Even during a pandemic, people still need to deliver babies and get medical care. With little guidance, they face difficult choices.
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Monday, March 16, 2020
Entrepreneur Kelly Francis Is Who She Is—And She Isn’t Sorry
Featuring a broad cross-section of women who have distinguished themselves across a rich variety of careers, our Portraits of Power series is a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Black Enterprise, and of black women. It’s a place for today’s businesswomen to share their own favorite images and their own stories, in their own words. Today’s portrait is entrepreneur Kelly Francis, an HR and management expert.
Kelly Francis
Founder, President & Senior Consultant, Performance Solutions Limited
My first job was working in a toy store. I ate candy and soda for breakfast all summer long!
My big break came when I realized I had nothing to lose by taking a chance.
I’ve had to work hardest at celebrating my accomplishments.
I never imagined I would be celebrating 20 years of owning my own business.
I wish I’d learned sooner how to promote my brand and my business.
The risk I regret not taking is being bolder.
If I could design my fantasy self-care day, it would be spent recharging with my closest girlfriends; laughing until I start to sputter; drinking really good wine, and feeling the sun on my face.
Navigating my son safely into adulthood keeps me up at night.
When I’m struggling, I say to myself, “first-world problems.”
I am unapologetically protective of my right to be who I am at this stage of my life.
Portraits of Power is a yearlong series of candid insights from exceptional women leaders. It is brought to you by ADP.
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Former President Of Iran: COVID-19 Was Produced In A Lab. It’s A Biological Weapon
Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad tweeted sympathy to the people of China for the “#Corona lab-made virus,” suggesting the virus was created deliberately as a biological weapon by China’s enemies to halt the country’s progress.
“I hope the Chinese nation, contrary to the will of their ill wishers, will soon overcome this imposed problem and pursue their progress,” Ahmadinejad tweeted on Feb. 17 in what has become a popular conspiracy theory.
At least 291 people in Iran have died from the coronavirus — the third highest number outside of China, according to Worldometers. The dead include a senior adviser to the supreme leader. One of the country’s vice presidents, at least 23 members of parliament, the deputy health minister and other senior government officials are among the 8,042 people reported to have been infected.
Iran’s hospitals are struggling to cope with the coronavirus surge and the country has far more cases than it’s letting on, The Atlantic reported.
Blaming your enemies by way of a conspiracy theory is one way to deal with the coronavirus, Middle East Eye reported.
Iran’s president from 2005 to 2013, Ahmadinejad joined Twitter in March 2017 as part of an aborted effort to win a third four-year term. Ironically, Twitter was banned under his watch in 2009, as it was seen as tool for anti-regime activists and Western espionage. Nany prominent figures continue to tweet. Ahmadinejad has used the platform to denounce inequality in government policies, particularly in the U.S. He has taken shots at Trump. In August 2018 he criticized Trump for mocking LeBron James and CNN anchor Don Lemon. Ahmadinejad said at the time that he loved James and Michael Jordan.
My deepest sympathy to the people and government of China and the respected families of the deceased by #Corona lab-made virus. I hope the Chinese nation , contrary to the will of their ill wishers, will soon overcome this imposed problem and pursue their progress. #China
— Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (@Ahmadinejad1956) February 17, 2020
Brothers Kamiar Alaei and Arash Alaei are Iranian health-policy experts and co-presidents of the Institute for International Health and Education in Albany, N.Y. Both worked for years as doctors in Iran’s health care system, which they described as one of the best in the Middle East — a decentralized system with thousands of medical centers across the country.
Lives could have been saved and the scale of the contagion contained if the Islamic Republic hadn’t made health policy subservient to its politics, the brother said in a New York Times opinion piece. Instead, Iranian authorities dismissed the danger of coronavirus. “Tehran did not risk slighting Beijing. Flights between Iran and China continued. Iran donated 1 million face masks to China,” they wrote.
When people started dying of the virus, the official Iranian response was denial of the size of the crisis. When a member of parliament from Qum contradicted official numbers, the deputy minister of health promised to resign if the death toll proved to be even one fourth of the MP’s claim. A day later, the health minister tested positive for the coronavirus and is under quarantine. A disproportionate number of members of parliament and senior government officials became infected.
