Espresso Knowledge #105 - Changing burial practices wedged between environmental concerns and traditional religious beliefs

A new study estimates that 75 percent of the world’s medicinal plant applications are only known in one language.

These languages have allowed indigenous people to describe and pass on their knowledge of medical plants. But if their languages go extinct, valuable medical knowledge will be lost.

Forever.

Most of these language are spoken, not written. Many are not being passed to the next generation. Researchers analyzed thousands of medicinal species and applications that are associated with hundreds of indigenous languages. They found, for example, that threatened languages support over 86 percent of all unique knowledge in North America and Amazonia. But less than 5 percent of medicinal plant species are threatened. This means that losing a language will be more critical to the extinction of medicinal knowledge than losing the plant.

We need to save these threatened languages and document vital medicinal knowledge before it vanishes forever.

Original article:

Language Extinction Triggers Loss of Unique Medicinal Knowledge

Original studies:

Language extinction triggers the loss of unique medicinal knowledge

Espresso Knowledge #103 - How does witnessing a hate crime change you?

How does witnessing or hearing about hate crime change people's view on ethnic minorities?

Researchers found, for example, that people reporting second-hand information about hate crimes - which are often exaggerated and unreliable - were more likely to think negatively about migrants, exclude them from their communities, and wouldn't be too keen moving into a neighbourhood where new migrants lived. In fact, those who witness hate crime feel greater anger towards ethnic minorities, and are unlikely to step in to help when witnessing a hate crime.

Hate crimes are increasing in Australia. It's not good for social inclusion and diversity. Large-scale events like the Christchurch massacre, for example, evoked public sympathy and encouraged positive community action across Australia and globally. But it's the opposite with more localised incidents, which create negative emotions about migrant groups.

The work will help understand ways to reduce hate crime and encourage diversity and openness for everyone.

Original article:

Ripple effect: The social consequences of the ‘everyday’ hate crime

Original studies:

The vicarious effects of hate: inter-ethnic hate crime in the neighborhood and its consequences for exclusion and anticipated rejection

Espresso Knowledge #104 - History Can Help Conserve Tropical Forests

When Europeans arrived in the Americas during the 15th and 16th centuries, they brought colonial rule but also diseases that wiped out most local populations, many of whom were farmers.

The theory goes that fewer numbers of locals meant less land cultivation, and this could have caused forests to grow back.

A new study says we need to re-think this theory. Researchers studied how vegetation changed in areas in America and Asia Pacific under the Spanish Empire. They also compared how the relationship between local communities and nature changed before and after Spanish rule. Forests did grow back after local populations declined but only in very few cases. In fact, in many cases, Spanish land use policies made it difficult for forests to grow back. We need more research for clearer answers. 

But knowing how we interacted with our environment in the past will help conserver tropical ecosystems for the future.

Original article:

“Great Dying” did not lead to uniform forest regrowth

Original studies:

Non-uniform tropical forest responses to the ‘Columbian Exchange’ in the Neotropics and Asia-Pacific

Espresso Knowledge #102 - Changing burial practices wedged between environmental concerns and traditional religious beliefs

Our numbers are growing. Space is at a premium, and cities across the world are running out of land to bury their dead.

Researcher Natasha Mikles is asking - how is Japan, grappling with the tension between environmental needs and Buddhist religious beliefs?

Since 1999, a temple in northern Japan has offered tree burials - families place cremated remains in the ground and a tree, planted over the ashes, marks the gravesite. Those choosing tree burials are not necessarily Buddhist but the practice reflects Japanese Buddhism’s larger interest in environmental responsibility - unique among different Buddhist traditions.

Tree burials in Japan are a minority practice but are slowly becoming popular. Burial practices are slowly changing the world over.

What could this mean? Tree burials cost less than traditional practices. But it reflects the flexibility of religious and spiritual practices as they address environmental and social factors.

