Latest news with #WWI
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
‘Palm oil prevails from soap to napalm — it feeds billions but pollutes Earth'
Jonathan E. Robins Jonathan E. Robins is Associate Professor of History at Michigan Tech University. Speaking to Srijana Mitra Das at Times Evoke , he discusses the story — and challenges — of palm oil: What is the history of palm oil? ■ This product had been used for thousands of years in Africa. But the beginnings of the transatlantic slave trade in the 16th and 17th centuries brought people, food and products outside Africa. Palm oil was used to feed enslaved captives on slave ships. It was also used as a cosmetic — before they were auctioned off in America, it was applied to make the skin of enslaved people look shiny and healthier. It also played a role in the colonial scramble for Africa — palm oil was an important motivation for European empires to seize territory, trying, for instance, in Nigeria and Cameroon to secure and monopolise access to oilproducing regions. Later, it reached Southeast Asia — in the 19th century, the British began to expand their control over the Indian Ocean area. They transferred oil palm seeds and other plants they thought were economically useful across the region. The Dutch were also involved — a consignment of oil palm reached then-Dutch East Indies in 1848, taking root there. Who were the workers growing this crop? Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Redefine Your Future with a Top Online MBA SRM Online Enquire Now Undo by Taboola by Taboola ■ Initially, in Southeast Asia, there was little local interest in palm oil because coconut was a well-established industry. In the 20 th century, when prices for all commodities, but particularly edible oils, began to skyrocket around WWI , high prices for oil drew Europebased companies to invest in oil palm plantations in the region. They copied the established business model for rubber, where colonial governments took land from local people and leased it to European companies — they then imported workers from India, Java or China, often under indenture contracts. The wages these plantations paid were simply not high enough to attract locals — they thus relied on recruiting labour from places with fewer opportunities, limited access to land, overpopulation and often, famine conditions which compelled people to seek overseas work, even at low wages. How did palm oil then get involved in post WWII development plans? ■ In the 1950s-60s, the World Bank and former colonial powers, like the British and French, began looking for projects that could create jobs in ex-colonies and increase supplies to address what many believed was an impending global food crisis. Being a labour-intensive crop, the palm oil industry provided a lot of employment while creating a material useful for food and other products. Eventually, that became part of the development narrative of post-colonial economies like Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, etc. Instead of rejecting colonial crops, independent governments embraced them as a source of revenue that could be channelled into other development projects. What is the history of palm oil, fats and 'an industrial diet'? ■ This story begins in the 19th century when a series of discoveries in chemistry revealed new ways of manipulating natural fats from plant and animalbased oils. Manufacturers were seeking to reduce costs — one way was by making raw materials interchangeable. So, they used chemistry to modify fats from different plant and animal sources. The cheapest products using palm oil first were candles and soap — it then found itself in food. In the late 19 th century, new products, like margarine, cooking and frying fats, began to be developed. They were simply sold as new 'industrial' fats — one week, they might be made with hydrogenated cottonseed oil, another week, with palm oil. For manufacturers, these fats being substituted so easily was very appealing. Palm oil became such a significant part of this system because the plant is an extremely efficient producer of fats and has both unsaturated liquid components and saturated fats, which makes it applicable across industries. Can you tell us about its presence in modern soap? ■ West Africans made soap using palm oil centuries ago — in the 18th century, European travellers there described such locally-made soaps. Europeans began using it first as a colouring agent. Raw, unrefined palm oil has a striking red or orange colour — when fresh, it also has a very interesting scent. This combination made palm oil an attractive ingredient for early soap manufacturers. In the 19 th century, as Britain moved to abolish the slave trade, British merchants and shipping companies began exporting more and more palm oil to make up for that commercial loss. Its price fell and as it became cheaper, soap makers began to use it as their main ingredient. How did it make its way into weaponry? ■ The main connection is through a product that all fats contain called glycerine — for years, this had been discarded as a waste product but then, chemists discovered it could be used to make, among other things, explosives. Nitroglycerin was the first major explosive based on this. A series of other applications derive from this use of palm oil — napalm was initially developed using palmitic acids drawn from it, a thickened sort of gasoline product that burns. Later manufacturing shifted to other materials — yet, palm oil was important enough to give this weapon its name 'napalm'. What are palm oil's environmental impacts? ■ The Southeast Asian industry in particular grew at the expense of destroying primary forest which was first targeted by colonial plantations. This continued post-independence. Deforestation is also of great concern in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. But other impacts include water pollution — factories extracting palm oil use enormous amounts of water. Until the 1980s, most byproducts of this process were just dumped into local waterways, causing pollution. This is still a problem in many 'frontier' areas where oil palm is a newly developed industry. The mills started there often don't have the equipment and infrastructure to safely process waste — hence, deforestation combined with water pollution produces very negative impacts. PROFUSE, YET UNSEEN: Palm oil is widely used Palm oil employs millions though — are there sustainable ways forward? ■ It's a challenge because palm oil is often invisible in the products we consume — rarely can we see its colour or taste its flavour. Those components have been intentionally removed from most palm oil added to consumer products. I'd suggest people think about palm oil with curiosity and concern. It is a very important food product, it sustains billions and converting it now, for instance, into biofuel is a concern for some who worry that the rush to embrace biodiesel and 'green fuels' will not only accelerate deforestation but also increase food prices. These issues are one reason I use a commodity approach in my research — this allows us to grasp onto physical objects that connect us to different regions, organisations, governments, corporations and real people who produce and consume these things. Commodities help us avoid abstractions — they ground our understanding of global challenges, environmental to economic, in a way where we can see their origins in history and hopefully use that to address our own world.
