Newly released documents provide details about Jeffrey Epstein’s final days in a NYC prison while under suicide watch – The Daily New York

thedailyny.com

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Newly obtained documents reveal the details of Jeffrey Epstein’s last days in a Manhattan jail before his death by suicide two weeks later.

According to records obtained by The Associated Press, Epstein experienced agitation and sleeplessness in his jail cell, with his hands covering his ears to block out the sound of a continuously running toilet. The disgraced financier struggled to adapt to life behind bars following his arrest on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges in July 2019.

Epstein had been placed under psychological observation after a previous suicide attempt, but he insisted he was not suicidal during interactions with a jail psychologist. Despite a 31-hour stint on suicide watch, Epstein claimed to have a “wonderful life” and expressed no intention to end it.

On August 10, 2019, Epstein was found dead. The AP has obtained over 4,000 pages of documents related to his death from the federal Bureau of Prisons, providing a comprehensive account of Epstein’s detention, his suicide, and the subsequent chaos that ensued.

These records debunk various conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein’s death, highlighting the significant failings within the Bureau of Prisons, including staffing shortages and lapses in protocols, that contributed to his demise.

The documents shed light on the agency’s inadequate response following Epstein’s discovery unresponsive in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center. Emails reveal a prosecutor’s frustration with the Bureau of Prisons’ lack of information and their premature release of public press releases before providing essential details to Epstein’s attorneys and family.

Additionally, the documents reveal Epstein’s behavior during his time in jail, including his attempt to correspond through mail with Larry Nassar, the convicted U.S. gymnastics team doctor responsible for sexually abusing numerous athletes.

These newly released records offer valuable insights into the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s detention, suicide, and the subsequent handling of the case by the Bureau of Prisons.

Epstein’s letter to Nassar was found returned to sender in the jail’s mail room weeks after Epstein’s death. “It appeared he mailed it out and it was returned back to him,” the investigator who found the letter told a prison official by email. “I am not sure if I should open it or should we hand it over to anyone?”

The letter itself was not included among the documents turned over to the AP.

On the night before his death, Jeffrey Epstein interrupted a meeting with his lawyers to make a phone call to his family, as stated in a memo from a unit manager. Interestingly, Epstein claimed to be calling his mother, who had passed away 15 years prior.

Epstein’s suicide brought significant attention to the Bureau of Prisons, prompting the closure of the Metropolitan Correctional Center in 2021. The incident also triggered an investigation by the AP, uncovering previously undisclosed issues within the agency. As the largest department within the Justice Department, employing over 30,000 individuals, housing 158,000 inmates, and operating with an $8 billion annual budget, the Bureau of Prisons faced heightened scrutiny.

An internal memo, lacking a specific date but circulated after Epstein’s death, attributed the problems at the jail to severe staff shortages, inadequate training, and a lack of proper follow-up and oversight. The memo outlined corrective measures implemented by the Bureau of Prisons in response to the failures exposed by Epstein’s suicide, including the requirement for supervisors to review surveillance footage to ensure officers were conducting the necessary cell checks.

Epstein’s attorney, Martin Weinberg, condemned the conditions experienced by detainees at the facility, describing them as “medieval” and asserting that no American defendant should have been subjected to such confinement. The revelations surrounding Epstein’s death and the subsequent investigation have shed light on the systemic issues within the Bureau of Prisons, prompting calls for reforms to address the deficiencies and improve the overall conditions for inmates.

“It’s sad, it’s tragic, that it took this kind of event to finally cause the Bureau of Prisons to close this regrettable institution,” Weinberg said Thursday in a phone interview.

Tova Noel and Michael Thomas, the guards responsible for overseeing Jeffrey Epstein on the night of his suicide, were charged with falsifying prison records to create the impression that they had conducted required checks prior to Epstein’s lifeless body being discovered. On that fateful night, Epstein’s cellmate did not return after a court hearing, and prison officials failed to assign another inmate to share the cell with him, leaving Epstein alone.

According to prosecutors, Noel and Thomas were sitting at their desks just 15 feet away from Epstein’s cell but neglected to perform the mandatory rounds every 30 minutes. Instead, they allegedly engaged in online shopping for furniture and motorcycles and wandered around the unit’s common area. The indictment revealed that both guards appeared to have been asleep for a period of two hours. While Noel and Thomas admitted to falsifying the log entries, they struck a deal with federal prosecutors that spared them from serving prison time. Redacted copies of some of the log entries were included in the recently released documents.

The investigation by the Justice Department’s inspector general into the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death is still ongoing.

Upon his arrival at the Metropolitan Correctional Center on July 6, 2019, Epstein spent 22 hours in the jail’s general population before being transferred to the special housing unit. This move was prompted by the extensive media coverage and the heightened awareness of his notoriety among the inmate population. Epstein expressed displeasure at having to wear an orange jumpsuit, which was provided to inmates in the special housing unit, and complained about being treated like a “bad guy” despite his good behavior behind bars. He requested a brown uniform for his frequent meetings with his lawyers.

During the initial health screening, Epstein disclosed that he had engaged in sexual relationships with more than ten women in the previous five years. Medical records revealed that he suffered from sleep apnea, constipation, hypertension, lower back pain, and prediabetes. Additionally, Epstein had previously received treatment for chlamydia.

According to the records, Epstein made some efforts to adjust to his environment while in jail. He requested a Kosher meal and expressed his desire, through his lawyer, to exercise outdoors. Just two days before his death, Epstein made a purchase of $73.85 from the prison commissary, which included an AM/FM radio and headphones. At the time of his death, he had $566 remaining in his account.

Epstein’s mental state deteriorated after a judge denied him bail on July 18, 2019, which meant he would remain incarcerated until his trial and potentially face a lengthy prison sentence of up to 45 years if convicted. Four days after the bail denial, Epstein was discovered on the floor of his cell with a bedsheet wrapped around his neck.

Although Epstein survived the incident, he did not require hospitalization. He was subsequently placed on suicide watch and later placed under psychiatric observation. Logs maintained by jail officers noted that they observed Epstein “sitting at the edge of the bed, lost in thought” and “sitting with his head against the wall.”

Epstein expressed frustration with the noise of the jail and his lack of sleep. His first few weeks at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, Epstein didn’t have his sleep apnea breathing apparatus he used. Then, the toilet in his cell started acting up.

“He was still left in the same cell with a broken toilet,” the jail’s chief psychologist wrote in a email the next day. “Please move him to the cell next door when he returns from legal as the toilet still does not work.”

The day before Epstein ended his life, a federal judge unsealed about 2,000 pages of documents in a sexual abuse lawsuit against him. That development, prison officials observed, further eroded Epstein’s previous elevated status.

That, combined with a lack of significant interpersonal connections and “the idea of potentially spending his life in prison were likely factors contributing to Mr. Epstein’s suicide,” officials wrote.

https://thedailyny.com/2023/06/03/newly-released-documents-provide-details-about-jeffrey-epsteins-final-days-in-a-nyc-prison-while-under-suicide-watch/

Nearly 13,000 chemicals used in cosmetics & only 10% tested for safety – Here are the 10 most hazardous products

envirowatchnz.com
Nearly 13,000 chemicals used in cosmetics & only 10% tested for safety – Here are the 10 most hazardous products


“The average fragrance product tested contained 14 secret chemicals not listed on the label. Among them are chemicals associated with hormone disruption and allergic reactions, and many substances that have not been assessed for safety in personal care products.” EWG
Story at-a-glance

From mercola.com

An analysis of personal care and cleaning products found the top 10 most hazardous products include a children’s shampoo, JLo Glow perfume, Kaboom with OxiClean, Axe body spray and Organix Shampoo
Over-the-counter products are not inherently safe as there are nearly 13,000 chemicals used in cosmetics and only 10% have been tested for safety. This loophole was created by the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, which does not force companies to disclose trade secrets
The Environmental Working Group found perfumes typically contain a dozen or more potentially hazardous chemicals, some of which are derived from petroleum. This chemical cocktail may be responsible for the rising number of adverse events reported after exposure to personal care products
Look for products without dangerous chemicals, including parabens, “fragrance,” triclosan and toluene, or consider making your own products at home from safe and natural ingredients

Editor’s Note: This article is a reprint. It was originally published October 24, 2018.

Unfortunately, just because it’s sold over-the-counter does not mean a product is safe for you. In fact, of the nearly 13,000 chemicals used in cosmetics, only 10% have been tested for safety. While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has the authority to regulate ingredients in cosmetics and personal care products, they often do not exercise it.1

Adding insult to injury, the FDA tasks companies manufacturing and marketing cosmetics with ensuring their safety. Not only is this an obvious conflict of interest, but “neither the law nor FDA regulations require specific test to demonstrate the safety of individual products or ingredients.”2

So, while cosmetic companies are responsible for substantiating safety, there are no required tests and the companies do not have to share safety data. In fact, the FDA isn’t even authorized to order recalls of hazardous chemicals from the market.

Cosmetic3 companies may also fall back on a loophole in the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act,4 which allows companies to withhold information relating to “trade secrets,” under which fragrances and flavor ingredients fall.5

Participating with Environmental Defense and other U.S. groups, the Breast Cancer Prevention Partners (BCPP) tested personal care products and cleaning products sold at major Canadian retailers in order to identify undisclosed fragrance ingredients.6 A lack of federal regulation in Canada and the U.S. results in an increased risk of exposure to consumers.
Your Right to Know

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a project of the BCPP, is a broad-based national coalition of nonprofit organizations whose mission it is to protect the health of consumers by securing reforms necessary to eliminate dangerous chemicals linked to adverse health effects.7

The research project was triggered by scientific literature and prior product testing indicating chemicals linked to cancer, birth defects, endocrine disruption and other adverse effects were used heavily in beauty, personal care and cleaning products.

However, despite research evidence, there continues to be a lack of legislatively mandated labeling requirements, leaving consumers uninformed of the dangers in products they bring into their homes every day. For this test, BCPP and their partners purchased 140 different beauty, personal care and cleaning products for testing.

