The Full Belmonte, 7/8/2023
Recent events that indicate Earth’s climate has entered uncharted territory
BY ISABELLA O’MALLEY
“As a warming Earth simmered into worrisome new territory this week, scientists said the unofficial records being set for average planetary temperature were a clear sign of how pollutants released by humans are warming their environment. But the heat is also just one way the planet is telling us something is gravely wrong, they said.
‘Heat sets the pace of our climate in so many ways ... it’s never just the heat,’ said Kim Cobb, a climate scientist at Brown University.
Dying coral reefs, more intense Nor’easters and the wildfire smoke that has choked much of North America this summer are among the many other signals of climate distress.
‘The increasing heating of our planet caused by fossil fuel use is not unexpected, but it is dangerous for us humans and for the ecosystems we depend on. We need to stop it, fast,’ said Stefan Rahmstorf of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.
Some other recent ‘firsts’ and events that indicate climate change has entered uncharted territory:
OCEAN WARMING
Most of the planet is covered by oceans, which have absorbed 90% of the recent warming caused by planet-warming gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. In April, global ocean temperature soared to 69.98 degrees Fahrenheit (21.1 degrees Celsius), which was attributed to the combination of greenhouse gas emissions and the early El Nino formation. Newly published data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service documented ‘exceptionally warm’ ocean temperatures in the North Atlantic with ‘extreme’ marine heat waves near Ireland, the U.K., and in the Baltic Sea.
WILDFIRE SMOKE
Several rounds of wildfire smoke originating from northern Canada brought dangerous air quality levels to eastern North America. The high levels of wildfire smoke have become familiar on the West Coast, but scientists say that climate change will make wildfires and smoke more likely and intense and that the East Coast will see more of it.
EL NINO ARRIVES EARLY
The current El Nino — a period of warming Pacific Ocean waters — formed a month or two earlier than usual, replacing a La Nina that, with its cooling of Pacific waters, served as a damper on global temperatures. That means it will have more time than usual to strengthen. The World Meteorological Organization predicts there is a 98% chance that at least one of the next five years will be the warmest on record, beating 2016 when an exceptionally strong El Nino was present.
SHRINKING ANTARCTIC SEA ICE
Scientists are watching Antarctic sea ice shrink to record lows. The 4.5 million square miles (11.7 million square kilometers) covered by the sheet on June 27 was almost 1 million square miles (2.6 million square kilometers) less than average for that date for the period from 1981-2010, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
Put another way, an area nearly four times the size of Texas was gone from the ice sheet.” [AP News]
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem spars with Ben & Jerry’s over Mount Rushmore. What to know
USA TODAY
“South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem slammed Ben & Jerry's over the ice cream company's July Fourth campaign calling for the return of Mount Rushmore to Indigenous populations.
Vermont-based Ben & Jerry's launched the campaign Tuesday and asserted ‘stolen Indigenous land’ should be returned. The ice cream company singled out Mount Rushmore, writing it ‘was desecrated and dynamited to honor their colonizers, four white men − two of whom enslaved people and all of whom were hostile to Indigenous people and values.’
Noem dismissed the campaign on Fox News Thursday and said she would not ‘listen to a bunch of liberal Vermont businessmen who think they know everything about this country and haven't studied our history.’
Ben & Jerry's, however, specifically highlighted the history behind Mount Rushmore in a post on its website. The company wrote that Mount Rushmore was created on a holy mountain known to the Lakota Sioux as the Tunkasila Sakpe. The land surrounding the mountain is known as the Black Hills and is also considered sacred by the Lakota Sioux.
On its website, the ice cream company also detailed how Indigenous tribes signed treaties with the U.S. government in the 19th century that allowed them to live on land that included the Black Hills as a ‘permanent home.’ But the government reneged on its agreement after gold was discovered on the land years later and displaced the the Great Sioux Nation once again.
Noem called Mount Rushmore − which features the sculptured faces of presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln − the ‘the greatest symbol of our freedom and history of the United States of America.’
