#Local water damage experts

[headspace-hotel]

I'm trying to read about ecological succession in desert ecosystems and its incredibly annoying because most of the studies define "succession" as "how does the vegetation cover increase after we planted a forest on top of it"

this got me scampering off on a tangent about desertification, which led me to a lot of papers talking about how there is no coherent definition of what desertification even is ("What is desertification? We can't even agree and we're the authors of this paper!") and then continuing to talk about how it's important to reverse desertification despite the lack of clarity on whether this is a good idea.

It's really striking how so many papers treat deserts like they aren't even ecosystems in their own right, just land that isn't being as productive as it "should" be.

Then there's this paper which is a quintessential example of "angry scientists who are DONE with your shit" It seems to be machine translated a la Google Translate-esque automation, but it's good and the pictures speak for themselves. basically there was a large scale effort to "reverse deforestation" in the Gobi Desert by planting shrubs, and this was subsidized by policies meant to promote "greening" for broad scale environmental improvement. Here's the summary of how that backfired

According to our survey, personnel who specifically plant trees and engage in afforestation are businessmen, farmers, or others, with most of them being businessmen from abroad, and only a few being local people. All the personnel are more concerned about the subsidies than greening and planting trees itself. According to the policy, they will receive majority of the subsidy if the planted trees live for three years, irrespective of whether the trees survive after that. Therefore, to guarantee the survival of the planted trees for three years, they even use water tankers to carry water to the trees from a great distance. However, after three years, the people stop watering the trees planted in the Gobi region, thereby leading to the death of trees after a few years as they cannot survive only on natural precipitation and groundwater. In pursuit of maximum profits, these businessmen will pursue larger areas for planting trees, which will cause further damage to the ecological environment in the Gobi region

What else is there to say

furthermore, the planting disturbed the natural soil layers and disrupted the "black vegetation" (I'm guessing this is translated from a term that refers to the gravel layer in combination with the biocrusts holding it in place- I want to learn more about biocrusts they're so cool) which caused dust and sand underneath to become airborne.

I found many more papers that are disappointingly uncritical of the afforestation in deserts thing even though they try to take an ecological outlook, like this one, which acknowledges it takes extensive inputs from other places to maintain the trees (if you have to add 5% wood chips to the sand to improve it, wouldn't that necessity significantly offset the increase in tree biomass and the benefit in increase productivity on site, since the wood chips come from trees???) and that past efforts to plant forests on desert lands have gone poorly.

From multiple papers I'm starting to piece together why there has been so much data tentatively suggesting success in desert afforestation even though it seems to not do much good in the long term: the young trees can sometimes draw sufficient water from underground when they're little, but actually the region is fundamentally incapable of supporting the water requirements of a more mature tree. So the trees grow roots down into the deep soil layers, suck the deep soil layers dry, and die, leaving the land drier than it was to begin with.

I'm no expert but it seems to me like maybe we should study the desert ecosystems in depth before trying to change them...

[amons-hat-enthusiast]

A petition to stop Rio Tinto’s mine from destroying Serbia’s nature

"We call upon you to prohibit extractive mining projects and metal processing in the Jadar Valley in Serbia.

In particular, we demand that you cancel the proposed Rio Tinto lithium mine in Loznica. We demand that you protect the biodiversity, fertile ground, farming villages and rich cultural areas.

Serbia’s most fertile land can be found in the beautiful Jadar Valley. Small family farmers grow raspberries and plums, engage in beekeeping and sheep and goat herding. The valley borders mountains, is surrounded by water and home to thousands of sustainable multi-generational farms.

But instead of protecting it, the Serbian government has approved a project with multinational mining corporation Rio Tinto, for the exploitation of “Jadarite”, a lithium ore in the valley. The government and the company have ignored scientists and mining experts who advise vehemently against the mine and are threatening to cause irreparable damage to the water, land, air and it’s people. Local citizens, who do not want to give up their sustainable agricultural land which has been in their families for generations, are being ignored.

The process of separating chemically stable lithium from jadarite ore involves the use of concentrated sulfuric acid. The process would take place 20 km from the Drina River and use 300 cubic meters of water every hour, while the chemically treated water would be returned to the Jadar River.

The outpouring of inevitably polluted water, as well as underground waters which contain arsenic, mercury and lead, would contaminate entire river basins and continue their journey across the Jadar to the Drina and Sava, polluting not only Serbia's but other countries' water sources as well.

We reject the pollution of the air. Treatment with the above mentioned (and additional) aggressive acids produces toxic gases that can spread within a radius of over ten kilometers and which will corrode the skin and lungs of humans and animals.

We reject the endangerment of the population around the Jadar Valley in the interests of a multinational corporate profit. Rio Tinto has promised 700 new jobs, but forgot to mention that 19,000 people are set to be displaced or severely effected.

Rio Tinto in 2020, destroyed a 45,000 year old sacred Australian Aboriginal cave. The company and its representatives have been repeatedly convicted of fraud and paid billions of dollars in damages and fines for illegal destruction of land, but continue to ravage and destroy natural environment around the world. The company is accused of participating in war crimes in Papua New Guinea, where a ten-year civil war broke out due to the presence of their mine.

The citizens of Serbia have the right to clean air, clean water and healthy living conditions. Stop Rio Tinto’s lithium mine and protect the people, our heritage, our environment and the rivers of the Jadar Valley. United we can save our environment."

https://action.wemove.eu/sign/2023-03-stop-rio-tinto-EN?akid=s1568260..uAF-ha

The text above explains the situation. This is a very important petition and I'd be very grateful if you could sign it and spread it.

(I see that only people from European countries can sign it, others please reblog for this to reach as many people as possible)

[cafulur]

Modern Personal Assistant Labru AU ✨📋🐉

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

- Laios is a renown animal/monster expert (not sure yet if this is modern as in no monsters or just a modern version of their realm w/ monsters included)

- he does most of his research independently, occasionally working alongside small groups of other scientists

- a new animal species / monster mutation emerges that completely captures the world’s and Laios’s interest. As one of the top zoologists / monsterologists in the nation, he gets requested to head the first ever research on this unknown creature.

- something about this species is so bizarre that in addition to studying it, Laios is suddenly also having to do press conferences to explain to the masses wtf is going on.

- … except he kind of can’t. the first time he gets on the mic in front of a bunch of people, one reporter asks if there is concern for reproduction as we’ve only found two females of the species. Laios goes on a 20 minute rant about the egg laying process they recently discovered and how according to x-rays of the eggs they do not require a mate to reproduce but appear to still seek and thrive off of community. A conference that should’ve had enough time to answer dozens of questions ends with him only have answered two and a half, as he greatly struggled to be succinct and not derail into mile long explanations. But to Laios, every detail counts!! They’re all important pieces to the puzzle!

- his boss pulls him aside— “listen, you’re the only person on the planet at the moment who has the most knowledge about this thing. if you’re going to also be it’s’ spokesperson, you need to handle your PR better and read the room. we’ve assigned you an assistant to help with any future public appearances.

- enter Kabru, works in public relations, usually political, and is all too comfortable with addressing the masses. local elections just ended and so as a PR specialist he’s being assigned unconventional work by his management company during this downtime, which includes a rambly scientist with zero social cues or ability to read the room.

- Kabru sits down with Laios at a café a few days before the next conference and they run through a little practice session. Kabru clears his throat and acts as a reporter.

- “So, Mr. Touden, how long do you expect the research to go on for before we know if we can integrate this species into our local environments? Is it even safe for us to be near them?”

- “it’s not a question on whether or not it’s safe for us but whether or not it’s safe for them. they seem to be flighty little guys, and don’t even agitate or fight when provoked. but something about the oils from human skin damages their feathers, they have almost the same texture and composition as paper. it’s really fascinating actually, they somehow appear to be resistant to water but our oils break them down very quickly, and so we’re thinking they might thrive better on reserves people can’t access. but that’s also not exactly ideal due their apparent difficultly living in captivity and small spaces, as well as the potential need to migrate. closing off their environment may actually—“

- Kabru knows deep, deep down in his heart of hearts that he needs to cut the man off right then and there, show him how he could be more concise and clear with his words, and maybe not ramble so much. but Laios is positively glowing with both wonder and genuine concern for this creature, and Kabru cannot help but be completely captivated.

