a fantastical manifestation of a Wound Man on board the Cunard White Star liner Queen Mary. Corporal Cuckoo, the “Wound Man” in question, regals the narrator (Kersh) with the history of his scarred and mutilated form that mysteriously heals from every injury.
Reading Initiatives
I have continued, resurrected, and created new science fiction short story reading series over the course of the year. Most of the stories I’ve picked for the series are available in some fashion online via links to Internet Archive in each review. I’ve included installments from 2024 in each series below. Feel free to read along with me! And thanks for all the great conversation.
Galaxy Science Fiction Read-through (started 2025)
- Galaxy Science Fiction, ed. H. L. Gold (October 1950)
- Galaxy Science Fiction, ed. H. L. Gold (November 1950)
Organized Labor and Unions in Science Fiction (started in 2024)
- Mack Reynolds’ The Earth War (1964)
- Zoë Fairbairns’ Benefits (1979)
The First Three Published Short Fictions by Female Authors (continued from 2021)
Translated Short Stories in Translation (with Rachel S. Cordasco) (started in 2024)
- Arkady and Boris Strugatsky’s “Wanderers and Travellers” (1963, trans. 1966)
- Izumi Suzuki’s “Terminal Boredom” (1984, trans. by Daniel Joseph 2021)
The Media Landscape of the Future (started in 2022)
- George H. Smith’s “In the Imagicon” (1966)
- Izumi Suzuki’s “Terminal Boredom” (1984)
- Jack Dann’s “Fragmentary Blue” (variant title: “There are no Bannisters”) (1973)
The Search for the Depressed Astronaut (continued from 2020)
- Philip K. Dick’s “Explorers We” (1959)
- James Tiptree, Jr.’s “Painwise” (1972)
- E. C. Tubb’s “Without Bugles” (1952)
- E. C. Tubb’s “Home is the Hero” (1952)
- E. C. Tubb’s “Pistol Point” (1953)
- John Wyndham’s “The Man From Beyond” (variant title: “The Man from Earth”) (1934)
Generation Ship Short Stories (continued from 2019)
Exploration Logs (continued from 2022)
- Exploration Log 7: Interview with Jordan S. Carroll, author of Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right (2024)
- Exploration Log 8: Pat M. Kuras and Rob Schmieder’s “When It Changed: Lesbians, Gay Men, and Science Fiction Fandom” (1980)
- Exploration Log 9: Three More Interviews with Clifford D. Simak (1904-1988)
- Exploration Log 10: Interview with Jaroslav Olša, Jr., author of Dreaming of Autonomous Vehicles: Miloslav (Miles) J. Breuer: Czech-American Writer and the Birth of Science Fiction (2025)
- Exploration Log 11: Interview with Chukwunonso Ezeiyoke, author of Nigerian Speculative Fiction: The Evolution (2025)
My Top 4 History Reads of 2025
A large portion of my history reading this year pushed my general interest in labor history and leftist politics backwards into the 19th century. Unusual for me I know! Often I write about what I can write about not what I plan on writing about. A brief caveat worth repeating: I’m a PhD-wielding historian and have a high tolerance for academic texts. That said, I’d classify everything in my list as on the approachable side of things if you know the broad strokes of American history.
1. Laurie F. Maffly-Kipp’s Setting Down the Sacred Past: African-American Race Histories (2010): This filled a complete hole in my knowledge. While I had encountered history-centric militant abolitionist texts written by black authors, I did not know how they fitted into the larger historiographic project of the era. As my PhD looked at universal histories in the medieval period, I’m a sucker for all kinds of histories of historiography! This is a good one.
2. Deborah Beckel’s Radical Reform: Interracial Politics in Post-Emancipation North Carolina (2011): I read this one for my research project on a black utopian author. Beckel’s brilliant monograph looks at the race and politics in North Carolina after the end of Reconstruction–a “fusion” government of Republicans and Populists managed to take power (temporarily) from the white supremacist Democratic status quo in the 1890s. Depressing. Fascinating. I’m waiting for an alt-history that uses the 1898 election in North Carolina as a jonbar hinge — hah!
3. Edward K. Spann’s Brotherly Tomorrows: Movements for A Cooperative Society in America (1989): While an older monograph, Spann’s work is a fantastic survey of the fascinating range of radical social idealism-inspired communities that proliferated across America. I’m obsessed by left-wing ideologies that permeate the rural world and movements for working-class utopianism. Spann will inspire you to track down newer monographs on the social movements he surveys.
4. Jordan S. Carroll’s Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right (2025): Rightly won the Hugo! I interviewed Carroll in January. In the book, he examines the ways the alt-right uses classic science fiction imagery and authors to mainstream fascism and advocate for the overthrow of the state. This is a short monograph designed to encourage thought. Highly recommended.
Goals for 2026
1. Keep reading and writing.
2. Read more reviews by other bloggers.
3. Cover more SF in translation.
For cover art posts consult the INDEX
For book reviews consult the INDEX
For TV and film reviews consult the INDEX
#1950s #1960s #1970s #ArkadyAndBorisStrugatsky #bookReview #bookReviews #books #CherryWilder #ECTubb #EdgarPangborn #fiction #FrankKKelly #fritzLeiber #GeorgeHSmith #GeraldKersh #IzumiSuzuki #JackDann #JackWilliamson #JamesTiptreeJr #JoeHaldeman #JohnWyndham #KatherineMacLean #KimStanleyRobinson #OctaviaEButler #philipKDick #RichardMatheson #sciFi #scienceFiction #TheodoreSturgeon #ZoeFairbairns -
Valley garden center shares drought-resistant plant tips as dry conditions persist https://www.allforgardening.com/1686713/valley-garden-center-shares-drought-resistant-plant-tips-as-dry-conditions-persist/ #agave #bougainvillea #cacti #DesertRose #DroughtResistantPlantsSouthTexas #garden #gardener #gardening #GardeningInRGV #GardeningTipsForDryWeather #MuñozGardenCenter #PlantCareDuringDrought #RGV #RioGrandeValley #RioGrandeValleyDrought #RioGrandeValleyWeather #WaterConservationTexas #WateringScheduleForLawns
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Valley garden center shares drought-resistant plant tips as dry conditions persist https://www.allforgardening.com/1686713/valley-garden-center-shares-drought-resistant-plant-tips-as-dry-conditions-persist/ #agave #bougainvillea #cacti #DesertRose #DroughtResistantPlantsSouthTexas #garden #gardener #gardening #GardeningInRGV #GardeningTipsForDryWeather #MuñozGardenCenter #PlantCareDuringDrought #RGV #RioGrandeValley #RioGrandeValleyDrought #RioGrandeValleyWeather #WaterConservationTexas #WateringScheduleForLawns
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Hyperdimensional Titans 5/x
Rendered in collaboration with #WonderApp
Alt Text isn't saving for some reason. Description: a towering Colossus walks through a barren valley. Behind it is an illuminated night sky filled with stars and planets. You cannot tell simply by looking if this entity is a machine or encased in some sort of armor.