Of particular concern were products marketed to children, women of color and products marketed by celebrities as “good for the environment” or “green.” One of the more concerning results was that many of the personal care products tested contained more hazardous chemicals than the cleaning products.8

Millions of dollars and countless hours of lobbying have been poured into the industry’s fight against legislatively mandated ingredient disclosure. Fragrance is a big business as they are used in personal care products and cleaning products.

The value of the North American flavor and fragrance market is nearly $6 billion and forecast to reach $7.42 billion by 2020.9

The fragrance industry has nearly 4,000 fragrance chemicals at its disposal, which companies are not mandated to disclose. BCPP hired two independent third-party testing laboratories. The first assessed volatile organic compounds and the other performed two-dimensional gas chromatography on a subset of 32 products, including shampoo, deodorant, multipurpose cleaners and lotions.

There was an average of 136 chemicals in the cleaning products and an average of 146 in personal care products. The team then compared the product name against the type of chemicals triggering hormone disruption, asthma, developmental toxins and cancer.

From this data they ranked the top 10 products with the most hazardous chemicals in terms of the highest number linked to these health effects.10 The products making the top 10 dangerous products directly from the BCPP report were:11
Just for Me Shampoo — A children’s shampoo, from a hair-relaxing kit marketed to kids of color by Strength of Nature.
JLo Glow Perfume — A fine fragrance made by Coty and endorsed by music, television and film icon Jennifer Lopez.
Kaboom with OxiClean Shower Tub & Tile Cleaner — Marketed as a “great cleaner that is safe and friendly to use,” made by Church & Dwight Co.
Olay Luminous Tone Body Lotion — Made by Procter & Gamble and marketed for its antiaging qualities.
Axe Phoenix Body Spray — A body spray made by Unilever and marketed to young men using an overtly sexual ad campaign.
Marc Jacobs Daisy Perfume — Another Coty fragrance carrying the famous designer’s name and using beatific, radiant young girls in its marketing campaigns.
Taylor Swift Wonderstruck Perfume — A Revlon fine fragrance endorsed by the beloved pop country singer Taylor Swift.
Organix (OGX) Shampoo — A Johnson & Johnson product marketed as part of a “green/sustainable” line of products to young women.
Formulation 64-RP — An industrial cleaner and disinfectant used by custodians firefighters and others.
White Linen Perfume — Created by Estée Lauder in 1978, marketed as “a beautiful perfume” for women young and old.

While these were the top 10 products, it is important to remember the team conducted tests on 140 personal care and cleaning products, the lowest of which, yellow soap, had 46 chemicals. Other cleaning products such as Kaboom with OxiClean Shower, Tub and Tile Cleaner had 229. Of the 25 personal care products tested, only three had less than 100 and none had less than 75.
Perfumes Tied to Chronic Disease

Are perfumes really the scent of danger? The Environmental Working Group (EWG) found the most popular perfumes, colognes and body sprays may contain trace amounts of natural essence, but they typically contain dozen or more potentially hazardous chemicals. Some of the synthetic chemicals are derived from petroleum.

In an independent laboratory test, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics12 found 38 secret chemicals in 17 leading fragrances including top offenders from American Eagle, Coco Chanel, Britney Spears and Giorgio Armani. Following an analysis of the data, EWG commented:13

“The average fragrance product tested contained 14 secret chemicals not listed on the label. Among them are chemicals associated with hormone disruption and allergic reactions, and many substances that have not been assessed for safety in personal care products.”

Makers of these popular perfumes often use marketing terms such as “floral,” “exotic” or “musky” without disclosing the complex cocktail of synthetic chemicals used to create the scent.

The average fragrance product tested by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics contains 14 chemicals not listed on the label, among those associated with hormone disruption, allergic reactions and substances without safety testing.

Undisclosed ingredients also include chemicals that accumulate in the human tissue, such as diethyl phthalates, found in nearly 97% of Americans and linked to sperm damage.

Their report14 also found the FDA was similarly uninformed, as a review of government records revealed a vast majority of the chemicals used in fragrances were not assessed for safety when used in spray-on personal care products.
Phthalates Continue To Be Used in Personal Care Products

However, it isn’t only the undisclosed chemicals under the generic label “fragrance” that are cause for concern. Some chemicals listed included ultraviolet protector chemicals associated with hormone disruption and nearly 24 chemical sensitizers responsible for triggering allergic reactions.

Some manufacturing companies are moving toward restricting or eliminating certain chemicals from fragrances, such as phthalates.15 Although phthalates are only one chemical of concern in fragrances, this is a step in the right direction.

Findings from a multicenter study made a strong correlation between a mother’s exposure to phthalates during pregnancy and changes to the development in a baby boy’s genitals.

Another study at an infertility clinic demonstrated exposure was correlated to DNA damage in sperm and a third study in children aged 4 to 9 linked behavioral problems to higher maternal exposure to low molecular-weight phthalates.16
Adverse Event Reports on the Rise

While FDA regulation is weak at best, it is completely ineffective when adverse effects are not reported. The FDA has an adverse event reporting system containing information on product complaints submitted to the FDA. The database is designed to support safety surveillance programs and includes symptoms, product information and patient outcome.17

The FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) adverse event reporting system was made publicly available in 2016.18 An analysis of events dated between 2004 and 2016, including voluntary submissions by consumers and health care professionals, showed over 5,000 events reported, at an average of 396 events per year.

However, the average number hides a growing trend. For instance, in 2015 there were 706 events reported and in 2016 there were over 1,500. The three most commonly reported products were hair care, skin care and tattoos. The authors of the report suggest more surveillance is needed, saying:19

“Unlike devices, pharmaceuticals and dietary supplements, cosmetic manufacturers have no legal obligation to forward adverse events to the FDA; CFSAN reflects only a small portion of all events. The data suggests that consumers attribute a significant portion of serious health outcomes to cosmetics.”

The spike in adverse effects reported to the FDA in 2016 occurred only after the agency appealed to consumers and physicians to report events related to products manufactured by Chaz Dean Cleansing Conditioners under the brand name Wen.20

When adverse event complaints are made to a manufacturer they are not legally obligated to pass the reports to the FDA. Following an investigation, the FDA uncovered another 21,000 complaints made to Chaz Dean.21 It is highly likely adverse effects are commonly reported to the manufacturer and not to the FDA, indicating the total numbers in the CFSAN system are underreported.
Avoid These Toxic Chemicals in Your Personal Care Products

Despite over 21,000 consumer complaints to the contrary, Guthy-Renker, WEN’s marketing company, told NPR:22

“We welcome legislative and regulatory efforts to further enhance consumer safety across the cosmetic products industry. However, there is no credible evidence to support the false and misleading claim that WEN products cause hair loss.”

Until control improves over chemicals used in personal care products, safety testing and regulation protecting the consumer, it’s important you read the label on every personal care and cosmetic product you purchase. Here’s a list of some of the more hazardous chemicals found in many personal care products:23,24
Parabens — This chemical, found in deodorants, lotion, hair products and cosmetics, is a hormone disruptor mimicking the action of the female hormone estrogen, which can drive the growth of human breast tumors. A study published in 2012 found parabens from antiperspirants and other cosmetics appear to increase your risk of breast cancer.25
BHA and BHT — These chemicals are used as preservatives in makeup and moisturizers and are suspected endocrine disruptors.26
Synthetic colors — FD&C or D&C are the labels used to represent artificial colors. The letters are preceded by a color and number, such as D&C Red 27. The colors are derived from coal tar or petroleum sources and are suspected carcinogens. They are also linked to ADHD in children.
Fragrance — This is a large category of chemicals protected as proprietary information, and manufacturers do not have to release the chemical cocktails used to produce the scents in fabric sheets, perfumes, shampoos, body washes — anything having an ingredient called “fragrance.”
Formaldehyde-releasing preservatives — While adding formaldehyde is banned as it is a known carcinogen, manufacturers have found other chemicals act as preservatives and release formaldehyde. Chemicals such as quaternium-15, diazolidinyl urea, methenamine and hydantoin are used in a variety of cosmetics and slowly release formaldehyde as they age.
Sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate — These are surfactants found in more than 90% of cleaning products and personal care products to make the product foam. They are known to irritate your eyes, skin and lungs and may interact with other chemicals to form nitrosamines, a known carcinogen.
Toluene — Toluene is made from petroleum or coal tar, and found in most synthetic fragrances and nail polish. Chronic exposure is linked to anemia, lowered blood cell count, liver or kidney damage, and may affect a developing fetus.
Triclosan — This antibacterial ingredient found in soaps and other products has been linked to allergies, endocrine disruption, weight gain and inflammatory responses, and may aggravate the growth of liver and kidney tumors.
Propylene glycol — This small organic alcohol is used as a skin conditioning agent and found in moisturizers, sunscreen, conditioners, shampoo and hairspray. It has also been added to medications to help your body absorb the chemicals more quickly and to electronic cigarettes. It is a skin irritant, is toxic to your liver and kidneys, and may produce neurological symptoms.27,28,29
Prevent Exposure by Making Your Own

Your skin is an excellent drug delivery system, so what goes on your body is as important as what goes in your mouth. Chemicals you ingest may be filtered through a health gut microbiome, a protection you don’t get when they are absorbed through your skin.

Consider preventing exposure by making many of your own personal care products at home and consulting the EWG Skin Deep searchable database30 to help you find personal care products free of potentially dangerous chemicals. Products bearing the “USDA 100% Organic” seal are among your safest bets if you want to avoid potentially toxic ingredients.

Seek out recipes to make your own homemade bath and handwashing products that don’t contain additional by-products and preservatives. For instance, coconut oil is a healthy skin moisturizer with natural antibacterial properties. Coconut oil may also be used as a leave in conditioner on your hair — be sure to start with very little.

Consider a 25% dilution of apple cider vinegar and water to wash your hair. Spritz your hair with the solution and leave it in for five minutes before thoroughly rinsing. You may have to tweak the dilution for your hair type as apple cider vinegar is a conditioning agent.

Sources and References

SOURCE

Photo: AVAKAphoto @ pixabay.com

https://envirowatchnz.com/2023/05/26/nearly-13000-chemicals-used-in-cosmetics-only-10-tested-for-safety-here-are-the-10-most-hazardous-products/#like-82471

The woke vocabulary… just in case you’re wondering what the hell they’re talking about!

