It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Sunday, October 17, 2021
Surging oil price ‘not a game-changer’ for the Bank of Canada
Climbing crude prices are “not a game-changer” for the Bank of Canada heading into its October rate decision, according to the latest analysis from Capital Economics. The London-based research firm expects the rise will be short-lived, and Canada’s central bank will remain focused on “more important indicators” like wage growth and soaring inflation.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil (CL=F) is set for its eighth consecutive weekly gain, the North American benchmark’s longest winning streak since 2015. WTI rose 1.14 per cent to US$82.24 per barrel as of 11:44 a.m. ET on Friday, a day after the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicted the “ongoing energy crisis has prompted a switch to oil that could boost demand.”
West Texas Intermediate oil has pushed higher through much of 2021.
“While demand has risen alongside the recovery in the global economy, the elevated level of prices is mainly because supply is still depressed, reflecting the fall in U.S. output, which was exacerbated in recent months by Hurricane Ida, as well as OPEC’s production cuts,” Capital Economics senior Canada economist Stephen Brown wrote in a research note on Friday.
“Due to the potential for supply to recover, particularly now there is an added incentive from higher prices, we continue to expect WTI to decline to US$57 by the end of 2022.”
Brown says the Bank is set to use a WTI price of US$80 per barrel for its forecasts in the October Monetary Policy Report (MPR), up from US$70 in the last MPR. However, he sees few reasons for a material upgrade to its view on the sector.
“Canadian companies still seem intent on using the rise in prices to pay down their debts rather than fund new investment. Those debts are substantial, with the oil and gas sector accounting for much of the overall rise in corporate debt in the past decade,” he wrote.
Brown also cites long-standing headwinds for the sector, including a lack of pipeline capacity, and rising concern about climate change. He also notes that the oil, gas and mining sector accounts for “a disproportionately low share of jobs.”
“As governor Tiff Macklem reiterated again last week, the more important indicators to watch are wage growth and inflation expectations,” he wrote. “We are therefore doubtful that the further rise in oil prices will move the needle much in terms of the Bank’s approach to policy in the next couple of years.”
The Bank is set to make its latest rate announcement on Oct. 27.
Jeff Lagerquist is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jefflagerquist.
Potash company, part owned by China, owes Sask. contractors millions
Chinese state enterprises own 10 per cent of Western Potash, which cited "worsening bilateral relations” as it fell behind on $33.1 million in bills.
Author of the article: Arthur White-Crummey
REGINA LEADER -POST Publishing date: Oct 15, 2021 •
Western Potash Milestone Phase 1 Project located approximately 30 kilometres southeast of Regina. PHOTO BY TROY FLEECE /Regina Leader-Post
A potash company partly owned by the Chinese state owes about $33.1 million in outstanding bills, including to several Saskatchewan companies, as it blames its cash crunch on COVID-19 and tensions between Canada and China.
Western Resources Corp. owns a quarter section of land near Gray, about 30 kilometres southeast of Regina. Its subsidiary, Western Potash Corp., began site clearing in November 2018 in preparation for a potash solution mine known as the Milestone Potash Project on the site.
But work has been suspended since last year, and land title records for the property show that contractors have put millions of dollars worth of builders’ liens on the property to secure their claims to outstanding payments for work on the project.
Companies with more than a million dollars worth of liens registered include MBG Buildings Inc., SNC-Lavalin, Supreme Steel LP and Saskatchewan-based Artisan Construction Services. Smaller amounts are owed to other Saskatchewan companies, including Prince Albert’s Broda Group, Regina’s Clifton Associates, Regina’s Westcan Vac Services, Moose Jaw’s Strictly Fences, Biggar’s AGI Envirotank and Yorkton’s Northern Mat & Bridge. The largest sum, by far, is an $18 million lien by Stuart Olson Prairie Construction Inc. Most of the liens were registered in early-to-mid 2020, when the company began to face financial troubles.
Matthew Wood, vice president of technology with Western Potash, acknowledged that the money recorded in those liens is largely still owing. He regretted any negative impact on local business, and said Western Potash is doing everything in its power to minimize it. Wood said he’s “cautiously optimistic” that the company will be able to restart construction and pay its vendors by the end of this year.
