#june 20 2020

[mermaidinthecity]

leonalewis: Slowly coming out of hibernation 🙏🏽 Sending love to everyone celebrating Juneteenth in the u.s 💚

[laurajunekirsch]

Philadelphia! I am coming for you. Super excited to have been selected for this years 20/20 Photo Festival and Photo Book Fair. I’ll be selling copies of Romantic Lowlife Fantasies, prints, keychains and other fun things. 

If you can’t make it in person and would like a copy of the book you can purchase it here.

[ryansbedroom]

[warmglowofsurvival]

tyler_phone (3/3)

[britneyshakespeare]

i think reading the first three shakespeare henriad plays back-to-back-to-back has broken my brain for the last three months

[urfavcrime]

the parasites the DEMONS IN ME make me want to switch to a sadist tommy pfp rn im so serious.

[astromeena]

How will be my relationship with my son if I am born on 15 June 1987, 10: 20 am, place: Bhilai, Chhattisgarh and my son is born on Dec 11, 2020 at 10:22 pm Kanpur, India?

HOROSCOPE OF THE MOTHER HOROSCOPE OF YOUR SON RASI MATCHING NAVAMSA MATCHING In fact, match making is used in astrology and particularly in Vedic Astrology only for matching the horoscope of a man and a woman in case of marriage. But the same technique can be used for matching a man and a woman in relationship, mother and son, father and daughter, mother and daughter, father and son, brother…

[fatliberation]

they have a point though. you wouldn't need everyone to accommodate you if you just lost weight, but you're too lazy to stick to a healthy diet and exercise. it's that simple. I'd like to see you back up your claims, but you have no proof. you have got to stop lying to yourselves and face the facts

Must I go through this again? Fine. FINE. You guys are working my nerves today. You want to talk about facing the facts? Let's face the fucking facts.

In 2022, the US market cap of the weight loss industry was $75 billion [1, 3]. In 2021, the global market cap of the weight loss industry was estimated at $224.27 billion [2]. 

In 2020, the market shrunk by about 25%, but rebounded and then some since then [1, 3] By 2030, the global weight loss industry is expected to be valued at $405.4 billion [2]. If diets really worked, this industry would fall overnight. 

1. LaRosa, J. March 10, 2022. "U.S. Weight Loss Market Shrinks by 25% in 2020 with Pandemic, but Rebounds in 2021." Market Research Blog. 2. Staff. February 09, 2023. "[Latest] Global Weight Loss and Weight Management Market Size/Share Worth." Facts and Factors Research. 3. LaRosa, J. March 27, 2023. "U.S. Weight Loss Market Partially Recovers from the Pandemic." Market Research Blog.

Over 50 years of research conclusively demonstrates that virtually everyone who intentionally loses weight by manipulating their eating and exercise habits will regain the weight they lost within 3-5 years. And 75% will actually regain more weight than they lost [4].

4. Mann, T., Tomiyama, A.J., Westling, E., Lew, A.M., Samuels, B., Chatman, J. (2007). "Medicare’s Search For Effective Obesity Treatments: Diets Are Not The Answer." The American Psychologist, 62, 220-233. U.S. National Library of Medicine, Apr. 2007.

The annual odds of a fat person attaining a so-called “normal” weight and maintaining that for 5 years is approximately 1 in 1000 [5].

5. Fildes, A., Charlton, J., Rudisill, C., Littlejohns, P., Prevost, A.T., & Gulliford, M.C. (2015). “Probability of an Obese Person Attaining Normal Body Weight: Cohort Study Using Electronic Health Records.” American Journal of Public Health, July 16, 2015: e1–e6.

Doctors became so desperate that they resorted to amputating parts of the digestive tract (bariatric surgery) in the hopes that it might finally result in long-term weight-loss. Except that doesn’t work either. [6] And it turns out it causes death [7],  addiction [8], malnutrition [9], and suicide [7].

6. Magro, Daniéla Oliviera, et al. “Long-Term Weight Regain after Gastric Bypass: A 5-Year Prospective Study - Obesity Surgery.” SpringerLink, 8 Apr. 2008. 7. Omalu, Bennet I, et al. “Death Rates and Causes of Death After Bariatric Surgery for Pennsylvania Residents, 1995 to 2004.” Jama Network, 1 Oct. 2007.  8. King, Wendy C., et al. “Prevalence of Alcohol Use Disorders Before and After Bariatric Surgery.” Jama Network, 20 June 2012.  9. Gletsu-Miller, Nana, and Breanne N. Wright. “Mineral Malnutrition Following Bariatric Surgery.” Advances In Nutrition: An International Review Journal, Sept. 2013.