#AiArt #AiArtist #AIArtwork #AIArtistCommunity #Occult #SpaceGod #mysticism
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#PortlandCT - Garden Club #SeedSwap Jan. 31 in Portland, Connecticut
"Celebrate National Seed Swap Day with the Portland River Valley Garden Club on Saturday, January 31, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Waverly Center, 7 Waverly Ave, Portland, Connecticut.
"Thanks to our sponsors - Burpee Seeds, Harts Seeds, NE Seed, MI Gardener and Baker Creek Seeds - we have a large selection of seeds available for you to take and swap. You can also bring labeled seeds saved from your garden or unopened seed packets from last year.
"Club members will be offering demos on making #SeedBombs, #WinterSowing and growing #microgreens. Plant #basil or #chive seeds to take home. Visit #RiverBendBookshop’s pop-up garden-themed #BookFair and learn about the Portland Library’s #SeedLibrary. Delicious comfort food and refreshments will be available.
Admission is free; food bank donations are encouraged."
For more details, visit the Portland River Valley Garden Club website: https://portland-river-valley-garden-club.blogspot.com/
Source:
https://seedswapday.blogspot.com/2026/#SolarPunkSunday #Connecticut #NationalSeedSwapDay #GrowYourOwn #SeedExchange #BuildingCommunity
#Gardening #SharingKnowledge -
From 2011:
In Tennessee, #HeatWaves Diminish #Nuclear Power Output
By Alyson Kenward
April 10, 2011"On July 8, 2010, as the temperature in downtown Decatur, Alabama climbed to a sweltering 98°F, operators at the #BrownsFerry #NuclearPowerPlant a few miles outside of town realized they had only one option to avoid violating their #environmental permit: turn down the reactors. For days, the Tennessee Valley Authority (#TVA), which owns the nuclear plant, had kept a watchful eye on the rising mercury, knowing that more heat outside could spell trouble inside the facility. When the #TennesseeRiver, whose adjacent waters are used to cool the reactors, finally hit 90°F and forced Browns Ferry to run at only half of their regular power output, the TVA hoped the hot spell would last just a few days.
"Eight weeks of unrelenting heat later, the plant was still running at half its capacity, robbing the grid of power it desperately needed when electricity demand from #AirConditioners and fans was at its peak. The total cost of the lost power over that time? More than $50 million dollars, all of which was paid for by TVA’s customers in Tennessee.
"The Browns Ferry nuclear plant, located on the Wheeler Reservoir along the Tennessee River near Athens, Alabama. It has three reactors, each producing about 1000 megawatts of electricity. Credit: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
“'Last summer, the water in the Tennessee River warmed up early and stayed warm,' says TVA spokesman Ray Golden. 'When it got hot again in July and August, we were impacted by that and had to reduce power at the plant and get it from somewhere else.'
"With river water so warm, the #NuclearPlant couldn’t draw in as much water as usual to cool the facility's three reactors, or else the water it pumped back into the river could be hot enough to harm the local #ecosystem, says Golden. But for every day that the Browns Ferry plant ran at 50 percent of its maximum output, the TVA had to spent $1 million more than usual to purchase power from somewhere else, he says.
"What happened in northern Alabama last summer, at the largest of TVA's nuclear power plants, did not present a human safety concern. Operators knew there was never a risk of an explosion or nuclear meltdown, nor was there a threat of leaking radioactive material. But the prolonged spell of hot weather put the TVA at risk of violating environmental permits, with hefty fines as one consequence and potential harm to the Tennessee River ecosystem as another.
"It’s not the first time high temperatures have affected the performance of the Browns Ferry plant, and extreme heat is a growing concern for power plant operators across the #Southeast. While some nuclear plants can improve their cooling procedures to cope with the intake of warmer water, the upgrades can cost hundreds of millions of dollars and still don’t offer an indefinite defense against extreme heat. Because scientists say the Southeast (like many other parts of the world) can expect to see more frequent and intense heat waves by the end of this century, the problems for nuclear power and the people that rely on it for electricity may only be beginning.
#ExtremeHeat Limits Nuclear Energy Production
"The disaster still unfolding at Japan’s #FukushimaDaiichi nuclear plant has refocused America's attention on nuclear power, calling into question its future role in the country's energy portfolio. Many advocates of nuclear power say that we need to maintain — and even expand — nuclear power to get away from using fossil fuels, such as coal, and to help lower greenhouse gas emissions.
"But nuclear power has a paradoxical relationship with #ClimateChange. Even though it might help mitigate long-term #GlobalWarming, nuclear power is already being challenged by rising temperatures and the increasing number of heat waves around the world. Throughout the last decade, several plants have had to reduce electricity production during heat waves, just when when electricity demand typically reaches peak levels.
“'It’s a dilemma between mitigation of climate change, and adaptation to it,' says Natalie Kopytko, an energy policy doctoral student at the University of York in England. Having recently studied the ways in which climate change could have a negative impact on nuclear power, she says nuclear power is caught in the middle because it could be used to help lower greenhouse gas emissions, but global warming is making the technology less effective at providing electricity."
Read more:
https://www.climatecentral.org/news/in-tennessee-heat-waves-frustrate-nuclear-power#Greenwashing #NoNukes
#NoNewNukes #NuclearPowerPlant #NuclearPlants #NuclearIsNotCarbonFree #RethinkNotRestart #ClimateCrisis #ExtremeTemperatures #ExtremeWeather #ExtremeHeat -
You've seen the #implosion footage. Maybe you know that this is the last echo of #coalfired #electricity generation in #Allegheny County. But do you know about the debate over the future of the site? https://www.publicsource.org/cheswick-springdale-power-plant-implosion-coal-allegheny-county-valley-charah/
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Grow #Flax For #Linen In Your Garden
By Cindy Conner
"Growing flax to process into linen was a common activity on homesteads before the Industrial Revolution. In fact, a quarter acre per person might have been planted to take care of clothing and other #textile needs for the year. When choosing a variety of flax to plant for linen, make sure the botanical name is Linum usitatissimum. The variety I’ve found to be available is Marilyn.
"If you are just starting out and don’t know if you really want to get into this yet, you can get enough material to work with from just a small space in your garden. In that case, you may want to buy seed by the packet, if it is available. If you want to have enough to really play with, plant a pound of seeds. I bought seed through The Heirloom Seed Project at the Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Their one pound package of seeds indicates it is enough to plant 400 square feet. My main source of information about growing flax to linen has been the book Linen: From Flax Seed to Woven Cloth by Linda Heinrich. That book suggests that one pound of seed is enough to plant 300 square feet."
#NaturalFibers #MakeClothesThatLastRead more:
https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/grow-flax-for-linen-in-your-garden-zbcz1703 -
Could This #Arizona Ranch Be a Model for #Southwest Farmers?
Oatman Flats has undergone a dramatic transformation, becoming the Southwest’s first #Regenerative #Organic Certified farm and a potential source of ideas for weathering #ClimateChange.
" 'We embraced the abundance of #heirloom and native crops in the #SonoranDesert,' Hansen said. 'We are looking at the land and asking it what we should grow, rather than asking the land to grow what we want.' " - Dax Hansen, owner of Oatman Flats Ranch.
