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ntrending · 6 years ago

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A red tide devastated Florida marine life for 16 months. Why?

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A red tide devastated Florida marine life for 16 months. Why?

The toxic red tide that plagued Florida for more than a year left many unsolved mysteries in its wake, including how climate change might be fueling killer algae around the world. (illustration by Zohar Lazar/)

The Florida Problem: A Special Report. Struggling crops. Salty aquifers. Invading wildlife. Piles of dead fish. The Sunshine State feels the squeeze of environmental change on its beaches, farms, wetlands, and cities. But what afflicts the peninsula predicts the perils that will strike north and west of Apalachicola, and so it demands our attention. If Florida is in trouble, then so are we all.

One morning in August 2018, a man named Ralph Breeden telephoned the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to report that a dead manatee was bobbing in the bay behind his house in a quiet Saratoga suburb. Soon, two biologists, Gretchen Lovewell and Rebeccah Hazelkorn, were on their way to recover the corpse in a pickup truck fitted with a portable crane. Lovewell and Hazelkorn are the equivalent of marine EMTs and coroners, performing rescues and necropsies, operations that often require them to handle turtles that weigh more than 200 pounds and dolphins over 6 feet long. They work out of the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, which the wildlife commission had contacted to collect the carcass. They’re tough women, each sporting marine tattoos (Lovewell has a dolphin, manatee, turtle, and whale on her left ankle; Hazelkorn, an octopus creeping around her right thigh).

When they arrived at the home, three of Breeden’s grandchildren and their mother, Siri Falconer, were waiting on the lawn, and the kids eagerly pointed out the animal. The manatee, almost 8 feet long, was floating on its back, and had blown up so large that its skin split down the belly, gray intestines spilling out. Lovewell and Hazelkorn fastened a chain around the animal’s body and hoisted it onto the bed of the truck, blood and feces splashing over their equipment. Falconer, Breeden’s wife, and the children watched the grisly operation in disgusted fascination. Lovewell and Hazelkorn were less impressed; this was the 209th dead manatee of the year.

The summer of 2018 was apocalyptic. Across the Northern Hemisphere, railroad lines warped and pavement cracked. Nuclear plants cut power output when their water sources became too hot. Reindeer sought relief inside Norwegian roadway tunnels as temperatures above the Arctic Circle approached 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Historic, unrelenting rain in Japan caused deadly floods. Record-breaking wildfires burned in California and also in Sweden.

In Florida, the apocalypse reeked of dead marine life. All along the Gulf coast, fish, sea turtles, and dolphins washed up lifeless on the sand. Cleanup crews on Sanibel Island, usually a popular tourist beach, filled garbage bags with more than 400 tons of carcasses. The killer was a red tide: a huge bloom of Karenia brevis, a marine algae that releases a potent class of neurotoxin called brevetoxins that, in large enough concentrations, can debilitate or kill manatees and other animals. Karenia brevis wasn’t even the only bloom to hit Florida that year; an explosion of freshwater blue-green algae in the canals coming out of Lake Okeechobee forced the governor to declare a state of emergency.

Red tides are common in Florida, and have been documented as far back as the 17th century. They normally start in early fall and disperse with cooler winter winds. But in 2018, as winter turned into spring, the bloom persisted.

Around the world, coastal communities are grappling with algae blooms showing up at abnormal times and places, and with greater frequency than in the past. The events close beaches and fisheries, suffocate aquaculture, and cost millions in economic losses.

“Is there a combatant, an antidote?” Falconer asked Hazelkorn and Lovewell. The red tide had kept the family out of the water and away from the beach all summer.

“That’s the million-dollar question,” Hazelkorn replied as she and Lovewell prepared to depart with the disfigured manatee safely ensconced in the truck.

In Florida, 73 percent of businesses in the area affected by the red tide reported economic losses of more than $500,000 each. Residents, business owners, and government officials were all turning to scientists for answers: What caused the bloom? How can we get rid of it?

The problem is, nobody knows how to stop toxic algae—or even fully understands when and why they happen. The phenomenon has been widely monitored and studied for only 30 years. Now, scientists in Florida are on the front lines of a race to decipher and learn how to deal with them. Globally, researchers are throwing everything they can at the problem: citizen science, drones, satellites, robots, genetic analysis, and experimental techniques that might defeat it.

Some scientists suspect climate change has a role. Researchers have shown that unusually warm waters off the U.S. West Coast caused an unprecedented bloom of toxic Pseudo-nitzschia in 2015, and that with rising ocean temperatures, the range of Gambierdiscus, an algae that makes dangerous ciguatoxins, is expanding from the tropics toward more-temperate waters.

Investigators don’t know enough about Karenia brevis to say whether the same is true in Florida. One thing is certain: Devastating red tides like the one that hit the state will happen again. In the meantime, scientists are struggling to understand and grapple with a problem as complex as anything nature can unleash—all while the natural world itself is changing rapidly.

Hazelkorn and Lovewell brought manatee No. 209 to a state lab in St. Petersburg. There, a technician would measure the corpse and take tissue samples for toxicology, to determine if red tide was the killer. Researchers believe the mammals are usually poisoned by ingesting filter feeders such as anemones and sponges, which live on the sea grass manatees graze. The tiny creatures quickly accumulate brevetoxins from Karenia, which can cause seizures or paralyze the sea cows’ respiratory systems and result in their drowning.

The wildlife commission’s efforts to monitor and study Karenia are headed by ecologist Kate Hubbard, lanky and subdued and sporting her own aquatic ink (a freshwater algae and a jellyfish). Even at the height of the bloom, as she and her researchers are inundated with specimens to process, she navigates the hubbub in a quiet, unhurried manner. The monitoring is a multipronged effort: They test water from the coast and offshore, conduct aerial surveys, and coordinate with scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, who use satellite imagery to try to forecast the bloom’s movements. Citizen volunteers also pitch in, sending water samples from areas the commission can’t cover. Crews sometimes work around the clock—even through an official hurricane closure—to examine every specimen. They identify whether Karenia brevis was present, and in what concentrations, in order to keep a status map on their website up-to-date.

Karenia brevis is a dinoflagellate, a type of single-celled phytoplankton equipped with a pair of tail-like flagella, which it uses to swim. But that doesn’t make the organism speedy—it can propel itself at only about 3 feet per hour. By observing the tiny creatures in controlled water columns in the lab, and installing new instruments equipped with microscopes to observe Karenia in real time in the ocean, Hubbard and her colleagues are trying to find out more about how they live. “I don’t mean to sound happy about them, because it’s a really serious situation that impacts a lot of people,” Hubbard says in a cluttered, windowless lab, “but they’re fascinating.” She wants to know how the algae migrates between deep and shallow water, how light impacts its behavior, and how it uses nutrients (chemicals such as nitrogen and phosphorous) to fuel its growth.

The latter is of particular interest because it’s at the center of public outrage over the bloom. Many environmentalists believe that pollution from land-based sources is responsible for the duration and intensity of red tides. The local Sierra Club, and some area scientists, are convinced that nutrient runoff from agriculture and housing developments caused this situation, and blame lax environmental regulations under then-Governor Rick Scott. On August 12, 2018, thousands of people showed up at beaches up and down the coastline for a protest called Hands Along the Water. The group’s Facebook page said its goal was to “show that we do not, and will not, stand for our beautiful beaches, wildlife, homes and livelihoods to continuously be destroyed and impacted by the water released from Lake O.”

Workers collect fish killed by a huge bloom of <em>Karenia brevis</em>. (Joe Cavaretta / South Florida Sun Sentinel / TNS via Getty images/)

Lake Okeechobee, the state’s largest freshwater body at 730 square miles, feeds into canals and rivers that flow into the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic. It is bordered by dense residential neighborhoods and many ranches and sugar-cane farms, whose contaminated drainage ends up in the water. That pollution proved to be a major factor in causing the blue-green algae bloom that struck inland Florida when the red tide surged last summer. But the role of runoff in fueling Karenia brevis is fuzzy. Karenia infestations begin far offshore in the Gulf, and they can derive sustenance from a variety of sources, including their own dead cells. Most scientists agree that nutrient pollution probably exacerbates the problem, but the total contribution is unclear—and will most likely remain that way for years until researchers painstakingly document the details.

When it is not congregating in high concentrations, Karenia brevis plays an important role in the environment. Like any other phytoplankton, it photosynthesizes, taking up carbon dioxide and producing oxygen. Besides the brevetoxins, it produces other molecules that disable its algal competitors, and it also acts as a predator, grazing on bacteria. Removing it entirely could disrupt the microscopic ecosystem that it inhabits.

“We can’t eliminate red tide, because it is a natural part of the phytoplankton community in the Gulf of Mexico,” says Richard Pierce, a chemical oceanographer who is Mote’s associate vice president for research. “In the past it has been taboo even to consider trying to knock it back, and change the system. But with the severe economic effects, and public health, and the destruction of so many sea turtles, dolphins, manatees, and fish, the environment is changing.”

