Satellite images over the last few decades show a very somber sight: kelp forests across the world are disappearing, and fast.


'Green gravel' used to combat declining kelp forests


“We have lost anywhere between 60 to 70 per cent of bull kelp in the last century,” according to Dr. Louis Druehl, who has been studying kelp for years and is the president of Canadian Kelp Resources.

There are several factors that have led to the decline in kelp, but scientists started noticing significant and widespread declines after the most recent marine heat wave known as “The Blob” between 2013 and 2016. During these years, a large area of unusually warm ocean water formed near Alaska and spread across the coasts of North America and Central America. Ocean temperatures were over 2.5°C warmer than usual in many regions and over 100 million Pacific cod and between 500,000 to 1.2 million birds starved to death due to the harsh conditions.

The Blob caused the collapse of many kelp forests, which experts say is devastating for ocean animals since kelp serves as the foundation of many marine ecosystems. Dr. Chris Neufeld, an Affiliated Researching and Visiting Teaching Faculty at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, recalls what he noticed when he took some of his students out to observe documented kelp forests.

© Provided by The Weather NetworkHealthy giant kelp near Bamfield, B.C. Credit: Chris Neufeld

“We started surveying in 2016, which was kind of near the end of that first big marine heatwave,” Neufeld told The Weather Network. “That was the first sense that things had dramatically changed. This heat wave had a direct impact on the kelp through water temperature. When the water temperatures reach a certain threshold the kelp actually starts degrading and just melting basically.”

As scientists started seeing kelp disappear, the fear grew regarding what impacts this would have on other marine life that depend on kelp for survival. Small fish lay eggs and hide in the kelp beds while others eat kelp to survive. This plant also sequesters significant amounts of carbon, so the team at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre knew they had to do something about the loss.

To protect and improve vital marine habitats, a new initiative is exploring a unique approach to promote kelp growth on the ocean floor by using regular old gravel. “The green gravel initiative is essentially grey gravel with little baby kelp attached to it, “ said Druehl.

© Provided by The Weather Network

Deploying green gravel underwater. Credit: Chris Neufeld

Ocean Wise Conservation Association and Canadian Kelp Resources, along with Neufeld and another biologist Sam Starko, have teamed up with an international group of researchers called the Green Gravel Action Group.

Together they are dispersing lab-grown kelp on pieces of gravel and placing them in parts of the ocean where they predict the kelp will survive.

“It is a different way of reintroducing kelp species that have either been lost in an area or are endangered,” added Druehl.

While kelp farming has become popular over the years, the green gravel method is potentially more effective because the kelp is introduced directly into the ocean and bypasses creating seaweed farms and the agriculture process. However, there are a few obstacles the team needs to overcome for this to be successful.

“We don’t want to reseed kelp in areas where future conditions are not hospitable for the kelp,” said Neufeld. “That is why we have spent so much time trying to understand the drivers and factors that have caused the decline, and understanding how the climate is changing so we can find places where the kelp may have been lost, but it is a suitable place for restoration because we think the conditions there will be favourable for kelp.”


Seagrass ‘Neptune balls’ remove millions of plastics from the oceans

The researchers say that an important observation they have made is that the water near the shore is cooler than the water reaching into Howe Sound, and that plays an important role when it comes to deciding which types of kelp are planted and where.

“We can use our knowledge of the genetics of these populations to try and find heat resistant strains of kelp and use those types of ‘super kelp’ to reseed in these areas where they have been lost,” added Neufeld.

Over the next few months the researchers will be monitoring the different kelp seeds to determine which ones tolerate warmer waters and other factors, like the best age to plant the kelp and what size rocks to use, all in hopes of reviving the lost underwater forest.

Thumbnail credit: California Sea Grant/Camille Pagniello (CC BY 2.0)

#LNG

Europe’s plastics industry is about to boom. U.S. fracking is driving it.

Plans for a huge and controversial new chemical plant in Antwerp, Belgium, are drawing attention to several European countries’ growing imports of chemicals from the United States: by-products of fracked natural gas and oil that would fuel plastic production, even as the European Union rolls out aggressive plans for reducing plastic waste and battling climate change.

© Photograph by Ilja C. Hendel, laif/Redux INEOS Intrepid boarded with US shale gas arrives in Rafnes, Norway, on 23.03.2016 for the first time in Europe.Energy, Ethane, Fracking, Gas, INEOS, LNG, natural gas, Norway, Rafnes, Shale Gas

The U.S.-to-Europe trade in petrochemical by-products, coming as global demand for plastic climbs, could potentially undermine the European goals on both waste and carbon emissions.

The expansion of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the United States has created a plentiful supply of ethane, an ingredient for making plastic which flows as a by-product of fracking for oil and natural gas. Its availability, and low cost, have prompted a massive buildout of plastic production in Texas, Louisiana, and western Pennsylvania. Nearly 350 fracking-enabled petrochemical projects, with a total price tag of more than $200 billion, have been planned or completed since 2010, according to the American Chemistry Council, an industry group.

But much more ethane gas is bubbling up than those plants can use, so fracking firms are selling increasing amounts overseas at bargain prices. In 2016, a fleet of vast, custom-built ships started hauling it across the Atlantic, giving plastic makers in Britain, Norway, and Sweden access to the supply of this key component for their processing facilities.