“We hope, in a short amount of time, we can secure the financing, pay everyone back and then bring the benefits of this project in terms of environmental and potash to the province,” he said in a phone interview Thursday. The project had relied on financing from the China Development Bank (CDB) — until international tensions turned off that tap.
“When the CDB withdrew its entire business from Canada at the end of 2019 due to the worsening bilateral relations between Canada and China, Western lost a major portion of the Project financing provided through the CDB,” the company said in a letter addressed to the RM of Lajord, where the property is located.
Though the letter does not get into specifics, bilateral relations soured after Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested at the Vancouver airport in response to an extradition request to the United States. China later arrested and imprisoned two Canadians in what was widely viewed as a reprisal. All three have since been released, but the relationship remains strained.
Wood later played down the role of international politics in Western Potash’s financial travails. He said the state of bilateral relations did, however, make some private investors more hesitant.
Western Resources Corp. is majority owned by a Beijing-based private equity firm, Tairui Mining Inc. But the Chinese government has a significant stake through two state-owned enterprises: China BlueChemical Ltd. and Guoxin International Investment Corporations.
Wood said Western Potash is not controlled by the Chinese state. He said state-owned enterprises own a 10.1 per cent share. “So it’s a small minority,” he said.
The reeve of the RM of Lajord, Armond Gervais, seemed soured by the whole experience. It left him down on the whole idea of potash development in his community.
“If another one came along, I don’t know if we would be quite as interested,” Gervais said
.
Western Potash Milestone Phase 1 Project located approximately 30 kilometres southeast of Regina.
PHOTO BY TROY FLEECE /Regina Leader-Post
After the CDB financing fell through, Western Potash suspended construction on the Milestone project in May 2020. It looked to its main shareholder for a loan. In the letter to the RM, it blamed COVID-19 for derailing those plans, as the pandemic bit into the shareholder’s cashflow.
“COVID certainly didn’t come at the right time, not only in terms of the general economics of the situation, but it forced a lot of investors to move their cash elsewhere or use their reserves,” said Wood.
Western Potash then began negotiations with other investors. But they made financing conditional on the company proving its technology by developing the caverns of the mine, according to the letter. Unfortunately, the project faced “unplanned shutdowns and premature equipment failures.”
Still, Wood projected confidence. He called it “very probable” that the conditions will be met and the financing secured this quarter. The company has also sold real estate it owns in Vancouver, and Wood said every dollar will go toward restarting construction so it can secure financing and repay creditors.
“We’re really committed to treating all the creditors fairly and equally, and we’ve been trying to be as transparent as we can and keep them updated on the situation,” he said, adding that the goal is paying the full amount, not a settlement for pennies on the dollar.
“I can confidently say we’re 100 per cent committed to paying all the outstanding amount and we plan to pay exactly in accordance with the purchase contracts,” said Wood.
Contractors and vendors are not holding their breath. The Leader-Post spoke to executives or owners at three Saskatchewan-based companies who have liens on the property, and two seemed skeptical that they will see much of their money ever again. The third said he has already recouped a sizeable share of the lien amount. All three requested anonymity to talk about sensitive business matters.
“I’ve deemed it to be an uncollectible account, so I don’t put any energy into it,” said one. “They have been providing updates as best they can, but until you’ve got the cheque in your hands, what does that mean?”
Another called the situation “sad,” especially since he believes in Western Potash’s technology. He said an outstanding invoice for a few months is hardly unusual — but waiting two years for payment is another matter.
“It’s not good business,” he said.
Evergrande CEO in Hong Kong for restructuring, asset sale talks, sources say
China Evergrande Group CEO Xia Haijun attends a news conference in Hong Kong
HONG KONG (Reuters) -Evergrande Group's chief executive is holding talks in Hong Kong with investment banks and creditors over a possible restructuring and asset sales, two people said, as the Chinese developer battles against default on more than $300 billion in debts.
CEO Xia Haijun, a confidant of chairman Hui Ka Yan and who runs Evergrande's day-to-day operations including financing, has been in Hong Kong, where the property firm has a major presence, for more than two months, the two sources told Reuters.
A third source said Xia was talking to banks and creditors in Hong Kong, but did not say what was being discussed.
Shenzhen-headquartered Evergrande, which is reeling under more than $300 billion in liabilities, has left its offshore investors in the dark about repayment plans after already missing three rounds of interest payments on its dollar bonds.
