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learnwithmearticles · 3 days

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Cosmic Rays

Science time! This week: cosmic rays.

Cosmic rays are not a strong concern for people on Earth, but they are constantly moving throughout the universe at nearly the speed of light.

What They Are

Cosmic rays are made up of particles. Most atoms start with a nucleus made up of protons and neutrons (subatomic particles), with an outer layer of negatively charged subatomic particles called electrons. Most atoms of cosmic rays have had their outer layers stripped and so are just nuclei.

As far as we know, they can come from the sun of our solar system, black holes, and exploding stars (supernovae). Scientists found this from studying particles and their energy levels, which can be used to find out the force and origin associated with the particles’ accelerations and velocities. Finding their exact origins is difficult because particles are pulled around by magnetic fields throughout the universe, but the origins listed above are the most likely due to their immense ‘strength’, able to send particles traveling at nearly the speed of light.

Many of the particles have the nuclei of hydrogen: one proton which has a positive charge. Cosmic rays have also been found to have helium, uranium, and other elements, though to a far rarer extent.

What They Do

These particles are considered high-energy, meaning they can cause a strong impact when they collide with something, such as cells of the body. Because of Earth’s magnetosphere and atmosphere, the majority of cosmic rays do not interact with life here.

Colliding with particles of the Earth’s atmosphere causes the particles from outer space to lose a lot of their energy, as well as turn into secondary particles, like neutrinos. Neutrinos are produced every time the nuclei of atoms collide or break apart. They are neutral in charge and completely harmless because they almost never interact with other particles.

(Neutrinos have no charge, so the energy associated with them comes only from the process that formed it. More energy in the reaction creates more energy in the neutrino).

Studying cosmic rays has helped us gain a lot of information about the universe.

Before the 1950s, studying cosmic rays was the only way to study particles smaller than atoms. From these studies, scientists discovered smaller particles like muons, pions, and kaons.

Blazars are another example. A blazar is a galaxy powered by a black hole. As matter goes into the black hole, large amounts of energy are emitted. We are able to discover blazars specifically because the energy ‘beam’ is in the direction of Earth, so the particles end up making their way here.

In addition to learning from cosmic rays, humans have faced limitations because of them. Cosmic rays are an ionizing radiation - they damage DNA and living tissue. Cosmic rays as they are in outer space, again, do not reach Earth to a harmful extent, but astronauts are exposed to them.

This exposure causes risks of cancer, cataracts, eye diseases, and bone marrow dysfunction. Recent studies, mostly on mice, have also associated cosmic ray exposure with mental states like anxiety and emotional reactivity, and impaired neurotransmission.

Scientists are still working on continuing manned missions in space, to the moon and, hopefully, Mars. The Artemis missions are working on being able to do so, but such missions have been halted for a long time since the Apollo missions.

Carbon-14 Dating

Another neat use of cosmic rays is in carbon-14 dating, to which they are essential.

Carbon dating is a type of absolute dating, meaning it provides exact years or periods of time for the creation and use of artifacts. It works on materials as old as about 60,000 years.

Carbon-14 dating relies on the decay of the carbon-14 isotope. The carbon-14 isotope is radioactive, has six protons, which makes it carbon, and 8 neutrons, while default carbon has six. It is one of the secondary particles caused by cosmic rays reacting to particles in Earth’s atmosphere; therefore, it could not exist without cosmic rays.

Carbon-14 exists in living organisms, and it starts to change when they die, gradually turning into other elements. Carbon-14 dating then measures how much carbon-14 remains in the organic material at the time of testing.

For example, carbon-14 dating was used to date the remains of Ötzi the Iceman, found frozen in the Alps. The hunter and his clothing, from carbon dating, were found to have died about 5,300 years ago.

Radiocarbon dating, like carbon-14 dating, is extremely valuable to archaeology and learning about the world around us. The existence of carbon-14, due to cosmic rays, has been essential to that learning.

Cosmic rays are an ever-present part of our world. They exist throughout the universe yet rarely directly affect us on Earth. While they have posed an issue on space travel, they have also provided invaluable information on the human past as well as the present universe.

Additional Resources

1. https://news.uchicago.edu/explainer/what-are-cosmic-rays#

2. https://news.wisc.edu/what-are-cosmic-rays-why-do-the-matter/

3. https://www.energy.gov/science/doe-explainsneutrinos#

4. https://news.wisc.edu/what-is-a-blazar/

5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10044754/

6. https://news.uchicago.edu/explainer/what-is-carbon-14-dating#

#I was wrong here ya go #cosmic rays #cosmic radiation #particles #subatomic particles #space travel #article #research #outer space #cosmic #archaeology #radiocarbon #supernova #black hole #blazar

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learnwithmearticles · 10 days

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Moon Missions

What’s going on with the moon?

The United States recently had a solar eclipse on April 8th, 2024, and some might be surprised to learn that the moon is, in fact, affected by solar radiation. The charged particles emitted by the sun, called the solar wind, reach the moon with no interruption from its atmosphere, as it has none. It also has no global magnetic field, another layer of protection that Earth does have, in comparison.

The moon does, however, have small areas of magnetic fields. We can see this because these areas remain lighter in photos whereas chemical reactions from radiation darken the unprotected areas.

Fortunately, most of these charged particles cannot pass through the hulls of space stations, so astronauts are safe in orbit. Cosmic rays, made of stronger and faster-moving particles, are more dangerous. Even on Earth, under the atmosphere and magnetosphere, cosmic radiation reaches humans, though not enough to be considered damaging to our health.

A lander and rover launched in 2018 delivered the first measurements of radiation levels on the moon 4. Based on those data, astronauts on the moon can be exposed to up to 150 times higher radiation levels than on Earth.

Radiation is a leading reason for the pause in lunar landing missions. It raises risks of cataracts, heart diseases, radiation illness, cancer, and other ailments. Longer missions, of course, would heavily exacerbate these radiation doses.

Other Health Concerns

Cosmic rays contain High-Energy (HZE) ions. In different exposure such as from nuclear accidents or irradiation therapy, HZE ions have been found to cause dysregulation in the mitochondria and damage to DNA. Because of this, prolonged exposure is linked to health effects often associated with aging, such as hippocampus synapse loss and metabolic disruption caused by damage to mitochondrial DNA.

Long-duration space flights have also been linked to cardiovascular disorders. For astronauts on the Apollo missions, heart attack was “the second leading cause of death” 8. For additional space flights outside of Earth’s magnetosphere, astronauts also had a higher mortality rate due to cardiovascular diseases.

In a previous article, we discussed the relationship between circadian rhythms and health. These rhythms are another thing that space travel can impact, causing sleep and mental health disturbances in astronauts 9.

While various studies are investigating the conditions of these health risks, a current NASA mission is specifically investigating radiation protection.

Long-term Mission

NASA plans on eventually returning to human-manned missions to the moon.

First, they have to address the issues discussed above.

In November of 2022, Artemis I launched with two manikins bearing radiation detectors. From this mission, NASA was able to confirm the success of the intended trajectory, launch of ground systems, and the Orion spacecraft. The radiation results from this mission are still being analyzed.

The Artemis missions are intended to explore more of the moon than ever before, and lay groundwork for eventual missions to Mars.

Artemis II will not launch any earlier than September of 2025. It is planned to last ten days, consist of a 4-person crew, and be a lunar flyby to ensure the proper functioning of the spacecraft’s systems.

It has seemed for years that lunar exploration has halted. Manned missions have indeed been paused, for good reasons. Ensuring the safety of astronauts is a priority, and they face serious health risks even when missions go as expected. But NASA intends to continue exploring space, the moon, and Mars. The current Artemis missions are discovering improved, new ways to ensure the safety of astronauts while making scientific progress.

Additional Resources

1. https://science.nasa.gov/moon/solar-wind/

2. https://phys.org/news/2012-01-solar-flares-astronauts.html

3. https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1211/1211.3962.pdf

4. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11214-020-00725-3

5.https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/orion/orion-passengers-on-artemis-i-to-test-radiation-vest-for-deep-space-missions/

6.https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-space-radiation-threatens-lunar-exploration-180981415/

7.https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/analysis-confirms-successful-artemis-i-moon-mission-reviews-continue-2/

8.https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2020.00955/full

9. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9818606/

#radiation #moon #moon mission #nasa #nasa photos #article #research #solar wind #solar radiation #cosmic rays #cosmic radiation #space exploration #science #space #Work has been horribly busy so the next article might not be out on the usual schedule

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learnwithmearticles · 10 days

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Very true! Ours is in a secluded bed now. But we barely cultivate it, it's chilling all on its own

Lawns and Variation

Lawns most often consist of grasses and clover kept short by mowing. For decades in the United States of America, they were an important aspect of conformity. To this day, lawn maintenance is a key focus of many Homeowner Associations (HOAs). Through media and HOA policies, lawns grown out of control are associated with neglected land and poverty.