Original article:

Lack of burial space is changing age-old funeral practices, and in Japan ‘tree burials’ are gaining in popularity

Espresso Knowledge #101 - Cities! Do more to highlight diverse human-nature relationships in urban green spaces

Cities are growing - but so should urban nature for residents to access and enjoy.

But across the world, urban trees and parks are not easily accessible to everyone.

Cities are working to improve access to green spaces. But this may come at a cost of green gentrification - increased property values or displacing low-income, long-term residents.

To prevent this, researchers suggest engaging local residents in planning and stewardship. Urban green spaces reflect cultures that shape and control them.

For example, the many plum and cherry trees in Vancouver celebrate the city's rich Asian heritage.

But we need to do more to highlight the diverse relationships and responsibilities between communities and nature. For example, cultural tree modifications or ceremonial crop cultivations are rare in most urban parks in North America.

As the researchers point out, cities and residents should welcome diverse needs and perspectives into urban forestry.

Original article:

How cities can avoid ‘green gentrification’ and make urban forests accessible

Original studies:

“We're not in the business of housing:” Environmental gentrification and the nonprofitization of green infrastructure projects

Urban green equity on the ground: Practice-based models of urban green equity in three multicultural cities

Espresso Knowledge #100 - How do you encourage people to get vaccinated?

The US is offering economic incentives - for example, time off, free beer, college scholarships - to encourage people to get vaccinated against COVID19.

Herd immunity will be crucial in ending the pandemic.

But many are reluctant to get vaccines.

Researchers are suggesting two other ways to encourage people to get vaccinated because economic incentives don't always work - some people could interpret cash payments or lottery winnings as a signal that the vaccine is dangerous, perhaps reinforcing their own beliefs.

Try information campaigns - talk about results of clinical trials or explain how vaccines work. Invite people to watch informational videos, and then reward them with credits they can use at local stores.

Positive reinforcements could influence behaviour. Many post pictures on social media getting vaccinated. This peer pressure could help make others make the right choice. These aren't costly economic incentives, they help change habits and sometimes, have long term positive effects.

Original article:

Free beer, doughnuts and a $1 million lottery – how vaccine incentives and other behavioral tools are helping the US reach herd immunity

Espresso Knowledge #99 - Study reveals bias in federal funding for non-profits in Canada

Canada has one of the largest non-profit sectors in the world.

It relies on government funding, yet there is lack of transparency.

The State Funding for Social Movements project used access to information laws and other tools to obtain government funding information to shed some light.

We need to hold governments accountable and increase transparency where historically there has hardly been any.

The project found, for example, that government funding favours a small number of organizations. Between 2004 and 2014, over 50 per cent of federal, provincial, and municipal funding went to approximately four per cent of all recipients.

There is also a huge difference and bias in funding between provinces, municipalities, and cities across Canada.

Critically, many non-profits lack don't have sustainable funding.

The study is important especially now given the lack of charitable funding due to COVID19. Government funding will be essential, but we need transparency.

Original article:

Big data reveals inequities in federal funding for non-profits across Canada

Website:

State Funding for Social Movements

Espresso Knowledge #98 - There is a price to measuring time accurately

A new study has found that it costs energy to keep accurate time. 

Researchers built a simple clock and measured how accurate it was and how much energy it was consuming.

Like any other engine, the clock released part of the energy supplied to it as heat. When the researchers supplied more energy, the clock became more accurate, but at the cost of releasing more heat.

Thus, there is a price to measure time accurately.

So what does this tell us?

Clocks that are more accurate consume more energy than less accurate clocks. It also means that there is a limit to how accurate we can make our clocks - whether it be those used in GPS satellites or supercomputers, for example.

Like all other machines, clocks cannot escape one of the fundamental laws of nature - it is impossible to make a machine that is one hundred percent efficient with zero waste.