Evidence suggests that repeatedly losing and gaining weight is linked to cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes and altered immune function [10].

10. Tomiyama, A Janet, et al. “Long‐term Effects of Dieting: Is Weight Loss Related to Health?” Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 6 July 2017.

Prescribed weight loss is the leading predictor of eating disorders [11].

11. Patton, GC, et al. “Onset of Adolescent Eating Disorders: Population Based Cohort Study over 3 Years.” BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.), 20 Mar. 1999.

The idea that “obesity” is unhealthy and can cause or exacerbate illnesses is a biased misrepresentation of the scientific literature that is informed more by bigotry than credible science [12]. 

12. Medvedyuk, Stella, et al. “Ideology, Obesity and the Social Determinants of Health: A Critical Analysis of the Obesity and Health Relationship” Taylor & Francis Online, 7 June 2017.

“Obesity” has no proven causative role in the onset of any chronic condition [13, 14] and its appearance may be a protective response to the onset of numerous chronic conditions generated from currently unknown causes [15, 16, 17, 18].

13. Kahn, BB, and JS Flier. “Obesity and Insulin Resistance.” The Journal of Clinical Investigation, Aug. 2000. 14. Cofield, Stacey S, et al. “Use of Causal Language in Observational Studies of Obesity and Nutrition.” Obesity Facts, 3 Dec. 2010.  15. Lavie, Carl J, et al. “Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease: Risk Factor, Paradox, and Impact of Weight Loss.” Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 26 May 2009.  16. Uretsky, Seth, et al. “Obesity Paradox in Patients with Hypertension and Coronary Artery Disease.” The American Journal of Medicine, Oct. 2007.  17. Mullen, John T, et al. “The Obesity Paradox: Body Mass Index and Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Nonbariatric General Surgery.” Annals of Surgery, July 2005. 18. Tseng, Chin-Hsiao. “Obesity Paradox: Differential Effects on Cancer and Noncancer Mortality in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.” Atherosclerosis, Jan. 2013.

Fatness was associated with only 1/3 the associated deaths that previous research estimated and being “overweight” conferred no increased risk at all, and may even be a protective factor against all-causes mortality relative to lower weight categories [19].

19. Flegal, Katherine M. “The Obesity Wars and the Education of a Researcher: A Personal Account.” Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, 15 June 2021.

Studies have observed that about 30% of so-called “normal weight” people are “unhealthy” whereas about 50% of so-called “overweight” people are “healthy”. Thus, using the BMI as an indicator of health results in the misclassification of some 75 million people in the United States alone [20]. 

20. Rey-López, JP, et al. “The Prevalence of Metabolically Healthy Obesity: A Systematic Review and Critical Evaluation of the Definitions Used.” Obesity Reviews : An Official Journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity, 15 Oct. 2014.

While epidemiologists use BMI to calculate national obesity rates (nearly 35% for adults and 18% for kids), the distinctions can be arbitrary. In 1998, the National Institutes of Health lowered the overweight threshold from 27.8 to 25—branding roughly 29 million Americans as fat overnight—to match international guidelines. But critics noted that those guidelines were drafted in part by the International Obesity Task Force, whose two principal funders were companies making weight loss drugs [21].

21. Butler, Kiera. “Why BMI Is a Big Fat Scam.” Mother Jones, 25 Aug. 2014. 

Body size is largely determined by genetics [22].

22. Wardle, J. Carnell, C. Haworth, R. Plomin. “Evidence for a strong genetic influence on childhood adiposity despite the force of the obesogenic environment” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition Vol. 87, No. 2, Pages 398-404, February 2008.

Healthy lifestyle habits are associated with a significant decrease in mortality regardless of baseline body mass index [23].  

23. Matheson, Eric M, et al. “Healthy Lifestyle Habits and Mortality in Overweight and Obese Individuals.” Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine : JABFM, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 25 Feb. 2012.

Weight stigma itself is deadly. Research shows that weight-based discrimination increases risk of death by 60% [24].

24. Sutin, Angela R., et al. “Weight Discrimination and Risk of Mortality .” Association for Psychological Science, 25 Sept. 2015.

Fat stigma in the medical establishment [25] and society at large arguably [26] kills more fat people than fat does [27, 28, 29].

