text:
Publication - Impact assessment
Environmental governance in Scotland after Brexit: report
Published: 1 Jun 2018
Energy and Climate Change Directorate, +1 more … Environment and Forestry Directorate
Brexit, Constitution and democracy, Environment and climate change
A study on the possible issues relating to future environmental governance in Scotland on the UK's withdrawal from the EU.
3 Summary of Main Points (by Sector)
Environmental Governance in Scotland on the UK's withdrawal from the EU
1 Mission and Scope/Remit
2 MO and methods used
4 Issues of Commonality Arising
5 Potential Solutions and Options
6 Recommendations for Future Work
Annex 1
3.1 Nature Conservation and Biodiversity
3.1.1 The most important EU legislative provisions for nature are the Birds and Habitats Directives, and the Natura 2000 network of protected areas they create. These sit at the heart of the EU's approach to tackling biodiversity loss and have created a uniform and fairly prescriptive common framework for nature conservation across the EU Member States. The Natura 2000 sites are, however, the contribution of the EU and its member states to the Emerald network [7] of protected areas under the Bern Convention.
3.1.2 A raft of other EU Directives, regulations and institutions are also operational in this area; including MSFD (see marine section below), the EIA Directive (see below) and the Regulation on Invasive Non-Native Species ( INNS). The EU's approach to biodiversity conservation was founded on the principles of a common and coordinated approach to transboundary issues and to protect shared natural heritage, for instance migratory species and habitat conservation across biogeographical regions.
3.1.3 On this basis, it is possible that – in relation to the making of future laws in the UK - the EU will demand that the UK retains regulatory alignment in some areas relevant to biodiversity conservation, in order to prevent a "race to the bottom" on environmental standards. These could include regulations on Invasive Non-Native Species and protection of migratory species among others. Future developments to EU laws in this area, such as updates to Schedules relating to protected species and habitats, will not be automatically reflected within domestic law, and a mechanism will be needed to review such changes and implement them where appropriate.
3.1.4 The loss of EU institutions will create, or widen, a number of governance gaps relating to biodiversity conservation.
3.1.5 The European Commission plays a key role in monitoring and reporting requirements for biodiversity and the Natura Network. Most of these functions are likely to fall to existing or new bodies within the UK, unless data are reported to an institution entirely independent of governments, resulting in a significant weakening of external scrutiny and accountability. A poor separation of powers in this area could affect, for instance, projects being consented within designated sites, the weight given to declining trends in biodiversity and scrutiny of derogations to the legislation on activities relating to protected species.
3.1.6 The governance gaps for biodiversity conservation will be most prominent in relation to enforcement and compliance. The complaints mechanism provided by the European Commission has been heavily utilised by individuals and civil society organisations in the nature sector and the oversight of the Court of Justice of the EU ( CJEU) has strongly incentivised compliance. The Directorate General for the Environment ( DG ENV) reported an average (mean) of 79 infringements per annum in the nature sector between 2007 and 2016. [8] The JNCC recorded 114 cases relating to the implementation of the Nature Directives in the UK, 18 of which were in Scotland. [9] These figures give an indication of the level of oversight that EU institutions have played in checking compliance with environment laws relating to biodiversity and the types of compliance issues that could go unchecked in the absence of such oversight.
3.1.7 Specialist EU bodies, agencies and working groups have played a strong role in supporting action in this area, particularly through biodiversity data collation which has allowed a comparison of biodiversity trends across the different Member States. This suggests that there may be capacity issues moving forward and that there is a need for continued collaboration between the Scotland/ UK and some of these institutions. The most prominent EU body regarding this issue is the European Environment Agency ( EEA) – some form of working arrangements with the EEA and the rest of the EU will be necessary to compare biodiversity data between the UK and other MS, especially on migratory species and Invasive Non-Native Species ( INNS); tackle pressures on biodiversity across shared biogeographic regions; and maintain up-to-date lists for protected species and habitats.
3.1.8 The EU Commission's role in agreeing the adequacy and distribution of SACs, based on biogeographic/ecological factors (especially from a continent wide perspective), could be replaced by scientific expertise in a domestic scrutiny body – this would provide validation for Government decisions as well as demonstrate our (former) Natura network was an appropriate contribution to the Emerald network. However, the system can operate without replacing the EU Commission's role in approving the justification where a project affecting a priority site falls outwith the narrow range of ordinarily approved overriding purposes; this would, though, mean that there will be no external scrutiny of government decisions.
3.2 Atmosphere (Air Pollution and Climate Change, excluding Energy)
3.2.1 In this area, the more obvious benefits of EU membership are that the UK has been able to rely on the EU's law-making, governance arrangements, cooperation and support mechanisms (including the EU Emission Trading Scheme, ETS, and the Fluorinated Gases, F-gases, Registry), both to devise measures to reduce emissions and to scrutinise the implementation of these measures.
3.2.2 As far as the making of law is concerned, after Brexit, formally the UK will no longer be required to align with EU law on air pollution and climate change. Nevertheless, EU law presently is the conduit through which the UK implements many of its international obligations in these subject areas, including under the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 2015 Paris Agreement. The UK will therefore need to look carefully at how international obligations under air pollution and climate change treaties are implemented after Brexit [10] . The numerous instruments on Ozone Depleting Substances are a specific cause of concern and need to be looked at in greater detail to better understand the implications of Brexit in this complex and composite area.
3.2.3 Though much will depend on ongoing negotiations between the EU and the UK, current EU governance arrangements in this subject area (including for example the EU ETS and the F-gases Registry) are unlikely to service the UK after Brexit. These arrangements therefore have to be replaced urgently to avoid a cliff edge. [11] Both on ETS and F-gases, the adoption of a UK-wide approach, within devolved responsibilities would be desirable, both for efficiency – given that all administrations will have to make up for the shortcomings associated with the demise of the EU ETS and F-gases Registry – as well as expediency considerations – given that Scotland is only responsible for a fairly small part of the UK's emissions covered by the EU ETS and F-gases Registry.
3.2.4 After Brexit, some continued collaboration with EU cooperation institutions, such as the EEA, in order to enable benchmarking, peer-review and peer-pressure in relation to emissions quantification and reduction measures, would be desirable, though not indispensable.
3.2.5 As far as the enforcement of law is concerned, general considerations raised in other subject areas apply here too. In addition, the implementation of air pollution standards both in Scotland and in the UK is an area where significant shortcomings already exist. This is therefore an area that needs to be carefully monitored and where specific remedies may be needed.
3.2.6 Finally, even after Brexit, UK business exporting to the EU will be under pressure to continue aligning with EU standards concerning products, for example on emissions from vehicles.
3.3 Environmental Impact, Access to Environmental Information and Environmental Justice
3.3.1 Environmental assessment ( EA) is the collective name for various statutory processes that inform decision makers about the likely significant environmental impact of a proposed decision, plan or strategy. In itself, EA does not determine the decision. Rather, a range of statutory procedures are in place which require decision-makers to remain informed of, and take into account, the results of EA before a decision is made or a plan or strategy adopted.
3.3.2 Where this is not already the case, most EU-derived EA legislation will, in the first instance, be converted into domestic law by the proposed European Union (Withdrawal) or Scottish Continuity Acts.
3.3.3 In relation to SEA (the assessment of plans, policies and proposals), Scotland has deliberately and purposely legislated beyond the requirements of the relevant EU Directive. This leadership on SEA could be curbed if any newly developed common framework constrains any of the UK nations from going above and beyond requirements.
3.3.4 A major loss of European Commission functions would, as with many areas, mainly relate to monitoring and reporting – both on standards but also co-ordinating cross-border issues.
3.3.5 However, the most significant loss will be enforcement and upholding compliance. The loss of access to the European Commission complaints mechanism will substantially reduce the ability of individuals and civil society organisations to request action where they believe EA has not been properly carried out. Furthermore the loss of CJEU oversight – representing a threat of enforcement and possible financial penalties – is likely to weaken the incentives across the UK for ensuring that EA laws are complied with.
3.3.6 As with many other areas explored in this report, some form of continued cooperation or working arrangement with EU institutions, agencies and working groups – most notably the EEA – is desirable in order to ensure continued best-practice sharing and comparison of data on transboundary projects. However participation in these groups is not a fundamental requirement to ensuring functionality in this area.
Environmental justice (including Access to environmental information, Public-participation in decision-making, Access to justice in environmental matters)
3.3.7 While many aspects of this issue are non-legislative, especially the public participation process, the Aarhus Convention is the overarching international treaty that addresses these matters.
3.3.8 Some of the requirements of the Convention are transposed into EU Directives and regulations. The European Union (Withdrawal) Act or the Scottish Continuity Bill will convert all existing EU legislation in this area into domestic law, but questions remain about how this legislation will be safeguarded from inadequately scrutinised amendments in the future and whether a provision will be implemented to remain in step with EU law in this area. For instance, the Commission does not currently monitor compliance with Pillar 3 (Access to Justice) of the Aarhus Convention, but this may change if the recent Commission Notice on Access to Justice in Environmental Matters is accorded weight. If these issues are not addressed then the UK could be more out of step with the EU in regards to its Aarhus compliance, which as discussed below is already criticised by eNGOs.
3.3.9 The UK and EU report separately to UNECE on the implementation of Aarhus requirements, so no monitoring and reporting gap will arise here. However, in the view of some stakeholders, Defra-led reports on behalf of the whole UK tend to be sparse in regard to devolved administrations' implementation.