BBC News
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Views of pacifist prisoners recorded in Dartmoor jail album
An album containing the thoughts and illustrations of conscientious objectors (COs) held in prison during World War One (WWI) is to be sold at booklet contains stories, images and poems from the prisoners held in Dartmoor jail in Devon from show 1,000 COs, also known as "conchies", were imprisoned in the jail from 1917 - with some of their stories reflected in the 58-page book, which was later passed on by one of the former prisoners to another pacifist, is being offered for sale at Hanson Auctioneers in Derby on 13 August. Hansons said the album recorded how the Napoleonic jail was first renamed Dartmoor Work Centre, and then Princetown Work Camp, during WW1. A spokesman for Hansons said: "Imprisonment was a far cry from the men's civilian days. Viewed as traitors and cowards, they were often treated worse than prisoners."Punishments included fines, solitary confinement and hard labour shifting granite on the famous moor." One page of the album contains a pen-and-ink illustration by book illustrator George Peace Micklewright (1893-1951) who went on to create a series of satirical cards detailing the life of a CO. Micklewright refused to take part in any aspect of the war effort, and was imprisoned at Lichfield, Warwick and Wormwood Scrubs before being sent to another page Wallace Cartwright wrote: "If music be the food of love - play on." Cartwright was 18 at the time of his imprisonment with documentation from the army authority asserting: "An eighteen-year-old could have no beliefs strong enough to warrant exception from military service." On another page William Shaw wrote on May 17, 1918: "The machine gun is powerful. But a united working class can spike it."Hansons' militaria specialist Matt Crowson said: "Even after the war, COs were denied employment with many carrying the stigma of for years. "But in hindsight, this group of men have been increasingly recognised for their courage and moral conviction. "The Peace Pledge Union among others now honours their stance and various memorials, including the CO memorial in Tavistock Square, London, unveiled in 1994, pays tribute to their convictions." 'Pacifist by nature' The book has been through several hands since WWI and the anonymous seller is hoping it will find a good said the book had been passed to her husband's father many years after WW1."My husband's father was of Irish descent and too young to fight in WW1 but was a pacifist by nature."He worked in the Channel Islands as a butler in the 1920s and it was then he met a fellow pacifist - actually one of the COs who had been imprisoned at Dartmoor - and he gave him the subsequently re-discovered the book amongst his father's possessions when he died. "We have been looking after it ever since but would very much like to find it a good 'home' for posterity."
Daily Record
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Outlander prequel Blood of My Blood unveils haunting opening credits
Outlander: Blood of My Blood will premiere next month Outlander enthusiasts have been sent into a frenzy following the release of the opening credits for the upcoming prequel series, Outlander: Blood of My Blood, by Starz, reports the Express. The title sequence was revealed yesterday (July 17), featuring music composed by Outlander's composer and the ethereal vocals of Scottish singer and musician Julie Fowlis overlaying the eerie new track. Numerous fans flocked to Instagram's comments section to express their reactions. One individual posted: "Chills. Everything about this is stunning! Don't mind will be playing on a loop." Another fan exclaimed: "Omg I have chills! ! ! The transitions! ! ! ! AAAAAAAAAAAAAA! ! ! ! ! [sic]." A third chimed in: "okay. we all knew I was gonna pop on here to freak out about this. BUT NOT AM I ONLY FREAKING OUT BUT I will describe the live freak out I am having to this: CURRENTLY IN THE SUBWAY IN NYC FROM WORK NOW SINGING WITH A TEAR ALONG MY FACE BECAUSE OF THIS BEAUTY [sic]." Yet another added: "IM OBSESSED! such a perfect intro for the prequel while also a connection with Outlander's main title. Brilliant! [sic]." Another comment read: "No @bearmccreary, not too many bagpipes. You know just how & when. Goosebumps! & we don't even know much of the story yet. Melting here." In a similar vein to the original Outlander opening credits, scenes from Blood of My Blood are interspersed with the accompanying music. The title credits transition between scenes set in 18th century Scotland and WWI, mirroring the dual timelines explored in the series. Outlander showrunner Matthew B. Roberts, who also helms the prequel series Blood of My Blood, brought composer McCreary on board early in the process to craft his vision for the opening credits. Those familiar with the Outlander score may notice some echoes of McCreary's stirring track Dance of the Druids (feat. Raya Yarbrough) in Blood of My Blood's opening title credits. Speaking to Variety, Roberts