The Secret Behind Rolls Royce’s E-Plane

By Irina Slav - Jan 30, 2020, 

When Rolls Royce in December unveiled its new electric plane, it said it would be the fastest electric aircraft, capable of achieving a top speed of 300 mph. It also said the plane will be able to fly from London to Paris on a single charge.

The battery pack of ACCEL, as the aircraft is called, standing for Accelerating the Electrification of Aircraft, is the most energy dense pack ever made for a plane, its developers say. It is also among the lightest--lighter than many EV battery packs.

The ACCEL aircraft has three battery packs that power its three electric motors. Each pack weighs 450 kg and has a capacity of 72 kWh. To compare, the battery pack of a Tesla Model X has a capacity of 75 kWh and weighs over 500 kg. Smaller EVs do have much lighter battery packs, but they do have much lower range. The challenge with the ACCEL seems to be striking a rather fine balance between weight and capacity.

And according to the tram behind the project, they succeeded.

In an article devoted to ACCEL, IEEE Spectrum’s Prachi Patel writes that among the challenges the team was facing in the area of batteries, what form of battery cell to choose and how to arrange them for maximum density and minimum weight were the toughest.

According to the project manager, Matheu Parr, the best battery cell shape for the aircraft battery pack turned out to be the cylinder. These, Parr told Patel, could hold a lot of energy and could release it quickly at high power. The secret to the weight was the packaging materials: using as little as possible of those and only the lightest-weight.

Inspiration came from Formula E – the all-electric cousin of Formula 1 that now also has an aircraft version. Formula E cars and planes need to be as light as possible in order to be faster, and this lightness comes from the battery packaging. According to Parr, Formula E planes have a packaging-to-battery cell weight ratio that is half as much as the packaging-to-battery cell weight ratio of electric cars.

So, can the Rolls Royce racing plane take on a commercial jet? Not yet. The specific energy of the ACCEL aircraft batteries is just 165 Wh/kg, a standard measure used for the energy density of batteries, and it needs to rise to 500 Wh/kg for the plane to compete with jet propulsion-powered aircraft. But it is certainly an important step in the electrification of planes even if for the time being only small planes can be electrified.

The thing is that batteries are heavy. Even with lightweight packaging and the most efficient arrangement of battery cells inside the pack, they are heavier than jet fuel. They are also less efficient for the time being, as CNBC’s Andrew Evers and Katie Schoolov wrote in a December 2019 article.

Yet there are some 200 companies working on electric aircraft technology. The promise is big: electric motors require a lot less maintenance than jet fuel engines, which means they are cheaper over their lifetime; they are also, of course, a lot more environmentally friendly.

This latter factor is a concern of growing importance for airlines. Flight shaming has yet to affect passenger numbers in any noticeable way, but it is there and is a source of pressure for the industry even though it only accounts for 2.5 percent of global CO2 emissions. Road transport, in comparison, accounts for 28 percent of emissions in the United States alone.

Rolls Royce has the ambition to be a pioneer in the transition to what some call the third age of aviation, the first two being the propeller age and the jet age. It is not setting itself unrealistic goals. The company believes all-electric aircraft will continue to be small for quite a long while yet, with hybrid systems for larger planes. But small planes could be useful, too.

“We’re learning an awful lot that we want to see packed into a future aircraft. Innovations in the battery and system integration, packaging and management will all help us shape any future electric product, be it all-electric or hybrid,” Parr said.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

The Tide Is Turning For Canada’s Mining Industry


The Mining Association of Canada (MAC) released its annual Facts & Figures report on Tuesday, saying it is time is for the industry to fulfill its potential as a dominant mining nati

The resource-rich country ranks among the top five countries in the global production of 15 minerals and metals. The industry was valued at $105 billion in 2018, and mineral exports accounted for 19 percent of Canada’s total domestic exports, the report found.

Facts & Figures reports that in 2018, Canada’s mining industry contributed C$97 billion ($73 billion) or 5 percent to Canada’s total nominal GDP.
The industry’s direct and indirect employment exceeds 620,000 jobs, accounting for one in every 30 jobs in Canada. Proportionally, the mining industry is the largest private-sector employer of indigenous peoples and provided over 16,600 jobs to community members in 2018, MAC found.

MAC said that with this data comes the need to focus on where the industry still has room to improve and that while Canadian mining’s year-over-year competitiveness metrics have improved, they remain depressed in some areas. But as its oil industry continues to struggle, Canada is looking to revitalize its mining sector.

Capital investment increased modestly by 5 percent to C$12.9 billion year-over-year, following five consecutive previous years of decline.

Canada’s global share of non-ferrous exploration investment was 15 percent in 2018 — up 1.3 percent from 13.7 percent — but well below the peak of 20.8 percent in 2008, MAC reported. While showing growth of 5 percent (or C$8 billion) year-over-year, NRCan’s 10-year projected value of mining projects planned and under construction remains 50 percent below 2014 levels, from $160 billion to $80 billion.

Only five new mining projects were submitted for federal environmental assessment review in 2019, well below average levels seen from 2012-2014.

“We feel energized by a number of recent commitments pertaining to mining, including in Prime Minister Trudeau’s most recent mandate letters to his Cabinet, the Canadian Minerals and Metals Plan and the new Canada-US Joint Action Plan on Critical Minerals Collaboration, all of which bode well for our industry,” said Pierre Gratton, MAC’s president and CEO.

By Mining.com

POLITICS
Canada wants to phase out fossil fuels. First, it needs to learn from phasing out coal

By Heather Scoffield Economics Columnist Sat., Feb. 8, 2020

Wendy Berry says people will drive a couple of hours from Red Deer, Alta., for the made-from-scratch pizza that she serves up at her restaurant in the hamlet of Tomahawk, but that’s not enough to keep her going these days.

