Coffee maker suspends ethical standard due to Suez blockage
posted by Charlie Hart
in Risk, Supply chain
21 April 2021


JDE has had to temporarily suspend Rainforest Alliance certification 

© skaman306/Getty Images

The Suez Canal crisis has hit coffee supply chains with a major manufacturer no longer able to claim products are Rainforest Alliance certified.

Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE), which owns brands including Carte Noire, Kenco and L’Or, said certified coffee from Asia and Africa had been caught up in delays caused by the blocked canal.

It said: “Due to the unexpected incident on the Suez Canal that resulted in supply chain blockages, we are currently unable to source enough certified coffee from key coffee origins in Asia and Africa for some of our brands with the Rainforest Alliance and UTZ labels.

“This means that from March 2021 to May 2021, some of our brands may not contain 100% coffee from Rainforest Alliance certified farms. We expect this to be resolved by the end of May 2021 though and our products will go back to 100% certified.”

JDE said it would “purchase a volume of certified coffee equivalent to compensate what we would have used during this period” to support its suppliers.

Meanwhile, Aldi posted a statement on its website blaming “current disruptions to global shipping” for delays to a number of its ‘SpecialBuy’ items, including travel cots, bicycle equipment and stationery.

It is estimated up to 400 container ships were queued to pass through the Suez Canal after the 400m Ever Given container ship became stranded in March.

Some vessels were diverted to the route around South Africa, adding up to two weeks to their voyages.

Earlier this month, research revealed that food establishments and retailers were among those industries most likely to feel the impact of the delays.

Container line A.P. Møller-Maersk has estimated the Suez blockage could cause bottlenecks throughout the container industry and supply chains into the third quarter.

NOW READ
New coffee species 'offers opportunity' for Sierra Leone farmers

Nestlé boosts coffee farmers' incomes in the Philippines

John Lewis part of efforts to support coffee farmers

Blockchain app connects coffee drinkers with farmers

Global focus on… coffee

Consumer Reports shows a Tesla can drive with no one in the driver's seat

By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN Business

 Fri April 23, 2021


(CNN)A Consumer Reports test driver has demonstrated in a new video that, yes, a Tesla vehicle with the Autopilot feature will drive with no one in the driver's seat.
The question came up after a fatal accident in Texas last weekend, said Jake Fisher, head of auto testing at Consumer Reports. In that crash, according to police, no one was in the driver's seat of a Tesla Model S when it crashed at high speed, killing two passengers.

On Monday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted about the accident, saying "Data logs recovered so far show Autopilot was not enabled," and that "Moreover, standard Autopilot would require lane lines to turn on, which this street did not have." Musk also said that the car was not equipped with the more advanced "Full Self-Driving" feature.

Police say no one was in driver's seat in fatal Tesla crash

It was not clear from Musk's tweet whether he meant the Autopilot system was not enabled at the moment of impact or that it had not been used at all in that fatal drive.

Tesla has repeatedly faced allegations that the name of its "Autopilot" driver assistance system is misleading some to believe the car can indeed drive safely by itself.
But Consumer Reports wasn't trying to necessarily recreate the Texas crash, Fisher said. That incident is still being investigated so it's not known exactly what happened. Instead, Fisher said, Consumer Reports investigators were trying to show how driver assistance systems like this -- which could include those from companies other than Tesla -- are open to abuse without more effective driver monitoring.
"If a system can't even tell if a driver is in the seat, it's clearly insufficient," he said.

The researchers at Consumer Reports said they found that it would be easy to trick Tesla's Autopilot feature into driving without a driver in the driver's seat.

"In our evaluation, the system not only failed to make sure the driver was paying attention, but it also couldn't tell if there was a driver there at all," said Fisher, who conducted the experiment. the consumer advocacy group's Connecticut test track where there were no other cars, no pedestrians and no trees or other obstacles the vehicle could hit if things went badly wrong, the report said. That part of Consumer Reports' track is specifically designed to test driver assistance systems, such as Autopilot.

Despite warnings from Tesla, Autopilot drivers still aren't paying enough attention, study finds

Fisher reported that he started out the trial in the driver's seat of a Tesla Model Y. After turning on the car's Autopilot system while the car was moving, Fisher said he reduced the car's speed to zero then moved over to the passenger seat. He reached over from there to increase the car's speed using a dial on the steering wheel. With the Autopilot system set to 30 miles per hour, the vehicle remained on course. It then continued to drive without anyone in the driver's seat. Fisher said the system did not send out a warning or indicate in any way that the driver's seat was empty.