[ju-nebugg]

a complete (and ever-evolving) list of the many titles of mr. henley whispers

because Henry Shields is a genius and all of this deserves to be documented

Henley Whispers

aka the Turbulent Wind

aka the Storm Before the Calm

aka Lithe Spirit

aka Lord of the Prance

aka Bowfingerer

aka the Bark Knight

aka Work Hard Fae Hard

aka Coyote Handsome

aka Tree Weird

aka the Gorse Whisperer

aka the Arrow-ma Therapist

aka Aragorn-al Activity

aka Quiver Phoenix

aka Jack of All Trades, Master of All Trades

aka Tree Willy

aka Dave Fern

aka Soft-Core Faun-ography

aka Forest Whitaker

aka Notorious Tree-IG

aka Mr. Yumnus

aka Ranger Danger

aka Lust of Wind

aka Parry Hotter

aka Pollen Farrell

aka The Wood, The Bard and the Smugly

aka the Longest Bard

aka Daft Skunk

aka Brodo Swaggins

aka Dismay in a Ranger

aka Harriet Shrubman

aka Jeffrey Archer

aka Fen Diagram

aka Look Who’s Tolkien

aka Fennel May Care

aka the Grass Samurai

aka Chloro-Phil Spector

aka Woody Allen

aka Thelonius Trunk

aka the Moss Adjuster

the ✨ rhymes ✨:

human ranger, damage dealer, story weaver, owl deceiver

human ranger, goblin killer, pale ale swiller, dream journal filler

human ranger, rabble rouser, full of heart, devoid of trouser

human ranger, hidden stranger, friend of danger, dark avenger

human ranger, expert juggler, against the chains which bind us struggler

human ranger, loot stringer, shameless swinger, on da funk bringer

human ranger, check bouncer, espresso mispronouncer 

human ranger, rule flouter, truth spouter, earthworm doubter

human ranger, poker player, that which others won’t say sayer

human ranger, trendsetter, otter petter, in-joke getter

human ranger, blame dodger, advertising for a lodger

human ranger, cheeky chancer, always-on-the-off-beat dancer

human ranger, truth spinner, under-7s judo winner

human ranger, time waster, different brands of water taster

human ranger, hog roaster, subtle boaster, party ghoster 

human ranger, crystal healer, your-layers-like-an-onion peeler

human ranger, hell raiser, into-the-abyss gazer

human ranger, lithe linguist, sensual astrologist

human ranger, bugbear wrestler, established-societal-norm questioner

human ranger, tune hummer, every-known-fear overcomer

human ranger, knowledge gleaner, has the grass that’s always greener

human ranger, deer consumer, vole beguiler, badger groomer

human ranger, havoc wreaker, noted after dinner speaker

human ranger, cattle roper, inter-species interloper

human ranger, prey pouncer, fearless fighter, local counselor

deer stalker, fox glover, the one you’re with lover

black run skier, caged bird freer, the-change-you-want-to-see-in-the-world be-er

human ranger, eldritch blaster, surreptitious podcaster

human ranger, villain injurer, power broker, serial milliner

human ranger, wild reaver, what-a-tangled-web-we-weaver

human ranger, seed sower, flower goer, the-distance goer

human ranger, head turner, butter churner, bridge burner

human ranger, shameless liar, rule defier, hair dyer

human ranger, misbehav-er, always-against-the-grain shaver

human ranger, beast enrager, strong orator, up-upstager

human ranger, owlbear slayer, soothsayer, the-field player

human ranger, quick-quip punner, villain stunner, long-con runner

human ranger, heedless cur, own-job-interview saboteur

human ranger, of-wind guster, no-one truster, goat buster

TRUE FACTS ABOUT HENLEY:

he believes that any bird singing in the forest is doing it specifically for him (and birds don’t sing when he’s not there)

he trims his pubic hair into the word “shazam”

he keeps a dream journal (but if he has a nightmare, he ignores it and makes up something nice)

he writes really bad poetry (short, broken sentences, “rupi kaur style”)

he’s been using Ghoul’s Gruel as anti-aging cream (it doesn’t work)

his spirit animal is himself

he pronounces espresso like “ethpretho”

he has a bad feeling about worms in general

he howls at the moon

he pretends to understand all inside jokes

he’s very concerned about the mortgage repayments on his house

he always dances on the off beat in order to stand out in the club

he’s the reigning champion of the under-7s judo competition in his local area

he can tell the difference between brands of water (and he has very strong opinions about them)

he leaves parties without telling people and then comes back in disguise to talk about the fact that he left

he uses healing crystals

he gazes into the abyss until it gazes back because he wants the attention

he uses “sensual astrology” to try and seduce people

he has every known fear (the exposure therapy backfired)

he shaves (against the grain) with a sword (your hair doesn’t grow in hell. he does it anyway.)

he always has the greenest grass (he steals any grass he sees that’s greener than his own)

he runs a grooming business for badgers (“what does he get in return from the badgers?” “…friends”)

he’s an accomplished after-dinner speaker

he tried to hibernate with badgers and they kicked him out

he majored in drawing in sand with sticks

he’s a bed wetter

he always bets all in when playing poker

he is a leading member of the “pithy council” (it’s just him and a ferret getting together to recite pithy sayings)

he will love the one YOU’RE with (aka sleep with your wife)

when someone asks him a difficult question, he turns and runs

he thinks he’s been leaving episodes of a podcast called “whispers on the air” in various rocks and twigs on their journey, but he doesn’t have the spell for it so he’s just been talking to inanimate objects

he has an unhealthy obsession with hats

he sleeps in a web

he invented a kind of long distance running called long distance fleeing (26 miles = safety)

he burns every bridge he crosses

henley (a natural blonde) dyes his hair blonde (his natural hair color) so people will think he has grays because he’s older and more mature than he really is

he must always be upstaging someone

he has an inexplicable hatred of goats and, similarly, an inexplicable love of sea turtles

[ellaandtheocean]

STOP THE NZ GOVERNMENT'S WAR ON NATURE

Just when you thought they'd hit rock bottom, the National/Act/NZ First coalition government keeps digging. The fast-track approvals bill was released last month and forms the latest part of the government's war on nature. This would allow major infrastructure and industry projects such as mining, road construction and large-scale aquaculture to be fast-tracked if they are considered to be regionally or nationally significant. While I completely agree that the current Resource Management Act consenting process is not fit for purpose, its regulations are stringent for a reason - to protect our climate, our indigenous biodiversity and our whenua. We need development in New Zealand to be sustainable, and to focus more on nature-based solutions. This legislation is taking our country in the wrong direction. It's not the fast-track it's the wrong track!

Lack of consideration for environmental damage: This project requires the economic benefits of a project to be considered above all else. In the midst of intersecting climate and biodiversity crises, we should prioritize protecting the habitats we have left and supporting efforts to restore ecosystems.

Lack of regulation against negative human health impacts: Even if you're not a nature lover like me, we can probably all agree that exposure to carcinogenic chemicals and other toxins, dangerous pollution in outdoor recreation areas such as rivers and beaches, and air pollution are things that no New Zealander wants. This bill does not exclude projects and activities that will have a negative impact on human health.

Lack of transparency: There are already many projects earmarked for fast tracking under Schedule 2A of this bill, but this list has not been published, meaning a fast-tracked project could be coming to a place near you soon, and you'd have no idea until after the bill has passed. Details about the process for project selection and review are scarce.

Undemocratic: Rather than going through the full submission process, projects are sent straight to a panel to be reviewed. This means that local people and conservation groups won't get to have their say on projects that will directly affect them and the work they do. This is a blatant overreach of central government into local affairs, from a government who criticized Three Waters because they thought it took too much decision-making ability away from the regions.

Risks of corruption and conflict of interest: The expert panels do not get the final say of which projects are approved; they can be overridden by any of these three ministers: Simeon Brown (Minister for Energy and Transport), Chris Bishop (Minister for Infrastructure) and Shane Jones (Minister for Oceans & Fisheries, Resources and Regional Development). Having one person make these calls presents a much greater risk of conflicts of interest occurring (and let's be honest, this is quite a risk).

Submissions on this bill are open until April 19th, and there are templates online you can use to make a submission if you're pressed for time. My favourites are from the Forest & Bird (the organization I volunteer with) and the Environmental Defence Society (linked below). You can also write to your local MP and let them know you DO NOT support this bill.

More information and submission templates:

STOP the War on Nature | Forest and Bird

Make a submission on the Fast-track Approvals Bill using EDS’s template | EDS

[buriedpentacles]

hi! since i've really leaned into witchcraft and spirituality, i became much more appreciative of the earth and i've been talking to her lots but i want to also become more sustainable in my daily life to help the environment even in small ways. do you have any ideas for simple things to do or habits to change to be more sustainable?

I do indeed!!

I think some the best things you can do for sustainable living is develop sustainable skills:

Learning to sew allows you to:

- fix holes in clothes

- adjust the height/seams/etc of clothes

- crop or add to items of clothing

Which means that clothes have a longer lifespan in general!

Learning to garden (even if its windowsill gardening!) helps you:

- spend less on certain herbs or plants (an easy way to start is regrowing spring onions in water)

- grow more native plants in your area

- encourage more insects into your garden

Learning to cook and bake can actually be super helpful because:

- you don't rely on takeaways or ready meals as often

- you can have more control over where your food is sourced and what you're eating

- you can meal plan and prep which saves time and money

- you can learn how to make your own jams, pickles, syrups etc! And you can get pretty creative with it!

