In Bhutan, a History of Matriarchy and the Question of True Equality

Much like the diverse landscape of Bhutan, women’s representation and access in the country features impressive peaks as well as low-lying valleys.

Paro Taktsang, a Himalayan Buddhist sacred site and temple complex, located in the upper Paro valley. Arian Zwegers. CC BY 2.0

The tiny Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan is known for its ornate fortresses, or dzongs; the breathtaking Paro Taktsang, or Tiger’s Nest, temple complex, which clings to a steep cliffside; and its matriarchal traditions—but while Bhutan has much to be proud of in terms of gender parity, it still has a long way to go in creating true equality and professional mobility for its women.

Traditional society in Bhutan, which lies in the Eastern Himalayas between China and India, is matriarchal, and Bhutanese women do not have to contend with any institutionalized forms of discrimination. Participation in decision-making in the local and national spheres is accessible to all genders, with female involvement reaching as high as 70 percent at the grassroots level. Women account for nearly half of land owners, a figure that increases to 60 percent in rural regions. Summing up her own experience as a Bhutanese woman before moving to the Netherlands, journalist Karma Pem Wangdi writes, “My life has been created and shaped by the fact that our society has generally allowed us women the same freedoms and equality of opportunity as men.”

Nevertheless, entrenched inequalities lurk beneath the surface. Lily Wangchuk, the first and only woman president of a Bhutanese political party, referred in 2013 to “huge gender gaps” in societal attitudes, which have inspired her to continue pursuing her political ambitions. Wangchuk, whose Druk Chirwang Tshogpa party was eliminated in the first round of elections that year after garnering only 6 percent of the vote, told the Indian business news publication Mint: “During my campaign, my male opponents said, ‘[How] can a woman assume such an enormous responsibility?’ If I quit now I will be proving them right.”

Writing the previous year, Wangdi pointed specifically to gaps in economic and governmental participation, with far fewer women than men in the civil service workforce, and women making up just 8.5 percent of the National Assembly and 24 percent of the National Council. On the personal level, female reproductive rights lag in certain aspects: while women in the public and private sectors receive three months’ maternity leave with 100 percent of wages, abortion is illegal except in certain specific cases, leading many women to cross into India and seek abortions in unsafe conditions.

Thimphu Dzong, which has been the seat of the Bhutanese government since 1952. Robert GLOD. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Attitudes toward abortion may be traced to the tenets of the Buddhist religion, which has otherwise played a key role in many facets of gender parity, given that its tradition and values view men and women as equal. In terms of participation in the public sphere, two factors are broadly to blame, the first being a historical lack of education for women. In the 1950s and ’60s, when Bhutan began to prioritize national development and education, more boys than girls were sent to India for formal learning—a disparity that stemmed not from gender discrimination but rather from fears about girls’ safety during the long journey to school.

Also of concern is the burden on women as caretakers and unpaid workers in the home, which may hinder or entirely preclude professional development. In the case of divorce, Bhutanese law grants custody of children under nine years old to the mother, a statute that may further ingrain the stereotype of women as primary caregivers. A 2001 study found that, in rural areas, women were responsible for cooking, washing clothes, and preserving food for over 80 percent of households; urban regions presented an even starker figure, with more than 90 percent of households leaving cooking, cleaning, washing, and food purchasing to women. These time-consuming tasks undeniably present a barrier to engaging in activities outside the home: A 2012 study revealed that nearly 62 percent of women felt their household responsibilities prevented them from taking a more active role in public life.

Bhutan’s Punakha Valley. Andrea Williams. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Fortunately, Bhutan has recently made strides toward closing gender gaps in various arenas, and thus envisioning an end to the self-perpetuating cycle in which women—missing role models in positions of power—lack the structural support needed to pursue such positions themselves. In 2016, more girls were attending school than boys, with 98 percent vs. 97 percent enrolled at the primary level, respectively. Bhutan’s first woman Dzongda (District Governor) was elected to office in 2012, and its first woman minister in 2013, ushering in a wave of successful woman candidates in 2016: that year witnessed a 68 percent increase in female representation compared to the previous election in 2011.
With evolving attitudes toward gender representation, however, come increased pressures brought on by a globalized and digital media: in 2013, Siok Sian Pek-Dorji, executive director at the Bhutan Centre for Media and Democracy, told Mint that the changing media landscape has created “a pressure to conform that is eroding the natural confidence of Bhutanese women.” Just last month, in March 2019, Bhutan gained an advocate for media representations of women in the form of Namgay Zam, who was appointed as the executive director of the Journalists Association of Bhutan. Speaking with the International Federation of Journalists, she addressed the lack of managerial role models for women, and pointed to the fact that a preponderance of male media magnates leads to the perpetuation of gender stereotypes.

Zam, looking toward a future in which Bhutanese women take their rightful place at the helm of Bhutan’s civil society as well as its media sector—thus fully realizing the matriarchal ideals on which the country was built—commented: “I think top-level management need to rethink gender representation at the workplace. Women also need to believe in themselves more. Hopefully, things will change for the better sooner than later.”

TALYA PHELPS hails from the wilds of upstate New York, but dreams of exploring the globe. As former editor-in-chief at the student newspaper of her alma mater, Vassar College, and the daughter of a journalist, she hopes to follow her passion for writing and editing for many years to come. Contact her if you're looking for a spirited debate on the merits of the em dash vs. the hyphen.

INDIA: The Landscapes and Cultures of the Chadar Trek

Home to the legendary, yet treacherous, Chadar Trek, the Zanskar region of Ladakh has earned the reputation of a trekker’s delight.

Stirring images of the Phugtal Monastery, and the river, both in full spate and frozen, of the lush valleys and the Zanskari people have enticed me from the time I was at school and this year, I finally managed to do the trek for myself.

The trek usually begins at Lingshed and culminates in Phugtal, but I undertook it the other way around. In fact, I was able to reduce two days travel time to two hours by chartering a helicopter to my starting off point. It all began at Padum from where we headed to Phugtal and then across the Zanskar through Pishu, Hannmur, ending finally at Lingshed.