25. Puhl, Rebecca, and Kelly D. Bronwell. “Bias, Discrimination, and Obesity.” Obesity Research, 6 Sept. 2012. 26. Engber, Daniel. “Glutton Intolerance: What If a War on Obesity Only Makes the Problem Worse?” Slate, 5 Oct. 2009.  27. Teachman, B. A., Gapinski, K. D., Brownell, K. D., Rawlins, M., & Jeyaram, S. (2003). Demonstrations of implicit anti-fat bias: The impact of providing causal information and evoking empathy. Health Psychology, 22(1), 68–78. 28. Chastain, Ragen. “So My Doctor Tried to Kill Me.” Dances With Fat, 15 Dec. 2009. 29. Sutin, Angelina R, Yannick Stephan, and Antonio Terraciano. “Weight Discrimination and Risk of Mortality.” Psychological Science, 26 Nov. 2015.

There's my "proof." Where is yours?

[end-otw-racism]

End OTW Racism: A Call To Action

A fan protest against the lack of action from the OTW on addressing issues of harassment and racism on AO3 and within the organization

This is a Call To Action for Fans of Color and Allies

AO3 has acknowledged that they have a harassment & racism problem that its parent organization, the Organization for Transformative Works (OTW), needs to address. Currently, people can use AO3 to harass others through fanworks, comments, and tags. Just a few examples include: racist Untamed “spitefic” that used anti-Indigenous slurs and was written specifically to lash out at fans of color; a Transformer fic that used its Black-coded character to reenact George Floyd’s murder in July 2020; someone naming a fandom scholar who criticized their Nazi omegaverse fic in the tags of the fic specifically to incite harassment to the scholar; writers using racial slurs against commenters who pointed out racism in their hockey fic; and so much more.

In June 2020, after the murder of George Floyd, the OTW committed to addressing these issues. It has been nearly three years and they have not yet implemented any of the changes they promised, other than a blocking/muting tool that was already in development before 2020. We need to hold the OTW accountable to their own promises. (See the section further down on “Why Are We Doing This” for even more detail.)

As fans, together, we are powerful. We are organizing to protest the lack of action on promises made by the Organization for Transformative works to deal with issues of racism and harassment on their platform, Archive of Our Own.

We call on fans to do any or all of the following actions any time between May 17 to 31, 2023 to send a message to AO3 and OTW that we will hold them to their promises.

On AO3

Change the title of ten (or more!) of your most recent or most popular fanworks to include ‘End Racism in the OTW’ in the beginning, and provide a link to this post in your summary or first/top creator’s note

Post a new fanwork any time between May 17th to 31st with “End Racism in the OTW” either as the title or at the beginning of the title. The fanwork does not have to be long - it can be a 100-word fic, a quick sketch, a podfic of a ficlet, a 20-second vid/edit, a short piece of meta, etc. In the summary or first/top creator’s note, provide a link to this post

If updating any WIPs with a new chapter, add ‘End Racism in the OTW’ to the title and provide a link back to this post in your summary or first/top author’s note

Update your AO3 icon using the profile pic graphic in our Social Media Toolkit

Plan to maintain these changes until May 31, 2023, or longer if you wish

Send a message to the OTW asking for an update on their 2020 commitments!

For Readers: leave encouraging comments on fanworks with the "End Racism in the OTW" title to show your support of this initiative.

On tumblr

Reblog this Call to Action with the tag #End OTW Racism

Update your profile pics and banners using the graphics in our Social Media Toolkit

Follow this account for updates and signal boost our posts

On Twitter

Follow @/EndOTWRacism (remove the backslash) and signal boost our pinned tweet

Update your profile pics and banners using our graphics, and change your display name to include #EndOTWRacism

Use sample tweets and graphics from our Social Media Toolkit to tweet about your fanworks, and use the hashtag #EndOTWRacism

Help us make this a long-term campaign - sign up to help with other anti-racism projects and future actions!

What Do We Want?

Since their June 2020 statement, OTW has been working on updating their Terms of Service (TOS) to address racist and bigoted harassment, but with little transparency and only the vaguest of updates. It has been three years since their commitment to this update - we want to see the results of their work implemented in the next 6-12 months. Their TOS updates and complementary policies should include:

Harassment policies that can be regularly updated to address both on-site harassment and off-site coordinated harassment of AO3 users, with updated protocols for the Policy & Abuse Team to ensure consistent and informed resolutions of abuse claims

A content policy on abusive (extremely racist and extremely bigoted) content; by abusive, we are talking about fanworks that are intentionally used to spread hate and harassment, not those that accidentally invoke racist or other bigoted stereotypes

These points are not particularly new and are not our own innovation; please refer to Stitch's article written over two years ago, asking for several of these very things.