Tesla vehicles do have a weight sensor in the driver's seat, Fisher said, which is used by the vehicle to recognize when the seat is occupied so it can turn the vehicle on, as it does not have a traditional key or start button. But the seat sensor is not, evidently, tied into the Autopilot system to prevent the system from being used with no driver, he said.
"I was actually a bit shocked at how easy it was to do what I did," Fisher said.

Instead, the system relies on occasionally sensing a driver's hand on the steering wheel to ensure that a driver is present and engaged in driving. To get around this, Fisher said he hung a weighted rope on one side of the steering wheel to gently pull on the wheel.
As Fisher's rope trick shows, it's easy to mimic a continuous tug on the steering wheel. In 2018, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration banned a device which was designed specifically to trick such a system into thinking someone was holding a steering wheel when they weren't. It was simply a weight designed to hang from the steering wheel.

Other cars with advanced driver assistance systems also rely on steering wheel movement to assess a driver's involvement. It is possible that systems like this on other cars that do not include sophisticated driver monitoring could also be abused, Kelly Funkhouser, Consumer Reports' program manager for vehicle interface testing, said in the report.

Tesla, which has generally not responded to press inquiries for over a year, has not responded to a request for comment on Consumer Reports' findings, nor on the meaning of Musk's tweet.

The NHTSA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating last weekend's crash.

Tesla owners warned of 'full self-driving' risks even before fatal crash

Investigators have not said whether Tesla's Autopilot or the more advanced "Full Self-Driving" feature was involved in the crash.

According to Tesla's website and public statements, these systems are not intended to actually drive a car without human involvement.

Consumer Reports' testing team recommended that Tesla use the front seat's weight sensor to ensure that a driver is in the seat when Autopilot is used. William Wallace, manager of safety policy at Consumer Reports, also suggested that driver monitoring systems, which use cameras to ensure drivers are paying attention to the road, should be required safety equipment. Such systems are used today in combination with driver assistance systems in a number of cars. Auto safety regulators in Europe plan to start requiring them in 2023

Watch NASA’s Mars helicopter fly again as Ingenuity spreads its wings

Chris Davies - Apr 23, 2021, 

  

NASA has released video of the Ingenuity Mars helicopter’s second flight, a more ambitious test as the Jet Propulsion Laboratory team experiments with just what’s possible for powered aircraft on other planets. The test took place on April 22, adding several new elements to the flight-plan compared to the history first attempt made back on April 19.

Then, Ingenuity became the first example of powered, controlled flight of an aircraft on a different planet to our own. Although the helicopter – which traveled up to Mars in the belly of the Perseverance rover – carries no specific scientific instruments itself, future missions could use the results of its test flights to do aerial reconnaissance and more.

That’s something for the future: for now, Ingenuity extended its flight time almost by double. After taking off, it rose to 16 feet – up from the previous 10 feet of the first test – and then hovered briefly. After tilting to a 5-degree angle, it flew sideways for 7 feet.

Following some turns in place, pointing its camera around at different angles, the helicopter returned to the Martian surface safely. In total, it spent 51.9 seconds in the air, versus 30 seconds of the initial flight.

Perseverance was positioned at a safe distance away, observing the trial with its cameras from around 211 feet across Jezero Crater. That simultaneously helps avoid any shadowing of the helicopter and its solar panels, which are used to charge Ingenuity’s batteries, and to lower the risk of damage to the rover should something go wrong while it’s airborne. Since Perseverance’s Mastcam-Z system has a zoom lens, it can still make out the helicopter from across the crater.

In total, Ingenuity’s mission on Mars is scheduled to run for around a month. However, it’s possible that the helicopter itself could outlast that, and remain operational for some time longer. We’ve seen that happen with many of NASA’s projects, including the InSight rover that’s also on Mars. It was originally intended to run for 709 solo, or the equivalent of 728 Earth days, but has already more than 100 sols longer than that.

Although the ability to perform controlled, powered flight on Mars is the big goal of the Ingenuity project, it’s not the only demonstration the helicopter is giving. One of the key elements was its construction, with a combination of custom parts and off-the-shelf components used both in the name of efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Much of the technology has close parallels with smartphone tech, for example.