A short, well-kept lawn can be very aesthetically pleasing. It also reduces concerns about ticks and other pests. Maintaining one through regular mowing can provide homeowners a reason to spend time outside, and be part of important routines that help people keep their lives on track. Additionally, a short lawn is ideal for outside activities for pets, children, and adults. Of course, not maintaining one’s lawn can also lead to fines if part of an HOA.

The negatives of monoculture lawns, however, far outweigh the potential benefits.

The Negatives

Reducing biodiversity is the best-known way in which typical lawns cause damage. Persistent mowing keeps many species of plants from succeeding. Low biodiversity directly contributes to low ecosystem resilience1. For example, when a pest or fungus comes along that wipes out one type of plant, an entire field or dozens of fields will be wiped out because they are all the same plant. That leaves the land susceptible to erosion, flooding, and desertification (i.e arid land).

Low biodiversity means worse conditions for other forms of life, as well. Regular mowing to keep the grass short and uniform also keeps different floral plants from growing, thus reducing resources for pollinators1.

Persistent mowing also acts as an unnecessary addition to greenhouse gas production. Gas-powered lawn equipment contributes significantly to CO2, NOx, and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions3. The amount of carbon equivalent pollution from lawn mowing and fertilizer use more than negates the benefit of carbon sequestration (CO2 kept out of the atmosphere) in grass yards2.

For many, yard maintenance also involves fertilizer and pesticide use. Fertilizer use contaminates waterways, primarily through rainfall, and causes algal blooms and decreased oxygenation in waterways. Pesticides can also pollute waterways. In fact, a majority of applied pesticides end up in soil, water, and air, and end up entering the food chain where they negatively affect a wide range of animals, including humans5. Pesticide contamination in humans has been linked to conditions like cancers, neurological issues, obesity, and neurological issues, to name a few5.

Lastly, lawns can need excessive amounts of water. On average, about 9 billion gallons of water goes to watering lawns in the U.S.A. every day6. This is made worse by poor watering practices, causing much of that water to be lost to evaporation and runoff. Water is considered a renewable resource, but that is contingent on proper maintenance and management.

Grass lawns around the world consume an abundance of resources and toxic materials to maintain. Maintaining a grass lawn is ecologically harmful because of pesticides, fertilizers, petroleum pollution, low biodiversity, erosion, and water use.

Cultivating native flora instead nullifies the need for these measures. Native plants are physiologically adapted to the local climate and conditions, and thus need less, if any, watering7. They are less likely to need pesticides or fertilizers, and their deeper root systems decrease soil erosion8. The reduced use of lawn equipment vastly improves air quality, and provides a much more interesting view than a monoculture yard8.

Clover

Transitioning a lawn from short, uniform grasses into a more biodiverse, environmentally healthy yard can be very difficult, and potentially impossible for some people. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing, though. Fostering the growth of clovers instead of grasses, for example, can be a good step for your soil.

Clovers include about 300 species with native varieties in many parts of the world, including Europe, central Asia, North America, and Africa. Clovers generally need minimal maintenance and, if allowed to flower, provide valuable resources for native pollinators9. Clover is also esteemed for its nitrogen-fixing properties. Like many legumes, clover species pull nitrogen from the atmosphere and increase nitrogen availability in soil10.

Converting grass lawns into areas for various native flora has many benefits for the environment and the land-owner, who can enjoy beautiful flowers and bushes while improving air and water quality. While a clover lawn is not as beneficial in these aspects, they can still be an important way for people to start improving their lawn. Fortunately, many more websites now exist to guide land-owners in cultivating native plants. There is always something you can do to help.

Additional Resources

1. https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1365-2664.13542

2. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00267-012-9967-6

3. https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-09/documents/banks.pdf

4. https://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/kaufmana/downloads/Kaufman%20Lawn.pdf

5. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40726-018-0092-x

6. https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/www3/watersense/pubs/outdoor.html

7.https://www.montvillenj.org/DocumentCenter/View/155/Choose-Plants-That-Are-Native-to-the-Area-That-Are-Drought-Resistant-PDF?bidId=#

8. https://archive.epa.gov/greenacres/web/html/index.html#

9. https://www.oneearth.org/the-various-advantages-of-clover/

10. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/its2.19

11. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1618866715000436

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learnwithmearticles · 16 days

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That's so cool! And an amazing name for a plant. I've grown up with mint in various places around the yard and I enjoy eating those. It can really easily come out other plants but we've managed to keep it contained and it's also a nice addition to drinks or food

Lawns and Variation

The negatives of monoculture lawns, however, far outweigh the potential benefits.

The Negatives

Clover

Additional Resources

1. https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1365-2664.13542

2. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00267-012-9967-6

3. https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-09/documents/banks.pdf

4. https://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/kaufmana/downloads/Kaufman%20Lawn.pdf

5. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40726-018-0092-x

6. https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/www3/watersense/pubs/outdoor.html

7.https://www.montvillenj.org/DocumentCenter/View/155/Choose-Plants-That-Are-Native-to-the-Area-That-Are-Drought-Resistant-PDF?bidId=#

8. https://archive.epa.gov/greenacres/web/html/index.html#

9. https://www.oneearth.org/the-various-advantages-of-clover/

10. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/its2.19

11. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1618866715000436

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learnwithmearticles · 17 days

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Butterfly Weed

Butterfly Weed, two things that are appreciable on their own as well as together. This is the common name of Asclepias tuberosa, a perennial native to New Jersey and a beautiful addition to a garden. Keep reading to learn some specifics about this beauty.

[Image I.D. A close-up photo of a Butterfly Milkweed in bloom. The flowers have five close-together orange petals and the plant’s green stems and flowers can be seen behind them. End I.D.]

As a perennial, Butterfly Weed, also called Butterfly Milkweed, needs only to be planted once, and will then be able to re-flower every year. It blooms in late spring to early summer, around June to August.

Along with being a native species to the east and southwest of North America, this flower has many environmental benefits.

Butterfly Weed flowers are a useful source of nectar for many pollinators, including butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees. Monarch butterflies can also use the leaves as a place to lay eggs.

This plant is tolerant to drought, and it grows deep roots that are very beneficial to strengthening soil against erosion.

The best way to include these in a garden is to start from seeds. They need about three months of cold temperatures without moisture, so planting in the fall is ideal. They might take more than a year or two to bloom, but once established, they can be left alone. Additionally, they are not the favoured nourishment for deer or rabbits, so they are likely to be left untouched. They might occasionally require watering to remove aphids, though.

History Bit

Another interesting fact about this plant is its historical use as herbal medicine.

Reportedly, several Native American communities would use the roots of Butterfly Weed to treat respiratory illnesses like pleurisy and bronchitis. This is why this plant is also sometimes called pleurisy root. During the 1918 influenza pandemic, pleurisy root was one of a few medicinal plants used to help patients. Physicians at the time reported that it was very useful for chest pains and serious coughs.

Additionally, in some Native American communities, seed pods were sometimes boiled to be eaten, and the soft parts spun to make candlewicks.

Ultimately, Butterfly Weed is not only a gorgeous flower to have in a garden, it also comes with many benefits to soil and wildlife. If you’re looking to diversify your yard in the east or southwest of North America, this plant is a very good choice.

Additional Resources

1. https://www.jerseyyards.org/plant/asclepias-tuberosa/

2. https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/asclepias_tuberosa.shtml#

3.https://www.tnnursery.net/blogs/tn-nursery-blog/the-history-and-benefits-of-butterfly-weed#

4. https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/species/butterflyweed/

5. https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/cpb1958/48/7/48_7_1017/_pdf

#shorter one for today #work has been do busy #butterfly weed #butterfly milkweed #environment #research #article #resources #yard #native plants #flowers #gardening #new jersey #planting #plants #Please tell me if I did the image id wrong

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learnwithmearticles · 24 days

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Lawns and Variation

The negatives of monoculture lawns, however, far outweigh the potential benefits.

The Negatives

Clover

Additional Resources

1. https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1365-2664.13542

2. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00267-012-9967-6

3. https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-09/documents/banks.pdf

4. https://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/kaufmana/downloads/Kaufman%20Lawn.pdf

5. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40726-018-0092-x

6. https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/www3/watersense/pubs/outdoor.html

7.https://www.montvillenj.org/DocumentCenter/View/155/Choose-Plants-That-Are-Native-to-the-Area-That-Are-Drought-Resistant-PDF?bidId=#

8. https://archive.epa.gov/greenacres/web/html/index.html#

9. https://www.oneearth.org/the-various-advantages-of-clover/

10. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/its2.19

11. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1618866715000436

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learnwithmearticles · 1 month

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Trauma, Gender, Maturity

The growth of the internet has been a great benefit to sufferers of abuse or other trauma. Many people have been able to find community and resources that affirm their experiences and help them through difficult times.

Something many people in these communities have commented on is the feeling of growing up faster than their peers.

This phenomenon is generally shared by abuse survivors and people who were raised as female. During my own time in middle school the phrase “girls mature faster than boys” was a very common -and seemingly accurate- phrase. Let’s find out how research supports both points.

Trauma

Trauma has the ability to drastically change how we grow, like how malnutrition during childhood can cause persistent physical changes and challenges to someone for the rest of their life.

