Monthly Archives: March 2021

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Gov. Tony Evers signed a $4.7 million contract to rehabilitate several structures over I-43 at the Hillside Interchange. Work is to begin March 29.

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Marquette Interchange in downtown Milwaukee(Photo: Mike De Sisti and Jim Nelson)

Work is scheduled to begin March 29 on several structures over Interstate 43 at the Hillside Interchange, just north of the Marquette Interchange.

Gov. Tony Evers announced Friday signing a$4.7 million contract for the work. ContractorZenith TechInc.will implement thin polymer overlays to seal and protect 11 structures mostly over I-43 andconcrete bridge decks,painting of the 12th Street bridge over Fond du Lac Avenue, and rehabilitation work inside the Kilbourn Avenue tunnels, Department of Transportation spokesman Dan Sellers said.

The work will be completed at night and most structures will have overnight lane closures but will reopen each morning. The bridges for Wells Street, State Street and Winnebago Street will be fully closed overnight.

Work on the 12th Street bridge will require a long-term closure from mid-April until mid-June. There will be a full closure of both Kilbourn Avenue tunnels from late-March until late July.

Construction is scheduled for completion by the fall.

Contact Drake Bentley at (414) 722-3811orDBentley1@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @drake_bentley.

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March 20, 2021, 8:30 p.m.

March 21, 2021, 2:23 p.m.

March 19, 2021, 9:36 p.m.

March 20, 2021, 6:05 p.m.

March 19, 2021, 4:50 p.m.

March 19, 2021, 9:50 p.m.

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Construction on bridges over I-43 at the Hillside Interchange set to begin - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The latest news is bound to exasperate potential tourists thinking of visiting Thailand after October 1st as Fridays announcement has created more confusion than clarity as to what will happen after that date. The government has also announced shorter quarantine periods from April 1st with 10 days for unvaccinated visitors and 7 days for those with vaccine certificates.

An announcement by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration on Friday that Thailand is to reopen to tourists from October 1st next without quarantine has been tempered somewhat after it was revealed by the body that bubble and seal measures will be deployed at tourist destinations and transport facilities after that date.

On Friday, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration confirmed that Thailand will be reopening for foreign tourists without quarantine from October 1st.

However, Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin of the CCSA explained that the kingdoms authorities would be deploying close observation devices thought to mean tracking apps and what he termed bubble and seal measures which will be in force at airports, tourist destinations and communities nearby.

It is not clear what these measures entail as of yet. However, Thai public health officials have used the term bubble and seal in relation to measures recently to curb the Covid-19 infection rate within the hard-hit Samut Sakhon province. These involved confining workers to factories for extended periods.

At the time, Deputy Spokesman at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Natapanu Nopakun referred to this as providing accommodation to workers within factories and preventing them from leaving the premises.

In the last 48 hours, Thailand announced that the outbreak in Samut Sakhon has been brought under control and that it is no longer a Red Zone for the infection, the last such designation within the country caused by the second wave of the virus.

Dr Taweesilp also announced that from April 1st to September 30th, quarantine on arrival would be reduced from 14 days to 10 days to incoming passengers without a vaccine certificate and Covid-19 free certificate.

The visitor would still be subject to Covid-19 testing during this period with one test for those with a Covid-19 free certificate on entry and two for those without.

It is also proposed that quarantine within hotels for such visitors be eased to allow hotels guests access to certain amenities including gyms and swimming pools.

Guests will also be allowed access to controlled areas in their locality for exercise and shopping.

From July 1st to September 30th, this flexibility will be extended to include hotel restaurants and hotel massage facilities.

Dr Taweesilp confirmed that the quarantine period for people with a vaccine certificate will be scaled back to 7 days from April 1st with one or two tests after arrival depending on whether they arrive with a Covid-19 free certificate or not.

Following last Tuesdays inoculation of the Thai cabinet and the Prime Minister at Government House, General Prayut took many observers by surprise by reversing government policy and easing access to vaccine products for the private sector and groups wishing to vaccinate local employees or community.

He signalled a more robust and confident approach to handling the vaccination process similar to the successful strategy undertaken in the United Kingdom where over 24 million people have already been vaccinated and 1.6 million have received a second dose.

We urge the Public Health Ministry to allow hospitals to import Covid-19 vaccines without waiting for the governments approval, as we aim to vaccinate 10 million people per month, said General Prayut.