By Samuel Gilbert
May 12, 2025Excerpt: "Regeneration Rooted in #Indigenous Practices
"Southern Arizona’s rich agricultural history stretches back more than 5,000 years. By 600 CE, the Hohokam people were constructing North America’s largest and most elaborate irrigation systems along the Salt and Gila Rivers. The descendants of the Hohokam—the Pima and Tohono O’odham—continued to farm the land up to and after the arrival of the Spanish, who began to colonize southern Arizona in the 1600s. They continue to farm in Arizona today.
"At the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation, about two hours southeast of Oatman Flats, the San Xavier Co-op Farm uses historic land management practices and grows traditional crops that reflect their respect for the land, plants, animals, elders, and the sacredness of water.
"San Xavier Farm Manager Duran Andrews and his team plant #CoverCrops, rotate fields, and collect #rainwater.
" '[Regenerative agriculture] is nothing new to us,' Andrews said. 'We have been doing this for decades. Harmony between nature and people has been our approach all the time.' Rotating fields and cultivating multiple mutually beneficial species in the same fields improves water and soil quality and biodiversity in this harsh landscape.
" 'You’ve seen what the land looks like in five years; imagine it in 10. If we can do it here, we can do it anywhere.'
"The co-op grows a variety of native crops that were developed in the region and cultivated for centuries or, in some cases, millennia, such as grains and beans, which they sell online. 'We irrigate them till they sprout, then cut them off till the monsoon shows up,' Andrews said. 'We try to keep crops in that hardy state through all the years and decades they have been here. We try not to get away from how things were done in the past.'
"They also grow White Sonora wheat, introduced to Arizona by Spanish Jesuit missionaries in the 1600s. 'It was a gift from Father Kino that we have taken as our own,' Andrews said. 'The [San Xavier] community was one of the first to grow this wheat.'
"Following the Mexican-American War in the mid-1800s, the United States claimed parts of modern-day Arizona, New Mexico, California, Nevada, and Utah. The Anglo ranchers who moved into the area dug canals to irrigate agricultural fields, transforming the landscape. An 1852 watercolor by surveyor Jon Russell Bartlett depicts a verdant valley with cottonwoods and mesquite trees lining a flowing Gila River as it passes through Oatman Flats Ranch.
"That landscape is unrecognizable today. The lower Gila has gone bone dry after years of upstream diversions, dams, water overuse, and climate change. In 2019, the Gila River earned the title of Most Endangered River by the nonprofit advocacy group American Rivers.
"Standing on the sandy Gila riverbed, which divides the north and south farms of Oatman Flats Ranch, Wang pointed to the nearby invasive salt cedars. Healing the land involves rebuilding the water, nutrient, and carbon cycles from the ground up, 'at the micro level,' he said. 'On the macro level, it’s broken.'
"The ranch team has poured resources into rebuilding soil health by planting #hedgerows and 30-plus species of cover crops, at a cost of approximately $100,000. The hedgerows, mostly native trees, were planted along the edges of the fields to reduce erosion and provide habitat for beneficial species, including #pollinators such as #bees and #hummingbirds.
"The cover crops — #millet, #chickpeas, #sunflowers, #sorghum, sudan grass, broadleaves, and #NativeGrasses among them—are planted immediately after harvesting wheat, to provide 'soil armor,' help conserve water, fix nitrogen in the soil, suppress weeds, attract beneficial insects, and sequester carbon. The once-barren land now supports life for more than 120 species of flora and fauna."
Read more:
https://civileats.com/2025/05/12/could-this-arizona-ranch-be-a-model-for-southwest-farmers/#SolarPunkSunday #RegenerativeAgriculture #RegenerativeFarming #RestorativeAgriculture #ClimateChangeFarming
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Electric Aviation and the Future of Clean Flight
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/07/03
Gregory Blatt, co-founder of H55 and a key figure behind the Solar Impulse legacy, leads one of the world’s foremost electric aviation companies. In this in-depth conversation, Blatt discusses H55’s inclusion in TIME’s Top 250 GreenTech Companies of 2025 and the broader implications for clean mobility. He highlights the Bristell B23 Energic’s low-emission, low-noise profile, emphasizing its benefits for flight schools and densely populated areas. Blatt outlines H55’s strategy for certification in Europe and the U.S., as well as its scalability through modular electric propulsion systems and partnerships with firms such as Piper, CAE, and RTX. He also addresses the economic and climate benefits of electrification, advocating for a pragmatic approach to the energy mix. With growing pilot demand and rapid innovation, H55 is helping redefine aviation for a more sustainable future.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: So, we are here with Gregory Blatt, and we are going to explore a few questions. You have been included in TIME’s list of the World’s Top 250 GreenTech Companies of 2025. What does this recognition signify for the future of electric aviation?
Gregory Blatt: Well, there are a few critical aspects to this recognition by TIME magazine, and you have already pointed to one of them.
First, it is the recognition of a small Swiss company and the work we are doing in electric aviation. H55 is based in Sion, Switzerland, and we operate in a highly specialized sector. Only four Swiss companies made TIME’s Top 250 list, so being among them shows that, in our own focused and mission-driven way, we are gaining global recognition for the advancements we have achieved. That includes our legacy from the Solar Impulse project, and the work we are doing now—most notably, developing certified electric propulsion and battery management systems.
By next year, we will be the first company to bring a certified electric propulsion system to the general aviation market. That is a milestone not just for us but for the industry.
Second, TIME’s recognition reflects a broader understanding of what clean mobility can look like. Typically, when people think of mobility, they think of cars. However, clean mobility extends far beyond terrestrial transportation. H55 demonstrates that sustainable aviation is not only possible but already operational with the technology having been de-risked.
Notably, TIME is examining clean mobility as a comprehensive trend. They are not treating this as a fleeting innovation or an experimental idea like Apple’s Newton, which was ahead of its time but did not last. Instead, they see clean aviation as a viable and necessary technological shift. It is not a gadget—it’s a long-term solution offering economic, technological, and societal benefits.
Of course, we’re not the only ones in the space. Other companies are building electric aircraft—whether fixed-wing planes, VTOLs, or flying taxis. Some are working on charging infrastructure or subcomponents. H55 is focused on the electric propulsion systems that power these aircraft.
This recognition also serves as a signal that clean aviation is a serious and rapidly expanding industry. On our end, H55 has already hired around 120 engineers in Switzerland and Canada—many in roles that didn’t even exist five or seven years ago. That’s a powerful example of how clean tech is not just an environmental necessity but also an economic opportunity.
And maybe this is a broader point, but we need to stop framing environmental protection as a cost. It’s also a generator of jobs and innovation. In our case, it’s producing skilled engineering roles in entirely new domains.
That’s why I prefer to call it cleantech, not just green tech. The focus is on building scalable, efficient, zero-emission solutions—and they’re already here. Because when we think of it that way, we see it as an economic impetus—not just the cost of doing business. Sorry, that was a long answer to your question.
Jacobsen: Why is it important for H55 to be present in the United States right now, and how does the Across USA Tour support your mission? Where can people follow the tour and learn more?