Just when you thought wokeness could not possibly get anymore mind-numbingly stupefying, this happens. It is truly the doublespeak of '1984'. #WokeMindVirus #WokeCulture pic.twitter.com/LYpJQtZPcQ

— Now The End Begins (@NowTheEndBegins) May 7, 2023

CFACT hits NJ beach with “Save the Whales” message by land and air

www.cfact.org

CFACT, with help from our friends in the Heartland Institute and the American Coalition for Ocean Protection, took our hard-hitting “Save the Whales” message to Atlantic City.

The New York Post featured our save the whales action.  Take a look at our air banner (above) and our billboard:

The New York Post reported, “Beachgoers in Atlantic City on Saturday looked on as a single-propeller plane carried a message waving from a banner — “SAVE-WHALES-STOP-WINDMILLS.ORG” — and drivers heading out of town saw a billboard with the same message and a picture of a dead whale washed ashore.”

The Post quoted me:

“’Damn the whales, full speed ahead’ seems to be the official policy of the Biden administration when it comes to the construction of offshore wind,” Rucker said in a statement. “The White House seems to remain unfazed and fixated on implementing its reckless ‘net zero’ energy agenda.”

CFACT readers know that the Biden Administration is turning a deliberate blind eye to the potential impacts on marine wildlife from the massive offshore wind farms they are planning.  Scientists estimate that only a few hundred right whales remain and they are particularly at risk.  To top it all off, those intermittent, inefficient wind turbines aren’t even capable of generating reliable electricity!

CFACT’s campaign to call our government bureaucrats to their duty to protect endangered whales has taken off like wildfire.  Thanks to you for sharing our research and spreading the word.

https://www.cfact.org/2023/04/27/cfact-hits-nj-beach-with-save-the-whales-message-by-land-and-air/

Macular Degeneration: 9 Things Eye Doctors Want You to Know

www.healthgrades.com

Written By Lorna Collier on March 20, 2021

• Macular Degeneration Affects Central Vision Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness among Americans over 50. It damages the center of the retina, or macula, affecting your central vision. This is your ability to see what’s right in front of you, such as faces or words you’re trying to read. About 2.1 million people in the United States have AMD. That number is likely to hit 3.5 million by 2030 and 5.4 million by 2050, as our population ages. We talked to ophthalmologists to find out what you need to know about AMD symptoms and treatment.
• 1. “The older you get, the greater your chances of getting macular degeneration.” “Your greatest risk factor for AMD is living longer,” says Dr. Catherine Blume Meyerle, an ophthalmologist at Johns Hopkins’ Wilmer Eye Institute. “Usually people are 60 or older when they are first diagnosed with the condition,” she says. The numbers go up as people get into their 70s, 80s and beyond. Other risk factors include having a family history and ethnicity. “It’s more likely to affect Caucasians and whites—those with lighter pigmentation, who are fair, with blue eyes. These risk factors predispose you to AMD, but don’t necessarily mean you will get it,” she says.
• 2. “Stop smoking—it can save your eyesight.” You can’t do anything about your age or genetic make-up. But you can change your behavior. And one behavior that’s linked to AMD is smoking. “Smoking is the main modifiable risk factor we know about that contributes to macular degeneration,” says Dr. Mark Michels, MD, an ophthalmologist and founding partner at Retina Care Specialists in Florida. “Smoking is very detrimental for your retina,” adds Dr. Meyerle. “Your retina is highly metabolic tissue that requires a lot of oxygen. Smoking interferes with that.”
• 3. “Eat plenty of leafy green vegetables, blueberries, and fish.” “The other way to reduce your chances of developing macular degeneration—or slowing its progression—is to eat the right foods,” says Dr. Meyerle. “Multiple nutrition studies have found people with better nutrition have a lower risk of macular degeneration,” she says. She recommends getting lutein—a key antioxidant for retinal health—by eating blueberries and leafy greens like spinach, kale and arugula. Fish oil is also important. “People need to eat fish. Supplements haven’t been shown to help,” she says. Dr. Meyerle advises people with intermediate AMD to take “AREDS 2” supplements—a mix of antioxidants and vitamins.
• 4. “Macular degeneration comes in two types—dry and wet.” “Most people with macular degeneration—at least 80%—have the dry type,” says Dr. Michels. “This type happens when cells in the middle of the retina degenerate,” he says. “In advanced stages, this can result in atrophy and loss of central vision. The wet type occurs when there is bleeding and fluid from blood vessels under the retina, which causes more rapid loss of vision. About 90% of blindness from macular degeneration occurs in the wet form of the disease.”
• 5. “Blurry vision can be a symptom of macular degeneration.” “Early-stage macular degeneration may have no warning signs. You’ll only find you have it with a comprehensive eye exam, which people should have starting at age 40,” says Dr. Meyerle. But there are macular degeneration symptoms you should know about. “For early or intermediate AMD, you may notice blurred, cloudy, distorted or central smudging of vision,” says Dr. Michels. “Signs of advancing AMD include straight lines starting to look wavy,” says Dr. Meyerle. “Blind spots in your vision are another sign,” she says. “It’s like something is blocked out.”
• 6. “Test your eyes at home to make sure you aren’t developing wet AMD.” “Sometimes, dry AMD converts to the more severe wet form. This unwelcome change can happen quickly,” says Dr. Michels. “Easy at-home tests can catch this, such as the Amsler grid. These intersecting lines on a piece of paper or computer screen will appear wavy or smudged if AMD is worsening. It’s about 60% accurate,” says Dr. Michels. “A new computerized device—ForeSee—is more expensive but about 85% effective. And Medicare covers it.” “Or, look at windowpanes or blinds to check your perception of straight lines,” suggests Dr. Meyerle. If any of these tests show problems, see your ophthalmologist right away.
• 7. “Newer treatments for wet AMD have helped save vision for many patients.” “Thermal laser eye surgery and cold laser therapies used to be common AMD treatments,” says Dr. Michels. “Over the past decade, however, we have largely replaced these procedures with drugs injected painlessly into the whites of the eyes—usually every month or two, for the rest of a patient’s life. We occasionally still use cold laser for someone who doesn’t respond to injections, but those are few and far between,” he says. “People used to go blind from wet AMD much more frequently before we had these injections,” says Dr. Meyerle. “Unfortunately, there is no treatment for advanced dry AMD,” she says.
• 8. “Even in the worst-case scenario, you will still have some sight.” “People never go completely blind with macular degeneration,” says Dr. Michels. “I tell people I don’t have a single seeing-eye dog in my practice.” Treatment and early intervention help more patients today, so fewer reach advanced stages of vision loss. “But even for those who do suffer impairment,” he points out, “their peripheral vision should still be healthy, allowing them to get around a room and find their way.”  Dr. Meyerle agrees, noting she tries to reassure her patients who fear blindness that even if the disease reaches its worst stage, they will retain some vision.
• 9. “More treatments are being developed that could help even more people with AMD.” Researchers continue to work on improving treatment for macular degeneration. Dr. Meyerle notes that new delivery systems for the medication doctors currently inject into the eyes are under development, as well as longer-lasting drugs. This means people can avoid having to trek to the doctor for monthly shots. Clinical trials also are taking place for new drugs to treat advanced dry AMD, for which there is currently no treatment. “So that’s pretty exciting,” he says.

Macular Degeneration Facts | Things Eye Doctors Want You to Know

https://www.healthgrades.com/right-care/eye-health/macular-degeneration-9-things-eye-doctors-want-you-to-know?did=t9_outrss2&dicbo=v4-d38ngYu-1131217177

“Refrigerator explodes, destroys kitchen and damages other parts of NC house”

Trans activists stormed the Florida Capitol today to oppose laws that protect little kids from them

Trans activists stormed the Florida Capitol today to oppose laws that protect little kids from them

After storming the Kentucky and Tennessee capitols to protest government prohibitions on educational grooming and mutilating children’s genitals, the trans mob is now descending on the evil lair of Ron DeSantis, also known as the Florida Capitol.

Radical trans activists invade the Florida Capitol building, opposing legislation that will prohibit government teachers from forcing sexual ideology onto children.pic.twitter.com/aNQGdpcyP7

— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) March 31, 2023

Scenes from inside the Florida Capitol this afternoon.

An estimated 200 activists protested HB 1069, which is an expansion of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

The bill passed as the activists were chanting & sharing their stories.

Gallery via @TDOnline: https://t.co/lLbtYlWwCh pic.twitter.com/C8bviTldYK

— Alicia Devine, Photojournalist (@alicia_c_devine) March 31, 2023

Nice pits, bro!

Chewbacca in a dress?

And look at this:

Ooooh! That’s a clever new one. Rise up and seize the memes of production!

The face of sanity 👇

So what are these rainbow goons angry about?

Stuff like this:

Bill moving forward to enhance penalties for allowing kids into sexual live showshttps://t.co/8N6qV67vqP

— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) March 31, 2023

And evil villains like dads who want to keep their kids from the lie that they were born in the wrong bodies:

My speech at the Florida State Capitol.@VoteRandyFine’s bill to stop childhood sex changes was passed by the Health and Human Services Committee, 15 – 6.

We keep winning. pic.twitter.com/ZcfE6sxeDs

— Billboard Chris 🇨🇦🇺🇸 (@BillboardChris) March 30, 2023

Parents trying to tell their kids that they’re beautiful just as they are? Scary! Basically fascism!

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“I’m not enjoying my womanhood as much as I was”

Oh look, another scientific discovery that shows the Bible was right all along

Welp I think this is the craziest highway dash cam video I’ve seen yet

Trans activists are calling for more blood after the Nashville shooting. Here’s how Christians should respond.

Libs of TikTok just “bumped into” AOC at the Capitol 😆

This woke anthropologist was STUNNED when swimmer Riley Gaines and her audience laughed at him for saying you can’t tell men and women’s skeletons apart 😂

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https://notthebee.com/article/the-trans-activists-have-now-stormed-the-florida-capitol

How to watch 5 planets align in the night sky this week

www.washingtonpost.com

Amudalat Ajasa

You’ll need a full hand of fingers to count how many planets you’ll be able to see in the night sky this week. Just after sunset, sky watchers will have the opportunity to see Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Mercury and Uranus form an arch stretching into the evening sky. And don’t forget to take a peek at the moon, too!

