Updated 5:56 PM ET, Tue July 13, 2021The Sugar Fire, part of the Beckwourth Complex Fire, burns in Doyle, California, on July 9.
(CNN)TheNational Interagency Fire Centersays 67large fireshave burned more than 917,000 acres across 12 states.The acreage — about 1,434 square miles — is comparable to 4.75 times the area of New York City.From January 1 to July 13 this year, more than 2 million acres have burned in 33,953 fires, accordingto the NIFC,surpassing the previous year’s tally for the same period.
Fires in California have charred tens of thousands of acres,more than doublingthe amount burned for the same time frame last year.
Washington (CNN Business)REvil, theransomwaregang that attackedmeat supplier JBS Foodsthis spring and a major IT software vendor this month, has mysteriously vanished from the internet, according to cybersecurity experts tracking the group.Websites and other infrastructure belonging to thecybercriminal gang, which is believed to operate from Eastern Europe or Russia, went dark on Tuesday as close observers of the group found they were unable to connect to REvil’s web page listing its victims.Others said they were unable to connect to the sites REvil uses to communicate with victims andcollect ransom payments.
“All REvil sites are down, including the payment sites and data leak site,” tweeted Lawrence Abrams, creator of the information security blog BleepingComputer. “The public ransomware gang represenative [sic], Unknown, is strangely…
The summer of 2021 has been brutal in the western portions of North America, as oppressive heat has resulted in record high temperatures, extreme drought, raging wildfires and death.
Over the past month, record high temperatures have been reached at the airports in Las Vegas (117 degrees Fahrenheit) and Seattle-Tacoma (108), while it’s likely the record high for the state of Utah was also tied (117). Portland, Ore., broke its record high for three consecutive days in late June, eventually reaching 116 (the previous high, 107, was set in 1965). Canada had the same distinction, with the record climbing to 121, shattering the previous mark of 113 set in 1937.
As fighting climate change has emerged as a central issue in the negotiations on President Biden’s infrastructure bill, millions of Americans have struggled in recent weeks…
Sharks are some of the most maligned animals on the planet, but people are taking action in a variety of ways to save them from extinction.Keith Flood/iStock.com
A bad reputation can mean the difference between life and death for animals, and nowhere is this clearer than forsharks. Sharks may be depicted as terrifying animals in films like “Jaws,” but the true tale of horror is how humans have treated shark species for centuries across the world.
Sharks are some of the most maligned animals on the planet, but people are taking action in a variety of ways to save them from extinction. Keith Flood/iStock.com
A bad reputation can mean the difference between life and death for animals, and nowhere is this clearer than for sharks. Sharks may be depicted as terrifying animals in films like “Jaws,” but the true tale of horror is how humans have treated shark species for centuries across the world.
Fins from about 73 million sharks are traded on the global market each year. This no doubt contributes to the fact that a quarter of all shark and ray species are at risk of extinction. Shark populations are being decimated and they don’t have enough time or capacity to recover. This industry is largely for shark fin soup, served in various countries at weddings and other special events, usually as a status symbol due to its exorbitant cost.
A new documentary “Fin,” streaming today on Discovery+ in celebration of Shark Week, helps to shine a light on this wholesale extermination of the world’s sharks. Directed by actor and horror film creator Eli Roth, “Fin” turns the genre around to expose the shadowy shark fin trade, taking the audience on a journey through the often-disturbing facets of the product’s supply and demand.
A lack of uniform national or international laws protecting all sharks compounds the threat. The shark fin trade remains legal in too many countries, and even where sale of certain species’ fins is prohibited markets often abound with fins from imperiled shark species and other illegally obtained sharks. For example, in a 2017 genetic survey of fins sold in Hong Kong, one of the world’s shark fin trading hubs, one-third of the species represented were at serious risk of extinction. This is because it is difficult to identify the species of shark by just looking at the detached fins, because it can be hard to enforce laws against fishing sharks inhumanely or unsustainably and because labeling requirements are often inadequate to identify the species and source of the shark inadequate labeling requirements. Humane Society International advocates for increased international protections for shark species and works with countries across the globe to implement and enforce existing protections.