OTW has also already committed to various process-based actions for longer-term works towards centering antiracism, including hiring a Diversity Consultant. The last update that OTW published said that the consultant would be hired within the next five years (after already having had three years to work on it since their original commitment). That is not soon enough. We want to see the following process-based actions implemented:

Hiring a Diversity Consultant within the next 3-6 months

Committing to a policy of transparency on this topic, with quarterly updates on the progress of these projects including challenges and their plan for overcoming those challenges. These quarterly updates should be published on OTW News page and newsletters, not solely discussed in Board meetings

Why Are We Doing This?

16 years ago, Astolat famously published her manifesto calling for a fandom Archive of One’s Own. In that time, AO3 has grown to be a central pillar of fandom, likely far outstripping its founders’ original vision. It is more than just an archive now; it is a central hub of the modern fannish experience. AO3 and the OTW must continue to grow and evolve with fandom over time to remain a healthy and functioning pillar of fandom. To that end, there are several areas in which the organization, as it admits itself, is lacking.

In June 2020, in the wake of the George Floyd protests and the uprising of the Black Lives Matter Movement, The OTW published a “This Week in Fandom” referencing the works of Dr. Rukmini Pande and Stitch, among others in which they discussed ‘making change for a better society’ through ‘conversations about race and racism’. In response, Dr. Pande and Stitch submitted a letter to the OTW calling for a more formal public statement than an offhand reference in a News Roundup that only served to call for thoughts and discussion without any indication the organization intended to do anything, policy wise, to address the issues being raised.

Eventually, the organization did remove the references to the works of Dr. Pande and Stitch and then made an official statement on the issue of racism within the organization and AO3. In it, they identified several things they would be prioritizing to combat harassment and benefit users. Some of those have been implemented (notably those that were already under development). However as of this writing, little else has been done especially in regards to:

Improving admin tools for the Policy & Abuse team

Reassessing the current mandatory archive warnings with the possibility of implementing others

And, most importantly, reviewing the Terms of Service (TOS) to allow the Policy & Abuse team to address harassment that is currently not covered by the existing TOS

By their own admission, the current tools and policies of the OTW are not sufficient to deal with issues of harassment and racism.

Several people who were involved in the founding of the OTW, including previous OTW Board members and staff on the original OTW Content Policy Committee, acknowledge that the founding of the OTW in 2008 and early board iterations failed us as a fandom by not doing enough, and by not even considering the way racism is perpetuated in fannish spaces, despite a long history of racism in fandom.

It has been nearly three years since the original commitment by the organization with little visible, measurable progress on these three crucial issues and a complete lack of transparency on where they are in regards to even beginning to deal with these issues. In fact, in Q&As, it was heavily implied by a member of the board that those calling for OTW to deal with issues of racism (which OTW had already acknowledged as a problem!) were not really fans but outside agitators.

This has cast significant doubt on the organization's sincerity and commitment to their stated goals, and on their position as leaders of a central fan tent-pole. Fans of color are not outsiders. They are right here, members of our community, and they are being harassed and targeted and driven out while space and platforms are being given to racists.

We, as fans of color and our allies, find the current state of fandom and current actions (and lack thereof) unacceptable. Fandom is our space, all of ours. We, as a fandom, have a right to a racism-free space and have a duty to our fellow fans to create that space. Unlike so much of the world, this is a space we can control and make better. It is a space we must make better. To read even more about this movement, visit our FAQs.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

The federal government has no legal duty to ensure First Nations have clean drinking water, even if Liberal ministers publicly suggest otherwise, Justice Canada lawyers say. That's the defence the federal government is expected to mount in Ottawa this week in Federal Court, as it fights a national class-action lawsuit launched by a remote northern Manitoba First Nation in 2022. Shamattawa First Nation, which has been under a boil water advisory since 2018, and its Chief Jordna Hill are pursuing the case for all First Nations members countrywide whose community was subject to a drinking water advisory in effect on or after June 20, 2020. The plaintiffs argue First Nations have a basic human right to clean water that Canada has violated, describing the conditions facing their communities as "an urgent human rights crisis." In its statement of defence, Canada argues the government supports the delivery of potable water for First Nations as a discretionary political decision, calling it "a matter of good governance rather than legal duty." "Canada does not owe any legal obligations or duties to operate and maintain the plaintiffs' water systems," says the statement of defence.

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The CFPB is genuinely making America better, and they're going HARD

On June 20, I'm keynoting the LOCUS AWARDS in OAKLAND.