The success in the United Kingdom has been achieved by opening up the programme to the private sector including the involvement of supermarket chains and making vaccine doses as easy as possible for the public to access through the countrys NHS or National Health Service which operates all hospitals.

The announcement by Prime Minister Prayut this week was a direct reversal of emergency regulations issued by the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Public Health to control access to the vaccine some weeks ago.

This order prohibited any foreign manufacturer from discussing the sale of vaccine products with customers in Thailand except the central government and banned importation by such parties.

Amidst the flurry of announcements today, there is still the key question of the system being operated via Royal Thai Embassies worldwide where visitors must obtain a Certificate of Entry to visit Thailand and emergency provisions regulating commercial air flights into the kingdom.

The laborious and tortuous nature of the process will certainly continue to hinder Thailands prospects of achieving foreign tourist numbers at anything like the scale seen in previous years.

The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration today announced another extension of the emergency decree until May 31st which governs such provisions.

There had been speculation that the Emergency Decree may expire before a full reopening on October 1st but todays announcement regarding bubble and seal measures being deployed at tourist destinations appears to suggest otherwise although such measures may be possible under the 2015 Communicable Disease Act which allows for local quarantine measures.

The governments quarantine measures have been disastrous for the foreign tourism industry in Thailand.

The current controlled and highly restrictive regime saw a loss of 99.8% in visitor numbers in January this year compared to last.

A survey by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) last year also showed that 84% of potential foreign tourists would rule out any location which specifies any quarantine measures.

Pending clarification of the bubble and seal measures proposed by the government, todays announcement will be a disappointment to many foreign tourists, especially from western countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Europe and Australia planning their return to the Land of Smiles at the end of the year.

PM signals a policy change to allow broader and easier private sector access to Covid-19 vaccines

PM leads the way as Thailand aims to return to normal by pushing forward its vaccine drive using AstraZeneca

Phuket could be open again to mass foreign tourism by July 1st says Tourism Minister Phiphat

Proposal to ease quarantine sent to government from the Public Health Ministry committee on Monday

Minister urged not to be afraid to borrow in 2021 as fears grow for a quick foreign tourism revival

Thailand to reopen to big fish tourists as a cryptocurrency friendly haven says promotion agency boss

Vaccination campaign begins in early morning jab event but hopes for more foreign tourists set back

Economy to rebound as the year progresses driven by exports and a return of mass foreign tourism

Door closing on quick foreign tourism return as economic recovery is delayed to the end of 2022

Industry leaders and central bank all warn that foreign tourism must return to avoid a collapse

Refloat of foreign tourism in the 2nd half of 2021 with vaccines pushed by minister and industry for the sector

Fact only 6,556 visitors arrived in Thailand last month compared to 3.95 million in December 2019

Desperate foreign tourism business concerns are clinging to straws as they try to survive the crisis

Strict entry criteria to remain as officials await clarity on the medical status of vaccinated people

Challenge of the virus and closure to tourism leads to major long term changes in the Thai economy

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Now government health officials announce bubble and seal measures after October 1st - ThaiExaminer.com

All this oil is separated from the water with just a few lip seals. In the case of any leakage, the environmental impact will be huge. What if fishing lines damage your seal and cause a propulsion shaft seal leakage in the middle of the ocean?

Conventional propulsion shaft seals always have a small consumption of oil. Oil pollution will take place if you dont have a sealing system that ensures zero emissions of oil. If you care about the environment, a zero-emissions propulsion shaft seal is a possible solution.

The maritime industry is well on its way to a greener and more sustainable fleet. The main goal is to minimise the environmental impact of all vessels worldwide. The Fleet Transition Plan shows the ambition to reduce carbon intensity of its controlled fleet to 50% by 2030, compared to the level of 2008. Still, if we dont take more drastic measures, emissions will increase between 50% and 250% by 2050 under a business-as-usual scenario, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Its clear that we need to make more changes to ensure a greener fleet, minimising the footprint and being more eco-friendly. How could the propulsion systems of your vessels contribute to reach this goal?

Modernise your fleet and reduce oil emissions

Lagersmit has initiated and experienced a changing demand from its customers over the years. The transition from conventional propulsion shaft seals to air-type sealing systems is most striking. Ensuring zero emissions of oil is key and has the full attention of shipowners. Lagersmit is fully dedicated to supporting customers with the transition towards a more sustainable fleet, said Jan Willem Bongers, Sales Manager at Lagersmit.