Blatt: We’re bringing fully electric flight to general aviation and pilot training as we embark on the H55 Across USA tour. The tour began in April at the Sun ’n Fun Aerospace Expo in Florida and runs through early August, covering eight states. Powered by H55’s electric propulsion system (EPS), the Bristell B23 Energic airplane—is an all-electric 2-seater designed for pilot training, general aviation and regional transport.
H55 began its journey in Florida earlier this year as part of an 8-state U.S. tour showcasing the future of clean, quiet, and sustainable flight. Each stop is designed to highlight H55’s electric propulsion system—motor, inverter, battery modules, and energy and power management systems—while engaging key stakeholders across the aviation ecosystem.
The goal of the H55 Across USA tour is to accelerate the shift toward cleaner, quieter, more efficient, and more affordable aviation. We’re doing that by showcasing our certified electric propulsion systems and aircraft integration solutions designed for general aviation and regional transport. Along the way, we’re engaging with flight schools and aeroclubs, airports and fixed base operators (FBOs), maintenance, repair, and overhaul providers (MROs), aerospace universities, military academies, and aviation enthusiasts across the country.
As of our third tour stop at Signature Aviation in Scottsdale, Arizona, we passed a big milestone—over 100 U.S. landings, officially reaching 104 upon our return to Falcon Field that day.
We’ve just completed our fourth stop in Las Vegas, and next we’re heading to Palo Alto, California, before heading back east. Next, we visit Colorado Springs, Oshkosh for EAA AirVenture, the largest fly-in in North America, and then The Hamptons to end the tour. You can follow the full journey, meet the team, learn how to join us at our next stops, and trace our journey from the groundbreaking Solar Impulse project at https://across-usa.h55.ch.
Jacobsen: The Bristell B23 Energic is intriguing regarding electric pilot training. What are the technical advantages that make it viable for widespread adoption today?
Blatt: Okay, now you’re going to have me talking for three days! Let’s start with the obvious low-hanging fruit—societal, environmental, and noise-related advantages.
First, no pollution, no noise. That’s a big win for flight training schools located near densely populated areas. You know, places where neighbors often complain because aircraft are constantly flying circuits overhead, generating noise all day long. From a societal perspective, this makes a great deal of sense.
Then there’s the pollution factor—zero emissions from the aircraft. But those are the broader societal benefits.
Now, let’s talk about the economic advantages. An electric airplane has far fewer moving parts and is much less complex than its combustion-engine equivalent. That significantly reduces maintenance needs. You don’t have to change out an engine every 2,500 hours, which you would with a similarly sized combustion aircraft used in training.
You also avoid fuel costs—no Avgas is required. So, from an operational standpoint, electric flight is highly cost-effective compared to combustion.
From a pilot training perspective, there are additional technical benefits that the general public might not immediately think of. For example, in Arizona, flight schools typically consume between 1.6 and 2.4 gallons of fuel just during lineup time—while idling and waiting to take off. We don’t have that issue. In a conventional training session that uses about 16 gallons, only 14 are used for flying, and two go to waste during idle time. With the B23 Energic, all your energy goes directly into the flight. There’s no idle fuel burn.
There’s also the reduced noise issue, which flight instructors love. Less noise means less stress for students and a better learning environment. There’s no need to mix oil and fuel, and the aircraft handles high altitudes and temperatures without added complexity. It’s a much simpler, cleaner training experience for flight schools.
The feedback has been incredibly positive. Since starting our U.S. campaign, we’ve completed more than 110 landings. The reviews—and I say this objectively because the testimonials are public, and we’re not using AI to filter them—have been overwhelmingly favourable.
Pilots love it. They love the responsiveness, the quietness, and the sleek, modern look of the aircraft—it appeals to the next generation of pilots. Whether for economic, societal, or operational reasons, they consistently tell us it makes training easier and more enjoyable. For students already juggling a lot when learning to fly, the B23 Energic simplifies the process.
Jacobsen: How does H55 balance the demands of regulatory certification with the pace of technological innovation in electric propulsion?
Blatt: At H55, from the beginning, we made a clear commitment: we are developing certified electric propulsion systems. And we’ll be the only company to have a certified electric propulsion system—by the end of this year or the beginning of next year—in Europe. Then, about a year later, we expect certification in the United States.
You can look at certification in two ways, Scott. One way to view it is as a cost of doing business—it takes time, you have to prove everything, and it can feel bureaucratic. And to a certain extent, that’s understandable. After all, you’re introducing new technologies, and regulators need to ensure that they work, are safe, and are reliable. That’s their job.
But I look at it differently. I see certification as a source of innovation. It pushes us to refine and improve. Most of our patents—our strongest intellectual property— come out of the certification process. That’s where the know-how builds.
Even before certification, we had extensive operational experience. With Solar Impulse, we flew 50,000 kilometres across more than 40 countries. We completed the task safely, with no incidents. We brought the pilots home safely and returned the aircraft to excellent condition. That experience gave us a deep understanding of safety, which we’ve carried forward.
So, certification is not just a regulatory hurdle—it’s a necessary step toward broad adoption. It ensures safety and builds trust. We’re very comfortable with that. As I mentioned, EASA has confirmed that we will be the first company in Europe to have a certified electric propulsion system. We expect that to be finalized by early next year, and FAA certification will likely follow 12 to 18 months later.
Jacobsen: What feedback have you received from the Across USA Tour—from flight schools and military academies?
Blatt: It’s funny—military personnel are flying it as we speak. We were recently at Maxwell Air Force Base with the aircraft, and about 20 U.S. Air Force pilots flew it.
And the feedback, Scott—they liked it. They appreciated the responsiveness. It’s like driving an electric car: an immediate reaction with smooth control. They enjoyed the quietness, the ergonomics, and the way the airplane handles. It flies very well.
They also understood the economics immediately, which is crucial in aviation. Everything is measured in terms of cost of ownership and cost per flight hour. And when we present them with the numbers, we show them a business case that’s comparable—if not better—than combustion-engine training aircraft.
There is some infrastructure required, of course. But let’s be honest—it’s solvable. And in fact, it’s already being solved. We made a strategic decision to go with standard DC charging: no proprietary systems, no special cables—just standard, automotive-style chargers.
The FAA has already approved DC charging for airport ground operations, so that is not a regulatory roadblock. It’s more a matter of investment, and that investment is already happening. Chargers range in cost from about $15,000 to $100,000. So, it is not an excessive investment—especially when considering the operational savings.
At Henderson Executive Airport during our Nevada stopover, our host All in Aviation has already installed three or four chargers in their hangars, and they’re planning to install more.
Why? It’s quite simple. When people come to the hangar, it’s an excellent opportunity to charge their cars while they’re flying all day. So, the flight school started with that use case in mind. And beyond that, it just makes sense—most of their auxiliary vehicles, like little trucks, golf carts, and maintenance vehicles on the airport grounds, are already electric. Having chargers on-site supports that ecosystem.
So, in that sense, the charging infrastructure is straightforward. The one challenge some flight schools have encountered relates to where charging takes place. Because of battery thermal sensitivity—especially in hot environments like Las Vegas or Arizona—we see better performance by charging indoors rather than outdoors.