Let's take a sec here and notice something genuinely great happening in the US government: the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau's stunning, unbroken streak of major, muscular victories over the forces of corporate corruption, with the backing of the Supreme Court (yes, that Supreme Court), and which is only speeding up!

A little background. The CFPB was created in 2010. It was Elizabeth Warren's brainchild, an institution that was supposed to regulate finance from the perspective of the American public, not the American finance sector. Rather than fighting to "stabilize" the financial sector (the mission that led to Obama taking his advisor Timothy Geithner's advice to permit the foreclosure crisis to continue in order to "foam the runways" for the banks), the Bureau would fight to defend us from bankers.

The CFPB got off to a rocky start, with challenges to the unique system of long-term leadership appointments meant to depoliticize the office, as well as the sudden resignation of its inaugural boss, who broke his promise to see his term through in order to launch an unsuccessful bid for political office.

But after the 2020 election, the Bureau came into its own, when Biden poached Rohit Chopra from the FTC and put him in charge. Chopra went on a tear, taking on landlords who violated the covid eviction moratorium:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/20/euthanize-rentier-enablers/#cfpb

Then banning payday lenders' scummiest tactics:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/01/29/planned-obsolescence/#academic-fraud

Then striking at one of fintech's most predatory grifts, the "earned wage access" hustle:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/01/usury/#tech-exceptionalism

Then closing the loophole that let credit reporting bureaus (like Equifax, who doxed every single American in a spectacular 2019 breach) avoid regulation by creating data brokerage divisions and claiming they weren't part of the regulated activity of credit reporting:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/16/the-second-best-time-is-now/#the-point-of-a-system-is-what-it-does

Chopra went on to promise to ban data-brokers altogether:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/13/goulash/#material-misstatement

Then he banned comparison shopping sites where you go to find the best bank accounts and credit cards from accepting bribes and putting more expensive options at the top of the list. Instead, he's requiring banks to send the CFPB regular, accurate lists of all their charges, and standing up a federal operated comparison shopping site that gives only accurate and honest rankings. Finally, he's made an interoperability rule requiring banks to let you transfer to another institution with one click, just like you change phone carriers. That means you can search an honest site to find the best deal on your banking, and then, with a single click, transfer your accounts, your account history, your payees, and all your other banking data to that new bank:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/21/let-my-dollars-go/#personal-financial-data-rights

Somewhere in there, big business got scared. They cooked up a legal theory declaring the CFPB's funding mechanism to be unconstitutional and got the case fast-tracked to the Supreme Court, in a bid to put Chopra and the CFPB permanently out of business. Instead, the Supremes – these Supremes! – upheld the CFPB's funding mechanism in a 7-2 ruling:

https://www.scotusblog.com/2024/05/supreme-court-lets-cfpb-funding-stand/

That ruling was a starter pistol for Chopra and the Bureau. Maybe it seemed like they were taking big swings before, but it turns out all that was just a warmup. Last week on The American Prospect, Robert Kuttner rounded up all the stuff the Bureau is kicking off:

https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2024-06-07-window-on-corporate-deceptions/

First: regulating Buy Now, Pay Later companies (think: Klarna) as credit-card companies, with all the requirements for disclosure and interest rate caps dictated by the Truth In Lending Act:

https://www.skadden.com/insights/publications/2024/06/cfpb-applies-credit-card-rules

Next: creating a registry of habitual corporate criminals. This rogues gallery will make it harder for other agencies – like the DOJ – and state Attorneys General to offer bullshit "delayed prosecution agreements" to companies that compulsively rip us off:

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-creates-registry-to-detect-corporate-repeat-offenders/

Then there's the rule against "fine print deception" – which is when the fine print in a contract lies to you about your rights, like when a mortgage lender forces you waive a right you can't actually waive, or car lenders that make you waive your bankruptcy rights, which, again, you can't waive:

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-warns-against-deception-in-contract-fine-print/

As Kuttner writes, the common thread running through all these orders is that they ban deceptive practices – they make it illegal for companies to steal from us by lying to us. Especially in these dying days of class action suits – rapidly becoming obsolete thanks to "mandatory arbitration waivers" that make you sign away your right to join a class action – agencies like the CFPB are our only hope of punishing companies that lie to us to steal from us.

There's a lot of bad stuff going on in the world right now, and much of it – including an active genocide – is coming from the Biden White House.

