📍 Bombshell expose on Biden’s disaster (I didn’t know it was this bad)

The Afghanistan debacle… war in Ukraine… shortages all over the country… spikes in energy prices… and massive runaway inflation… [LOGO OST]( At times, our affiliate partners reach out to the Editors at Open Source Trades with special opportunities for our readers. The message below is one we think you should take a close, serious look at. A study by the University of Basel in Switzerland warns that resorts situated below 1,800-2,000m (5,900-6,600ft), will increasingly have to rely on artificial snow to keep just their higher ski slopes open for up to 100 consecutive days, while their lower slopes may not be possible to save. This would raise their water consumption by 79% by 2100. During an average winter towards the end of the century, a resort would consume about 540 million litres (119 million gallons) of water, compared to today's 300 million litres (66 million gallons). In the French Alps, water consumption could increase ninefold by 2100, according to the study. This could lead to conflict between the skiing industry and local communities who may rely on the water for hydropower, the researchers warned. (Read about how small hydropower plants have long sustained remote communities in the Alps). The study also predicts a huge rise in operational costs for ski resorts if they are forced to use artificial snowmaking to maintain their slopes. This is because the cannons that distribute the snow and the ploughs that groom the pistes are incredibly energy-intensive and run on polluting fossil fuels. There are currently no snow-making machines that run on renewables and plans to reduce overall emissions are focused around improving efficiency. Solutions to adapt to the changing climate in the mountains therefore "ironically add more CO2 to the atmosphere and are making the climate problem worse", says Cavitte. Even today, snow ploughs on average account for roughly 60% of a resort's carbon emissions, while snow cannons contribute about 25%, says Cavitte. Ski lifts aren't as polluting, she says, since many resorts are trying to use renewable electricity. Besides the climate impact of snow machines, there is also an operational challenge as artificial snow can only be produced when temperatures stay below 1C (34F). The air has to be cold enough that the water droplets which the machines expel freeze and turn into snow particles. Over Christmas and New Year, many Alpine resorts were forced to close their slopes as the temperatures were too high to generate artificial snow. Ski resorts are investing in mountain bike trails, walking paths and climbing routes to encourage tourists to visit in the summer (Credit: Alamy) Ski resorts are investing in mountain bike trails, walking paths and climbing routes to encourage tourists to visit in the summer (Credit: Alamy) Meanwhile, some have resorted to covering glaciers in protective blankets to stop them from melting in the summer. Made out of white UV-resistant synthetic material, the blankets shield the thick winter snow from the Sun's rays during the warmer summer months. According to a 2021 study, the technique can reduce the melting of snow and ice by 50-70%, compared to unprotected surfaces. But it is a costly process, the study's authors warn. Covering all of Switzerland's 1,000 largest glaciers would cost about 1.4bn Swiss Francs ($1.5bn; £1.2bn) annually, they estimate. There are also negative environmental consequences associated with this adaptation measure, warns Cavitte. Polluting machines are used to put the blankets down and remove them. "And when they take them off, there's always pieces of plastic that are left behind which contaminate the glacier and surrounding land," she says. There are also concerns about how this measure will impact local biodiversity and wildlife, she adds. These short-term measures will not shield the industry from the looming climate threat. "The ski industry is not going to be able to save itself," acknowledges Schendler. Despite this bleak outlook, many resorts have adopted ambitious, long-term sustainability goals in a bid to reduce their emissions and protect their natural resources. Big Sky resort, which sits at an elevation of 2,200m (7,200ft) in the Rocky Mountains in southern Montana, is aiming for net zero emissions by 2030, under its Forever Project, which was launched in 2021. The resort has introduced a wide range of sustainability measures, including a newly installed 32 kilowatt (kW) solar array, improving the efficiency of buildings, reducing its water usage and protecting its forests, says Amy Fonte, sustainability specialist and head of the Forever Project. The resort also purchases renewable energy credits for the remaining electricity