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Photo: John and Suzanne’s Mom.
The ice breaks up.

When I was paying for my groceries on Tuesday, the teenage bagger commented on what a beautiful day it was, and I said, “Yes, I can’t wait to get home and take my walk.” He replied, “Where do you walk?”

At the moment of telling him my usual route, I knew I couldn’t possibly follow routine on that unusually warm, sunny, and springlike day in February.

So after I got all the perishables into my fridge, I walked in the opposite direction from the routine and ended up on a conservation trail in the woods.

There was something about this that was a throwback to childhood, when I walked with a friend in the woods or with my cousin Patsy or, most often, alone. I used to feel spring coming. The woods held magic. There was a stream with a brownish rock in the middle that I liked to inaugurate in spring by stepping on it, but sometimes I would slip into the icy water and walk home wearing mittens on my feet.

It used to feel great to have an adventure alone, maybe a little bit risky. Like the time I wandered from the woods to look for the place where one could sometimes see a horse behind a stockade fence. On the way there, I would go through a marsh, stepping slowly from wobbly tuft to wobbly tuft. Until one day, I saw an unknown man standing not far off and I hightailed it out of there.

Exploring on Tuesday also felt a bit risky, even with a smart phone. How many bars do I need if I fall and want to summon help? What about the icy, sloshy places? I’m a bit old for walking home with mittens on my feet and drenched shoes hung over my shoulder, the laces tied together.

I also needed to pay attention to where I was in relation to the road. I was kind of lost, although the trail markers were reassuring.

Eventually, I came out onto a big field where a woman was walking her dog, and I had a pretty good idea where the road lay in relation to that field.

I went home and took a nap.

Eye Doctor in Uganda

Photo: Sophie Neiman.
Patients relax while waiting for checkups at Dr. Gladys Atto’s eye clinic, Oct. 27, 2023, in a remote part of northeastern Uganda.

Service to others can make a certain kind of person very happy.

Consider eye doctor Gladys Atto and the free eye care she provides in rural Uganda.

Sophie Neiman has her story at the Monitor Daily: “Gladys Atto settles into a chair in her sparsely furnished office and rests her feet for a moment. It is only a few hours past midday; she is tired, but there is little time to relax. Already today, the young ophthalmologist has removed cataracts from five patients’ eyes so they can see again.  Another six surgeries are scheduled before evening. 

“Dr. Atto is the first and only ophthalmologist in Karamoja, a remote region the size of Belgium in the northeastern corner of Uganda. For the nearly 1.2 million people who live here, life is ruled by extremes. The climate is harsh; the sun hot. Rain rarely falls, making it hard to grow enough crops. 

“During the long dry periods, nomadic Karamojong pastoralists migrate over the scorched earth with their cows, searching for grass and water. In 2019, the region was hit hard by a surge of cattle rustling. Armed raiders roamed among thorny livestock pens and stole animals from their neighbors, hoping thefts would bring in the money they needed to survive. 

“In these rugged areas, access to Western-style health care is rare. The hospital where Dr. Atto works is one of just five in the extensive region, and the only one capable of providing specialized services. Travel is difficult, but especially so for those who are unwell: Long distances are traveled on foot along rough dirt roads, or in crowded public cars. 

“The care Dr. Atto provides is free of charge, but the cost of transport is out of reach for many in Karamoja, which is Uganda’s poorest region. 

“ ‘They are resilient,’ Dr. Atto says of the community she serves. ‘That is all I can say.’ 

“Dr. Atto learned her own tenacity at a young age, growing up during the government’s conflict with the Lord’s Resistance Army in northern Uganda. Over the course of some three decades, Joseph Kony recruited thousands of child soldiers to serve in his fearsome guerrilla group. 

“ ‘That time was a scary moment, but I believe that it built me up,’ she recalls. …

“As a child, Dr. Atto knew that she wanted to be a doctor. She loved science, and hoped to do some good in the world.  Interning as a doctor in her home city of Gulu, she saw how few eye specialists there were in Uganda. Without a permanent ophthalmologist in the public hospital, patients seeking care were sent away until a specialist from Kampala, the country’s capital, could visit and offer eye care. …

“A telephone conversation during her studies with the director of a hospital in Karamoja revealed that there had never been an eye doctor permanently posted there.  She offered her services full time. The director accepted. …

“Dr. Atto loaded everything she owned into a truck and made the 12-hour journey to her new posting. …

“When she arrived five years ago, the eye care unit was just two rooms. There was nowhere for patients to recover, so they often took to sleeping in the grassy courtyard. Specialty equipment was gathering dust; staff had not yet been trained on how to use it. 

“An international nongovernmental organization, Sight Savers, stepped in to sponsor Dr. Atto’s work in Karamoja. It also helped in the construction of a new eye clinic … and trained half a dozen staff members. …

“Ensuring these patients can see again is [nurse] Susan Niyigena’s favorite part of her job. ‘The eyes are the window to the beautiful things which are in the world. The environment, the people.’ …

“Sight is vital to the livelihoods of farmers and pastoralists in Karamoja, so Dr. Atto and her team run mobile eye clinics, traveling to rural villages. Hot wind whirls red dust into the air as they meet patients who cannot make it to the hospital in Moroto. …

“Whenever she can on these trips, Dr. Atto focuses on women, who bear the brunt of feeding and caring for their families. ‘If you want an improvement in any area of life, economically, socially, everything, a woman needs to be able to see,’ Dr. Atto says.”

More at the Monitor, here. No paywall.

(I’m not sure, but I’m guessing that if you live or travel in a part of the world the mainstream media doesn’t cover and you like to write, the Monitor might accept an article from you. Ask them.)

Photo: Sunday Alamba/AP.
Nigerian women find it hard to secure the bank loans needed to start a business, but social media platforms are providing alternative credit lines.

Do you know about lending circles? I learned about them when I worked at the Fed. Immigrants in the US sometimes use them to save money, waiting for their turn to get the whole pot. The circles can be risky, but they are needed.

Ogar Monday wrote for the Christian Science Monitor about a What’sApp lending circle in Africa.

“When Pricilla Yaor found a dream job that meant moving to the Nigerian capital, Abuja, there was just one hitch: There was no way she could afford rent in the country’s most expensive city. For the supermarket cashier, it was a struggle to raise the 300,000 naira ($390) she needed for a single-room flat on the outskirts of the city. Like most renters, she was expected to pay her entire annual rent in one lump sum – a typical practice among Nigerian landlords.