Original article:

Clocks that tell time more accurately use more energy – new research

Original study:

Measuring the Thermodynamic Cost of Timekeeping

Espresso Knowledge #97 - Online platform gives voice to para-athletes and raises awareness for disabilities and sports

Canada is slowly reopening amidst vaccinations and decreasing COVID19 cases.

But going back to normal will be not be easy for everyone.

Take people with disabilities engaged in sport or physical activities - they worry that instead of focusing on issues like accessibility, for example, recreation facilities will focus on simply surviving.

Project Echo is an online platform for such people to voice their concerns. At the pandemic's start, for example, they shared their worries about safety, social isolation and the frustrations of being unable to access physical activity.

Project Echo will help policy makers and service providers learn from the experiences of para-athletes and participants to improve accessibility and break down barriers.

Adam Purdy, Paralympic swimmer and double gold medalist in Sydney 2000, is working with Echo to encourage people to share their thoughts and raise awareness and support for people with disabilities keen on participating in sports and recreation.

Original article:

Amplifying the voices and needs of parasport participants

Website:

Project Echo

Espresso Knowledge #96 - Males of some species will become sterile because of high temperatures due to global warming

A new study concludes that males of some species will become sterile because of high temperatures due to global warming.

So far, researchers have focused on temperatures that could kill organisms, not temperatures at which organisms become sterile.

The study found that out of 43 fruit fly species, the males of almost half of the species became sterile at lower than lethal temperatures.

What is important is that scientists could predict more accurately the global distribution of fruit flies by including the temperature at which they become sterile, rather than just using their lethal temperature.

Right now, we don't have a way to tell which organisms will become sterile at what temperature and where they are found on Earth.

Many species will go extinct due to global warming sooner than later and this is going to be a major problem for conserving Earth's biodiversity.

Original article:

Infertility poses ‘major threat’ to biodiversity during climate change

Original study:

Temperatures that sterilize males better match global species distributions than lethal temperatures

Espresso Knowledge #95 - Universities! Don't cut archaeology courses - they are important!

United Kingdom plans to cut financial support for university archaeology courses by half.

Students, the government reasons, should study subjects that lead to jobs, not dead ends.

Archaeologist John Schofield tells us why the discipline is so important.

Archaeology is not only about the past - it uses evidence from the past to anticipate future problems and solutions. For example, historical agricultural techniques from Africa are guiding future farming practices in increasingly dry environments due to climate change.

Archaeology is important to national economy. In fact, a 2019 survey found that heritage tourism contributed 17 billion pounds to the UK economy, much of this driven by or related to archaeology.

Archaeology is fundamentally about people. In today's uncertain times, people should derive comfort knowing about our ancestors' resiliency in the face of odds -  archaeologists are central to providing this knowledge. This confidence will help us tackle challenges and shape stabler futures.

Original article:

Six reasons to save archaeology from funding cuts

Espresso Knowledge #94 - A map of rivers has gone viral and is raising environmental awareness

In 2019, water researcher Sukhmani Mantel created a map of rivers in southern Africa.

It went viral.

Two years on, people still download it and use it.

In fact, her survey showed that most people found the map so well drawn, coloured, and laid out that it opened their eyes to the vastness and beauty of southern Africa's rivers.  Instead of mere squiggles on a map, people began thinking of rivers as living, breathing structures, connected with one another.

Sukhmani hopes to use this public interest to raise awareness around conversation, pollution and biodiversity in the rivers of southern Africa.

It seems to be working - for example, she created a map - based on user requests - that shows the natural state of rivers and how seasons and human activities change it.

Sukhmani's river map is using public engagement in science to build bridges between governments, citizens and scientists to raise environmental awareness. 

Original article:

Maps can bridge gaps between citizens, scientists and policymakers

Espresso Knowledge #93 - Global grass database offers food solutions amidst climate change

Researchers compiled a global database of grass blade sizes, the climates they grow in, and their evolutionary history.

One-third of Earth’s surface is covered by over 11,000 grass species — including wheat, corn, and rice, which are important crops and sources of biofuel.