it uses, including for its 38 chairlifts and its housing, says Fonte. Aspen Skiing Company, meanwhile, is aiming to source 100% renewable electricity to power all its operations by 2030. "Ski resorts use fossil fuels and a lot of energy. It would be completely hypocritical if those resorts were not working to fix the system," says Schendler. Meanwhile, a wood pellet plant heats 600 apartments, two hotels and a public swimming pool in Anzère, saving the village 1.5 million litres (330,000 gallons) of oil a year. Most of the resort already runs on hydroelectricity, which is generated at the nearby Tseuzier dam. Anzère is also car-free and offers free public transport to all visitors, in a bid to encourage people to travel more sustainably. Tourists also have a role to play in helping reduce emissions and preserving the mountains, says Dijkman. "It's a mindset that needs to not only be present among local businesses but also among the people that come here on holiday." This starts with choosing how they travel to the ski resort. According to a recent survey by the Ski Club of Great Britain, just 2% of British travellers take the train to go skiing, compared to 72% who fly. (Read more about the climate impact of flying). For people in Europe looking to travel in a more sustainable way to the Alps, there are plenty of options ranging from the Alpen Express, an overnight train travelling from the Netherlands via Cologne to Austrian resorts, or the TravelSki Express which runs between London and the French Alps, via a Eurostar to Paris. Even if they are unable to change their own fate, resorts can still play an important role in the fight against climate change, says Schendler. "The role of the industry is to help the public understand what they stand to lose from climate change and to advocate for solutions." Ski resorts are the "perfect messenger" for highlighting the reality of the climate crisis, says Schendler. "People love what skiing offers them today. The threat of that disappearing is the kind of visceral hit that people need to catapult themselves into action." The ski industry is not going to be able to save itself – Auden Schendler Fonte agrees that the ski industry "can make significant behaviour changes…We can really help mitigate the impacts of climate change," she says. "I'd like to think that we're going to live in a world where skiing will still be around." But this looks like an unlikely reality for many resorts, especially lower-lying ones in Europe. Many are seeking to pivot their business model and ensure that they have a future if there is no more snow.   A deadly and hard-to-detect disease has been ravaging the treasured olive trees of southern Italy for 10 years. A highly trained squad of super-sniffer dogs could save them. O On a sunny winter morning, the dog trainer Mario Fortebraccio slowly bends toward a line of potted olive trees and indicates it with his hand. Waiting for that signal, Paco, a three-year-old white Labrador, rushes through the row of plants with his head tilted, sniffing each pot at the root, the rhythm of his inhaling echoing through the greenhouse. The dog is carefully scouting for something humans can't sense. "They don't do anything if there is no reward," Fortebraccio tells me with a smile. After a few seconds, having completed his task, Paco returned to the trainer, lifted his leg to urinate on a nearby plant, wagged his tail, and claimed a little crunchy treat. At Vivai Giuranna, an extensive commercial greenhouse with over one million plants in Parabita, in the southern Italian region of Puglia, Paco is searching for Xylella fastidiosa, a type of bacterium that has been ravaging southern Italy's olive fields for the past decade. Paco and a few other four-legged colleagues make up the highly trained Xylella Detection Dogs team. "These dogs have got something unique," says Angelo Delle Donne, the head plant health inspector for the government of the province of Lecce, who has been battling Xylella since it was discovered in Puglia in 2013. Paco, a very good boy, gets a pat on the head amidst his efforts to detect Xylella (Credit: Agostino Petroni) Paco, a very good boy, gets a pat on the head amidst his efforts to detect Xylella (Credit: Agostino Petroni) Xylella fastiodiosa is a bacterium that clogs the xylem (the vessels that carry water from the roots to the leaves) of trees and other woody plants and slowly chokes them to death. Spittlebugs, a common insect, spread the disease: when they bite an infected leaf, the bacteria move into their saliva, and the bugs transmit the disease when they feed on their next healthy plant. There are no known cures for this disease, and once infected, the plant slowly dries up (though some infected plants manage to