She is worried sick about paying the mortgage and having enough left over to feed her family now that the shuttering of Canada’s coal industry put an end to the catering side of her business.

It was supposed to be a “just transition” — that buzzy phrase that was on the tips of everyone’s tongues at the global climate talks in Madrid this winter, and that made it into the federal Liberal election platform as a commitment to help fossil-fuel workers who are regulated out of a job as the government pushes us towards a low-carbon economy.


But when Berry hears that expression, she fires back with some tough questions that have no satisfactory answers.

“What exactly is a just transition?” she asks. “Do we have something else in place for when we shut down our fossil fuels?”

Berry and the rest of her community are a lesson in real time for the federal government as it contemplates how to push Canada to become a low-carbon economy. Coal mining and coal-fired electricity in Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are being phased out or radically altered to meet the country’s climate-change goals. The thousands of workers employed at these facilities and living in 50 nearby communities are on the front lines of decarbonization, the first to feel the profound effects of a massive shift away from fossil fuels.

They are a real-life test case, exposing what works and what doesn’t in our attempt to move humanely, with compassion, away from fossil fuels and towards clean energy.


With an eye to the acute disruption that decarbonization implies, the federal Liberals promised during the last election campaign to legislate a “just transition act” that would require governments to give workers help with training, support and new opportunities.

Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan’s office says work has begun on getting that legislation together, and they point to their work with coal workers as the way forward.


Berry and many local politicians and coal workers in the area are quick to say they know coal mining and coal-powered electricity hurts the environment, raises greenhouse gas emissions, and can’t continue as is. And they acknowledge the help provincial and federal governments have offered to help local communities figure out their next steps.

“I get it,” says Berry, 55.

But there have been some stumbling blocks in government support along the way — unintended consequences, lack of foresight, and arbitrary limitations that leave some people, like Berry, out on a limb.


Her small business was dependent on the coal industry. A third of her revenue came from providing hot lunch to the workers at the mine nearby. But as coal production is cut back and power producers switch to using natural gas, the numbers of well-paid coal workers buying employees buying Berry’s lunch have dwindled dramatically.

Some of them have moved away permanently. Others are in desperate straits, taking on new jobs with low pay. Berry talks about a woman she knows who took the retraining help offered to her but ended up landing a job at Walmart, where she is competing against employees 25 years younger than her for shifts at a much lower pay grade than what she was used to.


Berry’s former staff of 15 is now just an occasional shift for family members. As a restaurant owner, Berry doesn’t have access to the retraining and redevelopment funding, since she’s not directly employed in the coal industry. Instead, she finds herself paying an extra few hundred dollars a month to cover the rising tax on her utilities. She figures she needs to sell an extra 30 to 40 hamburgers a month. “I didn’t even get a free light bulb. Come on!”


Governments are actually lining up to play a part in the just transition for coal — provincial, federal and municipal alike. Unions are heavily involved, the companies are engaged, and common conversation in affected towns frequently turns to brainstorming about how to move forward.

Tens of millions of dollars are on the table to ease the way.

In Alberta, the provincial government under Rachel Notley put $40 million into programs to bridge older workers to retirement, help other workers find new jobs and subsidize moving costs. They followed up with another $5 million for communities to diversify their economies. Saskatchewan just offered up $10 million.

At the federal level, Ottawa has budgeted $185 million so far, for transition away from coal. Of that, $35 million is earmarked for skills and training, and $150 million is for infrastructure and economic development. All signs point to more in upcoming budgets.

There have been task forces and reports and community meetings and endless discussions about how to make sure the money meets the needs of workers.

But what the governments didn’t fully anticipate was the speed of the transition itself.

Former prime minister Stephen Harper gave Canada until 2030 to move away from coal, a timeline adopted by the Trudeau government in 2016. But in Alberta, the Notley government added a massive $1.4 billion incentive, using carbon-tax revenues, for companies to pick up the pace — and they responded faster than many had predicted. They are already in the midst of switching to natural gas in some places — saving money and employing many fewer people — or simply shutting down earlier than planned.

“It caught everyone off guard, completely,” says Matt Wayland, who represented the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers on the federal government’s task force for a just transition for coal workers.

In theory, the key to the “just” part of the transition was to allow enough lead time for companies to change their production, workers to train up and find new jobs if necessary, and for communities to tilt their economic base toward clean energy. Those changes can take years.

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Instead, despite the millions in government programming, the mayor of Parkland County is suddenly worried about firefighters.

Parkland County is the epicentre of coal transition in Canada, the area near Edmonton that hosts about half the province’s coal-fired generating units. Mayor Rod Shaigec says about a quarter of his municipal tax base was directly related to coal, but that’s now shrinking rapidly.

The municipal government has been setting aside $2 million a year to deal with the anticipated loss of tax revenue, but it’s not enough, and the volunteer firefighting ranks speak to why.

When coal was flourishing, half the county’s volunteer firefighters were employed by TransAlta, and the company actively encouraged them to participate. But now, the force of 120 firefighters has dropped to 100 to cover an enormous area. The municipal government has had to dig into its budget to hire three full-time professional firefighters. And they’re still short.
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Shaigec knows he needs to push hard to diversify the local economy, enhance the agricultural base and lure in more investment. He is eyeing the government funding, and has plenty of transition planning in the works, from infrastructure to attracting new business. But it’s not happening fast enough to deal with the shift away from coal and its unintended consequences.

“There’s tremendous opportunity,” he says. “But it’s challenging.”