3.3.10 The view of the UK and Scottish Governments is that all jurisdictions in the UK are "in compliance" but the eNGOs believe that there is already a gap in the implementation of the requirements of the Aarhus Convention, both in the UK and in Scotland, particularly regarding Pillar III - Access to Justice. A recent ruling of the ACCC [12] (Aarhus Convention's Compliance Committee) on prohibitive expense supports the eNGOs' perspective, while a communication [13] that will lead to a ruling on substantive legality has been accepted [14] .
3.3.11 Access to justice in environmental matters is seen by environmental interests as an 'at risk' area within this topic. While the UK will remain signatory to the Aarhus Convention and existing EU legislation in this area will be carried forward, the loss of the European Commission and European Parliament functions discussed above, as well as access to the CJEU represent a potentially significant narrowing of the scope to challenge Government on these issues over the longer term. Unless some of these functions are replicated in a domestic context then the ability of individuals and civil society organisations to make their voices heard on environmental matters will be substantially reduced. This could be addressed through amending the procedures of existing institutions or pursuing a number of new institutions
3.4 Marine Environment
3.4.1 We have not at this stage been able to carry out an extensive analysis of marine environment issues. The situation is more complicated because of the executive nature of the devolution of powers beyond 12 nautical miles.
3.4.2 In many policy areas, the same considerations apply to the marine environment as to other environments, for example in relation to the provisions of the EU Nature Directives and international conventions such as the Bonn Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance. Therefore, for protected areas there may well be the same issues as those mentioned in relation to terrestrial and freshwater environments. There are however additional, specific aspects that will need to be considered to be addressed, such as future policy on implementation of the measures in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, as well as how marine and freshwater/terrestrial processes interact ( e.g. Water Framework Directive coastal waters). These are not considered in detail here. Nor have we attempted to consider the many complex issues that will arise from EU withdrawal in relation to marine fisheries, which are subject to consideration by others including the marine and seafood stakeholders group.
3.4.3 There are specific transboundary considerations to be taken into account for marine protected areas, which are the result of both EU and international law obligations. Specific legal instruments and agreements would come within the scope of any consideration of devolved administrations' 'environmental duties' and where any new arrangements to allow scrutiny or challenge would apply. International obligations are particularly significant here, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea ( UNCLOS) and the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (the ' OSPAR Convention'). The latter contains provisions to protect the marine environment and there is a regional agreement on the protection of small cetaceans concluded as the "Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas" under the auspices of the UNEP Convention on Migratory Species.
3.4.4 Scotland has been at the forefront of the development of marine spatial planning and, at a UK level, the UK Marine Policy Statement under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 sets out an agreed framework for preparing Marine Plans and taking decisions affecting the marine environment. Continued implementation of the UK Marine Policy Statement will be fundamental to achieving and maintaining Good Environmental Status. It is therefore key to successful transition from EU level arrangements, as defined in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, to an increased significance of international law arrangements such as the OSPAR Convention.
3.4.5 Because of their significance, international agreements and obligations in marine governance arrangements are likely to highlight any constitutional disagreement over responsibility for international matters. As in other areas, to the extent that reliance comes to be placed on international rather than EU obligations, the international ones tend to be less precise and to have weaker monitoring and enforcement mechanisms than those laid out by EU law, but this gap could be addressed or reduced, for example by appropriate transposition of international obligations into national legislation.
3.5 Nuclear and radioactivity issues
3.5.1 In 1956, under the UN treaty, a Statute was established creating the International Atomic Energy Agency. It came into force in July 1957. The UK was one of 56 founding signatory nations. Based in Vienna the IAEA provides a range of services and has in essence membership/signatory requirements on the issues relating to safe non-military use of nuclear technology and related aspects of health, safety, security and environment as well as on safeguards and verification.
3.5.2 Since 1957 the EURATOM Treaty has also provided a strongly connected framework for consideration of radioactivity and nuclear issues within the member states ( MS) which are the same states over time as the EC/ EU ones. A range of Directives has been developed giving legal force and policy shape to operational requirements for safe use of radioactivity and handling of materials, and for the long term management of spent fuel and radioactive waste. The operational aspects of the Treaty are delivered by DG Energy of the European Commission working directly and in partnership with staff in EU Member States to provide advice, assessment and oversight, including inspections, which, together, connect to enforcement mechanisms under the ECJ.
3.5.3 Many of the high hazard areas of potential environmental impact relating to radioactivity in Scotland are not under devolved control in important areas. The two generating nuclear energy stations are part of EDF Energy. The three civil Decommissioning Sites are under the control of the GB Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, that reports primarily to UK Ministers, with parallel responsibility to Scottish Ministers for aspects of their functions in Scotland. The safety regulation of nuclear installations is reserved to the UK Authorities, and is carried out by the Office for Nuclear Regulation ( ONR), a UK Government body. SEPA regulates radioactive wastes from nuclear installations, including in liquid and gaseous forms. Ministry of Defence sites are exempt from both statutory safety and environmental controls. Safety regulation is carried out by the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator, which is answerable to the Secretary of State for Defence. A parallel non-statutory system of environmental regulation is carried out under an agreement between the MoD and SEPA. The Scottish Government has a stated policy intention to bring MoD sites into the framework of statutory environmental regulation arrangements. Other radioactivity issues concern principally the medical, food, geophysical and oil and gas sectors and the use and/or collection of particular radioactive sources and materials under controlled conditions. These have all been considered preliminarily.
3.5.4 Currently, operational control is overseen for nuclear power plants and hospitals, waste facilities and other users identified, using existing licensing arrangements by the UK Office for Nuclear Regulation, by local government and health bodies, by SEPA and by BEIS Offshore for the various sectors. Relevant aspects concerning worker safety also connect to ONR and at the most general level to the HSE. The key EU directives as established in UK and Scots law currently governing basic safety standards and irradiation, use and keeping of radioactive materials as well as the storage of wastes are generally highly effectively governed within the UK and Scotland.
3.5.5 In addition, independent/oversight inspections of and advice on facilities in Scotland are undertaken under the provisions of both IAEA and EURATOM, with the latter more frequent and visible.
3.5.6 Whilst we understand that it is the UK government's intention to remain a compliant IAEA member, the main issues arising under Brexit scenarios relate to the extent to which the UK, and therefore, Scotland remains adherent to the IAEA conventions, processes and requirements, and also whether this is a suitable and sufficient oversight and advisory mechanism for what is lost through leaving EURATOM.
3.5.7 In particular and additionally, it appears that access to and networking with relevant international expertise, as well as the ability to attract and retain staffing in key roles and support services in specialist areas could be restricted, thus potentially compounding the already limited and increasingly stretched resources left to attend to monitoring, expert independent scrutiny and oversight and, ultimately, enforcement. This could affect both our ability to identify failures and to ensure the adequate management and mitigation of hazards and provide sufficient public reassurance.
3.5.8 Some kind of Associate EURATOM membership and access to services were this possible might have compensating advantages. But the question remains as to what powers and efficacy of enforcement would exist if the UK chose to see this as optional.
3.5.9 In relation to Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material ( NORM) [15] and sources in oil and gas in particular, there are several issues around coastal, national and international waters and how the various components of current law would evolve and fit. This requires clarification.
3.5.10 In almost all facets of the radioactivity space, strengthening of existing ( UK and Scottish) regulators and/or establishment of dedicated UK and especially Scottish oversight entities may need to be considered.
3.6 Waste and Circular Economy
3.6.1 Our initial analysis highlights that the common issues identified across all topics in relation to reporting and oversight functions of the Commission and ECJ are also of concern in waste management.
3.6.2 Further detailed analysis is required on at least the following areas: definitions (including the definition of waste and the classification of hazardous waste), technical standards, producer responsibility, product standards and labelling and transfrontier shipment of waste.
3.6.3 There is a large amount of European legislation relating to different aspects of waste management and a level of complexity in the existing domestic legislation will remain (and increase) when the legislation is rolled over under EU Exit legislation. It has been the ambition of UK and Scottish policy over many years that much of the legislative complexity associated with technical treatment standards (landfill, batteries, Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment, End of Life Vehicles etc.) will be removed at the domestic level once waste is incorporated into the integrated regulatory framework under the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014.
3.6.4 Some areas related to waste management regulation are reserved such as the product and labelling requirements of the WEEE, Batteries and ELV Directives and the Transfrontier Shipment of waste.
3.6.5 In terms of the circular economy Scotland has a particularly ambitious policy agenda and has historically been ahead of other member states and the EU in terms of thinking around the circular economy. The new legislative measures in the EU Circular Economy Package sets new stretching targets and ambitions for waste and resource management to 2030.
3.6.6 There may be benefit in or need for considering some issues around the wider UK context and the issues of standards and trade. Adapting to new global trade arrangements for access to markets and receipt of goods will likely need a revised understanding of product standards classification and accreditation schemes, etc.
3.7 Water Environment and Flood Risk Management
3.7.1 The implementation of the Water Framework Directive and associated EU legislation for water governance follows a de-centralised and regionalised approach. Compared to other devolved administrations, Scotland has opted for a highly ambitious implementation of EU commitments under the WEWS.
