Study finds the cost of partisanship among federal workers

by Pennsylvania State University

Credit: CC0 Public Domain

When Donald Trump became president in 2017, federal employees who lean Democratic found themselves working for an administration they didn't agree with. The same thing happened eight years earlier to Republican bureaucrats when Barack Obama took office.

Most civil servants carry on no matter who occupies the Oval Office, but this inevitable political mismatch does take a toll on productivity: A new study has found that cost overruns in federal contracts increase by about 8% when the worker overseeing them is misaligned with the president's party.

The study is the first analysis of how partisanship affects hundreds of thousands of government workers at the individual level. Authored by Guo Xu, an assistant professor at Berkeley Haas, with Jorg L. Spenkuch and Edoardo Teso of Northwestern Kellogg, it was made possible by combining personnel records obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests with voter registration records. The researchers also analyzed data from an employee survey to get a sense of workers' feelings about their jobs.

"We do see evidence for reduced performance due to not being aligned with your leader," Xu said. "Some people might be quick to think there is some sort of 'deep state' slowing things down, but we see the same thing from the Republican side as the Democrat side. Based on our evidence, it looks like misaligned civil servants just become less motivated overall."

First look at ideology among civil servants

The study, published as a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper, is filled with insights on the federal bureaucracy. From Office of Personnel Management records that included the names, ages, education, occupation, job location, and pay for nearly 3 million federal employees from 1997 to 2019, the researchers were able to match 1.26 million people with their voter registration records. That gave them detailed information on about 45% of federal workers over four presidential administrations: Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Obama, and Trump.

"This allowed us to look inside the black box of who works for the federal government," said Xu.

It was no surprise that at the highest levels of government, presidents use their discretionary appointments to align the bureaucracy with the mission of the White House. The analysis found that under a Democratic president, the chances that an appointee is a fellow Democrat increase by over 150%; Republican presidents' chances of appointing Republican increase over 500% relative to a Democrat.

However, political appointees make up just 0.23% of the federal workforce. For the vast majority of civil servants, the researchers found no apparent partisan cycles. About 2% to 6% of employees leave each year, with no increases around the end of a presidents' term, and no significant differences between workers from the major parties. (An exception was the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) after Trump was elected, when departures tripled. Interestingly, it wasn't just Democrats who were quitting—about the same number of Republicans left during the transition).

Insulated from political cycles

Xu, who has extensively studied the civil service in India and found much more political churn at all levels, says it's notable that the roughly 2 million federal employees in the U.S. are largely insulated from political cycles.

"We don't see a mass exodus from the government of people who aren't aligned with the mission of the president," he said. "In that aspect, this is exactly the classic idea of what constitutes a well-functioning bureaucracy, where you have career civil servants, continuity and political insulation, so that these experts are given the space to focus on implementing things."

It was also no surprise that the researchers confirmed that Democrats outnumber Republicans or Independents in the federal workforce, as has long been public perception. Democrats made up about half of the workforce during the 1997-2019 data period (compared with about 41% of the U.S. population). Meanwhile, registered Republicans dropped from 32% to 26% during the period, with an increase in Independents making up the difference. The most heavily Democratic departments are the EPA, Department of Education, and the State Department, where about 70% of employees are registered to the party, while the most conservative departments are Agriculture and Transportation.

Dems have more education, more seniority

The analysis also found that Democrats even more heavily represented in the ranks of upper management jobs, topping out at 63% of senior executives, the level just below presidential appointees. However, this discrepancy is driven largely by the fact that Democrats tend to enter the civil service with higher rates of college and graduate degrees, and tend to stay in government careers longer, relative to Republicans. Even in comparable jobs at the same pay level, Democrats have higher education on average than Republicans.

"These facts are at least suggestive of a higher proclivity for public service among Democrats," the researchers wrote.

Misalignment and contract overruns

Because federal bureaucrats are largely insulated from political turnover, it's difficult to measure how partisanship affects their work. Xu and his colleagues looked for workers who had comparable performance measures and outcomes, and found them among procurement officers, who select and monitor federal contracts for services, construction projects, and more. These contracts amount to over 9% of the federal budget.

The researchers were able to match the party affiliation for 7,200 officers who administered over 700,000 contracts across 132 departments and agencies during the period. Comparing among similar contracts, they found an 8% increase in cost overruns among contractors who were registered as Democrats under a Republican president, and vice versa. That was true even when they compared procurement officers within the same department in the same year.

"We didn't see any change in how people were choosing contractors or the types of contracts, so the decline in performance occurred while they were overseeing the contract," he said. "These overruns really do seem to be due to a decline in morale, which we corroborate through data from employee surveys."

In addition to offering the first detailed look at political ideology in the federal workforce, the paper underscores the potential costs of mission misalignment in any organization. "Given that mission-driven organizations are also on the rise in the private sector, misalignment can have a significant impact," Xu said.