What does “just transition” mean in reality for his constituents? “Some would say we’re just waiting, we’re just waiting, we’re just waiting. And nothing’s happening.”




Over in Estevan, Sask., where about 1,300 workers are employed in the surrounding area’s coal mines and coal-powered plants, anxiety is running high — but not despair.

Denise Ludwig is a 61-year-old retired nurse with too many ties to the coal industry to count. Her husband, Roy, who is also the mayor of Estevan, has worked in coal mining for 40 years. Their closest friends, her father — they all spent years if not their entire careers in the sector. Coal mining has been the backbone of the community since the 1800s.

“I’ve been around it a lot,” she says. “My whole life.”

When they get together to talk about the future of the community, the chatter inevitably turns to brainstorming about what could be done to stave off hard times — through embracing new forms of green energy production, or finding better ways to use coal.

“I see our community pulling together a lot and trying to figure out ways to keep our community thriving.”

And it’s that sentiment that is at the heart of the recommendations from the federal task force that travelled to coal communities across the country in 2018 to learn what works and what doesn’t. Governments, the task force said, need to plan well in advance, listen carefully to affected people from the get-go, and tailor their solutions for each community.

“Coal workers, their families, and communities fear that without careful and inclusive planning, they may face devastating impacts from the coal phase-out,” their report states.

“Workers and community members expressed their dissatisfaction with how the government decided and announced the phase-out in the first place, pointing to limited or no consultation about the impacts for both provincial power grids and for the coal mine and electricity-generation workforces.”

In Tomahawk at the Kountry Kitchen, they’re tossing around ideas about how to move away from coal, and onto something more compatible with climate change, something that brings with it the high-paying steady jobs that the coal industry provided for so long. In Estevan, they’re having daily conversations about the viability of carbon capture and storage, or other ways to make coal so clean that Canada can get closer to its emissions-reduction targets.

“We do understand that we need to move to a greener society. We have to move to a greener world,” says Mayor Ludwig. But clean coal should be part of that future, he adds. “Just because it’s black doesn’t mean it’s dirty. We do have a future. We do have a role to play … Let’s perfect it.”

Another key lesson from the coal experience so far is that some workers need a lot more government help than access to extra financial support and a jobs board at a local transition centre. Some need a generous bridge to retirement. Some need more flexible rules so they don’t get penalized for taking a job quickly. Some need to have their hands held as they navigate a complex job market.

Even as other countries are watching Canada to see how it handles transition, Gil McGowan, the president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, is looking to Germany, where anyone who loses a job to the coal phase-out is assured another position.

“There’s still more work to be done and kinks to be worked out,” says McGowan, who was on the federal task force. “We didn’t get it completely right.”

And for people like Wendy Berry, the restaurant owner, strategic help from governments and investors alike in economic development and diversification toward new lines of business and clean energy are crucial. Phasing out of fossil fuels doesn’t automatically lead to a booming business in clean energy.

“It’s easy for people sitting in comfortable offices in downtown Toronto to say everything will be fine,” says McGowan. “But for the workers whose jobs are being lost, this is about their livelihood, and about their families, and about their dignity.”

That’s an attitude shared by those on the front lines of transition, no matter where they place themselves on the political spectrum.

Conservative MP Dane Lloyd from Sturgeon River-Parkland puts it this way: “We just want to work.”

Heather Scoffield is the Star’s Ottawa bureau chief and an economics columnist. Follow her on Twitter: @hscoffield

Read more about:
Calgary, Alberta, Climate Change, Halifax, Edmonton

Seeking beauty can be potentially deadly on central Alberta’s Abraham Lake 

One of the quirky methane bubbles that’s frozen in the ice of Abraham Lake. They are created by the break-down of organic matter under the water. (Contributed photo/Carl Hahn). 

As tourists flock to the man-made gem, they are being warned about unstable ice
Feb. 8, 2020

Hordes of sightseers are being drawn to a central Alberta lake that’s uniquely beautiful — and potentially deadly.

With an increasing number of vehicles and tour buses heading out to visit Abraham Lake’s intriguing ice-bubble formations, Rocky Mountain House Search and Rescue is warning the public to be careful when stepping onto the frozen surface of the water body west of Nordegg.

Abraham Lake is a man-made reservoir, which makes it “a very dangerous lake. Always be aware of your surrounding and stay safe,” the group posted on its Facebook page.

A photo of broken ice is also shown, revealing a gaping air hole beneath the lake’s frozen surface.

As Abraham Lake’s water level is controlled by a dam, it can rise and fall after ice forms on top. Rocky Mountain House Search and Rescue workers are cautioning that if the water levels drop, the unsupported ice can break under the weight of a vehicle, or even a person.

Individuals who fall into the lake wouldn’t be able to pull themselves out, because the air gap between the dropping water and ice surface is greater than their reach.


The group’s president, Edward Van Heeren, said, “The lake’s become a very popular tourist spot, with people coming from all over” to see lava-lamp-like bubbles in the ice.


The strange formations are caused when methane gas is released by decaying tree limbs and other underwater organic matter. The frozen bubbles can be as large as a foot in size and are visible through the glass-like surface of the ice.


Van Heeren is starting to notice foreign tour buses after the HuffPost, The Daily Beast, Canadian Geographic and the Smithsonian Institution published articles about the lake. He feels the urgency of spreading awareness about the lake’s inherent dangers.


Even when walking down the slope to the lake, Van Heeren recommends wearing ice cleats to avoid slipping.


Bruce Schollie, a Red Deer outdoors enthusiast, was surprised to see at least 10 cars parked at Preacher’s Point, one of several parking lots along the lakeshore, during a recent hike in the area.


