Taking green hydrogen to the next level with fossil fuel cost parity 

Europe is leading the way when it comes to the cleanest of energy fuels with Japan, South Korea and Australia lagging a good way behind - while China isn’t even considering it as a renewables option 

by Tim Daiss

Comment and Opinion Feb 18

Thirty French, Spanish, Italian and German companies are to produce green hydrogen from solar energy at a cost similar to fossil fuels.


Europe continues to take the global lead in green hydrogen development, seemingly leaving the rest of the world in its rear view mirror. Even more remarkable is that its pivot to the cleanest of all fuel choices comes amid the worst health crisis to hit the planet in more than 100 years.

The latest in the European hydrogen drama came on February 11 when a consortium was formalised between 30 French, Spanish, Italian and German companies to produce green hydrogen from solar energy at a cost similar to fossil fuels.

The project, appropriately dubbed the HyDeal Ambition, plans to produce 3.6 million tonnes of green hydrogen per year for energy, industry and mobility sector end-users using gas transmission and storage networks.
Read more: China's Baidu beats revenue estimates on strong cloud and AI demand

That amount is roughly equivalent to one-and-a-half months of oil consumption in G20 member France, which averages about 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil usage, the seventh highest petroleum consumption level in the world, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The group of companies, including McPhy Energy, Enagás, OGE, Snam and others, plan to build 93 gigawatts (GW) of solar power plants and 67GW of electrolysis capacity in Spain, France, and Germany before 2030 – an ambitious plan given its time horizon.

Fuel costs are projected to come in around €1.5 ($1.82) per kg, which includes transmission and storage costs.

The project’s first phase, with a 2022 completion date, will be located in the Iberian Peninsula, bordering both Spain and Portugal.

ENERGY TRANSITION

HyDeal spokesperson Thierry Lepercq said the project, which accelerates the on-going global energy transition, includes a complete industrial ecosystem spanning the whole green hydrogen value chain (upstream, midstream, downstream, and finance). It is the culmination of two years of research, analysis, modelling, feasibility studies and contract design.

Green hydrogen is produced using renewables. It doesn’t emit CO2 and other greenhouse gases (GHG) when burned, and can be transported by ship or pipeline.

Brown hydrogen, for its part, is produced using fossil fuels, and as such still has a high carbon footprint. Blue hydrogen is produced using fossil fuels but also uses carbon capture and storage (CCS) systems.

There are several notable take-aways from the development. First, HyDeal’s announcement shows how far Europe is pulling ahead of the rest of the industrialised world, including many that are either still only considering green hydrogen, developing it in its early stages, or, as in the case with China – the world’s largest energy consumer and worst GHG emitter by far – not even considering it in its new controversial renewables draft plan to 2030. 

ASIA LAGGING

In the rest of the Asia-Pacific region, Japan, South Korea, and Australia are leading the push for green hydrogen, but still pale in comparison to Europe’s hydrogen development.

However, the most dynamic take-away from HyDeal’s project announcement is that it will reach fossil fuel cost parity. It’s a development that most thought was still years away, giving more than a few countries seemingly ample reasons to postpone their own green hydrogen build-out.

Even the experts missed this one. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IREA) said in December that it could take ten years for green hydrogen to compete with the cost of fossil fuel alternatives.

Not to be outdone, commodities data provider S&P Global Platts said just a month earlier that green hydrogen costs need to become 50% cheaper to be able to compete with fossil fuels. Others have joined the chorus by predicting a long and convoluted path for green hydrogen adoption.

COST PARITY

HyDeal hasn’t yet disclosed full technical details of how its green hydrogen build-out will be able to reach fossil fuel cost parity. However, USNW-Sydney researchers think they’ve also found a way for green hydrogen to compete with fossil fuel production costs.

In a report released in October, researchers said a range of parameters could lower the price of green hydrogen production to near the cost to produce fossil fuels, including capital costs of electrolyser and solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, electrolyser efficiency, available sunlight, and the size of the installations.

Another way to decrease cost would be to use cheap transition metal-based catalysts in electrolysers.

Not only are they cheaper, the researchers concluded, but they even outperform catalysts currently in commercial use.

CARBON GOALS

The ability for green hydrogen production to compete with fossil fuels on a cost basis could not only help the scattering of European countries that have already pledged carbon neutrality by 2050 achieve their climate agendas early, but also help other countries ramp up their own carbon neutral goals.