How political bias impacts believing sexual assault victims

More information: Jorg Spenkuch et al, Ideology and Performance in Public Organizations, National Bureau of Economic Research (2021). DOI: 10.3386/w28673

Provided by Pennsylvania State University 

 

Having employees overseas helps companies reap U.S. tax benefits

by North Carolina State University

Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A recent study finds U.S. companies that have a substantial number of employees in foreign jurisdictions with lower tax rates are more likely than their peers to "artificially" locate earnings in those jurisdictions—and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is less likely to challenge these complex tax-planning activities.

"Many politicians seek to encourage domestic employment and discourage sending jobs overseas," says Nathan Goldman, co-author of the study and an assistant professor of accounting in North Carolina State University's Poole College of Management. "To do that, they'll need to address elements of corporate tax policy that effectively encourage corporations to ramp up their percentage of foreign employees."

The researchers were interested in determining how foreign employment affected income shifting by large companies, and tax uncertainty regarding the foreign transactions of those companies. Income shifting is when companies artificially locate earnings in a low-tax jurisdiction. For example, one form of income shifting is when a company alters intercompany pricing by charging unusual prices to transfer income from the part of the company that earned the money to the part of the company that is based in a low-tax jurisdiction—particularly when there is no reason to do so other than to avoid taxes. Tax uncertainty refers to the likelihood that an IRS audit will result in the company having to pay more in taxes.

For this study, the researchers looked at data from 815 large, multinational companies based in the U.S. The researchers collected financial data on all of the companies for each year between 2000 and 2016. During that time period, all of the companies had at least one year during which they recorded at least $100 million in foreign sales. The average firm in the sample, during the average year, had 18,763 employees, of which 8,499 were employed outside the U.S.

The researchers used empirical models that allowed them to identify whether companies were recording unusually high profit margins in low-tax jurisdictions relative to the U.S. – which would suggest that companies were engaging in income shifting.

The researchers found companies that had a higher percentage of foreign employees were more likely to have unusually high profit margins overseas. In addition, those companies recorded fewer unrecognized tax benefit reserves on their financial statements, which reflects lower tax uncertainty. In other words, companies appear to be facing less scrutiny from the IRS related to their aggressive tax planning activities.

"Think of it this way: If a company only has a few employees in a low-tax jurisdiction and claims a huge profit there, the IRS is likely going to single that company out—the amount of profit is out of scale with the size of the operation," Goldman says. "But if a company has a lot of employees in that jurisdiction, the profits appear more reasonable, and the relevant business activities are less likely to get singled out by the IRS for a rigorous audit.

"One of the takeaways here is that the tax code effectively encourages companies to increase the percentage of their employees who work in foreign jurisdictions that have low tax rates. Not just because of a higher U.S. tax rate, but because the company is better able to substantiate the economic substance of their transactions, resulting in a higher likelihood of defending these aggressive tax planning activities in an IRS audit."

The paper, "Foreign Employment, Income Shifting, and Tax Uncertainty," appears in The Accounting Review. The paper was co-authored by Katharine Drake of the University of Arizona and by Frank Murphy of the University of Connecticut.

Having employees overseas helps companies reap US tax benefits

More information: Katharine D. Drake et al, Foreign Employment, Income Shifting, and Tax Uncertainty, The Accounting Review (2021). DOI: 10.2308/TAR-2019-0047

Provided by North Carolina State University 

 

New evidence of geologically-recent Venusian volcanism

by Planetary Science Institute

Magellan SAR image of Aramaiti Corona. Narina Tholus (center left)appears as two adjacent domes that are superposed on the west outer fracture ring. Credit: Planetary Science Institute

New data analysis techniques allow evidence of recent volcanism to be found in old Magellan spacecraft data. It is unclear if this activity is occurring today, or if it occurred within tens of million years, but geologically speaking, either case is recent. This adds to the growing body of evidence that volcanoes on Venus didn't go extinct as long ago as many had thought. This work was conducted by Planetary Science Institute (PSI) researchers Megan Russell and Catherine Johnson.

In the 31 years since NASA's Magellan spacecraft entered orbit around Venus, researchers have been using the mission's radar images, topography and gravity mapping to understand the surface history of this cloud-covered world. Early results made it clear that Venus has significantly fewer impact craters on its surface than its cousins Mars and Mercury, and the craters that it does have are randomly scattered across the planet. Craters build up over time, and Venus's low number of craters means it has a surface that was somehow wiped clean roughly 300 million to 1 billion years ago. It is unclear if this was a catastrophic event that resurfaced the entire planet at once, or randomly distributed ongoing events that systematically resurfaced Venus over time, or some combination of both options. To understand what happened, it is necessary to understand when volcanoes have been active.