“Still, armed with a new job, Ms. Yaor thought she could get a loan from the bank. ‘I was given plenty of forms to fill, asked to bring two sureties, and I was asked if I had any property that I could use as collateral,’ she recalls. 

“None of this was surprising. In Nigeria, 98% of women have no access to formal credit, limiting their ability to run businesses, pay for studies, or buy a home. Ms. Yaor never returned to the bank. Even if she had met its criteria, she could not afford the 18.75% interest on a bank loan, a typical charge.

“Instead, her saving grace – and a lifeline for a growing number of women in Africa’s most populous nation – came in the form of a women-only WhatsApp group that she was invited to by a cousin. Members of the group each pool in an equal sum every month and rotate who receives the payout. …

“There were no processing charges, and a trusted member of the group was appointed as an admin. A month after joining, Ms. Yaor received 400,000 naira ($506).Soon, she joined another group to raise funds for her younger brother’s school fees. The groups also helped her buy a fridge for her apartment and later a generator to keep the lights on during daily blackouts.

Rotating saving programs, as they’re officially called, provide a safety net across much of Africa. … The use of these programs has skyrocketed in Nigeria recently – aided by technology such as WhatsApp and boosted by inflation that has soared to its highest level in two decades. 

“In the past year, some 4 million Nigerians have been pushed into poverty by inflation that has caused eye-watering price rises for everything from food staples to transport. Women have borne the brunt of the country’s debt crisis. …

“Opportunities for women lag in many fields ranging from education to income; on average, their wages are 22% lower than those of men. Meanwhile, culture and tradition have subjected women to the role of caregiver at home, for which they are not paid. What’s more, women face historical biases embedded in the formal banking system, says Okpetoritse Akperi, a financial expert with a multinational company based in Nigeria.

“As in many other developing countries, Nigerian women struggle to get loans because “creditworthiness is typically judged by the ability to repay. … Even when banking services are available, they are not accessible to half of the women who run businesses, who have to rely on cash for all transactions. 

“But that is slowly changing. Mobile credit companies such as Branch and FairMoney, boasting a combined 20 million downloads on the Google Play Store, are gaining popularity due to their lenient lending regulations.

“ ‘Technology now allows alternative credit assessments, helping women to access financial services without traditional barriers,’ says Iyonuluwa Pikuda, a financial analyst with Lagos-based Money Africa. Using WhatsApp lending groups, though, allows users to bypass any kind of formal structure altogether. …

“While the program has few overall downsides, the risks that do exist are not negligible. ‘We have had cause to report the admin of a group to the police because she refused to release the funds after everyone had sent in theirs,’ Ms. Yaor says of one such experience. But because everyone in the group is known to at least one other person, such matters are usually quickly resolved. … Members are united by their shared interest in helping each other raise funds, she points out. And the alternative is the banking sector’s bureaucracy and high interest rates.”

More at the Monitor, here.

Another Photo Roundup

Photo: Suzanne and John’s Mom.
Paper maché llama by my younger granddaughter.

We’ve had so many gray days this winter, I assigned myself the job of taking a photo whenever the sun is out creating shadows. I don’t always manage it, but at least I make a point of noticing and thinking about something that would have made a good photo: the shadow of the wilted flowers I was carrying to the compost bin (I couldn’t shoot it one-handed), the shadow of pine branches on an old shed (the modern combination lock would have spoiled the shot).

Today, I’m starting with the early morning shadow of an artistic grandchild’s llama. (Or did she say it was an alpaca?)

Here are the flowers before they went to the compost bin. Then the garden plots near the bin, waiting under blue sky and a blanket of snow for spring and new uses for compost. Blue sky with pine cones. Blue sky in the creek. Blue sky in the rail trail mural.

Next we have blue juniper berries and the wasp nest’s fate after the big wind.

Moving indoors to the local library, I noted the old-time typewriter that kids are invited to play around with.

Also indoors are two works newly exhibited in my retirement community: Bayda Asbridge‘s take on San Diego and her delightful “Our Village.”

Finally, I was planning to shoot only Suzanne’s light fixture and the shadows, but then the clock spoke to me.

Libraries as Havens

Photo: Clatskanie Library District via Oregon ArtsWatch.
The Clatskanie Library hosted a Halloween puzzle race last fall. “We want to be the community hub,” says library director Maryanne Hirning. “I want everyone to find something at the library.”

It would be hard to overstate the value of a library to a community, a refuge in so many ways. Remember the safe haven in Ferguson, Missouri, during the riots that erupted after the police killing of black teen Michael Brown? I have been following that library on Twitter since 2014 and am impressed with their services in calmer times, too.

At Oregon ArtsWatch, Amanda Waldroupe writes that libraries are often the heart and soul of rural communities.

“During the celebration of [the town of] Maupin’s centennial anniversary last year, its public library – the Southern Wasco County Library – printed a second edition of Chaff in the Wind: Gleanings of the Maupin Community.

Chaff in the Wind is a history of Maupin and Wasco County that the library’s Friends’ group originally published in 1986. The library commissioned new chapters covering Maupin’s history since then.

“Another era also needed to be added: There was nothing about the region’s history before white people settled there, even though Native Americans had lived in the region for hundreds of years. So, Valerie Stephenson, the library’s director, reached out to the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.

“Delson Suppah, the Warm Springs’ cultural program coordinator, agreed to contribute – but not through writing a book chapter. Like many Indigenous cultures, the Warm Springs tribe conveys its history through oral storytelling. In two events, Suppah gave an oral history of the Warm Springs tribe’s history and presence in the area.

“Grant funding – in this case, $4,000 from Oregon Humanities – paid for the events and republishing the book. Without the grant, Stephenson said, none of it would have happened. …

“Oregon’s public libraries are well loved and well used, with one of the highest per capita circulation rates in the country. Public libraries are among the last institutions that are free and open to the general public, making them a natural gathering space for adults and children. …

“Libraries have always played a critical role in early literacy: teaching kids how to read, hosting summer reading programs, and reading and story time events for different age groups. Libraries were also early adopters in providing free access to computers and fast, broadband internet.

“Even before the COVID-19 pandemic prompted libraries to begin offering virtual and online services, libraries’ services were expanding to take on roles that blend information literacy, social, and community services. Library staff are increasingly being trained in basic mental health crisis response and how to administer Narcan or naloxone to people experiencing an opiate overdose. To serve growing numbers of immigrant communities, libraries are acquiring books in languages other than English, bilingual books, and hiring staff who speak languages in addition to English, especially Spanish.