Doctors and medical staff members at the smaller government hospitals were not alerted early on to take precautions.
“Tehran seems to have suppressed information about the coronavirus because it did not want participation in the elections to be affected,” the brothers wrote. They’re calling for Iranian authorities to get relatives of all the infected and the deceased tested, be truthful and transparent about numbers of cases, enhance protection for health care workers and target the worst affected areas.
Meanwhile, @Ahmadinejad1956 has doubled down on his conspiracy theory. He tweeted on March 9, “It is clear to the world that the mutated coronavirus was produced in lab, manufactured by the warfare stock houses of biological war belonging to world powers,& that it constitutes a threat on humanity more destructive than the other weapons that target humanity.”
Ahmadinejad’s theory has no shortage of co-conspirators, although not all agree on just who the enemy is, or whose lab the biological weapon was made in.
“Coronavirus is Made in China. #WuhanVirus,” @EdronChk tweeted.
“bill gates made it,” maelarkey tweeted @MaepleTrees.
“The virus is made in China CCP, Wuhan p4 laboratory, we Chinese know that, CCP want to make a virus world war against the whole world. Iran don’t understand if you deal with evil, you will get punishment back, that is why so many infected people in your country,” @Suomi201888 tweeted.
It is clear to the world that the mutated coronavirus was produced in lab, manufactured by the warfare stock houses of biological war belonging to world powers,& that it constitutes a threat on humanity more destructive than the other weapons that target humanity.@antonioguterres pic.twitter.com/lLLzvdMAGo
— Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (@Ahmadinejad1956) March 9, 2020
This article was originally written by Dana Sanchez for The Moguldom Nation.
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Jesse Jackson joins Sanders campaign as special adviser
The Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. has signed on as a special adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign, getting the Vermont senator to make several promises to Black voters.
READ MORE: Jesse Jackson pays homage to Roma at Auschwitz ceremony
Jackson said Sanders promised to introduce a constitutional amendment in Congress next week on the right to vote. Jackson also said Sanders committed to expanding Pell Grants, nominating a Black woman to the Supreme Court and naming a Black woman to his cabinet, should he become president, reported CBS News.
Jackson, who endorsed Sanders (I-VT) just before last Tuesday’s Democratic primary in Michigan, also asked Sanders to choose a Black woman running mate and said Sanders promised him he would give the request his “highest consideration.”
Over the weekend, Sanders tweeted his admiration of Jackson.
“I’m humbled and proud to have Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. by my side in the fight to expand voting rights, create a single-payer health care system, and finally deliver full social and economic equality for those who have been left behind,” Sanders tweeted on Saturday.
I’m humbled and proud to have Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. by my side in the fight to expand voting rights, create a single-payer health care system, and finally deliver full social and economic equality for those who have been left behind. https://t.co/cNTR00skl1
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 14, 2020
Jackson, a civil rights activist, ran for president in 1984 and 1988. Sanders supported his 1988 presidential campaign over Biden’s. In a statement, Jackson said Sanders had asked for his endorsement but that he was never asked by Biden’s campaign for his support, CBS News reported.
READ MORE: Rev. Jesse Jackson calls Trump’s fast food buffet for Clemson “disgraceful”
It is unclear what difference Jackson will make in Sanders’ campaign in the upcoming primary races. So far, in previous primaries, Biden has captured the majority of Black voters’ support. The former vice president won the Black vote handily in South Carolina, and on Super Tuesday, he won southern states with sizable Black populations.
As special adviser for economic and foreign policy, Jackson will help Sanders enact a federal jobs guarantee and put an end to wars, according to a statement put out by the Sanders campaign.
The post Jesse Jackson joins Sanders campaign as special adviser appeared first on TheGrio.
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JAY-Z responds to claims he sold out with NFL deal: ‘I’m already rich’
JAY-Z has responded to critics who have labeled him a sellout after his Roc Nation company inked an entertainment deal with the NFL last summer.