Retrofitting your propulsion shaft seal with our eco-friendly Supreme SeaGuard Ventus shaft seal has never been easier. Our Supreme SeaGuard Ventus is a proven concept which is already installed on hundreds of vessels worldwide.

As dedicated shaft seal experts, we have developed a powerful solution which guarantees zero emissions of oil. At the same time, this prevents water from mixing with the oil. The Supreme SeaGuard Ventus is an intelligent, durable and self-regulating sealing solution for any type of vessel. A constant air flow prevents an oil-to-water interface and drains any leakage into a monitoring tank. With the Supreme SeaGuard Ventus seal you can continue to sail with mineral oils and ensure zero emissions.

Benefits of the Supreme SeaGuard Ventus sealing system:

Learn more about our self-regulating sealing solutions.

Monitor the condition of your vessels propulsion system to optimise efficiency

Another way to reduce your environmental footprint is to monitor the condition of your seal, by keeping a close eye on the condition of the seal and by intervening in time if things go wrong. This is where you can make the difference in terms of minimising your environmental footprint. The Supreme (SeaGuard) Ventus can monitor several vital functions of the seal and stern tube system.

The importance is obvious: operational feedback prevents surprises and ensures a stable performance of the propulsion system. The Supreme (SeaGuard) Ventus system ensures 24/7 feedback on: bearing clearance, temperatures and oil or water leakage drains into the vessel. This is what we call 100% intelligence.

Use EAL oil

EAL means lubricants that are biodegradable, non-bio accumulative and minimally toxic.

Changes, like the Vessel General Permit (VGP) and Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA), banish all mineral oil-to-water interfaces.

If you want to sail with an EAL, you have to check the compatibility of the EAL with the rubber compound of the seal. You can fit your propulsion shaft seal with Supreme FKM EAL lip seals, which are compatible with biodegradable oils.

With more than 160 years of experience in maritime solutions, weve seen a change in propulsion shaft seal demand. Multiple customers have already made the switch from mineral oils to EALs to meet the VGP/VIDA requirements. After years of sailing with EALs, customers want to switch back to mineral oils with air-type sealing systems due to performance issues. EALs are more expensive, which has led to a huge increase in total cost of ownership compared to mineral oils. Whether you choose to sail your vessel with EALs or with mineral oils and the air-type sealing systems, Lagersmit is here to help you!

Lagersmit, the Origin of Sealing Solutions. Get in touch for more information about our products or a no-obligation quotation.

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How do you achieve a more eco-friendly propulsion system and minimise the footprint of your vessel? - Riviera Maritime Media

As we approach the celebration of Passover, we recite the story of the first known mass liberation and exodus of hundreds of thousands of slaves in human history. We Jews are therefore reminded to treat the downtrodden and homeless with respect, because we were once slaves.

The Passover seder is one of the most widely observed religious rites among Jews, and it is increasingly shared with non-Jews, even at the White House. The Last Supper of Jesus, immortalized in Da Vincis painting showcased in Milan, Italy, after all was a seder. But Passovers tale of liberation has been universalized into the human quest for liberation.

This is the theme of Michael Walzers Exodus and Revolution, published in 1985.As professor emeritus of Princetons Institute of Advanced Study, he was struck by how Black churches used the story of Exodus to motivate the quest for freedom in the Jim Crow South, through sermons and gospel songs such as Let My People Go. He writes: Wherever people know the Bible, and experience oppression, the Exodus has sustained their spirits and (sometimes) inspired their resistance. Seventeenth-century Puritans in England and the Bay Colony of Massachusetts, Black Baptist churches in the 1960s, and Roman Catholic revolutionaries in Latin America all have used the Exodus story to seek political power and liberation. Even in Americas own revolution, the exodus story loomed large, when a founding father, Benjamin Franklin, suggested using the parting of the Red Sea as our national seal. And the secular Zionist leaders used the liberation motif in the founding of the Jewish State after two millennia of exile from freedom.