"The question of whether Venus has had geologically recent or ongoing volcanism has been an enduring enigma from the Magellan mission:  we still have no smoking gun regarding this but more and more lines of evidence suggest a recently, and potentially currently, active planet," said PSI Senior Scientist Catherine Johnson. 

As computers have improved, it has become possible to do more and more with Magellan's finite data set. Russell and Johnson used a high resolution stereo topography data set generated by other researchers to look at a volcano at the edge of the 350-kilometer across Aramaiti Corona. 

Corona are roughly circular features, surrounded by a ring of cracks that appear roughly like a crown, and are thought to be large faults. At some coronae, like Aramaiti, volcanoes and/or lava flows are observed close to or on these fractures. The volcano studied by the PSI researchers was part of the lucky 20% of Venus' surface to be imaged in stereo with synthetic aperture radar (SAR), which revealed the elevations across the 3-D structure, providing a better view than a simple image. 

Credit: Planetary Science Institute

"Instead of looking at the surface of the volcano or flows, we look at how the volcano deforms the ground around it.  In response to the weight of the volcano, the ground around it bends, like flexing a plastic ruler," said Megan Russell, a Research Associate at PSI and lead author of Evidence for a Locally Thinned Lithosphere Associated With Recent Volcanism at Aramaiti Corona, Venus that appears in Journal of Geophysical Research Planets. "The same kind of deformation is seen in the bending of the seafloor around the Hawaiian islands. From this deformation, we can infer properties like heat flow local to the volcano.

To go beyond simply indicating younger versus older, it is necessary to use complex computer models to model the surface deformation. It is from this modeled deformation that properties like heat flow can be inferred. 

Over time, these kinds of structures can evolve, and the degree of deformation that is observed hints at how old or young a feature might be and how much heat might be flowing under the surface. 

Russell goes on to explain, "Modeling studies suggest that the shape and topography of this corona indicate that it is also geologically young, and would have similarly geologically young volcanism associated with it." 

This particular structure seems to be unique in Magellan's limited data set. Only seven other coronae in the 20% of Venus that Magellan studied with SAR have steep-sided volcanoes on or near their fractured ring like that studied by Russell and Johnson. In addition, the stereo topography data on the feature in this study was of particularly high quality. With three future missions planned for Venus, this team looks forward to exploring this question in greater detail in the future. "Happily for those of us who were lucky enough to start our careers working on the Magellan mission, there are now three new missions slated to fly to Venus in the next decade or so." 

For Johnson, Venus has already played a multi decade role; she worked on her Ph.D. in 1984-1989 with a Guest Investigator on Magellan. For Russell, this work is a great start to her career. This research was performed while Russell was a graduate.

'Pack ice' tectonics reveal Venus' geological secrets

More information: M. B. Russell et al, Evidence for a Locally Thinned Lithosphere Associated With Recent Volcanism at Aramaiti Corona, Venus, Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets (2021). DOI: 10.1029/2020JE006783

Journal information: Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets

 Provided by Planetary Science Institute 

 

Magnetic patterns hidden in meteorites reveal early solar system dynamics

by Hokkaido University

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Researchers have developed a novel technique to investigate the dynamics of the early solar system by analyzing magnetites in meteorites utilizing the wave nature of electrons.

Within meteorites, the magnetic fields associated with the particles that make up the object can act as a historical record. By analyzing such magnetic fields, scientists can deduce the probable events that affected the object and reconstruct a time-lapse of what events occurred on the meteorite and when.

"Primitive meteorites are time capsules of primordial materials formed at the beginning of our solar system," said Yuki Kimura, an associate professor at the Institute of Low Temperature Science at Hokkaido University in Japan who led the study. "To understand the physical and chemical history of the solar system, it is crucial to analyze various types of meteorites with different origins."

While there are many meteorites available for study here on Earth, most of them originated from the asteroid belt, between Mars and Jupiter. These samples are used to study what the early solar system looked like. However, it becomes difficult to reconstruct events that happened farther out in the solar system, well past the asteroid belt.

This is where the research team took great strides in understanding outer solar system dynamics soon after the system formed. The paper, published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, details a novel technique to study the remnant magnetization of particles in the Tagish Lake meteorite, believed to have been formed in the cold outer solar system.

Using the technique, together with numerical simulation, the team showed that the parent body of the Tagish Lake meteorite was formed in the Kuiper Belt, a region in the outer solar system, sometime around 3 million years after the first solar system minerals formed. It then moved to the orbit of the asteroid belt as a result of the formation of Jupiter. The magnetite was formed when the parent body was heated to about 250°C by radiogenic heating and an energetic impact which is thought to have occurred during the body's transit from the Kuiper belt to the Asteroid belt.

"Our results help us infer the early dynamics of solar system bodies that occurred several million years after the formation of the solar system, and imply a highly efficient formation of the outer bodies of the solar system, including Jupiter," says Kimura.