3.7.2 This said, many technical specifications for the implementation of the Water Framework Directive throughout the EU are cooperatively developed through the informal, expert and stakeholder driven Common Implementation Strategy ( CIS). In this context, the European Commission plays a significant role in the so-called intercalibration process, through which regional and local interpretations and contextualisation of environmental standards are harmonised. The Commission facilitates this process through exchange of information between Member States. This institutional and regulatory link with the EU process will be lost after the UK's withdrawal. However, the importance of the CIS, to which SEPA has been a leading contributor, has diminished over time and is not critical for the implementation of the Water Framework Directive in Scotland. Given the extent of devolved powers in this matter, nothing should prevent Scotland from maintaining full regulatory alignment in the future if this objective was sought.
3.7.3 Within the UK, the implications of Brexit for the future of inter-agency coordination and advisory groups relevant to the implementation of the Water Framework Directive, such as UKTAG and JAGDAG, remain unclear. Yet, as an entirely devolved matter, Scotland will maintain fullest legislative and executive powers in order to pursue a largely autonomous water policy.
3.7.4 Equally, the Floods Directive is now fully embedded in domestic legislation and will be delivered through a suite of strategic flood risk management cycles. The UK's exit from the EU will mean that Scotland is unable to help shape future changes made to the reporting requirements. However, there are no significant gaps envisaged resulting from the UK's withdrawal.
3.7.5 The points made above highlight the valuable role of knowledge exchange. Given the stance adopted on water issues in Scotland thus far and the Cabinet Secretary's commitment to maintain standards, Scotland's longer term commitment to, and performance in, protecting the water environment and contributing to global policy and implementation, suggest a strong position. There may also be opportunities to develop policy which is better suited to the specific Scottish water environment.
3.8 Chemicals, biocides and pesticides
3.8.1 The European Chemicals Agency ( ECHA) manages the technical, scientific and administrative aspects of the implementation of EU chemicals regulations which are presently implemented directly in the UK and have wider connection to other EU regulations enforcement achieved at national level. Whilst still unclear, the UK's exit from the EU may mean that the UK will no longer be serviced by the European Chemicals Agency and the related EU law framework ( REACH). This is therefore an area where present governance arrangements would not function. Retaining membership of ECHA, as was suggested by the UK Prime Minister, would be the easiest short term solution. This is also an area where UK businesses will need to continue to apply EU rules in order to sell their products in the EU marketplace.
3.8.2 In addition to the general concerns identified in this report around reporting and oversight functions fulfilled by the EU Commission and the CJEU, there are additional issues which are particularly concerning within chemicals, notably a loss of influence in a commercially important global sector where significant companies operate in Scotland currently, capacity at Scotland and UK levels and the benefits of a UK framework.
3.8.3 REACH applies to all EEA Member States. The ECHA has "cooperation agreements" with regulatory agencies in Australia, Canada, Japan and the USA, which focus on exchanging information and knowledge regarding the management of chemicals. In addition, Switzerland and Turkey have enacted legislation that mirrors REACH, but is developed and implemented in an autonomous manner. Companies in non- EEA member states that wish to trade chemicals with the EU have the option to nominate an 'only representative' agent registered in an EU member state to take over the responsibility of complying with REACH. Alternatively, the obligation for compliance will fall to the importer. In none of these arrangements would the UK have much influence. It remains to be seen whether the UK can negotiate an exit deal that allows it to retain any influence.
3.8.4 The loss of influence at the EU and international level is particularly concerning in this area. 13% of the unique companies who registered chemicals under REACH in 2017 were based in the UK. The UK has been a significant actor in terms of registering and evaluation of substances. The ECHA has also highlighted the role that the UK has traditionally played by using its influence to support proportionality. The UK has been important in arguing that decisions should reflect a proportionate (balanced) approach to risk rather than adopting a very precautionary and risk-averse attitude. Scotland, nonetheless does not necessarily align with Westminster's approach to risk when it is in its remit to do so.
3.8.5 In the UK, the Chemicals Regulation Division ( CRD), part of the Health and Safety Executive ( HSE), is responsible for the much of the regulations on chemicals and for the Competent Authority functions within EU legislation regulating industrial chemicals where HSE is the appointed authority for the UK. CRD employs around 250 scientific, policy and support staff. It is possible that for a new or existing authority to undertake the same workload with no access to the existing EU networks and system would require a substantially larger workforce, as well as significant start-up/extension costs in the short term. Depending on the outcome of the ongoing discussions on internal allocation of EU powers, lack of capacity could be an issue for devolved administrations, as further discussed in section 4.5 below. The increase of staff in some Departments of the UK Government to deal with Brexit demands may well need to be replicated in Scotland.
3.8.6 Within the UK, regulation of chemicals is an area where the adoption of a UK-wide approach, within devolved responsibilities would be desirable, as all industry across the UK will need to continue to comply with EU rules in order to sell their products on the EU marketplace. Scotland has always relied on UK wide expertise in the area of chemicals management.
3.9 Industrial Pollution Control
3.9.1 In our consideration of environmental media we addressed air, water and waste, above. Soils and a range of other issues also interconnect with these media. It is also relevant to consider integrated, cross-cutting and general industrial pollution issues. These issues are largely addressed by the Industrial Emissions Directive ( IED, 2010/75) and the precursor IPPC (Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control) Directives.
3.9.2 The framework for integrated pollution prevention and control was set out in the IPPC Directive in 1996, 96/61. The IPPC Directive, " PPC" in shorthand, has been amended and extended, focussing on wastes as well as processes, to become the practical centre-piece of industrial emissions control and materials management. The understanding of the value of integration was based both on notions of administrative coherence and simplicity and therefore tractability for enterprise management but crucially on the learning that different approaches to controlling emissions or releases to air, water and land separately resulted in the shifting of polluting materials and their impacts (often "wastes") between the environmental media rather than protecting the environment overall.
3.9.3 PPC consolidated and incorporated a number of previous directives, including those relating to waste management, including the Landfill Directive, driving closure or retrofit of those facilities without gas and leachate collection, as well as air pollution and industrial process management. PPC has now in turn been recast, alongside 7 other directives (on titanium oxides and their management and surveillance, on reducing VOCs, on waste incineration, IPPC 2008/1, and relating to large combustion plant) into IED.
3.9.4 IED seeks to coordinate the authorisation and management of environmental permits ensuring integrated measures for air, water and land have been put in place. It, like PPC, is rooted firmly in the notion of Best Available Techniques ( BAT) and the reference documents ( BATRefs or BREFS [16] ) for a wide range of industrial processes whereby specialists have brought together expert views of appropriate abatement, process control and operational equipment, standards, procedures and practices that will achieve appropriate control, energy efficient performance and management information for effective materials management, pollution performance monitoring and environment and health protection, including that of workers. Geographical conditions, other local loadings and the characteristics of the facility are also taken into account to achieve a transparent permit system. Emission Limit Values are also a part of this model and it is now possible to have a single licence that brings all the key aspects of operation and the releases permitted, in one document, which can then be assessed against actual performance on a regular basis.
3.9.5 PPC and IED also now require elements of public consultation, via cross-compliance with the PPD (Public Participation Directive, 2003/35), ensuring greater transparency on permit conditions and performance.
3.9.6 Collaboration on pollution prevention and control policy, practice and information sharing as well as legal pursuit around environmental crime across Europe has been another area of increased co-operation in recent years, between regulators and police forces as well as borders and customs agencies. This has helped to address pollution risks, unfair competition, criminal activity generally around illegal trade and dangerous goods and has enhanced best practice learning between jurisdictions.
3.9.7 The same loss of influence, networking access, data sharing and lack of capacity issues appear to apply in this area. Access to BREF/ BAT knowledge and participation in the BREF centre processes has given Scotland and the UK opportunities to shape and to benefit from early, authoritative and ongoing standards, best practice, market, technology, process and legislative information, insights and positions. Loss of access has the potential to weaken industrial and economic development strategy, impact on competitiveness and trade arrangements as well as lead to a lessening of alignment, exchange and cooperation between regulators and policy makers.
3.10 Control of Major Accident Hazards
3.10.1 A further area which we have not covered in detail is major accident hazards under Directive 2012/18/ EU (Seveso). This Directive was left to the national authorities to implement within the EU skeleton, but there is an obligation on the Commission to report on the implementation and functioning of the scheme every four years and more significantly provision on information sharing between Member States and Commission (art 21). Presumably on Brexit the UK will no longer be included in this system, removing the need to provide information but cutting us off from what is being gathered across the EU on this topic, including the database of major accidents which is used to spread information and lessons between authorities in the EU (although parts of this are public). Again, there is nothing here fundamentally different in structure from what occurs in other areas, but it provides another example of a useful function organised through EU structures.
3.11 Noise
3.11.1 We have also briefly considered the EU measures on environmental noise. These measures were incorporated by Scottish regulations and represent an area where subsidiarity has been given considerable weight. The mapping, assessment and action plans, however, are still subject to reporting to the European Environment Agency. Directive 2002/49/ EC involves some reporting directly to the Commission: therefore, infraction proceedings may be initiated, if inadequate measures are being taken.
3.11.2 On specific sources of noise, there are EU standards for maximum noise levels and testing and approval. These are classic single market issues which would seem to call for a unified approach within the UK. For trade reasons close alignment with the EU would seem preferable to developing individual standards. Much EU law in this subject area has been transposed already into domestic law. In common with many other areas, the significance of the EU environmental law is that the government is required to act on certain issues, has to report what it is doing and can be called to account if it falls short.