One loser in this once in a generation global energy shake-up could be legacy oil producers, ranging from Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, to Russia, its second largest oil producer, to the US – the world’s largest producer, as well as around a dozen other oil producing countries that largely fill their state coffers from hydrocarbon exports.

However, the Saudis may already be out of the gate in anticipation of that eventuality. The kingdom announced in July that it would build the world’s largest green hydrogen production facility using 4GW of Saudi renewable electricity, with a production capacity of 650 million tons.

The fuel will be shipped as ammonia to global end-users then converted back to hydrogen. Production is slated to being in 2025. The move is part of Saudi Arabia’s attempts to diversify its economy away from decades of over-reliance on oil production and exports.

Another billion-tonne oil and gas discovery in Bohai oilfield
CNOOC says it has made another large-scale oil and gas discovery 5,200 meters below the Bohai Sea, in the Bozhong 13-2 oil and gas field

by Chris Gill and Jim Pollard

An image of the CNOOC deepwater rig that was later completed and dragged by tugboats into the South China Sea south of Hainan Island to the Lingshui 17-2 oil and gas field. Image: YouTube screen grab.


(ATF) The China National Offshore Oil Corporation on Tuesday announced another large-scale oil and gas discovery in the Bohai sea, in the Bozhong 13-2 oil and gas field.

CNOOC said it has proven geological reserves of 100 million tonnes of oil and gas.

The Bozhong 13-2 oil and gas field is located in the central waters of the Bohai Sea, about 140 kilometers from Tianjin, a major port in northeastern China, just south of Beijing. The oil and gas field has an average water depth of about 23.2 metres, the Beijing Daily reported.

The discovery well Bozhong 13-2-2 encountered an oil layer with a thickness of about 346 metres and was completed at a depth of 5,223 metres.

After testing, the well produced about 300 tonnes of crude oil and 150,000 cubic metres of natural gas per day on average.

Zhou Xinhuai, general manager of CNOOC Exploration Department, said the discovery of the Bozhong 13-2 oil and gas field was important and valuable for future exploration of the same type of field in the area and other offshore locations.

CNOOC, which is one of the largest national oil companies in China, began to conduct oil and gas exploration in the depths of the Bohai Sea as early as half a century ago. After generations of effort drilling and searching for oil and gas, explorers continued to tackle key problems, until the group discovered Jinzhou 25-1 South and other high-level large and medium-sized oil fields.

In a bid to achieve an efficient conversion of reserves, the company has applied an integrated management model of exploration and development, using existing oilfield facilities to quickly promote the construction of well areas. Exploratory wells are directly converted into production wells for test production, to reduce drilling costs and increase the oil and gas yield.

Zhou Xinhuai said that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, which began this year, CNOOC workers would continue to implement their development plan at the Bozhong 13-2 oil and gas field and become an important force for the Bohai Sea.

CNOOC 'targeting South China Sea and onshore sites'

CNOOC said early this month it would accelerate the exploration and development of natural gas, including deepwater reserves in the South China Sea and unconventional resources onshore China, to cut carbon emissions.

One of the industry's lowest-cost explorers and producers, CNOOC said net oil and gas output last year grew by 5% to 528 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) and it aimed to raise 2021 output to 545-555 million boe.

It plans capital spending this year of 90-100 billion yuan (nearly $14 billion-$15.5 billion), the highest since 2014, as it prioritises domestic drilling and natural gas, which is less carbon intensive than oil.

With the aim of making gas 30% of its portfolio by 2025 and half by 2035, CNOOC will expedite large discoveries, such as Lingshui 17-2 in the South China Sea and Bozhong 19-6 in the Bohai Bay off north China.

It will also tap unconventional resources, including coal-seam gas, tight gas and shale gas in China.

"Bohai Bay has huge natural gas potential and our exploration at the South China Sea is only at early stage," CEO Xu Keqiang told reporters.

Bohai Sea - Wikipedia

CNOOC will also consider acquiring gas assets outside China, Xu added.

Production from offshore China will account for about 68% of the 2021 target and overseas operations 32%, compared with the 64%-36% split seen in the previous two years, the company said.

Of 19 projects to commence operation this year, a stand-out is CNOOC's first major fully-owned deepwater gas field, Lingshui 17-2.

CNOOC in January started sailing Shenhai-1, a newly-commissioned deepwater oil and gas production and storage platform, to Lingshui. First output is expected late this year and annual output will reach more than 3 billion cubic metres.