Now Pierce’s mission is to try to find ways to mitigate the effects of Karenia when it gets out of hand. In mid-August last year, Pierce and a team of engineers and scientists headed out to a saltwater canal in Boca Grande to test a new tool: an ozone water-purification system inspired by the setup Mote uses to clean seawater for tanks at the aquarium. The idea was to flow water through a chamber containing the toxic gas ozone, killing the Karenia in the process. The “ozonator” was a hulking apparatus of PVC pipes and gas tubing that sprawled out of a trailer and extended into the channel.

The canal dead-ended in a residential area, and Karenia had been growing there for weeks. Breezes had carried brevetoxins into the air, which stung like a very fine mist of pepper spray. It wore on the locals whose homes bordered the water. The neighborhood was so frustrated, residents had pooled their money—more than $100,000 —to help fund the study. The ozone system had a limited capacity, but the hope was that in such a small, partly enclosed area, it could make a big difference.

The final results aren’t published yet, but preliminary data suggests they were lackluster. The treated water was effectively cleansed of algae and toxins and reoxygenated, but the ozonator was too small to have much effect on the canal as a whole. Pierce sees the test as a proof of concept; it seemed like the result would be better with a bigger, more powerful apparatus.

Pierce’s team is also taking part in a mitigation trial led by Don Anderson, a world-renowned harmful-algae researcher based at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. Anderson is an advocate of clay flocculation, a process in which specially treated clay is sprayed onto water containing a toxic bloom. The particles attract the algae and drag it to the bottom.

Anderson’s team has enlisted purified clay that is similar to the material used for porcelain dishes, enhanced with polyaluminum chloride to give it an opposite surface charge from the algal cells. They’d brought it in from China, where studies have shown it to be extremely efficient; Anderson says the ecological effects are minimal, especially when compared with the damage done by the bloom itself.

A few months after the ozone test, Anderson, Pierce, and scientists from five different research institutions headed to a marina in Sarasota, near Mote, to begin the first test. Unfortunately, a couple of days before the trial was to begin, the algae dispersed and dropped to normal levels. Since their primary goal was to test the equipment and get the team working together, they proceeded anyway, attaching the clay solution to what looked like a large garden hose and spraying the slurry out into the water.

Anderson and scientists from Mote had attempted the process once before, in 2004, during another big Karenia infestation. But the project ended quickly amid local controversy: The clay they’d used came from Mosaic, a mining company with a long history of bad environmental practices in Florida, and contained mined phosphate, which had low levels of radioactivity. In addition to bad press generated by the association with Mosaic, there was concern the phosphatic clay might also introduce new problems to the environment.

The whole debacle was a “naive mistake,” Anderson says. He maintains the new stuff is safer, and is adamant that the blooms are so destructive to the natural habitat that it’s important to take action. “These events are true ecological, economic, and public-health disasters,” he says. “There’s no reason those same sorts of planes that are dropping flame retardant or spraying for mosquitos can’t spray this clay in a slurry over big areas.”

In late February 2019, after 16 months, the bloom finally faded to normal levels, but Karenia still lurks offshore. Hubbard’s lab confirmed that it had killed manatee No. 209. Calls about dead marine life tapered off to normal levels. Lovewell and Hazelkorn worked through their backlog of dead sea turtles in need of necropsies and were back to their routine of rescue and recovery of stranded marine life. Pierce is investigating the potential of chemical additives to help bloom mitigation efforts. Hubbard moved forward with a new field study to monitor the life cycles of algae in the natural environment.

There are basic details about the Karenia life cycle that remain unknown. Scientists hypothesize that it has a cyst phase, a seedlike stage when the algae is dormant before it blooms. But no one has observed it, so no one knows for sure. Finding out whether this stage exists, and what it looks like, would be important information. With some other harmful species, scientists are able to monitor for cysts in the sediment and predict when a bloom is likely. But it could take years for Hubbard’s team to reach a definitive conclusion.

Biology isn’t the only factor controlling the blooms, or the only one that’s poorly understood. Weather and physical ocean dynamics often ultimately determine whether a red tide will last or disperse: the thickness of the layers of warm and cold or salty and less-salty water, the amount of rainfall and when during the bloom cycle it happens, and the strength and direction of the winds. Meanwhile, many of these conditions are diverging from the historical precedent. Ocean temperatures are rising; currents, wind, and rainfall are changing. Hurricanes are becoming more frequent and intense. This complicates researchers’ ability to make sense of and forecast the next Karenia bloom, and could fundamentally shift its dynamics.

Many of Florida’s environmentalists want to focus on reducing pollution, and they see anything less as enabling polluters. “Improving water quality is a good measure to take,” Hubbard agrees.

Zooming out from Florida, the complexity of the toxic algae problem is even more dizzying. Karenia brevis is just one of dozens of harmful species that have been identified around the world. All respond to their environment in different ways. Some like warmer water, others colder. Some grow faster as the amount of CO2 in water increases. In recent years, algal blooms have appeared to be getting more frequent in many coastal areas. In addition to the historic West Coast Pseudo-nitzschia infestation in 2015, Maine had to close shellfish grounds in 2016 for the first time due to domoic acid from Pseudo-nitzschia—the catch could have poisoned anyone who ate it. While scientists don’t know yet whether the changing climate has had an impact on the frequency and duration of Karenia blooms, they agree it’s likely to influence things in the future.

“Are we going to be able to stop those types of events?” Hubbard wonders. “I honestly don’t know.”

As the natural world becomes less hospitable, the public will increasingly turn to scientists for explanations and solutions. But the progress of research is slow, and usually proceeds with a healthy helping of uncertainty. Meanwhile, we’ve ignored one certainty that scientists have repeated for years: We are fundamentally altering the environment. Now as we watch that change unfold, we will have to accept that our actions have upended a system whose complexity we had yet to grasp.

Reporting supported by the UC Berkeley–11th Hour Food and Farming Journalism Fellowship.

This article was originally published in the Summer 2019 Make It Last issue of Popular Science.

Written By Mallory Pickett

#Animals

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mobilenamic · 8 years ago

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blockcentric #1: Consensus mechanisms of the blockchain

Welcome to the first article of the blockcentric column. We created it for blogging about Blockchain and all related topics. It will contain exciting articles about technology, projects, organisation and business concerns. They will contain knowledge and findings from our 20% time work but also news from the area.

We are looking forward to your feedback on the column and exciting discussions about your use cases.

A blockchain creates trust, traceability, and immutability through a peer-to-peer network. All transactions in the network, such as payments or event tracking in a supply chain, are confirmed by participants in the network. Thus, no central authority alone controls the validity of these events. These acknowledgments given by the participants lead to a consensus in the network, with which the data on the blockchain is continually persisted. So the majority of the participants decide whether a transaction is valid, instead of a single player. To create and implement a consensus, there are several mechanisms that I would like to explain and discuss in the following.

What are consensus mechanisms?

Each Blockchain needs to choose one mechanism that handles the agreement of all participants onto a truth about their data. It could be imagined as a consistent way to get all politicians of a parliament to agree on one opinion. As politicians probably need to discuss about this, all participants of a blockchain network do this by communicating with each other over the network. The communication protocols are thereby implemented in the software that is executed on all involved devices. What is communicated here, however, is not a political opinion but the data base of the blockchain, such as the transaction history of a currency like Bitcoin.

Currently there are mainly two of those consensus mechanisms which are well-known while other ones are still not that popular.

Proof of Work – Classical mining

We already know the term “mining” from Bitcoin, the mother of most of today’s cryptocurrencies and popular Blockchain applications. Also for the Ethereum network, transaction have to be packaged into blocks in order to be confirmed as part of the history. The correct name of it is Proof of Work (PoW). In a simple way it describes the conditions that participants of the network must prove honestly how much work they have spent in order to be able to verify transactions. Therefor they get rewarded for every block that they validate and confirm. This reward is meant as a replacement for the spent electric energy and the usage of special hardware (ASIC miner or GPU). The surplus on the rewarding amounts is profit for the miners and represents an incentive. In total, the reward for a block consists of the regular block reward and the sum of all fees from all transactions contained in the block.

Proof of Work is yet, especially for cryptocurrencies, the most used mechanism of them all. This is probably the case because it has already proven its robustness and safety since 2009. In addition, the high financial involvement of miners ensures that the generated coins are actually backed of by real value in terms of fiat money. So to speak, mining is the transition of fiat money into coins of a cryptocurrency.

As robust and proven as the procedure may be, it is also strongly criticized. The big disadvantage of Proof of Work is that a lot of electrical energy and the need for specialized hardware pollutes the environment. Lots of cryptocurrency fans and critics would like to see that consensus does not have to need for this high stress to our environment. After all more than 3% of Germanys energy consumption could be provided by savings on mining energy of the entire Bitcoin network. Another disadvantage of this mechanism is the commonly seen split of the community in these projects. Two individual groups of interest are the result. On the one hand there are the users that need to pay transaction fees in order to get their transactions confirmed. On the other hand the miners are needed to confirm them and keep the network up. Thereby they have a primary focus on profit and try to represent their own financial goals during involved discussions and politics. Proposals on how the project and its source code implementation could be improved often lead to discussions that are clearly split into two camps, each of which represent their own interests.

