“We have the privilege of having discovered perhaps the largest comet ever seen.”
It has not visited the solar system in more than 3 million years.
People here on Earth will likely need to rely on telescopes to capture photographs of it.
This is a big one.
A giant comet – which scientists say is arguably the largest comet discovered in modern times – is on its way toward the sun and will make its closest approach to Earthin 2031.
“We have the privilege of having discovered perhaps the largest comet ever seen – or at least larger than any well-studied one – and caught it early enough for people to watch it evolve as it approaches and warms up,” said University of Pennsylvania astronomerGary Bernstein, a co-discoverer of the object.
It is the most distant comet to be discovered on its…
The sun shines near the Space Needle, Monday, June 28, 2021, in Seattle. Seattle and other cities broke all-time heat records over the weekend, with temperatures soaring well above 100 degrees.Ted S. Warren/AP
Record-breaking temperatures have soared well past 100 degrees across the Pacific Northwest, where the area is trapped beneath a blistering “heat dome.”
In a region where average temperatures are closer to the 70s this time of year, houses can be seen with blacked-out windows covered with blankets to help with the heat. The area’s normally mild summers mean many households don’t have air conditioning.
The historic heatwave is bringing with it fears about what could follow over the rest of this summer.
The Pacific Northwest has a lack of air conditioners as hot weather is not typical. Here, Portland, Oregon residents stay at a cooling center.Maranie Staab/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Records set one day have been broken the next.
Records have been shattered daily in parts of the Northwest, including Portland and Seattle. Portland broke records three days in a row, hitting 108 on Saturday, 112 on Sunday and then 116 on Monday.
Seattle reached 108 degrees on Monday during the heat wave in the Pacific Northwest. Here, a mother and daughter carry umbrellas to shield from the sun.John Froschauer/AP
In Seattle, the temperature rose to 108 on Monday. In Pasco, Wash., the mercury climbed to 118 degrees, the hottest temperature the state has recorded since 1961.
Portland recorded three of its hottest days in history last Saturday and this Sunday and Monday. Here, a couple and their dog lay in the shade during the heat wave.Maranie Staab/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Widespread drought extending from the West and all the way into the Great Plains has only worsened under the heat dome. In the Northwest, a typically wet area, abnormally dry and drought conditions have expanded in a matter of weeks. On June 22, the U.S. Drought Monitor reported 79.8% of the region was in drought just ahead of the fire season.Article continues after sponsor messagehttps://cc9142cbd1644918619c7eb6164d3215.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html
Scientists say the warming climate is making both heat waves and droughts more frequent and intense
A sign is shown on the door of a Molly Moon’s Ice Cream store in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. The store was closed Monday due to excessive heat.Ted S. Warren/AP
You would think most people would be terrified if a family of black bears regularly visited their back yard. But Amy was thrilled when she noticed that the bears loved exploring her garden.
Fairview Critter Cams via The Dodo
Instead of chasing them away, Amy decided to add some items to her garden that the bears could play on. Every day, Amy would leave some surprises out for them, to see how they would respond.
Fairview Critter Cams via The Dodo
The bears loved playing in the bath water left out for them, as well as the associated toys [including a giant rubber duck!].
After seeing them play with balls and other items, Amy had a bit of a crazy idea: she would buy a hammock and see…
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Hunters may apply beginning Thursday, July 8 for special controlled hunting opportunities available on Ohio’s public lands during the 2021-22 season, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife. Controlled hunts include opportunities for white-tailed deer, waterfowl, mourning doves, and more. The application period is open until Saturday, July 31.
These special hunts are held on select areas to provide additional opportunities for Ohio’s hunting enthusiasts. Hunts are available through the Division of Wildlife, Parks and Watercraft, as well as Natural Areas and Preserves. Hunters may apply for the controlled hunts by completing the application process online using Ohio’s Wildlife Licensing System atwildohio.gov.
A non-refundable application fee of $3 is charged per hunt. Controlled hunt applications are only accepted online or by phone for the 2021-22 season…
Ready to fry up a mess of frog legs? Missouri’s frogging season begins June 30 at sunset. The season runs through Oct. 31, and those with a fishing permit or small-game hunting permit may frog for bullfrogs and green frogs.
The daily limit is eight frogs of both species combined and the possession limit is 16 frogs of both species combined. Only the daily limit may be possessed on waters and bank of waters where frogging.