Traumatic experiences have been found to accelerate pubertal development, cellular development, and brain development 1. The body can process many things as threats, from physical violence to emotional and verbal violence that induce similar kinds of stress responses. When someone grows up experiencing constant threats, their brain has to become more efficient at processing threat-related information, which leads to certain higher efficiency in the brain synapses 1.

Trauma effects can be the opposite, as well, as they also drastically increase the likelihood of cognitive issues and can often cause young people to do worse academically and socially. The ironic bit for social development is that children who do not connect well with their peers, who do not engage in many of the same social circles and behaviours as their peers, are often perceived as more ‘mature’. In these cases, they are more likely ‘behind’ socially and not receiving valuable social experiences and connections.

Maltreatment during childhood is also strongly associated with later Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, anxiety, and alcoholism3. In adults, continual stress is linked to decreased volume of the hippocampus, part of the brain important for one’s learning and memory3.

The brain makes leaps in development to deal with a dangerous environment, which can at times cause children to seem like they mature faster. As they age, though, the long-term effects of these neurological changes are damaging to daily life. The changes in threat processing and emotional regulation, specifically, are less helpful later in life.

Gender/Sex

There is important intersectionality when considering how trauma and gender or sex affect a child’s development. One reason for this is that children assigned female at birth (AFAB) are more likely to experience sexual abuse while children assigned male at birth (AMAB) are more likely to experience less direct causes of trauma, such as domestic violence4.

Furthermore, every individual responds differently mentally and physiologically to traumatic experiences, which already complicates studying those responses. Adding on the fact that there are many different types of potentially traumatic experiences further complicates this. These are important factors to consider when discussing trauma.

For that matter, one study with 59 participants found evidence that the anterior circular sulcus might become larger in AMAB children who experienced abuse but become smaller in traumatized AFAB individuals5. The anterior circular sulcus is part of the insula in the brain, and helps separate it from the frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes. The insula is essential to the brain translating the input of physiological experiences. These include physical pain, happiness, anger, and many more emotions.

This study, though limited in scope and diversity of its subjects, could begin to explain some of the reasons that ‘girls seem to mature faster than boys’. In cases of trauma, differences in brain development are heightened in ways that might influence behaviour. These physical differences add on to the non-biological differences in child behaviour.

The differences in how young boys and girls are socialized can lead in two directions. In one study in a few locales of India, boys were found to be more emotionally stable and stronger in components of personality integration and independence compared to girls6. The authors propose that this is due to the mindset of Indian culture, in which boys are socially conditioned to be “bold, independent, and confident”, and are more exposed to different social situations, while girls are not taught independence, but to be dependent, insecure, and submissive, which causes emotional instability6.

Contrastingly, in a study focused on children in the United States, girls were more associated with internalizing emotions like sadness and anxiety while boys were more frequently associated with externalizing emotions like anger9. This can directly translate into girls appearing more mature because ‘quieter’ emotions are considered more mature, while expressions of anger are generally considered childish.

This study also refers to socialization as a cause of these findings, such as girls being taught to reduce anger and “other externalizing emotion expressions”9. The authors also bring up common cultural beliefs and expectations that “girls show cheeriness or sadness whereas boys are strong and calm, showing anger if necessary"9.

The socialization of children based on their perceived gender often leads to notable differences in how they express and process emotions. It can cause boys to be louder when expressing negative emotions because the most common negative emotion that is socially accepted from them is anger. Meanwhile, girls are not only socialized to be quieter than male peers but also taught that it is more socially acceptable for them to experience and express sadness or anxiety instead of anger.

Other factors that influence this are very difficult to study, such as how socialization leads to more or less immature conducting of relationships, behaviours in school and other settings, and development of one’s self identity. Reviewing the studies from India and the U.S.A. together display how the treatment of children based on perceived gender causes mental and behavioural differences, which then lead to how different genders will be perceived as more or less mature in their cultural context.

Final Thoughts

The experiences of trauma and being a certain sex often set children aside from their peers. Trauma can cause isolation as well as expeditious development in brain function and makeup that, in the short term, can seem like premature maturation. Socialization based on gender causes predisposition to certain emotional states and responses to stimuli.

In both cases, the effects of these factors do not determine true maturity, as said effects are actually the body and brain doing their best to adapt to, often adverse, circumstances.

There are studies that support the perception of certain children seeming to ‘grow up faster’ than their peers. Because maturity can be perceived in multiple different ways, there is credibility to that perception. But truly understanding why this phenomenon occurs gives us a much better understanding of children and how maturation happens.

Additional Resources

1.https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/08/violence-and-trauma-in-childhood-accelerate-puberty/

2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5604756/

3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4985495/

4. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S014521341830019X

5.https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/about/news/releases/2016/traumatic-stress-changes-brains-of-boys-girls-differently.html

6.https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ritu-Singh-12/publication/318039764_The_Paradox_of_Gender_Difference_on_Emotional_Maturity_of_Adolescents/links/59e6fe0a4585151e546587fb/The-Paradox-of-Gender-Difference-on-Emotional-Maturity-of-Adolescents.pdf

7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3597769/

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learnwithmearticles · 1 month

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KOSA Update

Following up on a previous post about the KOSA bill - a bill that would drastically change how the internet functions, in some ways enforcing the collection of private information and restricting access to educational material based on anyone’s belief that it might be harmful to children.

As of March 2024, the bill has gone through revision to reduce the ability to target marginalized communities. However, the language used in the bill is still broad and would be ultimately harmful to children and adult internet users.

Press releases like that of the American Civil Liberties Union invoke the First Amendment to highlight both the bill’s continued call for requiring or incentivizing age verification and its goal of censoring many different topics of conversation in online spaces.

If the U.S. government seeks to control, censor, and otherwise interfere with the world of the internet, then it would have to be a government program akin to public education or certain libraries. Let that government take over the responsibilities of running and funding the internet in that case if they want that power. Otherwise, the internet does not fall under federal jurisdiction.

In response to reaching out regarding this bill, one Congressman wrote that platforms like TikTok have come under scrutiny for “leaving users’ data vulnerable to access by the Chinese Communist Party, by collecting personal information on children in violation of federal law”. This Congressman does not state in this response whether he supports the KOSA bill in particular, but we hope that he is aware that this proposed bill would, by federal law, necessitate the collection of personal information of minors if websites are to follow its requirements. Additionally, TikTok’s data collection is comparable to that of other sites such as Instagram and Facebook, which are just as able to be infiltrated by political enemies of the U.S.

This update is not about the U.S. government’s ultimatum to the company ByteDance that will likely end in a U.S. ban on TikTok. Still, that news is relevant to internet users, especially those who value choice and self-determination.

In the aforementioned Congressman’s response, he also mentions the Privacy Enhancing Technology Research Act (H.R. 4755). That bill, passed in 2023, calls for organizations like the National Science Foundation to conduct and support research into technologies for mitigating privacy risks. Bills like this one are far more conducive to achieving online safety than the proposed KOSA bill. It seeks to enhance our understanding of data handling and online privacy, while the KOSA bill is more so blindly punching towards a problem that we do not yet have a clear view of.

As before, resources to further learn about and speak out against the bill are below.

Resources:

1.https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/revised-kids-online-safety-act-is-an-improvement-but-congress-must-still-address-first-amendment-concerns

2.https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/02/dont-fall-latest-changes-dangerous-kids-online-safety-act

3. https://www.stopkosa.com/

4. Privacy Enhancing Technology Research Act

5. KOSA Bill Post-Revision6.https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/03/analyzing-kosas-constitutional-problems-depth#

#kosa bill #stop kosa #kosa #politics #us politics #article #news #resources #first amendment #freedom of speech

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learnwithmearticles · 1 month

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Working in France

In this article, I examine how working conditions and their impact on French living compare to those of the United States.

While I have been a citizen of the U.S.A. for my entire life and have first-hand experience of the working conditions and work benefits, I have never lived in France. The knowledge used to make the comparisons here comes from quantitative reports and first-hand accounts.

Benefits and Pay

Compared to the U.S., workers in France have wonderful benefits. Full-time work weeks are usually 35 hours, of course varying by industry, and employees are assured about 25 days of paid vacation per year, not including holidays. When sick, an employee is guaranteed 50% of their daily pay for up to six months, as long as they have worked there for at least three.

The U.S. currently has no federal minimums for sick leave. However, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) applies to many companies and public agencies, and mandates twelve weeks of unpaid leave “for certain medical situations”, if an employee has worked for at least twelve months 7.

On average, a U.S. worker has about 11 paid vacation days every year 4. Paid vacation leave is not a legal requirement.

Maternity leave in France is generally around 16 to 48 weeks of paid time off, while paternity leave is up to 28 days of paid leave 2. In the case of paternity leave, employers must pay for three days and social security pays for the rest. In the United States, only 13 states have mandatory amounts of paid parental leave. The time off ranges from 6 to 8 weeks 3. In both countries, the earnings during time off largely depend on what the employee was making during regular work hours.