Jacobsen: H55 emphasizes scalability. What aircraft categories are you targeting as part of your scaling strategy?
Blatt: Our Electric Propulsion System (EPS) is being certified under CS-23 in Europe and FAR 23 in the U.S.—the regulatory framework for small aircraft. Specifically, it’s being approved for Levels 1 and 2 aircraft. That includes trainers and two-seaters—light, general aviation aircraft.
The core of our system is modular. The batteries are built as scalable modules. In one aircraft, we might use a specific number of modules in series or parallel, depending on the available volume and the performance requirements of the aircraft.
For example, our technology powers the Bristell B23 Energic. But we’re also working with Piper Aircraft and CAE on the Piper Archer project. It’s the same underlying technology.
The difference is that the Archer is a larger aircraft, so it requires more battery modules. The battery management system (BMS) is designed to accommodate this. It “talks” to the batteries, monitors their health, communicates with the power distribution unit (PDU), and sends real-time data to the pilot on how the cells are performing.
That adapted BMS configuration will need to be certified separately, but we don’t have to recertify the entire propulsion system each time. That’s where the scalability comes in. The system can be applied across multiple platforms with adjustments only to the parts that change.
Once that’s achieved, we open the door to longer ranges, larger aircraft, and even more diverse applications. I’m not sure of the exact term, but in production, you don’t have to re-engineer everything every time. Once you have a production run that works for three or four different aircraft platforms, it becomes much more efficient.
And when you have multiple customers using the same product category, you achieve scalability. Your supply chain becomes more streamlined, costs are reduced, and those savings can be passed along to the customer.
Yes, scalability was something we thought about very carefully when we founded the company.
Jacobsen: What is the current commercial viability of electric propulsion systems in terms of cost savings, reliability, and performance? How does that compare to traditional combustion engines of comparable power?
Blatt: Well, a traditional combustion engine typically needs to be replaced after about 2,500 hours of operation. Our electric motor, on the other hand, lasts up to 5,000 hours.
Electric motors aren’t new—it’s not just Gregory saying that. They’ve been around for a long time, though not widely used in aviation until recently. What we do know is that electric motors are inherently simpler and more efficient.
In a combustion engine—whether in a car or an airplane—only about one-third of the energy from each gallon or litre of fuel goes toward propulsion. One-third is lost to heat in the combustion process, and auxiliary systems like air conditioning, entertainment systems, or avionics consume the other two-thirds of energy.
By contrast, our electric motors operate at an efficiency of 94%. Think about that—94%. That’s a complete game-changer.
Regarding batteries, we currently replace them at approximately 1,500 flight hours. And even then, they’re still in good condition. So, instead of discarding them, we repurpose them for other applications—either in stationary ground systems or through recycling processes. They’re not going to the landfill.
From the operator’s perspective, you’re not burning fuel—you’re investing in technology. We recommend pilots or operators put aside about $100 per hour of flight—about what you’d be spending on fuel and maintenance with a combustion engine. Then, a year or a year and a half later, you’re buying new batteries from us. And those batteries will likely be better because energy density continues to improve with each generation.
That’s a paradigm shift—not just in how you operate the aircraft, but in how you think about depreciation and long-term ownership.
But think about it. A journalist asked me a couple of months ago, “Who’s your biggest competitor?” And I told her, ‘The Gulf Countries‘. She looked at me, clearly expecting an answer like General Electric or Honeywell.
However, when I explained it, she understood. It’s not about competing with other aviation companies. It’s about competing with fossil fuel infrastructure. That money is no longer going into the Sheikh’s pockets—it’s going into technology, and that resonates with people. Investors like it, obviously—because there’s recurring revenue, predictable cost structures, and scalability. But users like it, too.
It’s like consumer tech. You’re always wondering, “Should I buy the new phone now or wait six months for the next model?” And whenever you buy it, it feels like the wrong time. With aviation, that’s changing.
Let me give you an example. When we certify the B23 Energic in Europe, we’re advertising 70 minutes of flight time with reserves. But by the time we certify the same aircraft in the United States—about a year to 18 months later—we expect to advertise a higher endurance. I can’t provide the exact number yet, as we’re still finalizing it, but we’re looking at over 80 minutes.
That’s thanks to improvements in energy density that come with time. And remember, in the training market, airplanes often stay in service for 30 or 35 years. That means we can expect real improvements in performance and economics over the aircraft’s lifetime.
Jacobsen: What strategic partnerships or investments have enabled H55’s breakthroughs?
Blatt: That’s a great question. We’re fortunate to have an exceptional cap table comprising investors from diverse sectors who share our long-term vision for clean aviation.
It began with Silicon Valley investors who became familiar with us through the Solar Impulse project. Then came strategic partners like Raytheon—RTX is one of our investors. We also have an aircraft leasing company involved, and with them, we’re exploring “power-by-the-hour” models. That could be especially useful for smaller flight schools that might not have the capital for complete aircraft acquisition but can operate on a usage-based model.
The government of Quebec is also a strategic investor. We’re based in Montreal, and Quebec views batteries as a key industrial sector—similar to how Nevada focuses on lithium. They’ve supported us with grants and loans and eventually decided to take an equity stake to be more directly involved.
We also have backing from some major family offices in Europe. Interestingly, a few of them built their wealth in traditional natural resources—such as mining and energy—and now, with second- or third-generation leadership, they’re diversifying into clean tech. That’s encouraging. It shows a generational shift toward sustainability and innovation.
We have a fantastic cap table—accessible and well-aligned. I’m part of different cofounder networks, and honestly, many founders complain about their investors. But we’re very fortunate. Our investors are incredibly engaged in the project. They feel more like friends, colleagues, and even team members than just investors.
Sometimes, I forget they’re investors because they’re so involved and genuinely passionate about the project. You can probably hear that in my voice and see it in the way I ask questions—everyone at this company is deeply committed to what we’re doing. It’s more than a job.
That passion started with Solar Impulse, and that same DNA has carried through into H55. It’s part of who we are.
Jacobsen: How could the electrification of flight contribute to international climate goals over the next decade?
Blatt: That’s an important question. Aviation sometimes gets an unfair share of the blame when it comes to emissions. Depending on who you ask, aviation contributes around 2.5% to 4–5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. That’s not insignificant, but it’s not the majority either.
To put things into perspective, 200 of the world’s largest supertankers emit more pollution than all of the world’s cars combined. So, it’s essential to keep the aviation industry’s emissions in context.
Part of the reason aviation gets so much criticism is because of private aviation—luxury jets that are fast, expensive, and consume much fuel. Therefore, there is a social equity element to the critique. However, the commercial aviation sector has made substantial progress over the years. Because of the industry’s sensitivity to fuel prices, there’s been continuous innovation—in materials science, design, aerodynamics, and now propulsion.
We’re currently working with Pratt & Whitney Canada and De Havilland on a hybrid-electric demonstrator based on the 49-seat Dash 8. That aircraft will deliver a 30% fuel savings just by integrating hybrid-electric systems. That’s a significant breakthrough for feeder and regional markets.