The Qualcomm Flight Platform, for example, has been adapted for use on Mars, with a Snapdragon chipset powering autonomous operations. Bosch’s accelerometer and gyroscope sensors are also found onboard the helicopter, used for tracking speed and direction, and helping maintain overall stability. Due to the distance between Mars and Earth, and the latencies involved in getting a signal back and forth, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory team responsible for Ingenuity cannot pilot it manually. Instead, they load the mission criteria ahead of time, and the helicopter flies itself autonomously.

The JPL is now working on putting together a third flight mission, which will push the envelope a little further still

Ted Nugent performed inside Florida anti-mask supermarket days before saying he has COVID-19

Updated Apr 22, 2021
By Edward Pevos | epevos@MLive.com


Ted Nugent said he thought he was dying from COVID-19 just days after he performed inside a Florida supermarket that’s become well-known for its anti-mask stance. Video of his performance can be seen on Nugent’s YouTube page.

The Michigan rocker, who has a condo in Naples, according to NaplesNews, played a concert at Oakes Farms Seed to Table Market in that city on April 12. A video taken inside that crowded supermarket went viral on Twitter earlier this year, showing pretty much no one wearing a mask, including employees.

Nugent went on Facebook Live on April 19 to tell his fans he’d tested positive for coronavirus that day after battling flu-like symptoms for nearly two weeks. His self-described timeline would mean he had these symptoms while performing at the supermarket, where he was shown not wearing a mask.

RELATED: Days after calling it BS, Ted Nugent says he’s been battling COVID-19: ‘I thought I was dying’

“I have had flu symptoms for the last 10 days and I thought I was dying,” Nugent said in his live video. “I was tested positive today. I’ve got a stuffed up head, body aches. My God, what a pain in the a--. I literally could hardly crawl out of bed the last few days. But I did. I crawled.”

During the supermarket performance, with his wife Shemane by his side, Nugent criticized Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

“What happens at Seed to Table, let me tell you, you are not alone. God, family, country, freedom, law and order. We know that’s how you people live your life and even in my beloved birth state of Michigan, do not think that Gretchen Whitmer represents the heart and soul of Michigan.”

According to a report by NBC News, Seed to Table’s owner told the news agency he knows masks do not work and doesn’t believe the coronavirus has killed hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S., saying it’s “total hogwash” and “Why don’t we shut the world down because of the heart attacks? Why don’t we lock down cities because of heart attacks?”

Nugent used similar lingo his his Facebook Live, saying it was BS that 500,000 Americans have died from COVID and asking why we didn’t shut down for COVIDs one through 18.

COVID-19 was named by The World Health Organization for the disease which is causing the novel coronavirus outbreak. COVID-19 stands for “corona,” “VI” (for virus), and “D” (for disease). The “19″ is for 2019, the year in which the virus was first identified. There is no COVID one through 18.

According to the CDC, more than 565,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the United States.

Michigan is averaging 5,744 new COVID-19 cases per day and 59 new deaths per day over the last week. There have been 804,724 coronavirus cases and 17,031 deaths since the start of the pandemic in the state, along with 90,721 probable cases and 1,099 probable deaths.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has repeatedly stated that masks and social distancing can help slow the spread of the coronavirus.

DOJ considers charging Chauvin for alleged 2017 assault of Black teen


Chauvin then “applied a neck restraint, causing the child to lose consciousness and go to the ground," according to court documents

Stephanie Guerilus

Derek Chauvin was found guilty in the murder of George Floyd and his legal troubles may not yet be over. The DOJ may go after him on federal charges in Floyd’s murder and allegedly kneeling on a Black teen’s neck, according to ABC News.

A jury convicted Chauvin on Tuesday of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death after kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes. This was not the first instance of Chauvin using his knee to obstruct the breathing of another person.Defense attorney Eric Nelson, left, and former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin listen as Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill presides over pre-trial motions prior to opening statements, Monday March 29, 2021, in the trial of Chauvin, in the May 25, 2020, death of George Floyd at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn. (Court TV via AP, Pool)


Read More: 3 other officers still awaiting trial after Chauvin guilty verdict

On Sept. 4, 2017, the former Minneapolis police officer was caught on video hitting a Black teenager with a flashlight, causing him to bleed, requiring stitches. Chauvin then “applied a neck restraint, causing the child to lose consciousness and go to the ground,” according to court documents, ABC News reported.

Chauvin allegedly held the teenager down with his knee for 17 minutes despite the boy insisting he couldn’t breathe.