“In many communities, libraries are a place where people experiencing homelessness can spend the day, where senior citizens find social interaction, and where kids can go after school.

“ ‘Libraries are places where people from all different backgrounds can interact,’ Buzzy Nielsen, a program manager for the State Library of Oregon, said. …

“That is especially the case in rural Oregon, where libraries are often the only places that host arts and cultural events.

“[Southern Wasco County Library] has a conference room large enough to host governmental, board, and other community meetings. The library hosts social workers from the Wasco County Health Department, who come to meet with residents and process applications for the Oregon Health Plan, SNAP benefits, disability, and other services. …

“Clatskanie’s library has started a young adult book club and hosted classes on flower arranging and cookie decorating, both taught by local business owners. …

“Libraries have also created Libraries of Things, where patrons can check out items ranging from e-readers with pre-downloaded e-books; ukuleles and other musical instruments; pots, pans, and other cooking equipment; fishing poles; and for kids, telescopes and science kits. …

“Libraries of Things reflect their community. Harney County’s library checks out canners, dehydrators, and other items necessary to preserve food.

“Wi-Fi hotspots are another common offering. Stephenson, Hancock, and others said the availability of fast, broadband internet in rural Oregon can be nonexistent. …

“Hancock said, ‘We have a lot of spots that aren’t served by internet companies.’ The library’s ten Wi-Fi hotspots are always checked out with holds placed on them. ‘They are hugely popular, she said. …

“With the expansion of library services, circulation has dramatically increased for a library’s most fundamental offering – books. [Maryanne Hirning, director of the Clatskanie Library District] said book circulation has increased by 400 percent. Other librarians say that once someone attends an event at a library, they are more likely to consider other services the library offers, become a member, and check out books.”

Lots more at Oregon ArtsWatch, here.

Blogger Laurie Graves has long understood that librarians are superheroes. And through her Great Library fantasy series, she shows that threats to libraries can be a matter of life and death.

Photo: Getty Images.
This is a poster for a little known Gilbert and Sullivan musical called Utopia Limited, 1894.

Recently a long-lost George Gershwin musical came to light. Because my friend Lynn, a retired cabaret artist and songwriter, was a Gershwin fan from an early age and a friend of George’s brother Ira in later years, I sent her the link to the story. She was thrilled.

Finding new work by a hero would thrill anyone. That’s why the Englishman in today’s article is going all out to find a missing Gilbert and Sullivan, even making his email public.

David Sillito writes at the BBC, “A call has gone out for people to check shelves and lofts for a missing opera. The original score of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Utopia Limited was sold in 1915, but its whereabouts are unknown. …

“Musical researcher Colin Jagger has been tracking down [Gilbert and Sullivan’s] original scores, saying current copies often have mistakes and omissions.

” ‘The [current] score [of Utopia Limited] is completely unreliable. The only way [to be sure] is to go to Sullivan’s autograph manuscript,’ he said.

“When the operas were first created, copyright law, as understood today, barely existed, and so the company that performed the works, D’Oyly Carte, kept tight control of the scores and any copies. The versions used today often reflect how D’Oyly Carte performed the works, rather than Gilbert and Sullivan’s original intentions. …

“The objective now is to return to the originals, and create complete and corrected scores. But the project cannot be finished until the lost opera is found.

” ‘All of these manuscripts … you can access mostly in the UK or one or two in the US. So I can go into the British Library and I can look at The Grand Duke in Sullivan’s own hand, and I can take photographs of it. I can study it away from the library as well. And I can go (online) to the Morgan Library in New York … and I can see a beautifully done copy of the manuscript of Trial by Jury. They’re all there except for one.’

Utopia Limited is one of Gilbert and Sullivan’s less successful works. It’s a story based around the problems and consequences of the introduction of limited liability laws in the 19th Century. Essentially, it’s a satire about business people leaving their creditors in the lurch.

“The score was sold at auction in 1915 for 50 guineas to Sir Robert Hudson of Hill Hall in Essex. Sir Robert died in 1927 and Hill Hall went on to house prisoners-of-war, and later became a women’s prison. Where the score for Utopia Limited went is a mystery.

“Colin Jagger is convinced it has survived and is sitting on a shelf somewhere. … ‘It would be awful to think it had been thrown away. … Somebody maybe doesn’t know they’ve got it or they might not know who Gilbert and Sullivan are.’ “

More at the BBC, here.

Manatees Need Seagrass

Photo: NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration].
The return of seagrass in Florida is a hopeful sign for the embattled manatee.

One doesn’t normally think of Florida politicians as being big environmentalists, but whatever their motivations for supporting cleaner water, one has to cheer them for putting some funding behind it. Florida treasures like the manatee need the help.

Richard Luscombe reports for the Guardian, “A picturesque expanse of water along Florida’s space coast is offering a modicum of hope for the state’s embattled manatees as wildlife officials review whether to restore the beloved sea cows to the endangered species list.

“The recovery of seagrass, the manatees’ favorite food, in Mosquito Lagoon means that an emergency hand-feeding program that has kept many of the starving aquatic animals alive over the last two winters can be discontinued, at least temporarily.

“While scientists say this might be only a small step in the wider fight to rescue a species that has seen a record die-off in recent years from water pollution and habitat loss, what’s happened at Mosquito Lagoon offers signposts to how the manatees’ battle for survival might ultimately be won.

“ ‘At least in a portion of the lagoon, we are seeing a rather rapid resurgence of the Halodule variety of seagrass that, even if we don’t know exactly how it happened, does tell us that it’s much more resilient than we might have been thinking,’ said Dennis Hanisak, a professor of marine botany at Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, and director of its seagrass nursery. …

“Hanisak and his team, in partnership with the Florida fish and wildlife commission (FWC), have focused their restoration efforts on the lagoon in northern Brevard county, one of the most popular feeding grounds for manatees during the colder winter months.

“That’s where the majority of manatee deaths, an unprecedented 1,100 in Florida in 2021, 10% of the population, and another 800 in 2022, occurred. They were part of what federal and state authorities classify as an ongoing unusual mortality event (UME) with the majority of fatalities through malnutrition and starvation, a reflection of the loss of about 90% of the lagoon’s seagrass to algae blooms and pollutants.