So, yes, every one of your questions touches on economics because aviation is deeply tied to the economy. That’s why innovation occurs quickly when there is a cost-saving incentive. And electric propulsion is delivering those incentives.
Additionally, it’s worth noting that people are travelling more now than they did before COVID-19 the pandemic. At the same time, ticket prices per mile have increased significantly. And we’re training more pilots now than ever before. That’s partly due to retirements in developed countries, but it’s also because general aviation is expanding in new markets—across the Middle East, the Gulf, parts of Asia, and especially India and China.
Electrification can play a significant role in making that growth more sustainable. So yes, by definition, that 4–5% contribution from aviation to global emissions may increase as more people fly. However, at the same time, the aviation industry is making significant strides—both through traditional advancements and innovative concepts—to reduce its carbon footprint.
Jacobsen: Gregory, thank you for your time.
Blatt: Got it. And thank you again, Scott. It’s been a pleasure.
Jacobsen: Likewise. And I appreciate your time today.
Blatt: You’re welcome. I can only commend you for these kinds of initiatives and the articles you’re writing. You have our full support.
Jacobsen: Likewise. Thank you again.
Blatt: Thank you. Bye-bye.
Jacobsen: Bye-bye.
Last updated May 3, 2025. These terms govern all In Sight Publishing content—past, present, and future—and supersede any prior notices. In Sight Publishing by Scott Douglas Jacobsen is licensed under a Creative Commons BY‑NC‑ND 4.0; © In Sight Publishing by Scott Douglas Jacobsen 2012–Present. All trademarks, performances, databases & branding are owned by their rights holders; no use without permission. Unauthorized copying, modification, framing or public communication is prohibited. External links are not endorsed. Cookies & tracking require consent, and data processing complies with PIPEDA & GDPR; no data from children < 13 (COPPA). Content meets WCAG 2.1 AA under the Accessible Canada Act & is preserved in open archival formats with backups. Excerpts & links require full credit & hyperlink; limited quoting under fair-dealing & fair-use. All content is informational; no liability for errors or omissions: Feedback welcome, and verified errors corrected promptly. For permissions or DMCA notices, email: [email protected]. Site use is governed by BC laws; content is “as‑is,” liability limited, users indemnify us; moral, performers’ & database sui generis rights reserved.
#CleanMobility #ClimateGoals #ElectricAviation #PilotTraining #PropulsionCertification
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#USA, #California: State Secures Broad Voluntary Recall of Raw #Milk and #Cream to Protect #Consumers {from possible #H5N1 virus contamination}
Source: Department of Health, https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/OPA/Pages/NR24-044.aspx
{Edited}
December 3, 2024
NR24-044
Recall includes all Raw Farm, LLC raw milk and cream remaining on retail shelves; CDPH warns consumers against consuming any raw milk products from quarantined farm
CDPH
What You Need to Know: California has secured a broad, voluntary recall of all Raw Farm, LLC raw milk and cream products due to possible bird flu contamination. Californians are strongly encouraged not to consume any raw milk or cream products in their possession or still on store shelves. Pasteurized milk remains safe to drink.
Sacramento – Continuing its action to protect public health, the state has secured a broad, voluntary recall of all raw whole milk and cream products from Raw Farm, LLC that remain on retail shelves following multiple bird flu virus detections in the company’s milk and dairy in the past week. Raw Farm milk products have tested positive for bird flu at both retail and dairy storage and bottling sites in recent days.
Today’s expanded recall ensures that all sizes of Raw Farm milk and cream, produced between November 9 and November 27, are pulled from retail shelves. The affected lot numbers are 20241109 through 20241127, which includes the two lots recalled last week (November 27 and November 24).
Customers should immediately return any remaining product to the retail point of purchase.
Public health officials identified the bird flu virus in retail products from Raw Farm, LLC last week. Additional testing by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) of bulk milk storage and bottled products at Raw Farm’s bottling facility showed the presence of the bird flu virus. All milk tested by CDFA remained at the Raw Farm plant and was not released to consumers. As the disease investigation continues, Raw Farm is cooperating fully with CDPH and CDFA.
While this voluntary recall only applies to raw whole milk and cream, due to multiple bird flu detections in the company’s operation the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) urges consumers to avoid consuming any Raw Farm products for human consumption including raw milk, cream, cheese, and kefir, as well as raw milk pet food topper and pet food kefir marketed to pet owners.
In addition to the statewide voluntary recall, CDFA has placed the farm under quarantine, suspending any new distribution of its raw milk, cream, kefir, butter and cheese products produced on or after November 27.
No human bird flu cases associated with the product have been confirmed to date, and the state is working closely with federal and local partners to investigate the situation and better understand how it might impact consumers. California continues to monitor and respond to bird flu outbreaks in dairy cows and poultry. Bird flu virus levels have been demonstrated to be high in raw milk from infected cows, and sporadic human cases identified in workers in close contact with infected dairy cows and their milk indicate that raw milk is infectious to humans.
Risks Associated with Raw Milk
Public health experts have long warned consumers against consuming raw milk or raw milk products due to elevated risks of foodborne illness. Outbreaks due to Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, toxin producing E. coli, Brucella, Campylobacter, and many other bacteria have all been reported related to consuming raw dairy products. Raw milk products are not pasteurized, a heating process that kills bacteria and viruses such as bird flu.
Pasteurized milk and pasteurized milk products are safe to consume because the heating process kills pathogens, including bird flu, that can cause illness.
Drinking or accidentally inhaling raw milk containing bird flu virus may lead to illness. In addition, touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands after touching raw milk with bird flu virus may also lead to infection. Symptoms of bird flu infection in humans include eye redness or discharge, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, diarrhea, vomiting, muscle or body aches, headaches, fatigue, trouble breathing and fever. Anyone who has consumed these specific products and is experiencing these symptoms, should immediately contact their health care provider or local health department.
Pet Safety and Raw Milk Pet Food Products
CDPH advises consumers to avoid raw milk “pet food topper” and “pet food kefir” products marketed to pet owners. They should neither eat this food themselves nor feed it to their pets. Cats, dogs, and other animals may become sick with bird flu after drinking raw milk. Cats on infected dairy farms in multiple states have died from bird flu, most likely from drinking raw milk from infected cows. CDPH encourages pet owners to avoid feeding their pets raw pet food products in general, including raw milk-based products. To further limit risk to pets, pet owners should also keep their pets away from sick or dead birds.
California Regularly Tests Raw Milk
As part of the state’s bird flu response, testing of raw milk from dairies has been increased to help prevent raw milk consumers from getting the virus. Once bird flu was found in California dairy herds, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) began regular testing of raw milk in bulk tanks. In response to these recent positive tests from two retail raw milk batches, CDFA followed up with immediate additional sampling and testing at Raw Farm.
Pasteurized Milk is Safe to Drink
Pasteurized milk is safe to drink. Pasteurization, one of the most significant scientific food safety discoveries in human history, is the process of heating milk to specific temperatures for a certain length of time to kill many microorganisms and enzymes that lead to spoilage and illness. Pasteurization kills the bird flu virus and other harmful germs that can be found in raw milk. CDPH advises consumers not to drink raw milk or eat raw milk products due to the risk of foodborne illnesses.