These facilities, known as ethane crackers, apply intense pressure and heat —around 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit—to break the bonds of the ethane molecules. That “cracks” the ethane into a gas called ethylene. Then, through pressure and with help from a catalyst, the ethylene is turned into polyethylene resin, a common plastic.

Because the process uses enormous amounts of energy, its carbon dioxide emissions are substantial. That means any expansion of plastic production carries dangers for the climate, along with its more obvious contribution to the plastic waste blighting landscapes, waterways, and oceans worldwide.

Globally, cracking of ethane and an alternative ingredient called naphtha created carbon emissions equivalent to 52 coal-fired power plants in 2015, one report estimated—and that footprint could reach the equivalent of 69 coal plants by 2030 if the industry continues to expand.

“It makes no sense whatsoever to invest in new fossil fuel-based facilities to produce more plastics, at a time when we have a global warming crisis and a plastics crisis,” said Andy Gheorghiu, a Germany-based campaigner who has organized against the Belgian plant. “In fact, both are parts of one crisis.”
A standoff in Antwerp

INEOS, the global petrochemical company that started shipping fracked ethane across the ocean, plans to build a huge new cracking plant in Antwerp, Belgium. Industry analysts say that plant would double Europe’s consumption of the imported ingredient.

The project would be the continent’s first new ethane cracker since the 1990s. It has sparked a standoff with environmental groups, for whom it crystallizes worries over plastic’s ubiquitous role in modern life and the global economy.

Belgian officials have welcomed the planned $3.5 billion complex, which would secure Antwerp’s status as the world’s second-biggest petrochemical hub (Houston, Texas, is first). Environmental groups are less sanguine about the plan. Climate activists occupied the proposed site in October 2020. In November, a Belgian court granted an injunction to halt clearance of trees there while objections to the project are considered, a process that could take up to a year.

Antwerp is already a major plastics center, and the River Scheldt’s banks are littered with lentil-size pellets of raw plastic, known as nurdles. By one estimate, 2.5 tons of them—billions of individual pellets—were spilled in the area in 2018. Nurdles are devastating for sea life. “They look like fish eggs,” and birds or fish that ingest them can starve because they fail to eat anything else, said Tatiana Luján, a lawyer at ClientEarth, an advocacy group involved in challenging the project.

INEOS’s plant would not produce nurdles, but it would supply ethylene to facilities that do. The company says the project would simply replace older, less efficient ethane crackers, and is unlikely to increase Europe’s overall plastic production. Improved efficiency means the new cracker’s carbon footprint will be half the footprint of old ones, said Tom Crotty, an INEOS spokesman.

Bringing petrochemical expansion to Europe

Construction of a new facility doesn’t guarantee that old facilities will close, opponents say. And even if they do close, the new plant will provide a stream of ethylene that sustains plastic production far into the future—just as Europe is trying to use less of the stuff.

A big European push to reduce single-use plastics is about to take effect in July. Throwaway items such as cutlery, plates, cups, and stirrers will be banned, and caps will have to be tethered to bottles so that they aren’t a separate problem. The effort is planned to ramp up in coming years with collection targets for plastic bottles and a requirement that bottles be composed of 25 percent recycled material by 2025.

Europe’s effort to tackle plastic waste is the world’s most ambitious, said Tim Grabiel, senior lawyer at the Environmental Investigation Agency, an advocacy group. Building new production capacity “is completely at odds” with the effort, and with Europe’s ambitious carbon-cutting goals, he said.

By way of response, PlasticsEurope, an industry group, emphasizes recycling as a solution, rather than reducing plastic production. Alternative materials carry their own environmental cost, the group notes.

Despite worries about plastic waste, global demand for the versatile material is likely to continue rising, industry analysts said. Its use in cars, planes, appliances, construction materials, clothing, and electronics means consumption typically tracks economic expansion, as well as the growth of middle classes in developing nations.

U.S. ethane now supplies 10 percent of European ethylene production, and the Antwerp plant would increase that to nearly 20 percent, said Patrick Kirby, an analyst at Wood Mackenzie, an energy and chemicals consulting firm.

The new supply “is taking the U.S. petrochemical expansion and bringing it to Europe,” said Steven Feit, an attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law, a research and advocacy group.

A lifeline for struggling frackers

Ethane sales, at home and abroad, have provided much-needed revenue for U.S. fracking companies, many of which have struggled recently with huge debts and historically low natural gas and oil prices.

Europe is not the only place where American ethane is giving plastic makers a boost. Overall, U.S. ethane exports have skyrocketed 585 percent, from 800,000 tons in 2014 to more than 5.5 million tons in 2020, according to ICIS, an energy and chemicals analysis company. Canada is the top market, followed by India, Europe, and China, ICIS reports.

Big fossil fuel companies from ExxonMobil to Saudi Aramco see plastic as a growth product in a future where electric vehicles and climate change worries may put oil and gas production into permanent decline. The World Economic Forum predicted in 2016 that plastic production would double in 20 years. And the International Energy Agency expects petrochemicals, including plastics, to drive half of oil demand growth over the next three decades.

“Plastic is the fossil fuel industry’s Plan B,” Luján said.