Proof of Stake – Shareholders with a voice

Like in a joint-stock company, shareholders have a right on participating on the consensus in the mechanism called Proof of Stake (PoS). This claim to the right of validation of a block of new transactions is given deterministically (by pseudo-randomness) over and over again. Thereby shareholders with more wealth in their wallet have a slightly higher chance of being selected. On the one hand they have a high interest in the stable functionality of the network and should also participate in keeping it up. On the other hand there is a danger of centralising the confirmation of blocks too much as wealthy shareholders can get even richer over time. In most cases all tokens/coins in Proof of Stake based blockchains were pre-mined (already created before usage has started) in contract to PoW, where coins are slowly flushed into the market until the maximum supply is reached. So, PoS blockchains circulating supply of tokens is already exhausted. Therefore shareholders who were chosen for validating a block can only be rewarded by transaction fees.

The process is now used successfully in some blockchains and projects, also in the world of cryptocurrencies, and finds more and more appeal. Last but not least this is also a result of the fact that electric energy is not wasted anymore. The energy consumption is limited to the usage and validation activities of users and is not artificially increased by unnecessary complex calculations. Furthermore the community is not split automatically into two camps but is united by being more or less serious users of the individual blockchain application. Nevertheless the risk of unfair distribution of wealth is remains. This can take place if wealthy participants are preferred on choosing the next block winner in a too high degree. Their wealth will be increased disproportionately in comparison to others. To prevent this from happening, it is important to strive for a fairest possible Proof of Stake algorithm. There are already certain variants with individual advantages and disadvantages in discussion, on which I am not going to elaborate further in this article.

Proof of Work vs. Proof of Stake – or something different?

The two best known consensus mechanisms should be known by now. We quickly realize that Proof of Stake focuses on eliminating the disadvantages of Proof of Work. The sustainability of blockchains is therefore to be increased by the significant saving of electrical energy and hardware and at the same time making the community easier to develop projects by avoiding conflicts of interest. Nevertheless, Proof of Stake also raises questions: Can it be ensured that the rich are not getting richer? When is the block reward selection mechanism perfect and maximally fairly designed?

It does not hurt to look at other variants that want to improve on the two ideas.

Proof of Activity – A hybrid approach

This approach did not originate from the optimization of a single consensus mechanism but is a combination of PoW and PoS. It is foreseen that miners continue to solve cryptographic puzzles using a lot of electric energy and special hardware. However, the blocks found therewith are only meant to contain the identity of the block winner and its reward transaction. Then the Proof of Stake phase begins and the validators (shareholders selected to validate transactions and blocks) confirm the correctness of the block. If the block was checked often enough, the validators will finally activate it to a completed block. This step just finally ensures that open transactions are processes and are integrated into the found block containers. Also the block reward is being split, so the validators also receive shares of it.

Proof of Importance – VIP first

The concept presented by NEM is coupled to Proof of Stake and also includes the roles of shareholders and validators. However, these are selected using a certain algorithm, not only by chance and size of their shares. Also their importance for the network and the importance that the network apparently has for them flows into the formula. In NEM’s definition of Proof of Importance (PoI) this is implemented with the inclusion of the network usage (transactions made with other participants). Participants who often send and receive transactions will find blocks more frequently. A detection of fraudulent usage and manipulative patterns is of course included into this concept to prevent spammy participants to gain a higher importance score.

In addition, only a special kind of stake is considered for the mechanism to be considered as wealth. Coins in the NEM wallet are not considered as wealth until they are vested. For every 24 hours 10% of the un-vested coins will be charged to this vested wallet. As a result, participants receive an incentive to make only necessary transactions and can only increase the importance score slowly by proving their involvement in the network.

Proof of Elapsed Time – Eco-friendly mining through innovation

This mechanism was invented by the chip manufacturer Intel and refers to the technological achievement SGX (SafeGuard Extensions). SGX includes a set of CPU instructions, which allow processes to use private resources of the CPU for their own. This is to create Trusted Execution Environments (TEE) in the CPU calculation, for which there is no danger of being manipulated from outside processes.

What does this have to do with the confirmation of transactions? The goal is to implement a real random mechanism through this innovation at low hardware and software level. In comparison to Proof of Work, it should not be determined by chance, which participants can solve their riddles using their resources. Proof of Elapsed Time (PoET) wants to replace the cryptographic puzzles involved in PoW by the fact that the CPU architecture, in combination with the quantity of the mining hardware alone, knows how often and when a participant will win a block. It should ensure a random and fair competition in finding the next block.

This approach is about reducing energy consumption during mining. Unfortunately, this adds the dependency of a supported CPU architecture to the mining hardware. The hardware could be designed much smaller and combined with regular private computers but only if they fulfill the CPU requirements. It is also questionable whether a distributed blockchain network should trust a general purpose chip maker. Without reproaching chip manufacturers, the consensus of the Proof of Elapsed Time network would be dependent on how secure and unmanipulated the SGX is implemented and this feels strange. The consensus of the decentralized network is thus placed faithfully in the hands of a central authority.

Conclusion

In this article, we have looked at the concept of five possible consensus mechanisms that can be used in designing a blockchain. It is to be assumed that the success of these systems is, among other things, related to the quality and fairness of their consensus process. Also the first frameworks behind blockchain software are ready to handle consensus as a plugin-and-play concept that can be configured so that implementation will not longer be a bottleneck. Therefore, we should continue to try to find better ways to secure and even scale up blockchains (more transactions per time unit).

Selection of the needed consensus process should be made dependent on the project requirements. One should think about how disastrous the disadvantages and how useful the advantages of the individual concepts could be for the desired result of the project. It is a matter of interest groups which mechanism fits best. Ultimately, it is not yet possible to find a universally perfect consensus mechanism that is able to eradicate all advantages of its competitors.

The post blockcentric #1: Consensus mechanisms of the blockchain appeared first on codecentric AG Blog.

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iyarpage · 8 years ago

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blockcentric #1: Consensus mechanisms of the blockchain

We are looking forward to your feedback on the column and exciting discussions about your use cases.

What are consensus mechanisms?

Currently there are mainly two of those consensus mechanisms which are well-known while other ones are still not that popular.

Proof of Work – Classical mining

Proof of Stake – Shareholders with a voice

Proof of Work vs. Proof of Stake – or something different?

It does not hurt to look at other variants that want to improve on the two ideas.

Proof of Activity – A hybrid approach

Proof of Importance – VIP first

Proof of Elapsed Time – Eco-friendly mining through innovation

Conclusion

The post blockcentric #1: Consensus mechanisms of the blockchain appeared first on codecentric AG Blog.

blockcentric #1: Consensus mechanisms of the blockchain published first on http://ift.tt/2fA8nUr

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photosofusly · 8 years ago

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Exclaim!'s Top 29 Albums of 2017 So Far

As originally seen on Exclaim.ca.At this point last year, we’d already experienced massive album drops from the likes of Beyoncé, Kanye West, Radiohead, David Bowie and Drake; by the end of the year, we were left wondering just what was left to come out in 2017.

The answer is a swathe of albums by artists whose names might not adorn stadium marquees, but whose work shone brightly as beacons for another good year in music. Between long-awaited debut full-lengths, worldly, philosophical album statements and surprising genre crossovers, 2017 has seen a wealth of riches.

As the year’s halfway mark approaches, we’ve separated the great from the merely good in order to present the best albums released so far this year.

Click next to read through the albums one by one, or use the list below to skip ahead to your favourites.

Exclaim!’s Top 29 Albums of 2017 So Far:

1. Kendrick Lamar – DAMN. 2. Sampha – Process 3. Feist – Pleasure 4. Father John Misty – Pure Comedy 5. Mount Eerie – A Crow Looked at Me 6. Drake – More Life 7. Jay Som – Everybody Works 8. Mac DeMarco – This Old Dog 9. Joey Bada$$ – All-Amerikkkan Bada$$ 10. Slowdive – Slowdive 11. Power Trip – Nightmare Logic 12. The xx – I See You 13. Run the Jewels – Run the Jewels 3 14. Thundercat – Drunk 15. Oddisee – The Iceberg 16. Code Orange – Forever 17. Kelly Lee Owens – Kelly Lee Owens 18. Full of Hell – Trumpeting Ecstasy 19. Cloud Nothings – Life Without Sound 20. Stormzy – Gang Signs & Prayer 21. Do Make Say Think – Stubborn Persistent Illusions 22. Incendiary – Thousand Mile Stare 23. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard – Flying Microtonal Banana 24. (Sandy) Alex G – Rocket 25. Future Islands – The Far Field 26. Timber Timbre – Sincerely, Future Pollution 27. GAS – Narkopop 28. Paramore – After Laughter 29. Ryuichi Sakamoto – async

29. Ryuichi Sakamoto async (Milan)

A good deal has been made of the possibly autobiographical nature of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s triumphant return, async. The disc landed a little less than three years after his throat cancer diagnosis, and is replete with mournful synth lines, scratchy noise (if ever there was a track that made you want to clear your throat, it’s “andata") and spoken word segments about mortality.

There’s much more than nostalgia at work here, though. The 65-year-old, who calls both Tokyo and New York City home, delivered us a complex, at times difficult listen. Yet async remains wholly accessible. It’s beautiful without being pretty, engaging and, at the same time, comforting.