The company has said 3%-5% of its total annual spending will be on offshore wind power, following the launch of its first wind power farm in east China last September and expansion planned in several other coastal provinces.

Asked about its fluctuating share prices following Washington's blacklisting, CEO Xu said CNOOC has been communicating with the US government to overcome misunderstandings "so to be removed from the sanction list as soon as possible".

CNOOC's Hong Kong-listed shared have recovered more than 20% over the last three weeks as European and Asian investors bargain-hunted its shares hit by the US investment ban.

With reporting by Reuters

Economic damage intensifies after Myanmar coup 

 
Australia’s Woodside says it will pull out of country in protest over anti-protester violence that claimed a life on Saturday 

by  Mark McCord

Photo: Reuters


(ATF) The economic fallout from Myanmar’s military coup deepened Saturday as a leading energy firm said it would be pulling out of the country.

Australia's Woodside Petroleum said on Saturday it was cutting its presence in Myanmar amid concerns over violence by security forces directed at protesters demonstrating against the February 1 ousting of the government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

The announcement came as violence on the streets intensified with the killing of a protester by police, according to reports

"We have watched with growing concern since the events of 1 February 2021. Woodside supports the people of Myanmar and we hope to see a peaceful journey to democracy," the company said in a statement on its website.

"We are reducing our presence in country and expect full de-mobilisation of our offshore exploration drilling team over the coming weeks."

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army seized power and detained elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and much of her party leadership, alleging fraud in a November election her party won in a landslide.

Uncertainty has grown over Suu Kyi's whereabouts, as the independent Myanmar Now website on Friday quoted officials of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party as saying she had been moved this week from house arrest to an undisclosed location.

The coup has brought hundreds of thousands of protesters to Myanmar's streets and drawn condemnation from Western countries, with some imposing limited sanctions.

Police were out in force in the main city of Yangon and elsewhere on Saturday, taking up positions at usual protest sites and detaining people as they congregated, witnesses said. Several media workers were detained.

Three domestic media outlets said a woman was shot and killed in the central town of Monwya. Police there were not immediately available for comment.

Earlier, a protester in the town said police had fired water cannon as they surrounded a crowd.

"They used water cannon against peaceful protesters - they shouldn't treat people like that," Aye Aye Tint told Reuters from the town.

In Yangon, despite the police presence, people came out to chant and sing, then scatter into side streets as police advanced, firing tear gas, setting off stun grenades and firing guns into the air, witnesses said.
We will prevail

At the U.N. General Assembly, Myanmar's Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun said he was speaking on behalf of Suu Kyi's government and appealed for "any means necessary to take action against the Myanmar military and to provide safety and security for the people".

"We need further strongest possible action from the international community to immediately end the military coup ... and to restore the democracy," he said.

Kyaw Moe Tun appeared emotional as he read the statement on behalf of a group of elected politicians that he said represented the legitimate government.

Delivering his final words in Burmese, the career diplomat raised the three-finger salute of pro-democracy protesters and announced, "Our cause will prevail."

Reporting by Reuter

Anas Sarwar wins Scottish Labour leadership election, becoming first 

party leader from Muslim background

In the coming weeks, Mr Sarwar said, he would lay out his vision for a “Covid recovery parliament” following the next election, which would focus on tackling the economic, health and societal impacts of the pandemic

Anas Sarwar has announced his bid to become the next leader of Scottish Labour, following the resignation of Richard Leonard (Photo: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

By Charlie Duffield
February 27, 2021 

Anas Sarwar has been named leader of the Scottish Labour Party, beating Monica Lennon by 57.6 per cent to 42.4 per cent.

Mr Sarwar takes over after the resignation of Richard Leonard in January and just ten weeks away from the Holyrood elections, with his party currently languishing in third place behind the SNP and the Conservatives.

He is the first person from a Muslim background to lead a major UK party, and one of the first from an ethnic minority background following Women’s Equality Party leader Mandu Reid.

Mr Sarwar said his election was “the greatest honour of my life”.

In a speech to members after the announcement, he thanked Ms Lennon for a campaign that “has shown the best of our party, not the worst of our politics”.

In a video message, Mr Sarwar said: “I want to say directly to the people of Scotland – I know Labour has a lot of work to do to win back your trust.

“Because if we’re brutally honest, you haven’t had the Scottish Labour Party you deserve.