“Those videos show a far more violent and forceful treatment of this child than Chauvin describes in his report,” Matthew Frank, one of the state prosecutors, wrote in a court filing at the time.

Frank further added that the videos showed that Chauvin’s use of unreasonable force towards this child and “complete disdain for his well-being.”

In this image from video, former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin listens as his defense attorney Eric Nelson gives closing arguments. (Credit: AP)

Frank added that Chauvin and the other officer present ignored the pleas of the 14-year-old’s mother.

“Chauvin and [the other officer] placed [the teenager] in the prone position and handcuffed him behind his back while the teenager’s mother pleaded with them not to kill her son and told her son to stop resisting,” Frank wrote. “About a minute after going to the ground, the child began repeatedly telling the officers that he could not breathe, and his mother told Chauvin to take his knee off her son.”

Read More: Derek Chauvin found guilty on all charges in the murder of George Floyd

Chauvin released his hold on the teenager and said he was under arrest for domestic assault and obstruction with force.

Judge Peter A. Cahill did not allow this incident into evidence during Chauvin’s trial as a pattern of behavior for the former cop. However, sources told ABC News that the Department of Justice may pursue federal charges into the matter and Floyd’s death.

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin poses for a mugshot after being charged in the death of George Floyd. (Photo by Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office via Getty Images)

The Minneapolis Police Department was informed of the DOJ’s inquirers and a spokesperson pledged to be of assistance.

“We will assist the DOJ with anything that they need, and the chief has pledged full cooperation with any investigating agency,” MPD spokesman John Elder told ABC News.

A spokesperson for the DOJ declined to comment to ABC News, but they have signaled their intentions in recent days. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Wednesday that the DOJ would be launching a civil investigation into the conduct of the MPD. The prole would determine if the department “engages in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional or unlawful policing.”

Garland added that law enforcement should not be wary of accountability.

“Good officers welcome accountability because accountability is an essential part of building trust with the community, and public safety requires public trust,” Garland said.

Maryland AG: Work of ex-medical examiner who testified in Chauvin trial should be reviewed


Demonstrators march in Baltimore last year as they protest the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota. File Photo by Jemal Countess/UPI | License Photo

April 24 (UPI) -- Maryland's attorney general office said there should be a review of the work of a former medical examiner who testified for the defense in the Derek Chauvin trial this week in Minneapolis.

The trial ended Tuesday with a Minnesota jury finding Chauvin, 45, guilty of second-and third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in the murder of George Floyd, 46. Chauvin is slated to be sentenced June 16, a Minnesota court said Friday, and Chauvin's attorneys will have 60 days to appeal, NBC News reported.

Prosecution experts said the Black security guard and community leader in Minneapolis, who was unarmed, died of lack of oxygen as Chauvin pressed his knee on his neck for more than 9 minutes during a Memorial Day arrest over the alleged use of counterfeit $20 bill. A teenager captured footage of the scene that went viral and set off protests against police brutality and systemic racism across the country and worldwide.

Dr. David Fowler, a chief medical examiner of Maryland from 2002-2019, testified during the trial that Floyd's heart disease combined with fentanyl and methamphetamine use, exposure to vehicle exhaust and tumors near his carotid artery all played a part in his death. He classified the killing as "undetermined."

RELATED Daunte Wright funeral: Sharpton pledges policing reform

The Maryland Attorney General's Office received a letter from former medical examiner of Washington, D.C., Roger A. Mitchell, signed by 431 doctors across the country, who said Fowler's testimony was so outlandish it called all of his prior work into question, The Baltimore Sun reported.

"Dr. Fowler's stated opinion that George Floyd's death during active police restraint should be certified with an 'undetermined' manner is outside the standard practice and conventions for investigating and certification of in-custody deaths," the letter obtained by The Baltimore Sun said. "This stated opinion raises significant concerns for his previous practice and management."

On Friday, less than 24 hours after receiving the letter, the Maryland attorney general's office said Fowler's "in custody" death reports should be reviewed.

Fowler defended himself in a statement to The New York Times.

"I stand behind the outstanding work that all our dedicated staff at the Maryland State Medical Examiner's Office performed during my tenure as Chief ME," the statement said.