But there are people in the Biden Administration who care about the American people and who are effective and committed fighters who have our back. What's more, they're winning. That doesn't make all the bad news go away, but sometimes it feels good to take a moment and take the W.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/10/getting-things-done/#deliverism

[pandysmiggles]

Mass shootings in order

Columbine - April 20th 1999 / Eric Harris & Dylan Klebold  age: 17 & 18

Santana H. School - March 5th 2001 / Andy Williams ( Charles Andrew) Aged 15

Sandy Hook Elementary School - December 14th 2012 / Adam Lanza aged 20

Weis Markets Supermarket, Eaton Township, Pennslyvania - June 8th 2017/ Randy Robert Stair aged 24

Parkland Highschool - February 14th 2018 / Nikolas Jacob Cruz aged 19

STEM School Highlands Ranch - May 7th 2019 / Alec McKinney (16) & Devon Erickson (18)

Nakhon Ratchasima ( Korat) Terminal 21 Mall , Thailand - 8 and 9th February 2020 / Jakrapanth Thomma aged 31

Oxford H. School - November 30th 2021 / Ethan Robert Crumbley  Aged 15

Buffalo New York. Tops Friendly Markets supermarket - May 14th 2022 / Payton S. Gendron Aged 18

Robb Elementary school - May 24th 2022 /

Salvador Ramos Aged 18

Nong Bua Lamphu ( Nursery school) - October 6th 2022 / Panya Khamrab Aged 34

Siam Paragon - October 3rd 2023 / Phasid (Indy) Trutassanawin Aged 14

Butler, Pennslyvania - July 13th 2024 / Thomas Matthew Crooks Aged 20

Apalachee High School, Georgia - September 4, 2024 / Colt Gray Aged 14

[ryansbedroom]

[warmglowofsurvival]

josh_phone (3/3)

[reasonsforhope]

"When politicians unveil a new national park or wilderness area, it’s often accompanied by debates about what effect it will have on the livelihoods of people living nearby. In some places, it can be welcomed as a boon, attracting tourists and their dollars. In others, it’s booed as a job killer, squelching the chance for new mining, grazing, logging or other industries.

As nations promise to nearly double the amount of protected land on the planet, from 17% to 30% of the Earth’s surface, these debates are likely to happen more often. Now there is new evidence that it’s possible to have both land protections and a growing economy. But it’s not guaranteed. “Achieving both aims is more common than we previously expected,” said Binbin Li, an environmental scientist at Duke Kunshan University, a Chinese institution affiliated with Duke University. “But that balance depends on socioeconomic conditions near a protected area.”

It can be hard to tease out causal links between two things as complex as the changing condition of a landscape and the economy of a nearby city. Did a town flourish because of a nearby national park, or because an increase in remote work enabled people to move there? Did another town collapse because a forest reserve contributed to the demise of a sawmill, or was it part of a bigger downturn in the timber industry?

To try to clarify the effects, Li and colleagues at Duke University and Shandong University in China compared the fates of “twin” towns and cities, as well as comparable patches of land. They identified more than 10,000 protected areas in countries around the globe, then examined how economic activity changed in nearby settlements between 2013 and 2020, compared to similar settlements more than 20 kilometers from any protected land. They also matched the protected area to similar nearby unprotected areas, to see if they fared differently.

The scientists used satellite images to track changes on the landscape, such as forest turning to farmland. They also tracked changes in the amount of nighttime artificial light as a surrogate for economic activity.

The satellite images revealed that in many cases, more trees and grasslands stayed standing and the lights shown more brightly at the same time. In about half the protected areas, there was simultaneous progress in both conservation and economic development, the scientists reported on June 20 in Current Biology.

Land protection was broadly successful at reducing the loss of forest and grasslands – more than 90% of the protected areas either lost no natural land cover, or less than their unprotected twins, the researchers found. At the same time, 60% of neighboring communities had as much or more of an increase in nightlights than places further from protected land...

Land protection and economic growth went hand in hand most easily in wealthier countries, around smaller protected areas, and in places with some of the infrastructure critical for economic development, such as roads. In places without these features the ecological fate of the land and the economic fortune of nearby towns was more likely to diverge or decline together the researchers found.

“Conservation does not happen in a silo,” said co-author Stuart Pimm, a Duke University ecologist. “We must consider local development alongside biodiversity conservation to know where and how to protect areas to benefit both the environment and humans.” ...

The results underscore the ways in which poverty and environmental degradation can be bound together. If poverty isn’t dealt with, creating protected areas could set the stage for both loss of biodiversity and economic development, the researchers warned. The flip side is that with careful planning, conservation could help set nearby towns on a path out of poverty. As an example, the scientists pointed to Costa Rica’s Corcovado National Park, which has become a hub for ecotourism on the country’s Pacific coast.