The new technique, called "nanometer-scale paleomagnetic electron holography," involves using the wave nature of electrons to examine their interference patterns, known as a hologram, to extract high resolution information from the structure of the meteorites. This high-resolution technique adds another crucial tool to the toolbox of researchers working to understand the early dynamics of the entire solar system.

Armed with their new technique, the team hopes to apply it to more samples, including samples from an asteroid still in orbit around the Sun, called Ryugu. Kimura detailed their ongoing research plan: "We are analyzing the samples that Hayabusa 2 brought back from the asteroid Ryugu. Our nanometer-scale paleomagnetic method will unveil a detailed history of the early solar system."

What did the solar system look like before all the planets migrated?

More information: Electron holography reveals early planetary dynamics of the Solar System. Astrophysical Journal Letters (ApJL), August 11, 2021. doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ac13a8

Journal information: Astrophysical Journal Letters 

Provided by Hokkaido University 

What in the Hell Is Going on With Boeing’s Starliner?

The second uncrewed test of Starliner was scrubbed after 13 valves in its propulsion system failed to open.

By
George Dvorsky
Yesterday

New details are emerging about a technical problem that prevented NASA and Boeing from conducting a test launch of a CST-100 Starliner spacecraft last week. The problem appears to be more severe than previously believed, casting doubt on plans to launch the spacecraft later this month.

Like a car in the garage for repairs, Boeing’s Starliner is back in the hangar as engineering teams scramble to fix a problem related to the spacecraft’s propulsion system.

Specialists are working to “restore functionality” to 13 valves in the spacecraft’s propulsion system, as NASA explained in a recent statement. These valves, as NASA says, “connect to thrusters that enable abort and in-orbit maneuvering,” and they failed to open during the countdown on August 3, resulting in the scrub. The Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 mission to the International Space Station is now on an indefinite delay.

Keith Cowing, a former NASA employee and editor of the site NASA Watch, made his opinion known yesterday in a painfully brief post:


How—why—did this spacecraft—one that is supposed to eventually fly humans—ever make it to the launch pad without fully operational propulsion valves in the first place? Just wondering.


Fair question. The Starliner story is getting sadder by the minute. The first uncrewed test flight of Starliner in late 2019 ended in disappointment, as the spacecraft failed to reach the International Space Station. The botched test resulted in a slew of corrections and a 1.5-year delay in the project, which, as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, seeks to provide a platform for transporting astronauts to the ISS. Aside from Russian craft, the only other available option for NASA is to launch astronauts aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon, which got off the ground in May 2020.

Starliner inside the Vertical Integration Facility. Image: Boeing

The second uncrewed test of Starliner was supposed to happen on July 30, but the misfiring Russian Nauka module caused the ISS to perform an unscheduled backflip, resulting in the delay.

Following the scrubbed launch on August 3, the Starliner capsule—still atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket—was moved to the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) for closer inspection. Located next to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, this hangar gives engineering teams the ability to inspect the spacecraft up close. The capsule is currently powered and capable of receiving commands, according to NASA.

Boeing initially described the problem as having to do with “unexpected valve position indications.” The company ruled out software problems, but speculation emerged that an electrical storm, which passed through Space Launch Complex-41 the day before, might have damaged the valves. In a statement, Boeing said this is an “unlikely cause,” but the team will “closely inspect for water or electrical damage” while the spacecraft is in the hangar. In addition to physically inspecting Starliner, engineering teams have chemically sampled the valves’ exterior, and they’ve ruled out external corrosion.

Since entering the VIF, engineers have commanded seven of the 13 valves that were previously stuck in the closed position. As for the remaining six valves, they’re still stuck, despite many measures to get them unstuck.

“Test teams are applying mechanical, electrical and thermal techniques to prompt the valves to open, and are moving forward with a systematic plan to open the remainder of the affected valves, demonstrate repeatable system performance, and verify the root cause of the issue before returning Starliner to the launch pad for its Orbital Flight Test-2 mission,” as NASA writes.

That’s a daunting checklist, especially given that the root cause of the problem is still a complete mystery. Despite this, Boeing is “assessing multiple launch opportunities for Starliner in August and will work with NASA and United Launch Alliance to confirm those dates when the spacecraft is ready,” as the company declared in a statement put out yesterday.

I’m not holding my breath. This problem seems serious, not something that can casually be swept aside, regardless of the cause. But you wouldn’t know it from Boeing.

“Cautiously optimistic is a good way to describe how the team is feeling,” John Vollmer, Starliner vice president and program manager, said in a statement put out late last week. “They’re coming forward with innovative ideas and prioritizing the safety of the spacecraft and their teammates.”

So the saga continues with Starliner. Thankfully, NASA astronauts can hitch a ride to space on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, so time isn’t necessarily of the essence. But this is starting to get discouraging, if not very worrisome.