RELATED Daunte Wright's family holds public vie

Flexible diet has helped leaf-eating lemurs survive deforestation



When fruits and flowers are plentiful, leaf-loving lemurs called sifakas diversify their diets, but their diverse diets may help them habitat fragmentation and deforestation. Photo by Lydia Greene/Duke University

April 23 (UPI) -- Several species of leaf-eating lemurs, or sifakas, in Madagascar also like to munch on flowers and fruit, returning to leaves when more nutrient dense food sources are scarce.

The authors of a new study, published Friday in the journal Science Advances, estimate lemurs with more flexible diets are better able to resist habitat fragmentation and deforestation compared to their pickier peers.

For the study, scientists sequenced the genomes of four different sifaka species: the Coquerel's sifaka, Propithecus coquereli; Verreaux's sifaka, P. verreauxi; golden-crowned sifaka, P. tattersalli; and the diademed sifaka, P. diadema.

All but two of the surveyed lemurs were born in the wild but lived at Duke Lemur Center.

RELATED Lemurs prove there's more than one biochemical recipe for monogamous love

Though the four species prefer different types of habitat, all four share similar diets -- they eat leaves, and their genomes reflected as much.

Tree leaves are difficult to digest, host toxic compounds and are frequently bitter.

Thankfully, all four surveyed sifaka species have evolved the genetic coding required to digest leaves. These evolutionary adaptations allow them to neutralize toxic compounds and break down tough leaf membranes so they can efficiently absorb nutrients.

RELATED Most of Madagascar's rainforest on pace to disappear by 2070

Scientists found the genetic coding that help lemurs digest tree leaves are similar to leaf-digestion genes found in the genomes of domestic cattle and Central Africa's colobus monkey.

Though sifakas are well-suited for leaf consumption, as the genomic analysis confirmed, they're not picky eaters. When flowers bud and fruits ripen, sifakas abandon leaves for more nutritious foods.

"Sifakas can take advantage of foods that are higher energy and are more nutrient dense, and can fall back and subsist on leaves in times of scarcity," lead study author Elaine Guevara, an assistant research professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke University, said in a news release.

RELATED Gut bacteria reveal which lemurs are most vulnerable to deforestation

Scientists were surprised to find that diademed sifakas feature surprisingly high levels of genetic diversity, despite being threatened by habitat loss.

The latest research suggests the species' ability to utilize a diversity of food sources may offer it and other lemur species like it an advantage over those targeting only leaves or only fruit.

"I've seen sifakas at the Lemur Center eat dead pine needles," said Guevara. "Their diet is really flexible."

Previous studies have shown even small, vulnerable mammal populations with high levels of genetic diversity, or heterozygosity, are often more resilient to climate change, habitat loss and disease.

Unfortunately, sifakas yield new generations only once every 17 years or so.

Scientists worry their genetic diversity may simply reflect the genetic health of previous generations. And deforestation rates have accelerated dramatically in recent decades.

"Sifakas are still critically endangered, their population numbers are decreasing, and habitat loss is accelerating drastically," said Guevara.

While the latest research suggests the island's lemurs are naturally resilient, scientists suggest there are limits to their resiliency.

Without policies to protect the lemur habitat that remains, however, even the most resilient lemur populations are likely to shrink.

"Sifakas still have a good chance if we act," said Guevara. "Our results are all the more reason to do everything we can to help them."

POWER ENGINEERING

Navy certifies first female Steam Generating Plant Inspector
By Christen McCurdy



Chief Machinist’s Mate Mayra Hudgens, a Bronx, N.Y., native assigned to Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center, recently became the first female Sailor to earn the U.S. Navy’s Steam Generating Plant Inspector certification. Photo by Hendrick L. Dickson/U.S. Navy

April 22 (UPI) -- A Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center sailor recently became the first woman certified as a Steam Generating Plant Inspector for the U.S. Navy, the service announced Thursday.

Marya Hudgens, a chief machinist's mate assigned to the MARMC Engineering Department's Steam and Propulsion Branch, completed the SGPI certification course after a lengthy process including screenings, shipboard qualifications and courses of knowledge.

"When I was aboard USS Boxer as an E-5, this was a goal I set for myself," Hudgens said in a press release issued by the branch. "Everyone was telling me there had never been a female boiler inspector in the Navy. I remember saying, 'One day I'm going to be the first.'"

According to the Navy, there are more than 6,000 machinist mates in the service, but only about 25 certified SGPIs

SGPIs perform specialized tasks like inspecting material condition, monitoring general readiness, diagnosing improper operating procedures and detailing repairs of all marine main propulsion plant boilers and steam catapult accumulators.

