Credit: Miguel Rio Branco

A few years ago, Monica Gagliano, an associate professor in evolutionary ecology at the University of Western Australia, began dropping potted Mimosa pudicas. She used a sliding steel rail that guided them to six inches above a cushioned surface, then let them fall. The plant, which is leafy and green with pink-purple flower heads, is commonly known as a “shameplant” or a “touch-me-not” because its leaves fold inward when it’s disturbed. In theory, it would defend itself against any attack, indiscriminately perceiving any touch or drop as an offense and closing itself up.

The first time Gagliano dropped the plants—fifty-six of them—from the measured height, they responded as expected. But after several more drops, fewer of them closed. She dropped each of them sixty times, in five-second intervals. Eventually, all of them stopped closing. She continued like this for twenty-eight days, but none of them ever closed up again. It was only when she bothered them differently—such as by grabbing them—that they reverted to their usual defense mechanism.

Gagliano concluded, in a 

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New research first reported on Friday by The New York Times suggests banks are shifting mortgages made riskier by the climate emergency over to financial institutions backed by U.S. taxpayers—findings that “echo the subprime lending crisis of 2008, when unexpected drops in home values cascaded through the economy and triggered recession.”

Readers described the Times report as “huge” as well as “fascinating and provocative.” It elicited immediate critiques and concerns regarding banks’ actions and the sweeping potential consequences for American taxpayers and the global economy.

It turns out they are protecting themselves, but not by issuing fewer mortgages. They’re just dumping them on taxpayers, a new study says.https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/27/climate/mortgage-climate-risk.html …

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Trumper thug attacks older man.

Donald Trump is the King of Chaos. He has lied at least 12,000 times since becoming president of the United States.

These lies are often obvious and lazy — such as incorrectly claiming that Hurricane Dorian would hit Alabama and then forcing scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to parrot his lies. Trump’s lies are made no less dangerous when they happen to be lazy and obvious.

Trump is unapologetic and unabashed in his contempt for American democracy and the rule of law. Many mental health professionals have concluded he is unwell. He lacks impulse control and evidences sociopathic behavior.

America’s own spies do not trust our unpredictable president to act responsibly with the country’s secrets.

Trump is mercurial in his cruelty, waiting until people are in dire need to punish them, often based on sheer […]

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Sea levels could rise by up to 1.1 metres by 2100 if greenhouse-gas emissions continue to rise.
Credit: Ian Forsyth/Getty

The world’s oceans have long helped to stave off climate change by absorbing heat and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But that is changing, with devastating consequences for humanity in the coming decades, leading researchers warn in a high-level report commissioned by the United Nations.

The rate at which oceans are warming has doubled since the early 1990s, and marine heat waves are becoming more frequent and intense ― trends that are reshaping ocean ecosystems and fuelling more powerful storms. And as the oceans absorb CO2, they are becoming more acidic, which threatens the survival of coral reefs and fisheries.

The special report on oceans and ice by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns that without steep cuts to greenhouse-gas emissions, fisheries will falter, the average strength of hurricanes will increase and rising seas will increase the risk of flooding in low-lying areas around the globe.

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