“The heavens are aligning,” said Noah Petro, a scientist with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter project at NASA. “If you have a telescope, you can dust them off or a pair of binoculars; it’s a great excuse to get out and look for the night sky. And if you don’t, you can still see these [planets].”

Viewers from around the world will be able to see the spectacle — as long as clear skies and a view of the westerly sky permit. The family portrait moment is called a planetary alignment because several planets are gathering on one side of the sun at the same time. In this case, the planets will form a literal line beneath the moon.

Jupiter will be beaming, and Mercury will dangle close to the horizon though a bit dim. But you can’t be fashionably late to this rendezvous: Mercury and Jupiter will descend into the horizon within about 30 minutes after sunset. If you want to watch the planets start popping up one by one, you should go when the sun is close to the horizon, according to Petro.

The best viewing of the planetary gathering is Tuesday night, but if you miss the scene, there is still time to see the show. The planetary party will happen every night this week. Jupiter just may become more difficult to see as it sinks closer to the horizon the rest of the week, said NASA ambassador Tony Rice in an email.

The week’s other days “actually provide better opportunities to see Mercury as it puts another degree between it and the horizon through mid-April,” Rice said.

With a clear view of the horizon, four of the five planets will be visible with the naked eye. But if you want to see Uranus, you will need some equipment. It’s not uncommon for planetary alignments to happen, but it’s “certainly noteworthy” when most of the planets are visible to the naked eye, Petro said.

Venus will steal the show with its brightness after Jupiter and Mercury make their grand exit. Uranus will linger near Venus but will be harder to spot. Mars will hang highest in the sky, right under the moon.

While a good reason to look up, Rice wrote the celestial lineup isn’t especially rare. “It happens every time the planets line up on one side of the Sun,” he said. “Which, given Mercury’s 88-day orbit and Venus’s 225-day orbit, is about once a year.”

Jason Samenow contributed to this report.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/03/28/five-planets-align-night-sky/?utm_campaign=wp_the7&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_the7&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F398d66a%2F6424197cf19a510b0429e5a4%2F6317c37442168b3d95fe4c8d%2F43%2F60%2F6424197cf19a510b0429e5a4&wp_cu=f079a58053b9f1ceb788f01b9f9f5c4d%7C2c91808382f9af8a018314d37ee77a9e

Residents near Georgia reservoir evacuated; dam could fail

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ArcaMax Publishing, Inc.

People who live in the Heads Creek Reservoir area of Spalding County in Georgia are being evacuated Monday as the dam is at risk of failure, according to officials.

The National Weather Service confirmed the dam has not failed as of noon, but it is vulnerable and anyone downstream should prepare for flooding. The sheriff’s office had already closed roads to traffic entering the area and started evacuating residents around 9 a.m.

Flooding can be expected on roads such as West McIntosh, Vaughan, West Ellis and Moon, the NWS reported. Ga. 16 could also be impacted by the rising water.

“Avoid these areas!” the NWS said.

“This is to ensure the safety of our community as we have experienced 7 inches of rain with more coming,” county Manager Steve Ledbetter said.

Widespread heavy rain and severe storms have continued to pummel areas in central west Georgia and the south side of metro Atlanta after a radar-confirmed tornado decimated parts of Troup County on Sunday.

“In fact, the radar looks almost identical from just 24 hours ago,” Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Eboni Deon said Monday morning. “It is definitely going to be one of those mornings where if you have any flexibility at all, probably a better idea just to stay put and wait for the storms to move out.”

Storms moved in from the west, with severe thunderstorm watches and warnings popping up across areas southwest of the city as pockets of strong weather passed through. Northern areas stayed mostly dry.

The storms brought heavy rain and lightning, along with damaging winds and hail in some areas. For the city, flash flooding and standing water was the main threat.

The severe storm risk diminished by 10 a.m., and conditions were looking better at noon, meteorologist Brian Monahan said.

Temperatures are going to warm up into the mid-to-upper 70s as the day goes on and the rain clears out.

Tuesday will be quieter weather-wise, with only a 20% chance of rain, according to the forecast. It’ll be partly cloudy Tuesday, and mostly sunny for the next couple of days.

A small chance of showers returns to the forecast by Friday, with more thunderstorms expected to kick off the weekend.

——— ©2023 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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“Nashville police ID school shooter, say incident was a targeted attack”

UP MASEW Blows Up at Bryan, TX!!! 3/23/23″

From “Houston Rail Productions”

This evening when I went trackside to get NS 9818 leading the MASEW at Bryan,TX. I happen to catch one of the trailing units (UP 5626) literally blowing up and catching on fire!!!! It was crazy !!!!! Eventually they stopped the train by College Station and fire fighters were at the scene to extinguish the flames on the second unit of the consist. Luckily no injuries were reported.

The mysterious items washing up on beaches

(Image credit: Getty Images)

www.bbc.com

Richard Fisher

From unexplained metal balls to Garfield-themed phones, the strange material that drifts ashore from the oceans can reveal a surprising amount.

It’s around 1.5m (5ft) wide, almost perfectly spherical – and people in Japan aren’t quite sure what it is. This week, a mysterious round ball washed up on the coast off the city of Hamamatsu, prompting widespread speculation about what it might be.

Despite its metallic exterior, it’s probably not an explosive mine – though bomb experts did check. Nor is it thought to be a surveillance device, fears of which have been fuelled by the recent reports of Chinese spy balloons drifting over the continental US.

It would not be the first time a strange giant sphere has washed up on land: in 2019, police in London responded to reports of an unexploded device on the banks of the Thames in Wapping – it turned out to be a giant Christmas bauble.

Nor is it the first mysterious object to appear on a coastline. Every year, the ocean washes up many unusual items that often can’t be explained at first.

In recent years, beachcombers have stumbled on:

• An unusual 24m-long (84ft) wood and metal object in Florida in 2022 that people speculated could be a barrier, old pier or even row of spectator seats from a Nascar race. Archaeologists later found it was a shipwreck.
• For 35 years, residents of a coast in Brittany were puzzled why landline telephones based on the cartoon cat Garfield were washing up. The culprit – a lost shipping container – was only recently located. 
• A decade ago, blocks of rubbery material engraved with the word Tjipeter appeared all over Europe. They may have come from a rubber plantation in Indonesia. Another rubbery mystery washed ashore last year when a curious layered block found at Falmouth, UK, which may have been a 100-year-old bale of rubber sheets. Another had been found in Shetland, Scotland in 2020.
• A large foam object in South Carolina in 2018 that some outlets labelled as “space junk”, but a more sober analysis from local authorities later suggested was a buoy.

One thing that these beach-finds often reveal is just how far objects can travel, and how long they can stay at sea. Materials like plastic or rubber can endure in the ocean for decades, and travel thousands of miles.

Garfield phones turned up on French beaches for years before the explanation was found (Credit: Getty Images)

In 2020, the National Trust released a list of far-flung items that were found on beaches on the island of Britain: including a fly spray from Russia and an aerosol can from Saudi Arabia, as well as a crisp packet from 1976 and the remains of a 1980s picnic.

Researchers can sometimes guess at the origin of washed-up objects using maps of ocean currents they have been meticulously building. Since the 1980s, marine scientists have used a standardised array of drifting buoys, which send a message about their location every few hours.

A decade ago, oceanographers used this data to build this interactive map, which reveals just how far floating debris can travel. Click on a point in the ocean, and the map will tell you where an item will end up after days, weeks and months. For example, an item dropped off the coast of Japan could reach the coast of California after about three years.

Discarded items, such as printer ink cartridges, syringes, golf balls, business cards and drinks bottles have been used to track ocean currents

Sometimes, however, debris itself is helping scientists to map ocean currents.

The most famous example of flotsam used for this purpose were the 29,000 plastic turtles, ducks, frogs, and beavers, known as the Friendly Floatees, which fell into the Pacific from the Ever Laurel ship in 1992. They continued to be found more than a decade later, allowing researchers to track the pace, location and reach of ocean currents. (Read more about the secrets being revealed by ocean garbage.)

In Japan, where the giant sphere was found this week, researchers have also turned to flotsam to map currents. These include natural items such as pumice rafts from subsea volcanoes, but also discarded items, such as printer ink cartridges, syringes, golf balls, business cards and drinks bottles, according to Shigeru Fujieda of Kagoshima University.

In a paper published earlier this month, Fujieda proposed a new way to track ocean currents: cigarette lighters. “Disposable lighters are one of the few types of marine litter that have evidence of their source, because they have printed information about the consuming country or city,” he writes. What’s more, a lighter “can drift a long time on the sea owing to its robust and hollow construction. It can easily be found, picked up, and carried on the beach, because of its bright colour and small size.”

Cigarette lighters could prove a useful tool for tracking the origins of plastic pollution and marine debris (Credit: Getty Images)

In his study, he analysed 79,948 lighters from beaches and estuaries collected across the North Pacific, from Japan to the US, across seven years. This allowed him to map and track the marine litter flows across Asia and the US – which could in principle allow countries to better understand where the polluting plastics and trash appearing on beaches originates from.

In principle, such information could also help to identify how potentially invasive species might cross the oceans on floating debris to colonise new parts of the world. In 2011, the tsunami that hit Japan washed five million tonnes of debris out to sea. Some of it spent more than a year floating in the North Pacific – including the remains of a 18m-long (60ft) dock that drifted for 451 days – before washing up on the shores of the western US and Canada. Hitchhiking with the debris were marine life normally only found in the shallow waters of Japan. Researchers found 289 sea creatures that normally inhabit the coast of Japan among the debris they analysed, including a highly predatory starfish called the Northern Pacific seastar, raising fears they might gain a foothold in North American waters, and begin devastating local biodiversity.

As for that mystery sphere that turned up in Japan, it remained unidentified at the time of writing. Probably the most likely explanation, however, is a little more boring than the wilder ideas on social media: it’s likely some sort of mooring buoy. That probably won’t stop people and the media continuing to speculate, however, just like they have every time the sea has thrown up a large mysterious object.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230222-the-strange-items-washing-up-on-beaches

The Unknown Giants Of The Deep Oceans

www.bbc.com

Martha Henriques

Emmanuel Lafont

Expeditions to the depths of the oceans have revealed strange dark worlds bristling with species new to science – now the race is on to discover them.