The environment is Gen Z’s No. 1 concern – and some companies are taking advantage of that

PUBLISHED TUE, AUG 10 2021
Katie Jahns@KATIEMJAHNS


As America’s youngest generation begins to enter the consumer market, workforce and voting booth, they have proven to be on a mission toward improving their planet. But as some companies attempt to meet Gen Z’s demands for sustainability, others might merely be presenting a façade.

Gen Z shops green

Sustainability is important to 19-year-old Trinity Gbla. Having grown up experiencing wildfires and extreme heat near her home in Southern California, Gbla said these past few years have highlighted climate change as an increasingly pressing issue. She’s not alone: Climate change/protecting the environment was the No. 1 concern for Gen Z, followed closely by unemployment and health care/disease prevention, according to a recent Deloitte survey.

Trinity Gbla, a junior at Howard University
Photo: Trinity Gbla

“There’s such a huge climate crisis going on in the world that you just cannot ignore,” Gbla said. “Usually, when I’m shopping, I like to see what’s ethically sourced, or if it’s environmentally friendly. Price is definitely something that’s important to me, especially because I’m a college student, so it’s like, I’m broke. But I’m willing to pay for more expensive stuff when it’s ethically sourced.”

This desire for sustainable products among Gen Z is robust. According to a 2020 report by First Insight, 73% of Gen Z consumers surveyed were willing to pay more for sustainable products, more than every other generation. And, despite being the youngest cohort with many still in school, they were willing to spend the most in added costs, with 54% saying they would pay more than a 10% increase in price for a sustainably made product.

This year, more than a quarter of millennials and Gen Zs worldwide said that their buying decisions have been influenced by the impact of certain businesses on the environment. Gbla said she can already see the influence her generation is making by using their purchasing power to hold companies to a higher standard, with numerous companies launching sustainability campaigns and highlighting green practices.

They want to work at green companies

But consumer spending is just one small part of the equation. Gen Zers also want the companies they work at to be environmentally-friendly.

“We’re in a transition to a more sustainable economy,” said Jen Cannon, vice president of business development at Impax Asset Management, which manages $45 billion in assets. “If I’m a company that doesn’t even address climate change, what’s the future of my organization?”

Failing to address Gen Z’s environmental concerns not only puts a company’s reputation at risk but also its future workforce.

“They want to have a job that’s in line with their values,” Cannon said.

Nearly half — 49% — of Gen Zs surveyed by Deloitte said that their personal ethics have played a role in their career choices. Theo Daniels is one of them.

The 19-year-old entered Howard University last year as a freshman in the computer science department. He has since made the switch to biology and political science, a decision he said was driven by his passion for the environment.

“I want to actually do something impactful and helpful,” he said. “I’m not saying you can’t do that in computer science. I felt like for me, however, that would be something environmentally related.”

Theo Daniels, a sophomore at Howard University
Photo: Natae Daniels


With his new career path, Daniels hopes to find policy solutions to hold corporations accountable for their environmental impact — he says that it would be in the best interest of both the planet and consumers.

“Being able to find ways to communicate that science into policy change, to actually get the ball rolling in the right direction, is something that’s very important to me,” he said. “There’s a lot of work to be done and I’d like to be a part of that. I’d like to do my part to make the planet a better place to live.”

Beware of ‘greenwashing’

But while brands might be adapting to meet the demands of their impassioned consumers, it’s not always in the way our generation hoped. Sustainability-targeted marketing has become increasingly prevalent as companies try to appeal to the Gen Z audience, said Jennifer Schmidt, a senior partner at the consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

“People are using a storyline that has something with sustainability, low waste, appropriate ingredients or appropriate fabrics that you’ll find on front of their websites, on packaging, as part of their marketing,” Schmidt said. “I can’t think of a brand that’s not doing this right now.”

This has made shopping for environmentally-friendly clothing frustrating for Perri Russell. While there are plenty of green tags, environmental messaging and eco-friendly labels, as a self-proclaimed ethical consumer, Russell knows that what a company says can be very different from what it does.

“Our world is overrun with advertisements and promotions and a culture that is begging you to just consume, consume, consume,” Russell said. “It’s really difficult to be an ethical consumer. It requires a lot of thought and education and care, and that is because corporations have made it so difficult.”

There’s a name for this practice: “greenwashing.”

“Greenwashing” is the deceptive practice of branding a company as environmentally-friendly without adopting legitimate sustainable operations.

Jason Dorsey, Gen Z expert and author of “Zconomy: How Gen Z will change the future of business—and what to do about it,” said this is a “rapidly increasing” marketing trend.

″‘Greenwashing’ is very real and appears to be growing every day. The reason is that Gen Z — who is now up to age 25 — has made it clear that protecting the environment and combating climate change are a priority for them, not only as consumers but also as employees and even as shareholders and voters,” he said. “The combination of pressure and expectations from Gen Z as trendsetters along with a desire to “be more green” is not only being used to cover up past actions by companies that harmed the environment but also as a reason to charge more for products.”