Learning simple diy skills is super beneficial as you can:

- make things unqiue and suited to yourself (I.e. perfect sized shelves or a cabinet that fits perfectly in that gap between your bed and wall)

- restore thrifted furniture (staining to a preferred colour, cutting off legs to shorten it, fix the wobbly door etc)

- recycle old furniture, cabinets or similiar unused items into something else (I've turned a old cabinet into a small outdoor storage unit) rather than throwing them away

Learning basic maintenance for things you own is a money saver and:

- means you can fix your bike chain or replace your car's oil and filter without needing to call anyone or spend extra money

- can keep you safe and at a lower risk of motor accident (knowing how to do basic maintenance checks can help you see warning signs for damage)

- means that simpler things like clogged drains, non-flushing toilets, leaky taps etc no longer require calling and paying for a plumber

Of course you don't need to be an expert in any of these, I'm certainly not! But I can cook myself a decent meal, sew some new buttons on an old shirt or fix a hole in my jeans and restore an old wardrobe into something usable.

I love Pete Seeger's quote:

"If it can’t be reduced, reused, repaired, rebuilt, refurbished, refinished, resold, recycled or composted, then it should be restricted, redesigned or removed from production."

Basically it's so important to be aware of your consumption - avoid overconsumption, buy quality over quantity, thrift and reuse things, trade with people. Throwing things away should be a last resort or a necessity, rather than a "I don't know what else to do with it".

And, while recycling isn't quite the saviour people think it is, it is so important to get into the habit of sorting your rubbish correctly!!

Other important sustainable habits include:

Changing your eating habits. If it's feasible for you, try:

- reduce meat and dairy consumption (including fish, as they're massively overharvested)

- prioritise locally and ethically sourced animal produce (local butchers can be a great place to start for this)

- eat more seasonally (its not really feasible to only eat seasonal foods, but try to learn about them and incorporate them more)

- reduce food waste with composting, food donations, meal planning/prepping and learn to love leftovers

- invest in a tap filter and reusable water bottle (drinking tap water is not always safe depending on where you live so research first!!!)

- use public transport (or walk) where possible!

- connect with other people near you who also care about sustainable living: trade services and items and knowledge!

- learn about your local area and ecology!! I sound like a broken record saying this, but the BEST way to start living with nature, is to understand it. You can't help your local wildlife if you don't know it, you can't take steps to protect your environment if you don't know the threats.

All of these are just a few tips and ideas, they may not be feasible for everyone for numerous reasons but it's important to remember that it's not about being perfect, it's about *trying* and doing what you can.

There's so much more I could get into here, from foraging to activism to how and what to thrift vs when to splurge on new items but I think this post is long enough! Let me know if there's anything you want expanding or going into more depth on!!!

[mariacallous]

On March 2, she was gone. The Belize-flagged, British-owned bulk carrier Rubymar sank in the narrow water lane between the coasts of Yemen and Eritrea. The Rubymar was the first vessel that has been completely lost since the Houthis began their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea—and its demise, with 21,000 metric tons of ammonium phosphate sulfate fertilizer, spells ecological disaster. A similar substance—ammonium nitrate—caused the devastating explosion at the Port of Beirut in 2020. It had been stored there after being abandoned on a vessel and authorities intervened to prevent an environmental disaster.

Because the Houthis have no regard for the environment, there are likely to be more such disasters. Indeed, groups set on destruction could also decide to attack the carbon storage facilities now beginning to be built underneath the seabed.

For two weeks after being struck by a Houthi missile in the Red Sea, the Rubymar clung to life despite listing badly. The damage caused by the missile, though, was too severe. At 2:15 a.m. local time, the Rubymar disappeared into the depths of the Red Sea. The crew had already been rescued by another merchant vessel that had come to the Rubymar’s aid, but there was no way anyone could remove its toxic cargo.

The ship’s owner had tried to get it towed to the Port of Aden—where Yemen’s internationally recognized government is based—and to Djibouti and Saudi Arabia, but citing the environmental risk posed by the ammonium phosphate sulfate, all three nations refused to receive it.

Now enormous quantities of a hazardous substance are about to spread into the Red Sea. IGAD, a trade bloc comprising countries in the Nile Valley and the Horn of Africa, points out that the Rubymar’s fertilizer cargo and leaking fuel “could devastate marine life and destroy coral reefs, sea life and jeopardize hundreds of thousands of jobs in the fishing industry as well as cut littoral states off from supplies of food and fuel.”

Not even shipping’s option of last resort, salvage companies, seems available. “The salvage companies that normally recover vessels are reluctant to go in,” said Cormac Mc Garry, a maritime expert with intelligence firm Control Risks. That’s because salvage ships and crews, too, risk being targeted by Houthi missiles. “If a salvage company knows it’s likely to be targeted, it will hesitate to take on the task. It has a duty of care for its crew,” said Svein Ringbakken, the managing director of the Norway-based maritime insurance company DNK.

It was only a matter of time before a Houthi missile brought down one of the many tankers and bulk carriers that still traverse the Red Sea every day. (In the first two months of this year, traffic through the Red Sea was down by 50 percent compared to the same period last year.) “The Houthis have no regard for life and even less for the environment,” Ringbakken said. “They shoot missiles at ships even though they know that there are humans and hazardous cargo on them.”

For years, the Houthis allowed an oil supertanker ironically named Safer that was moored off the coast of Yemen to rust away even though she was holding more than 1 million barrels of crude oil. By the beginning of last year, the Safer was close to disintegration: an event that would have cost hundreds of thousands of Yemenis their livelihoods because it would have killed enormous quantities of fish. Indeed, had the Safer’s oil leaked, it would even have forced the Houthi-controlled ports of Hudaydah and Saleef to close, thus preventing ordinary Yemenis from receiving food and other necessities.

It would, of course, also have caused permanent damage to all manner of marine life, including coral reefs and mangroves, in the Red Sea. Then the United Nations pulled off an almost impossible feat: It got Yemen’s warring factions, international agencies, and companies to work together to transfer the oil off the Safer. Disaster was averted. “It was a massive undertaking,” Ringbakken noted. “But for years and years and years, the Houthis were adding impediments against this undertaking, even though the Safer was sitting just off the Yemeni coast.”

Indeed, maritime terrorism itself is not new. “Besides guerrillas and terrorists, attacks have been carried out by modern day pirates, ordinary criminals, fanatic environmentalists, mutinous crews, hostile workers, and foreign agents. The spectrum of actions is equally broad: ships hijacked, destroyed by mines and bombs, attacks with bazookas, sunk under mysterious circumstances; cargos removed; crews taken hostage; extortion plots against ocean liners and offshore platforms; raids on port facilities; attempts to board oil rigs; sabotage at shipyards and terminal facilities; even a plot to steal a nuclear submarine,” researchers at RAND summarized—in 1983.

Now, though, the Houthis have upped the nihilism, and unlike the guerrillas, terrorists, and pirates of the 1980s, they have the weaponry to cause an ocean-going vessel to sink. The joint U.S.-U.K. military operation against the Houthis has failed to deter the Iranian-backed militia’s attacks; indeed, not even air strikes by U.S. and U.K. forces have convinced the Houthis that it’s time to stop. On the contrary, they’re escalating their attacks. They do so because they’re completely unconcerned about loss of life within their ranks or harm to their own waters.

It’s giving them a global platform. That, in turn, is likely to encourage other militias to also attack ships carrying toxic substances—even if it ruins their own waters. The local population is hardly in a position to hold a militia accountable. Indeed, militias interested in maritime terrorism could decide that the world’s growing sea-based infrastructure is an attractive target. And there’s a new form of sea-based infrastructure they could decide to make a preferred target, not just because it’s set for explosive growth but because attacking it would guarantee a global platform: CO2 storage.

With the world having failed to reduce its carbon-dioxide emissions enough to halt climate change, CO2 storage has become an urgent priority. Through this technique, carbon dioxide can be captured and buried underground, typically underneath the ocean. Norway has, for example, begun auctioning out licenses for CO2 storage exploration on its continental shelf. So has Britain. The United States has 15 carbon-storage sites, and another 121 are being developed. Even Big Oil has discovered carbon storage. ExxonMobil is buying offshore blocks to use for carbon storage instead of oil drilling.

Carbon storage sites are, of course, designed to withstand both natural perils and man-made attacks, but that won’t prevent destructive groups—especially ones backed by a powerful state—from trying. And because groups like the Houthis are so unconcerned about all forms of life, it won’t matter to them that releasing concentrated CO2 would cause extreme harm to the planet—including themselves. Even a tiny carbon-storage leakage of 0.1 percent per year can lead to additional CO2 emissions of 25 giga-tonnes, researchers have established.

Until recently, sea-based infrastructure was only lightly guarded, because it was in everyone’s interest that it worked. The sabotage of Nord Stream and various other pipelines and undersea cables over the past two years have demonstrated that such peacefulness can no longer be taken for granted. The new CO2 sites will need not just AI-enhanced monitoring but regular patrolling to communicate to potential attackers that it’s not even worth attempting an attack.

And for now, attacking merchant vessels remains a promising and economical strategy for the Houthis and their ilk. It doesn’t seem to matter that ammonium phosphate sulfate will soon be poisoning Yemeni waters and thus depriving locals of their livelihoods. Indeed, other bulk carriers and tankers may soon join the Rubymar on the bottom of the sea, poisoning the future for even more Yemenis.

For the Houthis, what matters is not the outcome: It’s the attention. That’s what makes them such a vexing problem for the U.S. Navy and other navies, shipowners, maritime insurers, and especially for seafarers. But there is another group that should be just as worried about the rampant insecurity on the high seas: ocean conservationists.