survive without showing symptoms). There are several strains of Xylella, and together they affect 595 plant species worldwide at the last count. Over the past century, Xylella has decimated orange fields in Brazil, vineyards in southern California, and pear trees in Taiwan. Then, 10 years ago, Xylella reached Puglia's olive trees. You might also like: Italy's plan to save Venice from sinking The lost generation of ancient trees The vegan leather made from flowers With its 60 million olive trees, Puglia used to produce up to 50% of Italy's olive oil, but in just a few years, Xylella infected and killed 21 million trees, many of which were several centuries old. Today, an endless sea of dead, grey tree trunks covers the lower part of the region, dotted with what's left of thousands of small-scale farms, olive mills, and greenhouses. Mauro Giuranna, the owner of Vivai Giuranna, has personal experience of a Xylella attack. When plant inspectors found infected plants in his greenhouse, he had to dispose of about €1m ($1m/£900,000) worth of plants. "We were too superficial [in countering Xylella] in the first years," Giuranna says. "There are no more monumental olive trees left." He wishes controls had been tighter and faster. However, the regional governor President Michele Emiliano was initially sceptical about a link between Xylella and the rapid desiccation of olive trees. The scientists working on trying to stop the bacteria were put on trial, accused of spreading the bacteria themselves (eventually, all charges were dropped). Italy was investigated by the European Commission for an inadequate response. A spokesperson for Emiliano told Future Planet that he had never endorsed anti-scientific or conspiracy theories. "The President has launched an important action of listening to everyone, organising public assemblies, personally participating in all the events to which he was invited, to bring an issue as complex, dramatic and divisive as Xylella into the context of a civil dialogue," the spokesperson said. Italy's response has now improved since the early days after the infection, taking measures such as large-scale disease monitoring. However, Xylella keeps spreading through the region's olive fields. "We are always chasing the disease," says Delle Donne. The Labrador is not the only breed to make an excellent super-sniffer, as Ellis the seven-year-old springer spaniel can attest (Credit: Agostino Petroni) The Labrador is not the only breed to make an excellent super-sniffer, as Ellis the seven-year-old springer spaniel can attest (Credit: Agostino Petroni) As the bacteria keeps spreading northward at a rate of about 20km (12 miles) per year, popping up in other regions of Italy and Europe too, governments are concerned, while scientists and plant inspectors are racing to contain the disease and prevent it from spreading further. Once an infected tree is identified close to healthy trees, it has to be uprooted and any other trees in a 50m (160ft) vicinity are carefully inspected. Nicola di Noia, an agronomist from Taranto and the general director of Unaprol, Italy's largest olive oil producers' consortium, understands the danger of Xylella well and loudly advocates for its containment. "It is an unprecedented ecological, environmental disaster," he says. "We can't just get caught up in environmentalist passion. We have to be scientific." In 2020, he thought of his past experience as a carabiniere (an officer for Italy's gendarmerie), working with molecular-detection dogs for uncovering drugs and explosives and remembered their incredible olfactory skills. What if they could detect Xylella too? "We began looking for similar works done by dogs on plants," Di Noia says. And they found that a team of Californian experts had figured out a way to use smell to detect bacteria on citrus fruits. Excited by the possibility, Di Noia spoke about this idea with the Ente Nazionale della Cinofilia Italiana (ENCI, the national organisation responsible for the recognition, standardisation, and registration of pedigree dogs in Italy) and with the head researchers on Xylella in Bari, Puglia's capital, at the National Research Council. He put together the funds and decided to call in the cavalry – the Xylella Detection Dogs. Dogs like Ellis have exceptional noses but they also have other crucial traits, such as intelligence and a keen desire to play (Credit: Agostino Petroni) Dogs like Ellis have exceptional noses but they also have other crucial traits, such as intelligence and a keen desire to play (Credit: Agostino Petroni) A dog's nose, in principle, works the same way as a human's does. As we inhale and exhale, receptors in the nose detect molecules in the air and send the information to the brain. A dog's nose has a