The work will help improve agriculture and increase our knowledge of climate change. For example, smaller grass blades dominate in arid and cold environments. Narrow leaved grasses with high numbers of veins can better tolerate drier conditions expected in the future. Researchers also made thousands of measurements of grass veins. These distribute nutrients and water that leaves need to convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into sugar. Using computer models, researchers found that smaller grass blades have more large veins packed together, and can better resist drought and freezing.

The study suggests focusing on breeding grass varieties with smaller leaves and larger veins to better survive cold and drought.

Original article:

Size of grass blades offers better understanding of their vulnerability to climate change

Original study:

Developmental and biophysical determinants of grass leaf size worldwide

Espresso Knowledge #92 - Past success stories coping with climate change hold lessons for future

How did past populations cope with climate change?

New research combining climate data, archaeology, palaeontology, geography and history shows that it did not always end in crises and societal collapse. This more realistic understanding of the past helps us prepare for the future as climate change effects intensify.

For example, researchers studied effects of climate change that began in the fifth century and lasted till the seventh on Roman-occupied Eastern Mediterranean. Pollen data and archaeological surveys show that agriculture thrived due to increased rainfall. Many settlements grew and so did economic trade between communities. Elites financed dam construction and other infrastructure allowing farmers to manage water more effectively.

The work shows how a well-organized and resourceful society adapted and exploited new opportunities.The current magnitude of climate change will require us to adapt at larger, more ambitious scales.

But as the past shows, it can be done.

Original article:

Learning from past climate changes

Original study:

Towards a Rigorous Understanding of Societal Responses to Climate Change

Espresso Knowledge #91 - New Zealand's handwriting and spelling education needs a revision

Low scores by New Zealand's students in recent international tests of literacy have prompted a rethink of the country's curriculum.

Educator Christine Braid thinks that teaching handwriting and spelling may come in handy. Teaching these basic skills is often marginalized but unless these foundations are developed, children often struggle with more complex tasks of constructing paragraphs and texts. Older children struggling with composition also struggle with handwriting.

Some question the use of handwriting and spelling in today's digital age and spellcheckers. But we still use both for everyday tasks. Baird notes that the easier it is to put words on a page, the easier it is for writers to compose ideas into sentences.

But there is hope.

New teaching strategies and books around spelling and reading are being introduced in schools. However, teacher training will need to be updated to ensure success for the next generation of New Zealand's citizens.

Original article:

Has a gap in old-school handwriting and spelling tuition contributed to NZ’s declining literacy scores?

Espresso Knowledge #90 - An endangered bird species is forgetting its songs and is dying out

A population crash to fewer than 300 is breaking apart the song culture of a bird species.

In healthy populations, adult male regent honeyeaters have long, complex songs. But in small populations, the song is diminished. Often, the birds adopt songs of other species. It makes males less attractive to females. No mating means population extinction in a few years.

Researchers have monitored the critically endangered nectar feeding songbird since 2015. Extensive postwar land clearing has destroyed their habitat, causing populations to plummet. Could captive-breeding programs help restore the population? Researchers showed that captive-bread birds had shorter, simpler songs compared to their wild counterparts, and this could affect their breeding success.

Apart from conservation and addressing climate change, the study urges us to preserve important animal cultures like singing but also migration routes and feeding strategies to prevent future extinctions of Earth's wildlife.

Original article:

Only the lonely: an endangered bird is forgetting its song as the species dies out

Original study:

Loss of vocal culture and fitness costs in a critically endangered songbird

Espresso Knowledge #89 - AI + economic data tracks climate change impacts on countries' credit ratings

Many national economies will downgrade within a decade unless we reduce emissions.

Researchers used artificial intelligence to simulate economic effects of climate change on the creditworthiness for 108 countries over the next ten, thirty, fifty, and hundred years. 