If the Earth’s oceans were the size of the island of Manhattan, then oceanographer and deep-sea explorer Edith Widder estimates that we’ve explored the equivalent of perhaps one block – but only at first-floor level.

Oceans make up roughly 99.5% of the planet’s habitats by volume, and within those largely unexplored depths there are thought to be scores of large marine animals unknown to science. When you consider smaller animals too, the number of unknown species rises to the millions.

From 13m-long (43ft) voracious carnivorous squid, to scuttling Yeti crabs huddling near hydrothermal vents, to tusked whales dwelling thousands of feet down to avoid predatory orcas, sizeable marine animals new to science are still being documented every year.

The race to try to find the remaining species is growing urgent. As deep-sea mining threatens to encroach on previously untouched seafloor habitats and climate change warms and acidifies the seas, the ocean’s ecosystems are on the brink of profound change. But with new methods of ocean exploration, we are getting closer than ever to discovering more of the ocean’s giants.

After centuries of ocean exploration, how do we know that we haven’t found all the sizeable ocean animals already?

There are, in fact, several ways that scientists can estimate how many unknown species there are still to be discovered, says Tammy Horton, a taxonomist and ocean biodiversity researcher at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, UK.

The deep sea is one place where we’re finding lots more new species – Tammy Horton

For instance, imagine taking one small patch of water sitting above the ocean floor a few miles out from the coast, and recording how many new species you find there. Perhaps you see a few crustaceans clinging to a seafloor boulder, several species of fish darting around, and a couple of sediment-feeders embedded in the silty seafloor. Then go back a second time and do it again, making a note of the number of species that you didn’t see there before. Maybe this time a shark swims through your section of water, and you spot one or two other new creatures.

As you go on repeating this process, Horton says, you will tend find fewer and fewer new species. If you plot the number of new species you’ve found on a graph over time (and do “a load of statistical analysis called rarefaction”, Horton adds), you will see a curve that starts out steep as you discover lots of new species, before flattening out towards the horizontal as it reaches what’s called an asymptote – at this point, after many dives to inspect your patch of ocean, you have effectively described everything that lives there.

To get an accurate estimate of how many species there are in the sea, we would need to spend a lot more time there getting samples (Credit: Emmanuel Lafont)

“If you’re doing that with sharks or with fish, or with mammals, you often get to the asymptote,” says Horton. “They’re bigger, and bigger things get found first. But when you look at sediment samples in the deep sea, or tropical gastropods – little molluscs, tiny things on coral reefs – it never does reach the asymptote. The curve is just going up.”

What that tells us is that there are still countless small sediment-dwellers to discover. But in certain parts of the seas there is a greater chance of finding large animals new to science too.

“There are patterns in species discovery and they are related to size, environment, where we look more often,” says Horton. “The deep sea is one place where we’re finding lots more new species.”

The reason for that is simply that we’ve not spent much time down there. When ambitious expeditions to the deep do happen, they invariably reveal extraordinary unknown worlds.

In Suruga Bay, not far from the Pacific coast of the Japanese island of Honshū, a 1.4m-long (4.6ft) slickhead fish weighing 25kg (55lb) was determined to be a new species in 2021. Most of its closest relatives are nearer 40cm (1.3ft) long, earning this slickhead the name “Yokozuna”, in tribute to the highest rank in sumo wrestling.

This impressive fish was found swimming at depths of around 2,500m (8,250ft), not far from Japan’s largest and most populous island – going out to remoter patches of ocean, still stranger animals may be hiding just out of sight. The problem is, there’s growing evidence that we’ve been seeking them out in the wrong way.

The way we search for the creatures of the deep ocean could be working against us (Credit: Emmanuel Lafont)

“I make the point all the time that there could be lots of animals in the ocean that we know nothing about because of the way we’ve been exploring,” says Widder. “I spent a lot of my career diving and in submersibles, wondering how many animals there were beyond the range of my lights that could see me, but I couldn’t see them.”

To try to take a look at these elusive creatures, Widder took inspiration from camera traps on land, which use infrared light to take shots of hard-to-track animals such as snow leopards. The infrared cameras don’t disturb the leopards, who can’t see light in that part of the spectrum. But in seawater, infrared light is rapidly absorbed – so Widder had to seek an alternative.

The solution came in the form of a stoplight fish, which has an organ that emits red light under its eye. “So most [deep-sea] animals produce only blue light and see only blue light,” says Widder. “But the stoplight fish is different. It can see and produce blue light, but also red light.”

Curious to find out how the stoplight fish was emitting red light in a world where blue light travelled better in water and was easier to produce, Widder dissected the light organ. She found a filter covering it. “I remember being struck at the time that this filter required a huge amount of energy,” says Widder. “This had to be really important, for some reason.”

Widder took a gamble and decided to have a filter made to imitate that of the stoplight fish. But she wanted not only to test red light in the water, but to see if different patterns of light could attract predators. “I was particularly intrigued by one deep-sea jellyfish, Atolla, which is one of the more spectacular ones. It makes a pinwheel of light. And yet this is a jellyfish that has no eyes, so it’s directed at somebody else. Who, and why?”

With this strange hybrid of the stoplight fish’s filter and the Atolla’s pinwheel of light, Widder deployed her new device. “You can tell what a shoestring operation it was, because you can still see the word ‘Ziploc’ on the electronic jellyfish,” says Widder.

Despite the low budget, it worked. “I put it down right next to a brine pool, which I figured was an oasis that a lot of predators would patrol,” says Widder. The theory was that the Atolla light display acted as a burglar alarm – when the jellyfish was attacked by a predator, it would display its pinwheel lights to try to attract an even bigger predator that would attack its attacker and give the jellyfish a chance to escape.

“For the first four hours, I just had the red light on – I wanted to see how animals responded to it and, for the first time, when the light came on they didn’t swim away,” says Widder. “I was ecstatic – I had my window into the deep sea.”

Four hours later, Widder had programmed the makeshift electronic jellyfish to come on for the first time. “I swear this is true, this never happens in science – but 86 seconds after I turned it on for the first time we recorded a squid over 6ft-long (2m), completely new to science, so new it couldn’t even be placed in any known scientific family.

“You can’t really ask for a better proof of concept than that. That was mind-blowing. People were screaming all over the ship. It was just astonishing.”

The giant squid had been photographed, but it proved extremely hard to film – until oceanographer Edith Wedder devised a new way to seek it out (Credit: Emmanuel Lafont)

Widder soon set her sights on a much larger squid. “We actually knew that there were millions of giant squid in the ocean because of the number of giant squid beaks found in sperm whale stomachs.” But at the time Widder was doing her experiments, a giant squid had never been caught on film before.

She designed a new version of her electronic “eye in the sea”, which she called the Medusa. Medusa would drift on a 750m-long (2,475ft) line, attached at the surface to a satellite beacon. This way they could leave the eye in the sea for long periods, far from the disturbance of a ship.  

Her team threw Medusa out where the giant squid had been sighted before, and where sperm whales were known to feed. As soon as the electronic jellyfish was in the water, it worked. “We got the first video ever recorded of a giant squid in its natural habitat,” says Widder. “And during the course of the expedition, we actually filmed the giant squid five times. And you know this was after how many years of major, major expeditions. They were huge efforts, but we were just doing it wrong.”

The giant squid, Widder notes, is quite a conspicuous animal in the ocean. “They happen to float when they die, because they have ammonia in their tissues,” Widder says. “But what about the stuff that doesn’t float, and that doesn’t end up with beaks in the stomachs of whales? How would we possibly even know it was there?”

All in all, there are thought to be up to two million species living in the oceans, with some estimates putting the figure higher. So far, we know about fewer than 250,000, according to the World Register of Marine Species. 

Finding the 1.75 million or so missing species is becoming an increasingly pressing mission – especially in the deepest ocean floors, as the prospect of commercial deep-sea mining becomes imminent.

If we fail to explore remote ocean ecosystems, we may never know the rich biodiversity we risk destroying (Credit: Emmanuel Lafont)

In 2021, the smallest Pacific Island nation of Nauru declared its intention to begin deep-sea mining, triggering a two-year deadline for the International Seabed Authority, the UN body that oversees mining in international waters, to finalise environmental regulations for deep-sea mining.

That deadline of July 2023 is now fast approaching. However, if the ISA’s negotiations are not successful, theoretically deep-sea mining could commence with no environmental regulation this summer. In August 2022, talks ground to a halt after a failure to reach consensus.

A lack of exploration of the seafloor is one reason that there is so much concern about deep-sea mining – we simply don’t know what we’ve got to lose.

Most investigations of life on the seafloor have been fleeting, simply because it is so difficult and expensive to send rovers down to the depths to see what’s there. However, periodic deep-sea investigations have revealed extraordinary ecosystems vastly unlike our own. For instance, deep-sea thermal vents have revealed an immense variety of rare forms of life, such as two-metre-long tube worms, the heaviest in the world, that live on sulphurous bacteria, and long-armed Yeti crabs that cluster near fresh lava flows for warmth.

As deep-sea mining has not yet been commercialised, the kinds of seafloor destruction it would entail are not yet fully known. Some of the most appealing minerals on the seabed are found in the form of polymetallic nodules, known as manganese nodules, which sit on the seafloor surface. These nodules are especially attractive because they contain several valuable metals in a single lump – one nodule might contain considerable quantities of manganese, nickel, copper and cobalt.

One expedition in 2022 went looking for animals on the abyssal seafloor of the central Pacific Ocean. They were looking in an area called the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, which lies between Hawaii and Mexico and stretches to 5,500m (18,150ft) at its deepest. The Clarion-Clipperton Zone has been identified as a potential site for deep-sea mining, as its manganese nodules are found in abundance.

The expedition of the zone’s seafloor life revealed far more than they were expecting. Ovoid creatures with harpoon-like spines and recurved fangs scuttled across the sea floor, while cloud-like tentacled creatures and semi-translucent, eight-fingered polyps clung to rocks or the stalks of glass sponges. Of the 55 species they found, many relatively tiny, they suspected at least 39 were entirely new to science.