French health insurance covers employees, retirees, the self-employed, and the unemployed 5. It generally covers 70%-80% of medical fees, or 100% if one has a major illness 6. Major illnesses include Parkinson’s disease, stroke, Crohn’s disease, cancers, diabetes, bipolar disorder, and serious anxiety disorders, as well as many other conditions. Many citizens have secondary insurance to help with what isn’t covered, which is generally around €14-30 per month.

Most health insurance in the United States is private and depends on the agreements negotiated between employers and insurance companies. On average, a U.S. citizen pays around $117 a month through employer health insurance, or about $477 per month if they cannot enroll through their employment 17.

One might qualify for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance plan depending on household size and income. For example, a single person making up to $1,677 each month would qualify for Medicaid and not have to pay a monthly premium or copays 8. Usually, one also has to have lived in the United States for at least five years to qualify, and applying and receiving Medicaid approval can take over six months and be very difficult to navigate 9.

It’s Not Perfect

While employees are more secure in France, they do still face some of the issues that American workers do.

The French minimum wage, as of 2023, is €11.27 before taxes. This is about €1,600 per month. The estimated average cost of living is about €1,027, not including rent 11. As of 2018, about 40% of people also had rent costs to pay 12. It is generally less expensive to live in France than in the United States, but many people there are also facing the housing crisis and inflated costs of basic living.

About 17% of France’s population makes minimum wage 15. This compares to about 1.4% of U.S. workers 16, but the minimum wage there is $7.25 compared to €11.27 in France (12.23 USD).

While the average monthly salary in France is around €2,340 (varying by region) 13, about 14.6% of the population lived in poverty in 2020 14.

Overall, the employee benefit requirements and federal policies of France reflect an investment in its people and a belief in basic rights. Compared to the United States, the government puts effort into taking care of its citizens. They are facing cost of living issues and have not increased the minimum wage to reflect that, but still beat the U.S. in wage minimum, health coverage, and paid time off.

If you have personal experiences relating to French employee benefits and wages, please feel free to add what information you can!

Additional Resources

1. https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1110&langId=en&intPageId=4535

2. https://www.safeguardglobal.com/resources/employee-benefits-in-france/

3.https://bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/state-paid-family-leave-laws-across-the-u-s/#:~:text=Thirteen%20states%20and%20the%20District,are%20not%20yet%20in%20effect.

4. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/pto-statistics/

5.https://www.commonwealthfund.org/international-health-policy-center/countries/francef

6. https://www.internations.org/france-expats/guide/healthcare

7. https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/workhours/sickleave

8. https://njfamilycare.dhs.state.nj.us/who_eligbl.aspx

9.https://hnwlaw.com/elder-law/applying-medicaid/medicaid-application-process-in-new-jersey/

10. https://www.eurodev.com/blog/understanding-employee-benefits-in-france

11. https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=France

12. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/france-rental-housing-markets/

13. https://joinhorizons.com/countries/france/hiring-employees/average-salary/

14. https://www.statista.com/statistics/460446/poverty-rate-france/

15.https://www.lemonde.fr/en/opinion/article/2024/01/22/too-many-french-workers-are-on-minimum-wage_6455732_23.html

16.https://www.statista.com/statistics/188206/share-of-workers-paid-hourly-rates-at-or-below-minimum-wage-since-1979/17.https://www.usatoday.com/money/blueprint/health-insurance/how-much-is-health-insurance/

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NJ Clean Energy Update

In a recent article I covered a few details on how wind power works, the goals of the New Jersey Clean Energy Master Plan, and the projects being worked on -or cancelled- for New Jersey’s future.

The recent news at the end of 2023 was that two major projects with Ørsted had been cancelled because of unexpected costs and manufacturing delays. Despite this setback, Governor Phil Murphy continued to be steadfast towards achieving eventual 100% clean energy for the state.

Since then, two new projects have been scheduled. The two wind farms will be built in the New York Bight, an ocean space in the nook of New Jersey out to the eastern tip of Long Island. They will reportedly provide enough energy for 1.8 million homes and dramatically reduce emissions2.

The projects are called Leading Light Wind and Attentive Energy Two, which are New York and New Jersey based, both with individual websites that are linked below.

Concerns about impacts on fishing and environmental health continue to be worth discussing. Attentive Energy, one company involved in the planned projects, states its goal of no net loss in biodiversity or commercial fishing revenue, and plans to maintain close monitoring pre- and post-construction.

These projects are still in their development stages, with construction likely starting in 2027 or 2028. For now, they are still planning, and what the actual documents and written plans will be is yet to be seen. As discussed in a previous article, commercial fishing is unlikely to be impacted, but the environmental effects are complicated and could be positive or negative for the ecosystem. As construction gets closer, we will have to wait to see what steps are actually taken to mind the environment being built in.

To revisit the relevant research, the Ocean and Coastal Management journal published a recent article in their March 2024 issue. This article, pulling on over 100 previous studies, acknowledges the potential positive impacts on ecosystem services from offshore wind farms, such as acting as artificial reefs, providing shelter and foraging space for different species, and indirectly creating protected marine areas5.

The relatively rapid push for wind energy is a boon, and the minimum effort we should expect considering the state of carbon emissions. But this speed we’re aiming for might also not be the most responsible.

In the same article, the authors highlight how the effects of offshore wind farms on the environment are often narrow in their scope of study, too spatially limited to provide the best assessment of the true impacts5. This further hinders the advancement of a subject that has already fallen behind due to the drawbacks of time limitations and low amounts of research efforts put into it.

In their research, the authors found additional potential positive effects of offshore wind farms, but also significant likelihood of negative effects. Some examples are the potential to boost invasive species, and to reduce biodiversity in some desired species of fish and birds5.

Overall, the article emphasizes the gaps of data in this topic. It is very difficult for us to assess the expectations of environmental impacts from offshore wind farms because we do not know enough about it yet. Possibly, the rate at which these projects are moving is too much too soon, and we should slow down until we can devote more effort to comprehensive studies. The struggle, though, is that if we wait, climate change continues to accelerate. Hopefully, we can balance completing clean energy projects with organizing expansive studies into how they are affecting ecosystems.

Additional Resources

1.https://www.njspotlightnews.org/2024/02/glenrock-associates-american-clean-power-association-board-of-public-utilities-bpu-leading-light-wind-attentive-energy-biden-administration-tax-credits-inflation-reduction-act-gov-phi-murphy-orsted/

2.https://www.eenews.net/articles/nj-hits-reset-on-offshore-wind-approves-two-massive-projects/

3. https://attentiveenergy.com/about/

4. https://leadinglightwind.com/

5. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0964569124000085

#article #research #environment #climate change #news #renewable energy #resources #new jersey #wind energy #offshore wind power #wind farm #clean energy

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learnwithmearticles · 2 months

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Recycling Gaming Consoles

In the past three decades we have seen the release of over two dozen gaming consoles. During the noughties and the 2010s, plenty of game enjoyers had more than one, with the most popular three being the Playstation series from Sony, the Xbox from Microsoft, and the Wii from Nintendo, though the Nintendo DS and Switch are also very popular hybrid consoles.

The Playstation series currently has five released consoles, while the Xbox has four generations, and the Wii has three.

As new console generations are created, with new benefits and new capabilities, previous models are likely to end up in the trash. Therefore, it is important to know that gaming consoles are largely recyclable.

Electronic waste often contains lead, mercury, or cadmium - hazardous metals that can contaminate soil and water when tossed away with regular waste. When properly recycled, electronic waste can instead be refurbished or separated into materials that can be reused in manufacturing1. This has the additional benefit of reducing the demand on raw materials.

Most consoles consist of plastic casings, usually polycarbonates, with metal internal components, often aluminum or steel. They also have semiconductors, small components that can involve silicon, germanium, tin, copper, sometimes gold, and many more elements that, in small parts, make up the internal bits of electronic functions.

The Playstation 5 also uses liquid metal to advance its cooling system, as it is more conductive than alternatives like thermal paste3. This liquid metal, called Galinstan, is made of gallium, indium, and tin3.

Metals are highly recyclable, and our ability to separate mixed metals is continually improving. Aluminum is especially common in computing devices and commonly collected for reuse. In fact, it can be recycled continually without losing any quality4. Galinstan is less documented regarding its ability to be recycled, but each of its components -gallium, indium, and tin- can be recycled5.

Likewise, polycarbonates are completely recyclable. They can be shredded and used for other electronics, covers, and bottles, and more6.

Silicone is more complicated to recycle. It’s primarily made from sand or the metamorphic rock, quartzite. Fortunately, ore containing high levels of silica are plentiful and the main ingredient of silicone7. Because of the intensity of the silicone recycling process -breaking it down into tiny pieces and melting it with new silicone- it requires specialized facilities and experts8. Simply, silicone can be recycled but it cannot be casually thrown in with other random recyclable materials, or it will just end up in a landfill.

Recycling is a complex process, especially for products that use a mix of materials. Gaming consoles use many different types of metals, plastics, and silicone that need to be picked apart to properly recycle. With the advancement of technology, more ways to recycle difficult materials have been developed, so we can expect that these processes will become more efficient with time. As you look to dispose of items like your gaming consoles, be sure to investigate the best recycling sources in your area.