The experience was phenomenal. From traversing the most treacherous paths and crossing deep gorges and valleys to witnessing rivers of the most unreal blue and sleeping under the milky way, the entire trek was really something else; the delight of a hot shower at the end of those ten days made it sweeter still. It wasn’t all milk and honey though. Ascending nearly 16,000 feet at some passes and walking at least 20 kilometres a day, the trek tested my wits and guts, making me question why I embarked on this adventure in the first place.

In retrospect though, I can say without a shred of doubt that it was well worth it. Not only did I witness first-hand the glories of a phenomenal terrain, but I also met some wonderful people and experienced inspirational no-waste lifestyles. More than anything else, I learned what I myself am capable of enduring both physically and mentally; that when push comes to shove the human body and mind can surprise us in more ways than one.

HAJRA AHMAD studied photography in Ooty, a small hill town in South India. She became inspired by the darkroom and now specializes in travel and wildlife photography as well as often shooting hotels and interiors. Her photography has enabled her to travel to many new places and her work continues to evolve with each shoot.

THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON ROAM MAGAZINE

Venezuela’s Power Struggle Reaches a Tense Stalemate, as Human Suffering Deepens

Even in a country where crisis has become the norm, the past month has been eventful for Venezuela.

On April 3 Juan Guaidó, the Venezuelan National Assembly president who is leading an effort to remove President Nicolás Maduro from office, was stripped of his parliamentary immunity. Arrest seems increasingly likely. Guaidó’s chief-of-staff was jailed on March 22, on charges of organizing a “terrorist cell.”

Two days later, two Russian military planes carrying 35 tons of unspecified equipment and 100 soldiers landed at the international airport in Caracas.

Meanwhile, three blackouts left over 90 percent of the country in the dark. Since water pumps need electricity to run, neighborhoods and families were forced to organize water rationing systems or fetch water from polluted rivers and streams.

Maduro blames the blackouts on “sabotage” by Guaidó and the United States. The opposition blames government corruption and neglect of Venezuela’s energy grid.

Thousands of Venezuelans protesting the power outages on March 30 were met with violent repression. Counter-protestors came out to support the Maduro government.

These extraordinary events may give the appearance that armed conflict is on the horizon. But having researched Venezuela for over 25 years, I believe a prolonged deadlock – and deeper human suffering – is the more likely result.

International conflict

Each side in Venezuela’s political struggle has powerful international backers.

Guaidó has been coordinating with the Trump administration since before assuming the interim presidency, and Trump has made regime change in Venezuela a foreign policy priority. Over 50 countries now recognize Guaidó as Venezuela’s legitimate president.

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó at a rally in Caracas, March 29, 2019. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Maduro’s government retains important support from Cuba, Turkey and China – though China, which has loaned Venezuela some $60 billionover the last 12 years, has diminished its public backing of Maduro.

Russia has become Maduro’s most important ally. The Russian military equipment and personnel sent in March will likely help maintain and operate Venezuela’s sophisticated Russian-made S-300 air defense system, which protects the capital and key military bases from air attack.

The missile defense system may have been damaged in recent power outages, or left understaffed by desertions from Venezuela’s military.

In a March 29 press statement, White House national security adviser John Bolton called Russia’s military assistance to Venezuela a “direct threat to international peace and security in the region” that will “perpetuate the economic crisis that has destroyed Venezuela’s economy.”

Russian officials retorted that the deployment is part of a prior bilateral arms trade agreement with Venezuela.

“The United States is present in many parts of the world and no one is telling it where it should or shouldn’t be,” said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov at a March 28 Kremlin press conference.

Regime change stalled

Venezuela’s opposition coalition and its allies in the U.S. appear to have thought that global rejection of Maduro’s re-election and Guaidó’s assuming the interim presidency – coupled with threats of a U.S. military invasion and sanctions on Venezuelan oil – would lead Venezuela’s armed forces to turn against Maduro. That would then usher in a democratic transition.

Eighty percent of Venezuelans oppose Maduro, but he retains some popular support – and the power of the Venezuelan armed forces. Miraflores Palace via Reuters

Recent events have shown that this strategy was simplistic.

More than 500 Venezuelan soldiers have defected to Colombia and Brazil. But most have stayed loyal, as have the generals who hold high positions in Maduro’s government. And Maduro has shown himself quite adept at using dispersed violence to discourage dissent.

Despite President Donald Trump’s repeated mentions of a “military option” for dealing with Venezuela, it’s become clear in recent weeks that the U.S. has no actual plans for military action. Indeed, it does not have significant military assets in position near Venezuela.

Venezuela’s armed forces are the fifth most powerful in Latin America, according to Global Fire Power, which ranks military strength. It has around 200,000 troops, a volunteer militia, plus paramilitary forces and a fleet of Russian Sukhoi fighter jets.

The presence of Russian troops in Venezuela further complicates any plans for U.S. intervention. Russia is a nuclear power, so incurring Russian casualties is probably too big of a risk for the U.S. to take.

Adam Isacson, a defense expert at the Washington Office on Latin America, a human rights organization, suggests that removing Maduro by force would not only kill thousands of people on the ground, it would likely require tens of thousands of U.S. troops to occupy Venezuela for years in order to stabilize it.

Outside of south Florida, where some 200,000 Venezuelan exiles are clamoring for Maduro’s ouster, few Americans would have an appetite for such a prolonged operation.

U.S. economic sanctions – which are now targeting Venezuelan oil – appear to be hurting the Venezuelan people more than Maduro’s government.

That will only make a democratic transition more elusive. Depriving the Venezuelan government of cash and credit will impede it from fixing the electrical grid by preventing the purchase of new equipment. And without electricity and water, Venezuelans, who in their vast majority oppose Maduro, will be concentrating on survival rather than protest.

Venezuelans protest water shortages in Caracas on March 31, 2019. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Working for peace

An international effort led by the European Union, Uruguay, Ecuador and Costa Rica is seeking to negotiate new elections. Calling itself the International Contact Group, this coalition has sent technical teams to Caracas twice to meet with the Maduro government and the opposition.

The International Contact Group has not actually found much interest on either side.

The opposition and its allies in the Trump administration still believethat their strategy of political pressure and economic punishment will lead to the government’s collapse. Maduro, it appears, thinks he can hunker down and wait out the storm.

There is one glimmer of hope.