“It’s too early to say exactly what role the seagrass nursery project has had there; Hanisak says it has ramped up in size and resources in recent years as wildlife agencies respond to the disaster with improved funding.

“It’s one of several projects underway in Florida [and] a prominent component of a catalog of FWC manatee habitat restoration schemes, themed mostly around improvements in water quality and aquatic vegetation, that experts believe has potential to turn years of declining numbers into a robust recovery. …

“[In January], Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis announced a $100m award of state funds for water-quality improvements in the Indian River Lagoon, one of North America’s most biologically diverse waterways. The cleaner the water, the better the seagrass. …

“Hanisak and his students have steadily been building the capacity of the seagrass nursery at multiple locations. That seagrass will ultimately be transplanted into the Indian River Lagoon and elsewhere. …

“It remains to be seen if this year’s drop in manatee deaths in Florida is a one-off, or represents the start of a recovery. But more abundant seagrass in Mosquito Lagoon, which led to the welcome suspension of the experimental lettuce-feeding project, bodes well.

“Lawmakers also appear to be at least partly on board. Thompson said the Florida legislature provided an additional $20m in fiscal year 2022-23 to the FWC to enhance captive manatee support facilities and manatee habitat enhancement to supplement the previous year’s $8m. …

Patrick Rose, a veteran aquatic biologist and executive director of the Save the Manatee Club [said] the extra funding, which his group lobbied for, is welcome [but] ‘a drop in the bucket literally to what needs to be done.’ Ultimately, Rose said, manatees need clear, clean water to survive. Without it, seagrass will not flourish. …

“ ‘Nutrients are the direct cause of harmful algal blooms which have been so intense that they literally cut the light off to the seagrasses, and the seagrasses die,’ he said.”

More at the Guardian, here.

Photo: Melanie Stetson Freeman/CSM staff.
In his Maine shop, master printmaker David Wolfe uses machines from bygone eras to create.

Don’t you love the look of old-time lead type printing? I once ordered sweet business cards from a New Shoreham letterpress, no longer operating, and Suzanne has often used Jacque’s Offset in Providence. Today’s story is about a letterpress in Maine that got some attention in the movies.

Jennifer Wolcott reports at the Christian Science Monitor, “Visitors to David Wolfe’s printing shop in Portland, Maine, can’t miss the statuesque Civil War-era Tufts hand-press machine that stands tall near the front door. It exited that same door several years ago, headed for a movie set. 

“For its cameo in the 2019 film, his ‘Little Women machine,’ as he calls it, was hauled down to Massachusetts. Mr. Wolfe accompanied it, dressed in 1860s costume for his role as the printer of Jo March’s book. Yet as he recalls, laughing, ‘Only my hands made the cut.’ 

“Wolfe Editions is a place buzzing with activity. The master printmaker and fine artist treasures his many letterpress machines not only for their place in history, but also for their ability to help him craft exquisitely beautiful books, prints, posters, and more. They are essential tools for daily production, ones that stand out in an ever more high-tech world.

“Rather than using bits and bytes, Mr. Wolfe prints just as Johannes Gutenberg did when he developed the process of letterpress printing in the 15th century to make his famous Bible: Letters are cast in lead, then locked together, inked, and pressed into paper. 

“ ‘The computer didn’t kill my business. It made it stronger,’ he says, noting that he’s also benefited from recent interest in the lost art of letterpress printing. ‘The product I make is high end, and computers took over all the other stuff.’ …

“On a recent afternoon, he has just paused production of an edition of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men while waiting for a shipment of handmade paper. He’s using the time instead to create designs for one son’s new canned cocktails company (his other son is a printer). He’s also teaming up with artist and friend Charlie Hewitt to design a poster commemorating the anniversary of Muhammad Ali’s fight in Lewiston, Maine.

“Mr. Hewitt has known Mr. Wolfe for 20 years, has collaborated with him on multiple projects, and happens to have a studio right next door. He says it’s important to the printmaker to pass down the old techniques to a new generation. ‘He is always training and teaching others. He is incredibly generous, remarkably skilled, and brings so much to every medium,’ Mr. Hewitt adds. …

“Mr. Wolfe’s letterpress and hot-metal casting machines, about 10 in all, fill his spacious shop – a former bakery. Despite their age and frequent use, the devices appear impeccably cared for. …

“Not only is he passionate about his work, but it suits him. ‘Letterpress printing couldn’t be more tedious,’ he says. ‘But I like tedium.’ … Lately he’s been mentoring an apprentice, a student from nearby Maine College of Art & Design, who shares his taste in music and also for tedium. ‘I’ll ask Claire to put away the type,’ he says, ‘and she’ll respond, “Oh, I love putting away type!” ‘ …

“Mr. Wolfe has taught at schools in Maine including Bowdoin College, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and Gould Academy. He’s also shared his expertise further afield, at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and Penland School of Craft in North Carolina.

“He most enjoys the workshop format, for its small size and short duration. ‘It’s more intense when you have to cover a lot in a short amount of time, and students in workshops are typically motivated and excited about learning.’ …

“Mr. Hewitt recalls a project he and Mr. Wolfe worked on together: the illuminated neon ‘Hopeful’ sign mounted in 2019 on the roof of Speedwell Projects, a nonprofit gallery in Portland. ‘I wanted to use the word “Hopeful,” and I scribbled it on paper for David,’ he explains. ‘I needed a master printer to facilitate the process and create the font.’ 

“Mr. Hewitt says he was elated with the design – inspired by the building’s history as an auto dealership, typeface from the badge of a 1940s Packard, and his own love for 1960s counterculture. …

“For his part, Mr. Wolfe relishes collaborations like that one: the process of give and take, the creative energy, the mutual admiration. Or as he puts it, ‘I enjoy helping people realize their ideas. It broadens my scope, and artists are pushing the mediums beyond what they were using before.’ “

More at the Monitor, here. No paywall.

Photo: matusgajdos17/500px.
Australian researchers say concrete could be 30 percent stronger with charred coffee grounds.

Longtime coffee drinkers know that coffee is good for all sorts of things besides waking you up. Coffee grounds are great in compost, for example, and provide useful nutrients for your garden — nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorous.

But coffee grounds for construction projects? At ScienceAlert, Tessa Koumoundouros describes new research showing the possibilities.

“We could be producing concrete that’s 30 percent stronger by processing and adding charred coffee grounds to the mix, researchers in Australia discovered. Their clever recipe could solve multiple problems at the same time.