Lithium-Ion Batteries

While we’ve focused on standing consoles in this article, I do want to address the lithium-ion batteries in handheld devices such as the Nintendo Switch.

Lithium mining is a water-intensive process that, along with the manufacturing of these batteries, produces a lot of carbon dioxide and can contaminate water supplies with toxic materials like sulfur10. A majority of lithium-ion batteries also end up in landfills, where they continue to leach toxins and increase the risk of landfill fires10.

Fortunately, the industry of recycling these batteries is growing. This process usually involves the electronic device being taken back by the retailer or by specific e-waste storefronts, and, if sorted properly, eventually make their way to the specialized facilities that can process them11. Similarly to other consoles, it is a complicated process that has yet to be optimized, but should be doable if the consumer returns their device to the retailer at the end-of-life point.

Additional Resources

1.https://www.epa.gov/smm-electronics/basic-information-about-electronics-stewardship

2. https://droidmeg.com/what-materials-are-used-to-make-video-game-consoles/

3. https://tronicsfix.com/blogs/news/all-about-ps5-liquid-metal

4. https://international-aluminium.org/work_areas/recycling/

5. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acssuschemeng.7b03689#

6. https://www.vandenrecycling.com/en/what-we-do/buy-and-sell-plastic/pc/#

7. https://mineralseducationcoalition.org/minerals-database/silica/#

8. https://www.trvst.world/waste-recycling/is-silicone-recyclable/

9. https://www.cohenusa.com/recyclable-items/game-consoles/

10.https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/renewable/environmental-impacts-of-lithium-ion-batteries/

11. https://www.epa.gov/hw/lithium-ion-battery-recycling

#environment #climate change #article #research #recycling #sustainability #gaming consoles #wii #xbox #nintendo switch #plastic #lithium ion batteries #e waste recycling #playstation #aluminum

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learnwithmearticles · 2 months

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A Violation of Two Amendments

If you’ve seen a lot of posts online about KOSA, it’s because it has the potential to drastically change the internet.

The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) is a proposed bill receiving U.S. Democratic and Republican support.

It pulls on strong concerns about the safety of children, especially the fabricated concerns of LGBT+ topics propagandized by conservatives. It would permit the government to censor the internet at will, restricting what information is available online for everyone, even people in other countries.

The bill would permit attorneys general to prevent basic information about healthcare, mental health, world news, and more from being accessible online, keeping adults as well as children from finding important information and resources.

There are valid concerns about the internet and its ability to harm people, especially children. I have written a thesis specifically about the relationships between mental health and social media. In no way would I ever advocate for increased censorship in the way that this bill does.

It specifically violates the First Amendment of the Constitution, inserting governmental control over people’s speech, the sharing of news, and the sharing of opinions. This would be placing the responsibility of parenting on the government, and allowing them to determine exactly what children -and adults- are allowed to learn.

Furthermore, it is disguised as a bill to ‘protect children’, and that phrase itself has unfortunately become a dog whistle for conservatives referring to LGBT+ topics existing in the world. This bill is extremely dangerous to young LGBT+ individuals.

It is also dangerous to people of different races, nationalities, economic backgrounds, and gun owners. This is because it would virtually mandate age verification. This poses danger for children, people facing domestic abuse, and houseless people, as well as violating the Fourteenth Amendment, which asserts that the state cannot exert undue control over its citizens’ private lives.

Many organizations and websites have initiated petitions and calls to action to express disapproval of this bill, outlining its rights violations, and helping individuals find out how to contact their senators. Some of those resources are linked below.

Additional Resources

1.https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/02/dont-fall-latest-changes-dangerous-kids-online-safety-act

2. https://www.stopkosa.com/

3.https://www.change.org/p/save-our-free-and-open-internet-stop-the-kids-online-safety-act4. https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/censorship-wont-make-kids-safe?nowrapper=true

#KOSA #kosa bill #stop kosa #politics #us politics #anonymity #privacy #activism #internet safety #homophobia #14th amendment #1st amendment #news

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Recent Developments Regarding KOSA (February Edition)

Some folks may have been following the recent congressional hearings on internet content and content handling, which involved big names in the industry. Given both the topic and the timing, it comes as no surprise that some of those involved in it have been trying to push the Kids Online Safety Act both in terms of congressional and public support. It’s gone through some superficial changes but the heart of the legislation that makes it a threat to free speech on the internet is the same.

Quick reminder that if it does pass into law, it will allow various states to:

Block access to / sue the providers of any information on abortion resources

Block access to / sue the providers of any information on gender affirming care and transition resources

Censor any talk of what is happening in Palestine / Sudan / other regions threatened by genocide, as well as any protests against such treatment

Monitor and surveil internet use in general, both in terms of what people say and in what they search for

Allow state attorneys general the power to arbitrarily criminalize content with no appeals process

Allow conservative states to get a head start in pushing their Project 2025 agendas

The good news is that this legislation has been pushed back over and over again throughout the whole of 2023, and 2024 is an election year with a LOT of seats up in the air, meaning that the danger of losing voter support carries much more weight than it normally does. In other words, we pushed this back before and we can do it again. You can find the contact information for the senators from your state at the official Senate website, and given the timing of the hearings any such calls / messages / letters should have a somewhat greater impact than they otherwise might.

Remember to be polite and respectful, and to phrase your concerns in such a way that it aligns with the politics of the senator you are calling; conservatives WANT to restrict access to stuff like abortion services and HRT, so you have to scare them with something else, like gun control. Be sure to do your research on who and what has bought your senator and tailor your complaints accordingly for maximum impact. For most democratic senators, the abortion rights issue might be enough on its own, since they’ve been watching the GOP step on that rake every election since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade and they want that to work for them, not against them.

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Third Party Vote

A third party is any political party other than the dominant two in the nation - in the U.S.A., these are the Republican and the Democratic parties.

The third parties of the U.S.A. include the Libertarian party and the Green party.

Libertarian beliefs emphasize personal rights to property and participating in a free market. Generally, they do not align with progressive goals due to three key beliefs; everyone’s right to own guns; segregation of education standards; and voluntary taxes1. Overall, they want less government control.

Taxes are extremely annoying and inconvenient, and the allocation of them has not been optimal in many years, but the lack of them would cause extreme losses to programs that help people survive, including social security and certain healthcare plans2. Likewise, while decentralized education can have many benefits for students, the education disparities between states is drastic, and further decentralization will likely exacerbate education inequalities3.

But the purpose of this article is not to debunk the goals of specific parties. Instead, I aim to explain the unfortunate effects of third-party voting in general elections. Specifically, I will explain why some people prefer the Democratic party or the Green party, and why we must be careful when voting this year.

The U.S.A. Green party has goals of strong, definitive measures to address environmental degradation and climate change, institutions that perpetuate inequities, and unsustainable military practices4. Progressively, they are possibly the strongest pushers for change, and they criticize and claim to avoid the corruption and hypocrisy of the Democratic party.

The most likely Democratic candidate for presidency in 2024 is Joseph Biden. During his 2021-2024 presidency, Biden has made Medicare able to negotiate drug prices, including insulin which became capped at 35 dollars per month for seniors5. He also funded vaccination campaigns to address the COVID-19 pandemic, helped protect marriage equality for LGBT+ and interracial people, worked on achieving debt relief, and many more positive goals5. Most recently, he pardoned individuals federally charged with simple possession of marijuana, a major proclamation to correct some failures in the justice system15.

He has also been complicit in the genocide against Palestinian people, with his administration cutting off aid to Gaza while providing Israel munitions6. He has used the military to attack protests in the Middle East7. Additionally, the withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Afghanistan coincided with many service members’ deaths, and he has not achieved the cancellation of student debt that he aimed for8.

Problems with enacting change is that the Senate and the House of Representatives have a majority of Republican appointees, and six of the nine Supreme Court Justices were appointed by a Republican president. These demographics account for some of the issues regarding student loan debts and rights to autonomy and privacy, though Biden has worked to help constituents following the Supreme Court decision against Roe v. Wade5.

A Green party president would face similar setbacks, as checks and balances keep them from being able to completely dictate government decisions.

However, a Green party president such as Jill Stein would likely make good progress towards a more sustainable economy, equal rights, and alleviating climate change, based on her platform9. She would likely be a fantastic president. It is completely understandable why many people decide to vote for a third party, and why many young people, particularly on TikTok, say that they want to vote third-party.

I wish it was not this way, but current politics are not where they need to be for a third party candidate to win. A third-party candidate has never won the U.S.A. presidency before, even in their strongest years10.

When Jill Stein ran in 2016, the Democratic party won the popular vote but the Republican party won, and that responsibility is partially on third-party voters. If Stein’s voters had voted for the Democratic party, they would have won the electoral college11. Likewise, if every Democratic voter had voted for Jill Stein, the same would be true for the Green party.

Why is it fair to ask Green party voters to vote for the Democratic nominee instead of expecting Democratic voters to vote for the Green party, or for any ideal third party?