Shining light on these diverse ecosystems is especially important given that initial tests have shown they are unlikely to recover easily from mining. One experiment simulating the collection of deep-sea manganese nodules in 1989 showed that the ecosystems that existed between the nodules had still not recovered 26 years later. Suspension-feeders (those that live off food floating in the water) were still significantly reduced in disturbed areas, while deposit-feeders (those that eat food from the sediment), had just about recovered after 26 years. Around the disturbed areas, there was altogether less biodiversity.

If this test was an accurate reflection of mining in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone more broadly, the impacts of mining nodules “may be greater than expected, and could potentially lead to an irreversible loss of some ecosystem functions, especially in directly disturbed areas”, the study authors cautioned.

“Our existence on our planet is dependent on our ability to explore it and understand it, and we haven’t done that,” says Widder. “We are actually destroying the oceans before we know what’s in them. We’ve managed to exploit them, dragging nets and doing deep sea trawling and bottom mining without exploring them. And that’s crazy.”

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230209-how-deep-sea-creatures-are-discovered?utm_source=pocket-newtab-android

Using the Nutrition Facts Label: For Older Adults

www.fda.gov

Making healthy dietary choices can help you feel your best and stay active. It can also help you lower your risk of developing some health conditions that are common among older adults.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a tool to help you make informed food choices that can have positive effects on your health and wellness. It is called the Nutrition Facts label and you can find it on packaged foods and beverages. Read this page to learn how to use the Nutrition Facts label.

• Understanding the Nutrition Facts Label
• Nutrients and Your Needs
• Use the Nutrition Facts Label to Make Healthy Choices: 3 Tips

Understanding the Nutrition Facts Label

The following key terms are intended to make it easier for you to use the Nutrition Facts labels to make informed food choices.

Servings Per Container shows the total number of servings in the entire food package or container. One package of food may contain more than one serving. For example, if you eat or drink two servings, you are getting double the calories and double the nutrients that are listed on the label.

Serving Size is based on the amount of food that is usually eaten at one time. Serving size is not a recommendation of how much to eat. The nutrition information listed on the label is usually based on one serving of the food; however, some containers may also have nutrition information listed for the entire package.

Calories refers to the total number of calories in a serving of the food. To achieve or maintain a healthy body weight, balance the number of calories you eat and drink with the number of calories your body uses.

2,000 calories a day is used as a general guide for nutrition advice. Your calorie needs may be higher or lower and vary depending on your age, sex, height, weight, and physical activity level. Check your calorie needs at www.ChooseMyPlate.gov/MyPlatePlan.

% Daily Value (%DV) shows how much a nutrient in a serving of the food contributes to a total daily diet. The Daily Values are reference amounts (in grams, milligrams, or micrograms) of nutrients to consume or not to exceed each day.

Use the %DV to determine if a serving of the food is high or low in an individual nutrient. You can also use the %DV to compare food products (make sure the serving size is the same). For example, if you eat one serving of a food and it provides 10% DV of dietary fiber, then for that day, you have eaten 10% of your dietary fiber daily goal.

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Nutrients and Your Needs

Nutrients are substances in your food that keep your body working well. Eating too much or too little of some nutrients may increase your risk of certain chronic diseases, such as heart disease and high blood pressure.

Older adults have different nutritional needs than other age groups. The Nutrition Facts label can help you monitor some of the nutrients in your diet.

This booklet gives some basic facts about the nutrients commonly seen on the Nutrition Facts label. Use this page to help you talk to your healthcare provider about which nutrients you should track closely for your overall health. Visit www.ChooseMyPlate.gov for more information on making healthy food choices.

Get More of These Nutrients: Dietary Fiber, Vitamin D, Calcium, and Potassium

Many older adults do not get the recommended amount of these nutrients. More often, compare and choose foods to get more of these nutrients on most days.

Dietary fiber is a type of carbohydrate that cannot be easily digested. It can speed up the movement of food and waste through the body increasing the frequency of bowel movements. Diets higher in dietary fiber may reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The Daily Value for dietary fiber is 28 grams (g) per day.*

Calcium is a mineral that is important for bone health. It also helps with muscle and nerve function, blood clotting, and hormone secretion. Diets higher in calcium can reduce the risk of developing osteoporosis (weak and brittle bones). The Daily Value for calcium is 1,300 milligrams (mg) per day.*

Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium and is important for bone health. It also plays a role in blood pressure management, hormone production, and immune and nervous system function. Diets higher in vitamin D can reduce the risk of developing osteoporosis (weak and brittle bones). The Daily Value for vitamin D is 20 micrograms (mcg) per day.*

Potassium is a mineral that helps with fluid balance and heart, muscle, and nervous system function. The Daily Value for potassium is 4,700 mg per day.*

*Based on a 2,000-calorie daily diet.

Get Less of These Nutrients: Saturated Fat, Sodium, and Added Sugars

Most older adults get too much of these nutrients. More often, compare and choose foods to get less of these nutrients each day.

Saturated fat is found in higher amounts in animal products. An exception is seafood, which is generally low in saturated fat. Unsaturated fats are found in higher amounts in plant-based oils (e.g., canola and olive oils), nuts, seeds, and seafood. Diets in which unsaturated fats are eaten in place of saturated fats and within the recommended daily limits for calories, are associated with a reduced risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The Daily Value for saturated fat is less than 20 g per day.*

Sodium is a mineral and is commonly found in table salt and in many commercially processed, packaged and prepared foods. The body needs sodium in relatively small amounts. Sodium is important for fluid balance as well as muscle and nervous system function. Diets higher in sodium are associated with an increased risk of developing high blood pressure, which can raise the risk of heart attacks, heart failure, stroke, kidney disease, and blindness. Since blood pressure often rises with age, limiting your sodium intake becomes even more important each year. The Daily Value for sodium is less than 2,300 mg per day.*

Added sugars includes sugars that are added during the processing of foods (such as sucrose or dextrose), foods packaged as sweeteners (such as table sugar), sugars from syrups and honey, and sugars from concentrated fruit or vegetable juices. Diets high in calories from added sugars can make it harder to meet nutrient needs while staying within calorie limits. The Daily Value for Added Sugars is less than 50 g per day.*

*Based on a 2,000-calorie daily diet.

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Use the Nutrition Facts Label to Make Healthy Choices

3 Tips

Check the Servings.

The nutrition information listed on the label is usually based on one serving of the food. When comparing calories and nutrients in different foods, check the serving size to make a correct comparison.

And remember, it is common for a food package or beverage to have more than one serving.

Know Your Calorie Needs.

2,000 calories a day is used as a general guide for nutrition advice. However, your calorie needs may be higher or lower and depend on your age, sex, height, weight, and the amount of physical activity you get each day. Talk to your healthcare provider about your calorie and nutrition needs, as you age.

Visit www.ChooseMyPlate.gov/MyPlatePlan and talk to your healthcare provider to see what calorie range is right for you.

Use % Daily Value as a Guide.

The %DV can help you look for foods to decide which is the better choice for you.

Older adults should more often look for foods with a higher %DV of dietary fiber, vitamin D, calcium, and potassium. Older adults should also more often look for foods with a lower %DV of saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars. Talk to your healthcare provider about which nutrients you should track closely for your overall health.

To learn more about the Nutrition Facts label, go to: www.fda.gov/nutritioneducation

For more information, contact the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition’s Food and Cosmetic Information Center at 1-800-SAFEFOOD (toll free), Monday through Friday 10 AM to 4PM ET (except Thursdays from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM ET and Federal holidays).

https://www.fda.gov/food/new-nutrition-facts-label/using-nutrition-facts-label-older-adults?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=ZB21

“2 planes crash during Dallas airshow”

Return of the ‘blood moon’: A total lunar eclipse will be visible around the world on Tuesday

Composite photograph from the total eclipse of the Moon over Titusville Florida, on February 20,2008

By Denise Chow

Skywatchers on four continents will have the chance next week to catch the last total lunar eclipse for three years.

The eclipse will occur Tuesday, with the moon set to turn blood red as it slips into Earth’s shadow. The celestial show will be visible to viewers in North and Central America, Asia, Australia, the Pacific Islands and parts of South America.

Lunar eclipses occur when the moon, Earth and sun are aligned and the moon passes into Earth’s shadow. Total lunar eclipses are sometimes known as blood moons because of the dramatic coloring caused by Earth’s atmosphere, which scatters light from the sun and brandishes it on the face of the moon.

After Tuesday’s eclipse, the next total lunar eclipse will not occur again until March 14, 2025, according to NASA.

As the moon slips into Earth’s shadow, it will first dim and darken before turning a reddish hue. Across the United States, the period known as totality — when the moon is fully engulfed in Earth’s shadow — will be visible for almost an hour and a half.

The moon will begin to enter the outer part of Earth’s shadow at 3:02 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. As the partial eclipse progresses, it will look like a bite is being taken out of the lunar disk, according to NASA.

Totality will last from 5:17 a.m. until 6:42 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. During this time, the moon will appear copper-red in color.

Weather permitting, people in Hawaii and Alaska will have the chance to see every stage of the skywatching show as it unfolds.

Unlike with solar eclipses, a lunar eclipse can be viewed safely with the naked eye. Skywatchers can even use binoculars and telescopes for more dramatic views.

“If you want to take a photo, use a camera on a tripod with exposures of at least several seconds,” say NASA officials.

While the next total lunar eclipse won’t happen until March 2025, a so-called penumbral lunar eclipse — when Earth’s faint outer shadow falls on the moon’s face — will occur next year in May, followed by a partial lunar eclipse in October 2023.

Denise Chow is a reporter for NBC News Science focused on general science and climate change.

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/total-lunar-eclipse-blood-moon-will-visible-world-tuesday-rcna55656?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma

Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse to Rise on Election Day Over the United States… The last total Lunar Eclipse the Earth will see for the next three years

New Zealand raises alert level at Taupo supervolcano

bnonews.com

Published 14 mins ago on September 20, 2022 By BNO News

Scientists in New Zealand have raised the alert level at the Taupō supervolcano from 0 to 1 after a series of small earthquakes, but emphasize that the chance of an eruption “remains very low.” The last eruption happened nearly 1,800 years ago.