“With rising injustice, inequality and division, I’m sorry we haven’t been good enough. I will work day and night to change that, so we can build the country we all need.”

UK Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: “Huge congratulations to @AnasSarwar on his election as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party. I look forward to working with him to secure our economy, protect our NHS and rebuild our country.

“We will fight the Scottish Parliamentary elections by making the case for a socially just Scotland in a modern United Kingdom. Under his leadership, Scottish Labour will focus on what unites us – not what divides us.

“I know Anas will do the hard work that is necessary to win back the trust of the Scottish people and build for the future as we emerge from this pandemic.

“Today we have elected the first-ever ethnic minority leader of a political party in the UK.

“That doesn’t say something about me. That says something great about Scotland and its people. But the fight for equality is far from over.

“I’ll work with all our diverse communities in Scotland to rebuild the country we love.”

Mr Sarwar concluded: “I’m determined that the Labour Party I lead will always be on your side.

“Because I will be a leader who focuses on what unites our country – not what divides it. Together we will build a better future for Scotland.”

In the coming weeks, Mr Sarwar said, he would lay out his vision for a “Covid recovery parliament” following the next election, which would focus on tackling the economic, health and societal impacts of the pandemic.

Mr Sarwar has repeatedly voiced his opposition to another independence referendum while his opponent in the race said it was important the party did not “deny democracy” if a pro-independence majority is elected to Holyrood in May.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon extended her congratulations to the Glasgow MSP on Twitter.

“Congratulations to Anas Sarwar – he (and his dad before him) and I are long-time political opponents, but I also like and rate him,” she said.

“That may not always be obvious in the weeks ahead as election battle is joined, so worth saying so now.”

Scotland’s justice minister Humza Yousef also tweeted his congratulations, stating: “This makes him first Muslim & Person of Colour leading a political party in UK, an incredible & historic achievement of which I am proud of him for. Well done Anas”.

Shadow Foreign Secretary Lisa Nandy said it was “a new chapter in the history of Scottish Labour.”

Hungry teenage dinosaurs kept rival species in check

By Katie Hunt, CNN 

Teen dinosaurs, specifically the offspring of enormous meat-eating species like Tyrannosaurus rex, would have been everywhere 100 million years ago.

© Courtesy Kat Schroeder Young meat-eating dinosaurs and their voracious appetites shaped the world 100 million years ago.

Their voracious and changing appetites would have deeply affected the world around them -- to the extent that these adolescent dinosaurs, as they grew, would have limited the number of other dinosaur species they competed with for food, according to new research.

This could help explain something that has long puzzled paleontologists: why there are relatively few small dinosaurs in the fossil record, particularly in the mid- to late Cretaceous period.

New research published in the journal Science on Thursday has shown these carnivores likely occupied niches that might have ordinarily been filled by smaller, meat-eating dinosaurs, with the young punks beating out those smaller species while competing for prey.

"Dinosaur communities were like shopping malls on a Saturday afternoon jam-packed with teenagers," said Kat Schroeder, a doctoral student in the University of New Mexico's department of biology, who led the study.

"They made up a significant portion of the individuals in a species and would have had a very real impact on the resources available in communities," she said.

Despite dominating the biodiversity on land for more than 150 million years, dinosaurs were not very rich in species, relatively speaking. Among dinosaurs, large-bodied species weighing more than 1,000 kilograms were the most diverse group.

This is completely different from animals in modern ecosystems, where there's typically greater diversity among smaller-bodied species because they are able to share a wide range of ecological niches and sources of prey.

Researchers believe that the large gap in size between meat-eating dinosaur hatchlings, juveniles and adults and their rapid growth would have meant they had eaten different prey at different life stages.

This may have influenced the diversity and unusual body size distribution of dinosaur communities reflected in the fossil record, with teen dinosaurs making up a significant portion of the individuals in a species.

Schroeder and her coauthors collected data from well-known fossil sites from around the globe, including over 550 dinosaur species. Organizing dinosaurs by mass and diet, they examined the number of small, medium and large dinosaurs in each community. Their results showed that there were very few carnivorous dinosaurs weighing between 100 and 1,000 kilograms (220 to 2,200 pounds).

Was it possible that these small and midsize dinosaurs existed and we don't know about it just because they aren't preserved well in the fossil record?