It isn’t. It is completely valid for people to want voting to be different. I am angry that I have to compromise on humanitarian values, as well. Politics should not be a two-party system. But not voting for Biden or whoever is the Democratic nominee creates an extreme risk of the Republican nominee winning, which would quickly send the U.S.A. further towards a loss of democracy and people’s rights.

Historic trends do not reflect positively on third party chances this year11. The Democratic party is giant and well-established with over 45 million loyal members unlikely to even consider a third party12. Voting for a third party is most likely to be considered a vote ‘stolen’ from one of the dominant parties13.

Keep in mind, these warnings are only pertaining to the presidency. Third parties have much higher likelihoods of success in smaller elections, such as city councils and mayoralties14. Hopefully, these trends will continue and the presidency will eventually not have to be as much of a compromise.

You are not wrong for wanting change. You are not wrong for being unsatisfied with inept government demographics. Continue to advocate for the nominees you most believe in, and please keep in mind the risks involved.

Additional Resources

1. https://www.lp.org/issues/

2. https://www.cbpp.org/research/policy-basics-where-do-our-federal-tax-dollars-go

3.https://learningportal.iiep.unesco.org/en/blog/learning-from-a-decentralized-education-system

4. https://www.gp.org/

5. https://www.whitehouse.gov/therecord/

6.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/30/biden-gaza-food-aid-hamas-civilians-strategy/

7.https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/01/11/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-coalition-strikes-in-houthi-controlled-areas-in-yemen/

8. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/10/22/joe-biden-presidency/

9. https://www.jillstein2024.com/principles

10.https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-younger-voters-will-impact-elections-responding-to-the-challenges-of-third-parties/

11.https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/11/13576798/jill-stein-third-party-donald-trump-win

12.https://news.gallup.com/poll/512135/support-third-political-party.aspx

13. https://theintercept.com/2024/01/22/biden-trump-president-election-third-party/

14. https://www.gpelections.org/greens-in-office/2023-july-01/15. https://www.justice.gov/pardon/presidential-proclamation-marijuana-possession

#voting #politics #us politics #american politics #elections #2024 elections #green party #libertarian party #third party voting #climate change #article #democratic party #democratic primary

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learnwithmearticles · 3 months

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Homelessness in California

28% of the U.S.A.’s homeless population lives in California, as of 2023 1. This is a rough estimate, as the tallying relies on volunteers and different counties conduct their tallying differently 1. Still, this count is more often under the true tally amount than over. The more than 172,000 homeless individuals make up about 0.43% of the state’s population 3. In comparison, about 100,000 people live without housing in New York City, one of the highest ranking U.S. cities by homeless population 4.

For many years, California has had a growing population of houseless people partially because policy permitted them to live on city streets 2. More recently, this population has continued to rise due to increasing housing costs and unproportional wages.

Programs have been put in place around the state aiming to place homeless people in permanent housing, like Inside Safe in Los Angeles 5. But these programs face serious issues. Billions of dollars have been spent “on homelessness” in the past few years, yet this population continues to grow 5.

One of the primary reasons is a national problem, costs of all goods as well as housing -especially housing- have risen drastically. Meanwhile, most workers continue to receive the same or only slightly higher pay rates. In 2022, the national median cost of a house was 5.6 times the median household income, and the same number applies to many Californian cities 6. Housing is less affordable than ever recorded in the past four decades.

Aside from national statistics, many put fault in the ‘housing first’ approach that is quite common in California, where individuals are put in housing, temporary or permanent, without any additional resources or enough effort put towards addressing root causes of homelessness 5. Bipartisan agreement was reached to conduct an audit regarding California’s spending on homelessness, which will hopefully illuminate more effective application of these funds5.

Meanwhile, some more effective measures seem to already be in progress. The governor, Gavin Newsom, has directed funding into a new CARE Court which can mandate treatment for those suffering from mental illnesses and demand services and shelter from counties 5. Additionally, upcoming ballots like the one in March will include options to vote for funding towards treatment units and supportive housing for those with mental illnesses 5. These units will not only help the homeless but all children and families in California if the vote passes. This does take a portion of the budget from the Mental Health Services Act, but seeks to apply aid to some of the most critical cases 7.

The November ballot will have further measures like affordable housing bonds, rent control efforts, and constitutional amendments regarding these issues 5.

Already, various legislatures built up over years have made affordable housing in California more feasible 5. When California Assembly Bill 1449 passed in 2023, it exempted affordable housing projects from the California Environmental Quality Act 8. This does come with valid concerns, but the environmental impacts are yet unobservable. Fortunately, the affordable housing projects exempted by this bill must still comply with specified environmental requirements, receive local approval, and meet location prerequisites 8. It is believed this bill balances the issues of homelessness and environmental concerns 8.

A motion in 2023 created the Homeless Court Pilot Program. Homeless courts are meant to function outside of traditional courtrooms and focus on support and services for homeless and housing-insecure individuals 10. In the motion, L.A. supervisor Janice Hahn acknowledged the difficulty such individuals have in attending court and dealing with warrants and cases, as well as how such issues affect other variables that impact obtaining housing, like job applications and getting legal identification 10.

Homeless Court programs like that of Redondo Beach “divert unhoused individuals from jail and into housing” depending on qualifying misdemeanors 10. The goal is to enter individuals into services and programs, leading them into more secure housing, and having pending charges dismissed 10.

Another emerging program is the Homeless Bill of Rights campaign, which aims to educate about homelessness and the criminalization of it, and advocate for anti-criminalization legislation 9. It has a specific branch in California as well as Colorado and Oregon.

Homelessness in California is a serious problem. It should not have to be said that the people themselves are not the problem, but the government’s inability to properly care for the citizens. Fortunately, more attention is being paid to issues like proper funding and legislation to address root causes of homelessness like mental illness and addiction. But more still has to be done to address the increasing separation of income and housing costs. This is a problem increasing across the country and has already caused many to lose secure housing.

If you take one thing away from this article I hope it is that things like homelessness are things every housed person can act on. Even without monetary means, we can make a difference by voting. Vote in the primaries, if you can, and absolutely vote in November. We often feel locked into whatever government we end up with after presidential elections, but off-year elections and primaries are extremely important. Make your voice heard as frequently as you can.

Criminalization

I can understand how criminalizing acts like camping, resting, and sleeping in public areas might be useful to addressing homelessness. With the proper implementation of homeless courts, it could help proper services reach people in difficult situations.

On the other hand, it is extremely dangerous to declare uncontrollable circumstances illegal, especially with the current, reprehensible prison system. Passing off the criminalization of homelessness as positive would be irresponsible.

A difficult question that these laws evoke is if we have the right to treat someone with a mental illness against their will. A declarative ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to this question is dangerous, even if we think we are acting in someone’s best interest. Many people can have trouble accurately assessing if they need help or treatment, but being able to forcibly treat people has historically caused violations of personal rights and inhumane conditions. Sanatoriums are a famous example.

Criminalization also permits police forces to enforce these laws. Police are, even recently, proven to be unreliable when dealing with issues related to mental illness, and this can make conditions considerably more dangerous for individuals that the laws are intended to help 11,12,13.

If people are being forced into rehabilitation or medical treatment, it must be with the most comprehensively- and well-educated professionals providing these services. These programs must be transparent and held accountable for every individual they have decided to take jurisdiction over. Prisons are, indeed, some of the worst conditions for those experiencing addiction and mental illness. We have to make sure that the spaces people are diverted to are not well-dressed prisons.

Ultimately, these measures, such as homeless courts, would much better serve the community without the added criminalization and legal enforcement. Communities need more societal programs, not broader definitions of crimes.

Additional Resources

1.https://www.kqed.org/news/11973859/inside-californias-massive-statewide-effort-to-count-the-unhoused-population

2.https://www.hoover.org/research/how-californias-homeless-problem-became-intractable

3. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2023-AHAR-Part-1.pdf

4. https://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/facts-about-homelessness/

5. https://calmatters.org/

6. https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/home-price-income-ratio-reaches-record-high-0

7.https://calmatters.org/health/mental-health/2023/09/gavin-newsom-mental-health-2024-election/

8.https://a80.asmdc.org/sites/a80.asmdc.org/files/2023-06/AB%201449%20Factsheet.pdf

9. https://wraphome.org/what/homeless-bill-of-rights/california-right-to-rest-act/

10.https://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/bos/supdocs/f4b17fe2-06e2-470d-ba9a-3306244408bf.pdf

11.https://www.dispatch.com/story/opinion/columns/guest/2024/01/25/columbus-michael-frierson-shooting-police-non-police-alternative-response-system-ohio/72118646007/

12. https://capitalbnews.org/cleveland-housing-police/13.https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2023/04/23/rethink-police-response-mental-health-crises-focus-community-care/11652697002/

#homeless #homelessness #houselessness #unhoused people #housing crisis #laws #research #article #resources #news #criminalization #homeless courts #addiction #mental health #politics #voting #election

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learnwithmearticles · 3 months

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Internal Cycles

Circadian rhythms and internal clocks have amazing, intriguing implications on how bodies take care of themselves and have to adapt to their environments.