"We can learn from the men on that mountain, we can do better, but boy, they led us through some challenging times," she said. ‘We should be proud of America and knock off what Ben & Jerry's is doing.’” [USA Today]
Cluster Bombs for Kyiv
A woman stands next to a damaged car after a cluster bomb strike in Kramatorsk in the Donbas region on March 18.Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images
“The Biden administration announced on Friday that it would provide Ukraine with up to $800 million worth of military equipment to assist the country’s counteroffensive against Russia. The package includes Bradley and Stryker armored vehicles, howitzer rounds, ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, and, most significantly, thousands of cluster munitions.
Cluster bombs, also known as dual-purpose improved conventional munitions, or DPICMs, are explosives that release dozens of bomblets into the air, dispersing the submunitions over large areas; a single canister can cover almost 8 acres of land. Both Russian and Ukrainian forces have used these weapons in the last 16 months. Specifically, Russian troops have targeted civilian areas with cluster munitions, sparking accusations of war crimes from human rights organizations. Meanwhile, Ukraine has used cluster bombs provided by Turkey against Russian military targets and has repeatedly asked Western nations for more.
But what makes cluster munitions so controversial is not their use against war infrastructure but rather their impact on civilian populations. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, up to 40 percent of cluster bombs result in unexploded rounds, or ‘duds,’ which can cause civilian deaths long after a conflict is over. According to senior U.S. officials, the United States will supply cluster munitions with a reduced ‘dud rate’ of less than 3 percent.
The United Nations has repeatedly denounced the use of cluster bombs by both Russia and Ukraine, pointing to a ruling in the Geneva Conventions that bans their use against civilians. Even Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said in March 2022—immediately following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—that DPICMs have ‘no place on the battlefield’; the U.S. State Department has since struck out her denouncement from the speech’s official transcript.
Much of the international community continues to condemn the use of cluster bombs. In 2008, more than 100 countries joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits the use, production, transfer, and stockpiling of cluster munitions. However, the United States, Russia, and Ukraine never signed the prohibition. ‘Cluster munitions will not differentiate a Ukrainian soldier from a Russian one,’ Daryl Kimball, the executive director of the Arms Control Association, told FP’s Situation Report. ‘The effectiveness of cluster munitions is significantly oversold, and the impact on noncombatants is widely acknowledged but too often overlooked.’” [Foreign Policy]
“A Rutte awakening. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s ruling coalition collapsed on Friday after just a year and a half in office. The bloc’s four parties were unable to agree on policies that would limit the flow of asylum-seekers, something Rutte has been trying to accomplish since the country faced overcrowded migration centers last year.
Specifically, Rutte failed to pass a 200-person cap on the number of war refugee relatives allowed in the country each month. This was Rutte’s fourth governing coalition, having been prime minister since 2010. New elections will now likely be held in the fall.” [Foreign Policy]
“Not so neutral anymore? Switzerland and Austria want in on the defensive action. The two historically neutral nations signed a memorandum on Friday that signaled their intent to join Sky Shield, a German-led military initiative that aims to strengthen Europe’s air defense capabilities. Seventeen other nations are already part of the project, which promotes improved training and research cooperation to combat growing Russian aggression toward the West.
Both nations said joining Sky Shield would not impact their policies of neutrality. However, critics see the memorandum as just the latest in a series of actions both countries have taken to bind themselves closer to their European neighbors since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Immediately following Russia’s invasion last year, Switzerland adopted all European Union sanctions against Russia and froze the Kremlin’s assets. And Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen has repeatedly urged the nation’s government to assist Ukraine in demining civilian areas, such as schools and residential neighborhoods.” [Foreign Policy]
Suspension, denied. Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi faced a major legal setback on Friday when the Gujarat High Court refused to suspend his conviction in a defamation case. Gandhi was sentenced to two years in prison for remarks he made during an election rally in 2019 about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surname. ‘Why is it that all thieves have Modi as a common name?’ he asked at the time. The two-year punishment was deemed particularly harsh by critics, who argued that the court’s decision was politically motivated.