According to Senior Chief Machinist's Mate Michael Barton, who is also assigned to the Steam and Propulsion Branch, the training program begins early in a sailor's career.

Sailors who show potential and interest are added to a list, which is whittled down before they make it to the final certification course.

Hudgens, a 15-year veteran of the service, said she hopes her accomplishments will influence others to aim high.

"My hope is that by me achieving this, it will push more female machinist's mates to set their goals high and realize they could be doing the same thing that the guys are doing, if they work hard and don't give up," Hudgen said.

 

GAO: Poor planning, sustainment problems driving F-35 costs

By

Christen McCurdy

The active-duty 388th and Reserve 419th Fighter Wings conducted an F-35A Combat Power Exercise at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, in January 2020. Photo by R. Nial Bradshaw/U.S. Air Force | License Photo

April 22 (UPI) -- The Pentagon should develop a plan to ensure it can afford to sustain the future F-35 fleet, said a Government Accountability Office report release Thursday.

According to the report, the Defense Department plans to acquire nearly 2,500 F-35 aircraft for a cost of $400 billion, but the costs of sustainment are far higher -- and have climbed steadily upward over the last decade

Estimated sustainment costs for the jet over its 66-year service life have increased steadily, from $1.11 trillion to $1.27 trillion since 2012, according to the GAO.

The Air Force will need to reduce estimated annual per-plane costs by $3.7 million -- or 47% -- by 2036, or costs will be $4.4 billion more than it can afford.

RELATED 'Kingpin' command and control squadron moves out of UAE

The cost per aircraft per year would total $6 billion in 2036 alone, the GAO said -- meaning the services "will collectively be confronted with tens of billions of dollars in sustainment costs that they project as unaffordable during the program."

The report recommended Congress should consider requiring the Defense Department to report annually on its effort to contain costs for the fighter jet -- making F-35 aircraft procurement decisions contingent on the department's progress in containing costs.

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft, and currently regarded as the world's superior fighter plane -- but the F-35 program has also come under fire for operating problems and spiraling costs.

Renewable energy: Inside Alberta’s wind and solar boom

By Kieron O'Dea Global News
Posted April 24, 2021

A renewable energy boom is underway in the heart of oil country, as vast new projects harness Alberta’s bounty of wind and sun, drawing an increasingly eager and adaptable workforce.

Drew Mair feels fortunate to be so busy. For the owner of Ridgeline Power Solutions, an Edmonton solar installation company, business has never been better.
“I’ve been swamped… People are excited about putting [solar] on their houses, putting it on their businesses and putting it on government buildings. So there’s a general enthusiasm about it.”


READ MORE: ‘It’s the future’: Town of Taber looking at net-zero carbon emissions

Like many Albertans, Mair’s career path has been shaped in the boom and bust cycle of the oil and gas sector. An electrician by trade, he spent ten years working in several oil installations in and around Fort MacMurray. Then came the downturn of 2015.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT

“You could see the writing was kind of on the wall. There weren’t as many jobs. There weren’t as many new projects on the books. And I was kind of disillusioned with working in oil and gas,” Mair tells Global News.

Mair had always harboured a keen interest in renewable energy, an interest he traces back to a grade school science project where he designed and built a solar-powered model boat.

“It’s part science, part magic… I think it’s just amazing — the fact that you can use the energy from the sun to turn it into the power that you use in your house every day.”

Drew Mair, owner of Ridgeline Power Solutions, an Edmonton solar installation company.

Despite Mair’s electrical skillset, there was no easy path into the solar business.

“I basically had to create my own job at the beginning because there weren’t enough companies that were hiring people to do solar,” Mair says.

Over a few short years, Mair networked and researched, started and grew his own company, and has seen the industry grow in leaps and bounds to the point where it is today.

He jokes about the adaptability that got him this far. “I’m part electrician, part roofer, part carpenter, but definitely heavy on the electrical. And, you know, that’s what we’re dealing with at the end of the day is power generation.”
“We’re the Sunshine State of the North”

The growing enthusiasm for renewable energy runs across the spectrum of scale. Many recent wind and solar power projects in the province stand out for their sheer size.

The Claresholm solar farm in southern Alberta recently went online. Producing 132 MW of electricity, it is now Canada’s largest solar project. But that won’t last long.