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Just last week, this theme was highlighted by the premier of the film Liberation Heroes: the Last Eyewitnesses, which was part of the JCC MetroWests New Jersey Jewish Film Festival. The film featured the testimony of U.S. soldiers who liberated concentration camps in Germany. The producer is Andy Friendly, whose father, Fred Friendly, later an executive with CBS News, witnessed the horrors inflicted on their victims by the Germans, and the inhumane conditions the starving survivors faced.

The film showed footage of Supreme Commander Dwight Eisenhower and Generals Omar Bradley and George Patton leading troops and German civilians to bear witness to the carnage wrought by the Germans. GI eyewitnesses featured in the film included Jews, Christians, and a Japanese and an African-American, the latter two fighting for freedom even as their relatives were either incarcerated or suffered segregation in the Jim Crow South back home.

I had the pleasure of moderating a session with the producer, Mr. Friendly; Ari Zev, a former executive of the USC Shoah Foundation, which has so ably provided documentation of the Holocaust and other genocides; and the indefatigable Alan Moskin, a decorated sergeant who served in Pattons 3rd Army. A Jewish native of Englewood, Moskin recounted the horrors he encountered when he and his fellow soldiers liberated the Gunskirchen concentration camp in Germany. He encountered the dead, whom he helped bury, and the living skeletons among the undead. Many of those who were liberated died shortly afterward from malnutrition and disease. And Moskin was a member of the Army of Occupation, running the many displaced person camps throughout Europe, where my parents lived and my brother was born.

Thanks to the efforts of Sarah Diamond, director of the New jersey Jewish Film Festival, and Lisa Melamud, we introduced Alan to Martin Baranek, a survivor liberated by Moskins unit. This reunion was both emotional and inspirational. Moskin was only five years older than Baranek, who was astonished to learn that his liberator was much younger than had thought. But Moskin reminded him that he was only 18 years old when he learned such a grievous lesson at such a young age of the power of unabated evil. Baraneks story was captured in Melamuds biography, Determined: One Boys Holocaust Story.

Even apart from its emotional impact, the power of Liberation Heroes is that it serves as another source of documentation that cannot be discounted by unfounded claims of bias or partiality by Holocaust deniers. It also serves as a counterweight against celebrity anti-Semites on Twitter, who were condemned by NBA great Kareem Abdul Jabbar, who invoked his fathers role in liberating Jews from their camps.

But Martin and hundreds of thousands of survivors were not the only ones who were liberated. Martin has three children, nine grandchildren, one great grandchild, and another on the way. Because so many survivors still believed in a future for themselves and the Jewish people, they had among the largest birthrates during the post-war period. Steven Spielbergs epilogue in his brilliant film Schindler List displayed the hundreds of descendants made possible by Schindlers heroism.

So the liberation of Moskins army did not liberate only the survivors but also provided the pathway for future generations not yet born, including yours truly.

The story of liberation endures forever.

Max Kleinman of Fairfield was the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest from 1995 to 2014 and he is the president of the Fifth Commandment Foundation.

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Liberation endures forever - The Jewish Standard

Kochi: The BJP candidates, whose nominations were rejected by electoral officers, approached the high court. The petition will be considered on Sunday at 2 in the afternoon.

The last date for withdrawing nomination is Monday. Once the deadline is over, the returning officer will release the list of candidates. After this, they can continue the battle through election petition only. With this, BJP requested the Chief Justice to consider the petition urgently though it is holiday.

BJP candidates will argue in the court that the returning officer violated the rules. Seal and other details were included on the nomination papers. The forms containing the signatures of state and national presidents of the party are important only when the symbols are allotted. So, the nominations were rejected on technical issues only.

As this is legally incorrect, both candidates should be granted permission to contest the polls. BJP candidates in Guruvayur and Thalassery will approach the high court raising this issue. However, the supreme court had earlier ordered that any objections regarding the decision of returning officer can be raised only through election petition.

The nominations of BJP candidates in Thalassery, Guruvayur and Devikulam constituencies were rejected the other day. There were no dummy candidates for BJP in Thalassery and Guruvayur. With this, the NDA will have no candidate in these constituencies in the election.

BJP Kannur district president Haridas filed nomination in Thalassery and Mahila Morcha state president Adv Niveditha in Guruvayur. In Devikulam, nomination of AIDMK candidate Dhanalakshmi who is contesting with support of NDA was rejected as the papers were incomplete. NDA decided to field independent candidate S Ganeshan as their official candidate.