There is, in fact, a woman with an unsurpassed green platform who could make the growing scourge of maritime terrorism her new cause. (Nearly) everyone would thank you, Greta.

[darkmaga-retard]

#87 2024. The Rowen Report

Robert Jay Rowen, MD

Aug 29, 2024

Dear Subscriber,

Many years ago I faced off with witch hunters at an Anchorage assembly meeting. I belonged to a group that was opposing their legalization of their criminal fluoridation of municipal water absent passed authority. They were belatedly passing the ordinance. The medical mob joined in the chorus claiming fluoridation was one of the greatest public successes ever. The mayor appointed a cadre of citizens to study the problem. This committee recommended against fluoride. The city council passed it with the help of collectivists on the council, one of whom went on the be the key senator who was the final vote in the US Senate passing Obamacare.

Those of us opposing the poisoning of water with fluoride have been labeled as fringe, whackos, idiots, fluoride lepers, conspiracy theorists, pseudoscience, cultists, and worse. You can see continuing attacks on us:

Dentists and the “EXPERTS” have been lying to us for decades, my whole life in fact. Here’s one site still up:

“Fluoride has its own share of whacko websites. These sites claim that fluoride is poisoning us and advocate its removal from municipal water supplies, where fluoride has been added for over 60 years.”

Now I don’t expect an apology from the Anchorage Medical Society, or the Alaska State Medical Assn or Dental Assn. for the name calling and attempts to destroy my integrity over fluoridation, chelation therapy (now proven to be safe and effective), or mercury toxicity from dental fillings (also known now to be true).

We in the anti-fluoride movement have been vilified by the “TRUSTED EXPERTS”. I want you to note that the same “EXPERTS” are those that brought you the COVID scam: CDC, FDA, professional organizations, your local conventional medical doctor, even the ADA, and more. In Alaska, the “EXPERTS” ran out to native villages and spent taxpayer money to install fluoridation equipment, sometimes to levels three times what the government is now (below) saying is safe.

[restinpeas]

Support Families in Northern Gaza through Rooftop & Home Vegetable Gardens

"My name is Laila El-Haddad. I'm an author and advocate for Palestinian rights and food justice. Many of you might know me as the co-author of The Gaza Kitchen: A Palestinian Culinary Journey. I'm also an avid gardener and though I am from Gaza City, I'm a farmer at heart!  Farmers represent the deep rootedness Palestinians have to the land.  For Palestinians, farming, especially during a time of genocide and ecocide-is an act of deep faith and the very embodiment of Sumood- the Palestinian concept of steadfast perseverance.

Background

Once known for its lush apple orchards, strawberries, and citrus, northern Gaza is now completely cut off from the rest of Gaza.  

As part of its policy to make Gaza unlivable, Israel has destroyed 50% of Gaza's trees and farmland, and severely restricted the entry of food and aid, especially to the north. The scale of damage and destruction is catastrophic. Israeli forces have leveled agricultural land, 90% of all greenhouses, olive groves, and poultry farms. The entire population is now facing a forced starvation policy and experiencing extreme hunger. 

Your Donation Will Help Change This Reality by Providing Rooftop, Home, and Urban Vegetable Gardens through seedling and seed distribution for Vulnerable and Displaced Families in Northern Gaza who are subsisting on 245 calories a day. 

What and Why?  

I'm organizing this campaign to help support farmers and families in the areas of northern Gaza most impacted by Israel's ongoing war to start their own rooftop and home gardens-a small step towards self sufficiency and food sovereignty. All international and local aid agencies have had to evacuate from the north, leaving the population especially vulnerable, and whatever limited amounts of fresh produce and aid are available are sold astronomical prices. 

How?

I spent months researching and consulting with agricultural experts in Gaza and abroad on the most secure and effective way to give Palestinians sustainable access to fresh produce.  Next, I partnered with with the Gaza Palestinian American Association and the Middle East Children's Alliance, both accredited 501(c)(3)  who are taking 0% overhead, as well as a team of community based partners in Gaza, who will be sourcing the supplies needed to start the home gardens locally and managing the project.  

Our team on the ground has been working hard to source and start growing local seedlings to distribute to families, and other materials needed to provide them with the resources they desperately need to start their own home, rooftop, patio, and community vegetable gardens, depending on the spaces they have access to.  We will roll out the project in several phases, which each phase targeting 100 families.

Each family will receive:

* At least 30 assorted seasonal vegetables seedlings (Palestinian summer squash, hot peppers, eggplant, cucumber and tomatoes, depending on availability)

* 80 grams of local seeds (dill, mulukhiya, chard), 

* Compost, soil, and amendments 

* Plastic planters, irrigation cans, where needed

* Training and follow up by agriculture experts

Your donations will also help fund the purchase of several solar panel systems to power  community wells that communities rely on to drink and irrigate their gardens and farms with (currently, municipal access to water is limited to once every ten days, and well motors are inoperable due to an Israeli ban on the entry of fuel).

With your support, we can help Palestinian families sow the seeds of a brighter future, cultivate hope and grow some of their own food again!

Your donation is tax deductible and zakat eligible!  100% of the proceeds will go towards the project in Gaza!  

Together, we will help families in the north grow healthy food for themselves, their neighbors and their friends!

[dailycharacteroption]

Gunpowder Bombardier (Ninja Archetype)

A while ago when I did the review for the ninja class, I mentioned that shinobi historically have used fire and explosives in their tool kit to distract guards and provide a little bang in their arsenal when they needed it.

While any ninja character can benefit from smoke bombs and other alchemical explosives, today’s subject is a specialist that makes full use of bombs in their arsenal, the gunpowder bombardier!

Gunpowder has long been part of Japan’s history, not just for fireworks of ninja explosives, but also in terms of firearms, but we won’t be focusing on the latter today.

It’s delightful to see this aspect of historical ninja be focused on in the game, even if there is an element of cinematic flexibility added to it, as we shall soon see.

These bombers seem to never run out of explosives, at least, not while their ki pool lasts, letting them draw, light, and throw these explosives from hidden pouches, and even creating bigger bombs with a bit more expenditure of ki. As they grow in mastery, the formula for these bombs improves to be even more potent.

Additionally, as they grow in power, they also learn how to add special substances to the bombs for added effect, creating bright flashes to leave a foe seeing stars, additives that make the retort deafeningly loud, sticky substances to entangle, or a startling crack to leave the foe shaken. Later on, they can introduce noxious substances to leave the target retching, or a potent mix that leaves them stunned.

They also learn, after a fashion, how to improve the fuses on these explosives so they can be delayed, letting them go off later when the shinobi is considerably further away either as a distraction, timed sabotage, or simply a surprise attack that leaves the foe guessing where the attack came from.

If you wanna have some fun with explosives and be a ninja at the same time, this archetype can be a fun way to do so. I respect the choice to not make these bombs a clone of the alchemist variety, as well as the way that additional effects are added. Using the ki pool as the resource, representing how they’ve prepared a non-specific amount of explosives and hidden them on their person is very cinematic ninja-y, while also holding true to how such a specialist would prepare. That being said, while the bombs are powerful, they will not be your primary damage dealers, as your sneak attack will likely always do more. However, if you want ranged damage and potential debuffs, they can be quite useful in that regard. Also, don’t forget that mundane alchemical weapons are still a thing, which you can supplement your arsenal with.

With this sort of specialization, you can go a few different ways. Perhaps your character was trained especially for explosives by their mentors, or maybe they spend more time on such arts than their other lessons, worrying or annoying their teachers.

The party has been tasked with sneaking into the local daimyo’s estate while their explosives expert creates a fire on the opposite end of the compound. They sneak in through the stables, only to discover that something else has already been infiltrating them, a monstrous horse-headed sagari, which has already devoured the lord’s prized steed.

Though not exactly an accurate name, the shinobi known as the peacock tengu is neither a peacock nor a tengu, but a plumekith aasimar. This flashy ninja forgoes stealth, but still proves his worth through his element of distraction not just with the potency of his bombs, but also the fact guards can’t keep their eyes off of him when he appears.

An explosion goes off in the vessel the party was traveling in as it awaited docking in port. Rushing to the deck, they make it just in time to see a shadowy figure framed by the burning prow of the ship, before they leapt into the water. Just who this person was is a mystery, one they will have to solve after they survive this sabotage.

[beardedmrbean]

A 100-meter (330-foot) piece of the Carola Bridge in the inner city of Dresden collapsed early in the morning on Wednesday, local authorities reported. The bridge is one of four crossing the Elbe river in downtown Dresden and the incident is likely to cause major traffic chaos in the eastern German city.

City officials said that due to the early hour, no one had been on the bridge and thus no one was hurt in the collapse, but that both car and ship traffic on the key waterway would have to be stopped for an undetermined amount of time.

Two Dresden tram lines that also used the bridge will be running a reduced service, they added. The last tram had traversed the bridge just 18 minutes before the 3:08 am collapse.

 "There is still an acute danger to life and risk of collapse," fire brigade spokesman Michael Klahre said in a video message later on Wednesday morning.