As part of the partnership, Roc Nation is expected to roll out social-awareness campaigns that many fans were hoping would include former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick
READ MORE: Jay-Z and NFL release gun violence PSA honoring Hadiya Pendleton
Jigga previously fired shots at the NFL over its treatment of Kaepernick due to his National Anthem protests at games over police brutality and racism against Blacks in America.
Jay defended his NFL partnership at a press conference with commissioner Roger Goodell last August, during which he also praised Kaepernick’s controversial kneeling during the National Anthem. The hip-hop mogul noted, however, that his NFL deal would follow a different approach to help spread awareness about racism and injustice.
“That’s his version of an action item, this is our version of an action item,” JAY-Z explained. “We all do different things. We all work differently for the same results. I don’t knock what he’s doing, and hopefully, he doesn’t knock what I’m doing.”
But critics believe Jay is selling out the culture for putting his financial interests over social injustices.
Hov addresses these claims on Jay Electronica’s “Flux Capacitor” off his recently released debut album, A Written Testimony, Complex reports.
JAY-Z raps:
Why would I sell out? I’m already rich, don’t make no sense
Got more money than Goodell, a whole NFL bench
Did it one-handed like Odell, handcuffed to a jail
I would’ve stayed on the sideline if they could’ve tackled that sh*t themselves
He concludes with a mild threat that also channels Kanye West.
“You backstabbers gon’ turn me back to the old Jay/
He’s not who you wanna see, he’s not as sweet as the old Ye.”
READ MORE: Jay Electronica returns alongside Jay Z on ‘We Made It’ remix
JAY-Z previously responded to the NFL/Roc Nation backlash in a New York Times interview that was published earlier this year.
“We didn’t say, ‘Let’s go make some money off the NFL,'” he said. The rapper added he could deal with criticism over the partnership if it helps white football fans realize they should care about police brutality, too. “As long as real people are being hurt and marginalized and losing family members, then yes, I can take a couple rounds of negative press.”
The post JAY-Z responds to claims he sold out with NFL deal: ‘I’m already rich’ appeared first on TheGrio.
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New CDC guideline is bad news for weddings, other events
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended the postponing or canceling of gatherings of more than 50 people as the coronavirus continues to paralyze the nation with fear.
READ MORE: President Trump blames Obama and CDC for coronavirus outbreak
According to the new guidelines issued Sunday, groups larger than 50 people should avoid events for the next two months as health excerpts work tirelessly to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The guidelines will not affect the daily operations of businesses or schools, but will impact weddings, funerals, and family reunions, Vice.com reports.
The CDC’s recommendations are not enforceable by law, but individual cities and states are not taking any risks when it comes to coronavirus, as restaurants and bars are shutting down following the advice of public health officials.
“Large events and mass gatherings can contribute to the spread of COVID-19 in the United States via travelers who attend these events and introduce the virus to new communities,” the CDC said on its website. “Examples of large events and mass gatherings include conferences, festivals, parades, concerts, sporting events, weddings, and other types of assemblies. These events can be planned not only by organizations and communities but also by individuals.”
The new guidelines come days after President Donald Trump declared a national emergency on Friday and announced a series of executive measures to combat the coronavirus crisis.
Prior to the announcement, Trump aimed at former President Barack Obama, blaming his administration for the coronavirus outbreak in the United States.
TheGrio previously reported, in a tweet Friday morning, Trump turned his ire toward Obama and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), for “inadequate” testing for the potentially deadly virus.
READ MORE: AOC says avoiding Chinese restaurants amid coronavirus is ‘straight-up racism’
COVID-19 has reportedly killed 41 people in the U.S., and at least 1,629 have been infected, according to the CDC. More than 150,000 globally have been sickened.
Meanwhile, numerous sporting events and concerts have been postponed or canceled amid coronavirus concerns, and several upcoming films have had their release dates pushed back to April or later.
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Floyd Mayweather’s ex Josie Harris’ death still in question
Law enforcement sources are puzzled by the circumstances surrounding the death of Josie Harris, ex-girlfriend of Floyd Mayweather and mom to three of his children —but it does not appear to be of suicide or drug abuse.
