Spanish Empire

• Even so, they seem to have the same objective: the gold and silver of the Spanish Empire.
• A surprise attack by the English wiped out the fleet, which was about to reach its destination.
• The company Odyssey was sweeping the bottom of the sea in search of the wreck, even though this was a potentially delicate archaeological site.
• In the end, they were forced to return everything and pay a large part of the court costs.

Archaeology provides context

• Archaeological treasure hunters pose a problem not only for underwater archaeological heritage but also for heritage pieces and sites located on land.
• Because of all this, the context in which archaeological remains appear is absolutely key.

The price of underwater conservation

• The other big difference is that studying an underwater site is prohibitively expensive.
• To begin with, highly specialised labour is needed, along with diving licences, underwater equipment, one or more boats, and very expensive excavation equipment that can vacuum up mud or sand from the seabed.
• In land archaeology, shifts of 8 hours or more in length are normal – something unthinkable in underwater archaeology.
• And making a profit by doing a good job of underwater archaeology is impossible because of the high costs associated with it.

That ship belongs to us

• In theory, everything that falls into the jurisdictional waters of a given country or the nearby continental shelf belongs to that country, unless there is an international treaty involved.
• In other words, if an American ship had sunk more than a hundred years ago in Spanish territorial waters, the remains would still belong to the United States – and vice versa.

• Though EVs emit fewer greenhouse gases than fuel-powered vehicles, their batteries require more minerals – especially lithium, which is also used to make batteries for smartphones and computers.
• Unlike its neighbors Chile and Argentina, Bolivia has yet to become a major player in the global lithium market.
• In part, this is because its high-altitude salt flats aren’t suited to the usual extraction method, solar evaporation.

The Pachamama

• Aymara and Quechua peoples comprise most of the Indigenous communities in the Andes Mountains.
• Instead, it is seen as a group of beings with personhood, history and power beyond human reach.
• For example, the female divinity of fertility, to whom people owe respect, is the Pachamama.
• Since she sustains and secures the reproduction of life, Andean Indigenous people make offerings to the Pachamama in ancestral rituals known as “challas” that seek to reinforce their connection with her.

Lifeless matter

• The modern economy turns nature into a source of raw materials: morally and spiritually inert matter that is there to be extracted and mobilized worldwide.
• In the way Christians adapted his idea of prime matter, everything was ordered by its level of “perfection,” ranging from the lowest level – prime matter, the most basic “stuff” of the world – to rocks, plants, animals, humans, angels and, finally, God.
• The Catholic Church and the Spanish Empire later used this medieval understanding of matter as something passive, without spirit, to justify the extraction of resources during colonial times.
• The closer things were to prime matter, their argument supposed, the more they needed human imprint and an external purpose to make them valuable.

The road ahead

• However, extraction initiatives have faced severe setbacks in the last few years, including social protests, the 2019 political crisis and a lack of necessary technology.
• The Chinese deal represents a new milestone, yet its outcomes are still uncertain: for the economy, for local communities and for the Earth.

• Endeavors serves vulnerable populations including veterans and their families, single mothers and their children, and people who are homeless across the U.S. and in Puerto Rico.
• The organization was founded in 1969 by five Presbyterian churches in San Antonio.
• According to the Census Bureaus most recent Household Pulse Survey, nearly 1 in 10 homeowners said they were behind on mortgage payments in Texas.
• Texas residents can view TEMAP eligibility requirements and apply at https://endeavors.org/TEMAP/ .

• PALO ALTO, Calif. and SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, July 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Health Gorilla, the largest interoperability provider in Puerto Rico, in conjunction with the Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDOH), today announced a milestone achievement following the official launch of the Puerto Rico Health Information Exchange (PRHIE) on July 1st.
• "We are excited to partner with Health Gorilla as we build out this health information exchange."
• "Health Gorilla is thrilled to be selected to build the Puerto Rico HIE solution by the Puerto Rico Department of Health," said Steve Yaskin, CEO and Co-founder of Health Gorilla.
• Through this partnership with the Puerto Rico Department of Health, Health Gorilla has broadened its commitment to advance clinical interoperability efforts throughout the island of Puerto Rico.