Geological agency GeoNet said nearly 700 small earthquakes have been recorded at Lake Taupō since May of this year, although many of them were too weak to be felt on land. The largest was a 4.5-magnitude earthquake on September 10.

Ground deformation has also been observed at Horomatangi Reef, where the existing magmatic system is believed to be located and where most of the earthquakes have been recorded.

“We interpret the ground uplift and earthquake activity to be caused by the movement of magma and the hydrothermal fluids inside the volcano,” the agency said. “We have also sampled springs and gas vents around the lake for changes in chemistry that may be related to the earthquake and ground uplift.”

As a result, GeoNet has raised the Volcanic Alert Level for Taupō from 0 to 1 for the first time since the alert levels were introduced in 1994. The system has 6 levels, from 0 to 5, although an eruption is possible at any level.

There have been 17 episodes of unrest at Taupō since 1870, including four episodes which could’ve been classified at alert level 2 if the system had existed, according to GeoNet. None of those events caused an eruption.

“The Volcanic Alert Level reflects the current level of volcanic unrest or activity and is not a forecast of future activity,” GeoNet said in Tuesday’s statement. “Volcanic unrest at volcanoes like Taupō could continue for months or years and not result in an eruption.”

The Taupō Volcano caused the largest eruption on Earth in the past 5,000 years when it exploded nearly 1,800 years ago, covering lakeside areas in tens of meters of rock and pyroclastic flows. Parts of the North Island were covered in at least 1 cm of ash.

An even bigger eruption occurred at the volcano about 25,500 years ago, creating a large basin that formed much of the present lake shape. It least 27 other eruptions are known to have happened in between those events, many of which were much smaller.

https://bnonews.com/index.php/2022/09/new-zealand-raises-alert-level-at-taupo-supervolcano/

UPDATE. “Man Threatening To Fly Into Mississippi Walmart In Police Custody”

((BREAKING NEWS)) “Pilot threatens to crash into Tupelo, MS Walmart”

“Woman Pleads for Dog’s Safe Return After Car Stolen in DC”

“Bees Band Together to Help Friend in Need”

This bee fell into the honey and was saved by the beekeeper

Stay shark smart: What to know when you head into the water

www.foxweather.com

Heather Brinkmann

CAPE COD, Mass. – The summer beach season is here and officials warn of the possibility of encounters with sharks along the New York Coast.

On Friday, Nassau County officials reported a possible shark bite near Jones Beach.

Extra crews that include boats, helicopters and even drones are out in what police are calling an “all hands on deck” weekend.

FOX Weather’s Nicole Valdez visited Cape Cod, a popular tourist destination and the home to the infamous movie “Jaws”, to talk to researchers about shark interactions.

The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy says they know of less than ten shark attacks around Cape Cod since 1937, and it’s because humans are not on the menu, despite what the popular movie might suggest.

But even though the numbers are low, the massive apex predators frequent the Northeast this time of year.

“We see them kind of following their own food source, the gray seal off of the coast of Cape Cod,” Maddie Porier with the Atlantic Shark Conservancy said. “So as our water heats up here off of Cape Cod, we do see those white sharks being a little bit more active close to shore.”

SCIENTISTS ASK BEACHGOERS TO HELP KEEP TRACK OF SHARKS

Porier and her team have tagged and tracked just over 200 sharks across the Atlantic Ocean.

The nature conservancy says that there are a couple of things swimmers can do to try and avoid getting too close and personal with one of these sharks:

• Stay close to shore where you can hear any warnings if they go out
• Swim in groups. Don’t go out alone
• Avoid marine life. Seals and fish that can be food for sharks
• Avoid dark, murky water you can’t see through
• Always pay attention to flags or signs
• A purple flag means sharks frequent that area
• Don’t splash around

And most importantly, listen to the lifeguards if they warn you to get out of the water. Lifeguards get these alerts firsthand from researchers and are in charge of deciding if and what action to take, if there could be a shark nearby.

STUDY SUGGESTS WARMING OCEANS ARE CHANGING TIGER SHARK MIGRATIONS

Be sure to download the FOX Weather app to track any storms in your area and receive potentially life-saving weather alerts issued by the National Weather Service. The free FOX Weather livestream is also available 24/7 on the website and app and on your favorite streaming platform. The FOX Weather Update podcast also provides weather information for the entire country.

https://www.foxweather.com/earth-space/shark-safety-water-beach

It’s a good start…

Oceana won a huge victory for #PlasticFreeSeas last week! California passed the strongest plastic reduction policy in the nation following campaigning from @Oceana and our allies, a major win for our oceans. Join Oceana to #StandForOceans today: https://t.co/BABZ83yU18 pic.twitter.com/AIiltyHoe9

— Oceana (@oceana) July 8, 2022

Seriously Wrong!

This is a video I took in 2018. Like he's been doing this for YEARS with no one ever complaining. The police usually enjoy it. No you don't need a permit to perform in the subways. Fuck this country. pic.twitter.com/D85zZTeOUJ

— Izze 🦁🐻 (@Izze1122) June 27, 2022

“Half of British butterfly species on new Red List” Butterfly Conservation

May 25, 2022 ByIain H Leach

Wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation is warning that time is running out to save some of Britain’s best-loved insects, with the latest Red List assessment of butterflies published today, revealing a 26% increase in the number of species threatened with extinction.

Using data gathered by volunteers through the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme and Butterflies for the New Millennium recording scheme, scientists from Butterfly Conservation have put together the new Red List, which assesses all the butterfly species that have bred regularly in Great Britain against the rigorous criteria of extinction risk set out by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The new Red List is published today in the journal Insect Conservation and Diversity.

Of the 62 species assessed, four are extinct in Britain (Black-veined White, Large Tortoiseshell, Large Copper, and Mazarine Blue) with 24 (41% of the remaining species) classed as threatened (8 Endangered, 16 Vulnerable) and a further five (9%) as Near Threatened.

Large Copper (female/upperwing) – Tamás Nestor

Head of Science for Butterfly Conservation, Dr Richard Fox, says: “Shockingly, half of Britain’s remaining butterfly species are listed as threatened or Near Threatened on the new Red List. Even prior to this new assessment, British butterflies were among the most threatened in Europe, and now the number of threatened species in Britain has increased by five, an increase of more than one-quarter. While some species have become less threatened, and a few have even dropped off the Red List, the overall increase clearly demonstrates that the deterioration of the status of British butterflies continues apace.”

While land-use change remains the most important driver of decline, the impact of climate change on butterflies is also evident in the new Red List, with all four British butterflies with northerly distributions, adapted to cooler or damper climates, now listed as threatened (Large Heath, Scotch Argus, Northern Brown Argus) or Near Threatened (Mountain Ringlet).

Both the Large Heath and the Grayling have moved from Vulnerable to Endangered, and seven species have moved from Near Threatened to threatened, including the beautiful Swallowtail and Adonis Blue. Two new species have been added for the first time, Scotch Argus, which is listed as Vulnerable, and Dark Green Fritillary, listed as Near Threatened.

Large Blue – Sam Ellis

The focus of concentrated conservation efforts

It isn’t bad news for all butterfly species though, with some improvement in status for those that have been the focus of concentrated conservation effort, offering hope for other species.

The Large Blue, which became extinct in Great Britain in 1979 and has been the subject of an intensive, ongoing, and highly successful reintroduction programme, has moved from Critically Endangered to Near Threatened. The High Brown Fritillary, also formerly listed as Critically Endangered, has moved to Endangered; likely to be the result of intense conservation work from Butterfly Conservation alongside other organisations. The Duke of Burgundy and Pearl-bordered Fritillary, which have also benefitted from much targeted conservation effort, both moved from Endangered to Vulnerable.

Dr Richard Fox adds: “Where we are able to target conservation work, we have managed to bring species back from the brink, but with the extinction risk increasing for more species than are decreasing, more must be done to protect our butterflies from the effects of changing land management and climate change. Without action it is likely that species will be lost from Britain’s landscapes for good, but Butterfly Conservation is taking bold steps to improve key landscapes for butterflies and reduce the extinction risk of many threatened species.”

The production of the new Red List of British butterflies has been led by Butterfly Conservation with input and funding from Natural England, and the full scientific paper can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1111/icad.12582

These are Large Heath, Scotch Argus, Northern Brown Argus or Near Threatened (Mountain Ringlet).#RedList pic.twitter.com/8QKA763XqZ

— Butterfly Conservation (@savebutterflies) May 25, 2022

The High Brown Fritillary, also formerly listed as Critically Endangered, has moved to Endangered; likely to be the result of intense conservation work from Butterfly Conservation alongside other organisations.

Info on conservation work👉https://t.co/roJvrKAvPZ#RedList pic.twitter.com/2La2x7SfMo

— Butterfly Conservation (@savebutterflies) May 25, 2022

Join Butterfly Conservation

Butterflies and moths are among the most threatened groups of wildlife in the UK. Without your support, we cannot continue our vital work to protect them. By becoming a member you will:

• Save endangered species from extinction
• Help restore natural habitats and create safe-havens for butterflies and moths
• Be part of an active and friendly organisation that makes a difference at local and national levels
• Enjoy access to our butterfly nature reserves across the UK
• Share your voice to campaign and support wider environmental issues affecting wildlife and people
• Get involved in the world’s largest Butterfly & Moth recording and monitoring programmes
• Help create a world rich in butterflies for future generations to enjoy

Company limited by guarantee, registered in England (2206468). VAT No. GB 991 2771 89
Registered Office: Manor Yard, East Lulworth, Wareham, Dorset, BH20 5QP
Tel: 01929 400 209
Email: info@butterfly-conservation.org
Charity registered: England & Wales (254937). Scotland (SC039268)

• Follow us on Facebook
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• Follow us on Instagram

https://butterfly-conservation.org/news-and-blog/half-of-british-butterfly-species-on-new-red-list

We must stop producing and using plastics

www.washingtonpost.com

Letters to the Editor

After reading the May 5 news article “In U.S., plastics recycling rate slumps below 6 percent,” about the U.S. recycling rate dropping from 8.7 percent to under 6 percent, all I could think was, “Why are we even still talking about plastic recycling?”