Even so, by early last year the global expansion had led to an oversupply of raw plastic and its chemical building blocks. Initially, it seemed likely that 2020’s pandemic-induced global economic swoon would exacerbate the oversupply. Concerns about that may have been behind INEOS’s decision to postpone work on a plant meant to run alongside its Antwerp ethane cracker and make propylene, another plastic ingredient.

But it turns out that COVID-19 hasn’t been as bad for plastic makers as it first appeared. As a year of disruption transformed spending patterns, takeout food and online shopping drove demand for packaging, and masks and other protective equipment boomed too. Dollars that might once have gone to travel or entertainment have instead bought laptops, gaming consoles, exercise machines, and appliances, all containing plastic.

“Demand has held up really well,” said Will Beacham, deputy editor of ICIS Chemical Business, a trade publication. “It now looks as though that oversupply may not be as severe as people feared.”

When it comes to plastic, though, critics say familiar market dynamics are often reversed. “What we’ve seen again and again is that plastic is a material where supply drives demand,” Feit said.

First, the glut of ethane has prompted the production of more plastic, he said. And companies foist that cheap material on consumers who often have little choice about what an item is made from or how it’s packaged.

“Ultimately the question is directional,” he said. “It’s how much plastic are we producing. And at present, we’re producing too much.”

Beth Gardiner is the author of Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution

THE 1% GET THEIRS
Pfizer CEO Got Vaccinated, Contrary to Claim in Video


By Saranac Hale Spencer

Posted on March 26, 2021

SciCheck Digest

A video making the false claim that the Pfizer CEO “refuses” to get a COVID-19 vaccine has been circulating on Facebook. But the pharmaceutical company’s chief executive has said that he’s gotten his first shot.

The chief executive officer for Pfizer, Albert Bourla, has gotten his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, he told Axios in early March.

But a video posted to Facebook on March 24 is blaring the false claim: “Pfeizer CEO refuses [vaccine],” with an emoji that looks like the SARS-CoV-2 virus and a syringe.

The video was shared by a page called “Tru York,” which has recently shared several other videos discouraging viewers from getting vaccinated. The page’s administrators are based in Canada and describe it as an “Entertainment Website · Political Party · Media/News Company.”

The video features a clip from an interview Bourla did with CNBC in December, in which he said that he would take the vaccine as soon as he could, but he didn’t want to set an example for “cutting the line” to get it earlier. Bourla described himself as “59 years old, in good health … not working on the frontline,” so he wasn’t prioritized for the shot.

Even though that statement is included in Tru York’s video, comments from viewers suggest that the written claim at the top of the video made a bigger impression. One such comment said: “TRANSLATION … I’m too rich and self important to kill myself taking a poison vaccine that I made.”

But, as we said, Bourla said in that interview that he intended to take the vaccine — and he has now gotten his first shot. So the claim that he “refuses” to take it is false.

The video also seems to suggest that Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was hesitant to get a COVID-19 test. The video shows Fauci saying in an interview, “I have no symptoms, there’s no reason for me to take a test.”

But that interview was from March 15, 2020, about nine months before the Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization to the first COVID-19 vaccine. At the time, testing for the disease wasn’t widely available.

CNN’s Brianna Keilar had asked Fauci if he would be tested following a public appearance where he had touched the same microphone and podium that had been touched by several other people.

“No, I’m not taking a test for the simple reason: I have no symptoms … I have been practicing pretty good social distancing,” Fauci said.

In an event that was covered by the media, Fauci received a COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 22. (See SciCheck’s articles on each vaccine: “A Guide to Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 Vaccine,” “A Guide to Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine“ and “A Guide to Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 Vaccine.”)

As he was receiving his first shot, Fauci explained that he was taking the vaccine because he sees patients at the National Institutes of Health clinical center and “as important, or more important, as a symbol to the rest of the country that I feel extreme confidence in the safety and the efficacy of this vaccine and I want to encourage everyone who has the opportunity to get vaccinated so that we could have a veil of protection over this country that would end this pandemic.”

Editor’s note: FactCheck.org does not accept advertising. We rely on grants and individual donations from people like you. Please consider a donation. Credit card donations may be made through our “Donate” page. If you prefer to give by check, send to: FactCheck.org, Annenberg Public Policy Center, 202 S. 36th St., Philadelphia, PA 19104.

Sources

Owens, Caitlin. “Pfizer CEO feels ‘liberated’ after taking COVID vaccine.” Axios. 7 Mar 2021.

Feuer, Will. “Pfizer’s CEO hasn’t gotten his Covid vaccine yet, saying he doesn’t want to cut in line.” CNBC. 14 Dec 2020.

Keilar, Brianna. “Fauci on possible lockdown: ‘Whatever it takes.’” CNN. 15 Mar 2020.

McDonald, Jessica. “The Facts on Coronavirus Testing.” FactCheck.org. 10 Mar 2020.

Ebbs, Stephanie. “Fauci receives vaccine, has ‘extreme confidence’ it’s safe, effective.” ABC News. 22 Dec 2020.

House panel offers its plan to double NSF budget and create technology directorate

Congress is gearing up for debate on the future of the National Science Foundation.