“Every year the world produces a staggering 10 billion kilograms (22 billion pounds) of coffee waste globally. Most ends up in landfills. ‘The disposal of organic waste poses an environmental challenge as it emits large amounts of greenhouse gases including methane and carbon dioxide, which contribute to climate change,’ explained RMIT University engineer Rajeev Roychand.

“With a booming construction market globally, there’s also an ever increasing demand for resource intensive concrete causing another set of environmental challenges too.

” ‘The ongoing extraction of natural sand around the world – typically taken from river beds and banks – to meet the rapidly growing demands of the construction industry has a big impact on the environment,’ said RMIT engineer Jie Li. … ‘With a circular-economy approach, we could keep organic waste out of landfill and also better preserve our natural resources like sand.’

“Organic products like coffee grounds can’t be added directly to concrete because they leak chemicals that weaken the building material’s strength. So using low energy levels, the team heated coffee waste to over 350 °C (around 660 °F) while depriving it of oxygen.

“This process is called pyrolyzing. It breaks down the organic molecules, resulting in a porous, carbon-rich charcoal called biochar, that can form bonds with and thereby incorporate itself into the cement matrix. …

“The researchers [are now] testing how the hybrid coffee-cement performs under freeze/thaw cycles, water absorption, abrasions and many more stressors. The team is also working on creating biochars from other organic waste sources, including wood, food waste and agricultural waste. …

“Said RMIT engineer Shannon Kilmartin-Lynch, ‘Inspiration for my research, from an Indigenous perspective, involves Caring for Country, ensuring there’s a sustainable life cycle for all materials.’ “

The research was published in the Journal of Cleaner Production.

More at Science Alert, here.

Photo: Sander Korvemaker.
Despite no known historical connection with Charles Dickens, this Dutch town plays host to an annual Dickens festival, the world’s largest.

Today’s story about a town that loves Charles Dickens drew me in because I also love Dickens. That is, I love his novels. With the exception of The Old Curiosity Shop and Barnaby Rudge — neither of which I liked — I have read them all multiple times. But I have also read about the man himself and am pretty sure he was not a very nice guy.

The surprising Dickens festival that Senay Boztas writes about at the Guardian focuses on both the novels and the guy.

Boztas reports, “Soon after limited Sunday trading started in the Netherlands, an anglophile shopkeeper in the small city of Deventer decided it could all be a bit more fun.

“ ‘My 82-year-old mother, Emmy Strik, is England-minded because my grandfather always went to England and read a lot of Dickens,’ said her daughter, Liesbeth Velders, who now runs the Dille & Kamille homeware store. ‘So when we were going to open on Sunday, she decided to make it a fancy-dress party – except the fancy-dress party got a bit out of hand.’

“Decades later, Strik’s experiment in literary frivolity has gone further than she could have imagined. The event she began in 1991 to commemorate Charles Dickens has run for 33 years, with a two-year break during the Covid pandemic.

“Despite no known historical connection with the author, Deventer, in the eastern province of Overijssel, now plays host to what is believed to be the world’s largest Dickens festival. This weekend [in December 2023], 950 volunteers will fill the streets of the ancient Bergkwartier, performing street theatre and selling hot punch and Victorian treats. There are strict rules for actors and traders: no [sneakers], modern watches or mobile phones.

“Among the expected 125,000 visitors will be Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, Queen Victoria, Miss Havisham, beggars, thieves and, for the first time, Dickens himself.

“Ojon van Strijland, a bookseller and volunteer at the Dickens Kabinet museum, said he and Strik had learned while on a trip to Kent, where Dickens spent much of his childhood, that authenticity was essential.

“ ‘Years ago, Emmy and I went to [the city of] Rochester’s Dickensian Christmas festival to seek inspiration but there were things there we would not want,’ he said. ‘There were people walking around with Christmas lights on, Santa hats and polyester costumes.’ …

“Strik amassed almost 1,000 authentic costumes, collected enough Dickensian items to fill a museum and grew the Dickens Festijn with commercial sponsorship and support from Events dEVENTer. She has now – largely – handed over the reins to her daughter.

“ ‘We can’t roast chestnuts in big drums any more; there’s a fist-thick book of rules from the fire brigade and the police, but it’s still a real festival,’ said Velders.

“The festival has huge local status. One couple’s 50th wedding anniversary is being incorporated into this year’s edition, while 62-year-old system administrator Wessel Lindeboom is polishing insults in multiple languages for his dream role of Scrooge. …

“At a time when Dutch children’s reading skills are declining, some hope the festival will encourage a wider love of literature. ‘A lot of the visitors have never read a Dickens book but everyone recognizes Scrooge, who walks around calling “humbug!” and insulting people,’ said Velders. ‘There are also storytellers who recount the story of the books.’ …

“The mayor of Deventer, Ron König, hopes visitors will have an enormous amount of fun but also take home a more profound message. ‘The festival beautifully portrays the differences between rich and poor, an issue we are still trying to tackle.’ …

“Peter Jan Margry, professor of European ethnology at Amsterdam University, believes this kind of event provides a welcome break, particularly in dark days. …

“ ‘The festival of Christmas is also about stepping out of your own time into an atmosphere of carols and Christmas trees and a flight from reality,’ he said. ‘But it’s also a form of occupying yourself, a type of tourism, stepping out of your daily life, that you see in all fantasy and live action role-playing. … It’s about stepping into another world.’ “

I hope my blogging friends at Cook and Drink will weigh in on this aspect of life in their beautiful and surprising country.

More at the Guardian, here. No firewall. Subscriptions encouraged.

A Young Nigerian Dancer

Photo: BBC News.
Said Anthony’s mother, “People were telling me that this type of dance is not for boys. But it’s what he loves doing, so I let him go for it.”

The other day, my husband and I were talking about the discovery of the very young Judy Garland (scroll down here) and how the pressures of being a child star really messed her up. Fortunately, many parents of child stars since then have learned to keep a steady hand on the tiller.

Consider the story of the young Nigerian dancer that Jenna Abaakouk writes about at BBC News.

“Dubbed Nigeria’s viral ballet dancer, 13-year-old Anthony Madu’s life has changed beyond recognition over the last three years after his dance moves and internet fame catapulted him from his modest home in Lagos to one of the UK’s most prestigious ballet schools.

“It was his dance teacher who filmed the young boy in June 2020 as he practiced pirouettes barefoot in the rain.