There is currently no shuttle running from Jonathan Dickinson State Park to Riverbend Park. Anyone wanting to paddle the upper reached of the river, must arrange their own transportation or make their paddle round trip.
16 distinct natural communities create the mosaic that is Jonathan Dickinson, the largest state park in Southeast Florida.
Rare environments such as coastal sand hills, upland lakes, and scrub forests as well as the pristine Loxahatchee River make this park a unique spot to explore by foot or water. Historical interests include a secret WWII training camp, story of the shipwrecked Quaker merchant who is the park's namesake, and Trapper Nelson, the legendary Wild Man of the Loxahatchee.
Ranger-guided tours of Trapper Nelson's 1930s pioneer homestead are available year-round. Visitors can enjoy paved and off-road biking, equestrian and hiking trails. Boating, canoeing and kayaking along the river are also great ways to see the park. Anglers can fish along the riverbank or from a boat. The nature and history of the park comes to life through exhibits and displays in the Elsa Kimbell Environmental Education and Research Center. Programs for kids or the whole family are also offered here.
Summer is here, and the park's educational programs are in full swing. Every year Jonathan Dickinson hosts thousands of students offering opportunities for local children to visit the park and learn about our natural and cultural resources.
We offer a variety of paddling rental options, and single speed cruiser bicycle rentals for your enjoyment inside the park, and provide guided nature tours including interpretive boat tours, guided canoe tours, horse-drawn tram tours and guided horseback rides.
The visitor center at Jonathan Dickinson State Park offers interpretive programs and activities for families, school groups, scouts and other organized groups.
A hike up this Florida "mountain" will reveal a unique ecosystem of plants and animals, found no where else in the world. Jonathan Dickinson is the only state park in south Florida where visitors can hike to the top of an ancient sand dune.
Rob Rossmanith has been the biologist at Jonathan Dickinson State Park for the last fourteen years and doesn't see himself being anywhere else.
Art and Mary Dodd have been dedicated volunteers for over ten years. They love seeing the park thrive as well as educating the children that visit the park.
Located on Florida's southeast coast, scenic landscapes within the park represent examples of what some of the first pioneers would see traveling through the area.


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Greatland Gold has announced the results of the latest geophysical modelling at its 100% owned Havieron licence in the Paterson region of Western Australia.
Geophysical models have been a fundamental component in the discovery of exceptional mineralisation at Havieron and these models are constantly being refined with the latest petrophysical information collected from wireline (downhole) logging and measurements taken from drill core. Further to the announcement of 14 February 2018, new 3D geophysical models of the Havieron target have been produced and are reported here.
A comparison of 3D gravity and magnetic models shows an approximate 500m vertical and 200m lateral offset between the causative bodies, which may be important for targeting if Havieron displays affinities with an iron-oxide-copper-gold ("IOCG") system.
Gervaise Heddle, Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are very excited by the results of the latest geophysical modelling which suggest that Havieron has the potential to represent a significantly larger mineralised system than we previously expected. Our excellent recent drilling results only tested to approximately 800 metres below surface and elevated gold and copper persisted to the end of several holes, suggesting that mineralisation continues at depth below the current limit of drilling.
121m at 2.93g/t gold and 0.23% copper from 497m (HAD001).
21m at 3.79g/t gold 0.44% copper from 418m (HAD003).
Combined intercept of 275m at 4.77g/t gold and 0.61% copper, including an upper zone of 118m at 3.08g/t gold and 0.84% copper from 459m and a lower zone of 157m at 6.04g/t gold and 0.44% copper from 660m (HAD005).
Greatland's second drilling campaign at Havieron is ongoing and further analytical results are awaited.


This event will bring top-level decision makers and key players responsible for AI strategies and technology developments all together under one roof. Business AI and Robotics will showcase the opportunities for advancing trends in deep learning, Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and more from leading innovators and companies. Gain insights and meet new business partners in order to stay ahead of the competition through our unique B2B matchmaking and peer-to-peer networking session.


The West-Londoners have deals in place for Cagliari's Barella and Zenit St Petersburg's Paredes but are holding fire while they decide whether they need them at the club, report The Telegraph.
With Mateo Kovacic on loan from Real Madrid as well as Ross Barkley, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Jorginho on the books, they are carefully considering their options before splurging on another midfielder.
The deal to take Fabregas to Monaco took slightly longer than expected but the former Arsenal man finally agreed the deal and said an emotional goodbye to English football with a penalty miss in Chelsea's FA cup victory over Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge.
If the Blues do decide to replace the Spanish star, Paredes and Barella are first in the queue.
Paredes has made nine appearances for Argentina after making his debut in 2017 and the midfielder had spells with Boca Juniors and AS Roma before moving to Russia in July of the same year.
The 24-year-old has scored three goals in 15 appearances for Zenit this season having also featured in the Europa League.
Chelsea's other option Barella is a product of the Cagliari youth academy and other than a brief loan spell at Como has been at the Italian club since 2013.
He has managed only one goal from eighteen appearances this season but the 21-year-old already has four caps for Italy having been part of the international setup since from under-15 level.
Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri will be aware of both players from his time in Italy which will obviously have played a part in the decision to agree deals with the pair.
Fabregas could also see former Chelsea team-mate Michy Batshuayi join him at Monaco after Valencia cut short the Belgian's loan at the club.
Batshuayi worked with Monaco boss Henry at last summer's World Cup in Russia and played with Fabregas during his time with the Blues.
Everton and Crystal Palace are also said to be interested in signing the 25-year-old Belgian but Henry was quick to make his interest clear.
He said: "We have worked together with Belgium. We will see what happens. But he could be an interesting player. For sure."


During the VISION 2011 international trade fair for machine vision in Stuttgart (November 8-10), Carl Zeiss will exhibit its lenses for industry and research. These compact and robust lenses are used widely for industrial machine vision thanks to their reliability and excellent image performance. Aerospace, land measurement and traffic management systems are three additional sectors in which Carl Zeiss lenses are often used.
The ZF lenses from Carl Zeiss are compatible with all F-mount cameras. The F-mount is a common standard for high-resolution industrial cameras with large sensors. "As a result of its large image circle, our lenses are ideal for the growing importance of high-resolution image sensors and larger sensor formats in industry and research," says Udo Schellenbach, Sales Manager for the Industrial Lenses Division of Carl Zeiss AG. "We invite all trade fair visitors to come to our stand, have a look at our lenses and talk to our experts." Carl Zeiss will be located in hall 4, booth E12.
The new high speed Distagon T* 1,4/35 is an example of one lens that is in particularly high demand in the industrial sector. It creates crisp, sharp images even in difficult lighting conditions. Thanks to its large focus ring and precise worm-gear, the lens enables accurate, sharp pictures to be taken even at maximum aperture opening. The lens' optical construction also guarantees a high image quality across the entire image range.
Another lens suitable for industry and research is the new high speed Distagon T* 2/25, a moderate wide-angle lens. It shows its strengths especially with fast-moving objects or in tough lighting situations, as is often the case in the industrial sector. The Distagon T* 2/25 also stands out for its excellent color correction.


Tan leather Tod's shoulder bag with silver-tone hardware, dual flat shoulder straps, contrast stitching throughout, logo placard at front face, beige canvas interior lining, dual interior compartments with zip closures and turn-lock closure at top. Includes dust bag. Shop Tod's designer bags online at The RealReal.


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Home > Theses > THESES1 > 190
University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+
A genealogy of accounting and pastoral power in the Australian disability welfare program (1908-2016)
Mona Nikidehaghani, University of Wollongong
Public social policies play a pivotal role in determining what qualifies a person as being disabled. Since the early 20th century, the Australian Government has instigated social policies in an attempt to conceptualise the boundaries of disability, as well as the rights and responsibilities of disabled people. This study analyses the influence of accounting in Australian social policies for disabled people from 1908 to 2016. The thesis reveals the role of accounting in articulating what constitutes a disability identity as well as introducing programs to govern the "disability problem". The dissertation demonstrates that accounting plays a dominant and influential role in the identification of disability.
The study draws on the work of the French philosopher Michel Foucault to explore how accounting practices associated with disability welfare programs act as a technology of the self. Foucault's (1988c, 2007) elaboration on the pastoral power deployed by early Christianity provides a conceptual framework to explain the implication of accounting as a technology for categorising disabled people. In particular, the study draws on Foucault's (1988c, 2007) explanation of the relation of the Christian pastor and the members of the pastor's church and the mechanisms the Christian pastor applies in the transformation of individuals. Through such a framework the role of accounting in the constitution of disability is revealed: it becomes apparent that financial and accounting discourse and practices are significant in explaining how disabled people identify and reflect on themselves and how disabled people are perceived by others.
The thesis adopts a critical genealogical approach and provides a "history of the present". This approach traces discontinuities in events and illuminates systems of formation for current modes of identification of disability, as well as programs designed in response to the "disability problem". The study maps the formation of disability welfare benefits from 1908, when the Australian Government introduced the Invalid and Old-age Pensions Act, to the present.