Not likely, said Schroeder, noting that the gap was consistent across climates, latitudes and different regions. They did, however find tiny species of dinosaur in places where their midsize counterparts were missing. This suggested that the gap was not an issue of preservation in the fossil record.

There was more even body-size distribution among plant-eating dinosaurs, and Schroeder said that young plant-eating dinosaurs wouldn't have impacted their environment in the same way as their carnivorous counterparts.

Teen herbivores could eat what their parents ate: Mom and dad consumed the tops of trees, while the younger ones munched on the leaves lower down, she explained. And there is no way a young T. rex could kill and eat a triceratops -- they'd have to leave that up to their parents.

'We shouldn't still be fighting for equal rights': LGBTQ+ bill faces tough battle ahead


Sam Levin in Los Angeles
Thu, February 25, 2021



Photograph: Tom Brenner/Reuters

The US House of Representatives voted to pass a landmark bill that would establish federal anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people, setting up a tough battle in the Senate to turn the proposal into law.

“We shouldn’t still be having to fight for equal rights,” said Nic Talbott, a 27-year-old Ohio resident, who was forced to abandon his plans of joining the military due to Donald Trump’s ban on trans service members. “We should be able to go to work, find housing and just live our lives without having to worry about whether or not we’re going to be excluded just for being transgender or gay.”

The Equality Act passed the Democratic-led House in a 224-206 vote, with three Republicans joining the Democrats. The bill amends existing civil rights laws to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation and provides clear legal protections for transgender and queer people in employment, housing, education, public accommodations, federally funded programs and other sectors.


Related: Outrage as Marjorie Taylor Greene displays transphobic sign in Congress

But the proposal’s future is uncertain. Joe Biden has said signing the bill into law is one of his top priorities, but it first has to clear the Senate, where GOP lawmakers could block the legislation with a filibuster.

The Equality Act builds on the landmark US supreme court ruling last year prohibiting employment discrimination against LGBTQ+ workers. Biden has already issued executive orders to defend trans rights, undoing some of Trump’s anti-LGBTQ+ policies and directing federal departments to follow the guidance of the supreme court decision. But advocates say the Equality Act is vital because it would enshrine protections into law beyond employment, and prevent future administrations from rolling back anti-discrimination rules.

The act would be particularly significant for LGBTQ+ residents in the 27 states that do not have anti-discrimination laws on the books for trans and queer people, where it is legal to deny them housing based on their identities.

“Legislation like this is crucial for shifting the tides for trans folks, especially in red states,” said Aria Sa’id, the executive director of the Compton’s Transgender Cultural District, a community group in San Francisco. Trans people flee to California from other states where they have fewer rights or access to services, she said: “We’re coming from other places in the US where we are not safe. We come to San Francisco for refuge … We should be protected in the law no matter where we live.”

The Equality Act fight comes amid unprecedented attacks on trans rights in the US and overseas. Republican lawmakers in at least 20 states are currently pushing local bills targeting trans people, backed by rightwing groups. Many of the bills seek to block trans-affirming healthcare or ban trans youth and adults from certain spaces, including by prohibiting them from using the correct bathroom or participating in sports teams that match their gender.

Some extremist GOP members of Congress have supported those efforts and have been promoting misinformation and transphobic hate speech this week as the House debated the Equality Act.

David B Cruz, a constitutional law professor at University of California, Los Angeles, said federal protections would, in effect, make it illegal for states to enforce discriminatory rules meant to exclude trans people. The Equality Act would also make it harder for the supreme court, which has become more conservative since last year’s ruling, to carve out trans rights in the next LGBTQ+ discrimination case it reviews, he said.

Legislation like this is crucial for shifting the tides for trans folks, especially in red states
Aria Sa’id

“It would be a monumental achievement,” said Cruz. “It’s not always simple or easy for people to enforce their statutory rights, but even having a federal law that expressly protects those rights on the books, by itself will deter discrimination against LGBTQ+ people.” It would help disrupt “cycles of poverty, due to anti LGBTQ+ prejudice”, he added.

Some Republican legislators are vocally opposing the act by citing concerns about religious freedoms. But Cruz noted that a super-majority of Americans in every state support anti-discrimination laws for LGBTQ+ people, including a majority of Republican voters.

Khloe Rios-Wyatt, the president at Alianza Translatinx, a Latinx trans rights group in Orange county, California, said she faced discrimination for being trans when she was terminated from her first job out of college: “It can be traumatizing. You lose your income and then you’re facing potential homelessness.”