After years of political wrangling over humanitarian aid, on March 29 the International Committee of the Red Cross announced that it had brokered agreements with both the Maduro government and the opposition. They will allow the Red Cross to distribute food and medicine to Venezuelans, who have suffered severe shortages of both since 2015.

The United Nations estimates that 94 percent of Venezuela’s population now lives in poverty, and a quarter of its people urgently need humanitarian assistance.

The Red Cross deal shows what can be achieved with “satellite diplomacy” – that is, negotiations that engage with rival factions independently rather than requiring them to meet face to face.

This is significant. It is the first time that this diplomatic technique has succeeded in Venezuela’s conflict.

In the best-case scenario, the humanitarian aid agreement will stick. And it could serve as a model for how international actors can facilitate a democratic transition in Venezuela.

DAVID SMILDE is a Professor of Sociology at Tulane University.

THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON THE CONVERSATION

How Small Science Is Creating Big Possibilities in Africa

Ofori Charles Antipem wears many hats—he’s an inventor, an entrepreneur and an advocate of STEM. Now, he’s bringing all his passions together, dedicating his life to bringing affordable science education to kids across Africa. The Science Set is Antipem’s creation, developed to give students access to a unique toolkit. Each set contains 45 scientific components and costs just $20. His next invention? Cheap and easy-to-assemble microscopes, carefully designed and built using 3D printed materials. 

This Great Big Story was made possible by IBM Africa.

BANGLADESH: Lost in Dhaka

Dhaka is a city in southern Asia and the capital of Bangladesh. It is located next to the Buriganga River. Many palaces and mosques remain from the 17th-century when the city was the Mughal capital of Bengal. The population is around 9 million people.

CHILE: Patagonia

Torres del Paine National Park is in Chile’s Patagonia region and known for its beautiful mountain ranges, icebergs and glaciers, and golden pampas, which are the grasslands that shelter wildlife such as guanacos. Some of its most iconic sites are the 3 granite towers from which the park takes its name and the horn-shaped peaks called Cuernos del Paine.

These 5 Major Cities are Sinking Rapidly into the Sea

WE’VE BEEN HEARING about the dangers of climate change for quite some time. Scientists routinely caution against warmer temperatures, rising sea levels, and melting ice caps, but sometimes it can be difficult to imagine the impact of these phenomena on our daily lives.

Gradually sinking cities may be the first (and most alarming) way climate change manifests in a tangible sense. Due to rising sea levels and other environmental factors, several of the world’s major cities are slowly sinking into the ocean — some at a staggering pace. No continent is immune, either.

Dr. Katherine Kramer, lead author of the research paper “Sinking Cities,” notes that rampant development has also weakened many cities’ natural means of flood protection, and poor city planning only make matters worse. “The global metropolises may look strong and stable,” she told The Guardian, “but it’s a mirage.” From the United States to Africa to Asia, here are a few of the cities most in danger of being overtaken by the sea.

1. Jakarta

Photo: dani daniar/Shutterstock

The capital of Indonesia has the unenviable privilege of being the fastest sinking city in the world. Forty percent of the city currently lies below sea level, and it’s sinking at the alarming rate of 10 inches per year. The cause is directly related to the city’s infrastructure as Jakarta does not have a reliable network of piped-in water. This is leading to an abundance of private wells used by residents to obtain groundwater. According to The New York Times, this causes underground aquifers to become drained, “like deflating a giant cushion underneath the city.” The unfortunate result is a two-pronged assault on the city from above and below. Rains flood neighborhoods while the heavy skyscrapers sink into earth whose stability is compromised by a lack of groundwater.

2. London

Photo: Marc Pinter/Shutterstock

London can’t blame its sinkage on skyscrapers or faulty infrastructure. It’s actually the result of the last ice age and a phenomenon called “glacial isostatic adjustment.” According to Kramer, London’s sinking is caused by “the weight of the glaciers pressing down on Scotland 11,000 years ago. These depressed the north and allowed the south of the UK to relatively soar.” Since the UK’s glaciers have since melted, however, Scotland is now rising — at .04 inches per year — while the south of the UK is sinking back into the sea. Although the metallic gates of the Thames Barrier were designed by engineers to protect London against flooding, they were only expected to be needed a maximum of three times per year. Currently, they’re being used six or seven times per year.

3. Dhaka

Photo: Sk Hasan Ali/Shutterstock

The capital of Bangladesh is sinking at a rate of a half-inch per year. While this may not put Dhaka in as dire straits as Jakarta, the sea level in the Bay of Bengal is rising 10 times faster than the global average. Millions in the city’s coastal areas have already fled, migrating to Dhaka’s overcrowded slums. Like Jakarta, the situation is being exacerbated by groundwater extraction at an unsustainable rate, as well as shifting tectonic plates. To solve the groundwater problem, officials have endeavored to improve the city’s water infrastructure though it’s unclear whether these efforts will be enough.

4. Bangkok

Photo: Artistpix/Shutterstock

Bangkok finds itself in a precarious position. Currently sitting just five feet above sea level, and sinking at a rate of one inch per year, the city is projected to be submerged by 2030 unless drastic measures are taken. Bangkok does not suffer from the same groundwater issues as Jakarta and Dhaka, but its towering skyscrapers are, however, causing the ground to cave in on itself. “Bangkok’s sinking feeling has ironically been made worse by its reaching for the skies,” Kramer writes. “The sheer weight of its buildings are pressing into the riparian sediments and compacting them as the sustaining water is depleted from them.” Thailand’s National Reform Council has recommended building a huge seawall around the entire city to help curb the problem.

5. New Orleans

Photo: Victor Wong/Shutterstock

According to a 2016 NASA study, New Orleans is projected to see 14.5 inches of sea level rise by 2040. That’s one of the highest in the world. NASA’s maps show parts of the city sinking at a rate of two inches per year, mostly areas near the Mississippi River and industrialized sectors like Norco and Michoud. Like other major cities, the rising water level is being caused by groundwater pumping; human withdrawal of water, oil, and gas; compacting of shallow sediments; and continued land movement from glaciers during the last glacial period. The danger to the region is so immediate that the government recently set aside a $48 million grant to move residents of Isle de Jean Charles — among Louisiana’s fastest-sinking communities — to drier land.

THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON THE MATADOR NETWORK

EBEN DISKIN is a staff writer at Matador, and pizza connoisseur with a serious case of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out); he has traveled to over 30 countries and lived in the UK for a year. Follow him on Instagram @ebenflow_.

#MeToo Movement Reaches South Korea, Shaking the Foundations of a Society in Flux

In a deeply patriarchal culture, feminist activists face constant setbacks and scrutiny.

Park Geun-hye meeting with former President Barack Obama in 2014. Republic of Korea/Jeon Han. CC BY-SA 2.0

In 2017, TIME Magazine named “The Silence Breakers” as its Person of the Year, marking the influence of the #MeToo movement and commending the women who have shattered decades of complacency regarding sexual harassment. Yet despite the movement’s place at the forefront of the American cultural zeitgeist, the effects of #MeToo are far from confined to the United States. On the other side of the globe, in South Korea, generations of women—long oppressed by the sexism that has proliferated in Korean society—are now uniting to push back against gender discrimination and question the influence of the patriarchy.

A glance at the numbers reveals the gender bias deeply embedded in Korean culture. On average, women earn 37 percent less than their male colleagues, creating the most severe gap among the 35 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Countrywide, women account for only 11 percent of managerial positions and 2.1 percent of corporate boards, in comparison to the OECD averages of 31 percent and 19 percent, respectively. In its glass ceiling index, The Economist ranks South Korea as the worst developed nation for working women.

The problem is a self-perpetuating one, as female role models in positions of power are few. In 2013, Park Geun-hye became Korea’s first female president—but far from sharing in her victory, women’s rights organizations strongly opposed her candidacy, recalling her father’s 18-year dictatorship. Only two of Park’s 19 ministers were women, and the aspects of her platform that did promote women’s rights and access were not much more progressive than those of the male presidential hopefuls she defeated. More important, Park lost all credibility when she became embroiled in an extortion scandal in 2016. In April 2018, she was found guilty of 16 out of 18 charges relating to abuse of power and coercion and sentenced to 24 years in jail.

February of that year witnessed an incident that encapsulated Korea’s suspicious attitude towards women’s liberation: Singer Son Naeun of the all-female group Apink was attacked for posting a photo on Instagram of her holding a phone case with the words “Girls can do anything.” In a culture that responds to even such minor displays of feminism with scorn and shame, sexual abuse toward women often goes unnoticed, and survivors who try to make their claims public are met with mockery.

However, despite these hostile attitudes, #MeToo principles in South Korea are finally gaining traction, and Korean women’s accounts of sexual abuse are beginning to garner at least a modicum of respect in the public eye. In January 2018, attorney Seo Ji-hyun—who had experienced years of sexual harassment at the hands of Ahn Tae-geun, the former chief of the Seoul prosecutors’ office—came forward with her allegations on the nightly news, precipitating Ahn’s two-year prison sentence for abuse of power. (He claimed not to remember the incident.) The next month, Choi Young-mi published a poem effectively accusing 85-year-old poet Ko Un of molestation, coerced sex, and harassment. The piece, titled “Monster,” has since gone viral.

The ensuing wave of sexual abuse allegations reached into the hundreds, with presidential hopeful Ahn Hee-jung and award-winning movie director Kim Ki-duk among the accused. Throughout 2018, both traditional and social media networks grew increasingly saturated with talk of societal change, and issues of gender discrimination entered public discourse. Online profiles owned by male and female Koreans alike sported the English-language hashtags #MeToo and #WithYou.

In March 2018, the burgeoning movement reached a watershed moment: a marathon protest in downtown Seoul, during which nearly 200 women publicly shared their stories of sexual harassment for 2018 consecutive minutes. In May, 15,000 people turned out to Daehangno in central Seoul to attend a rally for government accountability on sex crimes; a follow-up in July brought around 60,000, and continuing protests have earned a nickname that translates as “Uncomfortable Courage.”

Gwanghwamun Gate, at the edge of the plaza where almost 200 women shared their experiences with sexual assault as part of a massive protest. Dickson Phua. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Younger generations have been at the forefront of the movement, and some have pushed for change specifically within the culture of schools. Using the hashtag #SchoolMeToo, students at more than 65 Korean schools have come forward with allegations of verbal and physical sexual abuse by teachers. Their stories led to several criminal investigations, and in February of this year, a former middle school teacher was sentenced to a year and a half in prison on charges of repeated assault. In response to the multiple allegations, hundreds of female students turned out for a march in downtown Seoul, which culminated in a gathering outside the presidential palace to protest inadequate responses to abuse.

The Blue House, Seoul’s presidential residence, where students gathered to protest the lack of response to sexual abuse. Julio Martínez. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

On the legislative side, there are signs of incremental change. As of September 2018, maintenance staff in Seoul are now required to check public restrooms daily for hidden cameras, which are often used to secretly record footage of women that is later sold to porn websites. The administration of President Moon Jae-in, who was elected following Park’s impeachment, has announced extensions to the statute of limitations in sexual abuse cases, and a process for anonymous reporting of sexual assault crimes.

Despite progress, activists continue to face persecution. For instance, in the city of Gwangju, where 11 teachers and the principal at one school were criminally charged with sexual abuse, a newspaper editorial questioned the value of the movement and accused students of undermining teachers’ authority. Progressive politicians, such as Shin Ji-ye, a 28-year-old Green Party leader who ran for mayor on a feminist platform last June and finished impressively in fourth, may usher in more substantial shifts. For now, isolated policy decisions and grassroots uprisings are chipping away at the inequities entrenched in Korean ways of life—and #MeToo, from one side of the world to another, continues to stake a claim against centuries of injustice.

TALYA PHELPS hails from the wilds of upstate New York, but dreams of exploring the globe. As former editor-in-chief at the student newspaper of her alma mater, Vassar College, and the daughter of a journalist, she hopes to follow her passion for writing and editing for many years to come. Contact her if you're looking for a spirited debate on the merits of the em dash vs. the hyphen.

Iceberg Twice the Size of Manhattan Threatening to Break off Antarctica at any Moment

Antarctica’s Brunt Ice Shelf, the largest in the world, will soon lose a 660 square mile, almost 500 feet thick segment of ice—almost twice the size of the city of New York.  The shelf is named for David Brunt, a British meteorologist and Physical Secretary of the Royal Secretary who organized the Royal Society Expedition to the Brunt Ice Shelf in 1955.  