Many communities online discuss the innate predisposition some people have towards being active at night. Some refer to the need for human communities to have individuals keeping lookout at night or dealing with certain tasks at different times than most of the group. Others bring up how being a night owl might connect to someone’s neurotype or mental health. How much empirical research do we have to affirm these ideas? We’ll start by discussing internal cycles.

Internal Cycles

Organisms have a timekeeping system based on the 24-hour cycle of light and dark. For many mammals, performing certain activities at specific times in the day-night cycle is imperative to survival, especially for prey species who avoid broad daylight for safety.

There is a difference between circadian rhythms and diurnal rhythms because circadian rhythms must proceed without external triggers like light, though most observed diurnal rhythms are also circadian1. This means that most cycles that determine activity in animals, while based on external factors, do continue in absence of those external factors. However, it is possible that Earth’s continuous rotation guides these rhythms1.

These rhythms can continue without those factors, but they usually sync with them when present, with the most well-known being syncing with daylight cycles.

Chronobiology is the study of these internal rhythms.

Cycle Disturbance

Interestingly, internal rhythms are impacted by light in different ways depending on when they are exposed to light1. Noise can also impact the circadian rhythm, which can also depend on if noise trauma occurs during day or night2. Additionally, external temperatures and thermoregulation can alter the cycle of sleep, thus impacting the close relationship between sleep and one’s circadian rhythm3. Of course, also just being awake at night, especially for an extended period of time, causes circadian misalignment6.

The impacts of disturbed circadian rhythms are extensive.

Circadian rhythms help regulate the cycle of body temperature, which strongly influences metabolism4. These influences are even found to link to obesity and diabetes5. Similarly to temperature and sleep, eating has a two-way relationship with the function of the circadian rhythm2.

A study involving more than 2 million participants found that circadian disturbances due to working night shifts are associated with increased morbidity of breast cancer and cardiovascular disease6,7. Clinical evidence also suggests causation of immune deficiencies, hypertension, and cholesterol abnormalities8.

Internal Workings

Circadian rhythms are a molecular mechanism. The circadian “pacemaker” is located in specific structures. In humans, the “pacemaker” is in the hypothalamus1. The signals put out rely on gene expression1, and the circadian rhythm system is “present in all cells whose prime function is to regulate behavioral and physiological processes”2. These cells are regulated by the “master clock” in the hypothalamus2. This regulating is guided by a transcription-translation feedback loop of circadian genes2.

Signals to other cells are sent through the autonomic nervous system or humoral signals2. Humoral signals, as opposed to neural signals, happen through the release of hormones which “communicate” through molecules9.

Light, for example, tends to bring this pacemaker into synchronization with it2. This is commonly how the pacemaker aligns with Earth’s day-night cycle.

Melatonin production is part of the circadian rhythm. Staying up late and being exposed to light, meaning light exposure until 01:00 in one study’s example, delays the melatonin cycle10.

The auditory system, specifically the cochlea and inferior colliculus, also have interesting changes throughout the circadian rhythm2. Neurotrophins are proteins important to the development, survival, and function of neurons. At night, the cochlea, part of the inner ear, is less able to induce a neurotrophin protective response than during the day2. This is why noise trauma affects the circadian rhythm differently during day and night, and can be more harmful at night.

Circadian Rhythms are Messed Up

Many factors influence the functions of the circadian rhythm. Chief among them is exposure to light while many other small factors can add up to easily throw off the cycle. These factors also mess up immune responses, eating habits, and many other vital functions.

Work frequently causes people to alter their circadian rhythms11. Many jobs require night shifts or alternating shifts that can keep people up both regularly and randomly past advisable times. This is an understandable necessity for medical jobs, but for many workers this is a result of poor economic circumstances and a system that does not exist for all people as much as it exists for money.

Of course, circadian rhythms in humans were able to become easily disrupted as artificial lights became more ubiquitous, and now exist in almost every home around the world. More influential perhaps are computers: smartphones and tablets and personal computers that bring bright light, often blue light, close to your eyes. Many people also use these devices extremely frequently. In 2015, out of a sample group of 1,062 undergraduates in China, 21.3% exhibited excessive use of smartphones associated with worrisome physical and psychological issues12.

Smartphone use often persists into late hours, which a study discussed earlier linked to delays in circadian rhythms10. Heavy smartphone use is also heavily associated with increased stress13. Stress is another factor that influences circadian rhythms, and can inhibit the body’s ability to receive time-of-day information14. Furthermore, most technology devices use blue light by default, which has been found to extensively worsen sleep quantity and quality15.

Is it Ever Innate?

Some people are self-described night owls, with habitual late bedtimes and late wake-up times. Most often, this is considered delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS)16. In a majority of cases, DSPS is a hindrance and associated with depression, bipolar disorder, and poor school or work performance16. Having a delayed circadian rhythm is generally bad for one’s health. Little empirical discussion exists regarding if there are advantages to DSPS, but it is not the only irregularity studied.

People can also have Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder (N24), in which their circadian rhythm functions off of the usual 24-hour schedule17. Someone with N24 will go to bed at continually later or earlier bedtimes until that time circles around the 24-hour clock17. Research indicates that attempting to force a 24-hour clock in these situations results in severe sleep deprivation17. People who are blind with no perception of light can easily experience N24 because of the lack of light exposure to pull the circadian rhythm back into sync. About 55-70% of blind people experience N24, but it also occurs in sighted people17. Other causes of N24 include a change in light sensitivity, other changes in light exposure, reduced melatonin production, and genetics17. Different therapies have been used to try to treat N24, but results and success are limited17,18. While many people with N24 feel fine if allowed to sleep at the times their body wants to, some feel tired all the time under the same conditions19. However, N24 does not seem debilitating if not for the external societal factors that revolve around a 24-hour clock.

Summarily, an irregular circadian rhythm can be innate, and can be very disruptive to someone’s life. A variety of factors can cause conditions like DSPS or N24, or exaggerate pre-existing conditions. DSPS seems to be more severely harmful while N24 might only impact social and work schedules.

Mental Health

“A bidirectional relationship exists between mood disorders and circadian rhythms”20. People with bipolar disorder, for example, can have a genetic likelihood of slowed or delayed circadian rhythms16. Additionally, anxiety disorders, which often have comorbidity with depressive disorders, have a strongly-evidenced association with disrupted sleep and circadian rhythms21. Some studies have even seen circadian fluctuations in levels of anxiety throughout the day21. Additionally, having a late chronotype, or feeling more alert in the evening, has been found to have a strong association with psychological disorders and poor physical health22.

This causal relationship is likely two-sided. Depression and anxiety are related to stress, which we’ve discussed having impacts on the circadian rhythm. These disorders also can cause behaviours like staying up late and sleeping irregularly, which are also heavily influential on internal cycles. On the other hand, a delayed circadian rhythm can mean less exposure to sunlight, and vitamin D plays an important role in depression22. Additionally, parts of the brain such as the limbic regions, which determine behavioural and emotional responses, and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, which links perceived stress and physical stress responses, are under circadian regulation20. The circadian rhythm has direct influence on body hormonal responses and other activity, which has direct implications on the development and existence of psychological disorders. Regarding bipolar disorder specifically, multiple studies have indicated an association between certain circadian genes and bipolar disorder23.

Trauma or disorders such as autism have been noted to cause N24 because of damage to the brain and differences in brain development, as well as neurochemical or anatomical differences, respectively17.

While autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is primarily diagnosed based on behaviour, it etiologically involves differences in DNA sequences, prenatal and postnatal environments, and autoimmune and inflammatory factors24. Its etiology is not completely understood yet, but we do know that, in some cases, it includes mutations of genes that also control aspects of circadian oscillations24. This can include relevant neuroendocrine responses, and melatonin synthesis; very understandably, disruption to the sleep-wake cycle is very common for autistic people24. The relationship cannot accurately be described as ‘autism causes an irregular circadian rhythm’ or vice versa, but that there are factors that cause both ASD and irregular circadian rhythms.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD, though this name is often criticized as a misnomer) is frequently associated with sleep disorders25. ASD and ADHD have many overlapping symptoms, so it makes sense that they share etiological factors such as gene differences and hormonal responses25. For ADHD, we can specifically discuss dopamine. ADHD is associated with low dopamine levels, which is linked to many of the behavioural differences associated with it25. A gene involved in the release of dopamine, DRD4, is also fundamental in the conversion of light to electrical signals in the brain25. Now understanding how much light reception is responsible for circadian oscillation, this is one more way to understand how strongly ADHD and the circadian rhythm are associated. Many times over, the factors involved in irregular circadian rhythms and neurological conditions are linked.

Another important note to add is that an irregular circadian rhythm can exacerbate the symptoms of many neurological disorders including autism and ADHD, as improving circadian oscillation or one’s sleep-wake cycle can alleviate some of the related symptoms24,25.

Practicality

The circadian rhythm has a dominant role in almost all functions of our bodies, as every cell has its own circadian clock. This rhythm helps determine sleep, healing, metabolism, mental health, and many more vital aspects of daily life. Factors like light exposure, stress, hormonal changes, and many more are ways for the circadian rhythm to be changed, disturbed, delayed, or otherwise out of sync. In modern days, light exposure from devices and working late shifts are primary components of circadian disruption.

