XPost: alt.global-warming   
      
   Climate impacts of US forest loss span net warming to net cooling   
   Science Advances   
   Avoiding forest loss over the US could have reduced global temperatures by   
   0.00088C over a 100-year period, according to a new study. Using satellite   
   data and the national forest inventory, the research finds that forest loss   
   in the intermountain and Rocky Mountain West region causes net cooling,   
   whilst forest loss east of the Mississippi River and in Pacific Coast states   
   causes net warming. According to the study,  "US forest conversions from   
   1986 to 2000 cause net cooling for a decade but then transition to a large   
   net warming over a century". Avoiding forest conversions would have reduced   
   the 100-year average global warming by 0.00088C, and "offset 17% of the   
   100-year climate warming effect from a single year of US fossil fuel   
   emissions", the study adds.   
      
   --   
   'Probably the biggest bribe ever given': The woman who exposed Putin   
   ABC/Foreign Correspondent, 15 Feb 2021 19:30Z   
   She's a thorn in the side of Russia's strongman President. Maria Pevchikh   
   claims her latest expose confirms Vladimir Putin is secretly "the richest   
   person in the world".   
      
   [Belated:]   
   UK introduces Australian-style hotel quarantine. But one perk for guests   
   could be 'very risky'   
   ABC News, 15 Feb 2021 20:27Z   
   Nearly a year after the coronavirus pandemic began, the UK has introduced an   
   Australian-style hotel quarantine system, but with some major differences.   
      
   Calls for dedicated quarantine facility for Victoria, with Avalon Airport   
   exploring options   
   ABC News, 15 Feb 2021 19:28Z   
   Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton says it would be "fantastic" if Victoria   
   had a stand-alone hotel quarantine facility like Howard Springs, as Avalon   
   Airport is mooted as a regional site for a hotel quarantine new facility.   
      
     Travellers at Holiday Inn 'hot hotel' to be transferred after water damage   
     ABC News, 15 Feb 2021 20:54Z   
     Residents at the Holiday Inn on Flinders Lane, a quarantine hotel   
     specifically for COVID-positive patients, will be transferred to another   
     facility after water damage over the weekend.   
      
   How mental health services funded during the pandemic could be Australia's   
   missing link   
   ABC News, 15 Feb 2021 20:27Z   
   In Victoria, 15 dedicated mental health clinics were set up last year as a   
   response to the pandemic. Advocates say these clinics can save lives and   
   transform a 'broken' system, but need to be funded beyond the promised 12   
   months.   
      
   'False and fake' $36m tourism plan for North Stradbroke Island wasted on   
   controversial projects, locals say   
   ABC News, 15 Feb 2021 20:26Z   
   Tourism operators on North Stradbroke Island off Brisbane say a $36 mn   
   tourism fund should be spent on practical things like new toilet blocks,   
   beach showers and footpaths not on controversial projects like the "Whale on   
   the Hill" attraction.   
      
   WHO confirms dramatic fall in new COVID-19 cases globally   
   ABC News, 15 Feb 2021 20:33Z   
   The World Health Organization says there has been a significant fall in the   
   number of new coronavirus cases being reported globally as vaccine rollouts   
   continue, while Melbourne is waking up to day 4 of its "circut-breaker"   
   lockdown.   
      
   'Huge step for British car manufacturing': Luxury car brand Jaguar to go all   
   electric by 2025   
   ABC News, 15 Feb 2021 20:32Z   
   Struggling luxury car brand Jaguar plans to phase out internal combustion   
   engines -- a move that has been welcomed by the British automotive industry   
   and its Prime Minister.   
      
   High-altitude birds evolved thicker 'jackets'   
   BBC News, 15 Feb 2021 14:43Z   
   Himalayan songbirds in colder, more elevated environments have feathers with   
   more fluffy down.   
      
   Why do we breathe so loudly when we sleep?   
   Livescience.com, 15 Feb 2021 12:43Z   
   During the most peaceful sleep, some people snore obnoxiously loud, ruining   
   the chances of slumber for anyone sharing their bedroom. But even those who ...   
      
   Ancient Rome Has an Urgent Warning for Us   
   The New York Times/Opinion, 15 Feb 2021 10:39Z   
   The era of the Antonine Plague offers a reminder of what a powerful force   
   nature has been throughout human history.   
      
   Life found feet beneath 3,000 feet Antarctica ice sheet   
   Business Insider, 15 Feb 2021 12:38Z   
   Scientist have found life under 3,000 feet under of ice in Antarctica,   
   challenging their assumption that nothing could live in such conditions. The   
   previous theory ...   
      
     New video captures discovery of spongy animals deep under Antarctic ice   
     Livescience.com, 15 Feb 2021 11:41Z   
     Scientists discovered a rock covered with unknown animals under an   
     Antarctic ice shelf.   
      
     Scientists Accidentally Discover Strange Creatures Under a Half Mile of Ice   
     WIRED, 15 Feb 2021 05:39Z   
     Bivouacked in the middle of the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf -- a 5-hour flight   
     from the nearest Antarctic station -- nothing comes easy. Even though it   
     was the ...   
      
   Sea level data confirms climate modeling projections were right   
   Phys.org, 15 Feb 2021 14:38Z   
   Projections of rising sea levels this century are on the money when tested   
   against satellite and tide-gauge observations, scientists find.   
      
   WTO Finally Appoints Its First Woman and First African Leader   
   The Daily Beast, 15 Feb 2021 16:37Z   
   Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has been appointed the first woman and the first African   
   to lead the World Trade Organization as Director-General. The Ni   
   erian-American ...   
      
   How Victoria's outbreak swelled from 3 cases in quarantine to a cluster   
   of 17   
   ABC News, 15 Feb 2021 06:30Z   
   Victorian contact tracers close off some "branches of investigation" from   
   early cases, but are still trying to get ahead of those stemming from a   
   private function in Melbourne's north.   
      
     Fifty people in Queensland yet to be traced after transiting Melbourne   
     Airport exposure zone   
     ABC News, 15 Feb 2021 03:32Z   
     Queensland Health says 50 people who passed through Melbourne Airport's   
     declared coronavirus exposure zone are yet to be contacted, as the Gold   
     Coast misses out on hosting a world surfing tour because authorities will   
     not pick up the quarantine tab for competitors.   
      
     PPE taskforce member 'flabbergasted' stricter standards weren't applied in   
     Victorian hotel quarantine   
     ABC News, 15 Feb 2021 05:31Z   
     Victoria's beleaguered hotel quarantine program was not following the same   
     infection control standards drawn up by a PPE taskforce, which were being   
     applied to the rest of the state's health system.   
      
   Israel study on Pfizer vaccine shows 94% drop in symptomatic COVID-19 cases   
   Yahoo News, 14 Feb 2021 21:42Z   
   A recent study by Israel's largest healthcare provider found that after both   
   doses of the Pfizer vaccine, people are 94% less likely to have symptomatic   
   COVID-19 ...   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)