 YAYAERNST/ISTOCK

By Jeffrey Mervis

Mar. 26, 2021 , 3:00 PM

The science committee in the U.S. House of Representatives wants to more than double the budget of the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the next 5 years, devoting a sizeable chunk of the extra money to a new directorate that would accelerate the process of turning basic research into new technologies and products. But its version of a technology directorate would be much smaller and more in line with the way NSF traditionally funds research than the one already proposed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D–NY), which emphasizes the economic and security threats posed by China.

The House bill, introduced today with bipartisan support, would lift NSF’s overall budget from the current $8.5 billion to $18.3 billion in 2026. In addition to growing the agency’s existing seven research and education directorates, the bill would create an eighth, called Science and Engineering Solutions (SES). Its budget would start at $1 billion in 2022 and grow to $5 billion by 2026.

Both the House legislation and Schumer’s Endless Frontier Act (EFA) see the new directorate as a way for NSF to do better in applying basic research findings to major societal challenges, from combating climate change and health inequities to strengthening economic and national security. But the House bill avoids Schumer’s focus on specific technologies such as artificial intelligence—sometimes called “industries of the future”—in favor of supporting all the disciplines NSF traditionally funds. The House proposal would also scale back the size of the new directorate, which under the EFA would grow to $35 billion by 2024. (Schumer said this week he expects several Senate committees to begin work next month on a revised version of his original legislation.)

“We were worried that this shiny new thing would overshadow” the rest of NSF, says a House science committee staffer. “But we are very supportive of [Schumer’s] desire to grow NSF.”

The House bill justifies rapid growth for NSF by emphasizing the “grand challenges” facing the country. “Framing the issue in terms of competition with China wasn’t attractive to the community,” says the staffer, referring to several rounds of meetings the committee held during the past year with academic and industry leaders. “They felt it was better to look at research opportunities not now being addressed” that could ultimately benefit all of society.

Statements on the bill from the committee’s top Democrat and Republican reflect that subtle difference in emphasis. “Our competitiveness with China and other nations drives much of the national discourse around innovation because our economic and national security depend on our leadership in science and technology,” says Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (D–TX), chair of the committee. “[But] researchers and students are inspired by finding solutions, whether they be to scientific or societal challenges. In this bill, we seek to inspire.”

In contrast, Representative Frank Lucas (R–OK) highlighted the specific technologies that many legislators believe are needed to stay ahead of China. “This legislation prioritizes NSF funding for the industries of the future that will drive our continued economic growth, like quantum information sciences, artificial intelligence, supercomputing, cybersecurity, and advanced manufacturing.” He also flagged the importance of “research security,” that is, blocking other countries from improperly gaining access to federally funded research.

A host of existing science education and workforce training programs would grow by 50% over the 5-year term of the bill. Among those, it would boost the annual number of prestigious graduate research fellowships to from 2000 to 3000. The bill would also order up a decadal study of how to strengthen precollege science education and another on how to ensure that undergraduate science and engineering majors receive the training they need to fill high-tech jobs in industry after graduation.

The House bill goes to great lengths to prevent a funding tradeoff between the new directorate and the rest of NSF—a major concern of academic researchers who rely on NSF for support. It would both block the transfer of any money from NSF’s traditional programs into the new directorate as well as permitting the new directorate to function only if NSF’s existing programs have continued to grow.

But those protections aren’t absolute. Both the House and Senate bills would only authorize spending levels. A different committee actually appropriates money for the agency and is not required to heed the wishes of authorizers.

“We have made our intent as clear as possible,” the science committee staffer says. “But we have to stay vigilant.”

COVID VAX SNAFU'S DERIGUER 

Novavax delays 100 million vaccines to the EU

Published on 26/03/21 

Novavax is delaying the signing of a contract to supply COVID-19 vaccines to the EU, as the company warned it was struggling to source some raw materials for the vaccine’s manufacture.

The company had planned to supply the EU with 100 million doses of its vaccine, with an option for a further 100 million. This blow comes in a week where the EU has drawn criticism for its vaccination rollout programmes amid a third wave hitting the continent.

The EU has also faced supply issue from other COVID-19 vaccine producers, most notably AstraZeneca, which has led the EU immunisation campaign to lag far behind vaccinations in the UK and US.

The news comes from an anonymous EU official involved in the deal Novavax, who spoke to Reuters on Thursday, saying the company was “working through some pandemic-related raw material supply shortages”, which is causing the delays.

Novavax has eight manufacturing locations, including the Serum Institute of India, the world’s biggest vaccine maker, and has plans to produce key components of its two-dose vaccines for the EU in several of its factories.

One of the company’s main factories is based in the Czech Republic, making antigens, the inactivated organisms that trigger an immune response. However, the EU official said production capacity at the plant, the only one in the EU, was too small the meet the needs of the 27-nation bloc.

Novavax concluded exploratory talks on vaccine supply with the EU in mid-December, a step that has usually been followed by the signature of a contract within two or three months. However, the timeline for the agreement is now unclear.

The European Commission, which coordinates talks with vaccine makers, declined to comment.

Novavax is currently working towards submitting its application for regulatory approval in the EU, its vaccine has been assessed by the EU drugs regulator under a rolling review since early February.

Earlier in March, Novavax announced final efficacy of 96.4% against mild, moderate, and severe disease caused by the original COVID-19 strain in its Phase III trial.