Two cracks in the shelf have been getting wider over the past few years. This process is known as calving:  the splitting and shedding of ice chunks from the edge of a glacier. Glaciologists label these cracks or crevasses in the ice sheet as chasms.  Chasm 1, the first fault line on the Brunt Ice Shelf, has been present and stable for over 35 years. But just lately, this crack has been edging north as fast as 2.5 miles a year.  The second break, known as the Halloween crack, is upstream from what scientists call the McDonald Ice Rumples. These rumples form when the bottom of the ice shelf, which flows downhill toward the ocean, runs up against an underwater ridge.  Chasm 1 is currently about 2.5 miles away from the McDonald Ice Rumples. Soon enough these two cracks will likely intersect, creating a massive iceberg that will begin to slowly float away from Antarctica.

Scientists closely observe the Brunt Ice Shelf with instruments measuring the distortion of the ice day by day.  With the help of satellite images, ground penetrating radar and on-site drone footage, scientists have been able to track the progress of Chasm 1 and the Halloween crack.  

This gigantic iceberg could elevate water levels enormously.  According to National Geographic, rising sea levels could produce devastating effects on coastal areas, causing wetland flooding, aquifer and agricultural soil contamination with salt, destructive erosion, and habitat loss for fish, birds and plants. In the unlikely event that all the ice sheets and glaciers on earth melted, sea levels would rise by 216 feet.  

This iceberg is not even the biggest to break off of the continent of Antarctica.  In 2017, a glacier the size of Delaware broke off of the Larsen-C ice sheet:around 2,250 square miles in size.  The biggestchunk to break off is Iceberg B-15. It measured around 4,200 square miles, larger than the island of Jamaica.  It broke off from the Ross Ice Shelf in March 2000.

The Brunt Ice Shelf is not a stranger to cracks.  Cracks that form during the summer have the potential to heal again over the winter months. Though cracks are common in ice shelves, the imminent calving of the Brunt Ice Shelf is unpredictable.  The potential 660 square mile iceberg could raise sea levels drastically, impacting our coastal habitats and ultimately posing dangers to human health.

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AMELIA BAUMANN is an aspiring writer and editor from New Jersey. I love to travel and am intrigued with the diversity of culture around the world.  I am passionate about our environment and  especially keeping our oceans clean.

These Bulgarian Mountain Ruins Signify a Soviet Bloc Past

Part Cold War relic, part crumbling UFO, the Buzludzha Monument was once the epicenter of the Bulgarian Communist Party. Built in 1980 and only open for eight years, this mountaintop modern ruin was once a hub of Eastern Bloc activities that was abandoned after the fall of the Soviet Union. Since then, harsh winter conditions, looting and a lack of formal upkeep has resulted in the building's steady decline. The Soviet red star that sits atop the building is three times larger than the one atop the Kremlin—now, though, all that star signifies is that party's past rule.

Play on Words: Meet Nigeria’s Scrabble King

In Nigeria, Scrabble is a sport, not a game. And Wellington Jighere is just about the best there is. The 2015 World Scrabble Champion is the first African to hold the title. Jighere is hoping to spread his love for the game and put Nigeria on the map for its Scrabble prowess. This is NOT your grandmother's Scrabble.

The Eerie History and Uncertain Future of Japan’s Rabbit Island

Ōkunoshima and its imperiled bunny population remind us that wildlife and tourism don’t always mix.

A cluster of bunnies on Rabbit Island. Cindy Pepper. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

From its many “cat islands,” which boast more feline than human residents, to Jigokudani Monkey Park, where visitors can observe macaques bathing in the naturally occurring hot springs, Japan seems to overflow with fantastical wildlife enclaves. Perhaps the most adorable of all is Ōkunoshima, or “Rabbit Island”—but the cotton-tailed denizens for which this island is known belie its sinister past and ambiguous future.

While Ōkunoshima, located in the Hiroshima Prefecture, is a popular tourist destination for those looking to get their kawaii fix, it was once hidden from maps due to its clandestine status as a World War II military location. Production of chemical weapons in the island’s poison gas factory began in 1929, and apart from factory workers and army higher-ups, few citizens were aware of its existence.

Ōkunoshima was chosen for its location: discreet enough for goings-on there to remain under the radar, and far enough from densely populated cities like Tokyo to prevent mass casualties in case of an accident. The factory there eventually produced more than 6,000 tons of gas—primarily mustard gas and the irritant lewisite—before its closure at the end of the war. Chemicals wereould be shipped to Kitakyushu in the Fukuoka Prefecture to be weaponized, eventually resulting in more than 80,000 casualties (including and more than 6,000 deaths) among Chinese soldiers and civilians.

Despite the fact that Japan was a signatory to the 1929 Geneva Convention banning the use of chemical weapons, none of the country’s citizens were prosecuted for employing poison gas. After Japan’s defeat in the war, most of the Ōkunoshima factory was destroyed, but laboratory buildings, the shell of a power plant, an army barracks, and a few other edifices remain. In 1988, local governmental entities and citizens opened the Poison Gas Museum to pay tribute to this dark and little-known facet of Japanese history. Displays include the ineffective protective gear worn by workers at the factory, which left them vulnerable to exposure and subsequent illness, as well as equipment used to manufacture the gases.

So where did the bunnies enter the equation? We know that a colony of rabbits was brought to the factory during its operational years to test the effects of poisons, but beyond that, theories diverge. Some suggest that the original crop of rabbits was destroyed along with the factory, while others claim that workers set the bunnies free after the war. Another theory asserts that schoolchildren brought eight rabbits to the island in 1971, where they bred until they reached their current population of approximately 1,000.

Tadanoumi Port viewed from the ferry to Ōkunoshima. Brian Shamblen. CC 2.0

Today, Ōkunoshima is easily accessible via a 15-minute ferry, and embodies peace, rest, and relaxation for tourists and locals alike. Visitors can easily explore it on foot (the island is less than 2.5 miles in circumference), collect souvenirs, dine, play tennis, swim in the ocean, and bathe in the hot spring—apart from communing with the wildlife, of course. Rabbit Island’s website describes it as a place to seek good fortune for your own family’s fertility, and advertises whipped ice cream and “original rabbit items” for sale, as well as octopus kelp rolls, a local delicacy known to pair well with sake.