How to tell if a product is truly green

Transparency is the best way to differentiate between a truly green company and one that is merely slapping a green label on there. If a product has a green label or eco-slogan, but doesn’t have the information to back it up, Russell said that’s often the biggest giveaway that it is likely not a truly sustainable product.

That’s why, for her, the companies that make it clear to consumers where their ingredients are from and publish clear statistics and information about sourcing, manufacturing and direct environmental impact are the ones she’s more eager to support. A lot of the time, that means avoiding some of the biggest retailers.

“Smaller companies are also working hard to build brand loyalty, thus transparency in sustainability and labor practices are a way that they draw in their sustainability focused client base,″ Russell said.

Gbla recommends shopping at second-hand stores when possible as a way to guarantee you’re not contributing to the “fast fashion” industry, which isn’t always good for the environment. She also tries to purchase less and instead invest in lifetime products, which she said has the added bonus of saving her money in the long run.

At the end of the day, Gbla said, sustainability is about using less and being more intentional with your purchases, a good habit for both your finances and the planet.

CNBC’s ”College Voices″ is a series written by CNBC interns from universities across the country about getting their college education, managing their own money and launching their careers during these extraordinary times. Katie Jahns is an intern at CNBC working with the long form unit. She is a rising junior at Northwestern University studying journalism and psychology. Her mentor is Nate Skid. The series is edited by Cindy Perman.

More from College Voices:

Gen Z grew up with climate change. Now it’s starting to have an effect on their career choices

College students say raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour would be a game changer

 

New solvents to break down plant cellulose for bioethanol

by Kanazawa University

Suitable solvents are needed to produce ethanol from cellulosic plant biomass. 

We have found that liquid zwitterions are suitable for it, but it has been difficult to

 liquefy zwitterions and the species have been strictly limited. Therefore, the 

solid zwitterions were liquefied through making deep eutectic solvents, which are

 liquids from solid-solid mixtures. The liquefied zwitterionic solvent was able to dissolve

 the cellulose. Credit: Kanazawa University

Scientists from the Institute of Science and Engineering at Kanazawa University have developed new solvent mixtures to break down the tough structure of plant cellulose for the production of bioethanol. These new solvents work under mild conditions, have reduced toxicity and are more environmentally friendly compared with currently available solvents. This work may lead to improved technologies for the conversion of currently unused biomass to fuel.

Biofuels, such as ethanol produced from switchgrass or sugarcane, may allow us to reduce our reliance on nonrenewable fossil fuels. However, the process of making biofuels usually requires breaking down the cellulose from plants, which consists of long polymer chains, into smaller sugar molecules. This is not a simple task, as illustrated by how unappetizing tree bark or grass stalks look to us humans. Cellulose has a complex hydrogen bonding network, which makes it extremely chemical resistant. Current methods for processing cellulose rely on harsh reaction conditions and toxic chemicals.

Now, scientists from Kanazawa University have used a special class of molecules called "zwitterions" to create novel solvents with the ability to dissolve cellulose. Zwitterions are special in that they have both a positive and negative charge, but at different locations on the molecule so they cannot neutralize each other. These charges are highly effective at disrupting the hydrogen bonds keeping the cellulose from being broken down. "Because almost all zwitterions are solid under normal reaction conditions, our experiments used eutectic mixtures," first author Gyanendra Sharma explains. A eutectic system is a mixture of substances with a melting point lower than that of its constituent parts. This is accomplished by using molecules with different structures, so that regular crystals are harder to form.

In these experiments, the team mixed four different zwitterions at various ratios. They found 22 combinations that were liquid below 100°C. Of these, two mixtures were also highly effective at dissolving cellulose. "Our work shows that it is possible to replace many of the toxic chemicals used today with more environmentally friendly alternatives as we move towards a more renewable energy ecosystem," senior author Kosuke Kuroda says. This research demonstrates the potential of using combinations of zwitterions to create mixtures with properties not possessed by any molecule individually.

The work was published in Carbohydrate Polymers.

How to make it easier to turn plant waste into biofuels

More information: Gyanendra Sharma et al, Polar zwitterion/saccharide-based deep eutectic solvents for cellulose processing, Carbohydrate Polymers (2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2021.118171

Provided by Kanazawa University 

The Hydrogen Stream: Russia unveils hydrogen strategy, Germany provides more funds for power-to-X

ThyssenKrupp has also said it is working on a green

 hydrogen and ammonia project in the Emirates and three

 U.S. companies are planning to develop low-cost

 renewable hydrogen generation for use in transportation

 and distributed energy applications.

AUGUST 10, 2021 SERGIO MATALUCCI

Russian primer minister Mikhail Mishustin.