If our economic system changed to value its workers and more people could follow the innate, ideal cycles of sleep, how much would mental health conditions improve? Likely to a major degree.

In some cases, circadian rhythms are irregular on their own from genetic variations or complete blindness. The biggest problems in these cases are societal expectations forcing someone into a routine that doesn’t work for their body. Research is starting to develop for those who suffer due to circadian abnormalities, but there is no one right answer, as is the nature of medical science.

Overall, understanding the circadian rhythm is extremely helpful to understanding how we function within our environment, and why we might be experiencing certain things. Many people are aware of the contradiction between how important we are told sleeping enough is and the fact that we live in a system that makes doing so very difficult. Of course, if you can try to balance your circadian rhythm, it can be very beneficial to do so. The best we can do is try.

Additional Resources

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6707128/

2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7341678/

3. https://jphysiolanthropol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1880-6805-31-14

4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7678948/

5.https://www.nature.com/articles/hr201612#:~:text=Physiological%20circadian%20oscillation%20is%20impaired,in%20both%20humans%20and%20rodents.

6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4790999/

7.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1389945715007479?via%3Dihub

8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3761885/

9.https://pressbooks-dev.oer.hawaii.edu/biology/chapter/regulation-of-hormone-production/#:~:text=Humoral%20stimuli%20refers%20to%20the,in%20response%20to%20neural%20stimulation.

10. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3925648/

11. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0196064401533296

12. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5114822/

13. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/smi.2805

14. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352289516300194

15. https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fapl0000806

16. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4225198/

17. https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/non-24-hour-sleep-wake-disorder/

18. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/non-24-sleep-wake-disorder/treatment-care

19. https://www.circadiansleepdisorders.org/docs/N24-QandA.php

20. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-020-0694-0

21.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780128199756000169?via%3Dihub

22. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896627323007109#bib5

23. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/pcn.12688

24. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31682208/25. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12402-018-0271-z

#circadian rhythm #internal cycle #day-night cycle #day night cycle #research #article #sources #environment #light #work #economy #mental health #physical health #long post #very long post

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learnwithmearticles · 3 months

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Military Pollution

Discussing how military processes cause pollution.

Also the formatting gets weird because of Tumblr so here's a doc for ease: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E9kqUXSN8QdhOu79RuygONOcHjnWmV_th-6p557rwkY/edit?usp=sharing

Climate change occurs because of greenhouse gases (GHGs). These include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), and nitrous oxide (N20).

Greenhouse gases trap solar heat, causing overall warmer conditions around the world. Warmer conditions cause more severe weather like storms and tsunamis, rising ocean levels from melting glaciers, and less cold weather. When there is cold weather, it can be more extreme, as climate change causes changing paths of polar vortexes1.

We are well aware that large companies and industries cause large amounts of pollution, including greenhouse gases. More companies, states, and countries are becoming interested in renewable energy, as burning fossil fuels produces a majority of GHGs.

While human-produced CO2 is a small percentage of the existing environmental CO2, it has had a significant role in the observably warming climate2,3. GHG emissions are often measured in CO2 equivalent, or CO2e.

Around the world, military powers produce about 5.5% of greenhouse gases14.

Costs of War

War decimates rural and urban lands. For years, militaries have developed more and more ways to harm their enemies. Strategies like the scorched-earth tactic and establishing military bases drastically increase erosion and desertification long after the initial actions release GHGs4. Flora is essential in helping store carbon, but it can be a target of war, causing that carbon to enter the atmosphere.

War takes focus away from sustainable practices, as well, as people focus on fighting for their lives, or more fortunate populations have to change their goals from higher sustainability to the basic goals of ending violence.

If the way I am writing about war comes across as naive, consider that the problem is not with me, but with how common war is. There has been no time in my life that the United States of America has not been at war, and there have been constant wars throughout history. That does not mean it is acceptable. War should not be normalized. Violence should not come so easily. Roger Fisher once proposed that the code needed for the president of the USA to fire nuclear weapons be kept in a capsule next to the heart of a volunteer; If ever the president wanted to start nuclear war, he must kill that volunteer, he “has to look at someone and realize what death is–what an innocent death is”5. The idea was dismissed, an example of how removed people in power are from the violence of their actions. The normalization of violence is not the fault of every individual, yet everyone is responsible for learning that it should not be normal.

The destruction of inhabited areas of course necessitates the rebuilding, as well as the cleanup. Not only do damaged buildings release toxins like asbestos, but clearing out debris can take years of GHG emissions from the heavy machinery required6. The unlikelihood of such debris being recyclable, and the destruction of local government and infrastructure means additional improper disposal, sometimes through burning, and thus additional emissions and contaminations6.

Like cleanup, rebuilding and reconstruction are costly in many ways. In 2019, building construction globally produced over 3,500 Mt of CO27.

Bombs alone in warfare produce significant amounts of CO28, but add on the devastating effects discussed, and we can understand how war’s influence on GHG emissions are substantial.

In the past year, the frequency of Israel’s military bombing Palestinian-inhabited places has greatly increased. Some of these bombs are white phosphorus bombs, the hazards and pollution of which we discuss in a previous article9. Because of these bombings, Palestinians are expecting acid rain with the next rainfalls8.

In this war -an attack from Israel on the Palestinian people- many homes in Gaza that have solar panels have been destroyed, pushing back efforts made by Gaza towards clean energy8. Early on in this bombardment, the weight of explosives dropped on the Gaza Strip accounted to over 25,000 tonnes, causing carbon emissions equivalent to annual emissions from about 4,600 vehicles8.

From 2001 to fiscal year 2018, the United States invasion in Afghanistan had produced about 1,267 million metric tons of greenhouse gases10. A bombing from 2017 is still impacting locals through skin diseases and low crop yields13.

The activities of militaries during war heavily exacerbate the climate crisis, increasing emissions in many different sectors that can go on for years following the end of war.

Costs of Production

The explosion of bombs produces pollution from debris and hazardous materials, , but much of bomb-related pollution has to do with their production process.

TNT is the most commonly used explosive. It can be exposed to the environment through explosive detonations but also through spills, leaching, disposal of munitions, and manufacturing and processing facilities11. During World War I, manufacturing operations caused over 17,000 cases of TNT poisoning, and 475 fatalities11. TNT exposure can occur through air, groundwater, and contaminated soils11.

Aside from TNT, there is limited coverage of how much pollution comes from the production of explosives. Considering that they are often made with metals as well as different toxins, this is something worth further study.

A majority of reported GHG emissions from militaries are due to military base energy use and the operation of aircrafts, naval vehicles, and land vehicles because they use a lot of fossil fuels12. For example, a flight of two B-2B bombers in 2017 from the US to Libya emitted about 1,000 tons of CO2 equivalent12.

Naval ships often have longer life expectancy than civilian equipment, which is good for not having to replace things as frequently, but also means that high-emission machinery used for them cannot be switched out for better technology as quickly12.

Comprehending the GHG emissions of militaries means considering the emissions cost of obtaining raw materials, their transportation and production into usable tools or buildings, their use in the case of vehicles or munitions, and their disposal12. Military GHG emissions could be over the estimated 5.5% of global emissions because they are often not transparent or reliable in reporting relevant data13.

While we should be working towards limiting military emissions, we also should be requiring that militaries be held accountable for accurately reporting data that affect everyone. Climate change has already altered the world in very observable ways between climate trends and habitat changes. The emissions from militaries around the world, but especially of dominant countries, are inexcusable.

Additional Resources

1. https://disasterphilanthropy.org/resources/extreme-cold/

2. https://www.epa.gov/climatechange-science/causes-climate-change#3foot

3. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL1N2XV1HA/

4. https://ceobs.org/how-does-war-contribute-to-climate-change/

5. https://doi.org/10.1080/00963402.1981.11458828

6. https://ceobs.org/we-must-not-ignore-explosive-weapons-environmental-impact/

7.https://globalabc.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/2020%20Buildings%20GSR_FULL%20REPORT.pdf

8.https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/5/is-israels-war-on-gaza-also-hurting-the-climate

9.https://www.tumblr.com/learnwithmearticles/737957608644837376/phosphorus?source=share

10.https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/files/cow/imce/papers/Pentagon%20Fuel%20Use%2C%20Climate%20Change%20and%20the%20Costs%20of%20War%20Revised%20November%202019%20Crawford.pdf

11.https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-03/documents/ffrrofactsheet_contaminant_tnt_january2014_final.pdf

12. https://ceobs.org/the-militarys-contribution-to-climate-change/

13.https://www.pubaffairsbruxelles.eu/opinion-analysis/addressing-the-military-carbon-footprint-at-cop28/14.https://ceobs.org/new-estimate-global-military-is-responsible-for-more-emissions-than-russia/

#climate change #pollution #global warming #article #research #military #air pollution #greenhouse gases #ghg #greenhouse gas emissions #news #munitions #explosives #war

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