AstraZeneca and J&J COVID-19 vaccines face viral vector shortage

Published on 25/03/21 

Both AstraZeneca and J&J face major manufacturing deficiencies for their recombinant vector COVID-19 vaccines, forcing competition over limited production capacity for gene and gene-modified cell therapies, according to GlobalData.

The recombinant vector vaccines use an attenuated virus to introduce microbial DNA to cells of the body, a different molecule type from those used in the mRNA-based vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna.

Because recombinant vector vaccines use a virus as a vector for DNA delivery, they must therefore compete for the world’s limited virus production capacity with gene therapies and gene-modified cell therapies, both of which also use viral vectors.

Fiona Barry, Associate Editor, PharmSource at GlobalData said: “Even before the approval of recombinant vector vaccines, the pharma industry was struggling to manufacture a sufficient viral vector to meet the needs of the handful of marketed gene therapies and growing number of clinical trials. Manufacturing these viruses is a relatively lengthy manufacturing process that is burdensome in terms of equipment and staffing.”

The first approval for this vaccine molecule subtype was in 2020, initially from the EMA for two J&J Ebola vaccines and then from Russia in the approval of a COVID-19 vaccine from the Gamaleya Federal Research Centre of Epidemiology and Microbiology.

However, even before the approval of recombinant vector vaccines, the pharma industry was struggling to manufacture sufficient viral vectors to meet the needs of the few marketed gene therapies and clinical trials.

The biopharma industry is working to address the shortage through expanding facilities and improving processes, but with 14 gene therapies and recombinant vector vaccines approved and marketed worldwide and more than 3,000 gene therapy or recombinant vector vaccine pipeline products in active development – this is a tall order to fill.

Kat Jenkins

http://www.pharmafile.com/

Pakistanis want to know why PM Imran Khan has not been invited to Biden's climate summit

Prime Minister Imran Khan and US president Joe Biden. Photo: Files

The United States has invited global leaders, including the leaders of China and Russia, to participate in a summit on climate change in April, US President Joe Biden said on Friday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are among the 40 world leaders invited to the summit, to be held on April 22-23, according to a White House statement.

Read more: PM Imran Khan congratulates Joe Biden, Kamala Harris on winning US election 2020

Biden’s Earth Day global summit on climate is part of his effort to elevate climate change as a top priority. It will be held virtually given pandemic restrictions and live-streamed for public viewing.


However, the omission of Pakistan from the list of invitees to the conference has raised concerns as the country is among those most vulnerable to climate change.


Read more: PM Imran Khan welcomes Joe Biden's intent to go after dirty money

As per the Global Climate Risk Index 2021, issued by German Watch, Pakistan is the fifth-most vulnerable country to climate change.

The American president's decision is also surprising as climate change has been a key area of focus for Prime Minister Imran Khan. The country under his leadership has taken several important steps to battle climate change, including an ambitious plan to plant a billion trees.

The decision caused a major hue and cry on Twitter as well. Here's what people are saying:

Twitter user Moments & Memories noted that Pakistan's efforts have been acknowledged by the World Economic Forum, which makes its exclusion puzzling.

Journalist Kamran Yousaf noted that the decision was not surprising if the recent statement of a former American diplomat is to be considered.

Journalist Ajmal Jami was "shocked" to see Imran Khan's omission from the list

Twitter user Zeeshan Shah speculated that the omission of Pakistan indicates that the US "has no interest in any type of long term relationship with Pakistan" while noting that there has been no American ambassador in Islamabad for the last three years.

Journalist Baqir Sajjad said the snub indicates that Islamabad has "lost its salience for US leaders".

Analyst Madiha Afzal noted that Pakistan is among the world’s 10 most populous countries and the only one not invited

Aijaz Ali wondered whether the snub was a "great failure" of Pakistan's foreign policy.

US-based South Asia expert Michael Kugelman attempted to rationalise the criteria for being invited, noting that Pakistan meets at least one of the four criteria he could understand.

Nasir Saleem chalked up the omission to geopolitics, saying the climate change conference seems to have nothing to do with climate change.

Another user, Hushaam Rana, agreed with the opinion.

Bernie Sanders visits Alabama in boost to Amazon workers' union effort

BY MUSADIQ BIDAR, CARA KORTE

MARCH 26, 2021 

Senator Bernie Sanders visited Amazon workers at a warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama on Friday and said their "historic" effort to unionize will spark pro-labor movements across America.

"If you pull this off here, believe me, workers all over this country are going to be saying 'if these people in Alabama could take on the wealthiest guy in the world, we can do it as well'," the Vermont senator said.

The nearly 6,000 employees at the Amazon warehouse outside of Birmingham are in the process of voting to form a union with the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU), which represents more than 15 million workers.

Employees at the Bessemer warehouse have raised concerns about the lack of time for bathroom and lunch breaks, inadequate benefits and grueling work hours.

Linda Burns said she only gets a five-minute break to use the restroom — the time she said it takes just to walk from her station at the football-field-sized warehouse to the bathroom. Burns said she'll get penalized and referred to the Human Resources department if she takes too long walking back to her station.

"I am tired, but I am going to keep pushing. I am not giving up. I am going to fight for my rights," Burns said.

Rapper and Activist Killer Mike, who campaigned with Sanders in 2020, also visited the Bessemer warehouse on Friday and likened employees' working conditions to "slave labor."