MDC notes that daily limits end at midnight. Froggers who catch their daily limits before midnight and want to return for more frogging after midnight must remove the daily limit of previously caught frogs from the waters or banks before returning.
The public can go frogging with a fishing or small-game hunting permit, but children 15 and under and residents 65-years and older are not required to have a permit.
Ways To Catch A Frog
Those using a fishing permit may take frogs by hand, hand net, atlatl, gig, bow, trotline, throwline, limb line, bank line, jug line, snagging, snaring, grabbing, or pole and line. Youth fishing without a permit are limited to using a pole-and-line, gig, bow, crossbow, snaring, grabbing, and snagging.
With a small-game hunting permit, frogs may be harvested using a .22-caliber or smaller rimfire rifle or pistol, pellet gun, atlatl, bow, crossbow, or by hand or hand net. The use of artificial light is permitted when frogging.
Cooking A Frog
The fun doesn’t have to end after catching frogs….
The mostextreme heat waveever recorded in the Pacific Northwest continues to shatter records for another day. Millions of people are currently under excessive heat warnings — many of them sweltering through triple-digit temperatures without air conditioning in a region that usually enjoys mild summers.
Behind the misery is a weather phenomenon known as aheat dome.
Today in London, hundreds of concerned citizens are not at work. They’re in the streets, demanding the United Kingdom transition to a plant-based food system.
On Monday, Animal Rebellion successfully occupied and held Smithfield Meat Market, the UK’s oldest and largest meat market, kicking off two full weeks of action around the city to disrupt the global animal agriculture industry and bring awareness to its role at the heart of the climate crisis.
Inside the market’s iconic central hall along Grand Avenue, Animal Rebellion opened a Plant-Based Market for 2025, a nod to the movement’s vision of a plant-based future.
At Marsham Street, outside the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Rebels displaced by authorities at Smithfield on Tuesday set up camp for the night. DEFRA is the chief government body supporting the animal farming industry, making it a key strategic site for the Rebellion.
People young and old from all walks of life are rallying around the Rebellion’s cry, making the case that they are, in fact, standing on the right side of history.
In September, Animal Rebellion organizers persuaded officials at Smithfield Meat Market that their vision for a plant-based future to tackle climate change was “so compelling” that the market welcomed the Rebels, who did not take the invitation lightly.
“We’re not at Smithfield to disrupt ordinary people from their work,” said Alex Lockwood, a spokesperson for Animal Rebellion. They were there to send a message.
The message is clear: We cannot end the climate emergency without first ending the animal emergency.
According to industry leading experts Helen Harwatt from Harvard University and the authors of the UK’s Royal Society of Arts Manufactures and Commerce report on Food and Farming, without a switch to locally grown beans, grains, fruits and vegetables, the UK will not meet its climate change targets and avoid climate catastrophe.
“The writing is on the wall for the animal agriculture industry,” said Lockwood.
The problem is, greenhouse gas emissions from animal agriculture are chronically underreported and have been for years. Since 2006, researchers and policymakers around the world have relied on inconsistent data and estimates, ranging from 14.5-51 percent of total GHG emissions.
New research suggests that the livestock industry is responsible for at least 37 percent of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This new number more than doubles the United Nations’ latest estimate of 14.5 percent, taking into account more than 94 different studies and key data points left out of other analyses, like the foregone carbon absorption from clearing land for livestock and feed production. As the demand for conventional meat continues to rise, emissions from the animal farming industry will drive global temperatures even higher.
Livestock occupies about 45 percent of the global surface area. At the current rates of deforestation, the Amazon will not be the only ancient forest burned so the world can eat beef. In the years to come, vital habitats will be increasingly exploited to meet the global demand for meat, which the FAO projects will rise by 73 percent between 2010 and 2050.
By then, scientists believe it may be too late. All over the world, we are already seeing the onset of a climate emergency. Roughly 84 of the world’s 100 fastest-growing cities face “extreme” risks from rising temperatures and weather brought on by climate change.
The 20 warmest years on record have all been in the past 22 years, with 2015-2018 topping the charts. Studies show that temperatures will rise quicker in developing countries, especially those concentrated around the equator, creating massive food shortages and putting billions of lives on the brink.
As global temperatures continue to rise, taps will run dry, and more than half of all animal species on Earth will become extinct.