About Bird Flu
Since early October, California has reported 31 confirmed human cases of bird flu, 30 of whom had direct contact with infected dairy cows. No person-to-person spread of bird flu has been detected in California or the U.S. To date, all cases have reported mild symptoms (primarily eye infections), and none have been hospitalized. Because bird flu viruses can change and gain the ability to spread more easily between people, public health officials have provided preventive measures and are monitoring animal and human infections carefully.
Protecting Public Health
California continues to take swift and comprehensive action in response to the detection of bird flu in dairy cows across the Central Valley, demonstrating a strong commitment to public health and worker safety. While the overall risk to the public remains low, the state is prioritizing containment efforts, raising public awareness, and providing resources to those at higher risk. Key initiatives include the distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE), increased testing, and robust surveillance of infected areas.
Through coordinated efforts between CDPH, the California Department of Food and Agriculture, California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES), and other agencies, California is leading a cross-agency response that includes multilingual outreach to dairy and poultry workers, a targeted social media campaign to promote preventive practices, and media interviews to keep the public informed. Additionally, the state is ensuring that farm workers have access to additional doses of seasonal flu vaccine from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to reduce concurrent flu risks.
Specifically, the state is:
— Working with local, state, and federal partners to monitor bird flu in farm animals and people who work closely with poultry and dairy cows.
— Distributing protective gear to dairy farms and workers who have contact with infected dairy cows or raw milk to reduce the risk of getting bird flu.
— Helping ensure individuals with symptoms of or exposure to bird flu have access to testing and treatment.
— Conducting timely public education efforts to ensure those impacted have information about bird flu.How Bird Flu Spreads
— Touching the eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands after contact with raw milk from an infected cow, or other contaminated items or surfaces.
— Splashing raw milk from an infected cow into eyes, nose, or mouth.
— Drinking raw milk from a cow infected with bird flu virus.More Resources
— For the latest information on the state’s bird flu response, visit CDPH’s Bird Flu webpage and CDFA’s H5N1 Bird Flu Virus in Livestock site.
— For information on the national bird flu response, see CDC’s Bird Flu Response Update.
— For work-related questions or complaints related to bird flu, contact the Cal/OSHA Call Center in English or Spanish at 1-833-579-0927. Employers can contact the California Occupational Health and Safety Division at 800-963-9424 for a free consultation to strengthen their illness and injury safety program.
— Farmers should contact the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s bird flu hotline at 866-922-2473 if they suspect their animals are infected with bird flu.____
#aH5n1 #avianInfluenza #birdFlu #california #dairyProducts #food #foodSafety #health #milk #rawMilk #updates #USA
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Triangle Weekend Event Guide August 7–9th Edition
The Triangle’s weekend calendar is packed with free concerts, outdoor movies, cultural festivals, farmers markets, art receptions and family activities from Friday, August 7, through Sunday, August 9, 2026.
Weekend highlights include Raleigh First Friday, the NC Jerk Fest in Durham, Bands, Bites and Boats in Cary, the Chatham Tomato Festival in Pittsboro and dozens of free events throughout Wake, Durham, Orange, Chatham and Johnston counties.
Friday, August 7
Food and Drink Deals
National Frozen Custard Day at Freddy’s
All day | $2–$4 | Participating Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers locationsTasting at Ten
10 a.m. | Free | Counter Culture Coffee Headquarters, Durham
Sample coffees and learn more about Counter Culture’s roasting process.Free Wine Tasting
4:30–6:30 p.m. | Free | Bottle Theory, ApexFriday Night Tasting Party
5–7 p.m. | Free | Weaver Street Market, RaleighWine Tasting With Steve Sommerville
5:30–7 p.m. | Free | Taylor’s Wine Shop, RaleighRaleigh First Friday Events
First Friday Market and Movie: Zootopia 2
5–9 p.m. | Free | Moore Square
The evening includes vendors, food trucks, live music, games and an outdoor movie.Artspace First Friday
5–10 p.m. | Free | Artspace
Meet artists, explore exhibitions and watch live art-making inside Artspace’s downtown studios.First Friday Ice Cream Social
5:30–8 p.m. | Free | Pope House Museum
Enjoy free ice cream while learning about the Pope family and plans for several Raleigh cultural sites.First Friday With the NC Courage
6–9 p.m. | Free | City of Raleigh Museum
Meet Roary, play mini soccer, make friendship bracelets and celebrate women’s professional soccer.First Friday Gallery Walk
6–9 p.m. | Free | Participating Downtown Raleigh locations
Explore galleries, studios, museums and alternative art spaces during this self-guided downtown experience.First Friday Cemetery Tour
6 p.m. | $10 | Historic Oakwood Cemetery
Discover Raleigh history during an evening tour of one of the city’s most historic cemeteries.More Friday Events Around the Triangle
First Friday Bird Walk
8–10 a.m. | Free | White Deer Park, GarnerFirst Friday in Downtown Fuquay-Varina
5–9 p.m. | Free | Downtown Fuquay-VarinaFirst Friday at Oak City Brewing Company
5:30–8:30 p.m. | Free | Knightdale
Live music, food trucks and local vendors.Kidical Mass Family Bike Ride
5:30 p.m. | Free | Eastgate Park, RaleighBands, Bites and Boats: Adam Pitts
6–8 p.m. | Free | Fred G. Bond Metro Park, Cary
Enjoy live music, food trucks, drinks and lakefront activities.First Friday at Eno Arts Mill
6–9 p.m. | Free | Hillsborough
Studio tours, live music, exhibitions and children’s activities.Movie Night: Pirates of the Caribbean
6–10 p.m. | Free | Downtown Cary ParkPLAYlist Concert Series: Some of It All
6 p.m. | Free | Durham Central ParkLive Music at Gizmo Brew Works
6–9 p.m. | Free | RaleighFront Porch Friday and First Friday Campout
6–10 p.m. | Free | Haven Farm, KnightdaleMorrisville Music in the Park: The Blenders
6:30–8:30 p.m. | Free | Indian Creek Park, MorrisvilleLive at American Tobacco Campus: Hank & Pattie Duo
6:30–9 p.m. | Free | American Tobacco Campus, DurhamOne Tribe Drum Circle
6:30–8 p.m. | Free | Stone Houses at Dorothea Dix ParkRaleigh International Folk Dancing
6:30–10 p.m. | Free | Glen Eden Pilot ParkOpening Reception: Indelible: Tattooed Ceramics
7–9 p.m. | Free | Claymakers Gallery, DurhamLeela Open Improv Jam
7–9 p.m. | Free | Leela Improv Theatre, Raleigh
Space is limited and registration is required.Artist Notes Concert: Joseph Terrell of Mipso
7–9:30 p.m. | Free | The Corner at NC State Centennial CampusBynum Front Porch Friday Night Music Series
7–8:30 p.m. | Free | Bynum Front Porch, PittsboroKaraoke Bingo Night
7–11:55 p.m. | Free | KōMANA Brewing Company, CaryStand-Up Comedy Open Mic
8–11 p.m. | Free | Durty Bull Brewing Company, DurhamFirst Friday Under the Stars
8:30–11:30 p.m. | Free | Three Bears Acres, Creedmoor
Saturday, August 8Saturday features community festivals, markets, back-to-school celebrations, live music and family attractions across the Triangle.