Shark culling
While finning may be the worst, it is not the only threat to sharks. In a misguided attempt to make oceans safer for human swimmers, two regions in Australia are culling sharks. This means that hundreds of marine animals—including whales, turtles, dolphins and rays—are killed every year in the name of “shark control,” even though culling has been proven ineffective at mitigating the risk of shark bite.
“Envoy: Shark Cull,” another new documentary on Discovery+, exposes this misguided approach and features experts from Humane Society International Australia, helping to make the case that sharks aren’t enemies who need to be extirpated but fellow creatures in need of protections. There are non-invasive technologies available to avoid shark interactions far more effectively, as well as strategies that swimmers and surfers can learn to stay safe. Killing is not the solution.
How you can help sharks
You can take action for sharks by urging your U.S. congressional representative to end the nightmare of the fin trade in the U.S. by passing the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act. We have advocated for this legislation for several years. If it becomes law, the Act will remove the U.S. from the dark domain of the global shark fin trade by prohibiting the commercial trade of shark fins in the U.S. We are so close to success: for the first time, the U.S. Senate passed the measure as part of a broader legislative package. Now it’s the U.S. House’s turn to act.
From Marc Bekoff, Psychology Today / Animal Emotions July 2021 Interview with Eduardo Gonçalves on his new book Undercover Trophy Hunter: Britain’s Top 20 Hunters Revealed Trophy hunters: A tare inside view of what makes them tick. A new book details why Britain’s top 20 trophy hunters kill for sport and fun. “Eduardo presents the hard facts, meticulously researched and providing compelling evidence that the days of the great White Hunter should be brought to a close” –Jane Goodall Eduardo Gonçalves is an award-winning conservationist, campaigner, and investigative journalist. He also is recognized as the world’s leading authority on the so-called “sport” of trophy hunting, and in 2018 he founded the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting (CBTH). In 2019, the UK government agreed to introduce a ban on trophy imports which is due to be debated in Parliament later this year. Because of his tireless…
Caleb Daniel Dewald, 19, is charged with four counts of felony animal cruelty in Forsyth County, North Carolina. (Photo credit: Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office)
FORSYTH COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — A North Carolina man is facing multiple charges after investigators say they’re able to connect him to numerous videos showing him abusing and killing small animals.
Authorities say the sheriff’s office received a tip via CrimeStoppers that a Winston-Salem resident was trapping, torturing, and killing small animals and posting videos of it on social media platforms.
After investigating, authorities arrested Dewald and charged him with 4 counts of Felony Animal Cruelty, a Class H Felony.
Dewald appeared before the Magistrate and was given a secured bond of $7,500.00 with a preliminary court date set for July 29.
Anyone with information related to this investigation should contact authorities directly at (336) 727-2112; anonymously text information, photos, and video via Text-A-Tip at (336) 920-8477; or anonymously call Crimestoppers at (336) 727-2800 for English or (336) 728-3904 for Spanish.
People are dying. Aquatic animals are baking in their shells. Fruit is being cooked on the tree. It’s time to act
In April, California Gov. Gavin Newsom held a news conference in the parched basin of Lake Mendocino, where he announced a drought emergency for Mendocino and Sonoma counties. On July 8, Newsom added nine more counties to the state’s emergency proclamation.Photograph: Kent Porter/AP
Human beings crave clarity, immediacy, landmark events. We seek turning points, because our minds are good at recognizing the specific – this time, this place, this sudden event, this tangible change. This is why we were never very good, most of us, at comprehending climate change in the first place. The climate was an overarching, underlying condition of our lives and planet, and the change was incremental and intricate and hard to recognize if you weren’t…
The Sugar Fire, part of the Beckwourth Complex Fire, burns in Doyle, California, on July 9.