Police spokesman Thomas Geithner said officers who happened to be nearby "described hearing a loud, heavy noise, the ground shook."

Rescue services and other experts remained at the scene to assess the damage and secure the area.

Recent renovations

The streets around the bridge were also affected by the collapse. 

"In addition, due to the bursting of two large district heating pipes, we have the problem that the supply of hot water has come to a complete standstill in the entire state capital of Dresden," Klahre said.

First completed in 1895, the original Carola Bridge was blown up towards the end of World War II to try and stall the approaching Sovet Army. Reconstruction took place between 1967 and 1971. It underwent renovations from 2019 to 2021.

A cause for the collapse has not yet been determined.

[professionalmovershk]

MOVING ELECTRONICS IN HONG KONG'S RAINY SEASON: IMPORTANT TIPS FROM THE MOVERS

Relocation can be one of the most stressful and irritating experiences one can come across. Add moving delicate and very expensive electronics during Hong Kong's rainy season, and it all starts to turn into a nightmare. From April to September, with the period June to August being the peak one, comes with torrential rainfalls that can be pretty dangerous for electronic devices. It's where careful planning and professional moving expertise come in to play for the safe relocation of your electronics. Here are some vital tips to help guide you through the challenges of moving electronics during this wet season.

Understanding the Challenges

The rainy season in Hong Kong is accompanied by heavy rainfalls, high humidity, and occasional thunderstorms. The kind of weather that can cause all sorts of problems while moving electronics: water damage, short circuits, and malfunctioning due to excessive humidity. Professional movers understand these challenges and have strategies to mitigate the risks.

Pre-Move Preparations

1. Choose Experienced Movers: Get experienced movers who have handling experience in electronics and are conversant with the local climate. It will make the experienced moving company better at anticipating and addressing the particular challenges arising during the rainy season.

2. Inspect and Backup Data: Inspect all devices before the move to ensure they're in working order. Back up important data to avoid loss in case damage occurs during the move.

3. Use Original Packaging: If possible, use the original packaging of the electronics. Such packages are designed to provide maximum safety during movement. If there is no possibility of using the original packaging, high quality, sturdy boxes should be used.

4. Taping and Labelling Boxes: Seal all boxes containing electronics well with waterproof tape to prevent water infiltration. Clearly label these boxes with "Fragile" and "Electronics" so that the movers are warned to handle them with extra care.

Protective Packing Techniques

1. Waterproof Wrapping: Each electronic device should be wrapped in waterproof plastic wrap or placed in waterproof bags for protection from moisture. This is quite important in the case of more sensitive items, like laptops, tabs, and small home appliances.

2. Cushioning Materials: You may use bubble wrap, foam sheets, or even packing peanuts to pad your electronics. Such materials absorb shocks and vibrations during transit that may damage your electronics.

3. Silica Gel Packets: Place silica gel packets inside the boxes. Silica gel has the property of absorbing moisture and helps in keeping the environment inside the box dry, very essential during the rainy season when it is very humid.

Loading and Transportation

1. Climate-Controlled Trucks: Avail those movers who offer climate-controlled trucks. These will provide a safe, stable temperature and humidity for your electronics.

2. Elevate Boxes: Make sure boxes with electronics inside the moving truck stay off the floor and away from water in case of leaks or flooding.

3. Avoid Overloading: The truck should not be overfilled with boxes. The too-many boxes might cause shifting, which may cause breakage. Experts balance and load a truck for safety.

During the Move

1. Watch the Weather: Keep an eye on any bad weather that may be predicted for that day. If extreme weather is forecasted, reschedule for another day or day off to prevent your costly electronics from getting soaked.

2. Offload Fast: On reaching the destination, offload your electronics fast. This ensures they receive the minimum possible exposure to the humid environment. Make sure the new location is dry and ready for the electronics.

3. Check for Water Damage: Upon unpacking, inspect all electronic devices for water damage or malfunction. Plug in the devices to turn them on and check for functionality. If there are any discrepancies, notify the movers immediately so that claims can be filed if needed.

After the Move

1. Dehumidifiers: If needed, use dehumidifiers in your new location to reduce the level of humidity to make your electronics safer.

2. Proper Storage: Keep devices in a cool and dry place if you will not install it immediately. Not in basements or places with high humidity, and also not directly beside windows.

3. Regular Maintenance: Regularly have your devices maintained to keep them in good condition. This includes dusting and checking for dampness problems.

Conclusion The wet season in Hong Kong is really a challenging period to transport electronics, requiring great planning and skill from professional movers. With these tips, you can help your devices be safe from such challenges as soaking and soggy weather. You should always select seasoned movers who are conversant with the local climate and shall provide the relevant precautions for a smooth and safe relocation. Do everything meticulously, and you will be able to get through the rainy season without sacrificing any of your gadgets in the process.

[ubsvillasblog]

Top 5 Tips for Buying a Villa in Palakkad

Are you dreaming of owning a beautiful villa in Palakkad, Kerala? Whether you're looking for a serene holiday home or a luxurious residence, finding the perfect villa can be an exciting yet challenging process. At UBS Villas, we specialize in helping you find your dream home. Here are our top 5 tips to guide you through buying a villa in Palakkad

1. Research the Neighborhood

Before making a decision, it's crucial to research the neighborhood where you want to buy a villa. Consider factors such as proximity to schools, healthcare facilities, shopping centers, and other amenities. You can explore some of our exclusive villa listings @ https://ubsvillas.com/listings in the best neighborhoods.

 2. Check the Legal Aspects

Buying property involves various legalities. Ensure that the villa has a clear title and all necessary approvals from local authorities. At UBS Villas, we prioritize transparency and provide comprehensive information on the legal aspects of every property. Visit our  page (https://ubsvillas.com/legal) for more details.

 3. Inspect the Property Thoroughly

It's essential to thoroughly inspect the villa before making a purchase. Look for any structural issues, water damage, or other potential problems. We offer detailed property inspections (https://ubsvillas.com/) to ensure you make an informed decision.

 4. Consider Future Development Plans

Understanding the future development plans in the area can help you make a better investment decision. Look for upcoming infrastructure projects, commercial developments, and other growth opportunities. Our team at UBS Villas provides insights into future developments (https://ubsvillas.com/developments) in Palakkad.

5. Work with a Reputable Real Estate Agent

Partnering with a reputable real estate agent can simplify the buying process. At UBS Villas, we have a team of experienced professionals who are dedicated to finding the perfect villa for you. Learn more about our team and services (https://ubsvillas.com/about).

Why Choose UBS Villas?

At UBS Villas, we are committed to providing exceptional service and helping you find the villa of your dreams. We offer a wide range of properties, personalized consultation, and expert guidance throughout the buying process. Explore our [featured properties](https://ubsvillas.com/featured) and start your journey to owning a villa in Palakkad.

For more information, visit our [website] https://ubsvillas.com or contact us at 

contact@ - ubsvillas@gmail.com.

---

Conclusion

Owning a villa in Palakkad can be a wonderful investment and a dream come true. By following these tips and working with a trusted partner like UBS Villas, you can navigate the buying process with confidence. Don't forget to explore our website for more valuable resources and property listings.

---

[leeltalk]

Edited and formatted 3/12/24

A More Complete History of America

Section 1 - When to Begin?

Folsom, Clovis and The First Debate

Part 1 - Folsom

“PaleoIndigenous people wrote the story. Eleven millennia later, a Black American recognized the story but died before anyone recognized him. A blue-collar, white American shared the story with local scientists and followed their orders to dig it up. When he found projectile points and bones in situ, his Denver-based supervisors assumed control of the project, but only until the final arbiters of archaeological knowledge arrived on scene to legitimize the data and the narrative.”

Bonnie J Pitblado, 2022

Located in northeastern New Mexico, Folsom is not easy to find on most maps, especially before you could just Google it. It was almost removed from maps completely in the year 1908 when a powerful, late summer monsoon storm caused the Dry Cimarron River -both its name and usual condition - to overrun its banks. The NYT Aug. 29th headline read “CLOUDBURST DROWNS 15 IN NEW MEXICO; Town of Folsom Caught in Torrent and Houses and People Swept Away”. Local and later sources would place the death toll at 17.

Among those lost was Sarah “Sally” Rooke who had arrived in Folsom at the age of 65 a few years before to visit a friend and never left.  She had become a telephone operator at the Folsom exchange and, on the day of the storm, the 27th, she had received word from another operator upriver reporting the largest flood they had ever seen.  Sally began making phone calls to the town’s few hundred residents, warning as many as she could of the incoming wall of water.  She would give her life for this task - her body would not be found until the following Spring, 8 miles downriver among the debris, with the handset purportedly still clutched in her fingers.

  A plaque in her honor now stands near the Folsom Museum, as well as a historical marker erected along the town’s Main Street (also NM325).  In 2009, she was designated a “Heroine of New Mexico” for her bravery and sacrifice.

  The Town of Folsom eventually began to rebuild, but it never fully recovered.  In the coming days and weeks, as it slowly pieced itself back together, the foreman of the nearby Crowfoot Ranch was also assessing the damage.