1:45 ‘We’re really excited’: Enbridge opens new solar facility in southern Alberta – Apr 13, 2021

When the Travers solar farm near Vulcan goes online, it will be nearly three times the size, capable of powering 100,000 homes. Construction is set to begin later this year.

Greengate Power CEO Dan Balaban says the farm will be among the largest in the world, one of many massive renewable projects drawing on Alberta’s workforce.

‘We’re going to see a renewable construction boom in this province and all over the world over the next decade and beyond. And we have a lot of skilled labour here in Alberta,” Balaban says. “I believe a lot of those skills are easily transferable to renewable energy projects, which at the end of the day are really just large construction projects.”


READ MORE: Alberta solar farm construction to proceed after TC Energy supply deal signed

Ideal market conditions are coming together with the region’s natural wealth in the wind and solar resource, says Balaban.

“We have some of the best onshore wind resources in North America. We’re the Sunshine State of the North. Our solar resource in Alberta is as good as the solar resource in Florida for the purposes of producing electricity.”

2:00 Southern Alberta witnessing unprecedented surge in renewable energy projects– Nov 16, 2020

Canada’s Energy Regulator (CER) recently released a report forecasting that Alberta and Saskatchewan will lead the nation in the growth of renewable energy in the coming years, powered mostly by wind and solar.

Darren Christie, chief economist for CER notes the technology has become more affordable. “It is a really remarkable thing how quickly costs have fallen for wind and solar over the last number of years.”

Christie notes that Alberta and Saskatchewan have long lagged far behind hydro-rich provinces like Quebec, B.C., Manitoba and Newfoundland, where upwards of 90 per cent of power is generated from renewable sources. Closing the gap is driving much of the growth in wind and solar.


READ MORE: Hydro-Québec expands its horizons with massive solar energy project

“In both Alberta and Saskatchewan, with the phase-out of coal, it certainly creates an opportunity for that growth of renewables as they look to lower the carbon intensity of their power systems,” Christie says.
Montana First Nation: A small community making a big solar impact

While his crew manages the demand for solar installation in Edmonton, Drew Mair has shifted his focus to the utility side of green energy, working for Akamihk Energy.

Under the leadership of Chief Leonard Standingontheroad of the Montana First Nation, Mair is busy managing the largest solar farm in any Indigenous community in Canada.

With more than 36,000 modules and capable of powering more than 1,000 homes, the solar farm is a realization of Montana’s ambition to be a leader in green energy. It’s been seven years in the making according to Chief Standingontheroad and is the culmination of an effort that arrayed so many of the nation’s buildings with solar of their own. All the electricity produced feeds the grid through the nation’s own renewable energy company, Akamihk Energy.

Most of all, the renewable journey has opened up new career paths for many First Nation members.

“It’s made a big difference in the attitude of our nation members,” Chief Leonard Standingontheroad says.

“They’re really looking at it as an opportunity for careers. And we’ve had a lot of training during the planning of the solar farm. There are people that trained as installers and in different categories of tech, and that’s really been successful.”

The solar farm on Montana First Nation in Maskwacis, Alta.

For Mair, the chance to work with a community so heavily invested in green energy is a reward in itself. And it’s a far cry from his days in oil and gas.

“It’s amazing. I don’t feel like I have to get up and go to work. I don’t have work dread anymore. I like what I do, and I’m very grateful for that. I get to do what I like to do with like-minded people in a community that is really important to me,” Mair says.


De-polarizing the energy discussion

As renewable energy takes flight in Alberta, there’s a growing awareness among advocates of the need to depolarize the discourse in the sector.


READ MORE: No, renewable energy is not primarily to blame for Texas power failures
Balaban says “[the energy discussion] has been framed as oil and gas ‘versus’ renewables. But I believe it’s an ‘and.’


“I believe we can be developing our oil and gas ‘and’ our renewable energy resources. The world is accelerating its transition to net zero.”

“But for the foreseeable future, we’re still going to need oil and gas in the mix. And I think it’s important that we invest in both so that we can continue to be prosperous today and ensure that we can be prosperous for generations to come.”

2:17 What Canada’s green energy shift means for Alberta oil workers

Mair sees his work as part of a larger trend that is opening new space in the long transition of the energy sector.


“I don’t begrudge anyone for going to work in oil and gas. How could I? Because that would make me a hypocrite,” he says.

“But there are alternatives and they’re very satisfying. And you can make a living out of them… So if by me not working in oil and gas, that frees up a position for somebody else, then that’s fantastic. “

© 2021 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.