"I want their vote to go through but if it doesn't, I won't be ordering from Amazon again," he said.

Sanders, who has long supported union efforts and criticized corporate power, called the workers "courageous" for highlighting unfair treatments at one the largest corporations in the world.

"The reason that Amazon is putting so much energy to try to defeat you is they know that if you succeed here, it will spread all over this country," Sanders said.

He added, "When you go against one of the largest corporations in the world and you do it alone, you have no power. But when you stand together in solidarity with each other, you can negotiate for a better workday."

Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CBS News regarding Friday's visit by Sanders. The company has previously said that it does not believe the majority of its workers want to unionize.

Ahead of the event, Amazon feuded with Sanders on Twitter, saying he's been a "powerful politician in Vermont for 30 years and their (minimum) wage is still $11.75. Amazon's is $15, plus great health care from day one. Sanders would rather talk in Alabama than in Vermont."

On Thursday, Dave Clark, a top executive at Amazon claimed the company is more progressive than Sanders and said the senator "should save his finger wagging lecture until after he actually delivers in his own backyard."

Sanders' gripe with Amazon goes back years.

The company raised its minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour in 2018 after Sanders led public pressure to do so. In September 2018 he introduced a bill dubbed the "Stop BEZOS Act," which would have required large corporations, such as Amazon and Walmart, to pay for federal assistance programs their employees use.

Earlier this month, Sanders invited Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to testify before the Senate Budget Committee at a hearing on income inequality. Bezos declined the invitation, but the committee heard from Jennifer Bates, an Amazon warehouse worker who supports unionizing.

Sanders, an independent who frequently caucuses with Democrats, is a vocal opponent of corporate behemoths. In August 2019, he was invited by workers to speak at a Walmart shareholders meeting where he lobbied the company to pay employees $15 an hour.

In recent weeks, other members of Congress have also voiced their support for the unionization effort. Earlier this month President Joe Biden said that Amazon management should not be influencing the workers' vote.

"Workers in Alabama and all across America are voting whether to organize a union in their workplace. This is vitally important," Mr. Biden said. "The choice to join a union is up to the workers — full stop," he added.

First published on March 26, 2021 / 8:12 PM

© 2021 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Musadiq Bidar

CBS News reporter covering the intersection between politics and tech.

Abandoned seafarers in Kuwait enter eleventh week of hunger strike


Onboard the vessel M/V Ula in Kuwait,19 abandoned seafarers have been on hunger strike in protest over unpaid wages backdated for more than a year. (Supplied)

Abandoned seafarers in Kuwait enter eleventh week of hunger strike

Jennifer Bell, Al Arabiya English
Published: 25 March ,2021

In Kuwait, 19 seafarers stuck on board an abandoned cargo vessel have entered their eleventh week of a hunger strike in protest over unpaid wages backdated for more than a year.

For many, they have spent more than two years onboard the vessel M/V Ula. Most have the crew have about 17 months of pay owed to them, they claim.

For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

Speaking onboard the vessel, the crew told Al Arabiya English they began a hunger strike 78 days ago while they battle to get their money back from the ship’s owner, in the hope it will raise attention to their plight.

The sailors vowed not to eat solid food until their ordeal is addressed, and they are given their outstanding wages – which for many run into the tens of thousands of dollars.

The vessel is currently docked at Shuaiba Port, but the sailors have remained onboard. They fear that if they leave, they will never receive their unpaid salaries.

As their hunger strike heightens, one of the crew members, Bhanu Shakar Panda, says morale is “worsening every day.”

“We are now feeling very tired mentally and also physically tired,” said Panda, of India, who desperately wants to return home to his wife and 13-year-son. “We are feeling very, very weak now.”

“Everyone on board has lost almost 5kg in weight. More than tired, is that we are feeling frustrated. This is a very difficult situation for us.

“We have never expected a situation like this and we are very frustrated. We have spent more than two years on board. We are 100 per cent totally exhausted.”

Panda said the crew had “no option” but to go on hunger strike.”

“We hadn’t been paid in so long and we e just didn’t know what else to do.”

Onboard the vessel M/V Ulain Kuwait,19 abandoned seafarers have been on hunger strike in protest over unpaid wages backdated for more than a year. (Supplied)

Hope had risen for the sailors in February.

As the boat was carrying cargo consisting of concrete, a promised auction hoped to generate money to pay their outstanding wages.

But as the auction fell through, the crew are still waiting for a solution.

With the sailors predominately from India, and some crew members from Turkey and Azerbaijan, their families are dependent on their salaries to live, but many have run into debt.

Human rights activist Shaheen Sayyed works to help stranded Indians in foreign countries.

She has been working with authorities to pursue the monies owed to the sailors.

“The situation is very bad, they have been stuck in limbo for more than a year,” she said. “They are in dispute with the owner from Qatar, whose company has gone bankrupt.”

Globally, hundreds of seafarers are currently stuck onboard vessels when their ships’ owners run out of money.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Labor Organization estimate that since 2004, more than 5,000 seafarers are recorded as being abandoned.

Sailors who leave their ships in these circumstances risk never being paid so often remain on the vessels awaiting resolutions.