Is the disc’s title short for asynchronous, which refers to events "not occurring at the same time"? Maybe reading his illness and subsequent recovery into that is a stretch, but Sakamoto’s pre-release materials describe his interest in "the blurred lines of life and artificiality/noise and music." The line between good and poor health is often similarly tough to distinguish, but its exploration would fit perfectly amidst the tender thoughtfulness evident here. Kevin Press

28. Paramore After Laughter (Fueled By Ramen)

Paramore have gone through their share of professional and personal turmoil and lineup changes since their chart-topping self-titled LP. Bassist Jeremy Davis left, drummer Zac Farro returned seven years after an acrimonious split and singer Hayley Williams admitted in pre-release interviews that she often doubted they would ever record another album. The trio address this adversity head-on on the startling, emotionally complex After Laughter, a tuneful, effervescent full-length on which Paramore mostly trade what was left of their punk and emo roots for New Wave synths, sinewy Afrobeat-influenced guitar riffs and percussive Technicolor pop that evokes Talking Heads, Paul Simon and Tango in the Night-era Fleetwood Mac.

In contrast with the soaring, ebullient melodies, the lyrics reflect the band’s tumultuous recent past, most prominently on the LP’s first single, the cathartic "Hard Times." Hitting rock bottom has rarely sounded better than on After Laughter, one of the year’s finest pop albums. Thierry Côté

27. GAS Narkopop (Kompakt)

Wolfgang Voigt has kept busy over the last 17 years through his various projects, but he’s been neglecting the one that earns him the most attention. Capitalizing on last year’s elaborate GAS box set, the 56-year-old returned with his fifth album under the moniker like no time had passed.

His new 75-minute opus, Narkopop, surveys different moods and pulses, filling in the vast space with a range of textures and styles: drone, ambient, neo-classical and minimal techno. The results can be mesmeric and beautiful, though he’s not averse to stirring up discomfiting moments to throw the listener’s meditation off, either.

Although it follows the GAS template in its design and structure, Narkopop, like its predecessors, is very much its own entity and an exciting next phase in the oeuvre of electronic music’s most intriguing characters. Cam Lindsay

26. Timber Timbre Sincerely, Future Pollution (Arts & Crafts)

The sinister synths that flood Timber Timbre’s sixth LP leave little doubt that the Canadian band’s latest record, Sincerely, Future Pollution, isn’t entirely optimistic about humanity’s course. The free-floating folk-noir ensemble, led by the haunting vocals of Taylor Kirk, reach new vibrancy on this record by harkening back to ’80s-era Bowie, drum machines and dystopian narratives to create an album that, like Pink Floyd’s The Wall, comprises a cinematic whole yet is approachable enough to enjoy in individual parts.

Evidenced by the cascading melodies of "Moment," the wide-swath guitar strums of "Sewer Blues" and the clavinet-bumping "Grifting," Sincerely, Future Pollution is much more concerned with world-building than 2014’s sensuous Hot Dreams in both theme and vision. As they have each release since 2006’s Cedar Shakes, Timber Timbre somehow manage to enhance their ever-evolving sound once again here; this time, they do so by borrowing from the past to craft an album as fresh as it is timeless. Mackenzie Herd

25. Future Islands The Far Field (4AD)

Less immediate than 2014’s Singles but ultimately more rewarding, the hooks on Future Islands’ The Far Field are subtler, the sound a little wearier. Anchored by the soulful, strange vocal stylings of Samuel T. Herring, the band still know how to write songs that will sound great at the outdoor festivals they’ve graduated to since the smash success of "Seasons (Waiting on You)" — and there are several of those here — but the real revelation is the bold steps they’re taking in the face of their success.

The woozy, weird "Candles" and the call-and-response Debbie Harry duet "Shadows" are proof that the band aren’t content to play it safe. By resisting the urge to go bigger, Future Islands have instead gone deeper, to devastating effect. Dave Mix

24. (Sandy) Alex G Rocket (Domino)

Eight albums in, the restless Alex Giannascoli — aka (Sandy) Alex G — refuses to be labeled simply as "indie rock." On Rocket, he tackles it all — bittersweet alt-country ("Bobby"), industrial pseudo-rap ("Brick"), auto-tuned R&B ("Sportstar"), weirdo psych-pop ("Witch"), ramshackle experimental noise ("Horse"), and the list could go on — yet it all still feels oddly cohesive, shrouded in a mysterious lo-fi intimacy narrated by Giannascoli’s melodic and dazed vocal style.

Hints of self-doubt, anger, sarcasm and bliss blend together effortlessly thanks to a strange and freaky concoction of plucky acoustic guitar, screeching synthesizers, dazzling violin, piano, saxophone and even random dogs barking. Rocket readily mutates around unsettling emotions using inventive fictional personas; it’s a curious approach, but it grounds the record to a quietly relatable content, and incites new feelings with each listen. Chris Gee

23. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard Flying Microtonal Banana (ATO)

Like most of their previous efforts, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard’s latest project was tied to a concept from the outset — this time around, microtonality.

Flying Microtonal Banana might be the band’s most ambitious concept album so far, using a collection of microtonal instruments to weave unique melodies and Eastern-flavoured harmonies into the band’s usual frenetic grooves. That experimentation shines on tracks like "Open Water," with riffs that sound like an electrified snake-charmer, and "Billabong Valley," on which lead guitarist and singer Stu Mackenzie’s vocal lines mirror the eerie and hypnotic guitar melodies.

Rather than allowing themselves to be boxed in on Banana, though, the band run wild with the concept, transcending the chromatic scale to pull together one of the best psych-rock experiences of the year. Brandon Choghri

22. Incendiary Thousand Mile Stare (Closed Casket Activities)

Incendiary’s Thousand Mile Stare is a blistering return for the Long Island hardcore outfit. In the four years since their last record, Cost of Living, the music industry has seen some dramatic changes, particularly in relation to the current political climate. With these ten tracks, Incendiary prove that not only are they still relevant, but they’re on the forefront of their scene, leaders in an increasingly anxiety-ridden landscape.

The album’s eye-opening lyrics and gut-busting riffs are perfectly exemplified in "Front Toward Enemy," as frontman Brendan Garrone yells about "Fearing revolution": "They got their trigger fingers moving / The threat of oncoming war." Thousand Mile Stare’s unforgiving interpretation of a genre the band helped build, coupled with the passionate message they continue to spew, help make it one of hardcore’s most important release of 2017 thus far. Griffin Elliot

21. Do Make Say Think Stubborn Persistent Illusions (Constellation)

Do Make Say Think have never made a weak album, but nobody expected the legendary Torontonian instrumental octet to come back with such vital urgency after the longest recording gap in their lifespan. Perhaps it should’ve been clear though — they declare literal "War on Torpor" on Stubborn Persistent Illusions’ opening track. And to back the claim, this music is anything but lethargic or mentally lazy.

Everything we love about the band is present — the brash energy of punk rock, the rhythmic complexity of jazz and Afrobeat, the patient, bold dynamics of classical, and those epic, richly interwoven tapestries of guitar melodies and horn harmonies — but while these pieces share obvious genetic material with the band’s best work, none of it feels like an exercise in cloning. It’s like new sonic lifeforms are evolving from the band’s collective primordial soup to populate heretofore unexplored corners of their distinct sound world.

Beautifully realized with the utmost of love and respect for the act of co-creation and a work that may well be the new high water mark in post-rock, Stubborn Persistent Illusions is an absolute gift to fans of the ineffable magic of musical collaboration. Scott Gray

20. Stormzy Gang Signs & Prayer (#Merky)

For a decade-and-a-half, future-minded hip-hop heads and Anglophiles alike wondered how to get grime over to North American audiences. In the last two years, it’s finally happened, thanks in no small part to Skepta. But while he may have been the one to open the door, absurdly tall South London MC Stormzy has burst through it with enough force to remove hinge from frame.

On Gang Signs & Prayer, Stormzy serves up a perfect blend of crisp, rapid-fire delivery, aggro battle rap, heartbreaking introspection and surprising R&B sensibility. Stormzy is a perfect poster child for the new wave of clever, pop-savvy grime MCs. Chris Dart

19. Cloud Nothings Life Without Sound (Carpark)

Almost every year, an album is released that immediately stands out from the punk-leaning, guitar-slinging pack. It was Beach Slang a couple years ago, and now it’s Cloud Nothings’ turn with Life Without Sound, a record that sheds any of the extraneous influence of the past and find the band at their most cohesive and emotionally resonant yet.

The shift in sound from previous LP Here and Nowhere Else is noticeable. The guitars are a little less ragged, the hooks maybe not as prominent, but while the intensity has been dialled back, it ends up refocusing the group’s vision, and elevates Cloud Nothings’ sound to the next level. Marked by themes of self-evaluation, isolation and desperation, Dylan Baldi’s lyrics feel relatable, without being cliché. Those moments where Baldi’s emotionally driven lyrics hit hardest seem perfectly balanced against the band’s momentous riffs, which burst from every angle out of the speakers feeling alive and purposeful. Anthony Augustine

18. Full of Hell Trumpeting Ecstasy (Profound Lore)

Following a pair of collaborative albums with experimental noise artists the Body and Merzbow, Full of Hell stripped away a lot of the chaotic noise elements found on those releases for a more focused and cohesive record. In just a little over 20 minutes, Trumpeting Ecstasy finds the grindcore powerhouses launching a savage assault of blast beats and ear-piercing shrieks with just enough variation to let each song stand on its own.