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BJP candidates approach HC against rejection of nomination - Mathrubhumi English

NASAs Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image using its onboard left Navigation Camera (Navcam) on March 7, the same day the rovers microphone recorded the sounds of driving. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASAs Perseverance rover has recorded the crunching, rattling sound of its six metallic wheels rolling across Mars.

Perseverance carries the first microphones ever sent to Mars, and the mission already beamed back sounds of Martian winds and audio of one of the rovers instruments firing a laser at a rock.

The microphone that recorded the sounds of driving was supposed to capture audio during Perseverances landing inside Marss Jezero Crater on Feb. 18. But the recording was lost due to malfunction in a system that was programmed to digitize the audio for storage on the rovers computer.

Nevertheless, the microphone is still functional, and NASA released an audio clip a few days after landing of a wind gust on the surface of Mars. It was the first recording of natural sound from another planet.

Now NASA has released another audio recording captured as the rover drove across Martian soil.

The rovers aluminum wheels are about 20.7 inches (52.5 centimeters) in diameter. The six wheels have cleats for traction and titanium spokes for springy support, NASA says.

A lot of people, when they see the images, dont appreciate that the wheels are metal, said Vandi Verma, a senior engineer and rover driver at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. When youre driving with these wheels on rocks, its actually very noisy.

NASA released two versions of the audio one 90-second file edited and processed to filter out background noise, and another 16-minute clip with raw, unfiltered sound. The short and long versions are posted below.

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If I heard these sounds driving my car, Id pull over and call for a tow, said Dave Gruel, lead engineer for Mars 2020s EDL Camera and Microphone subsystem. But if you take a minute to consider what youre hearing and where it was recorded, it makes perfect sense.

Perseverance recorded the sounds during a 90-foot (27.3-meter) drive March 7, according to NASA. The rovers top speed is a little less than 0.1 mph, or about 152 meters per hour.

The longer, raw audio clip includes a high-pitched scratching noise. The origin of the sound remains a mystery.

Perseverances engineering team continues to evaluate the source of the scratching noise, which may either be electromagnetic interference from one of the rovers electronics boxes or interactions between the mobility system and the Martian surface, NASA said in a statement. The EDL microphone was not intended for surface operations and had limited testing in this configuration before launch.

Sounds travel much differently on Mars than on Earth. The Martian atmosphere is less than 1 percent the thickness of Earths atmosphere at sea level, and is primarily made up of carbon dioxide, not nitrogen and oxygen.

Last week, scientists working on the rovers SuperCam instrument released an audio recording from a different microphone on the Perseverance rover.

The SuperCam instrument, developed in partnership between U.S. and French scientists, is designed to measure the composition of rocks using cameras, a laser, spectrometers, and a microphone.

The microphone on the SuperCam instrument is an aid for scientists to understand the physical properties of Martian rocks and soils.

This is a very important technique in order to determine the hardness of samples, said Naomi Murdoch, a SuperCam team member from theInstitut Suprieur de l Aronautique et de lEspace in Toulouse, France.

One of the primary goals of the $2.7 billion Perseverance rover mission is to gather, seal, and cache samples on Mars for retrieval by a robotic return mission in the late 2020s.Data from SuperCam can help identify organic molecules the building blocks of life and help ground teams determine which rocks Perseverance should drill and sample for return to Earth.

Ground teams hope to use Perseverances microphones in the future to record the sound of the roversdrill coring out the rock specimens.

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.

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Perseverance rover records sounds of driving on Mars Spaceflight Now - Spaceflight Now

The BDN Editorial Board operates independently from the newsroom, and does not set policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or onbangordailynews.com.

In 1869, businessman Oliver Frost predicted that the time may soon arrive when the three great cities of North America Bangor, New York, and San Francisco shall be representatives of the wealth, population, intelligence, and enterprise of the eastern, central and western divisions of our country.

Bangor and San Francisco have not easily been confused since then, with a notable and entertaining exception.

News of German brewery worker Erwin Kreuz, who accidentally had a two-week layover in Bangor on what was supposed to be a visit to San Francisco, made the wayward traveler an almost immediate local celebrity in October of 1977. The Bangor Daily News first reported about his trip, and how Kreuz initially spent several days in Bangor thinking he was in the San Francisco area after disembarking his plane during a refueling stop, mistakenly thinking he was at his final destination. The realization that he wasnt where he meant to be, and the way Kreuz and this city embraced each other, became a national story and part of Bangor legend.