Image: Tatarstan, wikimedia commons, https://bit.ly/3AtbT7d

On Monday, the Russian government unveiled its hydrogen strategy, which hinged on pilot projects for low-carbon hydrogen and the creation of consortia. “It also provides for the creation of at least three territorial production clusters. Northwest will specialize in the export of hydrogen to European countries and the implementation of measures to reduce the carbon footprint of export-oriented enterprises. Vostochny will supply hydrogen to Asian countries, as well as develop hydrogen infrastructure in the transport and energy sectors. Finally, the Arctic cluster is tasked with providing a low-carbon electricity supply to the Russian Arctic,” reads the document. The main focus will be on steam reforming of methane and coal gasification, combined with carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technologies. “The first stage is designed for the next three and a half years,” Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said in a meeting with other representatives of the government. The large export-oriented production facilities should start operations between 2035 and 2050. “The development of hydrogen energy will reduce the risks of losing energy markets,” concluded Mishustin.

In recognition of power-to-X (PtX) technologies, the German government recently underlined the role of fuels from renewable energy in air and sea transport. It considers the U.S., Australia, Chile, and Argentina the most promising countries for PtX, and confirmed its interest to make public funding available. “In their early stages, new technologies need financial support to get off the ground. This also applies to so-called PtL—power-to-liquid fuels. Alongside regulation, players in this market require assistance in the launch phase,” Federal Minister for the Environment Svenja Schulze said earlier this month. The Federal Ministry for the Environment is supporting the development at two different locations. The Lab in Lausitz should be opened at the end of August, while the Berlin Hub should focus on developing and emerging countries. The National Hydrogen Strategy includes a budget of €600 million which the Federal Ministry for the Environment will use to promote fuels derived from electricity for air and sea travel.

Emirate-based privately-owned special project vehicle company Helios awarded a contract to perform a technical study for a new green hydrogen and green ammonia project to German industrial engineering and steel production company ThyssenKrupp. This move suggests that years of climate diplomacy and a focus on hydrogen from the German government is paying off for German companies, which are expected to maintain a footing in the Middle East, banking on hydrogen-related opportunities. “A water electrolysis plant, as well as a facility for sustainable ammonia production, are planned to be constructed at Kizad in Abu Dhabi, UAE, based on ThyssenKrupp technology. It will be the first commercial plant to produce CO2-free green ammonia from renewable resources in the UAE,” reads the note released on Monday. The last months witnessed an increase in competition between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, also in the realm of hydrogen production. “We are building both on our innovative technology solutions as well as on ThyssenKrupp's regional and local footprint and long heritage as a partner to the region,” said Sami Pelkonen, CEO of the company's Uhde business unit.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) awarded US$1 million for a collaborative project between three U.S. companies – Southern Company Gas, Electro-Active Technologies, and T2M Global – to advance next-generation clean hydrogen technologies. The project seeks to develop low-cost renewable hydrogen generation for use in transportation and distributed energy applications. “We are excited for this opportunity to work with our partners and the DOE in advancing the wet waste-to-clean hydrogen pathway and to help bring the hydrogen economy to reality,” said Robin Lanier, renewable gas director for Southern Company Gas. The project targets distributed generation of hydrogen from food waste, diverting the waste from landfills.

 

The practical path to America's electric vehicle transition

by Steve Cohen, Earth Institute at Columbia University

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Last week, with the leaders of America's auto industry and the United Auto Workers by his side, President Biden announced the goal that by 2030, half of America's new motor vehicles would be electric. This is an ambitious goal but necessary if our suburban-sprawl-based population is to meet our greenhouse gas reduction goals. America's pattern of land use development was built on personal transit, and we cannot meet our emission reduction responsibilities without electric vehicles powered by renewable energy. This will require federal subsidies for electric vehicles (EVs), at least until their sale price is lower than vehicles with internal combustion engines. When operation and maintenance are factored in, the actual price of electric vehicles is already lower than conventional vehicles. Unfortunately, the only price that matters to consumers is the price on the showroom sticker and so subsidies are needed to jump-start this market. In the wake of today's latest report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the goal of decarbonizing our economy has once again been reinforced by our growing climate crisis. But greenhouse gas reduction in America requires a practical path to electrification.

In addition to subsidizing vehicles, there will also be funding for public charging stations, although I suspect that improved battery capacity and the self-interest of the convenience store industry will result in the conversion of many gasoline pumps to charging stations. As charging technology develops, the speed of charging will increase, but while the car is charging, there will be plenty of time to head into the store to buy a Slurpee. In other words, the demand for charging stations will elicit a private sector response. Moreover, while apartment dwellers like me will need public charging stations, most EV owners will live in suburban homes with garages or at least driveways and will charge their cars at home in the evening. They'll be their own charging stations. When battery range hits 500 miles, the need for public charging stations will be reduced. Shopping center parking lots and garages will also install charging stations to make some money on their customers while they "shop and charge." In any case, to reassure EV owners, we'll need a mix of public and private charging stations.