She said she regularly talks to trans people who were denied housing even though they qualified: “You show up in person and they tell you it’s no longer available. It breaks my heart and it has to change.”

Bamby Salcedo, the president of the TransLatin@ Coalition in Los Angeles, noted that 2020 was the deadliest year on record for violence against trans and gender non-conforming people, the majority people of color. While the Equality Act could make a difference for the broader LGBTQ+ community, it would not end discrimination for trans people, she said.

“The reality is that even in California and places that are super progressive, trans people continue to experience discrimination while trying to obtain employment, housing, healthcare and the basic things we need to exist … There is still a lot of work that needs to be done.”

There are at least nine LGBTQ+ members in the House and two in the Senate, and supporters in Congress spoke of their trans and queer family members while championing the bill. Polling released earlier this week confirmed that more Americans than ever before now identify as LGBTQ+.

Nation's Mayors Applaud House Passage of the Equality Act

PR Newswire

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2021


WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5: The Equality Act, a bill that would ban discrimination against LGBTQ Americans by listing sexual orientation and gender identity as prohibited grounds of employment discrimination under federal law.

U.S. Conference of Mayors. (PRNewsFoto/U.S. Conference of Mayors) (PRNewsfoto/U.S. Conference of Mayors)

U.S. Conference of Mayors President Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer released the following statement in support of the Equality Act:

"Mayors across the country have long supported expanding protections for LGBTQ Americans, and today we applaud the House of Representatives on the passage of the Equality Act. It is beyond time that our country provide federal protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in all key areas of life, including employment, housing, education and public spaces.

"I also commend the bill's sponsor, Rhode Island Representative and former Mayor of Providence David Cicilline for continuing to champion these issues in Congress. He was a strong advocate for expanding protections when he was a member of the Conference, and his continued leadership serves as a beacon of hope as we move closer to living in a land where no one faces discrimination or injustice of any kind based on the color of their skin, who they are, or choose to love."

Aligned with policies adopted by the Conference that endorse federal law to direct nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ Americans, the nation's mayors also sent a letter to every member of the House urging passage of H.R. 5 by a wide margin.

About the United States Conference of Mayors -- The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are more than 1,400 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

CisionLess

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nations-mayors-applaud-house-passage-of-the-equality-act-301236181.html

SOURCE U.S. Conference of Mayors

Rep. Al Green scolds GOP over Equality Act: ‘You used God to enslave my foreparents’

Biba Adams
Fri, February 26, 2021

Green pushed back against Republican arguments invoking religion as a reason to kill the bill that protects LGBTQ rights.

Congressman Al Green, who represents Texas’ Ninth District, delivered an impassioned speech on the floor of the House of Representatives Thursday, where he spoke out in support of the Equality Act, which would establish federal LGBTQ anti-discrimination protections.

In his speech, Green pushed back against Republican arguments that invoked God and religion as a reason to kill the bill.

Democratic Texas Rep. Al Green gave an impassioned speech on the floor of the House of Representatives Thursday, where he spoke out in support of the Equality Act. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“And still I rise, Mr. Speaker,” Green began, quoting late, great poetess Maya Angelou.

“You used God to enslave my foreparents. You used God to segregate me in schools,” Green intoned. “You used God to put me in the back of the bus. Have you no shame? God created every person in this room. Are you saying that God made a mistake?”

He referenced his fellow Democratic congressman, gay Rhode Island Rep. David Cicilline, who, last week, helped introduce the Equality Act.

“This is not about God, it’s about men who choose to discriminate against other people because they have the power to do so,” Green continued. “My record will not show that I voted against Mr. Cicilline having his rights. My record will show that when I had the opportunity to deliver liberty and justice for all, I voted for rights for all.”


Green’s speech was in response to Republican Florida Rep. Greg Steube, who, in his debate argument, said transgender people are an “offense” to God.

“A woman must not wear men’s clothing nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this,” Steube read from Deuteronomy 22:5 in the Bible.

“When men or women claim to be able to choose their own sexual identity,” he said, “they’re making a statement that God did not know what he was doing when he created them.”

Green’s remarks garnered applause from his fellow Democrats. Additionally, New York Rep. Jerry Nadler said, “what any religious tradition describes as God’s will is no concern of this Congress.”