Throughout, the band manage to infuse their abrasive tracks and organized havoc with thoughtfulness and care, as evident on songs like "The Cosmic Vein" and the blisteringly fast onslaught of "Branches of Yew." And though they’ve dialled back the experimental noise here, the band still manage to fit those sounds into the delicate yet aggressive title track. Trumpeting Ecstasy is a slab of viciously hostile grindcore not meant for the faint of heart. Joe Smith-Engelhardt

17. Kelly Lee Owens Kelly Lee Owens (Smalltown Supersound)

Within its few seconds, Kelly Lee Owens’s self-titled debut evokes the familiarity of an old favourite. Her spacious, pop-inflected techno is both vivid and economical, wringing nuanced emotions from simple elements. "S.O" and "Lucid" show the patience of a seasoned pro, enchanting listeners with cozy ambience before introducing a beat, while "C.B.M." and "8" go straight for the throat, showcasing thumping bass and mind-bending drone, respectively.

Owens’ concise, focused lyrics feel naturally expressive, as soothing as a well-worn mantra. Yet she refuses to coddle her listeners, and both "Anxi." and "Throwing Lines" hint at internal discord without breaking the record’s placid surface. Kelly Lee Owens is as invigorating as it is inviting, and it only gets more welcoming with each repeated rotation. Matthew Blenkarn

16. Code Orange Forever (Roadrunner)

Leading up to the release of Forever, Code Orange’s third full-length album, many questions orbited the band and their future: Would the shift from Deathwish Inc. to Roadrunner Records dilute their unrelenting sound? Would Code Orange’s loyalty to producer Kurt Ballou begin to yield stagnant and predictable results? Having demonstrated much promise in the past, but never fully delivering on their potential, Forever had to be the band’s best effort yet.

Code Orange answered by punishing all scepticism with nauseatingly visceral riffs, behemoth breakdowns, jarring passages and concussion-inducing percussion. Forever is the band’s heaviest and most menacing album to date, while offering the most diversity, too. Having been released only two weeks into the year, the record will face much competition in the battle for 2017’s best heavy record, but it’s inarguably in the conversation; this shit is thoroughly, aggressively good. Lukas Wojcicki

15. Oddisee The Iceberg (Mello Music Group)

It’s an understatement to say that many of 2017’s headlines have inspired cultural malaise. But, as usual, tense political climates have led to some seriously reflective music. And Oddisee’s latest project, The Iceberg, recently joined the highest echelon of socially conscious rap albums.

The 12-track LP delivers a healthy dose of social commentary, discussing police brutality, immigration, gender inequality and, of course, Donald Trump’s presidency. In such an unpredictable era, an album like The Iceberg helps listeners make sense of the world while also disseminating an important message: You’re not alone.

But storytelling is only part of the battle when putting together a masterful rap project, and like only a handful of other hip-hop artists, Oddisee produces his own beats. Throughout The Iceberg, the 32-year-old pushes the boundaries of the genre by layering unorthodox instrumentation with dense synths and prominent percussion. Imagine a hip-hop track guided by an organ; Oddisee did, and he made it sound dope. Anya Zoledziowski

14. Thundercat Drunk (Brainfeeder)

Like a wild night out featuring several shots of tequila, Drunk is zany and random, an immensely entertaining journey through Thundercat’s colourful mind.

A blend of angelic vocals, quirky lyrics ("I think I left my wallet at the club," he croons) and dizzying bass lines that defy human logic, Drunk has anthems for every variation of inebriation. There’s the fun and fidgety "Tokyo" for the restless drunk, "Drink Dat" for the flirty lush among you and "Lava Lamp" for the more sombre imbiber. "Friend Zone" plays like the gratifying tipsy text you’ll later regret sending, while "Jethro" feels communal and deeply spiritual, like a heart-to-heart between two buzzed strangers at the bar. Featuring clever, full-bodied production from collaborators like Flying Lotus and Soundwave, Drunk is great at first and gets even richer over time, a merry indulgence without the hangover. A. Harmony

13. Run the Jewels Run the Jewels 3 (Independent)

The political ire of nonconformists El-P and Killer Mike has long been at the forefront of their music, and the same can be said of their latest, Run the Jewels 3, a finely executed confrontation of the ruling class and a perfect closer for their album trilogy.

On top of its gorgeous, hard-hitting production, RTJ3 features help from an impressive list of collaborators including Danny Brown, BOOTS, Trina and Kamasi Washington. Run the Jewels have crafted a sound and style that stands alone, and here, it’s sharpened enough to go for the throat. The duo’s ingenuity is recognizable almost immediately, and impossible to duplicate. If their first two records laid the groundwork for battle, RTJ3 finds the rap iconoclasts in the thick of it. Ashley Hampson

12. The xx I See You (Young Turks)

It seems almost contradictory to say that the xx expanding their sound could make their material more intimate — especially given the way they already wore their emotions on their sleeves — but that’s exactly the case with their third album, I See You.

On their first two records, the band matched lovelorn confessions with spare, reverb-heavy guitars, distant drums and the hushed vocal deliveries of Oliver Sim and Romy Madley Croft. This time around, producer Jamie Smith, fresh off his excellent solo record In Colour, infused the record with his signature sample-driven production style, adding a whole new level of character to the band’s signature sound without distracting from the emotional heft of the songs. The record is easily the band’s most ambitious, but also their most rewarding, featuring gems like Madley Croft’s heartbreaking vocals on "Performance" and the danceable "I Dare You."

Their sound palette has expanded considerably, but so has their conviction as a group, a fact that’s clear from I See You’s beginning to its end. Matt Yuyitung

11. Power Trip Nightmare Logic (Southern Lord)

The "crossover" in crossover thrash is on the continuum of metal to punk, but for Power Trip, there’s a whole other crossover happening — from hardcore underground to metal mainstream. With over 10,000 copies sold, Nightmare Logic is quickly becoming a phenomenon, and with good reason — it’s phenomenal.

While artists worry about a sophomore slump, Power Trip have delivered a sophomore slam dunk, outshining their previous material that is, itself, far from lacklustre. There’s new confidence here: Riley Gale’s powerful snarl is now less reverb-soaked; "Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe)" and the title track manage to turn straight-ahead chugs into memorable, headbangable riffs; and the opening groove of "Soul Sacrifice" and the blaring thrash with which "Firing Squad" comes out of the gates are incredible. And that’s just the first half of the album.

Not since Municipal Waste blew "rethrash" open a decade ago with their penchant for partying has a band had a better shot at bringing thrash back to its one-time glory as one of the world’s biggest heavy genres. Bradley Zorgdrager

10. Slowdive Slowdive (Dead Oceans)

Releasing a record is a tricky proposition for any reunited band, let alone one as monumentally adored as Slowdive. Come back half-cocked and you’ll risk disappointing fans; refrain from making anything new, and you’ll leave listeners (and band members alike) wondering what could have been.

The British shoegazers deftly avoid both possibilities with their latest LP (and first in 22 years), a self-titled album filled with woozy atmospherics, ethereal vocals and reverb-drenched guitars that pack the same wallop as crumbling ice shelves.

Slowdive aren’t exactly reinventing themselves here, but with their core songwriters having spent the last two decades in the understated Mojave 3, and the whole band having toured together since 2014, Slowdive is a lean and impressive set of songs that improves upon what they do best. Hell, it might even be the best album of their career; it’s certainly the most fully realized. Matthew Ritchie

9. Joey Bada$$ All-Amerikkkan Bada$$ (Cinematic Music Group/Pro Era)

Joey Bada$$’s second studio LP, All-Amerikkkan Bada$$, was released early this year, debuting at #5 on the Billboard Hot 200. It marked a departure from his debut album; where that record served more as a showcase of his wordplay and an homage to the golden era of hip-hop, this time around, Joey packed his 12-song project with scorching political commentary that aimed to draw awareness from the younger generation of listeners that have come to hold the 22-year-old rapper in high regard.

Alongside releasing political-minded singles "Devastated" and "Land of the Free," Joey claimed that "I was put here on this Earth not only to inspire but to wake people up" in the lead-up to AAB’s release. Having heard its entirety, that makes sense; the album is a defiant assertion of his status as a leader of millennials and a timely collection of (almost) entirely self-produced, anti-establishment anthems Riley Wallace

8. Mac DeMarco This Old Dog (Royal Mountain)

Mac DeMarco, a hero for the kids with his onstage antics and an inspiration to "keep it light" while wearing a pair of seen-better-days red Vans and an equally beatup baseball cap, has become synonymous with goofiness and good times. So when This Old Dog, his third studio album, was announced, it was easy to assume that he’d continue to bring the "jizz jazz" signature sound that he popularized — but he didn’t.