Biden's announcement wedded his climate goals to the economic goal of leading the world's transition to electronic goals. As Coral Davenport reported in the New York Times last week:

"Without a radical change to the type of vehicles Americans drive, it will be impossible for Mr. Biden to meet his ambitious pledge to cut planet-warming emissions by 50 percent from 2005 levels by the end of this decade. Gasoline-powered cars and trucks are the largest single source of greenhouse gasses produced in the United States, accounting for 28 percent of the country's total carbon emissions. He also signed an executive order that calls for the government to try to ensure that half of all vehicles sold in the United States be electric by 2030."

There are many obstacles to implementing these goals, and a rapid technological transition of this scale is rare, although not unprecedented. The switch from landlines to cell phones and video discs to streaming video took place quite quickly. But these products are relatively simple compared to motor vehicles. Moreover, the requirement for subsidies and the impact on auto workers creates additional uncertainty. As Davenport observed: tyle="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; margin-top: 0px;">"A rapid transition to electric cars and trucks faces several challenges. Experts say it will not be possible for electric vehicles to go from niche to mainstream without making electric charging stations as ubiquitous as corner gas stations. And while labor leaders attended the White House event and referred to Mr. Biden as "brother," they remain concerned about a wholesale shift to electric vehicles, which require fewer workers to assemble."

The transition to electric vehicles, the modernization of the electrical grid, and the transition to renewable energy are all major structural changes for a developed economy like ours that was built on fossil fuels. Ideological rhetoric and misguided political attacks on the energy industry will not do the difficult work of bringing this huge change into being. What is needed is a practical path and a public-private partnership tied to a critical and shared national mission.

We've used public policy to set and meet national goals. The best examples were World War II and the moon mission. A less well-known example was homeownership. After World War II, we set a national goal of promoting homeownership. We made mortgage interest and local property tax deductible on federal tax returns. We developed federally subsidized and administered mortgage insurance. We built the interstate highway system. All these public investments encouraged builders to develop land in the suburbs, people moved in, and with their sweat equity on weekends, small homes often became bigger and backyard barbeques became common. After several decades America transitioned from a nation of home renters to a nation of homeowners. It will take a similar degree of creativity, incentives, and private profit to rapidly transition away from fossil fuels.

What is thrilling about the Biden team's approach to climate policy is that they fully understand the complexity of the task and they know they must bring all the critical stakeholders to the table. Unions, management, national and local elected officials as well as community activists must all have a role and be given an ownership stake in the "firm." The EV will take a generation to displace fossil fuels. My next car will be electric, but my current one only has 20,000 miles on it. When I trade it in, someone will buy it and use it. That someone could be the government and they would then need to send it to the fossil fuel graveyard. If the government doesn't buy and retire my car, it will emit greenhouse gasses for at least a decade after I sell it.

Decarbonizing our economy requires that we sweat the details. We need to understand the supply chains that source our consumer economy and the waste stream of items we no longer use. We need to ensure the entire production process becomes carbon neutral. The environmental community is correct in asserting that the fossil fuel industry's economic interests can be hostile to the mitigation of climate change. But instead of vilifying an entire industry, we should be cherry-picking the industry leaders who can read the handwriting on the wall and know their survival requires that they pivot away from fossil fuels.

The auto industry is a good model here. They see the regulatory environment and consumer preferences moving toward EVs. Government assistance is needed to rapidly build this new market and to conduct the R & D needed to ensure that battery technology continues its rapid advance. But even without government, EVs are on the way. They are a technologically superior alternative to the internal combustion engine. But the practical path to EVs requires additional attention be paid to auto workers. While new auto factories will be even more robotic than current ones, the transition will cause a short-term increase in blue-collar jobs. In the long run, auto assembly line jobs will require a more educated workforce, and so the UAW and automakers should immediately begin the process of training their current workforce for the jobs of the future. It is vitally important that the transition to EVs not leave America's workers behind as roadkill of the new auto industry. The short-term burst of transition jobs provides us with an opportunity to do better than we did with the deindustrialization of the upper Midwest. Government must monitor employment issues and provide subsidies to facilitate training of the current workforce.

The Biden team is connecting the EV transition to goals in climate, battery research, job creation, competition with China and a growing economy. I believe that their strategy is sound. But the difficulty of moving from concept to reality needs to be clearly understood. This will not be easy. At some point, the momentum behind the electric vehicle will be irresistible. At that point, subsidies will need to be reduced, and private market forces will help complete the transition over time.

Electrify America to double EV charging stations by 2025

More information: New York Times article: www.nytimes.com/2021/08/05/cli … ight&pgtype=Homepage

Provided by Earth Institute at Columbia University 

This story is republished courtesy of Earth Institute, Columbia University http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu.