Latest news with #GLAD
The Hill
27-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Why did Trump target the law firm Susman Godfrey? The answer is shocking.
President Trump's effort to punish law firms suffered yet another judicial defeat on June 27, when U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan enjoined enforcement of his executive order targeting Susman Godfrey. But one seemingly obscure aspect of the case deserves more attention, as it suggests a broader threat to America's system of free expression. The Susman executive order was the odd one out from the start. The orders against Perkins Coie, Paul Weiss, Jenner and WilmerHale all recited personal grudges that Trump held against people associated with the firms. There were ideological objections in each order as well, to be sure, but the orders were personal to the president in a way the Susman order was not. Perhaps for this reason, the grievances recited in the Susman order were not specific. The order referred to election work without citing anything, but each side concluded that the White House probably had in mind Susman's representation of state officials in 2020 election challenges and perhaps the $787.5 million defamation settlement the firm won for Dominion Voting Systems in a case against Fox News. But then the order said this: 'Susman also funds groups that engage in dangerous efforts to undermine the effectiveness of the United States military through the injection of political and radical ideology.' What was that about? No one seemed to know. At the temporary restraining order hearing, Donald Verrilli Jr., the former U.S. Solicitor General who represented Susman, said the firm was 'completely mystified by that.' Oddly, the government was equally puzzled: 'Regrettably, your honor, I have no further information than what's contained in the order.' With the temporary restraining order issued, Susman moved for summary judgment, and, in the government's opposition filing, the mystery of the seditious funding accusation was solved. In 2017, during the first Trump administration, the president issued an executive memorandum banning transgender people from military service. Multiple lawsuits followed. One, Stockman v. Trump, was filed by Latham & Watkins. Susman did not file the case and never appeared in it. Eventually, lawyers affiliated with the gay rights group GLAD, a respected and effective advocacy organization founded in 1978, did enter an appearance. But those lawyers did not work for Susman, either. In opposition to Susman's summary judgment motion, the government submitted the Stockman complaint and a ' GLAD Brief,' a magazine-style publication discussing GLAD's advocacy work. Like many such publications, it thanked GLAD's supporters and listed them. Some lawyers (such as Walter Dellinger) and firms (including Gibson Dunn, Paul Weiss and WilmerHale) were listed as providing legal support. Yet Susman was not on this list. Another list thanked financial supporters, including Matt Damon, the Elton John AIDS Foundation and Wells Fargo. And here, at last, we find Susman. In the Winter 2018 GLAD Brief, in the final of six columns on page 11, the firm is listed as giving between $3,000 and $4,999 to GLAD. Mystery solved. The problem, of course, is that making a charitable contribution to an advocacy organization such as GLAD is constitutionally protected under First Amendment rights of speech and association. That rule has been clear since NAACP v. Alabama (1958) and has been strengthened over time. Thus, in defending an order that unlawfully retaliated against Susman for views expressed in a representative capacity, the government expanded the scope of its retaliation to include charitable contributions as well — adding an additional violation to the sizeable list evident on the face of the order. The government defended the position that the president may issue punitive executive orders based on charitable contributions to advocacy organizations he dislikes, a stance that extends far beyond law firms. Today GLAD is a target; tomorrow it may be the right-leaning Pacific Legal Foundation. I have sympathy for the government lawyers tasked with defending these orders. I doubt they had this in mind when they applied for the jobs. It must have been embarrassing to face a district court not knowing basic information about the Susman order, and it was conscientious lawyering to track down the answer. As a tactical matter, however, the answer was worse than the inability to provide an answer. One of the more important rules of lawyering is the 'first rule of holes': When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. But the substantive point is more worrying. The claim that a president can threaten a business because he dislikes its charitable giving should not be taken seriously. From the perspective of free speech jurisprudence since the 1950s, and the system of freedom of expression it supports, the claim is madness. That the government was willing to make such an absurd claim reinforces a point each district court that has dealt with one of these orders understood, and which the D.C. Circuit should grasp as the Perkins case heads its way. This needs to stop here, and it needs to stop now.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
GLAD 2025: improving lifting awareness in the mining sector
The mining and lifting industries have much in common. Both sectors operate heavy-duty machinery, have a high focus on safety and face challenges when it comes to attracting, recruiting and training their workforces. Global Lifting Awareness Day (GLAD), which takes place on 12 June, is an opportunity for manufacturers, suppliers and end users of lifting equipment (including miners) to recognise the sector and share material that supports safe and high-quality load lifting. GLAD, now in its fifth year, is led by the Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA), a trade association for the lifting industry. With around 1,200 members, the LEEA offers a quality assurance mark for its member companies as well as ongoing compliance support. The body also produces around 20 guidance documents a year, including those that cover the equipment used in the mining community. Ahead of GLAD, Mining Technology spoke to Ross Moloney, CEO of the LEEA, about current industry trends, the skills shortage facing the lifting sector and how mining companies can ensure they are meeting the latest industry standards. Ross Moloney: The lifting industry is not unique in that one of the main challenges that our members face now is a concern around recruitment for the future workforce. Traditionally – and for as long as I have been involved in skills and development – the whole engineering sector has been concerned around where we are going to get tomorrow's engineers from. I think that also speaks to the mining industry. These industries are powerhouses of the western economy but are often looked at as 'for other people's children'. So, two messages will underpin GLAD. It is Global Lifting Awareness Day, so we are looking to make people aware of the wonderful [employment] opportunities within the industry – but, we are also looking to remind customers that it matters how you manage risk when it comes to lifting. We make the argument that when you are buying [lifting equipment], make sure you are buying from a trusted partner and make sure that you are getting your equipment checked by somebody who is trained and competent. Ross Moloney: I live in Nottinghamshire in England, so I am surrounded by the heritage and the history of what the mining industry used to look like. Lifting has always been part of the mining community, but mining itself is an ever-changing, ever-growing and ever more technically reliant industry. We are not just talking about getting fossil fuels out of the earth anymore, we are talking about rare minerals and rare metals. So, the mining industry is fundamentally changing from what it was 50 years ago where I live. This speaks to the partnership between the mining industry and the lifting industry, too. From an outsider's perspective, you can look at both industries and think that they are old fashioned, and that lifting is about grease and heft. However, both industries are on a parallel journey of technological innovation. There are more and more inclement territories – places where it might not be possible to bring in and leave heavy equipment – and we know that there are geopolitical issues that both of our industries work in. When we think of the core places that mining happens, there is a huge mining effort and lifting equipment in Western Australia (WA). The LEEA has members in Perth and the wider WA region that service the mining community out there, but LEEA members are also serving [oil and gas] exploration in the Middle East and in South East Asia; I have a membership hotspot in Aberdeen, so the North Sea is a really important place. Ross Moloney: I think the number one challenge that we all face in any engineering industry is the concern about 'a race to the bottom'. We are in such tight financial times; it is understandable that all businesses are looking at ways by which they can cut costs and increase profit margin. We are effectively a safety industry. So, there is always a concern that best practice and safe practice can come under pressure. That is a concern shared when I speak to other chief executive officers and trade associations. That is not just a lifting or a mining issue – it is an engineering issue. Engineering is under pressure not just because of the rising cost of living, but [due to] the increasing price of raw materials, tariffs and growing logistics costs. We in the engineering world are really feeling the pressures of price increases. So, the number one challenge that we are facing is how do LEEA members maintain this position of market superiority in terms of quality but continue to make this argument when there is definitely a race to the bottom? We are an association that believes it is our job to make the argument that while you might be looking at cutting [costs], please don't cut your attitude towards safety. Ross Moloney: The LEEA's vision is to eliminate accident, injury and fatality. We know that we work in risky industries; but risky doesn't mean it has to be dangerous. Again, in common with the mining industry, we have seen significant trends in awareness of and engagement with risk. One trend that we have noticed is that product/machinery is failing less because of standardisation and the over-engineering of solutions. There are multiple factors being built into products now, so that if one little bit failed there would be other catches that would make sure that the product is safe. Another trend that we are noticing globally – and is particularly of relevance to the mining community in Australia – is that we must be careful that we do not move away from expecting truly competent people to be in their roles. To be a truly competent professional working in a high-risk and therefore dangerous environment, the trend that we are fighting against is the idea [of what] is enough training. We believe in ongoing life-long training as the way by which you can stay competent, but there is a base level that you must get to before you should be trusted anywhere near lifting equipment. Ross Moloney: The LEEA has recently conducted what we believe to have been the biggest-ever study of skills recruitment issues in our industry, with nearly 400 respondents globally. On GLAD, my colleague and I are going to be launching a report into the state of the lifting industry. We will highlight the issues, the challenges and some of the solutions that we believe will take our industry forward. Just to give you a teaser, in the report we are highlighting the average age of the workforce, the challenges and the skills gaps but also the skills shortages. How hard is the training, so that a person in a role is fully qualified? We are also talking about where our workforce comes from, and where else we might look at attracting them from. The LEEA and myself believe that the engineering industries really must do better at creating career pathways, otherwise we are forever just going to be catching one or two people. What we really want is cohorts of 10–20 coming from colleges or local environments. We must win hearts, but we must also build the road so that people can come into the industry and stay in the industry. Ross Moloney: If you are a member, we communicate with you at least monthly – and we have a very open-door policy where we take questions, comments, phone calls, etc. We really believe that we are a knowledge management association. We also believe that we have a duty of care for non-members. On LinkedIn we share links to documents and we post news that is happening in the industry. If you go onto the LEEA website, you will also find that whilst some documents are member only, many of our documents are available for the industry. We see ourselves as a support service to the mining community. Traditionally we have concentrated on supporting the manufacturers, the distributors or the examiners of lifting equipment. In September this year, we are going to be launching a new grade of membership aimed specifically at users of lifting equipment and we are calling it our safe user grade. We are promising that we will be a partner that will vastly reduce the risk of – and the reality of – equipment failing and accidents, because we are going to help people understand the things that they must be doing when it comes to buying, caring for and using lifting equipment. To mark Global Lifting Awareness Day on 12 June, Ross Moloney and Matt Barber, LEEA director of membership, will host a webinar launching a report that highlights the most pressing issues related to skills shortages, skills gaps and recruitment across the lifting sector. Register here. "GLAD 2025: improving lifting awareness in the mining sector " was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Hindustan Times
22-05-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Tropical forest loss doubles, fire a leading cause: Report
Fires caused by dry conditions, in turn brought about by the climate crisis resulted in record forest loss in 2024, including in India, according to new data from the University of Maryland's GLAD (Global Land Analysis & Discovery) Lab released by World Resources Institute's Global Forest Watch platform. The loss of tropical primary forests reached 6.7 million hectares in the year — nearly twice as much as in 2023 and an area nearly the size of Panama, at the rate of 18 soccer fields every minute, Global Forest Watch said in a statement on Wednesday. India saw a 6.9% decrease in tree cover loss between 2023 and 2024 but a 5.9% increase in loss of humid primary forests in 2024, according to the data. One of the factors that may have led to increase in primary forest loss last year in India are forest fires, the data indicates. Primary forest loss due to fires was around 950 hectares last year compared to 368 hectares in 2023, a 158% rise. India lost 22,958 hectares of primary forests compared to 21,672 hectares in 2023. Of this, 22,008 hectares were lost due to non-forest drivers. That is the global trend too. For the first time in the records of GFW, fires and not agriculture were the leading cause of tropical primary forest loss, accounting for nearly 50% of all forest loss. This marks a dramatic shift from recent years, when fires averaged just around 20% to forest loss. Tropical primary forest loss driven by other causes also jumped by 14%, the sharpest increase since 2016. 'This level of forest loss is unlike anything we've seen in over 20 years of data. It's a global red alert — a collective call to action for every country, every business and every person who cares about a liveable planet. Our economies, our communities, our health — none of it can survive without forests,' said Elizabeth Goldman, Co-Director, WRI's Global Forest Watch in a statement. Brazil with largest area under tropical forests, accounted for 42% of all tropical primary forest loss in 2024. Fires, fuelled by the worst drought on record, caused 66% of that loss-- over sixfold increase from 2023. The Amazon recorded its highest tree cover loss since 2016. Bolivia's primary forest loss increased by 200% in 2024. For the first time, it ranked second for tropical primary forest loss only to Brazil, overtaking the Democratic Republic of Congo despite having less than half its forest area, the analysis said. Fires burned five times more tropical primary forest in 2024 than in 2023. In tropical forests fires are almost entirely human caused, often started to clear land for agriculture and spreading out of control in nearby forests. 2024 was the hottest year on record with hot, dry conditions largely caused by climate change and El Nino. Latin America was particularly hard hit, the analysis said. The area under tree cover includes all tree cover (planted, natural, primary, agroforestry); while primary humid forests are essentially old growth forests which have not been regrown, Global Forest Watch data shows. GFW which mainly uses satellite data for their analysis records India's baseline tree cover as 38,830,421 ha in 2001 and primary forest cover as 10,185,436 ha. From 2002 to 2024, India lost 348,000 ha of humid primary forest, making up 15% of its total tree cover loss in the same time period. From 2001 to 2024, India lost 2.31 million hectares of tree cover, equivalent to a 7.1% decrease in tree cover since 2000, GFW said. The dominant drivers of primary forest loss in India are shifting cultivation, agriculture and logging. Most of the loss since 2001 has occurred in northeastern states including Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram etc according to GFW. From 2000 to 2020, India gained 1.78 million ha of tree cover equal to 1.4% of the global total. The Union environment ministry did not respond to HT's queries on the forest cover loss in 2024 . HT reported on May 9 that India reported that its forest and tree cover is now 25.17% of its geographical area as per the latest India State of Forest Report (2023).