“We need to get to a win-win outcome more often, especially in the most biodiverse regions that can ill-afford losing out on economic development or biodiversity,” said Li. “We cannot address biodiversity loss without addressing local development issues.”

-via Anthropocene Magazine, June 26, 2024

[just-a-ghost00]

All I want for Christmas…

Ever wondered is someone was desperately wishing to kiss you under the mistletoe? Well, here is your chance to find out. This reading is mainly meant for singles, whether you have someone in mind or not. But of course nothing forbids you from reading this PAC if you’re already in a relationship with someone, especially if this person is not by your side currently and you want to see if they miss you as much as you do.

Group 1

Overall energy | 10 of swords rx, knight of cups, 7 of wands

You may be in a no contact situation with the person we are talking about. This is someone that has a hard time moving on from their past but that also could have a hard time accepting the situation you are currently in. It feels like there has been a disconnect between you and/or you have conflicting views about the connection. Despite this misunderstanding and possible argument, this person holds a lot of affection for you and wishes to express their feelings for you. This is a person that feels grateful for your presence in their life because you came in at a time when they were struggling and supported them in this difficult cycle. You could be feeling the same towards this person. This is someone that, despite the disconnect, still wishes to fight for the connection and prove they care about you. They may be attached to you and the support you were providing them with.

Physical traits | 5 of wands, 8 of swords, 9 of swords, queen of cups rx

This is someone that may be a bit out of shape. They look stressed out and tired. So they may have eye bags, grey hairs. They may lose their hair often. They have long hair. They could have bad eyesight so they may wear glasses or contact lenses. They may squint their eyes a lot. They look wary or constantly on their guards. They may hunch their back a lot or have a slumped position. They may look sleepy or like their mind is elsewhere. Their eyes are glossy, watery. They could be petite. They have a very discreet style. This person doesn't put a lot of effort into their appearance. They wear very practical and simple clothes. Dull colors. They have an appearance that doesn't stand out that much. Like they blend in the crowds. They may wear a lot of skirts and dresses. I'm picking up on modest wear, old school fashion. A bit of a gloomy vibe. The type of wear that people would have worn to Church a long time ago. They look like they are not comfortable in their skin. So maybe they wear clothes that don't fit them or don't reflect their true style/essence.

Confirmation signs | Queen of wands, ace of cups, Judgement, Queen of pentacles, The Magician

This could be someone that is of the same gender as you are. This could resonate with you if you are a member of or an ally of the LGBTQIA+ community. This could be someone that you confessed to but rejected you in the past. In terms of zodiac signs, we have Leo, Taurus, Gemini that are coming up, as well as Scorpio and maybe a bit of Libra. This could be someone that is trying to manifest you. This could be a person that you met through dating apps. This could be someone that you met either during the Summer or Fall of any year. The numbers 1, 6 and 20 can be significant. So if we take those as possible dates or time frames, we have January 6 / June 1, the 20th of any month, the years 2001/2006/2020. This person can be of the same age as you or if there's an age gap, the gap is quite small. This can be a person that is a bit of a smooth talker.

Group 2

Overall energy | 10 of wands, 3 of swords, 6 of cups

This is a person that is going through a difficult phase in their life. They could be a childhood/teenage years friend of yours. This person has a lot of weight on their shoulders. They may be doing a job that asks of them a lot of sacrifice and sense of responsibility. They could be a single parent. This could be someone that you recently broke up with. Again, I get a no contact vibe from this group. This person is feeling extremely sad. This may be because they feel betrayed in the situation or deeply affected by the fact that things didn't work out between you despite their genuine feelings. This is a person that possibly viewed you as a soulmate and they are now reminiscing about the past when it comes to you. They miss you dearly and I feel like they are defeated. If you know this person, you may not suspect that they are so affected by whatever happened. This may be a person that tends to wear masks as to hide their vulnerability, especially in front of the people they like.