“They were all bubble watchers,” said Schollie.


He observed both vehicles and people on the frozen lake surface. As a trained scout leader, he recommends carrying a rope, which could help reach someone who falls through the ice, but he admitted no one would last long in the frigid water.


Danielle Fortin, who runs Pursuit Adventures in Red Deer with her husband JP Fortin, believes some spots on the lake are safer than others.


The couple regularly takes tour groups out to Hoodoo Creek, or to Preacher’s Point at the furthest side of the lake from Nordegg. Fortin said the ground beneath the water slopes off more gently there.


She feels the most dangerous points are between Windy Point and the dam, as ice in this area is more unstable and the bank beneath slopes steeply.


Fortin understands the lake’s appeal: “When you are standing on the ice, it’s so clear, you can see straight down to the rocks at the bottom…. It feels like you are walking on bubbles. It’s a unique and magical experience.”


But it’s also concerning for amateur photographer Carl Hahn, of Red Deer, who makes a point of watching for running water beneath the ice whenever he walks out on the lake to take pictures.


Flowing water is a sign that the lake level below has receded and he should avoid the spot.


“Since the ice is clear, you can tell where it might have pockets of air,” said Hahn, who has also noticed a colour change where there’s only air beneath the ice.


Hahn noted it’s possible to not step onto the lake and still see some bubbles, since broken pieces of ice have been heaved up onto the shore.


Fat-tire biker Barry Shellian, of Rocky Mountain House, has noticed a lot of rental car licence plates around the lake as news spreads of its ice bubbles. He hopes tourists are aware of the lake’s potential dangers, as well as its beauty.



lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com





Rocky Mountain House Search and Rescue posted this photo on its website to show how ice can break on Abraham Lake when it has no water underneath to support it. The lake is actually a reservoir with a dam that can raise or lower water levels. (Contributed photo/Amy Rodtka).

Apparent meteor passes over Alberta skies Saturday afternoon



JASON HERRING  February 8, 2020


Tim Wiebe's doorbell camera captured what appears to be a meteor streaking across the sky over Calgary on Saturday, February 8, 2020. COURTESY TIM WIEB

Calgarians with their eyes on the sky may have noticed what appeared to be a meteor pass overhead on Saturday afternoon.

The fireball lit up daytime Calgary skies around 5:08 p.m. on Saturday.

Janzel Nicanor was driving east on 32nd Avenue near 36th Street in northeast Calgary when he captured the apparent meteor on his dashboard camera. The video shows an orange streak of light appearing in the sky for about two seconds before fading away.

Tim Wiebe also shared video that he captured — this time, from a doorbell camera.

Footage from videos of the possible meteor could help scientists determine its probable trajectory and landing area.

People from across the province also reported having seen the fireball, with Albertans tweeting about it from Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer.

Anyone else just see a fireball fall from the sky and explode south of #RedDeer? @weathernetwork— Lisa Holland (@ElleDeeH) February 9, 2020

Did anyone else see a big fireball (or something) in the sky over Edmonton just now? #yeg— Jana G. Pruden (@jana_pruden) February 9, 2020

Whoa did anyone else just see the big meteorite over Calgary?? #Meteorite #yyc #yycweather— exempli gratia (@EGintheGR) February 9, 2020

‘Clothing designed to become garbage’ — Fashion industry grapples with pollution, waste issues

PUBLISHED SAT, FEB 8 2020 

KEY POINTS

The $2.5 trillion fashion industry is one of the biggest polluters and the second-biggest consumer of water.
The major issue is that most of the fabrics in cheap garments are synthetics and polyesters, which are derived from oil and petroleum production.
Unlike wool or cotton, synthetic particles don’t biodegrade. So when clothes are dumped into a landfill, toxic synthetic fibers pollute water sources.


Protesters display banners during a fashion show in a polluted river basin planted mostly with rice in Rancaekek district near Citarum river located in western Java island as part of a campaign by environmental organization Greenpeace for top international fashion brands to remove toxic chemicals from their supply chains in Indonesia and address water pollution.
Romeo Gacad | Getty Images


Hannah George grew up shopping at the malls in Ithaca, New York, where she stocked up on the latest affordable trends at retailers such as H&M and Forever 21.

The 25-year-old abruptly stopped, however, when she went to college and learned about fashion industry pollution, a major driver of climate change. She shifted toward buying used clothes at the local thrift shops, actively avoided synthetic, petroleum-based fabrics and began investing in clothes made to last.


“I realized how I was supporting the industry with my dollars,” George said. “It was a shift for me. I looked at what my philosophy for clothing should be — a long-term part of my life, not just something for the night out.”

Growing calls for sustainable clothing that’s less harmful to the environment could be a catalyst for change in the fashion industry. Sixty-two percent of Gen Z consumers, those who were born after 1995, prefer to buy from sustainable brands, according to one recent survey.

Consumer pressure over the industry’s pollution has led companies such as Nike and H&M to announce plans to reduce carbon emissions or use more recycled materials in clothing. Meanwhile, larger retailers are getting into used clothing as the secondhand market booms. Nordstrom last week launched a resale shop, citing consumer demand for more sustainable options.

But despite talk of shifting toward more sustainable production, the global fashion industry’s greenhouse gas emissions are on track to surge more than 50% by 2030 as global demand for apparel rises.

“Fashion is on par to become a quarter of the global footprint of carbon. That’s astounding,” said Michael Stanley-Jones, co-secretary of the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion. “The industry isn’t headed in the right direction.”