Instead, DeMarco proved to critics and fans alike (likely shocking both a tad) that not only can he pen a great tune, he’s equally capable of bringing the party and pulling at your heartstrings. He’s teased at this sort of softness before, with tracks like "Still Together" from 2 or Salad Days’ "Let My Baby Stay," but This Old Dog’s focuses on sweetly strummed guitars, melodies that provoke nostalgia and lyrics that address love and his estranged father, with a few surprises thrown in (the slinky "On The Level" and bouncy "Baby You’re Out"). It’s a wonderful surprise, and a sweet one, too. Cosette Schulz

7. Jay Som Everybody Works (Polyvinyl)

Melina Duterte has said that her debut album as Jay Som was inspired by Carly Rae Jepsen’s E•MO•TION, a talking point that has reverberated throughout all of her press. True, songs like "Remain" and "One More Time, Please" bear at least some similarity to Jepsen’s more slow-danceable heartbreak anthems, but reducing Everybody Works to this comparison ignores the album’s character and breadth.

"The Bus Song" is an absolutely timeless indie rock sing-along that makes a solid argument for the return of gang vocals, "1 Billion Dogs" is a fuzzed out alterna-banger and "(BedHead)" is ingenious slowcore. The Jepsen comparison is most on-point in that Everybody Works is so perfect that it sounds like it was laboured over by a team of songwriters and hip producers. But it wasn’t — it was recorded by Duterte, alone in her bedroom. Josiah Hughes

6. Drake More Life (Young Money/Cash Money/Republic)

If VIEWS was the angry rebuttable to Drake’s authenticity being challenged, More Life is the realization that introspective and peace-seeking is his most authentic artistic self. While its swollen "playlist" designation allows for a few unnecessary inclusions, the majority of Drake’s tenth full-length project finds him at his absolute finest.

The underlying theme is celebratory, including the sewn-in appraisal for an increasingly varied selection of global influences. For a brief moment a year ago, it looked as if Drake’s unchecked dominance may be coming to an end, a notion that seems ridiculous in retrospect. Emerging as a humble victor suits Drake best, and allows us all to reap the real spoils. Michael J. Warren

5. Mount Eerie A Crow Looked at Me (P.W. Elverum & Sun, Ltd.)

"Death is real."

In the past two decades that Phil Elverum has been singing about mortality, nothing he’s said before has been as hard-hitting, direct and heavy as these three words. Recorded during the months following the death of his wife, Geneviève Castrée, A Crow Looked at Me is a document of Elverum’s thoughts, fears and reality.

But what makes his eighth Mount Eerie LP so compelling is how it stands as an example of peerless art. Elverum couldn’t have been thinking of his fan base, record label or any musical scene while recording these songs; he was creating music out of pure necessity, as the 11 songs featured on this LP are bereft of choruses, bridges or even a proper rhyming structure. A Crow Looked at Me is an album Elverum almost certainly wishes he never had to make, but alas, death is real, and therefore it exists. This resulting meditation on grief is both stark and stunning. Daniel Sylvester

4. Father John Misty Pure Comedy (Sub Pop)

Father John Misty’s all-encompassing Pure Comedy finds Josh Tillman addressing the absurdity of human life, the effect of technology on the way we connect with others and the inherent meaninglessness of being here, but he does it all with shocking affection, in an Elton John-esque guise.

Far from a cynical polemic, Pure Comedy is a monster of a record that is never as hopeless as it may appear. It tries to shine a light on the possibility of a brighter, happier future by pointing out trivialities like the ridiculous weight we ascribe to our online presence ("Ballad of the Dying Man"), or by holding up a mirror to our strange human existence/experiment on its title track.

In its final moments, during "In Twenty Years or So," Tillman drives home just what we can learn from and do with meaninglessness: Find our own meaning. And as he sings, "I look at you as our second drinks arrive / the piano player’s playing ‘This Must Be The Place,’ and it’s a miracle to be alive," it’s clear that beauty and meaning and love are not so hard to find — even in a world that might suggest otherwise. Matt Williams

3. Feist Pleasure (Universal)

Leslie Feist’s first record in over half-a-decade might just be her best. Somewhere between the delicate sophistication of 2007’s The Reminder and the rougher bombast of 2011’s Metals, Pleasure finds Feist at her most dynamic, weaving timbres as seemingly contrary as woodwinds and gain-y blues guitar into songs that swing dramatically from placid to stormy in seconds — and that’s just in the first five minutes of it.

Even at their loudest, these songs are minimal: "I Wish I Didn’t Miss You" climaxes with Feist’s voice wailing through a watery delay effect over just her acoustic guitar; "Any Party" sounds like one when the gang vocals join her and her guitar for the chorus; and the propulsive "Century" is lent almost all of its urgency by a crackling layer of handclaps. They’re simple ingredients, but in Feist’s deft hands, they sound like pure Pleasure. Stephen Carlick

2. Sampha Process (Young Turks)

Though many listeners may have first become acquainted with Sampha through his guest features with Drake or SBTRKT, the UK native has firmly established himself as a solo artist with Process. It isn’t just his buttery tenor that makes his long-awaited debut LP a standout of this year so far, but his talent as both a writer and producer, too.

Drawing on the process of overcoming his mother’s passing and his own personal hurdles in music-making, emotional strength is a thematic constant across the record’s ten tracks, from the percussive drive of piano and drums on "Blood on Me" to the hushed keys and enveloping pads of closer "What Shouldn’t I Be?"

The most powerful moment of Sampha’s Process comes when he strips the electronic wizardry away, though; the breathtaking ballad "(No One Knows Me) Like the Piano" finds him seated at the ivories to lay bare his love for both his mother and music. Calum Slingerland

1. Kendrick Lamar DAMN. (Interscope/Top Dawg Entertainment)

Given music’s subjectivity, and Exclaim!’s long-standing policy of allowing writers to freely express their opinions, our original review of Kendrick Lamar’s latest caused some expected consternation. It’s an album that was praised by some, and fell short for others. After polling the Exclaim! writer’s pool, the overwhelming consensus was that DAMN. is the most beloved album released in 2017 so far.

Over sonically skeletal production, Lamar bares his truths and insecurities, fleshing out the songs with new layers and textures as he dramatizes the various characters he uses to speak on his behalf. He balances societal heartache and ferocious resilience, serving as a mouthpiece to tell the stories of his generation, as well as those before him and after us — and unapologetically, at that. The war chants of "DNA." and the introspective depth of "DUCKWORTH." offer jolting insights into the lives of young black Americans, while the animated "HUMBLE." and daunting "PRIDE." explore the waves of fear and acceptance that come with that day-to-day existence.

Whether you love DAMN. or not, for all that it stands for thematically, you have to admire Lamar for laying it all out on the table. Erin Lowers

View Full Article Here: Exclaim!’s Top 29 Albums of 2017 So Far

Exclaim!’s Top 29 Albums of 2017 So Far was originally published on CALM | We Drive The Calmest, Strive Regardless

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ordonewsworld · 8 years ago

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Toxic pollutants in the Arctic threat to polar bears, leading to pseudo-hermaphrodites and brain damage: study

Toxic pollutants in the Arctic poses great health threats to polar bears, leading to pseudo-hermaphrodites and brain damage, a recent study has showed. ______ Analyzing the effects of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) on species in the Arctic, researchers at the University of Milano Bicocca in Italy found that polar bears are exposed to greater health risks than seals, and their cubs are at…

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#Arctic #Drain Damage #Polar Bears #Pseudo-Hermaphrodites #Study #Toxic Pollutants #University of Milano Bicocca

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blimpsandwindmills · 8 years ago

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Sexual Harassment Policy Guidelines

By Al Link and Pala Copeland - 4 Freedoms Relationship Tantra

The following document is a draft intimate harassment guideline for business and other organizations. Authorization is hereby awarded for you to change and make use of the information in this essay provided that you include a reference to mcdougal as shown at the end of the article.

We shall simply take all reasonable steps to see that this sexual harassment policy is followed by all employees, guidance and other individuals who have contact with workers. This prevention plan will include training sessions, ongoing tabs on the work site and a confidential employee survey to be conducted and assessed each year.

Sexual harassment refers to various types of unwanted sexual attention. Sexual harassment does not mean occasional compliments of a socially acceptable nature. Sexual harassment refers to conduct which is offensive to the average person, which harms morale, and which interferes with the effectiveness of our business. Including stress to provide sexual favors, and offensive, intimidating comments or actions concerning one's sex or intimate orientation. You will find four basic types of sexual harassment:

1.Verbal harassment: Sexually suggestive comments, e.g., about a person's clothing, body, and/or sexual tasks; sexually provocative compliments about a person's clothes or just how their clothes fit; comments of a sexual nature about weight, physique, size, or figure; comments or questions about the sensuality of someone, or his/her spouse or significant other; duplicated unsolicited propositions for dates and/or sexual intercourse; pseudo-medical advice such as "you could be feeling bad because you didn't get enough" or "just a little Tender Loving Care (TLC) will cure your illnesses"; continuous idle chatter of a sexual nature and graphic sexual descriptions; phone calls of a sexual nature; derogatory comments or slurs; verbal abuse or threats; intimate jokes; suggestive or insulting sounds such as whistling, wolf-calls, or kissing sounds; homophobic insults.

2.Physical harassment: Sexual gestures, e.g., licking lips or teeth, holding or eating provocatively, and lewd gestures such as hand or indication language to denote sex; sexual looks such as leering and ogling with suggestive overtones; sexual innuendoes; cornering, impeding or blocking motion, or any physical disturbance with normal work or movement; touching that is inappropriate into the workplace such as patting, pinching, stroking, or brushing up contrary to the body, mauling, attempted or actual kissing or fondling; assault, coerced intimate intercourse, attempted rape or rape.

