Open letter warns that ascribing aggression to rammings puts animals at risk of human violence

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/aug/25/orcas-boats-rammings-scientists-open-letter-aoe

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Phoebe Weston

@phoeb0Fri 25 Aug 2023 12.30 EDT

Orcas that have been ramming boats are not “attacking” the vessels, but are most likely being playful, leading scientists have said.

The experts have warned that the false narrative is putting the animals at risk of retribution from humans.

Iberian orcas started ramming vessels along the Spanish and Portuguese coast in July 2020, with at least 11 juveniles and four adult females believed to be involved.

Some boats had toothmarks on them, while others appeared to have been rammed by a whale’s head or body multiple times, leading to them being towed into port. Since spring 2021, at least five boats have sunk as a result of damage.

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More than 30 marine scientists from around the world have signed an open letter explaining that these orcas were showing a wide range of behaviours, many of them “playful social behaviour”, and that these should not be characterised as “attacks”.

One theory is that the behaviour was the equivalent of a cultural fad, which means it might just disappear – much as fashion trends come and go with people.

“We urge the media and public to avoid projecting narratives on to these animals. In the absence of further evidence, people should not assume they understand the animals’ motivations,” the scientists write in the letter, saying wildlife should not be punished for exhibiting unusual behaviour.

They are particularly concerned that the narrative is putting orcas at risk of being harmed by humans. It may demonise them in the same way the film Jaws led to a spike in the fear of great white sharks, they say. Earlier this month, footage emerged appearing to show a sailor opening fire on a pod of orcas.

Iberian orcas are considered critically endangered, with possibly fewer than 40 individuals in this population. They are a genetically distinct subpopulation, which mainly feeds on bluefin tuna.

The letter states: “We are concerned that factual errors related to these interactions are being repeated in the media … we believe this narrative inappropriately projects human motivations on to these whales and we are concerned that perpetuating it will lead to punitive responses by mariners or managers.

“Science cannot yet explain why the Iberian orcas are doing this, although we repeat that it is more likely related to play/socialising than aggression. However, it is unfounded and potentially harmful to the animals to claim it is for revenge for past wrongs or to promote some other melodramatic storyline.”

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Orcas – also known as killer whales – are highly intelligent, social animals that are the largest members of the dolphin family. Killer whale pods are matriarchies, led by the oldest female, and any male offspring are descendants of the matriarch.skip past newsletter promotion

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They are a socially complex, intelligent species, with each population developing its own culture and hunting techniques.

The recent behaviour of Iberian orcas has never been recorded before – even during the days of industrial whaling. There is only one known well-documented case of a human being injured by a wild orca, which happened in 1972.

The letter concludes: “When we are at sea, we are in the realm of marine life. We should not punish wildlife for being wild. We need to keep cool heads when wild animals exhibit novel behaviour and we must put greater effort into adapting our own actions and behaviour to the presence of wildlife.”

Danny Groves, of Whale and Dolphin Conservation, said: “Since the release of the film Jaws, we have seen what a negative rep can do for marine creatures like sharks. Orcas are highly intelligent and incredibly behaviourally complex.

“But they have never killed one of us in the wild. They have only been known to harm humans in captivity, and that is because we have been stupid enough to push them to breaking point by keeping them trapped for years in small concrete tanks for our entertainment.”

What the GOP debate revealed about Republican health care hypocrisy

Vivek Ramaswamy’s claim that the climate agenda is a hoax was offset by China-focused ideas on reducing emissions, with some young conservative activists happy the topic was discussed at all.

Republican presidential candidates participate in the first debate of the GOP primary season hosted by FOX News on Wednesday in Milwaukee.Win McNamee / Getty Images

• https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/boos-pushback-climate-denialism-first-gop-debate-rcna101838
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Aug. 25, 2023, 11:13 AM PDT

By Nidhi Sharma

The Republican Party’s varied and evolving ideas on how to address climate change were front and center Wednesday night at the first Republican presidential debate.