Saturday Markets and Festivals
Triple Bucks Day at Durham Farmers’ Market
8 a.m.–noon | Free admission | Durham Central ParkDurham Craft Market
8 a.m.–noon | Free | Durham Central ParkThe Raleigh Market
9 a.m.–5 p.m. | Free admission | North Carolina State FairgroundsApex Underground Market
11 a.m.–3 p.m. | Free | Sweetwater ApexThe Market at Raleigh Iron Works
11 a.m.–4 p.m. | Free | Raleigh Iron WorksCoastal Cowgirl Vendor Market
Noon–3 p.m. | Free | Crooked Hammock Brewery, RaleighBolivian Festival
1–6 p.m. | Free | The Plant, PittsboroNC Jerk Fest
3–9 p.m. | Free | Durham Central Park
Celebrate Jamaican culture with food, music, vendors and family activities.Family and Community Events
Visit Brajboro Cow Sanctuary
8 a.m.–noon | $0–$25 | Chapel HillSharewear Community Giveaway
9 a.m.–4 p.m. | Free | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Wake Forest
Free clothing, bedding, school supplies and other household essentials.Lanza’s Cafe Fifth Birthday Party
9 a.m.–9 p.m. | Free admission | Carrboro
The celebration includes live music, a magic show and more.Smithfield River Rat Regatta
10 a.m.–noon | Free | Smithfield Boat Ramp
Watch teams race homemade cardboard boats on the Neuse River.Back-to-School Bash at Faith City Church
10 a.m.–1 p.m. | Free | Clayton
Free food and school supplies will be available.Amplify Health End-of-Summer Bash
10 a.m.–1 p.m. | Free | Midtown Park, RaleighFirst Responders Day
10 a.m.–1:30 p.m. | $13.20–$16.45 | New Hope Valley Railway
The event includes touch-a-truck activities and train rides.Camp Waltonwood
11 a.m.–1 p.m. | Free | Waltonwood Lead Mine, Raleigh
A carnival-themed event for children and families.Back 2 School Bash and Health Fair
11 a.m.–1 p.m. | Free | The River Church, DurhamJCPenney Kids Zone
11 a.m.–noon | Free | Participating stores
Children can complete a free craft while supplies last.History, Museums and Tours
Black History Walking Tour
10–11 a.m. | $6–$10 | Pope House Museum, RaleighHistoric Yates Mill Open House
10 a.m.–1 p.m. | Free | Historic Yates Mill County ParkRaleigh Fire Museum
10 a.m.–2 p.m. | Free | Raleigh Fire MuseumHistoric Raleigh Trolley Tours
11 a.m.–3 p.m. | $6–$10 | Mordecai Historic Park
Four one-hour tours are scheduled.North Carolina State Capitol Guided Tours
11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. | Free | State Capitol, RaleighSaturday Music and Nightlife
Saturdays in Saxapahaw
5–8 p.m. | Free | Haw River Ballroom area, SaxapahawDurham Summer Concerts in the Park: Ally J
6–8 p.m. | Free | Duke ParkGuitar Hero Competition
6–8 p.m. | Free | Crank Arm Brewing Company, RaleighBeer Garden Concert Series
6–9 p.m. | Free | The Glass Jug Beer Lab, RTPKaraoke Night
7–10 p.m. | Free | Sneaky Penguin Brewing Company, RaleighStand-Up Comedy Game Show
7–9 p.m. | Free | The Beerded Lady Bottle Shop, GarnerKaraoke Kaos
7–11 p.m. | Free | Incendiary Brewing RaleighSacred Grounds Coffeehouse Concert
7:30 p.m. | Free | DurhamMoth Night
8–10 p.m. | Free | Crowder County Park, Apex
Advance registration is required.Rhythm and Reels: The Bad Guys 2
8 p.m. | Free | Apex Nature Park
Sunday, August 9Sunday brings free museum admission, community markets, live music, arts programming and outdoor activities.
Sunday Markets and Community Events
The Raleigh Market
9 a.m.–5 p.m. | Free admission | North Carolina State FairgroundsDurham Community Day at the Museum of Life and Science
10 a.m.–5 p.m. | Free for Durham County residents | Durham
Proof of Durham County residency may be required.Raleigh Really Really Free Market
11 a.m.–1 p.m. | Free | Eliza Pool ParkOak City Brewing Farmers Market
11 a.m.–2 p.m. | Free | KnightdaleRaleigh Underground Market
11 a.m.–3 p.m. | Free | Midtown ParkChatham Tomato Festival
Noon–6 p.m. | Free | The Plant, PittsboroBull City Treasure Hunt
1–7 p.m. | Free | Durham Central ParkBlack Farmers’ Market
1–4 p.m. | Free admission | Southeast Raleigh YMCAArt, History and Creative Activities
Notes on View: Eduardo de Rosamaria
11 a.m.–noon and 2–3 p.m. | Free | North Carolina Museum of ArtDix Park Trolley Tour Registration Opens
Noon | Stone Houses at Dorothea Dix ParkSecond Sunday Open Studio
1–3 p.m. | Free | Nasher Museum of Art, DurhamDrop-In Art: Origami
2–4 p.m. | Free | Historic Yates Mill County ParkCraft Club and Supply Swap
3–5 p.m. | Free | The Glass Jug Downtown DurhamTattooing in North Carolina History Talk
5–8 p.m. | $15 | Welcome Tattoo, DurhamSunday Music and Recreation
Sunday Morning Yoga
10–11 a.m. | Free | Compass Rose Brewery, RaleighWeaver Street Market Sunday Brunch Music
11 a.m.–1 p.m. | Free | CarrboroMorgan Street Sessions
Noon–4 p.m. | Free | Morgan Street Food Hall, RaleighFree Air Hockey Tournament
1 p.m. | Free | Super Rad Retro Lounge Arcade Bar, RaleighBluegrass Open Jam
4–7 p.m. | Free | Bond Brothers Eastside, CaryRaleigh Summer Concert Series: Triangle Sax Ensemble
6–8 p.m. | Free | Fred Fletcher ParkFree Violin Concert Featuring Jennifer Curtis
7 p.m. | Free | Binkley Baptist Church, Chapel HillStephen’s Pharmacy
7 p.m. | $5 | Slim’s, RaleighSundays at Sundown
7–9 p.m. | Free | Southern Village, Chapel HillWeekend-Long Offers
Teachers and school staff can receive free car washes throughout August at participating RipTide Car Wash locations. Freddy’s is also offering specially priced frozen custard cones for National Frozen Custard Day at participating restaurants.
Availability and participation may vary by location.
Plan Your Triangle Weekend
Whether visitors are looking for a free outdoor concert, family movie, cultural festival, farmers market or late-night entertainment, the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area offers plenty of options this weekend.
Schedules, admission prices and weather-related plans may change. Attendees should verify details with organizers before traveling.
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