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Tropical forests destroyed at fastest recorded rate last year
The world's tropical forests, which provide a crucial buffer against climate change, disappeared faster than ever recorded last year, new satellite analysis suggests. Researchers estimate that 67,000 sq km (26,000 sq mi) of these pristine, old-growth forests were lost in 2024 – an area nearly as large as the Republic of Ireland, or 18 football pitches a minute. Fires were the main cause, overtaking land clearances from agriculture for the first time on record, with the Amazon faring particularly badly amid record drought. There was more positive news in South East Asia, however, with government policies helping to reduce forest loss. Tropical rainforests store hundreds of billions of tonnes of carbon in soils and woody trunks. But this new global record raises further questions about their resilience on a warming planet. Many researchers are concerned some forests, such as parts of the Amazon, may be approaching a "tipping point", beyond which they could fall into irreversible decline. "The tipping point idea is, I think, increasingly the right one," said Prof Matthew Hansen, co-director of GLAD laboratory at the University of Maryland, which produces the data. Prof Hansen described the new results as "frightening", and warned of the possible "savannisation" of the rainforest, where old-growth tropical forests die back and permanently switch to savanna. "It's still a theory, but I think that that's more and more plausible looking at the data." A separate study, published last week, made a similar warning of possible significant dieback of the Amazon if global warming exceeds the international target of 1.5C. This would not only threaten the vibrant array of wildlife living in these most biodiverse habitats, but would also have serious ramifications for the global climate. Until recently, the Amazon had been doing humanity a favour, absorbing more planet-warming carbon dioxide (CO2) than it released. But the burning of these forests emits huge amounts of CO2 – adding to warming rather than limiting it. In 2023-24, the Amazon experienced its worst drought on record, fuelled by climate change and the natural warming El Niño weather pattern. Many fires are started deliberately to clear land for agriculture, making it difficult to disentangle the two. But the drought provided ideal conditions for fires to spread out of control, with Brazil and Bolivia most badly affected. While only a single year, it fits the expected pattern of more intense tropical fires in a warming world. "I think we are in a new phase, where it's not just the clearing for agriculture that's the main driver," said Rod Taylor of the World Resources Institute (WRI), which is also behind the latest report. "Now we have this new amplifying effect, which is a real climate change feedback loop, where fires are just much more intense and much more ferocious than they've ever been." In total, the record loss of the world's old-growth (primary) tropical forests released 3.1 billion tonnes of planet-warming gases, the researchers estimate. That's roughly the same as the emissions of the European Union. Countries in South East Asia, however, bucked the global trend. The area of primary forest loss in Indonesia fell by 11% compared to 2023, for example, despite drought conditions. This was the result of a concerted effort by governments and communities working together to enforce "no burning" laws, according to Elizabeth Goldman, co-director of the Global Forest Watch project at WRI. "Indonesia serves as a bright spot in the 2024 data," she said. "Political will is a key factor of success - it's impossible otherwise," agreed Gabriel Labbate, head of climate change mitigation at the United Nations forests programme UNREDD, which was not involved in today's report. Other countries, including Brazil, have seen success in the past with similar approaches, but started to see losses increase again in 2014 following a change in government policies. Prof Hansen said that although the progress in South East Asia was positive, the fluctuations in forest loss in Brazil show that protection policies have to be consistent. "The key we haven't seen yet is sustained success in reducing and maintaining low levels of conversion of these ecosystems and if you were interested in conserving the environment you have to win always and forever," he told BBC News. The researchers agree that this year's UN climate summit COP30 - which is being hosted in the Amazon - will be critical for sharing and promoting forest protection schemes. One proposal is to reward countries which maintain tropical forests through payments. The detail is still to be worked out but has promise, according to Rod Taylor. "I think it's an example of an innovation that addresses one of the fundamental issues that at the moment there's more money to be made by chopping forests down than keeping them standing," he said. Graphics by Erwan Rivault A simple guide to climate change Planet-warming gas levels rose more than ever in 2024 Tree loss drops after political change in Brazil and Colombia Deforestation surges in 2022 despite pledges Sign up for our Future Earth newsletter to keep up with the latest climate and environment stories with the BBC's Justin Rowlatt. Outside the UK? Sign up to our international newsletter here.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Tropical forests destroyed at fastest recorded rate last year
The world's tropical forests, which provide a crucial buffer against climate change, disappeared faster than ever recorded last year, new satellite analysis suggests. Researchers estimate that 67,000 sq km (26,000 sq mi) of these pristine, old-growth forests were lost in 2024 – an area nearly as large as the Republic of Ireland, or 18 football pitches a minute. Fires were the main cause, overtaking land clearances from agriculture for the first time on record, with the Amazon faring particularly badly amid record drought. There was more positive news in South East Asia, however, with government policies helping to reduce forest loss. Tropical rainforests store hundreds of billions of tonnes of carbon in soils and woody trunks. But this new global record raises further questions about their resilience on a warming planet. Many researchers are concerned some forests, such as parts of the Amazon, may be approaching a "tipping point", beyond which they could fall into irreversible decline. "The tipping point idea is, I think, increasingly the right one," said Prof Matthew Hansen, co-director of GLAD laboratory at the University of Maryland, which produces the data. Prof Hansen described the new results as "frightening", and warned of the possible "savannisation" of the rainforest, where old-growth tropical forests die back and permanently switch to savanna. "It's still a theory, but I think that that's more and more plausible looking at the data." A separate study, published last week, made a similar warning of possible significant dieback of the Amazon if global warming exceeds the international target of 1.5C. This would not only threaten the vibrant array of wildlife living in these most biodiverse habitats, but would also have serious ramifications for the global climate. Until recently, the Amazon had been doing humanity a favour, absorbing more planet-warming carbon dioxide (CO2) than it released. But the burning of these forests emits huge amounts of CO2 – adding to warming rather than limiting it. In 2023-24, the Amazon experienced its worst drought on record, fuelled by climate change and the natural warming El Niño weather pattern. Many fires are started deliberately to clear land for agriculture, making it difficult to disentangle the two. But the drought provided ideal conditions for fires to spread out of control, with Brazil and Bolivia most badly affected. While only a single year, it fits the expected pattern of more intense tropical fires in a warming world. "I think we are in a new phase, where it's not just the clearing for agriculture that's the main driver," said Rod Taylor of the World Resources Institute (WRI), which is also behind the latest report. "Now we have this new amplifying effect, which is a real climate change feedback loop, where fires are just much more intense and much more ferocious than they've ever been." In total, the record loss of the world's old-growth (primary) tropical forests released 3.1 billion tonnes of planet-warming gases, the researchers estimate. That's roughly the same as the emissions of the European Union. Countries in South East Asia, however, bucked the global trend. The area of primary forest loss in Indonesia fell by 11% compared to 2023, for example, despite drought conditions. This was the result of a concerted effort by governments and communities working together to enforce "no burning" laws, according to Elizabeth Goldman, co-director of the Global Forest Watch project at WRI. "Indonesia serves as a bright spot in the 2024 data," she said. "Political will is a key factor of success - it's impossible otherwise," agreed Gabriel Labbate, head of climate change mitigation at the United Nations forests programme UNREDD, which was not involved in today's report. Other countries, including Brazil, have seen success in the past with similar approaches, but started to see losses increase again in 2014 following a change in government policies. Prof Hansen said that although the progress in South East Asia was positive, the fluctuations in forest loss in Brazil show that protection policies have to be consistent. "The key we haven't seen yet is sustained success in reducing and maintaining low levels of conversion of these ecosystems and if you were interested in conserving the environment you have to win always and forever," he told BBC News. The researchers agree that this year's UN climate summit COP30 - which is being hosted in the Amazon - will be critical for sharing and promoting forest protection schemes. One proposal is to reward countries which maintain tropical forests through payments. The detail is still to be worked out but has promise, according to Rod Taylor. "I think it's an example of an innovation that addresses one of the fundamental issues that at the moment there's more money to be made by chopping forests down than keeping them standing," he said. Graphics by Erwan Rivault A simple guide to climate change Planet-warming gas levels rose more than ever in 2024 Tree loss drops after political change in Brazil and Colombia Deforestation surges in 2022 despite pledges Sign up for our Future Earth newsletter to keep up with the latest climate and environment stories with the BBC's Justin Rowlatt. Outside the UK? Sign up to our international newsletter here.