revealed how assembling the Blood of My Blood opening sequence proved to be a demanding task, with the executive producer keen to avoid creating something too reminiscent of Outlander's rendition of the Scottish folk tune The Skye Boat Song. Nevertheless, he was determined to pay homage to the original series. He explained how the team sought a "song you sing to yourself when you're in the car or the shower". Furthermore, matching the visuals to the music presented its own difficulties, with the Scottish scenery initially resembling a "travelogue" rather than a dramatic series. It wasn't until post-production, when the team crafted transitions between the dual timelines, that the opening credits began to take shape. Roberts explained they aimed to create a "dance", presenting audiences with both Henry Beauchamp (portrayed by Jeremy Irvine) and Julia Moriston's (Hermione Corfield) romance, alongside Brian Fraser (Jamie Roy) and Ellen MacKenzie's (Harriet Slater) love story. The opening theme also incorporates both English and Gaelic lyrics, once again mirroring the twin narratives of Blood of My Blood. Roberts noted that the title sequence told its own tale and revealed his favourite moment featuring two hands. He shared with the media: "There are such lovely moments in the show, and as the story goes, that one of them is so for me, so beautifully shot and conceived."
Scoop
3 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Expressions Of Interest Now Open For New Hangar Sites At Masterton's Historic Aviation Hub
Masterton's Hood Aerodrome has launched expressions of interest for 28 new hangar sites, marking a significant expansion of one of New Zealand's earliest aviation hubs. The development, set for completion by the end of 2025, offers aircraft owners the chance to secure prime hangar space at the historic Wairarapa aerodrome nestled beneath the soaring Tararua Ranges. Major infrastructure upgrades, including a fully resealed 30m wide runway, support the development and position Hood as a modern aviation destination while preserving its rich 90-year heritage. "This development represents a fantastic opportunity for aircraft owners to join our growing community," said Maseina Koneferenisi, Chief Executive of Hood Aerodrome. "We're offering aviators the chance to base themselves at a truly special location where they can enjoy upgraded hangar and flying facilities without the congestion and high costs of city airports." Hood's central North Island location provides quick access to destinations across New Zealand, while the aerodrome's comprehensive on-site services ensure hassle-free flying. Two fuel bowsers, aircraft engineers, and specialist maintenance services are all available, complemented by an enthusiastic and active local aviation community. The aerodrome's unique character stems from its dramatic setting between soaring mountains to the west and rolling hills to the east. Since 1931, when it was named after pioneering aviator George Hood, the site has captured the imagination of pilots and visitors alike. Today, WWI and WWII warbirds still take to the skies above the Wairarapa landscape, maintaining the aerodrome's connection to aviation history. "Hood offers something you simply can't find at commercial airports," "Whether you're chasing Wairarapa's big skies, seeking breathtaking views, or wanting to be part of a tight-knit aviation community, this is aviation paradise." The new sites on offer come in three tiers designed to accommodate different aircraft types and budgets: Premier: 29m x 26m fully serviced site, with direct access to sealed taxiway Prime: 29m x 26m fully serviced site, with direct access to grass taxiway Standard/T Hangar: Actual size to be confirmed for smaller planes Pre-built hangar options are potentially available for Prime and Standard sites. The three-tier hangar site structure allows flexibility for different aircraft owners, from recreational flyers to private jets and smaller commercial operators. Leasing details and costs are currently being finalised, with interested parties encouraged to register their interest on sites, or receive further updates when pricing becomes available. Hood Aerodrome continues to serve as a hub for Wairarapa aviators while attracting aircraft owners from across the region. The new hangar sites represent the most significant expansion in the aerodrome's modern history. For expressions of interest and enquiries see the Hood Aerodrome Hangar Development website at
Toronto Star
3 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Toronto Star
Pilates studios have exploded in Toronto, marking the return of a celeb-loved low-impact workout
Toronto has seen a renaissance of Pilates, originally developed for physical rehabilitation during WWI. In this 1989 file photo, Rosario Farro practices on a Reformer with instructor Moira Merrithew. Reg Innell/ Toronto Star via Getty Images flag wire: false flag sponsored: false article_type: : sWebsitePrimaryPublication : publications/toronto_star bHasMigratedAvatar : false :