Read more:

Abandoned seafarers in Kuwait tell of their six-week hunger strike over unpaid wages

Lebanon outgoing PM warns of ‘dangerous chemicals’ in southern Zahrani oil facility


Tanker trucks filled with fuel offered by Iraq wait to empty their content at the oil refinery of Zahrani, near the southerm Lebanese city of Sidon (Saida) on August 20, 2020. (AFP)

Reuters

Published: 27 March ,2021:

Lebanon’s outgoing prime minister said on Friday that experts had found “dangerous chemicals” at a warehouse at the Zahrani oil installations in the south.

Hassan Diab said the country’s atomic energy authority identified the substances as “nuclear” after reviewing a report by German company Combi Lift, which Lebanon had tasked with clearing hazardous material at Beirut port.

The comments came nearly eight months after a stockpile of chemicals detonated in Beirut, killing nearly 200 people in one of the largest non-nuclear explosions on record. The ammonium nitrate went up in flames after being stored unsafely at the port for years.

A Combi Lift spokesman confirmed to Reuters that the firm was in talks with Lebanon over potential recovery projects in Tripoli and Zahrani refineries but said there were no concrete results yet.

“We don’t want to comment on possible finds,” the spokesman said.

Diab appealed for action, without elaborating.

Lebanon’s caretaker PM Diab says conscience is clear over Beirut port blast

But Lebanon’s oil directorate said the canisters, which totaled 1.2 kg (2.7 lb), were just used for research and would be transferred next week for safe storage.

“We assure the Lebanese...there is no reason for any fear,” the directorate said.

Diab’s cabinet has served in a caretaker capacity since resigning over the devastation that last August’s explosion wreaked in much of the Lebanese capital, compounding an already acute financial crisis.

After Lebanon hired Combi Lift in the wake of the blast, the German firm said it had found 58 containers at Beirut port that posed a threat to the city. Some of it had been there for more than a decade.

The German ambassador to Beirut, Andreas Kindl, said this month the material were packed well but were still waiting to be shipped to Germany for disposal, as Lebanon had yet to make a nearly $2 million payment in the contract.

Combi Lift spokesman Malte Steinhoff said on Friday those containers remained in Beirut amid talks with the Lebanese authorities over financing.

“We...hope to find a solution this month,” he said.

BURMA
Myanmar: At least 50 protesters killed on 'day of shame for armed forces'

Story from Reuters 

3/27/2021

Myanmar's security forces shot and killed at least 50 protesters on Saturday, news reports and witnesses said, a brutal crackdown on dissent that came as the leader of the ruling junta said the military would protect the people and strive for democracy.

© AP Anti-coup protesters gesture with a three-finger salute, a symbol of resistance, during a demonstration in Yangon on March 27.

© STR/AFP/Getty Images Smoke rises over Thaketa township in Yangon on March 27, 2021, as security forces continue their crackdown on protests against the military coup.

Protesters against the February 1 military coup came out on the streets of Yangon, Mandalay and other towns, defying a warning that they could be shot "in the head and back" while the country's generals celebrated Armed Forces Day.

"Today is a day of shame for the armed forces," Dr. Sasa, a spokesman for CRPH, an anti-junta group set up by deposed lawmakers, told an online forum.

"The military generals are celebrating Armed Forces Day after they just killed more than 300 innocent civilians," he said, giving a rough estimate of the toll since protests first erupted weeks ago.

At least four people were killed when security forces opened fire at a crowd protesting outside a police station in Yangon's Dala suburb in the early hours of Saturday, Myanmar Now reported. At least 10 people were wounded, the news portal said.

Three people, including a young man who plays in a local under-21 football team, were shot and killed in a protest in the Insein district of the city, a neighbor told Reuters.

Thirteen people were killed in various incidents in Mandalay, Myanmar Now said. Deaths were also reported from the Sagaing region near Mandalay, Lashio town in the east, in the Bago region, near Yangon, and elsewhere, it said.

Myanmar Now said a total of at least 50 people were killed on Saturday. Reuters could not independently verify the numbers killed.

A military spokesman did not respond to calls seeking comment.

After presiding over a military parade in the capital, Naypyitaw, to mark Armed Forces Day, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing reiterated a promise to hold elections, without giving any time frame.

"The army seeks to join hands with the entire nation to safeguard democracy," the general said in a live broadcast on state television, adding that authorities also sought to protect the people and restore peace across the country.

"Violent acts that affect stability and security in order to make demands are inappropriate."

The number of people killed in the turmoil since the coup against Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government is now nearly 380, based on Thursday's toll and a tally kept by an activist group.

Shots to the head

In an ominous warning on Friday evening, state television said protesters were "in danger of getting shot to the head and back."

The warning did not specifically say that security forces had been given shoot-to-kill orders but the junta has previously tried to suggest that some fatal shootings have come from within the crowds.

But it showed the military's determination to prevent any disruptions around Armed Forces Day, which commemorates the start of the resistance to Japanese occupation in 1945 that was orchestrated by Suu Kyi's father, the founder of the military.

Suu Kyi, Myanmar's most popular civilian politician, remains in detention at an undisclosed location. Many other figures in her party are also being held in custody.

In a week that saw international pressure on the junta ramped up with new US and European sanctions, Russia's deputy defense minister Alexander Fomin attended the parade in Naypyitaw, having meet senior junta leaders a day earlier.