The study is the first to understand long-term climate change impacts on sovereign and corporate debt.

Climate change will eventually batter national economies. Markets need credible, accessible information on how climate change creates economic risk and how best to protect against it. The study's projections are extremely conservative as it tracks a straight temperature rise. Taking extreme weather events into account, economic downgrades and associated economic costs increase greatly. In fact, if unchecked, virtually all countries, rich or poor, hot or cold, will be downgraded by 2100.

We must adhere to the Paris Agreement. Stringent climate policy will significantly reduce impact on ratings.

Original article:

THE FIRST CLIMATE SMART SOVEREIGN CREDIT RATINGS

Original study:

Rising Temperatures, Falling Ratings: The Effect of Climate Change on Sovereign Creditworthiness

Espresso Knowledge #88 - Yes, you can bullshit a bullshitter.

Frequent bullshitters often can't identify it themselves.

The new research also shows that frequent BSers are much more likely to fall for fake news. The work will help understand how misinformation spreads and ways to combat it.

Researchers defined bullshit as information designed to impress, persuade, or otherwise mislead people that is often constructed without concern for truth. Persuasive bullshitters mislead, exaggerate and embellish to impress, persuade, or fit in with others. Evasive bullshitters give irrelevant, evasive responses in times when being frank may hurt feelings or harm reputations.

Study participants self-reported how often they BSed and how they rated the accuracy of fake news headlines. They also completed behaviour and cognitive tests. No matter their behavioural or cognitive skills, persuasive bullshitters often mistook superficiality for depth.  If something sounded profound, truthful or accurate, to them, that means it really was. Evasive bullshitters were better at making this distinction.

Original article:

Research shows that people who BS are more likely to fall for BS

Original study:

‘You can’t bullshit a bullshitter’ (or can you?): Bullshitting frequency predicts receptivity to various types of misleading information

Espresso Knowledge #87 - Legume trees change soil chemistry and microbiology to help trees grown in nutrient poor soil

Legume trees change soil chemistry and microbiology to increase access to nutrients and support growth for themselves and other trees.

A new study helps understand how these trees protect tropical forests and help in sustainable reforestation. Based on this work, researchers and policy-makers can develop more effective ways to reforest nutrient-poor degraded land and help mitigate climate change.

The trees acidify the soil on which they grow, and alter its carbon and nitrogen quantities. These changes make it easier for soil microbes to access nutrients. Researchers used genomic sequencing to discover that altered soil chemistry and the interaction between trees and soil bacteria kickstarts into action bacteria that break down rocks and extract nutrients like phosphorous and iron which are crucial for tree growth.

Legume trees also have bacteria living inside their roots that take fresh nitrogen from the atmosphere and supply it to nutrient-poor soils and surrounding trees.

Original article:

Legume trees support tropical forest growth by releasing nutrients from ancient soils

Original study:

Legume–microbiome interactions unlock mineral nutrients in regrowing tropical forests

Espresso Knowledge #86 - Sustainable Development Goals will have mixed impacts on forests

Sustainable Development Goals are United Nation's global targets to improve our society and environment.

New research shows that reaching these goals will have mixed impacts on forests. Researchers studied hundreds of papers on development goals. Goals of improved peace, good health, and quality education will impact forests positively.

But others like creating new roads, industries and infrastructure, will impact negatively. Other damaging impacts include efforts to combat Colombia's cocaine problem crime. Eradicating coca crops forced people to move their activities elsewhere or switch to even more damaging agricultural practices.

Beneficial impacts are more numerous than damaging ones, but are less well understood. Identifying and understanding these will help capitalize on positive ones. Agriculture, energy, transport, and forest sectors must work together to avoid negative consequences.

Forests help fight climate change and prevent soil erosion. Over a billion people live near forests, and millions depend on it for fuel, food and timber.

Original article:

How global sustainable development will affect forests

Original study:

Consequences of recreational hunting for biodiversity conservation and livelihoods