3.Visual harassment: Showing and distributing derogatory or pornographic posters, cartoons, drawings, books or magazines.

4.Sexual favors: Persistent stress for dates, undesired sexual advances that condition a work benefit upon an exchange of sexual favors.

It is impermissible to suggest, threaten or imply that failure to accept a request for a romantic date or sexual closeness will affect an employee’s job prospects. For example, it is forbidden either to imply or actually withhold support for a scheduled appointment, promotion or change of project or claim that a poor performance report will undoubtedly be given because a member of staff has declined an individual proposition. Also, offering benefits such as promotions, favorable performance evaluations, favorable assigned duties or shifts, recommendations or reclassifications in exchange for sexual favors is forbidden.

Any employee discovered to have violated this policy shall be subject to appropriate disciplinary action based on the findings of the complaint investigation. If an investigation reveals that sexual harassment has taken place, the harasser may also be held legally liable with regards to actions under provincial and federal law. Anyone making a false claim of sexual harassment will also be susceptible to disciplinary action.

Any employee bringing a sexual harassment complaint or assisting in investigating such a complaint will not be adversely affected in stipulations of employment, or discriminated against or discharge because of the compliant. Complaints of these retaliation will be promptly and thoroughly investigated.

Sexual harassment may appear in any situation, but is especially common in situations where there is an electric imbalance between the perpetrator and the victim, due to gender, race, intimate orientation, status or rank differences. Intimate harassment, however, may also occur between peers. Men and women may be victims of sexual harassment, although it is most common for ladies to be harassed by males. Intimate harassment additionally occurs between members associated with exact same sex.

Sexual harassment varies from healthy sexual attraction since it is unwelcome and unsolicited. Sexual conduct becomes unlawful only when it's unwelcome. The challenged conduct must be unwelcome in the sense that the employee did not solicit or incite it, and in the sense that the employee regarded the conduct as unwanted or offensive. NOTE: An employee who was previously involved with a mutual consenting intimate relationship with another individual maintains his or her entitlement to protection from sexual harassment, but s/he should inform one other party that any more sexual advances are unwelcome.

Sexual harassment degrades all persons and creates a hostile work environment. It is extremely costly for employers in addition to damaging to employees. The consequences of sexual harassment regarding the complainant may include loss of self-confidence and self-esteem, physical symptoms of stress, diminished work productivity, and low morale.

To fight intimate harassment, remember four techniques: confront, report, document, and support.

CONFRONT the harasser. State No Clearly. Inform the harasser that their attentions are undesired. Explain you discover the behavior offensive. If it persists, write a memo to the harasser asking them to stop; keep a copy.

REPORT the problem immediately, verbally and/or in writing right to your supervisor, or to the supervisor associated with accused, and to your union steward. Our door is always open and anybody who was harassed or thinks harassment is occurring, can seek our confidential advice. We will consult with the accused at your request and tell them about illegal conduct and its consequences. We now have a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment. If the incident is confirmed, the offending employee faces the following possible sanctions: verbal or written reprimand, negative evaluation, denial of promotion, poor recommendations, suspension, demotion, forced resignation, and termination. We are going to make every effort to create an atmosphere of convenience for recipients of intimate harassment to request assistance into the resolution of complaints, but at the same time we will also protect the rights of the accused until proven guilty.

Note: A single sexual advance, unless severe, may not represent harassment unless it is linked to the granting or denial of work or employment benefits. The unwelcome, intentional touching of a person’s intimate body areas is sufficiently offensive to be considered severe, as well as a single incident may be considered as harassment. Asking someone for a romantic date is maybe not considered severe. But a repetitive series of non-severe incidents will be looked at harassment if the offender was told to stop. It really is important for the victim to communicate that the conduct is unwelcome, particularly if the alleged harasser may have some reason to believe that the advance are welcomed such as a previous consenting relationship.

SEXUAL AIR POLLUTION

You can find acts perceived by the recipient to have a "sexual nature" which are unpleasant and annoying, but may not be sexual harassment. These offensive actions in the workplace pollute the working environment. Therefore, these acts have been labeled sexual pollution. Sexual pollution has got the potential of becoming a sexually harassing act. It is an offensive act and is highly recommended improper. Examples of sexual pollution are: continuous "pet" name calling, such as "baby," "sweetie, "or " honey"; referring to an individual as a "hunk," "fox," or "broad"; discussing men in general as "dogs," "swine," or even to women as "bitches," "wenches, " or "chicks"; remarks of a sexual nature, open shows of written and pictorial erotica, or nude photographs or posters (such as a nude magazine centerfold) at work, and continuous gift giving with the intention of getting sexual favors in return.

A single act of sexual pollution by itself may maybe not constitute sexual harassment. But, continuous acts utilizing the appearance of a sexual nature most likely would be. The "reasonable person” standard will undoubtedly be used to determine if it's or not.

DOCUMENT the harassment. As the incident is still fresh in your head, write down what happened, where, when, and exactly how you reacted, if possible, word for word. Include the names of witnesses, if any. Keep notes in a journal or notebook to show a continuous record. Send a dated, certified, return-receipt letter to the harasser, asking that the harassment stop, and keep a copy yourself. Use your telephone answering machine to tape phone calls from the harasser, and save phone messages that are left for you. Keep carefully the documents in a safe spot, away from work. Documentation will be crucial in the event that you must defend yourself in court or before an administrative hearing panel. Document work. Keep copies of performance evaluations and memos that attest to the caliber of your work. The harasser may question your task performance so that you can justify his behavior.

SEEK HELP from others. Talk to a buddy, colleague, or relative, a planned group, or counselor, and your manager or someone in workers that you trust. Not only will you gain, you may learn of others who have had similar experiences who can offer strategies for dealing utilizing the harassment and support. Look for witnesses along with other victims. You might not be the first one who was mistreated by this individual. Ask around discretely; you may find others who will help your charge. Two accusations are much harder to ignore. Get the union steward involved right away.

TREATMENTS AVAILABLE TO VICTIMS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT

If you have been discriminated against on the basis of sex, you are entitled to a remedy that will place you into the position you'd have been in if the discrimination had never occurred. You are entitled to hiring, promotion, reinstatement, back spend and other remuneration. It's also possible to be entitled to damages to make up you for future pecuniary losings, mental anguish and inconvenience. Punitive damages may be available, as well, if an employer acted with malice or reckless indifference. You are often entitled to lawyer's fees.

ARE YOU THE HARASSER?

Those accused of sexual harassment are often surprised to learn exactly how their behavior is recognized by those who feel victimized by such behavior.

Review your attitudes and actions toward others. Examine how others respond to just what you do and say. Is your behavior sex-neutral and bias-free?

Imagine yourself a victim of unwelcome intimate attention by some body having control over your career or livelihood.

Consider the impact you have on other's attitudes toward their work and self-esteem.

Usually do not assume that your colleagues, peers or employees enjoy intimately oriented comments about their appearance, or being touched or stared at.

Do not assume that others will tell you if they're offended or harassed in what you say or do.

Be familiar with other's feelings and responses to sexual harassment. Could your behavior cause others to go through the vulnerability, powerlessness, and anger described by victims?

SEXUAL HARASSMENT COMPLAINT RESEARCH PROCEDURE

Every issue will undoubtedly be thoroughly investigated. Whenever a grievance of sexual harassment is received we will require the following actions:

1.Question both parties in more detail.

2.Probe deeply for corroborative evidence.

Here is that which we are trying to determine with our investigation:

Could be the testimony of the victim internally consistent? Is the testimony of the accused internally consistent? Does each follow logically? Are both accounts externally consistent? Does the victim's account jibe with all the testimony of witnesses? Does the accused's account jibe with the testimony of witnesses? Did the accused have time and energy to do what the victim alleged? Does the victim have any feasible motive for falsely implicating the accused? Could the harassment have happened at the time and location specified? Despite the fact that there had been no witnesses, could the harassment have taken spot at the time and the place?

We are going to maybe not assume the accused is guilty, but neither will we attach much significance to an over-all denial by the accused harasser. We will search completely and thoroughly for proof that corroborates either side's story. We does this by:

1. Interviewing co-workers, supervisors, and managers

2. receiving testimony from individuals who observed the accuser's demeanor immediately after the so-called event of harassment

3. Checking out people with whom the alleged victim discussed the incident (e.g., co-workers, a health care provider, or a counselor).

We are going to ask other employees if they noticed changes in the accusing person's behavior at work or in the alleged harasser's treatment of him or her. We will search for evidence of other complaints, either by the victim or other employees. We will follow up on evidence that other workers had been sexually harassed by the same individual. In an effort to make a fair and legal choice on a sexual harassment complaint we have to find out as much information as we can, not only on the incident itself, but also on the victim's and accuser's personalities, surroundings, and relationships. To perform this task, we have to not only ask many questions associated with victim and accuser, but additionally of any witnesses to the incident while the surrounding environment.

Listed below are some questions we possibly may ask the victim:

Certain towards the event, just what happened? Whenever did it happen? Where did it happen? What preceded the incident? What did the harasser do or say? Just what did you do or state? What happened in addition to or since the event? And also require seen or heard the incident? With whom have you discussed the incident?