This thesis draws upon an extensive range of archival material including policy texts, Parliamentary Hansard transcripts, and administrative procedures, and renders a complex picture of the subjectification of disabled people in Australia. The analysis reveals that the current neo-liberal mentality of managing disability originates in the previous assumptions made in the process of caring for the disabled people. It demonstrates that reforms in political ideologies rely on the transformation of the self in a manner that contributes to particular political objectives. The thesis shows that accounting remains a constructive mechanism for transforming individuals and achieving desired ends, affirms the centrality of accounting as a technique of domination, and expands the implications of accounting to a technique of the self, by which subjects know themselves and are known by others.
Nikidehaghani, Mona, A genealogy of accounting and pastoral power in the Australian disability welfare program (1908-2016), Doctor of Philosophy thesis, School of Accounting, Economics and Finance, University of Wollongong, 2017. https://ro.uow.edu.au/theses1/190
Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Wollongong.
Digital Theses @ UOW

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A majority of the public favours a change to the legal status of cannabis according to a new poll commissioned by the NZ Drug Foundation.
64 percent of respondents think possessing a small amount of cannabis for personal use should be either legal (33%) or decriminalised (31%), with a minority (34%) in favour of retaining prohibition.
"This is the first time we've seen such a strong majority in favour of reforming New Zealand's drug law. This tells us voters are ready for change even if law makers aren't," said Ross Bell, NZ Drug Foundation Executive Director.
"This poll shows that it doesn't matter what party people back, there is consistent support to move away from the criminal justice approach to drugs," said Ross. "It was an old political truth that any changes to drug law was a poisoned chalice, but this poll well and truly busts that myth. There's a message here for politicians: they no longer need to fear talking about drug law reform."
"The results confirm our sense of a shift in public mood. Voters are more aware that our 40-year-old Misuse of Drugs Act is no longer fit for purpose. I mean, when you have 62 percent of New Zealand First voters supporting sensible drug law change you know you're on safe political ground!"
"This poll is important because it shows people understand drug law changes aren't just a choice of either sticking with the black market status quo or lurching to sales from the corner dairy. Voters support regulation in some form, but not wide access that would come if cannabis shops were allowed."
"I think what's happening is voters have learnt of reforms being tried around the world and see the sky is not falling in, and that some of those alternatives could provide us a way forward."
"The results provide a clear roadmap for our law makers: there is appetite for removing criminal penalties for low level offending such as personal possession, growing and social supply; there is overwhelming support for medical cannabis; and little support for a commercial free-for-all."
The Drug Foundation favours the removal of criminal penalties for drug use, possession and social supply, the development of a strictly regulated cannabis market, and greater resourcing for prevention, education, treatment and other health and social interventions for people who use drugs.
"Politicians should now be able to proceed with cautious reform without fear of a voter backlash, but any new system needs to protect young people and those communities that already experience the harmful effects of drug use. Any new approach should be carefully designed to improve not worsen drug harm," said Ross.
"I'm going to read out a range of activities relating to cannabis. For each activity can you please tell me whether you think that activity should be legal, or illegal and subject to criminal penalties or illegal but decriminalised which means it is an offence punishable only by a fine, like a speeding ticket and there is no criminal record. So the three choices are legal, illegal or decriminalised.
The Poll was conducted by Curia Market Research from Monday 18 July to Tuesday 2 August 2016. The sample was drawn from a random selection of 15,000 eligible NZ voters contactable on a landline. 1,029 people agreed to participate.


The new finding from British and U.S. e-cigarette researchers understated the good news for vapers.
"Long-term NRT-only and e-cigarette-only use…is associated with substantially reduced levels of measured carcinogens and toxins relative to smoking only combustible cigarettes," reported scientists at the University College London; King's College, London; the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York; and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Their work, with Lion Shahab as lead author, appeared in the Annals of Internal Medicine last month.
"The observed carcinogens and toxins" were a group of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including acrolein, acrylamide, acrylonitrile, butadiene and a combination of ethylene oxide, acrylonitrile and vinyl chloride. The researchers actually measured metabolites – products formed when the body breaks down the VOCs – in the urine.
The finding is good news for vapers, who avoid the thousands of toxins in smoke. But the study and associated media coverage gave the impression that e-cigarette use also resulted in excess exposure to the VOCs. That may not be true. People are exposed every day to these VOCs, in the air and in our food and drinks. Research published in 2012 by K. Udeni Alwis, et al., showed that nonsmokers have measurable levels of these chemicals.
Here are compared results from the Shahab and Alwis studies. The former did not report absolute levels of the VOC metabolites; rather, it designated smokers as the referent group, and reported levels in vapers as a percentage of levels in smokers. The Alwis study reported actual levels in smokers and nonsmokers, allowing me to calculate the percentages.
The table shows that VOC exposures in vapers were similar to exposures in nonsmokers. For example, in the Shahab study, vapers' exposure to acrylamide was 43 percent of the exposure among smokers, whereas nonsmokers' exposure was 42 percent of smokers in the Alwis study.
The authors of the Shahab report—particularly Alwis, who is at the CDC—should have made the connection between the results of the two studies. The fact that vapers' VOC exposures are similar to those of nonsmokers is headline-worthy.


An unknown, naked man has been seen walking about late night in a Danish provincial town. This is blown out of proportion with fear, accusations, strike etc., affecting the whole town.
Olympia's Father: That sounds disgusting.
Nine Lovely People, No Villains!
What a pleasure "Italian for Beginners" is. Each character is appealing as well as complex and recognizable. A new pastor, bereft after his wife's death, interacts with an assortment of people who by accident or stumbling and fumbling intent come together in overlapping relationships. Romance is in the air, deaths dislocate several of the characters' lives, comedic movements help all to cope with the vagaries of life.
Taking place mostly in Denmark (with a restaurant manager whose style convinces me that he must have done an internship in a New York City eatery), the story revolves around the central goal of learning Italian. Only one of the main characters is from Italy, a beautiful waitress with the clearest agenda of anyone in the film. After wrestling through a non-Berlitz approach to the language all head for Venice where hearts meet and fun reigns.
Dogma 95 certificate or not, this is a convincing, endearing, excellent film. By intent or otherwise, many scenes are shot with a slight jerkiness that adds to a viewer's sense of inclusion.
Unfortunately this film won't screen in many theatres and rentals and sales will be the path to a wider audience. And this film merits a very big following.


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Home News 30 Years Ago -- Voyager 2's Historic Neptune Flyby
30 Years Ago -- Voyager 2's Historic Neptune Flyby
Posted by Guy Pirro 10/19/2019 01:59AM
Wrapped in teal and cobalt colored bands of clouds, Neptune looks like a blue-hued sibling to Jupiter and Saturn -- the blue indicating the presence of methane. A massive, slate-colored storm was dubbed the "Great Dark Spot," similar to Jupiter's Great Red Spot. Six new moons and four rings were also discovered. This picture of Neptune was produced from the last whole planet images taken through the green and orange filters on the Voyager 2 narrow angle camera. The images were taken at a range of 4.4 million miles from the planet, 4 days and 20 hours before closest approach. The picture shows the Great Dark Spot and its companion bright smudge. On the west limb, the fast moving bright feature called Scooter and the little dark spot are visible. These clouds were seen to persist for as long as Voyager's cameras could resolve them. North of these, a bright cloud band similar to the south polar streak may be seen. (Image Credit: NASA/JPL)
Thirty years ago, on August 25, 1989, NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft made a close flyby of Neptune, giving humanity its first close-up look at our Solar System's eighth planet and marking the end of the Voyager mission's Grand Tour of the Solar System's four giant planets - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. But that historic first was also a last -- No other spacecraft has visited Neptune since.
Voyager 2 launched on August 20, 1977, about two weeks before its twin spacecraft, Voyager 1. The two spacecraft are today the most distant human-made objects, having recently passed through the Heliosphere – a giant bubble that surrounds the Solar System.
The original goal of the two Voyager spacecraft was to just explore Jupiter and Saturn. However, as part of a mission extension, Voyager 2 also flew by Uranus in 1986 and Neptune in 1989, taking advantage of a once in a 176 year alignment of the planets that enabled it to take a grand tour of the outer planets.
Among its many findings, Voyager 2 discovered Neptune's Great Dark Spot and 450 meter per second (1,000 mph) winds. It also detected geysers erupting from the pinkish-hued nitrogen ice that forms the polar cap of Neptune's moon Triton. Working in concert with Voyager 1, it also helped discover actively erupting volcanoes on Jupiter's moon Io, and waves and kinks in Saturn's icy rings from the tugs of nearby moons.
"The Voyager planetary program really was an opportunity to show the public what science is all about," said Ed Stone, Professor of Physics and Voyager Project Scientist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena since 1975. "Every day we learned something new."
"Voyager 2's initial mission was a four-year journey to Saturn, but it is still returning data 33 years later," said Ed Stone in 2010. "It has already given us remarkable views of Uranus and Neptune, planets we had never seen close-up before. We will know soon what it will take for it to continue its epic journey of discovery."
Wrapped in teal and cobalt colored bands of clouds, the planet that Voyager 2 revealed looked like a blue-hued sibling to Jupiter and Saturn -- the blue indicating the presence of methane. A massive, slate-colored storm was dubbed the "Great Dark Spot," similar to Jupiter's Great Red Spot. Six new moons and four rings were discovered.