So long as Gandhi’s conviction remains, the opposition leader is barred from running for office, meaning he will likely be ineligible for next year’s general elections. This would grant Modi’s ruling far-right Bharatiya Janata Party a better chance at clinching a parliamentary majority. Modi has cracked down on critics and dissidents in his bid to secure continued control, including by restricting press freedom and banning a BBC documentary that criticized his record while chief minister of Gujarat.” Cluster Bombs for Kyiv
A woman stands next to a damaged car after a cluster bomb strike in Kramatorsk in the Donbas region on March 18.Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images
The Biden administration announced on Friday that it would provide Ukraine with up to $800 million worth of military equipment to assist the country’s counteroffensive against Russia. The package includes Bradley and Stryker armored vehicles, howitzer rounds, ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, and, most significantly, thousands of cluster munitions.
Cluster bombs, also known as dual-purpose improved conventional munitions, or DPICMs, are explosives that release dozens of bomblets into the air, dispersing the submunitions over large areas; a single canister can cover almost 8 acres of land. Both Russian and Ukrainian forces have used these weapons in the last 16 months. Specifically, Russian troops have targeted civilian areas with cluster munitions, sparking accusations of war crimes from human rights organizations. Meanwhile, Ukraine has used cluster bombs provided by Turkey against Russian military targets and has repeatedly asked Western nations for more.
But what makes cluster munitions so controversial is not their use against war infrastructure but rather their impact on civilian populations. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, up to 40 percent of cluster bombs result in unexploded rounds, or “duds,” which can cause civilian deaths long after a conflict is over. According to senior U.S. officials, the United States will supply cluster munitions with a reduced “dud rate” of less than 3 percent.
The United Nations has repeatedly denounced the use of cluster bombs by both Russia and Ukraine, pointing to a ruling in the Geneva Conventions that bans their use against civilians. Even Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said in March 2022—immediately following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—that DPICMs have “no place on the battlefield”; the U.S. State Department has since struck out her denouncement from the speech’s official transcript.
Much of the international community continues to condemn the use of cluster bombs. In 2008, more than 100 countries joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits the use, production, transfer, and stockpiling of cluster munitions. However, the United States, Russia, and Ukraine never signed the prohibition. “Cluster munitions will not differentiate a Ukrainian soldier from a Russian one,” Daryl Kimball, the executive director of the Arms Control Association, told FP’s Situation Report. “The effectiveness of cluster munitions is significantly oversold, and the impact on noncombatants is widely acknowledged but too often overlooked.”
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What We’re Following
A Rutte awakening. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s ruling coalition collapsed on Friday after just a year and a half in office. The bloc’s four parties were unable to agree on policies that would limit the flow of asylum-seekers, something Rutte has been trying to accomplish since the country faced overcrowded migration centers last year.
Specifically, Rutte failed to pass a 200-person cap on the number of war refugee relatives allowed in the country each month. This was Rutte’s fourth governing coalition, having been prime minister since 2010. New elections will now likely be held in the fall.
Not so neutral anymore? Switzerland and Austria want in on the defensive action. The two historically neutral nations signed a memorandum on Friday that signaled their intent to join Sky Shield, a German-led military initiative that aims to strengthen Europe’s air defense capabilities. Seventeen other nations are already part of the project, which promotes improved training and research cooperation to combat growing Russian aggression toward the West.
Both nations said joining Sky Shield would not impact their policies of neutrality. However, critics see the memorandum as just the latest in a series of actions both countries have taken to bind themselves closer to their European neighbors since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Immediately following Russia’s invasion last year, Switzerland adoptedall European Union sanctions against Russia and froze the Kremlin’s assets. And Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen has repeatedly urged the nation’s government to assist Ukraine in demining civilian areas, such as schools and residential neighborhoods.