The first clause in the U.S. Bill of Rights states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” The establishment clause is often described in metaphor as “separation of church and state,” which, according to Dictionary.com, is “the principle that the government must maintain an attitude of neutrality toward religion. The First Amendment not only allows citizens the freedom to practice any religion of their choice but also prevents the government from officially recognizing or favoring any religion.”

The Equality Act, which amended the Civil Rights Act from 1964 to additionally provide protections for LGBTQ Americans, passed Thursday, winning unanimous support from House Democrats and votes from three Republicans.


The post Rep. Al Green scolds GOP over Equality Act: ‘You used God to enslave my foreparents’ appeared first on TheGrio.

USA

Historic LGBTQ rights bill passes — after exposing GOP divisions



Olivia Beavers and Melanie Zanona
Thu, February 25, 2021

The House passed sweeping legislation on Thursday to ban discrimination against people based on sexual orientation and gender identity, delivering a major victory to the LGBTQ community — while exposing an ugly rift in the GOP.

The Equality Act, which would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to provide protections for LGBTQ individuals, garnered unanimous support from House Democrats on its way to approval on a 224-206 vote. Three Republicans crossed party lines to join Democrats to endorse the bill, less than half of the number of GOP votes the measure got the last time it came to the floor.

But some Republicans worry that this week's controversial antics from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who harassed Rep. Marie Newman (D-Ill.) over her transgender daughter, have stomped on their attempts to sensitively communicate why they are opposed to the LGBTQ rights bill. Most Republicans say they oppose the measure due to its perceived infringement on religious freedom, not out of discriminatory sentiment toward LGBTQ people — a fine line that Greene has effectively erased.


The Greene-Newman incident has revived a thorny issue for the GOP, which has wrestled over its stance on gay marriage and battled accusations that it's not inclusive or protective of LGBTQ rights. Just last year, former Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-Va.) was censured by his state party for officiating a same-sex marriage; he wound up losing his primary race.

Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), who is hosting a transgender person on his podcast next week to discuss military issues, said it’s “pretty damn important” for the GOP to clearly articulate why they oppose this particular bill.

“There’s definitely a wrong way to message everything,” he added.

For Democrats, Greene’s comments about Newman’s daughter only underscore the importance of passing the LGBTQ rights bill, which is unlikely to pass the Senate in its current form. Advocates for the LGBTQ community argue that the sort of federal protections the bill would enshrine are long overdue, especially because more than half of states in the U.S. lack explicit legal protections for those discriminated against on the basis of sexuality or gender identity.

“When you tell people that in a majority of states in this country, you can either be kicked out of your apartment, fired from your job, or denied service in a restaurant because you're gay or in the LGBTQ community, people think that can't be true,” Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), the lead House co-sponsor of the bill, told POLITICO in an interview.

The LGBTQ rights bill would ban discrimination in various areas, including the workplace, housing and education, in addition to federally funded programs. The legislation also would expand the 1964 bill to cover public accommodations to include places like shopping malls, sports arenas, and even websites.

The measure’s House passage comes on the heels of President Joe Biden ending Donald Trump’s ban on transgender troops serving in the military. The bill passed the House in 2019, but LGBTQ activists are elated that it now has a shot at becoming law with Biden in the White House.

"It is time to move together to ensure LGBTQ people have the chance to belong, to participate and to succeed in all areas of American life," Sarah Kate Ellis, president of the LGBTQ rights group GLAAD, said in a statement after the House vote.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has promised that the legislation will get a floor vote “at exactly the right time.” But it will need 10 Senate Republican votes in order to beat back a GOP filibuster. That won't be easy: Most Republicans, as well as some religious groups, warn that the LGBTQ rights bill would chip at religious liberty protections, leading to lengthy and pricey court battles.

House GOP leadership did not formally whip against the bill, but Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) said leaders have been recommending a “no” vote. Republicans also discussed their gripes with the measure during their weekly conference meeting, and ultimately two went from supporting it in 2019 to opposing it on Thursday: New York Rep. Elise Stefanik and Florida Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart.

The three Republicans who supported the LGBTQ rights bill were Reps. John Katko of New York, Tom Reed of New York and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.

On top of the Republicans and religious leaders who fear the broad language in the bill fails to clarify that “places of accommodation” does not include places of worship, like churches and synagogues, other conservatives object to the LGBTQ rights expansion outright. They argue it would alter the country’s social fabric by blurring gender lines in women’s sports and other cultural practices.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy explained his opposition to the bill in terms of both its effects on religious liberty and women's sports.