Sources tell TMZ that no drugs or suicide letter were found at Harris’ Valencia, Calif. home or inside of her vehicle last week. And they say it doesn’t look like Harris committed suicide. The outlet further reports that one of Harris and Mayweather’s children noticed she was unresponsive in her vehicle and called 911. When officials arrived, they began doing CPR and attempted in other ways to save her life, but the 40-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.
READ MORE: Floyd Mayweather’s ex-girlfriend Josie Harris found dead in front of her home
It was previously reported that law enforcement has said that no foul play is suspected, and that police are viewing the matter as a death investigation and not a “homicide probe.”
A medical examiner will determine a cause of death, evaluating the autopsy and toxicology results.
Harris and Mayweather had a complex and sometimes troubled relationship. The former couple dated from 1995 until 2010. A decade ago, Mayweather was convicted of attacking Harris and spent two months locked up for the domestic violence incident.
In that incident, Harris accused Mayweather of entering her Las Vegas house as she slept and attacking her in front of the kids. She said her oldest son, Koraun, ran out of the house and got a security guard to phone police. Mayweather was later convicted of September 2010 attack.
When Mayweather was asked what took place, he told Katie Couric he restrained Harris for her alleged drug use. “Did I restrain a woman that was on drugs? Yes, I did. So if they say that’s domestic violence, then, you know what? I’m guilty. I’m guilty of restraining someone,” Mayweather said.
READ MORE: Report: Mayweather’s son witnessed boxer ‘hitting and kicking’ ex-girlfriend
After the interview, Harris sued Mayweather for over $20 million for defamation. Recently, Harris was working on a book for domestic violence survivors, TMZ reports.
On Friday and over the weekend, Mayweather took to social media to post several pictures of him and Harris during happier times, including one photo in which he called her “My Angel.”
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NAACP calls for Miami Beach police chief to resign after viral spring break arrest videos
After two viral videos surfaced of Miami Beach police violently arresting unarmed African
American spring breakers, South Florida civil rights advocates are now calling for the resignation of Miami Beach’s police chief and a change in department policy.
“Miami Beach is a destination city. It has high-impact weekends. During no other high-
impact weekend do you see police officers dressed in paramilitary gear with guns that shoot paintballs,” said Ruban Roberts, president of the Miami-Dade NAACP chapter, who called the officers’ tactics “racist” during a press conference on Friday.
“We have Super Bowl, we have [Gay] Pride, we have New Year’s. That never happens [during those weekends],” Roberts said.
On Sunday, the Miami-Dade NAACP Chapter escalated their demands, also calling for the resignation of Miami Beach’s City Manager, Jimmy Morales, and asking citizens to join in a social media campaign writing on Instagram:
“We told the City of Miami Beach to put an end to the maltreatment of Black people and to stop the use of excessive force, last Friday. They didn’t listen. Now, it’s time we show the City of Miami Beach, we’ve had enough. It’s time for collective action.”
READ MORE: Miami-Dade police aide on administrative duties after ‘monkey’ comment
young woman in the middle of Ocean Drive on Wednesday, March 11, 2020 as officers tried to
disperse a crowd following a fight.
On March 11, police reports show officers responded to a group of men involved in a fight
along Ocean Drive, the famous ocean-front strip in Miami Beach. In one video, captured by a spectator’s cell phone, an officer and a woman are running in the same direction and collided by accident into each other. The officer, who was chasing a male assailant, is seen in the video getting up, pushing the woman back to the ground, and then choking her with one hand.
“This is not consistent with the way police are trained to apprehend anyone that is a suspect,” Roberts told theGrio.
In a second viral video, stemming from the same incident, an officer is heard telling a young black man to “get the [explicative] out of here!” Three officers physically take him down to the ground while another cop fires a pellet gun to the ground to disperse the crowd.
The Miami Beach Police Department provided theGrio with seven arrest reports related to this incident. The charges range from resisting arrest to disorderly conduct. One arrest report stated that a 23-year-old suspect’s behavior “created a danger for all officers involved due to the large size of the crowd that already gathered.” The man, who is Black, was taken to the ground by officers and arrested.