As far as travel mistakes go, this one turned out rather well. Kreuz was given the key to the city, became an honorary member of the Penobscot Nation and the Old Town Rotary Club, met Gov. James Longley and Andre the Seal, and had his birthday party at the venue of his choice (McDonalds). He might as well have been king of the Queen City.

If Kennedy can say I am a Berliner, then I can say, I am a Bangor, Kreuz said after returning to Germany, in praise of his new American friends. A third and final trip to Bangor didnt result in the employment opportunities Kreuz was hoping for, but a BDN report at the time said he will always carry with him the warm memories of friends he made in Bangor, Maine.

This is one of those feel-good stories with staying power. The BDN has revisited it several times over the years, including last fall. Across the country, in Kreuzs intended destination that he eventually made it to, San Francisco publication SFGATE also had a recent retelling of Kreuzs journey.

I think people really bought into the fun of it, and they didnt make fun of him. They really embraced him, Bangor historian Richard Shaw told the BDN in October of 2020. I think it says a lot about Mainers. He took to us, and we took to him.

He took to us, and we took to him.

This is a fun story, and when we started writing this editorial, we intended to keep it strictly fun, too. That changed, however, with the disturbing news out of Portland on Tuesday that a man allegedly harassed a woman and damaged her vehicle because she is of Asian descent. Disgusting attacks like this have been happening around the country.

According to police, the victim said the man yelled at her to go back to where she came from (for all we know, she may have spent her whole life in Maine) before he kicked and broke her driver side mirror. Her children were in the vehicle.

The man has been charged with criminal mischief and police are investigating the incident as a hate crime. Portland Police Chief Frank Clark said the attack cuts directly against everything we stand for in the city of Portland. That should be the reaction across the state.

As far as were aware, people didnt tell Kreuz to go back to where he came from. Instead, they gave him the key to the city. Mainers today can hold off on all that pomp and circumstance, but lets treat our neighbors and visitors with the same welcoming spirit that Kreuz experienced.

Call it a Kreuz Rule, under which we embrace people who are different from us and welcome them with open arms, like we would a lost German tourist. This shouldnt apply only to endearing folk heroes who find themselves here by accident, but also to the people who make a decision to come here and be part of Maines future, and to the people who are already here but might not look like many other Mainers in one of Americas whitest states.

If we can welcome the German brewery worker who came here by accident, surely we can continue to welcome the Congolese refugee or the Filipino immigrant who came here on purpose. And surely we can treat our neighbors of color with basic respect and dignity.

View original post here:

EDITORIAL: Welcome everyone as if they are lost German tourists - Bangor Daily News

Ian Shive documents seabirds.Photo: Ian Shive/discovery+

Photographer and filmmaker Ian Shive is known for documenting remote locations, and it doesnt get much more remote than the Aleutian Islands. The chain of 2,500 islands jut off the coast of mainland Alaska and form a 1,200-mile (1,931-kilometer) arc in the Bering Sea. They are one of the most inaccessible, wild places in the world. Shive documented them in his latest special, The Last Unknown, which dropped on Discovery+ this week.

The archipelago formed tens of thousands of years ago when two tectonic plates met, pushing molten rock to the Earths surface and creating volcanoes that are part of the Ring of Fire. Today, there are 14 large volcanoes on the islands and 55 smaller ones. The islands are home to Indigenous communities who have resided there for generations, as well as a rich diversity of species, including orca whales, porpoises, sea otters, sea lions, seals, and tens of millions of seabirds. The islands are protected by their isolation, and also by their designation by the Fish and Wildlife Service as an Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.

The only way to get to the Aleutian Islands is by boat, so to document the region, Shive and a group of FWS scientists spent weeks (split over two summers) on a research vessel, sailing around the archipelago. The result is a rugged, adventurous documentary that provides an up-close look at a rarely seen locale. Shive and his crew, for instance, were the first to ever film at the Bogoslof, a volatile active volcano where one of the largest northern fur seal colonies in the world reside. The crew also captured the first-ever high-definition footage of the military relicslike fox holes and a B-24 bomber plane left on the islands when Japanese armed forces occupied two of the islands for one year during World War II.