“If you look at Biden’s appointments [of] Cabinet members, suing nuns and others, this really seems like an onslaught against freedom of religion. For girls' sports as well," McCarthy said in a press conference. "Now the Democrats have even taken it further."

Utah GOP Rep. Chris Stewart, who has previously introduced his own compromise legislation aimed at protecting LGBTQ rights as well as religious freedom, said he plans to reintroduce his approach on Friday. It has won support from key religious groups but drawn quick, vocal pushback from civil rights and LGBTQ groups as failing to live up to its middle-ground billing.

“It isn’t an either-or,” Stewart said, referring to protecting LGBTQ rights and religious freedom. "We believe it can be both."

But that message has been complicated by Greene, who has insisted “there are TWO genders: MALE & FEMALE” and hung an anti-transgender sign outside her office after Newman — whose office neighbors Greene's — hung a pink and blue transgender pride flag.

On the House floor, Greene argued the Equality Act “will put trans rights above women’s rights,” calling the bill “too much." She's already caused plenty of headaches for her colleagues with incendiary remarks, including support for conspiracy theories such as the false claim that mass shootings were staged.

One GOP lawmaker privately dismissed Greene's behavior as nothing more than attention-seeking, especially after she was stripped from her committee assignments over her behavior before offering an apology widely perceived as half-hearted at best.

But other Republicans went further, expressing worry that Greene’s shenanigans could be a drag on the GOP and turn off the young, moderate and independent voters who will be crucial in the 2022 midterms and beyond.

"This is sad and I'm sorry this happened. Rep. Newman's daughter is transgender," tweeted Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), who noted that "this garbage must end" in order to restore the GOP. Greene's decision to antagonize Newman "represents the hate and fame driven politics of self-promotion at all evil costs," he wrote.

Stewart, meanwhile, declined to directly comment on Greene. But, he added, “the less controversial we make this, the better it is. I will say that.”

The GOP’s potential political problems on the issue of LGBTQ rights are hardly limited to the raucous House. Across the Capitol, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) went after Dr. Rachel Levine, Biden’s pick for assistant secretary of health, who's poised to become the first ever openly transgender official confirmed by the Senate.

Paul, an ophthalmologist, pushed Levine on her views on medical care for transgender teens, claiming hormone therapy leads to “women with beards” and alleging that young transgender people are “confused."

Levine, a pediatrician by training, responded calmly that transgender health care is “complex and nuanced” and offered to meet with Paul privately to walk through the issue. He responded that she did not answer the question and said he’s “alarmed” by her support for medical care for transgender minors.

Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) rebuked Paul a few minutes later for making “ideological and harmful misrepresentations” and told the whole panel to stick to questions about the nominee’s professional qualifications.

“It is critical to me that our nominees be treated with respect,” she said.

Alice Miranda Ollstein contributed.

Rival protesters clash as anger flares about Mexican candidate accused of rape

Lizbeth Diaz
Wed, 24 February 2021
   

Injured protester is seen near an event attended by 

Mexico's President Obrador and Argentina's President Fernandez in Iguala

Felix Salgado, a gubernatorial candidate for the southern state of Guerrero and a member of Lopez Obrador's ruling MORENA party.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Scuffles broke out between rival protesters in the southern Mexican city of Iguala on Wednesday amid growing anger over President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's backing of a gubernatorial candidate accused of rape.

Video shared on social media showed one woman hitting another woman with a megaphone, bloodying her face, following a joint event between Lopez Obrador and Argentina's president, Alberto Fernandez.

The injured protester, Yolitzin Jaimes, was demonstrating against Felix Salgado, a gubernatorial candidate for the southern state of Guerrero and a member of Lopez Obrador's ruling MORENA party.

"We came here to protest peacefully, to ask the president to break the patriarchal pact," Jaimes told Reuters by telephone.

Calls have been growing in recent weeks for the president to drop his support for Salgado over the rape allegation. Earlier this month, a group of female MORENA lawmakers, party members and supporters published a letter urging the party leadership to reconsider Salgado's candidacy.

Lopez Obrador says the calls are politically motivated. 

HE ALWAYS SAYS THIS ABOUT WOMEN CALLING OUT FEMICIDE AND MISOGYNY 

The Guerrero vote is part of a raft of elections taking place in June that will determine whether MORENA and its allies can retain control of the lower house of Congress.

(Reporting by Laura Gottesdiener; Editing by Leslie Adler)