“The urge to sell more and more, produce more and get consumers to buy more is still the DNA of the industry. Clothes have a short life span and end up in a garbage dump,” he added. “That has to change.”

The $2.5 trillion fashion industry comprises roughly 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions — more than all international flights and shipping in total, according to the United Nations Environment Program. It’s also the second-biggest consumer of water globally, enough to meet the needs of 5 million people every year.

Fast fashion is a major culprit. Large, low-cost global clothing brands are consistently ramping up production and inventory turnover to offer consumers new designs and collections every few weeks, rather than every season.

Extinction Rebellion activists demonstrate outside the Foreign Office ahead of Victoria Beckham’s show at the London Fashion Week on 15 September, 2019 in London, England.
Wiktor Szymanowicz | Getty Images


As a result, consumers regularly shop for new looks and treat the cheap garments as essentially disposable, throwing them out after no more than 10 wears.

Between 2000 and 2015, the fashion industry doubled production. The average shopper bought 60% more clothing, too, but kept each product for about half as long, according to research from consulting firm McKinsey.

The major issue is that most of the fibers in these cheap garments are synthetics and polyesters, which are derived from oil and petroleum production.

Unlike wool or cotton, synthetic particles don’t biodegrade. So when clothes are dumped into a landfill, toxic synthetic fibers pollute water sources.

When the clothing is washed, microplastic fibers will shed off and inundate the water supply and food chain.

The chemicals used in producing and dying these fabrics harm the environment, too. In fact, the problem is so pervasive that the Environmental Protection Agency considers many textile manufacturing facilities to be hazardous waste facilities.

“Consumers might think they are getting something for nearly nothing — clothing designed to become garbage — but they should ask, what are the real costs of the product?” said Stanley-Jones. “The real cost of production of these products involves pollution that affects your health and costs the national health system.”





The production of synthetic textiles is accelerating as the demand for cheap clothes continues to rise. And in turn, the amount of textiles that are filling landfills is skyrocketing.

In the U.S., people on average produce about 75 pounds of textile waste each year, according to EPA data.

Garment waste is not only a sustainability issue but an economic problem, too. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates that about $500 billion is lost each year as a result of clothing being thrown out instead of being reused or recycled.



A push for sustainable clothing


“2019 was a year of waking up to the urgency of the sustainability issue, and 2020 is a pivotal year for those who can demonstrate impact, and those who will be left behind,” said John Thorbeck, chairman of consultancy Chainge Capital and a former industry executive.

But it’s a complicated shift, considering that many customers also expect a level of speed and price for clothing in line with the fast-fashion companies that are making products for impact, not longevity.

In the midst of public backlash against cheap, throwaway products, many retailers say they are addressing sustainability. Some companies have started addressing textile waste and synthetic fabrics that don’t biodegrade and looking at ways of sustainably sourcing fabrics and recovering or recycling clothing.

For instance, fast-fashion brands H&M and Zara, which sell low-priced items in large amounts, have both raced to make a sustainability remittance.

H&M has a garment collection initiative that allows customers to drop off used clothing in its stores for reuse and recycling. About 57% of its materials are currently either recycled or sourced in a more sustainable way, an increase from 35% in one year, a company spokesperson told CNBC. The company’s goal is to have all materials recycled or sourced sustainably by 2030.

Inditex, the retail giant that owns Zara, announced that all of its clothes will be organic, sustainable or recycled by 2025, and that renewable sources will power 80% of energy used by the corporation’s distribution centers, stores and offices.

However, these sustainability initiatives have been met with some skepticism, with critics pointing out that the business model of fast fashion and sustainability are simply incompatible.

The argument is that when a business is built on such a fast turnover of styles, the production of those garments is extremely energy intensive, regardless of whether the companies have more environmentally friendly stores or materials.

For their part, consumers can help to lower their clothing footprint by reading clothing labels and researching how the products were made before purchasing them, as well as buying used clothing on shopping apps or in thrift stores.

“The consumer is not just looking for a perfect blouse but a company that is actually contributing to a better world. It’s part of a brand identity and a story they will tell,” Thorbeck said.

— Charts by CNBC’s Nate Rattner

HUMAN RIGHTS

New Report Details How Fossil Fuel Industry's Climate Destruction Also Exacerbates Human Rights Abuses

 Common Dreams

 

16 hours ago

POPULAR

350 .org / Flickr / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

By Julia Conley

In addition to having a disproportionate impact on marginalized communities around the globe which have contributed the least to climate-warming fossil fuel emissions, the climate crisis has exacerbated the human rights violations already perpetrated by the fossil fuel industry, according to a new report.

The grassroots climate action group 350.org examined ten global communities which have suffered from heavy pollution, deforestation, displacement, and other violations as multinational corporations like Chevron and Shell — in addition to smaller fossil fuel entities and corrupt governments — have placed profits over human rights.

"The pollution and contamination often caused by fossil fuel industry activities mainly affect the poorest populations, as well as the climate crisis," said Aaron Packard, manager of the Climate Defenders program at 350.org, in a statement. "Vulnerable communities are being doubly exposed to losses or scarcity of land, fish stocks and water, for example."

350.org surveyed the region of Ogoniland in Nigeria, where Shell Oil has dumped an estimated nine to 13 million barrels of crude oil into the Niger Delta since 1958.

The company's activities in Ogoniland have led to polluted air and water as well as decimated natural habitats, violating the rights of the 832,000 people who live there.

The local government has also worked with Shell to suppress the right of people in Ogoniland to fight against the pollution.