Still at issue, however, is just how much Republican leaders accept the overwhelming scientific consensus around global warming. Following an audience question on climate change, Fox News moderator Martha MacCallum asked for a show of hands on who among the candidates believed in human-induced climate change. 

Only former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson began to raise his hand before the candidates shifted gears into a debate. Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and political newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy responded to the climate question, though the majority of the Republican candidates have previously acknowledged the reality of climate change.

That the question was broached at all was seen by some young conservatives as evidence of progress. Alexander Diaz of the Young America’s Foundation, a conservative youth group, was featured as the only audience question.

“Polls consistently show that young people’s No. 1 issue is climate change. How will you as both president of the United States and leader of the Republican Party calm their fears that the Republican Party doesn’t care about climate change?” Diaz asked in a video shown to the candidates.

Chris Barnard, president of the American Conservation Coalition, a young conservative environmental nonprofit group, said its inclusion was important.

“The only audience question was a question about climate change from a young conservative, which was asked by Fox News at the first GOP presidential debate,” he said. “That is absolutely historic.”

Ramaswamy was met with a chorus of boos for his response to the question, in which he claimed the climate change agenda is a hoax. He is one of two GOP presidential candidates, along with former President Donald Trump, who has openly denied the scientific consensus on human-induced climate change.

“Vivek’s answer was obviously very disappointing, and out of lockstep with the reality of the issue and where the majority of conservatives, particularly young conservatives, stand on this issue,” Barnard added. 

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Cray Dolder, a student and young conservative at Purdue University, said Ramaswamy’s comments on climate change were difficult to watch.

“For me, it was kind of embarrassing that one of the potential presidents of the United States is still coming out here and outlandishly denying human involvement in climate change,” he said.

For many young conservatives, Ramaswamy, who at 38 was the youngest candidate on the stage, represents outdated Republican rhetoric on climate. A Pew Research poll showed that about three-quarters of Americans across the political spectrum believe that climate action is necessary. 

Another Pew Research poll found that 47% of Republicans ages 18-29 say the federal government is doing too little to reduce the effects of climate change, but that number drops to 18% for Republicans older than 65. Proposed solutions such as phasing out fossil fuels also divide older Republican voters from younger generations.

Beyond the debate, Diaz’s question sparked some backlash indicative of how Republicans remain divided on climate action. Charlie Kirk, host of the Charlie Kirk Show, a right-wing podcast, criticized Diaz, telling him to go make his bed and “reconnect with reality.” 

Ben Pendergrass, a conservative and the vice president of government affairs at Citizens’ Climate Lobby, an environmental group, praised Haley for openly acknowledging the reality of climate change at the debate, while recognizing the conservative perspective on reducing global emissions, not just American emissions, to solve the sprawling issue of climate change.

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Haley recognized that climate change was real, but said that to truly address the issue, China and India must lower their emissions.  

Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., who has expressed support for climate action, also praised Haley’s stance on global responsibility for climate change. 

“I think Nikki Haley did a pretty good job when she called for India and China to cut emissions,” he said. “She’s exactly right.”

In his answer to the climate question, Scott said that to better the environment, the best thing to do is bring jobs from China back to the U.S. 

Since 2005, China has surpassed U.S. emissions and ranked as the top carbon emitter every year, according to the Global Carbon Project, an international emissions tracking project. India has hovered in third place behind China and the U.S. since 2009.

Historically, the U.S. is responsible for the largest share of human carbon emissions. U.S. cumulative emissions make up 20% of global carbon emitted since the end of the industrial revolution in 1850 — China makes up about 11% of global carbon emissions in the same period.

In recent years, climate leaders have argued that nations with the largest cumulative emissions have the greatest responsibility to act on climate change.

Dalton Jackson, a student at Indiana University and a conservative volunteer with the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, commended Haley’s sensible and moderate responses throughout the debate, but said the U.S. should focus on its own climate policies.

“Republicans often bring up how much China and India are polluting,” Jackson said. “And that’s true. But at the same time, we have to think about what we’re doing. We have the greatest impact on our own actions, so we need to start taking measurements of that and adapting accordingly. Right now, it’s just Democrats, but it needs to be Republicans, too.”