“Afterwards, he uploaded the video to social media where it caught the eye of Hollywood actress Viola Davis who shared it to her huge following on Twitter. … It led to Anthony being offered a scholarship at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at the American Ballet Theatre. However, Covid-19 restrictions at the time meant the training had to take place online.

“It was then that Anthony was given a chance to study at Elmhurst Ballet School in Birmingham — which had seemed to him an unattainable dream. …

“Sitting in one of the school’s practice studios, he shyly admits it has not been an easy transition. ‘For the first year, it felt really, really hard trying to adjust to like the weather compared to Nigeria and also missing home as well,’ he says.

“However he has how settled down and enjoys the strictures of his new dance regime. ‘I video call my mum every day and hang out with my friends. Here, we do more classical ballet. It has to be precise, like having the arms right.’ …

Without the chance for formal training, he taught himself through watching videos and copying moves that fascinated him.

“It was a hobby that surprised his family. ‘When he was five years, I saw him dancing. I thought: “What is wrong with you?” ‘ Ifeoma Madu, Anthony’s mother, who still lives in Lagos, tells the BBC. ‘People were telling me that this type of dance is not for boys. But it’s what he loves doing, so I let him go for it,’ she says.

“As Anthony’s interest developed, his family moved to a different neighborhood of the city so he could attend the Lagos Leap of Dance Academy. …

“Mike Wamaya, a ballet teacher in Kibera — Africa’s largest informal urban settlement — in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, is impressed by Anthony’s story.

” ‘It is very rare to see young boys getting scholarships from Africa to go outside to dance,’ the 48-year-old, who has more than 250 children taking his classes, tells the BBC. … Mr Wamaya admits too that many young boys on the continent do not pursue ballet because of the social stigma associated with it. ‘People are very homophobic and as a male dancer you are called gay. … This built a lot of resilience in us. We got teased a lot but I’m very happy that my students used the teasing to prove those people wrong.’ …

“Anthony has already inspired other young people in Nigeria and the rest of Africa to pursue their dancing ambitions. His journey is also to be shown to a much wider audience as Disney is making a documentary about it. Called Madu, it is currently in post-production. …

“Life in Birmingham is also broadening Anthony’s horizons, as there is more on offer academically at Elmhurst. ‘When I was in Nigeria, I didn’t do things like art. But now I love drawing. And learning other dances too. Aside from ballet, contemporary is my favorite,’ he says. …

” ‘There might be struggles along the way but remember it’s just temporary and it will be worth it in the end.’ “

More at the BBC, here. No paywall.

Planting Justice

Photo: Marissa Leshnov via the Guardian.
From the Guardian: Sol Mercado says her work as a gardener has brought her comfort and helped to reconnect with her roots.

Can Nature turn a life around? We’ve had a number of articles suggesting the answer is yes. Among others, our 2023 story about a traumatized Iraq veteran who discovered hiking in the wilderness.

Now Caitlin Yoshiko Kandil, of the Guardian, describes the role that an urban garden can play in life after prison.

“When Sol Mercado was incarcerated, one of her few sources of comfort was to dig her hands into dirt. Coming from a family of sugarcane and coffee farm workers in Puerto Rico, a love of gardening was in her roots. But it wasn’t until she was in prison and started participating in a gardening program that she truly connected with this part of her heritage. …

“Mercado – who was released a year and a half ago – now works for Planting Justice, a food justice organization based in Oakland, California, that tackles inequalities in the industrialized food system, from the underpayment of food workers to the lack of fresh produce in low-income neighborhoods.

“Planting Justice addresses food sovereignty with marginalized communities – in particular people who have been affected by the criminal justice system – through gardening workshops in prisons and jails, such as San Quentin state prison, and jobs for those formerly incarcerated.

“For Mercado, 36, the organization helped turn her life around. …

“ ‘What I learned in prison is that if I want to change, if I want to blossom, I need to work on myself and remove unhealthy things from my life,’ she said. ‘It’s the same as a plant. A plant, if you don’t weed it, if you don’t prune it, if you don’t water it, it’s not going to grow and give fruit.’

“Planting Justice’s two-acre (nearly 1 hectare) nursery – which grows more than 1,200 varieties of plants – is tucked between a busy highway and a railroad line in Sobrante Park, a low-income, predominantly Black and Latino neighborhood that’s long been a food desert with no grocery stores within walking distance. The land the nursery sits on once belonged to the Indigenous Ohlone people, so Planting Justice is working with the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, a local organization that helps facilitate the return of Indigenous land to Indigenous people; once the transfer is complete, Planting Justice will lease the land from them.

“Founded in 2009, Planting Justice has installed 550 edible gardens at schools, community centers and homes; hosts education programs for local youth; distributes produce to local residents; gives away free fruit smoothies at Bay Area Rapid Transit stations; and sources produce for the Good Table, a nearby cafe where diners pay what they can afford.

“As part of a new initiative that started this year, Planting Justice is also planting 1,000 fruit trees – apple, pear, pomegranate, peach, olive and fig trees – in East Oakland homes for free.

“Like Mercado, many Planting Justice employees were formerly incarcerated. Some came to the organization through re-entry programs and partnerships in jails and prisons, while others found their way after their release.

Planting Justice says its recidivism rate is 2%, far lower than California’s rate of nearly 50%. …

“Bilal Coleman said he first heard about Planting Justice while incarcerated at San Quentin state prison, north of San Francisco. He was coming to the end of his 20-year sentence and was participating in a partner program called Insight Garden – and Planting Justice was advertising that it was hiring people returning home to the San Francisco Bay Area.

“Coleman said that gardening is in his roots. “Ever since I can remember, there’s been a garden in my family,” he said. But that wasn’t the immediate draw to Planting Justice; it was the security of having a job lined up after his parole, benefits and good pay – salaries start at $19 an hour. ‘It was a chance to get on my feet before I actually paroled,’ he said. …

“Planting Justice’s presence can be felt throughout Sobrante Park, revitalizing a neighborhood that’s long been in decline. Sobrante Park has been ‘underresourced and overpenalized for generations, where there aren’t the same food options,’ said Julia Toro, nursery office manager.