Physical traits | 8 of cups, 5 of cups, 6 of pentacles rx, ace of wands

I get sad boy/ girl energy from this person. They have a rather round face, watery puppy eyes. An upside down smile or some sort of happy/unhappy frown. They look very soft and fragile. Like a doll. Their skin is very pale. Like they don't see the light of day kind of feeling as they spend most of their time indoors, crying over the loss of your connection. They may be a bit out of shape especially around the face. They could have puffy eyes, puffy cheeks. They body looks tense, agitated. They appear as clumsy, messy, hasty. If they have bangs, they could let it grow to the point where it hides their eyes. Kind of an emo vibe, if that is still a thing. Again, this is a person that wears rather dull colored clothes. Clothes that are oversized and kinda make them look like a ghost. Long sleeved shirts and t-shirts, hoodies, stuff like that. I get also a bit of a neglected but trendy look. Like, even if this person isn't at their best, they still kinda want to look good. Like "sappy is the new sexy" kind of vibe. I also get a siren vibe from them. So they may enhance their eyes specifically. Like wearing big glasses or putting a lot of eyeliner, long eyelashes, wearing color changing contacts. With the ace of wands, I feel like there may be little details in their appearance that may give people the idea that they can burst any time. Kinda like they're on edge. Also, this person could be particularly tall and skinny.

Confirmation signs | 6 of wands, Empress, 7 of cups, King of cups, Magician

In terms of zodiac signs, we have Leo, Taurus, Scorpio, Gemini, Pisces. For numbers, we have 6/3/7/1. So this could relate to the months of June, July, March and January. This could also relate to dates such as the 6th, 3rd, 7th or 1st of any month. We have dates like June 3, March 6, July 1, January 7, March 7, July 3, June 7, July 6, June 1, January 6, January 3, March 1. This person could be older than you or have a higher status. This is a person that despite their current emotional state, is pretty successful academically, professionally, financially. You could have met this person at a party or celebration of some sort. This could be someone that is flirty, entertains several relationships and/or has several projects they are working on on the side. They are a good manifestor. You could have felt like this person was a wish come true for you when you met them. They may own a pet for some, like a little bird. They could like horses. This person could live at a distance from you.

Group 3

Overall energy | 9 of pentacles, 10 of pentacles, 3 of pentacles, 10 of wands, 3 of cups

When it comes to zodiac signs, the cards highlight Earth signs, especially Taurus, as well as Leo and Pisces. The numbers 3 and 10 seem to be significant. So those could pertain to the months of March and October, or the 3rd / 10th of any month. We have the energy here of someone that is very busy with their work and material aspects of their life. This could be someone that you know through work/school. For some of you, this person can be a friend. Either this person has a secret crush on you or vice versa. For some of you this is a friendship that is bordering on becoming a romantic connection. They could come from a well established family. This is someone that is dealing with a lot of responsibilities, either because they are living alone (especially if they're a student) or because they are a single parent for some. This is a person that is very hardworking and may currently spend most of their time either stuck at home or working. They like to relieve stress by spending time with a few friends they trust or connecting with their siblings. This person could be a teacher.

Physical traits | Temperance, 6 of swords, Devil, Hermit, Fool

First of all, I have to point out that pretty much all cards are major arcanas. So there's something to this person's vibe and aura that is just huge. No matter their body shape or look, this person remains imposing and impressive to a lot of people. They always leave a strong impression, whether people like them or not. They have long hair that are likely to be dark. They appear as very feminine in nature. So either this person is a woman or could identify as such. They have soft but striking features. They could have a bit of a tanned skin. They could be hispanic or North African, Mediterranean overall. This person could have eyesight issues. Their body structure is quite balanced. I feel like this person blends well in a crowd, they tend to be discreet but if you take time to look at them you can be struck by their beauty. This is a person that has a very natural beauty. They barely wear makeup, they have never undergone any aesthetical surgery, they have no tattoo nor piercings. Yet, they are extremely sensual in nature. They may have a bit of a naive look. Like their head is constantly in the clouds. This could be someone that tends to look at their feet or up in the air, but never directly at people. They give off a bit of a loner vibe. I feel like their fashion style is very simple but it looks very good on them and adds to their allure. This person is charming by default just because of their energy. This is a person that may look very basic on the outside but is incredibly attractive and beautiful on the inside, because of their mentality and the values they cultivate. They may wear their headphones/earphones quite a lot.

Confirmation signs | 6 of pentacles, Justice, 7 of swords, 8 of pentacles, White Numen

Zodiac signs : Taurus again, Scorpio and Libra. Numbers 6, 7, 8, 9 could be pertaining to months from June to September. Possible dates could include June 7, July 6, August 9, September 8 among other possibilities. This is a person that you may interact with through social media. You may not know this person very well. Meaning, you've never met in person. This is someone that you could stalk and/or someone that stalks you. You may have had a disagreement with this person. They are currently focused on their work and this may be one of the reasons you are not in contact with them. This could be someone that you have common passions with or work on similar projects with. This person is generous. They may have given you money or they frequently donate to charity. They could work for the government. This is someone that is constantly on the go.