"Protests against widespread and persistent oil pollution have been brutally repressed, with loss of life and a series of other egregious human rights violations," the report reads. "Victims of severe human rights abuses associated with oil extraction in the Niger Delta are still awaiting for remediation of the harm caused to their lands, water, and livelihood, in spite of multiple victories before courts and human rights bodies."

Shell's activities in the Niger Delta are just one example of how the fossil fuel industry has led to an estimated 45,000 premature deaths due to pollution, crop losses resulting from drought and other climate extremes, and other environmental results of the carbon emissions.

The report also points to coal power plants in the Muğla region of Turkey, where companies have done "severe environmental harm" since 1983. Emissions from the plants have been linked to premature deaths from heart disease, respiratory disease, and cancer, while the companies have forced communities to leave the area as they ramp up their operations.

The European Court of Human Rights recognized in 2005 that the communities had a right to bring legal action against the plants, but the companies have not ceased their extraction of coal and the resulting pollution. Governments, 350.org wrote, must pass legislation to rein in the fossil fuel industry.

The recognition by courts of human rights is "no replacement for effective legislation concerning environmental harm," the report states, "and human rights remedies are no replacement for effective preventive and remedial measures against environmental harm caused by fossil fuel companies."

Other cases detailed in the report include threats to water security in Australia and the contamination of rivers and fish stocks in indigenous territories in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

"Even in the face of the clearest scientific evidence that burning fossil fuels is literally setting the planet on fire, this sector continues to invest in the same old model and often misinforms society about the climate crisis and its causes," said Packard. "In doing so, companies are actively disregarding the right of entire populations to a healthy environment, sufficient and quality food, and a political and social scenario of stability."

Reposted with permission from Common Dreams.

• Fossil Fuel Industry Is Now 'in the Death Knell Phase': CNBC's Jim ... ›

Coronavirus: How Well Do Face Masks Protect Against Viruses, Droplets and Dust?

 Deutsche Welle

 

11 hours ago

HEALTH + WELLNESS

David McNew / Getty Images

By Fabian Schmidt

The simple mouth and nose protector — a mask made of a rather thin paper fleece, which is knotted behind the head with ribbons - was formerly used almost exclusively in operating theaters.

Doctors and assistants wear this mouthguard primarily to prevent their patients on the operating table from being infected with germs and pathogens. If the wearer of the mask coughs or sneezes, for example, most of the droplets from the mouth and throat get caught in the mask.

In the long run, however, this only works if the mask is changed regularly and disposed of hygienically and safely. In surgery, doctors must change their mask at least every two hours. If, on the other hand, a mask of this type is worn repeatedly, it quickly loses its effectiveness.

How Much Protection Does the Mask Provide?

The wearer of the mask can protect himself against droplet and smear infections, but only to a very limited extent. Although the virus usually enters the body through the mouth or eyes — if there are no open wounds — the hands play the most important role in transporting the virus.

If you decide to wear a mask, you should probably also opt for protective goggles. The surgical masks, albeit less effective in keeping the viruses out, merely function as a constant reminder not to touch your nose with your hands when it itches. Neither should you rub your eyes.

Half Masks Offer Better Protection

In addition to surgical masks, which look more like multi-layer disposable kitchen towels, there are also half masks with a real filter effect. These are more familiar to those who work in dusty environments or with aerosols. They are available either as disposable masks, usually made of strong pressed cellulose with a filter element and an exhalation valve, or as plastic masks in which a suitable filter is then inserted.

In the European Union these types of masks are divided into three FFP protection classes (filtering face piece). Although masks of protection level FFP1 are still better than surgical masks, they do not offer the desired protection against viruses. They are intended for carpenters, for example, who work at a band saw with a vacuum extraction system. Workmen may wear them to catch the coarser dust, which the vacuum cleaner is unable to catch. Or a bricklayer can put them on before mixing cement with a trowel, kicking up some dust.

Only FFP-3 class masks effectively protect the wearer from droplet aerosols, protein molecules, viruses, bacteria, fungi and spores, and even from highly dangerous dusts such as asbestos fibers.

If a Mask is Needed — Then it Needs to Be the Right One

Such high-quality filter masks can protect the wearer — unlike simple surgical masks — from infection due to their design. In other words, also from a highly infectious pathogen such as measles or tuberculosis.

But here too, protection only works if many other protective measures are taken at the same time: Strict hygiene when putting on a mask, protective goggles, gloves and plastic apron or overall, proper disposal of possibly contaminated disposable items and regular hand washing. In addition, the surroundings must always be systematically disinfected.

These masks - together with all other protective clothing — are therefore used in quarantine stations, for example, where patients who are already infected are cared for. The medical staff has to put on and take off all the protective clothing, including the protective mask, at considerable expense.

For traveling in public transport or working at a keyboard at alternating workstations, which happen to be among the worst germinators of all, this effort would be completely disproportionate.

And What About Tear Gas?

The demonstrators in Hong Kong also wore a variety of different protective masks - from simple surgical masks to half masks with filters.

Surgical masks are probably only effective in concealing the demonstrators' identity. However, when the police fire tear gas grenades that spray an aerosol, only FFP-3 filters can provide some protection. To prevent the tear gas from getting into the eyes, airtight protective goggles are absolutely necessary.

However, occupational safety filters from the hardware store do not offer any real protection. A proper full face gas mask with a military NBC filter would do the job.

And of course this also provides good protection against viruses. But in everyday life nobody wants to walk around like this.

Best Protection: Don't forget to Wash Your Hands

All masks and goggles are of little use if the most important hygienic principles are neglected. For example, if you come home after a long bus or train ride, where you touched handrails and handles, take off the mask and scratch your nose, You could have left out the protective mask just as well.