“Covonne Page, Planting Justice’s land team lead, was born and raised here, and recalls a time when things were different. The 33-year-old said that he and his friends would ride inflatable rafts on the San Leandro Creek, which was lined with wild blackberry bushes and filled with lizards and turtles. Most houses had fruit trees and vegetable gardens in the back yard, and families would trade their harvest so that everyone had their fill of oranges, loquats, lemons and plums. This bounty meant the community ate well; Page remembers his grandmother’s blackberry cobbler and his grandfather’s plum jam. …

“But years of disinvestment, longtime residents leaving – often for prison – and environmental degradation have decimated this landscape, Page said. … By bringing fruit trees back to people’s yards and teaching them how to garden, Planting Justice is not only offering much-needed jobs to the community; it’s revitalizing its food culture and sovereignty.”

More at the Guardian, here. No paywall. Great photographs by Marissa Leshnov.

Photo: Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post.
Reading Rhythms is ‘not a book club’ but ‘a reading party,’ says the NY Post, ‘where about 60 to 80 bookworms gather to read” in company — not all the same book, just whatever they happen to be reading.

Here’s an idea whose time has come: gatherings where people who love reading read whatever they like in the same place at the same time and maybe take a few breaks to socialize. It’s called a “reading party,” and the foursome behind the concept calls themselves Reading Rhythms.

Molly Young writes at the New York Times, “On a cold Monday in December, 65 people were gathered for Reading Rhythms, an event that bills itself as ‘not a book club’ but ‘a reading party.’ The parties, which began in May, take place on rooftops, in parks and at bars. The premise is simple: Show up with a book, commit to vanquishing a chapter or two and chat with strangers about what you’ve just read.

“The attendees that night, each of whom had paid a $10 entry fee, were the lucky ones: 270 people were on the wait-list to get in. …

“The idea for Reading Rhythms emerged when four friends in their 20s — Ben Bradbury, Charlotte Jackson, John Lifrieri and Tom Worcester — discovered a shared sense of alarm over the deterioration of their book consumption. The causes were what you’d expect: annihilated attention spans, too much socializing, the treacherous enchantments of the iPhone.

“Bradbury and Worcester, who are roommates, hosted the first event on their rooftop. A playlist was compiled, 10 friends showed up with books, everyone read for a bit and talked about what they’d read, and then … went home.

” ‘I got an hour of reading done and I hung out with some of my best friends, which I’d wanted to do anyway,’ [Bradbury] said. ‘That doesn’t usually happen.’ …

“The four solidified a format, gave the series a name, planned additional parties, opened up the invite list and started an Instagram account. Since May there have been parties in New York, Los Angeles and (of all places) Croatia. …

“At the event this month, none of the guests seemed to operate under the illusion that they’d reinvented any wheels. And ‘glorified library’ actually described the ambience well: Seating included antique armchairs, deep sofas and velvety settees; flickering votive candles emitted an amber glow; hot toddies and beer were available. …

“As the founders continued to host parties, they settled upon a structure. Attendees are given a name tag and half an hour to find a seat and settle in. A host then gets up before the crowd and explains the night’s schedule: 30 minutes of reading, a break, 30 more minutes of reading and then a set of discussions organized around loose prompts. Parties are held early in the week to capture gentle, non-weekend energy.

“Lifrieri, one of the founders, suggested everyone pluck an idea from what we’d just read and ‘turn to a stranger’ to discuss. An icy dart of trepidation shot through my body at the command, but to a stranger I turned: Dilvan, 29, who was reading Michael A. Singer’s The Untethered Soul.

“Dilvan shared a paragraph that she’d highlighted and we discussed its implications, which turned out to be mutually troubling. Conversation turned to other topics: Dilvan had moved to the United States from Turkey for college, specifically to study in ‘a cold location’ featuring snow. The idea of weather-based school selection was fascinating to me. Dilvan landed in Minnesota, which satisfied her temperature requirements and also prompted her to learn English rapidly thanks to the absence of other Turks in the area. …

“Reading postures varied. Some attendees sat cross-legged with a book resting lapwise. Others were curled up on a sofa. Many adopted a modified ‘The Thinker’ position. One man read his book standing ramrod straight, like a marsh bird. Not once did a cellphone chime.

More at the Times, here, and at Reading Rhythms, here.

Photo: Sarah Matusek/The Christian Science Monitor.
Nixon Garcia, a teaching artist at El Sistema Colorado, conducts students at the music school in Denver.

People sometimes forget that we need more immigrants, not fewer. Their contributions to the economy are well documented. In 2021, for example, they contributed more than $500 billion just in taxes (see Forbes here). Not to mention that they willingly apply for necessary jobs that go begging, sometimes for years.

And there are other contributions getting less attention. Consider what this one musician is doing. Sarah Matusek wrote about his work recently at the Christian Science Monitor.

“A few dozen children in Denver settle into seats, violins and violas in hand. With short cropped hair and a focused gaze, Nixon Garcia observes from off to one side. …

“This is a fall show-and-tell for parents at El Sistema Colorado, a free music school that prioritizes kids from low-income families. The Denver program was inspired by the original El Sistema in Venezuela, which since its founding in 1975 has sparked similar projects around the world. …

“With flutters of his hands and flicks of his wrists, the 22-year-old conjures up simple songs that he learned as a boy in the Venezuelan program. He’s brought that same sheet music to students in the United States, along with hopes for asylum. Working as a teaching artist at the Colorado program, he’s come full circle.

“ ‘El Sistema has been my second home throughout my whole life,’ says Mr. Garcia, who teaches in Spanish and English. 

“The original program’s catchphrase, ‘tocar y luchar‘ – or ‘play and fight’ in English – has evolved into a personal mantra of perseverance for the young conductor who can’t imagine returning home.  By the time he left Venezuela, in 2022, says Mr. Garcia, he’d been kidnapped three times. 

“Backdropped by mountains in northwest Venezuela, the town of La Fría sits near the Colombian border. Mr. Garcia’s family, who ran a poultry farm there, enrolled their son in the popular music program at a young age. …

“At age 5, he began learning the Venezuelan cuatro, which has four strings. Later on came the clarinet. As a teenager, Mr. Garcia began teaching other El Sistema students – a key mentorship feature of the program – and developed a love of conducting. But basic needs were stark; some students he taught sat on the floor, because there weren’t enough chairs. And beyond the solace of class, violence lurked.

“When he was a young teenager, in 2015, a criminal group, called a colectivo, kidnapped him and his family at a gas station. The group held them for several hours, his family says, and demanded thousands of dollars for their release. 