"Russia is a true friend," Min Aung Hlaing said. There were no signs of other diplomats at an event that is usually attended by scores of officials from foreign nations.

Support from Russia and China, which has also refrained from criticism, is important for the junta as they are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and can block potential UN actions.

Protesters have taken to the streets almost daily since the coup that derailed Myanmar's slow transition to democracy.

Until Friday evening, activist group the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) counted at least 328 protesters who have been killed in the weeks of unrest. Its data shows that around a quarter of them died from shots to the head, raising suspicions they were targeted for killing.

Myanmar's ethnic armed factions will not stand by and do nothing if the junta's forces continue to kill protesters, the leader of one of the main armed groups said.

"The Myanmar Armed Forces Day isn't an armed forces day, it's more like the day they killed people," Gen. Yawd Serk, chair of the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army - South, told Reuters.

"It isn't for the protection of democracy as well, it's how they harm democracy... If they continue to shoot at protesters and bully the people, I think all the ethnic groups would not just stand by and do nothing."

Dozens of protesters killed in Myanmar as junta celebrates Armed Forces Day

Protesters against the February 1 military coup came out on the streets of Yangon, Mandalay and other towns, defying a warning that they will be shot dead.

Tires burn on a street as protests against the military coup continue, in Mandalay, Myanmar March 27, 2021. (Reuters)

Myanmar's security forces have shot and killed at least 50 protesters, news reports and witnesses said, a brutal crackdown on dissent that came as the leader of the ruling junta said the military will protect the people and strive for democracy.

Protesters against the February 1 military coup came out on the streets of Yangon, Mandalay and other towns on Saturday, defying a warning that they could be shot "in the head and back" as the country's generals celebrated Armed Forces Day.

"Today is a day of shame for the armed forces," Dr. Sasa, a spokesman for CRPH, an anti-junta group set up by deposed lawmakers, told an online forum.

"The military generals are celebrating Armed Forces Day after they just killed more than 300 innocent civilians," he said, giving an estimate of the toll since protests first erupted weeks ago.

READ MORE: Parts of Myanmar’s Yangon turn into battle zone amid martial law

At least four people were killed when security forces opened fire at a crowd protesting outside a police station in Yangon's Dala suburb in the early hours of Saturday, Myanmar Now reported.

At least 10 people were wounded, the news portal said.

Three people, including a young man who plays in a local under-21 football team, were shot and killed in a protest in the Insein district of the city, a neighbour told Reuters.

Four people were killed in Lashio town in the east, and four in separate incidents in the Bago region, near Yangon, according to media outlets. One person was killed in Hopin town in the northeast.

After presiding over a military parade in the capital Naypyitaw to mark Armed Forces Day, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing reiterated a promise to hold elections, without giving any time-frame.

"The army seeks to join hands with the entire nation to safeguard democracy," the general said in a live broadcast on state television, adding that authorities also sought to protect the people and restore peace across the country.

"Violent acts that affect stability and security in order to make demands are inappropriate."

READ MORE: Myanmar families hold funerals for loved ones killed at anti-coup protests

The latest deaths will add to a toll of at least 370 people killed in the crackdown that has followed the coup against Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government, according to a tally kept by an activist group.

In an ominous warning on Friday evening, state television said: "You should learn from the tragedy of earlier ugly deaths that you can be in danger of getting shot to the head and back".

The warning did not specifically say that security forces had been given shoot-to-kill orders. The junta has previously tried to suggest that some fatal shootings have come from within the crowds.

But it showed the military's determination to prevent any disruptions around Armed Forces Day, which commemorates the start of the resistance to Japanese occupation in 1945 that was orchestrated by Suu Kyi's father, the founder of the military.

Aung San, considered the father of the nation, was assassinated in 1947.

Min Aung Hlaing said the army had to seize power because of "unlawful acts" by Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy, adding that some party leaders had been found guilty of corruption and legal action was being taken against them.

Russia a 'true friend'

Suu Kyi, Myanmar's most popular civilian politician, remains in detention at an undisclosed location. Many other figures in her party are also being held in custody.

In a week that saw international pressure on the junta ramped up with new US and European sanctions, Russia's deputy defence minister Alexander Fomin attended the parade in Naypyitaw, having meet senior junta leaders a day earlier.

"Russia is a true friend," Min Aung Hlaing said. There were no signs of other diplomats at an event that is usually attended by scores of officials from foreign nations.

Protesters have taken to the streets almost daily since the coup that derailed Myanmar's slow transition to democracy.

Until Friday evening, activist group the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) counted at least 328 protesters who have been killed in the weeks of unrest. Its data shows that around a quarter of them died from shots to the head, raising suspicions they were targeted for killing.

A military spokesman did not respond to calls seeking comment.

The United Nations' special envoy on Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, said the military had turned against its own citizens.

"Women, youth and children have been among those killed," she said in a statement.

Defence ties between Russia and Myanmar have grown in recent years with Moscow providing training to thousands of soldiers as well as selling arms to the military.

Support from Russia and China, which has also refrained from criticism, is important for the junta as they are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and can block potential UN actions.

Fomin's visit took place after the United States, Britain and the European Union imposed new sanctions on groups and individuals linked to the coup.

READ MORE: Myanmar army continues lethal crackdown after deadliest weekend on record