Cramer also encouraged Republican candidates to speak more openly on climate change.

“Republicans should do more on climate,” he said. “ I want a president who acknowledges that the people of this country want us to do something about climate change, regardless of their own personal views.”

A clash over whether or not America needs a “reset from the top” reveals the radicalism of the MAGA worldview.

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/republican-debate-vivek-ramaswamy-mike-pence-rcna101620

02:05 /05:58TAP TO UNMUTE

Preview to tonight’s debate through 2016 flashbacks

05:58

Aug. 24, 2023, 12:49 PM PDT

By Zeeshan Aleem, MSNBC Opinion Writer/Editor

Clearly, the Republican Party stands (at least somewhat) divided. As candidates brawled over how to approach abortion policy, Ukrainian military aid and former President Donald Trump’s fitness for office, the GOP’s fissures were evident. One of the clearest distillations of the party’s inner turmoil emerged during a heated exchange between businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and former Vice President Mike Pence. Ramaswamy made a case for the revolutionary pessimism of the MAGA worldview, attempting to swat down Pence’s optimism about American culture. Given that Ramaswamy was the fiercest Trump acolyte on stage, it was a reminder of the destructive impulses that lie beneath the surface of the most powerful ideological force in Republican politics today.

Ostensibly as part of an answer to a question about crime rates, Ramaswamy launched into a broader diatribe about our “national identity crisis.”

Ramaswamy’s rant proposed a frightening right-wing authoritarian vision of the world.

“The reason we have that mental health epidemic is that people are so hungry for purpose and meaning at a time when family, faith, patriotism, hard work have all disappeared,” he said. “What we really need is a tonal reset from the top, saying this is what it means to be an American. Yes, we will stand for the rule of law, yes, we will close the southern border where criminals are coming in every day, and yes, we will back law enforcement because we remember who we really are, and that is also how we address the mental health epidemic in the next generation that is directly leading to violent crime across this country.” Pence interjected, “We don’t have an identity crisis, Vivek. We’re not looking for a new national identity. The American people are the most faith-filled, freedom-loving, idealistic hardworking people that the world has ever known. We just need government as good as our people.”

No, Ramaswamy scoffed, America really is in crisis. Referencing  Ronald Reagan’s 1984 political campaign television commercial, he continued: “It is not morning in America. We live in a dark moment and we have to confront the fact that we’re in an internal sort of cold cultural civil war and we have to recognize that.”

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This back-and-forth between Ramswamy and Pence had no concrete policy prescription. But it’s a rich text to parse for the difference between the old guard and the new guard of the GOP.

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Ramaswamy’s rant proposed a grim right-wing authoritarian vision of the world. He called for a “reset from the top,” clarifying anew what it “means to be an American” and channeling the strongman style and nativism of Trump. He suggested that the “mental health epidemic” can be resolved by cracking down on immigration, emphasizing law and order and making the police more powerful. 

That’s a curious prescription, but it makes more sense if Ramaswamy’s proposals are assumed to be for the mental health of the body politic rather than individuals. It also tracks with a authoritarian nativist view that the country is being polluted by immigrants and that dissidents on the left should be dealt with through brute force. Especially in light of Ramaswamy’s other comments about abolishing entire swathes of the federal government and its social services and pardoning Trump, his “reset” to resolve the nation’s identity crisis has the air of a right-wing revolutionary, seeking to reinvent the social order around a strongman. Ramswamy’s dark tone was reminiscent of Trump’s foreboding promise to end the “American carnage” during his inauguration speech.

I don’t want to overstate the differences between the establishment and MAGA wings of the GOP — there are many continuities between Reagan’s GOP and Trump’s GOP in terms of social exclusivity, commitment to plutocracy, fondness for overpolicing and foreign policy militarism. But the tonal difference between the old guard and the new guard isn’t purely aesthetic. Optimism about society as it exists lends itself to a greater degree of good faith cooperation with the opposition. It also can encourage working within the political establishment to enact change. In contrast, abject pessimism about the system leads to the argument that the best way to solve problems is to tear down the whole establishment. 

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