It's the same at work: if you have been typing on the computer keyboard all morning and then go to lunch without washing your hands first, you take a considerable risk. Then, wearing a mask at the computer workstation would have been of little use either.

Reposted with permission from Deutsche Welle.

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6 Changes in Society Could Rapidly Pave the Way to a Sustainable Future, Study Finds

 World Economic Forum

Feb. 05, 2020 11:05AM ESTCLIMATE

People taking a break in German park landscape on top of modern office complex (composite image). EschCollection / Stone / Getty Images

By Johnny Wood

• Despite efforts to achieve net-zero by 2050, global emissions are still rising.
• A new study suggests ways to fast-track efforts to decarbonize the planet.
• Building a business case for sustainable energy could drive the transition.

It's not too late to stop climate change. According to new research, decarbonizing fast enough to stabilize the climate and fast-track the planet to net-zero rests on all of us changing how we think and act — and doing it fast.

The report, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States (PNAS), identifies six "tipping dynamics," or interventions, that could act as catalysts to bring about rapid societal and technological change towards a sustainable future.
The study highlights the importance of intervening to make fossil fuels less economically — and morally — attractive. A step-change of this kind could bring about tipping points that divert investment and consumer demand away from fossil fuels towards more sustainable energy sources.
It says this can be done by:

• Removing fossil-fuel subsidies and boosting incentives to move to decentralized energy systems and make clean energy production and storage systems more economically competitive.
• Encouraging financial markets to divest of assets linked to fossil fuels, to divert investment towards less-polluting technologies, leaving investors keen to avoid the prospect of holding 'stranded assets' tied to fossil fuels.
• Building sustainable cities powered by renewable energy.
• Revealing the "moral implications" of fossil fuels.
• Disclosing greenhouse gas emissions information.
• Strengthening climate education and engagement.

While awareness of the climate emergency is growing, global efforts to reduce carbon emissions are not moving fast enough to avoid irreversible damage to the planet.
Moving from the fossil fuels that drive global warming to cleaner energy sources, such as wind or solar power, is at the heart of global efforts to decarbonize. Yet emissions from power generation continue to increase.

Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions worldwide (in gigatonnes). CC

Carbon dioxide emissions from the energy sector have more than doubled since the 1970s and remain on an upward trajectory.
Once we reach a point where sustainable energy generates higher financial returns than coal and oil, the world should reach the critical mass needed to halt increasing CO2 emissions levels, and begin to reverse the trend.

Think Again

But building a business case for clean energy is only one part of the challenge. The study also identifies the importance of changing social values and behavior.

Progress in combating climate change rests on converting awareness of the problem into action, so the transition to a carbon-free lifestyle is made easy for the global population to achieve.

For this to happen, a new world view is needed that embraces a climate-friendly and sustainable stance, which demands a fundamental overhaul of existing social, political and economic norms. And this new perception needs to be contagious so it is adopted globally.

The paper's authors suggest greater transparency could produce tipping points that change what's considered normal or acceptable, by revealing the moral implications of fossil fuels and disclosing greenhouse gas emissions information. At the same time strengthening climate education and engagement among the global population.

Climate action was a key theme at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos. Klaus Schwab, the Forum's Founder and Executive Chairman, and the heads of Bank of America and Royal DSM, sent a letter to all summit participants asking companies and investors to make a commitment to act on climate change, which is more urgently needed than ever before. The Forum's ongoing work on climate change includes Mission Possible, a platform to help industries make the transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The climate challenges facing the planet transcend national boundaries, requiring urgent action from policy-makers, businesses, organizations and communities to speed up the transition to a net-zero future.

Reposted with permission from World Economic Forum.

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• Systemic Change Driven by Moral Awakening Is Our Only Hope ... ›

• Transforming Our Worldview Towards a Sustainable Future ... ›
• Climate Change - United Nations Sustainable Development ›

climate change climate crisis solutions sustainability 

Canadians with lifelong disabilities can lose disability tax credit

BY ERICA ALINI GLOBAL NEWS Posted February 8, 2020

THE WAR AMPS HAS A GOOD MANUAL ON FILING FOR DISABILITY TAX CREDIT DO'S AND DON'TS I WAS GIVEN A COPY WHEN I WAS IN THE GLENROSE RECOVERING FROM MY AMPUTATION

Some Canadian workers who develop a disability may lose their employer disability benefits after a few years, even if they haven't made a full recovery. Global News money reporter Erica Alini explains how you can protect yourself from that risk


When Robert Morley got the news that his application for the federal disability tax credit (DTC) had been denied in December 2019, he felt a mix of emotions, he said.


“On the one hand, I wasn’t at all surprised. On the other, I had kind of hoped that [since] I’ve been approved once, they would know I have the disability.”


Morley, 49, was diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis, commonly known as chronic fatigue syndrome, in 2010. The condition means even the small, routine tasks of everyday living leave him utterly exhausted and in need of prolonged rest, he said.


“If I shower, I have to take a break,” he said. “If I cook a meal, I have to take a break. I can’t go out. I can’t see friends.”


And the illness makes him unable to work, he said.


But it wasn’t until 2015, after a byzantine bureaucratic process and multiple initial denials, that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) approved him for the DTC, a non-refundable credit for people with disabilities and their families.


At the time, the agency made the approval retroactive to the 2006 tax year, when Morley’s condition started.


“I felt stressed about this all year, knowing the difficulty we had the first time.”


The credit works out to around $1,500 to $2,000 per year, a significant amount for the couple, who lives on Patrick’s modest income as a communications coordinator at a non-profit, Morley said.