“Venezuela, meanwhile, devolved into further economic, political, and human rights crises under President Nicolás Maduro, causing millions to flee. Mr. Garcia began attending pro-democracy protests. …

‘You can see how everything is terrible. But in the end, you still love your country,’ he says. ‘You don’t want to leave.’ …

“Mr. Garcia was captured again by an insurgent group on his family farm in La Fría. Yet neither was he safe at college in another city, Mérida, where he studied engineering. … Although his family had arranged private security for him in La Fría, they decided that he had to leave. …

“A tourist visa that his family had secured some years prior still hadn’t expired. That became his ticket to the U.S. last year. Yet even as he moved into his cousin’s home in Monument, Colorado, an hour south of Denver, the adjustment was isolating. … A family member suggested he retreat to nature, take a moment to breathe. A prayerful hike in the nearby mountains, Mr. Garcia says, helped right his course. 

“Inspiration struck, tuning-fork clear: Why not return to music?  A Google search for nearby orchestras yielded a name he knew. The young conductor, in awe, reached out to El Sistema Colorado. …

“Mr. Garcia started out as a volunteer at El Sistema Colorado before the federal government issued the asylum-seeker his work authorization. That allows him to work legally while his asylum case moves forward. Now paid, he teaches groups of strings-learning students in an orchestra group called Allegro.

“The teaching artist is a ‘positive light’ at the music school, says Ingrid Larragoity-Martin, executive director of El Sistema Colorado. ‘He’s passionate about kids, and he knows how to work with them.’ …

“Meanwhile, he awaits the outcome of his asylum application, which may take years. Mr. Garcia says he wants to ‘work, make a life, and try to share as many things as we can from our country.’ ” 

More at the Monitor, here.

Photo: Melanie Stetson Freeman
The
Christian Science Monitor highlights indigenous “Guardians” who made a “hole in Arctic Ocean ice – a window on climate-related changes – where they monitor water quality and measure ice thickness.

Cold parts of the world are threatened. The cold-loving people who live there are deeply concerned and are monitoring the losses for climate scientists.

Sara Miller Llana writes for the Christian Science Monitor, “Masked against the Arctic glare in orange-tinted sunglasses, Tad Tulurialik is a modern conservation ‘Guardian’ of his fast-melting homeland.

“At the start of an early summer workday that never sees the sun set, he kicks his all-terrain vehicle into gear. Safe in his ancestors’ knowledge of sea currents and ice fissures, he navigates a course right off the edge of the Canadian shore onto the aqua iridescence of the frozen Arctic Ocean. He’s following older Guardians to a manmade hole in the ice shelf, a window toward understanding climate-related changes in the sea.

“Even out on the ocean surface, his rifle is always swung over his shoulder. Wherever he sees a caribou or musk ox, it’s an existential given that he’ll take it. Food security isn’t found in a grocery aisle in this northernmost Canadian mainland settlement, tellingly named with the Inuktitut word for a caribou hunting blind.

“In some ways, as a government-paid conservation Guardian in training, the 24-year-old Mr. Tulurialik is doing what he’s done his whole life. Like most Inuit boys, he was ‘on the land’ as soon as he could walk. His childhood was spent on tundra and on sea and lake ice to hunt and fish with his grandparents, who raised him. His life was marked not by school grades but by first fox trapped, first polar bear shot. These were such priorities that he dropped out of high school.

“That could have made him part of Canada’s persistent social inequality – Indigenous youth in some of the remotest parts of the country, undereducated, underqualified, and often losing touch with rich traditions and fleeing homelands for economic opportunity. Except today, he’s part of a solution, as a member of Canada’s Indigenous Guardians, a conservation corps working in 170 far-flung Indigenous communities.

“Guided and taught by elders, he and other young Inuit born since 1989, when warming of the Arctic turned precipitous, are part of an effort to safeguard their homelands and their cultural ‘right to be cold.’ They’re also helping Canada achieve international conservation commitments made last year, when it led a global pledge at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference in Montreal to protect 30% of its land and oceans by 2030.

“For Mr. Tulurialik, who worked in construction and sewer maintenance after leaving school, a paid job as a conservationist is a dream: ‘I never thought I would work and get paid for what I grew up doing.’ 

“Together, he and his Guardian colleagues are tasked with creating a sustainable future, transforming Western-style conservation work into something that more closely resembles a traditional Indigenous environmental ethos. Guardians blend science with Indigenous knowledge in a budding conservation economy dependent on the transfer of knowledge from elders to youth. 

“The ultimate aim of the Guardians’ work in Taloyoak is to use their sustainable Inuit practices – learned orally over millennia – to support the creation and maintenance of an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area. The size of Maine, it is one of more than 90 in development across Indigenous Canada. Here in northern Nunavut territory, the IPCA conservation plan is led by the local hunter and trapper association.

It’s nurturing an economy of land-based jobs and markets as an alternative to a future in extractive industries in a territory long eyed by mining and oil interests.

“The land will be protected from development, conserving both biodiversity and a way of life based on sustainable hunting and fishing – while sequestering huge amounts of carbon, the culprit in global warming.

“ ‘This is a win-win situation’ … says Paul Okalik, the first premier of Nunavut who now works with Canada’s World Wildlife Fund (WWF), which is supporting Taloyoak’s efforts. …

“Indigenous lands, from the Brazilian Amazon to Hawaii coastlines to Canada’s high-latitude forests, represent 20% of the globe but hold 80% of the world’s biodiversity. Inhabitants have stewarded the land for centuries. Yet in a warming climate, their homelands are in some of the most at-risk environments. 

“The Arctic is this nation’s – and arguably the world’s – crisis point. Here, warming is happening at up to four times the rate of the rest of the world, leading to melting permafrost, retreating glaciers, and receding sea ice. This has broad implications for the global ecosystem. Arctic ice melt slows ocean currents and makes the oceans more acidic – changes that have global implications for both climate patterns and sea habitats. Increased melting also creates what scientists call a ‘positive feedback loop’: As dark water replaces white snow on ice, the surfaces of the ocean and Earth absorb more sunlight rather than reflecting it. This causes even more warming. …

“Taloyoak locals have already worried about warming changing their ways. Last summer was the Northern Hemisphere’s hottest on record. The year prior, Taloyoak recorded its all-time hottest temperature of 78.8 F. Locals stayed home rather than go outside in, for them, the unbearable temperature.”

Imagine the high 70s being unbearable! The rest of North America will be learning about “unbearable” soon — if it hasn’t already.

The Monitor‘s long and intriguing feature on the work in the far north is here. No firewall.