George McJunkin had been born most likely in 1951 (a few sources list it a few years later) on a ranch near Midway, Texas.  Like most African Americans of his time, George, and his parents, were enslaved.  He’d grown up on the same property, and with the same owner, as his father, working with horses, cattle and in his father’s blacksmith shop.  He probably picked up Spanish pretty young, perhaps from the Vaqueros who were frequently hired for cattle drives at the time.  When the Civil War ended, and George was finally free, he was a teenager.  The exact timeline is unclear, but it appears he very swiftly joined one of those long cattle drives out of Texas and never returned to Midway.  He became an expert bronc buster and went on bison hunts.  And, during all this, he began to learn to read and write, perhaps trading his smithing or horsebreaking skills for lessons.  

With the education that had been so long denied to him finally in hand, George began reading everything he could get his hands on.  He seemed especially fond of the natural sciences - field guides and books on the animals, plants and landscapes of the West.

By 1908, George McJunkin was a foreman at the Crowfoot Ranch and appears to have been well respected by his small community.  After the flood, he was searching for lost cattle, broken fences, and generally noting the other impacts of the disaster.

He and a friend and fellow ranch hand were riding along the Wild Horse Arroyo when George spotted something that was at once common and unusual.

When the rushing waters had cut back the sandy banks of the arroyo, they had exposed a number of very large bones.  After stopping to examine them and working a few more loose, McJunkin realized he had to be looking at the ribs of some giant animal.  George McJunkin knew about animals, especially cattle, which these bones were too large for and buried much too deep and bison, which these bones were still too large for.  He would likely have read about the extinct Ice Age Giants that had once roamed the Earth, the mammoths and saber tooth cats.  It isn’t clear if he knew the name Bison antiquus, but he certainly knew that the bones he had uncovered were not those of anything that was still around.

He collected several bones and made a note of the location.  The bones would eventually come to sit on his mantlepiece, alongside his collection of other fossils, rocks and crystals.  George wrote letters and tried to garner scientific interest and would spend the next 15 years showing bones and describing the find and its location to friends, acquaintances, and anyone else he thought might be intrigued.  One of these was Raton blacksmith and amateur naturalist Carl Schwachheim.

In what almost seems like a fated encounter, George had only stopped in to have a wagon wheel repaired.  While there, he noticed the fountain that stood in front of the shop and the enormous pair antlers that topped it.  He said something like;

“I've got some bones that would fit them antlers.”

Carl was immediately intrigued with the story of George's “Bone Pit”.  

Sadly, George failed to attract any professional scientific interest to his find.  In a story I can't find the original source for, it seems he tried one final time in 1918, taking the son of the ranch’s owner, Ian Shoemaker, out to the site.  They pulled a few additional bones from the site (but not any points) and mailed them and a letter to the Colorado (now Denver) Museum of Natural History.

In December of 1922, George McJunkin died in his room at the Folsom Motel.  He never had children, but was buried with a stone marker at the town cemetery.  At some point, they added a modern headstone.   In 2019, almost 100 years after his death, he was inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame.  According to a July 13, 2020 article by Amanda Mathers,a curator of collections at El Rancho de Las Golondrinas, the last time she visited the grave, there were fresh flowers.  She left some more.

  

   December 10, 1922: “Went to Folsom and out to the Crowfoot Ranch looking for a fossil skeleton. Found the bones in arroyo ½ mile north of ranch and dug out nearly a sack full which look like buffalo and Elk. We only got a few near the surface. They are about 10 ft. down in the ground.” 

(Carl Schwachheim’s Diary)

  That winter, Schwachheim set out to Wild Horse Arroyo to attempt to locate and document the site.  Since their fateful encounter with the wagon wheel several years earlier, Carl had never forgotten George or his bones, but had never been able to make it out to the site as he didn't own a car and traveling to Folsom by wagon had been difficult before the flood. Still, it seems he had been planning the expedition for some time.  George had also told Fred Howarth, a local banker and friend of Carl's, and by the time of their trek the party also included Rev. Aull of St Patrick Catholic Church, amateur taxidermist James Campbell and grocer Bonahoom, all of Raton.  With the help of Aull and Howarths cars, they set out.  Perhaps, had he not fallen ill and passed earlier that year, or had they made the trip sooner, George McJunkin would have been with them.

They filled a gunny sack with bones, and that evening when they returned to Raton, Carl and James sat around the Campbell kitchen table digging through paleontology books trying to identify the remains.

In 1925, Shwachheim also began sending out letters.  Most went unanswered or ignored, but one made it to the desk of then Director of the Colorado Museum of Natural History, Jesse D. Figgins.  The next January, when Howarth had to deliver cattle to Denver, he hired Carl and they met with Figgins to show him the bones.  

The bones made it to Harold Cook, the museum's Curator of Paleontology, who identified them as having belonged to Bison antiquus.  Standing nearly twice as tall as modern bison, this species had gone extinct after the retreat of the glaciers.  

By March of 1926, Figgins and Cook had decided they wanted to see the site for themselves, and on the 7th Carl led them there.  It was a good find.  Figgins had been wanting a specimen to mount for display.  He and Cook hired Carl to begin preparing the site for excavation by removing as much of the overlying material as possible and clearing the surrounding area.

That Summer, Figgins sent his son Frank to supervise Schwachheim as he began to uncover and remove the bones as an assistant.  It must have been a dream come true for the man who had long been an avid amateur fossil collector.  

July 14th, they uncovered the first broken point, a “dark amber colored agate of very fine workmanship” (CS diary).  It was not in situ, but laying near the base of an animal's spine.  While not embedded, Carl noted that it had been found at least 8.5ft down, directly under a medium sized oak tree, “showing to have been there a great length of time”.  About 2 inches long, the point had been broken off.  The find was reported to Jesse Figgins, and they spent the rest of that season sifting carefully for any points in situ and, if they found any human remains to “under no circumstance move them” but to inform Figgins at once.

Figgins did have reason to be cautious.  At this time famous physical anthropologist and Smithsonian Curator Ales Hrdlicka and many other prominent scientists placed human arrival in the Americas at around 3000-4000 years ago and would hear no argument or evidence to the contrary.  A few years before, in 1918, EH Sellards had announced his findings of stone tools found in association with extinct animals in Vero, Florida.  William Henry Homles, also of the Smithsonian, called Sellards paper “dangerous to science.”  He and Hrdlicka “thoroughly” debunked the site and others like it.  

Figgins and Cook had actually been on the receiving end of one of these rebuttals.  The year before Wild Horse Arroyo came to their attention, a site near the town of Colorado in the state of Texas called Lone Wolf Creek where another extinct bison kill site had been found, complete with projectile points.  Cook had been dispatched to examine it in 1925.  

Like Florida and another excavation in Kansas, no points had been found in situ or in place among the bones, and thus went unrecognized as legitimate by Hrdlicka and Holmes.  They would only consider such a wild claim as Ice Age American Man if indisputable human artifacts - or better yet, remains, Hrdlicka loved collecting skulls for his research -  were found in clear association with the remains of extinct animals, and only if the actual site was examined by them or other well regarded scientists to confirm the findings.

This was why Figgins wanted no human remains moved.  If any were uncovered and moved away from the bison, it would be too easy to say that they had been deposited later, long after the animals had vanished from living memory.  Notes and sketches, even pictures, were not going to be enough for Hrdlicka.  Still, Figgins truly felt that the evidence of Ice Age Man in the Americas was mounting.

But why had this even been a question?  And why were Hrdlicka and Holmes so seemingly personally offended by the mere suggestion?

   By the time the first English speaking Colonists had arrived on the Eastern Coast of what is now the United States, the Spanish had been in the Western Hemisphere for over a century.  In that time, great and wealthy empires had been found and conquered to the south, and waves of expeditions and settlement into the Gulf Coast and Southwest had already made a lasting impact on the Indigenous People.  

The Eastern half of North America had already been severely depopulated by the time Jamestown and Plymouth were founded.  Since that time, the Colonists had pushed ever westward, encountering Indigenous populations who had lived in the area since time immemorial and groups who were newer to the region, pushed there themselves as their homelands had been taken from them.  

The Colonists also found the remains of villages and towns, many constructed amongst giant Earthen Mounds.  Coming originally from the British Isles and Central Europe, the Colonists were reminded of Barrows, the earthen tombs of Stone and Bronze-Age peoples back home.  When their tills, plows and shovels turned up pottery, copper artifacts and ancient bones, their suspicions seemed confirmed.  

Although many Indigenous groups such as the Choctaw, Lenape and Ottawa  still lived among the mounds, and the Spanish explorer de Soto had described densely populated Indigenous cities among the mounds of Mississippi only a century or two before, the English Colonists saw no connection between Native peoples and the builders of the mounds.  

In their minds, the Colonists did not associate the Indigenous Peoples that they had encountered with metalworking.  When they had first arrived and well into the Colonial Period, those same Natives had been eager for the iron tools brought by the Eurpoeans.  They saw the Algonquian speakers using many types of baskets, but almost never ceramics.  They knew the Indigenous people were skilled at working shell, antler, bone and certain stones and artfully decorated their tailored buckskins and bodies with beads and pendants, bracelets and necklaces.  They had traded with them for pearls and the intricately carved stone pipes, exchanging glass beads, fabrics and copper pots.  