few different features that make the animal a super-smeller. Its front part of the nose serves to humidify the incoming air which aids olfaction, and the air is then pumped to the lungs, and in part, into an olfactory chamber packed with receptors to catch odorants. And that's where dogs outclass the human nose: dogs have 20 times more olfactory receptors than humans that send signals to their brains. When the dog exhales, the air goes out through the two side slits of the nose, not through the nostrils as we do: this is why dogs can sniff in a continuous cycle, catching large volumes of air and odorants. "There are animals that see a lot more colours than we do," said Adee Schoon, an independent Dutch biologist who has been working with scent detection by animals for the past three decades. "If you take that analogy and use it with dogs, you can see that we are definitely odour-blind compared to dogs." Most dogs can navigate the scent world in ways we cannot fathom, but it takes special individuals and a lot of training to become detection dogs. Schoon used to work with detection dogs in forensics, in particular rape cases for the Dutch police, to identify rapists by their semen. She says to think of detection dogs as highly trained specialists who recognised scents in the way humans recognise people's faces. Both Paco and Ellis were able to reliably spot an infected plant and freeze beside it (Credit: Agostino Petroni) Both Paco and Ellis were able to reliably spot an infected plant and freeze beside it (Credit: Agostino Petroni) However, training a new dog is not easy and can take some time. According to Serena Donnini, a dog trainer for ENCI and the coordinator of the Xylella Detection Dogs experimental programme, there are some dog breeds, such as the springer spaniel, German shepherd, cocker spaniel, and Labrador, that, thanks to their larger nose and chest space, are more likely to become good super smellers and work longer shifts in a self-directed way, often pursuing a scent for hours. But that's not enough, Donnini says, because a dog's personality is important too: to pass all the exams to become a detection dogs, the animals must love to play and eat. "This is important in order to develop a reward system," Donnini says. The more a dog loves to catch a ball, and the more they become obsessed with it, the more likely they'll look for it. "Until we have something that the dog wants so strongly that he would almost be willing to kill to get it, we can't move forward to train him." A common object that Donnini and her colleagues often work with is a hollow rubber toy. After letting the dog initially play with it, trainers start hiding it to work on the dog's searching skills. Every time the dogs find the rubber, they receive a food reward. "It must think, 'working here is great because I found my toy'," Donnini says. To the dogs, the rubber has a very specific odour, so the more the training advances, the more the trainer breaks the rubber into smaller pieces until they become the size of a lentil. The smaller the rubber fragment, the more the dog concentrates on finding it and speeds up its sniffing frequency. Once the dog is taught how to indicate it has found the toy by freezing, barking or sitting, trainers insert the target smell. According to Donnini, there are different ways to do this, but there are two most common methods. The first is pairing – putting together target smell and toy, rewarding the dog when they find them, and slowly removing the rubber of the toy. The other is contrasting – here, no toy is hidden, but as the dog urgently looks for it, when it passes by the target odour, it receives a reward. The dog soon learns to signal when it recognises the new smell, receiving a reward. Dear Trader, Every American needs to see [this video](. A former CIA Economist just released [a bombshell expose about the Biden administration](. You probably know some of what’s going on… The Afghanistan debacle… war in Ukraine… shortages all over the country… spikes in energy prices… and massive runaway inflation… But this new expose shows the Biden disaster is actually far worse. If you have any money in the markets now, you’re going to want to see this right away. [Click the play button below to get the truth.]( [Play video]( Sincerely, Roger Michalski Publisher, Eagle Financial Publications P.S. This former CIA Economist accurately predicted the 1987 market crash… the fall of the Soviet Union… the housing crisis in 2008 and more. But his next prediction might be the most important of all. [See for yourself right here.]( [divider] From time to time, we send special emails or offers to readers who chose to opt in. We hope you find them useful. 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