The film, which is part of the show Nature in Focus, is full of stunning footage and serene, quiet moments, but is equally rife with adventure. Its parts David Attenborough movie and 1990s Kratt Brothers TV show for kids. You can stream it now on Discovery+.

G/O Media may get a commission

Earther spoke with Shive this week to learn more about the film. This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

Earther: What makes the Aleutian archipelago so special?

Ian Shive: Well, the archipelago is interesting because I think it gets often really overlooked. Alaska has cruise ships, Denali National Park, and the Kenai Peninsula, I mean its just a magnificent state. But the Aleutians, I think, somehow are always missed a little bit. For me, it was super appealing to say, hey heres this other place that I can explore.

The topography of the place is also really, really different. Its volcanic. Theres over 80 volcanoes that make up the northern edge of the Ring of Fire, so on the Aleutian Islands, you get an unusual mix of landscapes that you wont see in those other well-known other parts of Alaska.

Because theyre volcanic, theyre constantly in flux. So, theres 2,500 islands and theyre all mapped out, as we learned on the boat, theres a lot of islands that are newly reshaped. And some might even be completely new and are just popping out. Or there may be one island that soon might be two islands. Theres a lot of changes and a lot of dynamics happening geologically, that make it very exciting.

Earther: Could you talk more about that dynamism of the region? The film makes it clear that the islands change a lot. Do we know how much of those are based on healthy, natural processes, and how much of it is because of changes caused by humans?

Shive: One of the points of these expeditions is to try and assess the health of wildlife populations which are a broader indication of the health of their ecosystems, and then also of the health of the oceans and the global health of the climate. And you cant just make one trip to find that out.

From this trip and my other trips, Ive learned that nature is very intricate and complex, and that the details that indicate whether something is doing well or not doing well arent always obvious to us. One of the things we were looking at on this trip to the Aleutian Islands is creating long-term datasets, going to the same few spots year after year after year, because thats where trends emerge. Its the trends that really give us a good picture of whats going on in environment.

The seabirds of the Aleutian Islands are probably greatest indicator of the health of the whole ecosystem because they rely on the ocean for their food and also because theres millions of them in this protected area, in the national wildlife refuge. And so, by going to this place and seeing how the seabirds are doing, were able to get millions of samples that say, heres how this is doing.

In terms of the impact of outside society, during World War II, when some crafts landed on the island, they brought some rats with them.

Earther: Wild!

Shive: Yeah, and rats eat bird eggs so they can decimate current populations. A decade before we went out there, a team of people went out and tried to eradicate the rats. But we didnt know if it worked, until now. We went back to these wayward ships and on one island, we did discover that it was successful, that the rats are gone at least where we went.

But to get rid of rats on a remote island is an incredibly difficult thing, and so were trying to learn what kind of impacts we had on these places whether we realize it or not. Theres the big things like climate change that are affecting ecosystems everywhere and all the other challenges facing the oceans, but theres also those kinds of local things.

Earther: The islands are protected by the U.S. government. What do those protections afford them? What else could be done to protect the Aleutians?

Shive: The majority of the Aleutian Islands are protected by the federal government. Their designation is as a national wildlife refuge. Unlike a national park, where its the preservation for future generations of people thats important and given priority, wildlife refuges are wildlife first. So its not about human experience, its about making sure that were protecting wildlife, and that were taking this incredibly vital habitat, and ensuring that the wildlife are able to continue nesting and breeding and doing all the things that they rely on these places to do.

Unlike other places Ive been, though, they dont have an overlying protection. Theyre not protected as a marine national monument, for instance. In the past, there have been some proposals to extend protections further out. Like, could we protect not just most of the islands and some of the surrounding waters, but a much larger swath of surrounding waters to ensure that the whole ecosystem is afforded all of those protections? I think thats something thats really interesting to be explored.

That said, the refuge is not only protected by its designation, but unlike a lot of other places in the U.S., its also protected by remote isolation. Getting out into the Bering Sea is hard. That gives these islands a certain level of protection, just by the sheer nature of of where theyre located.

But then again, a lot of the species that rely on the islands are migratory. Theyre a really important stop for migrating birds. Even though there may be nesting there or breeding there, they may be travelling from other places that arent protected, and those other places could be affecting their health. The fur seals, for example, spend time in the Aleutians in the Bogoslof volcano where we filmed. But they are also connected to continental states like California. They may travel 3,000 miles (4,828 kilometers) to Los Angeles during migration. I live in Los Angeles. Its a wild thought that I was that far away in one of the most remote places on Earth on an active volcano looking at a fur seal, and that I may have seen that same seal on a beach in Malibu. All of these different worlds are with our everyday lives, which is just yet another reason why protection is so important.