There were also the burgeoning ideas of racial superiority and hierarchy, seemingly confirmed when Carl Linnaeus, in his seminal 1735 work, had categorized humans into four varieties.  Darwin had not yet been born; Linnaeus and people of the time took the biblical perspective of a single creation for Man and all living humans being descendants of Noah's sons, but he felt that region and climate had caused changes in the attributes of the humans who dwelt there.  This wasn't racism, not yet, if only because the term race was not yet used.

As more mounds in Eastern North America were dug up by treasure seekers, farmers and plantation workers, the Colonists and Europeans to see the artifacts and remains as those of an elite civilization, long gone.  To some, they were evidence of Phoenicians or Egyptians that must have ventured to the new world.  Perhaps the Aztecs had journeyed north at one point.  The ancestors of the Indians must have come along later, as they showed no evidence of the level of advancement of the Moundbuilders.  Perhaps they had even wiped them out.  Furthermore, while in Europe human artifacts and remains were often found among Ice Age animals, none had been found in America.  

In fact, some European minds argued, the entirety of the animal kingdom in the Americas was primitive and lacking, having clearly degenerated from that of the Old World.  As long as they remained, the Colonists would degenerate into savages too.

These were fighting words, as far as Thomas Jefferson was concerned.   

In his only published book, Notes on the State of Virginia (1785), Jefferson would describe the vast variety of new and unique plants, animals and cultures encountered just in that small region.  In other writings, he would discuss the new discoveries of the entire continent and theorize as to what was yet to be discovered. 

Extinction was not yet an accepted concept.  Though no living Mammoths had been so far found in Eurasia, Jefferson believed that they might be found deep in the continent's interior.  

Thomas Jefferson would also excavate a mound on his property, taking careful notes and examining the goods and remains he uncovered. He would publish the first archaeological description of a mound and postulated that they had indeed been built by the ancestors of Indigenous Americans in his book on Virginia.  He also believed they must have crossed from NE Asia, somewhere around Kamchatka which had just been mapped.

His was a rare opinion and would remain so for centuries.

  In Jefferson's time, it was believed the Earth could be no more than 6000 years old, as calculated by James Ussher in the mid 1600s.  The ancestors of the Indigenous Peoples, whether they had built the mounds or not, had likely arrived around 3000-4000 years earlier, sometime after the Great Flood.  

While the age of the Earth had been pushed to between 20-100 million years old by the beginning of the 20th century and ideas of evolution and extinction had become accepted by the scientific community, the idea that humans, or at least the Indians, were incredibly recent arrivals persisted.  

Hence, the opinions of Hrdlicka and Holmes.  

William Henry Holmes had no formal training or education in science when he went to Washington DC to study art.  In 1871, he was reportedly sketching a mounted bird in the museum when he caught the attention of FB Meek of the Smithsonian, who hired him to sketch fossil and live mollusk shells for his paleontologists reports.  Later, he would join the Hayden Survey as an artist where he sketched such sites as the Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings and Yellowstone.  His interests turned to archaeology by 1875, and he is well known for his illustrations of Ancestral Puebloan pottery.  He was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Science by George Washington University in 1918.

The story of Ales Hrdlicka is a little more…well.  A Czech immigrant, Hrdlicka had begun his studies and career in Medicine, but while working at an asylum he was introduced to the science of anthropometry.  

In the centuries since Linnaeus described different varieties of Homo sapiens, and within decades of Darwin's works on evolution, racial science had begun to develop as a new field.  Now, humans were placed into different races or subspecies.  The leading question of the day was how many there were and what set them apart.  The fact that Africans and the similarly black skinned peoples of Oceania often had heavier brow ridges, between those of Europeans and Cro-Magnons and Neanderthals, was taken to point to the primitiveness of their race, further evidenced by their lack of sophisticated technology.  Peoples of Asia and the Americas must've lay somewhere in between.  Detailed measurements of facial features, skulls, the length of limbs and their proportion to the body, all became important to determining what race a group or individual fell into.

Hrdlicka embraced this science, developing a classification system largely based on skull shape and characteristics.  In his mind, Indigenous Americans, like all humans, could fall into one of only three categories - Caucasoid, Negroid or Mongoloid.  The prevalence of characteristics of the last type led him to be another early proponent of the Beringian Hypothesis, though he saw evidence of the other races in various groups as well, with African features becoming increasingly common to the south and west.  

He was also an enthusiast of the new science of eugenics.

  

As pointed out by archaeologist David Meltzer, Jesse D. Figgins was a card-carrying KKK member.  He wasn't out to prove that contemporary Indigenous Americans had any Ancient ties to their land or classify them in any new way.  He simply believed that humans had lived in the Americas during the Ice Age.  Who they were or whether they were ancestral to later peoples was not important.  

They still had to prove that humans had indeed been among those bison.

In November of 1926, Scientific American ran an article entitled On The Antiquity of Man in the Americas by Harold J. Cook.  It included pictures of two of the recovered points.  In 1927, Figgins had taken several of the bones and points to the Smithsonian to show the points to Hrdlicka and Holmes.

Hrdlicka had insisted that because they were not in situ, they could have rolled into the Bone Pit at any time, even during excavation.

Fortunately, on August 29th 1927, Schwachheim, still assisting at the site, made the find that would finally provide indisputable proof that humans had indeed been among those bison.

A clear stone point was embedded near a rib, both still trapped firm within the surrounding material or matrix.  

Carl had rushed a letter to Folsom and that letter made it onto the evening train bound for Denver.  Figgins sent a letter back instructing him to guard the point and not let anyone dig around it.  Telegrams were dispatched to prominent scientists across the country, inviting them to come see the find in person.

Figgins, Vertebrate Paleontologist of the American Museum of Natural History Barnum Brown and Frank Roberts, archaeologist at the Smithsonian Bureau of Ethnology arrived on September 4th.  A few days later came AV Kidder of the Carnegie Institution.  

The assembled scientists agreed that the stone points and the bison were in clear association.  

Hrdlicka was notably absent, though it is unclear if Figgins bothered to telegram.  

The American Anthropological Association's December conference devoted a full symposia to The Antiquity of Man in America.  Figgins and Cook were not invited to speak, and it was Roberts and Brown who described what they had seen at Folsom.  

In fact, Figgins and Cook would not be invited to speak at any anthropological conference concerning the timing of human arrival in the Americas for the next 10 years.

Sources and further reading/listening :

Uncredited, (August 29, 1908) CLOUDBURST DROWNS 15 IN NEW MEXICO; Town of Folsom Caught in Torrent and Houses and People Swept Off in the Flood. RAILROAD BRIDGES DOWN Georgia and Carolinas Suffered Heavily -- Buildings in Augusta, Undermined, Collapse.  The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1908/08/29/archives/cloudburst-drowns-15-in-new-mexico-town-of-folsom-caught-in-torrent.html

Sarah “Sally” Rooke Bio (ret. Mar 2024) New Mexico Women’s Historical Marker Program https://www.nmhistoricwomen.org/new-mexico-historic-women/sarah-sally-rooke/

Jackson, L.J., Thacker, P.T. (1992) Harold J. Cook and Jesse D. Figgins: A New Perspective on the Folsom Discovery, Rediscovering Our Past: Essays on the History of American Archaeology, Worldwide Archaeology Series, edited by Jonathan Reyman

Cook, H. J. (1926). The Antiquity of Man in America. Scientific American, 135(5), 334–336. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24976879

Pitblado, B.J. (2022) On Rehumanizing Pleistocene People of the Western Hemisphere American Antiquity 87(2), pp. 217–235

Meltzer, D.J., (1983) The antiquity of man and the development of American archaeology Advances in archaeological method and theory, pp. 1-51

Meltzer, D. J. (2005). The Seventy-Year Itch: Controversies over Human Antiquity and Their Resolution Journal of Anthropological Research, 61(4), 433–468. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3631536

Meltzer, D.J.  (2011)  First Peoples in A New World: Colonizing Ice Age America University Press Audiobooks

Raff, J. (2022) Origin: A Genetic History of the Americas  Twelve Audiobooks

Fordham, A. (2023) The Extraordinary Life and Long Legacy of Black Cowboy George McJunkin KUNM https://www.kunm.org/local-news/2023-02-24/the-extraordinary-life-and-long-legacy-of-black-cowboy-george-mcjunkin

Hillerman, T. (1971) The Czech That Bounced: How Folsom was Saved to History New Mexico vol.50 nos.1-2, pp 25-28

Veltre, P. (2019 ) The Carl Schwachheim Story  KRTN Radio

https://krtnradio.com/2019/07/11/the-carl-schwachheim-story-by-pat-veltri/

[packers-movers-in-hyd]

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[scotianostra]

On the morning of February 5th 1941 the people of the Outer Hebridean island of Eriskay woke up and thought all their Christmases had come at once.

Part two telling the fate of the S S Politiain, which ran aground off Eriskay on this day in 1941.