In another arrest report, an officer admitted hitting a 24-year-old Black man with “three to
four closed fist punches to the left rib area.” The defendant complained of injuries to his face and left side of ribs.
“If you come to Miami Beach to cause problems, we will intervene and take enforcement
action,” Miami Beach Police Chief, Richard Clements said in a statement.
Joining the NAACP, the Miami ACLU said it has been tracking the police tactics of Miami
Beach police as it relates to Black beach-goers for more than two decades. A spokeswoman
underscored a disproportionate pattern of aggression when it comes to African American crowds on the beach. As a result, they’re calling for the police department to be investigated.
“That investigation is necessary. It is necessary for any police officer who loses his or her
cool and fails to follow the de-escalation tactics that they’re supposed to be trained in,” said Jeanne Baker, chair of Miami’s ACLU police Practices Committee. “But the officers in the video seem not to have absorbed that training. An investigation must be done.”
Civil rights advocates are calling for an independent citizen’s review panel in Miami-Dade
County that could investigate complaints against Miami Beach police. The City of Miami
already has a Civilian Investigative Panel in place; however, it only services Miami.
Advocates also want Miami Beach Police Chief Clements to hire additional black police officers and black officers in the command staff. They believe it would make a difference in how thousands of black visitors, who pump millions into the economy each year, are treated.
“Miami Beach refuses to recognize the economic stimulus that is represented in those high-
impact weekends,” said former state Senator Dwight Bullard.
“This shows a short-sightedness on their part around the value of embracing the culture the way other cities like New Orleans does during the Essence festival and again during Mardi Gras.”
“No we do not believe that every police officer is bad because that is not what we stand for,” said attorney Rawsi Williams, a representative of the Miami NAACP. “But the bad apples, their worms are huge and they need to be dealt with.”
The post NAACP calls for Miami Beach police chief to resign after viral spring break arrest videos appeared first on TheGrio.
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Biden commits to appointing first Black woman to the Supreme Court
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden committed on Sunday night to choosing a woman as his vice president and vowed that he would make history by appointing the first Black woman to the Supreme Court.
Biden made the bold campaign pledges during his CNN primary debate against opponent Sen. Bernie Sanders, after a voter asked the candidates how their respective cabinets would address women’s “physical and financial health.”
“Number one I committed that if I’m elected as president and have the opportunity to appoint someone to the courts, I’ll appoint the first Black woman to the Court. It’s required that they have representation now — it’s long overdue,” Biden said.
READ MORE: Charlamagne Tha God blasts Joe Biden for refusing ‘The Breakfast Club’ interview
He added, “Secondly, if I am elected president my cabinet, my administration would look like the country. And I commit that I’ll pick a woman to be vice president.
“There are a number of women who are qualified to be president tomorrow.”
When CNN’s Dana Bash pressed Sanders if he, too, would make a commitment to pick a woman as his VP, Sanders replied that “in all likelihood I will.”
“For me it’s not just nominating a woman,” he clarified. “It’s making sure we have progressive women … and there are progressive women out there, so my very strong tendency is to move in that direction.”
READ MORE: Trevor Noah mocks Kamala Harris for ‘hostage-style video’ endorsement of Biden
This isn’t the first time that Biden has mentioned wanting to choose a woman to join his presidential ticket if he were to nab the Democratic Party’s nomination. It does, however, appear to be the first time he’s committed to selecting a Black woman judge to the highest court in the land.
After the debate, Biden’s campaign posted a graphic on his Instagram account that read, “My Vice President Will Be A Woman” — cementing his campaign promise in social media history.
View this post on Instagram
Potential names for vice president have been floating around in the press and political circles, including former presidential candidates Sen. Kamala Harris, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) and former Democratic candidate for Georgia governor, Stacey Abrams.
To date, a woman has never served as vice president of the United States. Additionally, an African American woman has never served on the Supreme Court.