Yet even the island’s thriving tourist industry and booming bunny population has a more sinister flip side. The wild rabbits depend on visitors for their food and water, but tourists often come bearing snacks that are harmful to the creatures’ delicate digestive systems—such as cabbage or vegetable peelings, which can cause fatal bloating. And while visitors are keen to share photos of their new fluffy friends online, social media has played a key role in destabilizing the rabbit population: Viral videos and articles have led to a vast influx of tourists in the past decade, and the resultant avalanche of snacks and treats has contributed to a breeding boom that the island’s ecosystem is unable to handle. These factors have combined to lower the bunnies’ life expectancy to only two years, compared to the three-to-five-year lifespan of the average wild rabbit.

The plight of the Ōkunoshima rabbits is just one example of the widespread harm social media has inflicted on wildlife populations across the globe: For instance, viral YouTube videos of slow lorises, wide-eyed nocturnal primates native to Southeast Asia, have led to people taking home lorises from the wild to keep as their own. Unfortunately, captivity is unhealthy for the animals, and they often end up relegated to props in tourist photos—or worse, sold into the illegal pet trade, and possibly slaughtered for use in cuisine or medicinals.

A curious bunny on Ōkunoshima seems to have mistaken the camera for a snack. Brian Shamblen. CC 2.0

Ultimately, bunny lovers need not be deterred from visiting Ōkunoshima, but following the rules is essential in order to treat the creatures kindly and foster their health and wellness. The Rabbit Island website lays out guidelines for responsible rabbit enthusiasts—including “refill water pans” and “check under your car,” as curious bunnies might hide underneath to escape the hot sun—and travelers can use their visit as an opportunity to educate friends and family about the unique perils posed to wildlife in the digital age. Approaching this mystical island mindfully is a small yet important step in helping the myriad diverse populations of the animal kingdom survive and thrive for many years to come.

TALYA PHELPS hails from the wilds of upstate New York, but dreams of exploring the globe. As former editor-in-chief at the student newspaper of her alma mater, Vassar College, and the daughter of a journalist, she hopes to follow her passion for writing and editing for many years to come. Contact her if you're looking for a spirited debate on the merits of the em dash vs. the hyphen.

Scuba Divers Fight Ocean Debris

It’s no secret that plastic waste harms marine life. Pictures of turtles caught in six-pack rings and seals stuck in netting circulate the web, reminding consumers to limit their waste, and to reduce, reuse, recycle. The most recent trend in ocean-awareness has been a campaign to stop using plastic straws, which are too lightweight to make it into a mechanical recycling sorter, and end up in the sea.

Now, the data is even more clear. A recent study based on four years of diving on over 150 coral reefs concludes that a coral’s likelihood of disease increases from 4% to 84% when it comes in contact with plastic. Plastic harms coral by decreasing their exposure to the sun, and tearing open their skin, thereby making them more susceptible to disease.The facts are frightening, especially considering that it is estimated that there 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the ocean.

One outstanding organization, Project AWARE’s Dive Against Debris, is trying to change these statistics. The organization was founded in 2011, and has empowered 50,000 divers to clean and report on debris from the reefs they love to visit.

Dive Against Debris focuses on two aspects of conservation: policy and community.

Their policy arm focuses on advancing local, national, and international laws on shark awareness and marine conservation.

Community work involves cleaning debris from reefs, and collecting data on the types and quantity of the waste. Data can be found on their interactive map, which shows type and quantity of debris by location.

Another aspect of community work involves fundraising and activism. Divers are encouraged to raise funds and awareness for the cause, as well as encourage environmentally-friendly diving practices among their peers. They are active on social media through campaigns like #NoExcuseForSingleUse or #MakeTimeForMakos.

Dive Against Debris makes it easy for enthusiastic scuba divers to find a community and make an impact while exploring the ocean and doing what they love.

ELIANA DOFT loves to write, travel, and volunteer. She is especially excited by opportunities to combine these three passions through writing about social action travel experiences. She is an avid reader, a licensed scuba diver, and a self-proclaimed cold brew connoisseur.

VENEZUELA : A Country in Darkness

And why the lights were flickering in the first place.

Venezuelan migrants wait at the Columbian boarder to join the millions who have already fled the country. UNICEF Ecuador. CC2.0

The streets are littered with planks of wood and broken glass from storefronts destroyed by looters. The smell of rotting food from useless refrigerators fills the air of the city’s neighborhoods. At the local hospital, groans can be heard from patients in pain without medicine and the dead appear to be multiplying.

This was Venezuela for six days in the lucky towns, and eight days in cities on the edge of the electric grid such as Maracaibo. The city of Maracaibo, about 200 miles west of Caracas, regularly experiences power outages as a result of its high energy consumption and position on the power grid.

The country’s economy has struggled throughout the past few years, and hyperinflation plagues Venezuelans’ day to day lives. Food is often scarce, and basic items such as toiletries can be costly. According to United Nations statistics, three million Venezuelans have left the country since 2014 when the economic crisis started to worsen. The blackout highlighted the systemic nature of Venezuela’s problems.

Venezuelans all over the country didn’t just lose power- they also lost the assurances that come under living in a country with rule of law. Storefronts were plundered as food became an even greater concern in a country already going hungry. “The shop owners were trying to defend their stores by opening fire, not to kill, but I think there were many dead,” Omar Chavez, a citizen of Maracaibo, told New York Times. “No one was controlling this mob.”

In Caracas, citizens resorted to drinking the heavily polluted water of the river that runs through the capital. Without electricity, hospitals had problems running equipment and suffered from shortages of medication. Citizens of the oil rich country lined up around blocks waiting for gasoline.

The blackout, while a nightmare for the citizens, has become a political battlefield for the two men who claim to be in charge of the country. Maduro, the unpopular incumbent, was first elected in 2013. In 2014, oil prices plummeted worldwide and Maduro failed to deal with the economic catastrophe that followed. Most of the county wants him out of office; according to a Gallup survey, 3 out of 4 Venezuelans view the government as corrupt. However, last May, Maduro was reelected. Many citizens claimed this election was an obvious fraud and took to the streets in protest.