Suspension, denied. Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi faced a major legal setback on Friday when the Gujarat High Court refused to suspend his conviction in a defamation case. Gandhi was sentenced to two years in prison for remarks he made during an election rally in 2019 about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surname. “Why is it that all thieves have Modi as a common name?” he asked at the time. The two-year punishment was deemed particularly harsh by critics, who argued that the court’s decision was politically motivated.
So long as Gandhi’s conviction remains, the opposition leader is barred from running for office, meaning he will likely be ineligible for next year’s general elections. This would grant Modi’s ruling far-right Bharatiya Janata Party a better chance at clinching a parliamentary majority. Modi has cracked down on critics and dissidents in his bid to secure continued control, including by restricting press freedom and banning a BBC documentary that criticized his record while chief minister of Gujarat.
“Lula’s environmental win. The Amazon is alive with the sound of saved trees. On Thursday, the Brazilian government announced that deforestation in Brazil’s section of the world’s largest rainforest had dropped nearly 34 percent during the first six months of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s term. This marks a big win for Lula, who campaigned on undoing his predecessor’s damaging environmental policies by clamping down on illegal logging and supporting Indigenous rights.
Lula’s latest success comes on the heels of a new World Resources Institute study saying the tropics lost 10.1 million acres of primary rainforest in 2022—while former President Jair Bolsonaro was still in power. Now, Lula must maintain his optimistic deforestation reversal track record as the annual U.N. Climate Change Conference approaches in November.” [Foreign Policy]
French police officers use tear gas in Paris on June 2. Photographer: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images
“Israel Ends West Bank Military Raid That Killed 12 Palestinians
The 44-hour raid on the Jenin refugee camp to target what it called Iran-funded militants was Israel’s biggest air attack on the occupied West Bank in two decades, Ethan Bronner writes. For the 17,000 residents of the settlement — descendants of Palestinians displaced in the 1948 war that led to Israel’s creation — the assault was painful, killing 12 people, driving several thousand from their homes and leaving others without water or electricity.” [Foreign Policy]
A destroyed vehicle in Jenin on July 5. Photographer: Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images
“Sunak Faces Three Weeks of Danger in Bid to Revive Tories
An awkward three-week political test is approaching for Rishi Sunak that’s likely to have a lasting impact on his UK premiership. Stuart Biggs writes that parliament goes on summer recess on July 20, the same day Sunak’s Conservatives face three special elections ahead of a fall political season that will be critical to shifting predictions of a loss in a general election expected in 2024.” [Foreign Policy]
“The US and China’s tit-for-tat technology war added another chapter this week when Beijing imposed restrictions on exporting two key metals that are crucial to the semiconductor, telecommunications and electric-vehicle industries. China is battling for technological dominance in everything from quantum computing to artificial intelligence to chip manufacturing. The US has taken increasingly aggressive measures, including blacklists and export controls, to keep it from gaining the upper hand in those sectors. The metals curb was announced just before US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen traveled to China with the goal of finding areas of common ground as the two countries diverge on issues from Taiwan to trade. During a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Yellen said competition between the world’s biggest economies is not a ‘winner-take-all’ race.
Li struck a note of optimism, telling Yellen he believed bilateral ties would eventually see a ‘rainbow.’ But China’s export licensing system on the two metals, gallium and germanium, highlight the country’s global production dominance. Also, the move might backfire. If Beijing does use these new rules to restrict shipments of the two metals, prices would likely rise and make it more economical to boost output in Japan, Canada, the US or elsewhere. That could worsen China’s current economic doldrums. While the struggling Chinese economy gives the US some leverage, ‘Chinese leaders must understand that they are likely to benefit even more than the US would from an easing of tensions,’ Minxin Pei writes in Bloomberg Opinion.” [Bloomberg]
“US President Joe Biden will travel next week to a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, at a key moment for the war in Ukraine and western allies backing Kyiv’s defense against Russian aggression. High on the agenda is overcoming Turkish opposition to Sweden’s membership. On the ground, new data show that Ukraine has caught up with Russia in terms of tanks and is gaining ground in other heavy weapons. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reinforced a warning that Russia may be planning to sabotage the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. And fallen mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has left exile in Belarus and is in St. Petersburg or Moscow, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said.” [Bloomberg]
Rescuers work in a apartment building partially destroyed by Russian missiles in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. At least six people were reported killed. Photographer: Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP
Northwestern suspends football coach Pat Fitzgerald after school hazing investigation
USA TODAY
“Northwestern has suspended coach Pat Fitzgerald for two weeks without pay following an independent investigation into allegations of hazing within the Wildcats' football program. The school announced the decision Friday.