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Sunday, March 15, 2020
Scientists quantify how wave power drives coastal erosion
Over millions of years, Hawaiian volcanoes have formed a chain of volcanic islands stretching across the Northern Pacific, where ocean waves from every direction, stirred up by distant storms or carried in on tradewinds, have battered and shaped the islands’ coastlines to varying degrees.
Now researchers at MIT and elsewhere have found that, in Hawaii, the amount of energy delivered by waves averaged over each year is a good predictor of how fast or slow a rocky coastline will erode. If waves are large and frequent, the coastline will erode faster, whereas smaller, less frequent waves will result in a slower-eroding coast.
Their study helps to explain the Hawaiian Islands’ meandering shorelines, where north-facing sea cliffs, experiencing larger waves produced by distant storms and persistent tradewinds, have eroded farther inland. In contrast, south-facing coasts typically enjoy calmer waters, smaller waves, and therefore less eroded coasts.
The results, published this month in the journal Geology, can also help scientists forecast how fast other rocky coasts around the world might erode, based on the power of the waves that a coast typically experiences.
“Over half of the world’s oceanic coastlines are rocky sea cliffs, so sea-cliff erosion affects a lot of coastal inhabitants and infrastructure,” says Kim Huppert ’11, PhD ’17, lead author of the study and a former graduate student in MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences. “If storminess increases with climate change, and waves get bigger, we need to understand specifically how waves affect erosion.”
Huppert, who is now a senior research scientist at the German Research Center for Geosciences, has co-authored the paper with Taylor Perron, professor of earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences and associate department head at MIT, and Andrew Ashton of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Sink and carve
Scientists have had some idea that the rate of coastal erosion depends on the power of the waves that act on that coast. But until now, there’s been no systematic study to confirm this relationship, mainly because there can be so many other factors contributing to coastal erosion that can get in the way.
The team found the Hawaiian Islands provide an ideal environment in which to study this relationship: The islands are all made from the same type of bedrock, meaning they wouldn’t have to account for multiple types of rock and sediment and their differences in erosion; and the islands inhabit a large oceanic basin that produces a wide range of wave “climates,” or waves of varying sizes and frequencies.
“As you go around the shoreline of different islands, you see very different wave climates, simply by turning a corner of the island,” Huppert notes. “And the rock type is all the same. So Hawaii is a nice natural laboratory.”
The researchers focused their study on 11 coastal locations around the islands of Hawaii, Maui, and Kaho‘olawe, each facing different regions of the Pacific that produce varying sizes and frequencies of waves.
Before considering the wave power at these various locations, they first worked to estimate the average rate at which the sea cliffs at each coastal location eroded over the last million years. The team sought to identify the erosion rates that produced the coastal profiles of Hawaiian Islands today, given the islands’ original profiles, which can be estimated from each island’s topography. To do this, they first had to account for changes in each island’s vertical motion and sea level change over time.
After a volcanic island forms, it inevitably starts to subside, or sink under its own weight. As an island sinks, the level at which the sea interacts with the island changes, just as if you were to lower yourself into a pool: The water’s surface may start at your ankles, and progressively lap at your knees, your waist, and eventually your shoulders and chin.
For an island, the more slowly it sinks, the more time the sea has to carve out the coastline at a particular elevation. In contrast, if an island sinks quickly, the sea has only fleeting time to cut into the coast before the island subsides further, exposing a new coastline for the sea to wear away. As a result, the rate at which an island sinks strongly affects how far the coast has retreated inland at any given elevation, over millions of years.
To calculate the speed of island sinking, the team used a model to estimate how much the lithosphere, the outermost layer of the Earth on which volcanic islands sit, sagged under the weight of each Hawaiian volcano formed in the past million years. Because the Hawaiian Islands are close together, the sinking of one island can also affect the sinking or rising of neighboring islands, similar to the way one child may bounce up as another child sinks into a trampoline.
The team used the model to simulate various possible histories of island sinking over the last million years, and the subsequent erosion of sea cliffs and coastlines. They looked for the scenario that best linked the islands’ original coastlines with today’s modern coastlines, and matched the various resulting erosion rates to the 11 locations that they focused on in their study.