Enter opposition leader Juan Guaido. In January 2019, Guaidó declared himself interim president on the grounds that the elections were rigged. Guaidó, as leader of the National Assembly, would become interim President if the role of President was vacant. The European Union and most of Latin America recognized Guaidó as the President of Venezuela. President Trump also threw his support behind Guaido, tweeting: “The citizens of Venezuela have suffered for too long at the hands of the illegitimate Maduro regime.” The US’ recognition of Juan Guaidó as the interim president led Maduro to call Guadió a Washington puppet intended to undermine Venezuelan sovereignty.

Maduro also claimed the blackout was the result of American cyber sabotage. He called the blackout an “electric war” started by “US imperialism.” But Venezuela has had problems with power since before Maduro came to the presidency. In 2010, Hugo Chavez called an “electricity emergency” after a drought caused water levels at the Guri Dam, a major hydroelectric plant, to fall dangerously low. Localized power cuts are normal, and electricity rationing comes as no surprise to the citizens. Experts say that this blackout was due to a key section of the country's national grid being taken out, possibly by a bush fire. The power system of Venezuela has also suffered from neglect as a result of years of underinvestment in infrastructure. The highest positions at Corpoelec, the state owned power company, are occupied by government loyalists. In reality, the power grid is run by soldiers instead of technicians.

Many skilled engineers have joined the three million Venezuelans who have fled to countries where lunch doesn’t cost a month’s salary. More are due to leave soon, as the power still flickers on and off. According to a Gallup survey, 36% of remaining Venezuelans said they would leave if they could. This number has more than doubled from the 13% who reported they would leave before Maduro took office.

Those who stay will have to deal with the aftermath of the devastating blackout. Pharmacies have few supplies, and grocery store shelves are sparse. In Maracaibo alone, vandals destroyed 562 businesses. Pharmacy owner Marianela Finol spoke to El País after the blackout. He compared the power outage to a natural disaster. “I feel like a tornado has passed,” he remarked. His pharmacy, robbed by a mob of strangers, remains in splinters.

EMILY DHUE is a third year student at the University of Virginia majoring in media. She is currently studying abroad in Valencia, Spain. She's passionate about writing that makes an impact, and storytelling through digital platforms.

New Zealand’s “Headscarf for Harmony” Effort

Women wear headscarves to stand in solidarity with New Zealand Muslim community.

Photo of headscarves by 𝚂𝚒𝚘𝚛𝚊 𝙿𝚑𝚘𝚝𝚘𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚙𝚑𝚢 on Unsplash

This week, women in New Zealand are wearing hijabs to stand in solidarity with the Muslim community following the shooting of 50 people at two mosques in Christchurch.

The effort, called “Headscarf for Harmony”, was created by Auckland doctor Thaya Ashman. After hearing a Muslim woman say that she was afraid to leave her house wearing a hijab, Ashman wanted a way to show her support and solidarity. “I wanted to say: We are with you, we want you to feel at home on your own streets, we love, support and respect you,” she told Reuters.

Ashman spoke with the Islamic Women’s Council of New Zealand and the Muslim Association of New Zealand before putting the effort into action. She told the New Zealand Herald that she used the word headscarf instead of hijab to recognize the cultural difference present for non-Muslims.

The Headscarf for Harmony hashtag continues to spread across social media. where New Zealanders are posting pictures of themselves in headscarves accompanied by captions offering their support for the Muslim community.

"These people are New Zealanders, just like I am,” twenty four-year-old Cherie Hailwood told CNN. “I understand that one day is very different to wearing it all the time, but I am honored to be given the permission of the Muslim community to walk in their shoes. Even just for a day.”

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern wore a black headscarf when meeting with members of the Muslim community. Even news anchors and reporters joined the effort, wearing headscarves on live television. At an open prayer at the Al Noor mosque where the attack had taken place, New Zealand women wore head scarves as a gesture of respect and solidarity.

“Being a Muslim, I’m overwhelmed,” one man tweeted, “I have never seen this kind of solidarity in my entire life—the vigils, the Haka performances, the scarves. It’s just amazing and heartwarming.”

Not all supported the effort. On Stuff.co.nz a Muslim woman published an unsigned article saying that while the movement may mean well, it is no more than “cheap tokenism”.

She wrote that the effort, “stinks of white savior mentality, where Muslim women need to be rescued by (largely) white folk. This type of ideology plays a part in the pyramid of white supremacy and must be acknowledged so people can stop virtue signaling and understand the impact of their actions.”

She went on to say that the attack, “was not just about Muslims, it was against any person of colour in a 'white' country so this focus on hijabs is derailing the examination of white supremacy, systematic racism, orientalism and bigotry. We don't want to be turned into a caricature.”

EMMA BRUCE is an undergraduate student studying English and marketing at Emerson College in Boston. While not writing she explores the nearest museums, reads poetry, and takes classes at her local dance studio. She is passionate about sustainable travel and can't wait to see where life will take her.

Extreme Evolution: Widespread Poaching Spawns Generation of Tuskless Elephants

When scientists and journalists examine poaching in Africa, they tend to focus on actions taken by human beings to protect a hunted species. What hasn't been examined is how nature itself may intervene on behalf of endangered animals and prevent their extinction. For example, scientists in Mozambique are investigating a peculiar phenomenon in which more and more elephants are being born without tusks. This is believed to be an evolutionary response to the widespread poaching that threatens elephant populations.

An elephant’s tusks are basically overgrown teeth and about a third of those teeth lie embedded in the animal’s skull—removing the tusks is generally fatal to the elephants themselves. Conservationists who would readily saw off the horns of a rhinoceros to make it unattractive to poachers are unable to take similar measures with elephants and must instead rely on militarized anti-poaching units to keep the animals safe.  Despite the efforts of these units and an international ban on the ivory trade, poachers have managed to leave a permanent mark on elephant population numbers. A civil war that ravaged Mozambique for 15 years saw the deaths of many elephants, as their ivory funded military operations and their meat fed soldiers. During that time, only about two to four percent of female elephants in Mozambique were born without tusks. But the widespread slaughter of tusked females made the tuskless gene more common: about thirty percent of female elephants born after the war had no tusks, while male elephants, who are always born with tusks, had tusks much smaller than those of their predecessors.