At 10.30am on 5th February 1941 one of the ship's lifeboats left with 26 men and was washed ashore at the foot of the cliffs of Rudha Dubh, across the Sound on South Uist. Although the boat was smashed to pieces the crew survived without any injuries, but they returned to the 'Politician' by the Eriskay ferryboat later the same day. At 4.45pm the RNLI lifeboat came from Barra to rescue all of the 50 crew and land them on the Island of Barra. Chief Officer RA Swain recalls how the islanders were "very kind, replenished us with hot drinks laced with good rum, and generally made us very comfortable for the night".

The next morning, 6th February, Captain Worthington and his officers returned to the ship to see if there was any hope of re-floating her, but water had flooded the engine room and several of the ships' holds.

On 8th February the Liverpool and Glasgow Salvage Association tender 'SS Ranger' arrived with a party of salvage experts led by Commander Kay and divers, to survey the damage to the ship. The Ranger also supplied power to the winches to help the Captain and crew remove some of the 500 tons of cargo, which as well as the whisky included cars, bicycles, mail and cotton. The severe gales hampered attempts to remove the cargo and inspect the ship for salvage. It was not until 15th February that divers were able to inspect the ship's hull. Captain Kay, in charge of the salvage operation, decided to make no attempt to save the whisky as its hold (number 5) was flooded with water and fuel oil, and he believed it was contaminated. For this reason he didn't place an armed guard on the ship.

On 18th February the coaster 'Corteen' began loading the salvaged cargo, and four days later sailed for Glasgow fully loaded. The salvors had salvaged as much of the cargo as they could without diving and on 24th February the salvage officer, Commander Kay, signalled "Regret... diver's examinations shows salvage of vessel impracticable". The ship was declared a total loss and it was decided to leave the 'Politician' where she was. That same day, 24th February, the crew left the ship for the last time, and Harrisons gave notice of the abandonment of the ship to the insurers. On 12th March the Liverpool and Glasgow Salvage Association abandoned the salvage project.

Free whisky for all!

When the locals learned from the crew what the ship was carrying, a series of illegal salvage operations took place on the night of the stranding before the customs and excise officials arrived. The whisky was especially welcome because the island's had dried up due to war-time rationing. So the islanders helped themselves to some of the 28,000 cases (264,000 bottles) of whisky, or  usquebaugh, as they knew it in their native laguage, Gaelic,  which had been destined for the American market.

No islander regarded it as stealing because the rules of salvage meant that once it was in the sea, it was theirs to rescue. As word of the 'Polly' whisky spread, people came in small boats from islands closest to Barra, Lewis, Mull and the mainland. Rumours spread that the 'Polly' whisky even had magical qualities and didn't cause hangovers!

Unfortunately for the locals the customs officers, surveyor EI Gledhill and fixed officer Charles McColl based in Lochboisdale, didn't share the view that it was okay to salvage the whisky. Charles McColl, a teetotaler, saw it as theft, made worse by the fact that the whisky had never had any duty paid on it. He did not agree with Captain Kay that the whisky was unsalvageable, and that it was safe to leave it on board unguarded.

A second salvage company which later came to break up the ship, emptied hold number 5 and recovered 13,500 cases of whisky. The major part of this was transferred to storage in a customs warehouse on the mainland but some was drunk by the salvers themselves!

McColl began a battle to rally the local police into taking action to recover the stolen whisky. Village homes and crofts were searched and bottles were found hidden away in lofts, hideaways or just drunk to hide the evidence! Even today caches of 'Polly' whisky still come to light when houses are renovated.

Charles McColl and the local police caught many of the locals looting or hiding whisky when they searched households and hiding places on the islands of Benbecula, South Uist and Eriskay, between 15 March and 30 September 1941. They succeeded in recovering a considerable quantity of the goods stolen, including a wide range of whisky. An Inverness-Shire Constabulary report for the 15 March 1941 records that:

"Alexander O'Henley, crofter, Garryamonie, Lochboisdale, Isle of South Uist, and four others acting in concert were found in the sound of Eriskay in the parish of South Uist in the county of Inverness, in possession of the after mentioned goods suspected of having been stolen from the 'SS Politician' then aground on Calvay Island in the Sound of Eriskay:

15 cases of whisky,

3 bundles of cotton print,

13 packets of 10 capstan cigarettes,

2 cycle mudguards,

1 handrail."

On 26th April a group of Barra men stood trial at Lochmaddy Sheriff Court, where they pleaded guilty to theft and were fined between three to five pounds. Charles McColl was unhappy at the leniency of the sentence, and pursued more men, 19 of whom received harsher sentences of between 20 days and 2 months imprisonment at Inverness and Peterhead. This created resentment amongst the locals which lingers to this day. McColl estimated that the islanders had salvaged 24, 000 bottles of whisky and wanted to make sure they could rescue no more so he obtained official permission in October 1941 to blow up the 'Politician'

In April 1941 the Salvage Association of London came to an arrangement with the British Iron and Steel Corporation (Salvage) Ltd of Glasgow to carry out a second salvage operation prior to the towing of the vessel to the ship breakers. They arrived to find the 'Polly' in a sorry state, everything movable had been looted. Examination by divers showed there was great rock under her engine room, and number 5 hold, the engine room and stoke hole were completely flooded with the water level rising and falling with the tide.

Their first job was to lighten the ship so divers salvaged the bales of cotton and cases of whisky. The strongroom believed to be holding the banknotes was also hidden between decks in the number 5 hold but when it was opened the money wasn't there. Boxes containing £360,000 in banknotes were later found hidden amongst the whisky cases. Why it was hidden there and not in the safe is not known.

In May the salvage vessel 'Assistance' lifted and forwarded more cargo to Glasgow. An attempt was made to re-float the 'Politician' on 20th September 1941, to tow her to Lochboisdale. The attempt failed and she came to rest on another rocky outcrop concealed in a sand bank and broke her back. Customs officers Gledhill and McColl estimated there was still 1,000 cases of whisky in hold number 5 so they obtained permission to dynamite the hold. This was carried out in October 1941, much to the dismay of the islanders, their emotions summed up by Angus John Campbell, who commented;

"Dynamiting whisky! You wouldn't think there'd be men in the world so crazy as that!"

Salvage attempts continued on and off until July 1944. The ship was broken into two halves, with the forward section towed to Glasgow for breaking up and the sunken after section left where she lay. Today the wreck of the 'SS Politician' still lies off the coast of Eriskay, hidden below the waterline now, her deck and cabins long since destroyed by the wild sea.

The stranding of the 'Politician' would have been forgotten as just a minor incident amongst many occurring to the Harrison Line fleet of ships during the Second World War, when they lost 30 of their 46 ships.

During the war the incident was not reported to the public, but the rumours in the highlands and islands of the West of Scotland would have been heard by the author Compton Mackenzie on the neighbouring island of Barra. The story of the 'Politician' became immortalised in his 1947 novel, 'Whiskey Galore', renamed the 'S Cabinet Minister'. When this was made into the Ealing comedy film in 1949, her story became the stuff of national legend, a remake was released in 2016.

The 'Politican' continues to rouse interest with stories of whisky still being discovered on the Islands. In 1987 eight bottles found by Donald MacPhee from South Uist sold at Christies for £4,000, and in 2003 Bonhams sold a single lid from a Ballantine's whisky crate for £1,500. As recently as August 2010 one single Ballantine's bottle of whisky sold for £4,200!

In 1988 the island of Eriskay got its first 'legitimate' pub, named Am Politician, 'The Politician' in Gaelic.

In 1989 a salvage company, SS Politician plc, was founded to salvage whisky and other cargo. After moving hundreds of tons of sand they only recovered 24 more bottles.

As I touched upon earlier the Polly was carrying another valable cargo, Bank Notes! 

Conspiracy theories prevail, mostly surrounding the reason she was carrying almost 290,000 ten shilling notes (£145,000), the equivalent of several million pounds today. Why was this amount of money being sent to Jamaica? Was it in case the government and royal family were preparing to evacuate the UK?

The Crown Agents for Overseas Governments report from 1973 describes how the government hoped that they would not get into circulation but they started turning up on the shore. Local children were seen playing with them on the beach at Benbecula but;

"the locals, most of whom are known to be incriminated in the looting, are too wily to give anything away"

An empty cash case was also found abandoned in the hold of the ship. By June the bank notes from the 'SS Politician' were turning up in bank branches in Liverpool and as far away as Jamaica, Switzerland and the USA. By 1958 the Crown Agents reported that 211,267 (£360,000) of the 290,000 notes had been recovered by the salvage company and a further 2,329 had been presented in banks in England and all over the world. There are still about 75,000 banknotes which have never been accounted for, their whereabouts remain a mystery.

The mystery is fuelled by the fact that government papers concerning the 'Politician' are still the subject of a 75 year old closure rule, which means we may not know the answer until 2016.

Perhaps the greatest mystery of all is how the 'Politician' came to be grounded in the first place? Why was she sailing full steam ahead up a narrow shallow rocky channel? The weather and black-out conditions of wartime certainly contributed and there is some evidence to suggest that she had changed direction to avoid a south bound convoy, which forced her west off her projected course. The locals have a simpler answer - it was the islanders calling for their whisky!