“We found erosion rates that vary from 17 millimeters per year to 118 millimeters per year at the different sites,” Huppert says. “The upper end of that range is nearly half a foot per year, so some of those rates are pretty fast for rock.”
Waves of a size
They chose the 11 coastal locations in the study for their variability: Some sea cliffs face north, where they are battered by stronger waves produced by distant storms. Other north-facing coasts experience tradewinds that come from the northeast and produce waves that are smaller but more frequent. The coastal locations that face southward experience smaller, less-frequent waves in contrast.
The team compared erosion rates at each site with the typical wave power experienced at each site, which they calculated from wave height and frequency measurements derived from buoy data. They then compared the 11 locations’ wave power to their long-term rates of erosion.
What they found was a rather simple, linear relationship between wave power and the rate of coastal erosion. The stronger the waves that a coast experiences, the faster that coast erodes. Specifically, they found that waves of a size that occur every few days might be a better indicator of how fast a coast is eroding than larger but less frequent storm waves. That is, if waves on normal, nonstormy days are large, a coast is likely eroding quickly; if the typical waves are smaller, a coast is retreating more slowly.
The researchers say carrying out this study in Hawaii allowed them to confirm this simple relationship, without confounding natural factors. As a result, scientists can use this relationship to help predict how rocky coasts in other parts of the world may change, with variations in sea level and wave activity as a result of climate change.
“Sea level is rising along much of the world’s coasts, and changes in winds and storminess with ongoing climate change could alter wave regimes, too,” Perron points out. “To be able to isolate the influence of wave climate on the rate of coastal erosion gets you one step closer to going to a particular place and calculating the change in erosion rate there.”
This research was supported, in part, by the NEC Corporation, and by NASA.
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Andrew Gillum enters rehab for alcoholism following Miami hotel incident
Andrew Gillum, the former Democratic candidate for governor of Florida, announced on Sunday evening that he is entering a rehabilitation facility following a recent incident inside of a Miami Beach hotel.
In a statement provided to theGrio, Gillum, 40, said the incident was a “wake-up call for me,” after authorities responded to an alleged meth overdose in a hotel room where Gillum was found with two other men.
Police said in their report that Gillum was “unable to communicate due to his inebriated state.” However, he left the room and returned home “without incident.”
READ MORE: Andrew Gillum denies meth use after man allegedly overdosed at Miami hotel
“Since my race for governor ended, I fell into a depression that has led to alcohol abuse,” Gillum stated. “I witnessed my father suffer from alcoholism and I know the damaging effects it can have when untreated. I also know that alcoholism is often a symptom of deeper struggles.”
The frequent CNN contributor said he wants to focus on himself and his family and would be stepping down from all public-facing roles for the “foreseeable future.”
“I want to apologize to my family, friends and the people of Florida who have supported me and put their faith in me over the years,” he added. “I ask that you respect my and my family’s privacy during this time. Thank you.”
Gillum’s statement comes after Miami Beach Fire Rescue crews were called to Mondrian South Beach shortly before 1 a.m. regarding a suspected overdose.
Authorities said Gillum, Aldo Mejias, 56, and Travis Dyson, 30, were in the room at the time. Dyson apparently rented the room using a credit card Mejias had given to him. Furthermore, Dyson and Gillum appearing to be under the influence when Mejias arrived at around 4 p.m.
The police report elaborated that Dyson soon collapsed after opening the door and walked over to the bed. He was having trouble breathing and began to vomit. He lost his balance again and 911 was called for help.
Dyson was taken to Mount Sinai Medical Center and is now said to be in stable condition after his cardia arrest episode.
There were three small clear bags inside the hotel room containing suspected crystal meth. It has been collected as evidence.
Gillum, who is married with children, had previously released a statement following the Friday incident, in which he denied the use of meth or any other drug.
“I was in Miami last night for a wedding celebration when first responders were called to assist one of my friends. While I had too much to drink, I want to be clear that I have never used methamphetamines,” he said.
The post Andrew Gillum enters rehab for alcoholism following Miami hotel incident appeared first on TheGrio.
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