Elephants can survive without tusks, and the elephants born in Mozambique seem healthy. Still, scientists are curious to see what long-term effects this phenomenon will have on the elephant population. Elephants are among the most intelligent creatures on the planet, with a sophisticated, highly social culture. Tusks are a vital part of that culture, serving as tools for foraging and weapons for sparring.  Some experts think that a lack of tusks may force elephants to travel greater distances in search of food. Elephants also act as nature’s bulldozers, clearing away trees and making areas of the forest more accessible to other animals. A tuskless elephant would have greater difficulty performing such a task and this may cause ripples in Mozambique’s environment. Scientists will have to wait and see how nature adapts, and what steps it will take moving forward.

JONATHAN ROBINSON is an intern at CATALYST. He is a travel enthusiast always adding new people, places, experiences to his story. He hopes to use writing as a means to connect with others like himself. 

Scientists Find Elusive Orcas off the Coast of Chile

The Earth is about 71 percent water, 95 percent of that water unexplored. Every few years, animals emerge from the depths that force the scientific community to rewrite its rhetoric on oceanic life. With climate change upsetting the environmental landscape these occurrences may become more common. In January scientists found what could be a new species of orca off the coast of Cape Horn in Chile. The animals are said to share a common ancestor with the Orcinus orca that we often see in movies and documentaries, and the two have coexisted for thousands of years, a testament to how little we know about the deep.

Orcas, commonly called killer whales, are not whales at all, but the largest species of dolphin. They are found in virtually all of the world's oceans and seas and are widely considered to be apex predators, surpassing even the great white shark. For years, captive orcas have performed at water parks for the amusement of spectators, a practice that has become increasingly unpopular with the release of the documentary Blackfish. Now their wild counterparts facing their own challenges the form of climate change, which alters the weather patterns in an area and redistributes the animals that live there.

Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) were drawn to Cape Horn by reports from the local fishermen who were allegedly losing their catches to the orcas. Upon arrival, they found a group of 30 individuals who spent three hours investigating the scientists while they themselves were being filmed. These “Type D” orcas were first documented in 1955 when a pod washed up on a beach in New Zealand. The animals live in the subantarctic region, home to some of the stormiest waters on the planet, which makes them near impossible to study. Thanks to climate change, however, these waters are warming at an alarming rate, and it could have an effect on the orcas themselves or the food they eat.  In addition to physical analysis, NOAA scientists were able to collect skin and blood samples. Type D orcas have rounder heads and narrower fins than their more commonly known cousins. At around 25 feet, they are also a bit smaller, and their white eyepatches, a defining characteristic of orcas, are almost non-existent. The animals’ blood is still being analyzed, but experts believe that when the test results come back the Type D Orca will be the largest undescribed animal left in the world—at least, for now.

JONATHAN ROBINSON is an intern at CATALYST. He is a travel enthusiast always adding new people, places, experiences to his story. He hopes to use writing as a means to connect with others like himself. 

Alaska

Tim Kellner recorded this video to display his experience traveling in Alaska. In regard to his experience, Tim states “When I was a kid I would stare up at the giant stuffed grizzly bear in the Buffalo Science Museum and imagine seeing it alive and in the wild. That dream finally came true. I can't even begin to describe with words my experiences in Alaska so hopefully this video will capture just a small piece.” The music in the video is also by Tim.

This is Not a Drill: Keep Australia’s Coasts Oil-Free

The Great Australian Bight is known worldwide for its beautiful oceanic environment,home to diverse forms of marine life, and its coastline lined by the longest sea cliffs in the world.  A bight is a large open bay; this specific bay runs from Cape Carnot in South Australia, all the way to Cape Pasley in Western Australia: over 700 miles of ocean and sky that thousands of whales, seals, fish, birds, plants, and surfers call home.  

Equinor, a Norwegian oil company, has plans to carry out a drilling operation in the Great Australian Bight, ultimately turning it into a deepwater oil field.  This operation would devastate the 85% of rare marine life that exists in the Bight. Not only is it endangering the various species that live among the coasts, but the increase in pollution could disrupt the people of Australia.  A potential spill in the Bight could result in the death of several endangered species: killer whales, southern right whales, blue whales, dolphins, endemic Australian sea lions, and many more. The Bight also supports multi-billion dollar fishery, aquaculture, and tourism industries.  Drilling would, most likely, halt if not destroy this economy altogether. Not unlike BP’s drilling expedition, the proposal for drilling in the Great Australian Bight could have severe consequences, and ultimately the same catastrophic ending as BP’s drilling operation could incur. 8 years after the BP oil spill, the Gulf is still experiencing significant impacts, and scientists expect them to continue.  Scientists say that they may not know for another 30 or 40 years the extent of the effects. If the Equinor drilling operation resulted in another massive oil spill in our current environmental state, our economy and Earth would take much longer to bounce back than the BP oil spill. If this were to occur in summer, it would also not only affect Australia but also places as far away as northeastern Europe. If it were to happen in winter, the oil would most likely impact Kangaroo Island, the Eyre Peninsula and the Spencer Gulf in South Australia. It could also potentially reach the Victorian and Tasmanian coastline, heading towards New Zealand.  Known the remarkable economic and environmental values that would be put at risk from Equinor’s drilling operation in the Great Australian Bight, this project should not be considered.

Equinor’s drilling plan has led activists and surfers worldwide to strike and start a viral movement, ‘#Fightforthebight,’ to save this Australian coastline.  Surfers have paddled out in peaceful protests displaying signs with slogans like “Big oil has no future” or “Kill the Drill.” Several worldwide famous surfers that call Australia home, like Stephanie Gilmore, Nat Young, Mick Fanning, and many more, have signed an open letter concerning the Equinor’s drilling proposition and its potential impact on their coasts. To take action and help keep Australia’s coasts oil-free you can sign a Statement of Concern or donate here: https://www.fightforthebight.org.au/take-action-1 .

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AMELIA BAUMANN is an aspiring writer and editor from New Jersey. I love to travel and am intrigued with the diversity of culture around the world.  I am passionate about our environment and  especially keeping our oceans clean.