During the encounter, the engineering team carefully changed the probe's direction and speed so that it could do a close flyby of the planet's largest moon, Triton. The flyby showed evidence of geologically young surfaces and active geysers spewing material skyward. This indicated that Triton was not simply a solid ball of ice, even though it had the lowest surface temperature of any natural body observed by Voyager: minus 391 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 235 degrees Celsius).
The conclusion of the Neptune flyby marked not an end, but a new beginning -- the beginning of the Voyager Interstellar Mission, which continues today, 42 years after launch. Voyager 2 and its twin, Voyager 1 (which had also flown by Jupiter and Saturn), continue to send back dispatches from the outer reaches of our Solar System. At the time of the Neptune encounter, Voyager 2 was about 2.9 billion miles (4.7 billion kilometers) from Earth. Today it is 11 billion miles (18 billion kilometers) from us. The faster-moving Voyager 1 is 13 billion miles (21 billion kilometers) from Earth.
By the time Voyager 2 reached Neptune, the Voyager mission team had completed five planetary encounters. But the big blue planet still posed unique challenges.
At about 30 times farther from the Sun than is the Earth, the icy giant receives only about 0.001 times the amount of sunlight that the Earth does. In such low light, Voyager 2's camera required longer exposures to get quality images. But because the spacecraft would reach a maximum speed of about 60,000 mph (90,000 kph) relative to Earth, a long exposure time would make the image blurry. (Just imagine trying to take a picture of a roadside sign from the window of a speeding car. That gives you an idea of how difficult this was.)
So the team programmed Voyager 2's thrusters to fire gently during the close approach, rotating the spacecraft to keep the camera focused on its target without interrupting the spacecraft's overall speed and direction.
The probe's great distance also meant that by the time radio signals from Voyager 2 reached Earth, they were weaker than those of other flybys. But the spacecraft had the advantage of time -- The Voyagers communicate with Earth via the Deep Space Network, or DSN, which utilizes radio antennas at sites in Madrid, Spain; Canberra, Australia; and Goldstone, California. During Voyager 2's earlier Uranus encounter in 1986, the three largest DSN antennas were 64 meters (210 feet) wide. To assist with the Neptune encounter, the DSN expanded the dishes to 70 meters (230 feet). They also included nearby non-DSN antennas to collect data, including another 64 meter (210 feet) dish in Parkes, Australia, and multiple 25 meter (82 feet) antennas at the Very Large Array in New Mexico.
The effort ensured that engineers could hear Voyager loud and clear. It also increased how much data could be sent back to Earth in a given period, enabling the spacecraft to send back more pictures from the flyby.
In the week leading up to that August 1989 close encounter, the atmosphere was electric at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, which manages the Voyager mission. As images taken by Voyager 2 during its Neptune approach made the four hour journey to Earth, Voyager team members would crowd around computer monitors around the Lab to see.
"One of the things that made the Voyager planetary encounters different from missions today is that there was no internet that would have allowed the whole team and the whole world to see the pictures at the same time," Stone said. "The images were available in real time at a limited number of locations."
But the team was committed to giving the public updates as quickly as possible, so from August 21 to August 29, they would share their discoveries with the world during daily press conferences. On August 24, a program called "Voyager All Night" broadcast regular updates from the probe's closest encounter with the planet, which took place at 4 AM GMT (9 PM in California on August 24).
The next morning, Vice President Dan Quayle visited the Lab to commend the Voyager team. That night, Chuck Berry, whose song "Johnny B. Goode" was included on the Golden Record that flew with both Voyagers, played at JPL's celebration of the feat.
Of course, the Voyagers' achievements extend far beyond that historic week three decades ago. Both probes have now entered interstellar space after exiting the Heliosphere, a protective bubble around the planets created by the high speed flow of particles and magnetic fields spewed outward by our Sun.
There, they are reporting back to Earth on the "interstellar space weather" and conditions from this region, which is filled with the debris from stars that exploded elsewhere in our galaxy. They have taken humanity's first tenuous step into the cosmic ocean where no other operating probes have flown.
Voyager data also complement other missions, including NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX), which is remotely sensing that boundary where particles from our Sun collide with material from the rest of the galaxy. And NASA is preparing the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP), due to launch in 2024, to capitalize on Voyager observations.
The Voyagers send their findings back to DSN antennas with small 13 watt transmitters. (To put this in perspective, 13 watts is just about enough power to run a refrigerator light bulb).
"Every day they travel somewhere that human probes have never been before," said Stone. "Forty two years after launch, and they're still exploring."
Voyager 1 – First to enter the final frontier
In 2012, Voyager 1 spacecraft sensors began to send back readings that the venerable deep-space explorer had encountered a region in space where the intensity of charged particles from beyond our Solar System markedly increased. Voyager scientists looking at this rapid rise drew closer to the inevitable but historic conclusion: Humanity's first emissary to interstellar space was on the edge of our Solar System.
"The laws of physics say that someday Voyager will become the first human-made object to enter interstellar space, but we still do not know exactly when that someday will be," said Ed Stone at the time, Voyager project scientist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. "The latest data indicate that we are clearly in a new region where things are changing more quickly. It is very exciting. We are approaching the Solar System's frontier."
The "frontier" he referred to is the edge of the Heliosphere, a great magnetic bubble that surrounds the Sun and planets. The heliosphere is the Sun's own magnetic field inflated to gargantuan proportions by the Solar wind. Inside lies the Solar System – Our "Home." Outside lies interstellar space, where no spacecraft had gone before.
The data making the 16 hour and 38 minute, 11.1 billion mile (17.8 billion kilometer), journey from Voyager 1 to antennas of NASA's Deep Space Network on Earth detail the number of charged particles measured by the two High Energy telescopes aboard the spacecraft. These energetic particles were generated when stars in our cosmic neighborhood went supernova.
"From January 2009 to January 2012, there had been a gradual increase of about 25 percent in the amount of galactic cosmic rays Voyager was encountering," said Stone. "More recently, we have seen very rapid escalation in that part of the energy spectrum. Beginning on May 7, 2012, the cosmic ray hits have increased five percent in a week and nine percent in a month."
This marked increase was one of a triad of data sets which needed to make significant swings of the needle to indicate a new era in space exploration. The second important measure from the spacecraft's two telescopes was the intensity of energetic particles generated inside the Heliosphere, the bubble of charged particles the sun blows around itself. While there had been a slow decline in the measurements of these energetic particles, at the time they had not dropped off precipitously, which would be expected when Voyager broke through the Solar boundary.
The final data set that Voyager scientists believed would reveal the major change was the measurement in the direction of the magnetic field lines surrounding the spacecraft. While Voyager was still within the Heliosphere, these field lines run East-West. When it passed into interstellar space, the team expected Voyager would find that the magnetic field lines would orient themselvs in a more North-South direction.
"When the Voyagers launched in 1977, the space age was all of 20 years old," said Stone. "Many of us on the team dreamed of reaching interstellar space, but we really had no way of knowing how long a journey it would be -- or if these two vehicles that we invested so much time and energy in would operate long enough to reach it."
At the time, the two Voyager spacecraft were traveling through a turbulent area known as the Heliosheath. The Heliosheath is the outer shell of a bubble around our solar system created by the solar wind, a stream of ions blowing radially outward from the sun at a million miles per hour. The wind must turn as it approaches the outer edge of the bubble where it makes contact with the interstellar wind, which originates in the region between stars and blows by our solar bubble.
In June 2010, when Voyager 1 was about 11 billion miles away from the sun, data from the Low Energy Charged Particle instrument began to show that the net outward flow of the solar wind was zero.
"Because the direction of the solar wind has changed and its radial speed has dropped to zero, we have to change the orientation of Voyager 1 so the Low Energy Charged Particle instrument can act like a kind of weather vane to see which way the wind is now blowing," said Edward Stone at the time. "Knowing the strength and direction of the wind is critical to understanding the shape of our solar bubble and estimating how much farther it is to the edge of interstellar space."
Voyager engineers performed a test roll and hold on Feb. 2, 2011 for two hours and 15 minutes. When data from Voyager 1 was received on Earth some 16 hours later, the mission team verified the test was successful and the spacecraft had no problem in reorienting itself and locking back onto its guide star, Alpha Centauri.
The Low Energy Charged Particle instrument science team confirmed that the spacecraft had acquired the kind of information it needed, and mission planners gave Voyager 1 the green light to do more rolls and longer holds. There will be five more of these maneuvers over the next seven days, with the longest hold lasting three hours 50 minutes. The Voyager team plans to execute a series of weekly rolls for this purpose every three months.
"We do whatever we can to make sure the scientists get exactly the kinds of data they need, because only the Voyager spacecraft are still active in this exotic region of space," said Jefferson Hall, Voyager mission operations manager at JPL. "We were delighted to see Voyager still has the capability to acquire unique science data in an area that won't likely be traveled by other spacecraft for decades to come."
At one point, budget cuts threatened the program
Back in 2006, when budget cuts threatened the program, The Planetary Society, an influential non-profit space organization, and its members fought successfully with help from NASA scientists to save the Voyagers and maintain communications with these remarkable spacecraft. Were it not for the Society's stand, it may well be that this latest chapter in the Voyager saga would never have been written.
Up until the summer of 2007 Voyager 2, despite being over 7 billion miles from the Sun, was still traveling inside an enormous magnetic bubble around the Sun known as the Heliosphere. The outer envelope of the Heliosphere, where the solar wind collides head-on with the interstellar medium, is known as the Termination Shock.