Here are some questions we may ask the accused:

Specific towards the event, are you attracted to (name the employee)? Ever think of (name the employee) in a sexual means? Have you ever touched (name the employee)? Have you tried to kiss (name the employee)? (Describe the alleged incident.) Please give me your version of the event. Did you offer (name the employee) help with his/her job in trade for his/her affection?

Here are a few questions we may ask any witnesses:

Have co-workers complained about inappropriate behavior in the division? Have you physically noticed or been offended by inappropriate behavior? Please describe any inappropriate or offensive behavior which you have observed or witnessed. Are there any calendar pictures or posters displayed which offend you or somebody else? Have offensive jokes or comments been made about people in the department? (If the answer to the above question is yes then ask:) Who made these remarks and just what had been said? Specific towards the event (describe the time and place associated with incident, then ask:), Did you notice anything in your department that may have disturbed you or another employee? Did you hear a conversation involving (name the employee)? Did you see anyone chatting to this employee? Did you observe any interaction between this employee and a co-worker or manager?

MYTHS ABOUT SEXUAL HARASSMENT

The complainant wanted the attention or enjoyed it.

The complainant's looks or clothing enticed the harasser.

The complainant probably falsified the incident report of sexual harassment.

The complainants and the accused sexual harassers can be easily identified or stereotyped.

All men are harassers.

Women are the only victims or sexual harassment and women do maybe not sexually harass. (Approximately 10% of reported cases are filed against women and 90% against males).

Intimate harassment is only teasing and an innocent flirtation sport.

Sexual harassment is rare into the workplace.

If the complainant had only said "No," the harassment would have stopped.

For many individuals, sexual harassment is an uncomfortable, annoying and even terrifying experience. It may be extremely disruptive to a person's lifestyle to handle a continuous barrage of undesired feedback, to rearrange a person's routine to avoid certain people, and also to simply live in a constant state of wariness. Because of this, harassment can have devastating effects using one's performance at work, one's comfort and self-esteem and physical health. Often, people are afraid of addressing the harassment they experience because they fear that the perpetrator will exercise their power in a disadvantageous way. For instance, one might fear losing a promotion, getting a poor evaluation, or being fired if one protests or even acknowledges the harassment.

Folks who are sexually harassed often wrongly assume that the cause of their problem is in their own personal conduct, and for that reason are very hesitant to confront the instigator, or to talk about the problem with an authority or even a friend. Others try to downplay the existence of the harassment in the hopes that it'll simply end. But victims aren't to be culpable for the behavior of the harasser, nor should they pretend that the negative impacts they're experiencing don't exist, because they probably won't disappear completely by themselves.

We understand that if you have been the victim of sexual harassment you might not have told the harasser to stop for a number of reasons. If you come forward to us with your issue, this is how we will assist you.

We are going to not treat your issue as trivial. All complaints will undoubtedly be taken seriously, but there is however a wide degree of huge difference between incidents. You and anyone accused will be advised of your right to union representation. Less severe complaints can be handled informally. For example, the supervisor may call in anyone who has been reported about and reiterate the insurance policy and also make admonishments where essential for the employee to modify their or her behavior. We will first try to resolve the issue informally without a formal complaint, unless the incident was unambiguous and severe, by which case a formal procedure will undoubtedly be implemented immediately. It really is as much as you to decide how serious the situation is. You'll not be pressured to handle the incident informally. In the event that situation is adequately resolved with an informal procedure, no further action shall be taken. In the event that matter just isn't resolved to the complainant's satisfaction through informal resolution, a formal procedure will undoubtedly be implemented.

We are going to ask you if you feel comfortable asking the harasser to stop, or would choose third-party intervention from us. You may choose to accept the self-help approach. If so, approach the harasser and say "I want (whatever the sexually harassing behavior is) to stop immediately" in a firm and assertive way. This approach gives you a working part into the resolution procedure and a sense of "empowerment." Telling the harasser to cease will often deter the harasser from subsequent and more progressive acts of sexual harassment.

We will instruct you to keep a record of the incidents of intimate harassment. You should record all incidents, dates, times, places, and witnesses who heard or saw the event. You should seek information about other individuals who was similarly harassed, but it would be better to do this only after you communicate with us. These persons may be important components in the grievance resolution procedure if a formal issue is filed. You should contact the individuals recognized to be targets of sexual harassment before disclosing their names. This action ought to be discrete and kept confidential for your personal protection and and to be absolutely fair to the accused. Information should be disclosed only on a need to understand basis and with the understanding that the receiver has a duty to protect privacy. We will closely monitor the situation to make sure that there is no retaliation against you or any possible witnesses.

The next phase is to take into account writing a letter in that you request an end to the harassing behavior. Writing a letter to the harasser was a controversial issue since it may trigger questions of legality, confidentiality, admissible evidence, and due process. But, if the letter is kept CONFIDENTIAL and is written in a "polite" yet direct manner, these questions will not arise. The letter should contain the following:

1.A description associated with incident while the style of behavior, including information regarding location, date, and time of the event. This part ought to be low-key and may address just the facts.

2.A description of the event's mental and physical effect on you. You should convey views, thoughts, and feelings, and may share the effect of the harassing behavior. For example, "It embarrassed me," "made my stomach check out knots," or "I can't focus on might work."

3.An clear statement that you want the intimate harassment to stop straight away and what is important to maintain any future relationship. For example, "I want our relationship to be strictly expert and I don't want you ever to touch me again or make gestures or remarks about my sex." A copy of the page should be kept by you in a secured location. A copy should be given to your supervisor or the individual in personnel who is assisting you to, and a copy to your union steward. You may give the letter towards the harasser in individual or send it by certified mail. We will allow you to write the page if you need us to do so.

Generally writing a letter is more powerful than a verbal message telling the harasser to stop. Writing a letter is an important step toward ending the intimate harassment. Other advantages of writing a letter are as follows:

It keeps the incident/s confidential.

It avoids public or private confrontation.

It gives the so-called harasser the opportunity to know exactly how his or her behavior is affecting you.

It provides the harasser a possibility to change his or her behavior or defend it before informal or formal complaints are filed.

It may minimize or avoid retaliation against you.

It could be utilized meant for a formal complaint or lawsuit to demonstrate that you initiated action to end the harassment.

HARASSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE

This questionnaire will undoubtedly be administered to any or all workers at minimum once per year. Please do not write any names on this form. Continue regarding the back with this form if additional space is needed to answer a question.

Questions (Answer Y or N )

1. Have you been subjected to intimate harassment while working here? (If "No," skip to Question #11.) Y ___ N ___

2. If so, what did you encounter? (Check as appropriate).

Physical contact you did not need. Y ___ N ___

Cornering or invading your "personal space." Y ___ N ___

Continued or repeated idle chatter of a sexual nature and graphic comments about sex.

Y ___ N ___

Offensive and persistent "risque" jokes or sexual teasing. Y ___ N ___

Comments made or questions asked about the sensuality of your better half, friend or your own sexual orientation. Y ___ N ___

Pseudo-medical advice provided to you such as for example "You must be feeling bad since you didn't get enough (sex)" or "A Little Tender Loving Care (TLC) will cure your ailments."

Y ___ N ___

Provocative looks such as for example leering or ogling. Y ___ N ___

Lewd gestures (holding or eating fruit provocatively) or suggestive noises or sounds (wolf calls, kissing sounds, or lip smacking). Y ___ N ___

Annoying or degrading comments about your body, weight, or size. Y ___ N ___

Annoying or degrading remarks about sex. Y ___ N ___

Force to engage in intimate activity, but without job-related threats. Y ___ N ___

Threats or suggestions that your task or working conditions, etc., depend on your distribution to intimate demands. Y ___ N ___

In the event that you have experienced sexual harassment regarding the job in a form that had not been listed, please use the area below to describe. Sexual Harassment Policy Guidelines (Continue on the back if necessary). _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

4.Who harassed you? (Do not write names)

Co-worker _____ Supervisor _____ Customer _____Other: (Specify) ____________

5.What action did you take to end the harassment? (in the event that you did not take any actions to end the harassment, skip to Question #8.)

No Action _____Filed a formal complaint/grievance _____Filed an informal complaint/grievance _____Resolved the issue on your own _____

Other measures: (Specify) _________________________________________

6.Did the harassment stop when you initiated action to end it? Y ___ N ___

7.What had been the outcome? (Continue on back if necessary) _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________

8.If you did not simply take any action to end the harassment, please indicate why?_________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________

9.Would you've got filed a complainant in the event that you have been aware of a process of you to accomplish therefore? Y N

10.Were you penalized in any way for objecting or complaining? If so, how? Y N _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________

11.Do you know of anyone who works in this unit who has been harassed and was afraid to object or complain? Y N

12.Do you think that intimate harassment is a problem in this unit? What suggestions do you have for creating a sexual harassment-free workplace? Y N _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________

13.Has harassment, or your fear of it, distracted you from work or reduced your effectiveness? Y N How? (Specify and continue on back if required.) _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________

14.(Optional) Are you male or female? M F

15.Please make any extra comments on any aspect of this subject. _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________

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