READ MORE: The CRA makes it so hard to get the disability tax credit, many don’t even try


Despite their apprehension, the couple had held out hope their second time applying for the credit would go smoothly. After all, the CRA had already approved Morley once, and his doctor agreed the condition had not improved since then.

Instead, their application was denied. In August, the couple received a first denial letter from the CRA, stating: “Although we do not question the seriousness of your medical condition, we must base the decision on the specific eligibility criteria in the Income Tax Act.”


“Based on the information we received,” the letter continues, “you do not meet the eligibility criteria because the cumulative effect of your restrictions is not equivalent to a marked restriction in one basic activity of daily living.”


READ MORE: The disability tax credit was an explosive issue for the Liberals. Will the next government fix it?


That obscure language is familiar to anyone who’s been dealing with the DTC.


Canadians with disabilities have to pay a physician or other qualified health professional to certify that they are “markedly” restricted in at least one activity of daily living all or most of the time, or that the cumulative effect of restrictions across several activities is equivalent to being markedly restricted on one basic activity. (Those who require life-sustaining therapy at least three times a week, for a total of at least 14 hours a week, also qualify for the credit.)


A copy of Morley’s DTC application viewed by Global News shows his doctor deemed that while he doesn’t meet the bar for a “marked restriction,” the sum of his symptoms — which include cognitive impairment and difficulty walking — is equivalent to a marked restriction.





2:47Verdun woman denied disability insurance Verdun woman denied disability insurance


Accessing the DTC is a struggle, experts say, especially for those with ‘invisible disabilities’


Being approved for the DTC once does not guarantee reapproval, even for disabilities that are widely known to be lifelong conditions, said Jennifer Zwicker, director of health policy at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy.


Families with dependents with autism, for example, are often asked to reapply for the DTC every few years, Zwicker said.

“It’s concerning because it’s not like autism is going to go away.”In general, qualifying for the DTC has become significantly harder over the past five years or so, said Jason Heath, a financial planner in Thornhill, Ont., who’s helped many clients apply for the credit.

“It was very common in the past for a child with a learning disability, for example, to qualify for the disability tax credit,” he said.

While the rules for accessing the DTC haven’t changed, the way the CRA interprets them seems to have become stricter, he added.

A 2018 paper co-authored by Zwicker found that only 40 per cent of adults who live with a severe disability in Canada use the DTC. The study also suggested the rules used by the CRA to assess eligibility for the credit are likely one of the main reasons for the poor uptake.

READ MORE: Canada’s disability tax credit program needs major overhaul, Senate committee urges

The application form has a check-the-box format that doesn’t fit the reality of many disabilities, the report suggested. Physicians sometimes struggle to describe how the applicant’s disability affects their daily lives, and sometimes they receive confusing follow-up requests from the CRA for additional information, according to the report.

There is also a lack of consistency and transparency in how the tax agency reviews applications.

In Morley’s case, documents reviewed by Global News show doctors struggling to fill the forms correctly. Morley also said the CRA failed to notify him of follow-up requests to the physicians, which made it difficult for him to ensure additional information would be sent back to the agency by the deadline.

People with so-called “invisible disabilities” are especially likely to struggle to access the DTC, both Zwicker and Heath said.

Those who are deemed ineligible are denied not only the possibility to pay lower taxes but also access to a number of other, often more financially significant benefits.

Among them is the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP), a registered savings plan that’s eligible for a lifetime maximum of up to $70,000 in government matching grants and $20,000 in government bonds.

2:13Moncton man with diabetes denied disability tax credit Moncton man with diabetes denied disability tax credit


Change afoot in Ottawa


The good news for Morley and others in a similar situation is Ottawa has taken steps to address the issues around the DTC.


In its 2019 budget, the Trudeau government proposed to axe a rule that requires those who lose their eligibility for the DTC to close their RDSP and return to the government any grants or bonds received in the previous 10 years.


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The new rules “intended to come into effect on January 1, 2021, and would become law when the enabling legislation receives Royal Assent,” a spokesperson at the Ministry of Finance told Global News via email.


In the meantime, RDSP issues aren’t required to close an RDSP account simply because its beneficiary is no longer eligible for the DTC, the ministry also said.


Still, those who lose eligibility for the DTC still stand to lose access to any future government RDSP contributions.


READ MORE: Cancer patient was cut off from work disability benefits for 10 months — his story has warning for everyone


Efforts are underway to improve the DTC application and review process as well.


In 2017, public outcry over denials of DTC prompted the Liberal government to reinstate the Disability Advisory Committee (DAC), a body tasked with providing advice to the CRA that was disbanded by the Harper government in 2006.


Last year, the committee published a report with detailed recommendations for an overhaul of the DTC, including rewriting the eligibility criteria, streamlining the application process and making the tax credit refundable.


The report also notes: “a particular concern is a notable increase in the rejections of individuals reapplying for the DTC after receiving it for 5, 10, and 20-plus years, even though their medical condition remains the same.”


READ MORE: ‘I couldn’t believe it’ — why disability claims for mental health are often a struggle


While some of the committee’s recommendations require legislative action, the CRA told Global News it’s on track to implement most, if not all, of the recommended administrative changes by the spring of 2020.


“The CRA is proud to support the important work of the Disability Advisory Committee and is committed to providing open, transparent and ongoing communications to Canadians on the progress made by the Committee to help improve the lives of Canadians living with disabilities,” the agency said via email.


Among the changes already adopted are a redesigned application form, the ability to file electronically and a new “navigator” role to liaise among the applicant, the CRA, and medical practitioners.


For his part, Morley said he and Patrick are planning to take their case to the Tax Court of Canada.


“There’s something so desperately wrong here.”


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