Significantly, Voyager 2 reached this landmark at a point substantially closer to the Sun than Voyager 1 had been when it crossed the Termination Shock. Back in 2004, the Sun had been near its solar maximum, a peak of activity characterized by strong solar winds that increased the pressure in the Heliosphere and pushed the termination shock outwards. In fact, scientists believe that for a full two years, as Voyager 1 was streaking away from the Sun, the Termination Shock was also moving ahead of it, staying just out of reach of the spacecraft. Finally the Solar activity waned, causing the Heliosphere to slow down its expansion and eventually to contract back towards the Sun. This allowed Voyager 1 to catch up with the Termination Shock, and finally pass through it at a distance of 94.1 Astronomical Units (AU) from the Sun. (Each AU representing the average distance of the Earth and Sun).
Voyager 2, in contrast, was approaching the outer Heliosphere at a time of declining solar activity, and scientists therefore expected that it would cross the Termination Shock much closer to the Sun than its twin. And so it proved to be. The first sign of the approaching crossing came on August 1, 2007 in the form of electron plasma oscillations detected by the Voyager 2's instruments when the spacecraft was 83.4 AU from the Sun. But according to Don Gurnett and Bill Kurth of the University of Iowa, even with this forewarning scientist were surprised when the crossing came a mere 30 days later, when the spacecraft was 83.7 AU from the Sun.
The crossing itself, Gurnett and Kurth explained, is not a single event because the Termination Shock itself keeps shifting its location. As a result Voyager 2 made the passage not once but at least five times, back and forth over the span of two days, before it was finally clear of that turbulent place. The five crossings were marked by sharp spikes registered on the plasma wave instrument and the magnetometer, and on two of the occasions by intense bursts of broadband electric field noise.
One of the most surprising results to come out of Voyager 2's crossing of the Termination Shock relates to the energy levels of the particles at the termination shock. Since the solar wind slows down drastically from a million miles an hour to less and a thousand, scientists expected the excess energy to appear as heat, raising the temperature of the solar wind plasma to around 1 million degrees Kelvin. But Voyager 2's measurements showed that the temperature reached only around 100,000 degrees Kelvin, raising the question of what happened to around 70% of the energy released by the solar wind particles.
The answer came from an unexpected source. Back in 2006 NASA launched twin spacecraft named STEREO A and B into orbits around the Sun to obtain three dimensional pictures of the surface of the Sun and measure Solar magnetic fields and ion fluxes. But for four months, between June and October 2007, STEREO's sensors detected something else: a stream of highly energized neutral atoms flowing from a spot in the outer reaches of the Solar System.
A bit of astronomical sleuthing revealed the nature of this unexpected discovery. The super-energized particles of the Solar wind that arrive at the Termination Shock collide with the cold atoms of the interstellar medium, relinquishing both their charge and their energy. This explains the fate of the missing 70% of the total energy released by the Solar wind -- It goes towards energizing the cold particles of the interstellar medium which form the region beyond the termination shock known as the Heliosheath. Meanwhile the Solar wind atoms, shorn of their energy and no longer inhibited by their charge, flow back towards the Sun where they are captured by STEREO's sensors. Mystery solved.
"This is the first mapping of energetic neutral particles from the edge of the Heliosphere" said Robert P. Lin of the University of California. "You can't get a global picture of this region through normal telescopes" Lin said, and hence the importance of STEREO's discovery. In fact, Lin said, the unexpected detection "heralds a new kind of astronomy using neutral atoms," which can be used where more traditional methods fail.
Today, Voyager 2 is about 18.2 billion kilometers, or 11.3 billion miles, from Earth. Voyager 1 is about 22.0 billion kilometers (13.7 billion miles) away from Earth. Judging by their unmatched track record, it seems likely that Voyager 2 and its twin, Voyager 1, will continue to be humanity's eyes and ears into the realm of the stars for years to come. As the Space Age hits the 62-year mark, there is little doubt -- The Voyagers are going the distance.
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2019-169
https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/
https://www.planetary.org/
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/voyager/final-frontier.html
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2012-177
http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2008/07/02_helio.shtml
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/voyager/voyager20110308.html
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Thanks so much for checking out our very first experimental title!
In this post, we'll be documenting the changes we expect will be made in the final version of Mon-cuties for All! Since this is our first experimental game, however, they may be subject to change, pending tester & user feedback.
Well, that's about it for now. If you have any suggestions for us, please post them in this forum post!


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by Ronan Wright Apr 4, 2011 May 1, 2020 / 3 mins /
The colour of money is tainted with civilian blood in Ken Loach's return to serious subject matter. After his light-hearted, dreamy departure from violence and politics with Looking for Eric, in Route Irish he tells the story of an ex-soldier turned private security contractor Fergus (Mark Womack) who smells a rat after finding incriminating evidence of atrocities carried out and covered up by his unscrupulous employer in the days leading up to his best friend's death.
Fergus returns home to Liverpool for the funeral of his colleague and childhood friend Frankie (John Bishop). Having worked together as security contractors in Iraq, Frankie is killed on Route Irish, a notoriously dangerous stretch of road between Baghdad airport and the Green Zone.
Fergus learns that days before Frankie died he witnessed the murder of a family of Iraqis by one of his colleagues and had threatened to go public. Fergus refuses to accept his firm's official explanation for Frankie's death, suspecting it was not an accident.
With the help of Frankie's grieving widow Rachel (Andrea Lowe) he struggles to uncover a link between this latest untold atrocity and Frankie's death. Involving an Iraqi musician named Harem (Talib Rasool) to help him translate a video of the crime captured on a mobile phone, Fergus draws unwanted attention to an already volatile political situation, endangering the lives of those close to him as well as his own.
In looking for someone to blame for Frankie's death this rebel with a cause becomes a vigilante beyond control. His guilty conscience and short fuse lead him to commit explosive acts of brutal violence against others and, ultimately, himself, prompting him at one point during the film to confess to wanting 'his old self back'.
Beginning, as it does, with a funeral, this quiet occasion filled with grief and frustration sets the tone for Route Irish: forlorn, sorrowful, tense, with one or two troubling incidents thrown in for traumatic effect. Cinematographer Chris Menges (The Reader, The Killing Fields) does his best to maintain this oppressive atmosphere throughout to really drill into the audience the sense of being trapped emotionally, psychologically and morally as Fergus is. The visual landscape is deliberately bereft of any colour or vibrancy to evoke the mood of our grieving protagonists as they struggle to come to terms with the hopelessness they feel.
Loach has in the past been concerned with stories that often reveal the deeper social and moral conflicts of our human experience. With Route Irish he explores the after-effects of combat, especially the painful legacy for the family and friends of those who witnessed atrocities on a daily basis, up close and impersonal, in the heat and hatred of war torn Baghdad. The question raised is this: What happens when 'over there' becomes 'back home' and you have to go from navigating IEDs (improvised explosive devices) to doing the weekly shop at Tesco?
Although 2009's The Hurt Locker briefly touched on the difficulty of re-adjusting to civilian life after experiencing combat first hand, the closest recent comparison to Route Irish is 2010's Triage which also tackled the issue of post-traumatic stress syndrome, from the perspective of a war photographer's struggle to live with his experience of the conflict in Kurdistan.
Speaking of the difficulty of navigating a real quagmire of socio-political issues related to the Iraq war while focusing on and illustrating just one aspect of it, Loach explained that 'the challenge is always to find the microcosm that suggests the bigger picture: the unresolved conflict, the contradiction that, when explored, reveals the landscape'. The 'landscape' this time is Iraq 'in an English country garden' as soldiers come home with the war still in their heads. As one ex-soldier has put it: 'the army turns you on but nobody turns you off'.
The film also deals with the untold atrocities inflicted on the Iraqi people by the 'Corporate Warriors' at the business end of a War which is being gradually and, some say, deliberately privatised. There was believed to be up to 160,000 foreign contractors engaged in Iraq at the height of the operation, mercenaries engaged to help the allied forces flex its muscle on the streets of Baghdad. Few seem to be interested in the numbers of Iraqis killed by private contractors whose actions may be even less politically correct than the sanctioned slaughter carried out in the name of the Allied effort in the 'War on Terror'.
Route Irish is ostensibly a politically volatile war drama but on a human level it is about broken people dealing with the memory of traumatic events in their broken lives. However, unfortunately, the film has about as much charm as the phrase 'Baghdad Haircut' and being set in a dreary and oppressive Liverpool doesn't help much towards it being any less depressing than the plot intends. A solid drama from a seasoned genre veteran with enough difficult questions to keep you looking for an answer but just not as engaging and powerful as it might have been.
Ronan Wright blogs about films from Belfast at Filmplicity.
Ronan Wright
ronan_wright.1263@mercatornet.com
Ronan Wright is a graduate in Film Studies from The Queen's University of Belfast. As well as contributing to MercatorNet as a film critic since March 2011 he has run Filmplicity, a Belfast-based film...	More by Ronan Wright
Tagged: Iraq


What If Negan Had Killed Michonne Instead of Glenn?
Nice video. I wish they killed Negan because not everything translates well comic to show. Either way, it's good Negan won't be the focus next season,that he was for the prior two. I'm not ready for another one of his monologues. I want Rick to maintain his status as #1.