Recycling has failed for more than half a century, an unarguable fact when you see recycling rates. Under 6 percent is dismal, but so was 8.7 percent. Decades were wasted because of the plastics industries’ multimillion-dollar public relations efforts. It wanted consumers to believe they were responsible for the plastic pollution problem and could prevent it if they used their recycling bins more effectively.

Now, here we are, with the equivalent of two garbage trucks full of plastic entering our oceans every minute — 33 billion pounds a year — and an estimation from the plastics industry that plastic production will more than triple by 2050.

Federal lawmakers must stop following industry’s playbook and take real action. The Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, introduced in March, would phase out unnecessary single-use plastic products and prevent new and expanded plastic production facilities across the country. It’s up to U.S. leaders to reverse course and reduce the production and use of single-use plastic before it’s too late.

Christy Leavitt, Washington

The writer is plastics campaign director of Oceana.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/05/10/we-must-stop-producing-using-plastics/

Watch the lunar eclipse around the world

We'd love for you to join us online — and if you're in the lunar eclipse viewing area, go out and take a look for yourself! Here's where on Earth the eclipse will be most visible: https://t.co/RZ3Eyxt3vr pic.twitter.com/UZkLIyE1V6

— NASA (@NASA) May 16, 2022

The Cultures of Dolphins and Whales | Dolphin Project

www.dolphinproject.com

Tracie Sugo

We have a lot in common with dolphins. We live in tightly-knit social groups, have complex relationships, utilize forms of communication, and have culture. Culture, as in behavior that is shared within a community through social learning, has been recognized in a number of whale and dolphin species. 

One of the most well-known of these may be the complex and charismatic singing of male humpback whales. In certain populations, virtually all male humpback whales sing the same song. Every few years, males change up their songs with new patterns of squeaks and groans and then the new pattern gradually spreads as more males in the area learn it.

Wild dolphins swim by | Credit: Taryn Elliott/Pexels

In terms of dolphins, observations on how different dolphins behave in different parts of the world suggest a wide range of cultural behaviors. Bottlenose dolphins for example, are one species with a huge range; localized populations of bottlenose dolphins live in distinct parts of the world. Dolphins in a population in Florida utilize a complex cooperative hunting strategy known as mud-ring feeding, where muddy water is kicked up in a circle to trap a school of fish. 

In Laguna, Brazil, human fishermen and local bottlenose dolphins work together to catch fish. Both parties seem to have recognized that they target a specific type of fish and rather than compete they have learned to work together; when these local dolphins slap their heads or tails against the water, it acts as a cue for the Laguna fishermen standing on the nearby shore to cast their nets, which then breaks up the school of fish and makes it easier for dolphins to catch and feed on individual fish. 

And in Shark Bay, Australia a number of unique hunting behaviors have been observed in the local population of bottlenose dolphins, including the use of sea sponges as a foraging tool.

Among orcas, the concept of culture is even more compound. There are at least 10 different known orca eco-types, each with their own range, diet, dialect and cultures. Within each of these ecotypes are localized populations. 

CA163 “Liner” and pod mates from the population of transient (mammal-eating) ecotype off the coast of California | Photo by Tracie Sugo

Within the resident ecotype, there are southern resident orca and northern resident orca. Northern residents have a unique “massage” culture, in which they frequent specific beaches to rub their bodies along smooth pebbles in the shallows. Southern residents appear to have culture of being incredibly active and friendly; they have been observed having “greeting ceremonies” in which two groups of whales line up across from each other and then come together to engage in playful, physical contact (sadly such sightings have been sparse recently, as the Southern Residents face major threats to their primary food source, Chinook salmon). 

Wild and free Risso’s dolphins off the coast of California | Credit: Tracie Sugo

In 2009, Risso’s dolphins were among a handful of studied cetacean species that were found to have spindle neurons, which are linked to processing emotions and social interactions (these specialized brain cells were previously though to be unique to humans, but have now been found in certain species of great apes, elephants and cetaceans). What types of culture might Risso’s dolphins have? And how many other cetacean populations have culture? There is much that is yet to be studied in other cetacean species. In addition to aspects of cetaceans like intelligence, self-awareness and roles in marine eco-systems, culture is another important consideration for advocating for their protection. 

In areas like Taiji, Japan, where localized dolphin populations face tremendous pressure from human activity (direct hunts and captures, commercial fishing and prey competition, and noise pollution and other interference from nearby shipping lanes), there is serious concern for their well-being, their survival, and the risk of extinguishing their culture. 

Striped dolphin entangled in the hunters’ net | Credit: DolphinProject.com

Cover image by Kira Louw/Pexels

Sources:

• Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (Third Edition)
• National Geographic: These Fishermen-Helping Dolphins Have Their Own Culture
• Smithsonian: Understanding Orca Culture
• Total number and volume of Von Economo neurons in the cerebral cortex of cetaceans

Post By:

Artist, illustrator and certified marine mammal naturalist.

https://www.dolphinproject.com/blog/the-cultures-of-dolphins-and-whales/

Sanctuary, or Marine Park? | Dolphin Project

A true sanctuary will limit visitor access so that the dolphins are allowed to live in peace.

www.dolphinproject.com

Based on inquiries we have received, it appears there is some amount of confusion about facilities that list themselves as “sanctuaries” yet keep dolphins for display and interactive programs. We’ve compiled some tips here to help potential customers research before they support a captive dolphin facility.

Photo ops

Selfie or photo opportunities, or any form of guaranteed petting/kisses/etc. In order for a visitor to be guaranteed that they get to touch a dolphin, that dolphin has been trained and is actively receiving reinforcement to perform.

Facility descriptions can be misleading

Names and labels can be misleading. Just because a facility calls itself a “Wildlife Sanctuary” does not make it so– do your research before visiting any park with wildlife. Also beware that some facilities use their charitable status or scientific labels to mislead.

Captive dolphin in Florida sea pen

Many marine parks claim their dolphins can “leave any time”. This may be technically true, but most dolphins will not jump a barrier or swim out of a pen because they cannot tell what is on the other side. Captive dolphin facilities would never take the risk of losing their investments. They know very well that their dolphins would not venture into the open sea, even if given the chance: Many captive dolphins have spent so much time in captivity, they have become dependent on people for food and other basic needs. Many of them were born into this unnatural existence, and they cannot simply “go home,” as they have no family pod to connect with.

A natural sea pen may also be a captive environment. It does not equate with being free in the wild.

Captive sea pen in the Caribbean

Wild dolphins can be exploited for profit too! If booking a swim with wild dolphins tour or whale watching tour, pursuit should never be allowed. A boat should never chase a pod of dolphins to get closer to them, or guarantee that you will see dolphins or be able to swim with them. Responsible tours do not permit touching wild dolphins or whales! A responsible tour operator will always abide by and endorse local dolphin/whale watching laws.

Activities and programs

Paid interactions or scheduled activities such as shows, exhibits, or demonstrations should be a warning– it means that the dolphins are expected to be in place and remain for a certain period of time, or perform, which are indications of active training.

Breeding or Calf Births

Breeding or the birth of calves: Staff may make it seem that dolphins are bred in captivity to help wild populations. In reality, these dolphins will not be contributing to wild populations as they will never be released. Dolphins are bred in captivity for the sole purpose of having more captive dolphins to profit from. Facilities that promote or celebrate calf births should be treated with caution.

Where did the animals come from?

If a facility buys, trades, or breeds dolphins, they are likely not a sanctuary. Real sanctuaries prefer to have as few animals as possible to ensure the most amount of space, attention and freedom. Businesses want more dolphins so they can sell more interactions. Sanctuaries have release as their top priority, rather than trying to keep as many rescues as they can.

Munjawa was released to her home range by Dolphin Project’s Indonesian team after assessment.

After Rehabilitation

Many captive dolphin facilities also serve as rehabilitation centers. While it is true that some rescued dolphins cannot safely return to the wild, they should not be forced to perform and entertain in order to earn their keep. Sanctuaries would not require participation of rescued dolphins in shows or force human interactions, which can cause stress.

Captive bottlenose with basketball

A real dolphin sanctuary is a place where non-releasable dolphins that were exploited by the dolphinarium industry can live out their lives with peace and dignity.

It is place where the dolphins’ needs are met with no strings attached.

There are no dolphin shows and no interactions programs.

The dolphins receive food without having to perform any trained behaviors.

No commercial photo ops are offered to visitors.

The dolphins live in a sea pen or a floating sea enclosure away from crowds of people, traffic, and human noise.

Every attempt is made to make the dolphins’ lives as natural and independent as possible.

The dolphins receive the food and medical attention that they need.

Whenever possible, live fish are introduced to the sea pen.

Dolphins in a true sanctuary are identified properly as victims, rather than ambassadors.

No visitors are allowed to touch or in any way handle the dolphins.

A true sanctuary makes educational material available to the public about the wrongs of capturing, confining, breeding, and exploiting dolphins in shows and various interaction programs.

A true sanctuary has a fundamental policy of opposing the use of dolphins as tourist attractions that aim to entertain.

A true sanctuary may allow visitors in order to educate them about the reasons why dolphins do not belong in captivity.

A true sanctuary acknowledges that dolphins belong in nature, wild and free.

A true sanctuary is for dolphins that cannot safely be released back into the wild.

A true sanctuary never tells visitors that the dolphins are free to leave whenever they want, as this ignores the fact that non-releasable dolphins depend on their caregivers to survive.

Captive breeding is not allowed in a real sanctuary. There is no reason for a dolphin to be born in captivity.

A real sanctuary does not accept donations from the captivity industry or the tuna industry.

Hopefully, the public will leave the sanctuary with enough knowledge to tell others not to buy a ticket for a dolphin show or captive dolphin swim program.

A true sanctuary will have clear rules in place about appropriate behavior for visitors, so that the comfort and safety of the animals remains the highest priority. A true sanctuary recognizes that visitors are guests, but the animals are the residents. They deserve dignity and respect in their home.

https://www.dolphinproject.com/campaigns/captivity-industry/sanctuary-or-marine-park/