Steven Hall, a meat trader whose father and grandfather worked at Smithfield, said although he was not vegan he agreed with the protest, the Rebels reported.
“To be honest, I think good on [Animal Rebellion],” said Hall. “I’ve got two kids myself and I want the world to be safe for them in the future.”
The Smithfield protest is special. It marks a change of seasons for animal advocates who have long been dismissed as extremist thugs, hippies, loud, angry, left-of-center criminals, terrorists, even “uncooperative crusties.”https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=matthewzampa&dnt=true&embedId=twitter-widget-3&features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3R3ZWV0X2VtYmVkX2NsaWNrYWJpbGl0eV8xMjEwMiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJjb250cm9sIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1181364268194762752&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fsentientmedia.org%2Fafter-800-years-of-slaughter-uks-largest-meat-market-goes-plant-based%2F&sessionId=8410232e95f1c793d2b10703607cadc519a42bcb&siteScreenName=sentient_media&theme=light&widgetsVersion=82e1070%3A1619632193066&width=550px
In August, Animal Rebellion joined famed climate strikers Extinction Rebellion (XR) precisely because fighting climate change presents a profound opportunity to end the animal agriculture and fishing industries and halt mass extinction at the same time.
The global protest movement, broadly referred to as the Rebel Alliance, already has chapters in 50 countries and includes a number of supporting groups – Doctors for XR, Lawyers for XR, XR Faith, and the like – joining in solidarity with Extinction Rebellion.
During a two-week long action in London this April, Extinction Rebellion protesters shut down roads and bridges around Parliament and covered the steps of the Treasury building in fake blood.
“[We] saw unprecedented numbers of people willing to be arrested in the name of protecting our planet for future generations,” said Tim Crosland, director of climate campaign group Plan B and a legal adviser to Extinction Rebellion.
“Since then our movement has grown immeasurably and this time it won’t just be us taking to the streets,” said Crosland. “This time we will be bringing our friends and our allies: doctors; farmers; academics; international solidarity communities; disability groups; faith communities; those standing up for animal life.”
Through repeated, urgent action, following the model for mass civil disobedience put forth by the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, Extinction Rebellion is in the process of launching a “movement of movements.” Their unique approach to social change means that all parties involved in Extinction Rebellion protests call for the same demands from the government. So far, it’s proving to be a winning strategy.
Animal Rebellion has quickly become a centering force for animal and environmental advocates, who have historically been at odds with animal agriculture’s contribution to the climate crisis. The Rebellion’s organizers believe targeting sites of animal exploitation and meat production is an urgent next step in the fight to tackle the climate crisis – and they expect world governments to do the same.
“The way we change the world is by making ourselves visible,” said Monbiot. “By coming out in large numbers and saying, ‘We need system change.’”
The Rebels have three demands. First, governments must declare a climate and ecological emergency, then halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025. Finally, the Rebellion is calling for world governments to create a Citizens’ Assembly to lead discussions and decisions on climate and ecological justice.
But overhauling the modern food system is no small task. People are inevitably going to be angry when their way of life is challenged or inconvenienced in any way.
Monbiot points out that research suggests for a peaceful mass movement like Animal Rebellion to succeed, only 3.5 percent of the population needs to mobilize.
Three-and-a-half percent is more than you’d think. In the UK, 3.5 percent of the population is about 2.3 million people. In the United States, a successful movement would need to mobilize 11.4 million people. In Canada, 1.3 million; California: 1.4 million; Mexico: 4.5 million; Austria: 307,000. But in small countries like Iceland, the number of humans needed to spark a successful transition to a plant-based food system is low – just 12,000.
“Humans are ultra social mammals,” he explains. “Once we perceive that the status quo has changed, we flip suddenly from support for one state of being to support for another.”
When Rebels took to the streets last month, stopping traffic outside the White House, the Arche de Triomphe, and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in New Delhi, Monbiot’s call to arms started to look a little less daunting.
In one week this September, 6 million people marched for the climate in cities around the world. London offices expect to see thousands more ditch work and join the Rebellion in the weeks to come.
“The more people that join, the more effective we will be,” said Monbiot.
A hunter-gatherer who lived more than 5,000 years ago is the earliest known person to have died with the plague, researchers have revealed.
Stone-age communities in westernEuropeexperienced a huge population decline about 5,500 years ago, an event that is thought to have subsequently enabled a huge migration of people from the east.
