International

Chile’s distant paradise where scientists study climate change

Photo: Alberto Peña / AFP

AFP | Alberto Peña

Hidden inside pristine forests in Chile’s deep south, known as the end of the world, lie potential early warning signs of climate change. Puerto Williams on Navarino island, which is separated from the South American mainland by the Beagle Channel, is the world’s southern-most town.

Far from the pollution that blights major urban and industrial centers, it is a paradise that provides unique conditions to study global warming.

“There is nowhere else like it,” Ricardo Rozzi, director of the Cape Horn International Center for global change studies and bio-cultural conservation in Puerto Williams, told AFP.

It is “a place that is especially sensitive to climate change” as average temperatures do not rise above five degrees Celsius. This cold and windy area is the last inhabited southern frontier before reaching the Antarctic.

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The ethnobotanical Omora park is home to an immense variety of lichens, mosses and fungi that scientists study by crouching down onto their knees with magnifying glasses.

In the crystal clear Robalo river, minuscule organisms act as sentinels of the changes produced by global warming. In both the park and river, the alarm bells are ringing.

Moss and lichen on the move

At this latitude — 55 degrees south — climate change has an exponential effect on flora that react by seeking out low temperatures, said Rozzi, 61. “The most obvious aspect of climate change is the rising temperatures,” he said. “These lichens cannot survive” if a certain threshold is passed. To escape the higher temperatures, they move.

“In the case of (mosses) we’ve noticed that they have moved. Before they were between 50 and 350 (meters above sea level) and now they are between 100 and 400,” said Rozzi. He says Omora has more diversity per square meter of lichens and mosses than anywhere else in the world. They also help to absorb carbon dioxide.

Another aspect is the elevational diversity gradient, an ecological pattern in which biodiversity changes with elevation.

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The 700-meter high Bandera hill’s biodiversity changes every 200 meters and there is a mammoth 1.5 degrees Celsius difference in temperature between top and bottom.

“We can see what changes happen in the high mountains and in the area close to the sea in a very short distance, and we can see how the temperature affects the biodiversity that lives in this river,” Tamara Contador, 38, a biologist at the Cape Horn International Center, told AFP.

She studies the gradients themselves. If the height difference between gradients rises or falls on the mountain, scientists can determine whether there has been a global change in temperature. They say there has been.

Avoiding ‘extermination’

“On a global level, the polar and subpolar ecosystems are the most affected by climate change, so we are in a place where climate change has a much bigger effect on biodiversity than other places,” said Contador.

River organisms also form part of the alert system.

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“The organisms that live here are also indicators of water quality and global environmental change,” added Contador.

River organisms move about and have already increased their reproductive cycle, says Rozzi. This confirms there has been a small change to the climate in the area that could have been much greater elsewhere on the planet.

“Some insects that have an annual eggs to larvae to adulthood cycle are now having two cycles because the temperature has risen,” said Rozzi.

By studying these organisms and learning from them “we can avoid crossing the threshold that brings us to the extermination of humanity and other life forms,” he added.

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A glacier over Darwin's mountain range is seen during a journey through the Beagle Channel in the Magallanes region, the southernmost of Chile, on September 23, 2022. - There is a place at the end of the world, in the southernmost point of Chile, where pristine forests hide tiny systems in their depths that already give early warning of the global climate change that the planet is suffering. Beyond the place where the American continent ends, on Navarino Island, crossing the Beagle Channel, Puerto Williams stands as the southernmost city in the world, a place far from pollution and human mistreatment, with unique conditions for the study of climate change. (Photo by Alberto PEÑA / AFP)

International

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The Microsoft co-founder is among several high-profile figures mentioned in documents from the so-called Epstein files released by the U.S. Department of Justice. The records reference personal associations, financial dealings and private communications involving Epstein’s network.

During a staff-wide meeting at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on Tuesday, a recording of which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, Gates said he regretted spending time with Epstein and arranging meetings between foundation executives and the financier.

“It was a big mistake to spend time with Epstein,” Gates told employees, adding that the association had harmed the foundation’s reputation.

In a draft email released by the Justice Department, Epstein claimed that Gates had engaged in extramarital relationships. The message alleged that their interactions ranged from assisting Gates in obtaining drugs to cope with personal matters to facilitating meetings with married women.

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Gates, 70, acknowledged during the internal meeting that he had two affairs but firmly denied any connection to Epstein’s crimes.

The revelations come amid renewed scrutiny over Epstein’s network of prominent contacts following the public release of investigative files.

International

Stephen Hawking Photo Appears in Newly Released Epstein Documents

A previously unseen image of renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking has surfaced among documents recently released by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of its investigation into financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The photograph shows the British scientist, who died in 2018 at age 76, smiling while seated between two women wearing swimsuits in what appears to be a beach setting. In the image, Hawking appears to be holding a drink while reclining on a sun lounger.

The exact context of the photo — including the date and location — has not been officially confirmed. However, it is known that Hawking attended a scientific conference funded by Epstein in March 2006 in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where several academics participated in events and activities organized by the financier prior to his criminal charges.

No Allegations Against Hawking

Hawking’s appearance in the files does not imply involvement in illegal or inappropriate conduct, and there are no formal charges linking him to any criminal activity in connection with the Epstein case.

The physicist is mentioned in numerous documents, primarily in relation to his participation in academic events associated with Epstein’s efforts to build connections with prominent figures in the scientific community.

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The release of the files has prompted renewed public interest in the scope of Epstein’s network, though inclusion in the documents alone does not indicate wrongdoing.

International

Larry Summers Steps Down from Harvard Role Amid Epstein Controversy

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Summers, who led the U.S. Treasury Department under former President Bill Clinton and later served as president of Harvard in the early 2000s, appeared in Justice Department files related to Epstein as having maintained extensive exchanges with the late financier.

According to a university statement, “Harvard Kennedy School Dean Jeremy Weinstein has accepted the resignation of Professor Lawrence H. Summers from his role as co-director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government,” noting that the decision was connected to the Epstein case.

Meanwhile, Clinton is scheduled to testify Friday before a congressional committee regarding the Epstein matter. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to appear before the panel on Thursday.

The development marks another high-profile repercussion stemming from renewed scrutiny surrounding Epstein’s network of associations.