The outside investigation began last December under the direction of Maggie Hickey, the former inspector general of Illinois. In late November, the university received a complaint alleging instances of hazing occurring inside the Wildcats' normal locker room and at ‘Camp Kenosha’ in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where the program has held preseason camp.
‘Hazing in any form is unacceptable and goes against our core values at Northwestern, where we strive to make the University a safe and welcoming environment for all of our students,’ Northwestern president Michael Schill said in a statement announcing the decision. ‘Our athletics programs are held to the highest standards, and in this case, we failed to meet them. I expect that today’s actions will prevent this from ever happening again.’
The school's longtime coach and one of the most awarded players in program history, Fitzgerald will begin serving his suspension immediately, the university said.
‘I was very disappointed when I heard about the allegations of hazing on our football team,’ Fitzgerald said. ‘Although I was not aware of the alleged incidents, I have spoken to University officials, and they informed me of a two-week suspension, effective immediately.’
‘Northwestern football prides itself on producing not just athletes, but fine young men with character befitting the program and our University. We hold our student-athletes and our program to the highest standards; we will continue to work to exceed those standards moving forward.’
According to the complaint, football players would pressure teammates into participating in hazing activities. The university said details of the investigation will remain confidential.
While the investigation found that student-athletes provided differing perspectives about the hazing, the ‘investigation team determined that the complainant’s claims were largely supported by the evidence gathered during the investigation, including separate and consistent first-person accounts from current and former players,’ according to an executive summary of the investigation.
The investigation ‘did not uncover evidence pointing to specific misconduct by any individual football player or coach’ but found that ‘participation in or knowledge of the hazing activities was widespread across football players.’” [USA Today]
Nikki McCray-Penson, former Tennessee, WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, dies at 51
Knoxville News Sentinel
“Nikki McCray-Penson, the former Tennessee Lady Vols basketball star who would go on to become a three-time WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist before embarking on a long college coaching career, died Thursday while reportedly battling cancer and a bout of pneumonia. She was 51.
South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley mourned McCray-Penson, her former Olympic teammate whom she hired as an assisant coach with the Gamecocks, on Friday, saying she was heartbroken that ‘cancer has taken that light from us.’ Multiple sources also confirmed to the USA TODAY Sports Network that the former head coach of Old Dominion and Mississippi State was battling pneumonia….” Read more at USA Today
THE WEEK IN CULTURE
From left, Sabrina Wu, Ashley Park and Stephanie Hsu in “Joy Ride.”Ed Araquel/Lionsgate
“A new crop of shows and movies feature Asian American characters who are hot messes — angry, mopey and on drugs. Their actors say it’s about time.
One of those films is “Joy Ride,” a new comedy about a trip to China that veers into debauchery. Our critic calls it “inspired pandemonium.”
The upcoming “Barbie” movie has been thrust into a geopolitical conflict over the South China Sea. Vietnam banned the film, and the Philippines is considering doing the same.
The New York designer Thom Browne made his debut at Paris Haute Couture Week, with a collection that transformed the standard gray suit into high fashion.
Guram Gvasalia of Vetements wants to be the biggest name in fashion. Designing Madonna’s tour costumes is a good start.
The breakout star of Wimbledon: Jannik Sinner’s Gucci duffel bag.
The classical record label Naxos is now offering streaming video of European operas through Amazon Prime. Here are five of the best productions.” [New York Times]