We dont realize how connected all of these different worlds are with our everyday lives, which is just yet another reason why protection is so important.

Earther: I guess in a sense you were also migrating! Could you talk a little bit about the actual process of getting to the Aleutian Islands? You describe it at one point in the film as a brutal journey.

Shive: It was. I have a renewed respect for the scientists who make this trip every season and for a lot longer than I did. Once you get to the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska, which in itself is not exactly the most populated part of the world, you would embark on the research vessel, which is a small ship. You go out on this small ship, and you get beat up pretty much. The thing is being thrown around roughly, its never really over 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4.4 degrees Celsius), its almost always misty, or theres light rain, youve got salty seawater splashing over the edge of the boat. Youve got these big coats on all the time and you know if you fall into the water, youve got to get out pretty fast before hypothermia might set in.

In many ways, for where it is, its a real luxury. You get three hot meals a day that are prepared fresh. Unless, of course, its too rough on the water to cook, which happens, but almost always theres good food on there. But even when you get to the beaches, theres no dock, theres all this kelp to get through, youre riding out on a tiny little skiff boat that can get flipped by a wave. Or your engine can get caught in the seaweed, Id say that happened a lot, like nine out of 10 times.

And then you get there to the islands and its boulders that are ankle breakers. So youre trying to get off the boat through these boulders with 400 pounds of camera gear or science equipment. We all help each other. But then then theres no trail on the island, so you might be dealing with shoulder high grass thats also wet. And youre trying you to find an area where you can deploy scientific instruments. We do all of this like three or four times a day. We call it The Last Unknown but its not just the place thats unknown. Its the situations that were placed into, at the hands of so many variables where so many things could happen. You never really know what youre getting into.

Earther: But it was worth it?

Shive: It was the trip of a lifetime.

More here:

The Last Unknown Takes Viewers to Some of the Most Remote Islands on Earth - Gizmodo

Gordon Ramsay has reacted to many cooking videos on TikTok, but one of his most popular clips to date involves Nutella spread all over a pricey Wagyu steak.

"Nutella on Wagyu? Seriously!! You idiot Nutella sandwich," Ramsay wrote in the caption of the video, which has been viewed more than 31 million times.

##duet with @realguga Nutella on Waygu? Seriously!! You idiot Nutella sandwich ##fyp

"They said, 'Guga, we love Nutella, we love steaks, why don't we combine them together?' And my first thought was, 'That's crazy, why would I do that?'" he said with a laugh.

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"What are you doing? Oh come on, Nutella on Wagyu?" Ramsay exclaims during the video. "You have to be kidding me. Stop it! Seriously? What an idiot!"

Tosta admits he also got a bit worried that the Michelin-starred chef didn't realize his Nutella steak was just an experiment. But his loyal followers soon flooded Ramsay's comments to set the record straight.

"I started looking at the comments and, to my surprise, all of my subscribers and viewers were telling him everything that I was thinking. 'Gordon you cannot roast Guga, what are you doing? He knows everything about meat!' I was like, wow, my viewers got my back! It was awesome," Tosta said.

"I'm pretty sure the first thing I ever cooked was a hot dog," he told Insider. "I've always grilled stuff. My grandma used to cook for me all the time, and I always used to be in the kitchen and cooking outdoors."

Nowadays, Tosta loves to share his tips and tricks - along with his more unconventional food experiments - on his popular YouTube and TikTok channels, where he's always honest about the outcome.

"I don't recommend you do that," he said. "It was a lot of fun, and that's the thing - when you're doing experiments, you learn a lot. Even as horrendous as it might sound, you really never know how meat will behave until you try it."

"If you really want to use a cheap kind of meat, you need to tenderize it first," he said. "And one of the great ways to tenderize a steak is by using natural enzymes from fruit."

"Then I'm pretty sure he'd approve of it," Tosta said. "But then, maybe not. It's Gordon, so who knows!"

See the rest here:

Gordon Ramsay roasted a chef who covered an expensive Wagyu steak with Nutella - Business Insider India