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/ Green
6 Ways Climate Change is Impacting Animals
Published June 15, 2012 in Love For Earthlings, What's New |
Tags: animals, climate change, Environment, Green, nature, Nature & Wildlife, Wildlife
1. Clownfish are Going Deaf
The adorable reef-dwellers that served as inspiration for Disney's Nemo are losing their hearing due to ocean acidification. This means that the fish are suddenly less able to respond to the presence of predators, threatening their survival.
To find out more : Ocean Acidification Makes Clownfish Go Deaf
2. Evolution Could Go Wild
The conventional wisdom is that evolution happens slowly, over the course of a great many generations. Some new research, however, suggests that faced with rapidly changing environments due to climate change, plant and animal species may be able to kick adaptations into high gear. More research is needed, though some scientists have already witnessed evolutionary changes in select species happening at an accelerated rate.
To find out more : Global Warming Could Cause Evolution Explosion
3. Coral Stops Growing
Coral — the foundation of the "rainforest of the ocean"—responds directly to increases in temperature, according to research. Unfortunately, this response is largely negative, with growth rates slowing to a near standstill.
To find out more : Coral Species in Red Sea Barely Growing, Thanks to Global Warming
4. Bird Species Die Off
Recent research has stumbled upon an alarming trend: As average temperature increases, many bird populations decline. The survey, conducted by the University of Utah, found that warming of 3.5 degrees Celsius may result in 600-900 extinctions of land bird species.
To find out more : Climate Change May Kill Off 900 Bird Species By 2100
5. Animals Could Get Bigger…
Researchers in California have found that birds around San Francisco Bay and Point Reyes National Seashore have slowly gotten bigger over the last 27 to 40 years. The finding was particularly interesting because it counters some conventional wisdom about how animals will respond to climate change.
To find out more : Climate Change Unexpectedly Making California Birds Grow Larger
6. …Or They Could Get Smaller
That conventional wisdom suggests that animals—and cold blooded species in particular—will shrink in size as the global average temperature increases. Some research, too, has extended this trend to certain mammals.
Excerpted from TreeHugger
What is Pain to a Fish?
Published May 15, 2012 in Love For Earthlings, What's New |
Tags: Behaviour & Communication, Diet & Nutrition, Do fish feel pain?, Do Good, Environment, food, Green, Health, Less Common Pets, Life, nature, Nature & Wildlife, news & issues, pets, Spirit, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wildlife
"…the way humans readily project their emotions and intentions into some animals and not others is itself a cause for concern. Few people have much fellow feeling for fish even though many fish are long-lived, have complicated nervous systems and are capable of learning complicated tasks."
—Professor Patrick Bateson
Professor of Ethology
University of Cambridge
From salmon making the long journey from river to ocean and back, to goldfish swimming circles around a small pond, the inner lives of fishes are a mystery that scientists are only beginning to unravel. One of the key elements they are searching for is the extent to which each fish is sentient or, more specifically, how they process what we would call a "painful" sensation (such as a hook cutting into their lip.)
On this journey, scientists have discovered that fish have nerve structures that are anatomically very similar to those of humans and many other species of animals. Among these common structures are receptor cells called nociceptors, which are found throughout animals' bodies and are activated by stimuli expected to cause damage to bodily tissues. Tellingly, some species of fish have upwards of 58 different nociceptors located in their lips alone*.
As in human anatomy, these nociceptors are wired by nerve fibres to the central nervous system (the spinal cord and brain.) When the pain centres in the brain are activated by signals from the nociceptors, they trigger the body to respond to the potentially harmful or life threatening events that may be happening.
Fish anatomy is so complex that they have even evolved the same "pain-blocking" substances (endorphins) as humans.** It is theorized that endorphins help animals to tolerate pain from severe injuries in order to help them escape from a predator. This leaves us with the question: Why would fish have endorphins in their bodies if they couldn't feel pain? And why is there still a debate over their sentience?
* Physiologist Lynne Sneddon discovered 58 different nociceptor sites in rainbow trout lips.
** Endorphins are akin to naturally occurring morphine, although their role in the body is more complex. It is also worth mentioning that some analgesic drugs used by humans also appear to reduce pain in fish.
In the scientific world the line between simply reacting to negative stimuli and "feeling pain" is marked by the capacity to process and express emotions.
"Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage."
- The International Association for the Study of Pain
Thus one of the main arguments scientists use against fish feeling pain is that their brains lack certain structural elements, most importantly the neocortex, which, in other animals such as humans, processes negative stimuli into emotions. The second common argument is that their amygdoid complex (similar to our amygdala which helps us process emotions) is wired to produce aggression and not fear. The reason this is important to our sense of "feeling pain" is because our pain response also comes with a negative emotional reaction which in turn excites the amygdala and helps form a memory of the damage done to our bodies by a particular stimulus.
As you can see, in any species of animal, the concept of feeling pain is a complex one. What scientists are really trying to prove is not only that fish sense the negative stimuli damaging their bodies, but also despite the differences between their brains and ours, that they also have the capacity to associate emotions with the damage done. And some scientists claim to have proven just this.
The studies listed below demonstrate that a select group of scientists have indeed begun to recognize the human concept of "feeling pain" mirrored in the captive fish they were observing. Sadly these scientists chose to further their research by intentionally inflicting pain on their unwilling participants, leaving their findings tainted with inherent cruelty.
What the studies found:
Outcome: Goldfish exhibited "fearful, avoidance behaviour" after being subjected to high temperatures and then being put back in their normal tank.
Study: Biologists injected one group of goldfish with saline solution and the other with morphine, then exposed both to a painful level of heat. Janicke Nordgreen (one of the study's authors) said, "The fish that were given saline subsequently acted with defensive [behaviours], indicating anxiety, wariness and fear, whereas those given morphine did not". Another one of the study's authors also noted: "The experiment shows that fish do not only respond to painful stimuli with reflexes, but change their behaviour also after the event," Joseph Garner.
Outcome: Fish displayed increased respiratory rate, avoidance of hard-pelleted food, rocking behaviour and rubbing their lips on gravel and the side of their tank walls after their lips were injected with chemicals known to cause pain.
Study: Fish were observed after having had bee venom and acetic acid injected into their lips. One group of fish received morphine after the injection; the other group only received saline solution. The fish that were given morphine (pain blocking medication) showed signs of reduced discomfort. (The University of Edinburgh and the Roslin Institute)
Outcome: Fish grunted when shocked with electrodes and showed signs of remembering the traumatic event.
Study: After they were shocked a number of times the fish began to grunt at merely the sight of the electrode, which they had previously been shocked by. This demonstrated their capacity to remember negative experiences. Emotions pay a key role in all animals' capacity to remember. (Researcher William Tavolga)
Further evidence:
- Researchers have observed that trout have an amazing capacity for memory. They can remember how to avoid a fishing net months after their initial experience with it.
- Carp have been reported to alter their feeding and nesting behaviour following being hooked, and some reports indicate avoidance of hooks thereafter.
- Fish in aquariums (both large and small scale) have shown "caged behaviours" that demonstrate the adverse emotional affects they suffer from captivity. These include abnormal feeding, shelter-seeking, bottom-sitting, head-standing and tail walking. These and other repetitive behaviours that were observed are signs of emotional stress and neurological dysfunction.
Anyone who has gone fishing can attest to how hard each fish struggles against the hook it has unwittingly bitten into and how vehemently their bodies continue to fight even as they slowly suffocate on land.
Perhaps it is not the way in which fish process pain that is in question, but rather our own ability to empathize with them.
While it is easier for us to recognize our own expressions of fear, love and pain reflected in such species as dogs, primates and felines, this does not mean that we have a right to needlessly* kill or harm animals whose inner lives are a mystery to us.
*Many people include fish in their diets under the mistaken belief that they provide nutrients that aren't readily available elsewhere, such as DHA. The truth is, while the human body does have specific nutrient requirements, we can fulfill these needs easily and more healthfully without including fish or any other animal products in our diets. If you are concerned about essential fatty acids, there are plenty available in fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds (especially flax seeds), and if you want "healthy protein" look no further than the produce section.
"Fish constitute the greatest source of confused thinking and inconsistency on earth at the moment with respect to pain. You will get people very excited about dolphins because they are mammals, and about horses and dogs, if they are not treated properly. At the same time you will have fishing competitions on the River Murray at which thousands of people snare fish with hooks and allow them to asphyxiate on the banks, which is a fairly uncomfortable and miserable death".
—Professor Bill Runciman, Professor of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care
Adelaide University
"Fish are no mere reflex-automatons, but animals capable of experiencing pain and fear and influenced [behaviourally] by experience, expectancies and motivational state in a manner analogous to that in higher animals up to man."
—Dr R. Buwalda
Institute of Comparative Physiological Studies
Utrecht (Netherlands)
"Even though fish don't scream [audibly to humans] when they are in pain and anguish, their behaviour should be evidence enough of their suffering when they are hooked or netted. They struggle, endeavouring to escape and, by so doing, demonstrate they have a will to survive."
- Dr. Michael Fox, D.V.M., Ph.D.
"The scientific literature is quite clear. Anatomically, physiologically and biologically, the pain system in fish is virtually the same as in birds and mammals."
- Dr. Donald Broom, a scientific advisor to the British government.
Adapted from an article by A. Rutherford-Fortunati