Xia's talks with investment banks and creditors in Hong Kong has not previously been reported.
One of the sources said Xia needed to communicate with foreign banks on loan extensions and repayments. The source declined to disclose the identity of the creditors that Xia had spoken to in recent days.
"Xia also needs to sort out how many off-balance sheet debts the group has offshore, because many were underwritten at subsidiary levels and he himself may not be even aware of (that)," he said. "Before that they cannot work on restructuring and talk to bondholders."
Evergrande has been scrambling to divest some of its assets to raise cash - efforts that have not yet yielded much success - as concerns have grown in recent weeks about a possible collapse and the impact on global markets and China's economy.
Chinese state-owned Yuexiu Property has pulled out of a proposed $1.7 billion deal to buy Evergrande's Hong Kong headquarters building over worries about the developer's dire financial situation, Reuters reported on Friday.
A Chinese central bank official said on Friday the spillover effect of Evergrande's debt problems on the banking system was controllable and the risk exposures of individual financial institutions were not big.
Evergrande and Xia did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
The sources, who have direct knowledge of the development, declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter. PUBLIC APPEARANCE
Evergrande Chairman Hui has not appeared in public in recent weeks or announced plans to address the group's woes, leaving investors wondering if they would have to book losses when the 30-day grace periods end this month for unpaid bond coupons.
Last month, the developer issued a statement saying Hui had urged company executives to ensure the quality delivery of properties and redemption of wealth management products.
Xia, who is also vice president of the board, joined the company in 2007 and is responsible for Evergrande's capital operation and management, as well as legal affairs and overseas affairs, according to the company's website.
He has been in Hong Kong since July, according to one of the sources. The second source said Xia had been meeting Chinese investment banks in the city to explore possible asset sales.
Evergrande, once China's top-selling developer, has said that it is looking to dispose of stakes in assets including its services and electric vehicle units to raise funds.
The developer is finalising details to sell 51% of its Evergrande Property Services unit to Hopson Development for HK$20 billion ($2.57 billion).
Investment bank Moelis & Co and law firm Kirkland & Ellis, representing bondholders who currently hold $5 billion worth of Evergrande nominal offshore bonds, demanded last week more information and transparency from Evergrande.
The developer said last month it had appointed Houlihan Lokey and Admiralty Harbour Capital as joint financial advisers to examine its financial options, as it warned of default risks amid plunging property sales.
($1 = 7.7792 Hong Kong dollars)
(Reporting by Clare Jim and Julie Zhu; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Edmund Blair)
La Niña expected to bring 'bitterly cold' winter to western Canada
Much of Canada can expect the coldest winter since 2013-14, says meteorologist
Author of the article: Washington Post Matthew Cappucci Publishing date:Oct 15, 2021 •
Pedestrian walks down Brunswick Street in Halifax as major storm blasts the Maritimes on Feb. 2017. A La Nina pattern forming in the Pacific Ocean is expected to bring wet weather to Canada's western coast this winter, while a polar vortex could be pushed from the North Pole to the Prairies.
PHOTO BY ANDREW VAUGHAN/CANADIAN PRESS
After a months-long period of relative atmospheric balance between El Niño and La Niña, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday that La Niña has returned. It’s expected to stick around in some capacity through the winter and relax toward spring.
Calgarians and southern Albertans should expect a colder than usual winter with lots of snowfall in the mountains, according a new AccuWeather report.
The report published Thursday says a La Niña weather pattern forming in the Pacific Ocean is expected to bring wet weather to Canada’s western coast this winter, while a polar vortex could be pushed from the North Pole to the Prairies.
“I believe we may see at least three extreme blasts of bitterly cold air dropping down into the southern Prairies this winter,” meteorologist Brett Anderson said in the online report. “This winter will likely end up colder than the winter of 2018-19 and the coldest winter since 2013-14 in the region.”
Anderson said temperatures could fall to as low as -30 C during those times. He is predicting a winter that is -2 C colder than average in the southern Prairies, with Alberta and Saskatchewan seeing the largest decreases in temperatures.
Accuweather predicts increased snow storms in the eastern provinces of Ontario and Quebec thanks to the polar jetstream. However, the reports says above-average temperatures are likely in store in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.
“While this winter does not look all that cold from Ontario to Quebec, it will be cold enough to support many opportunities for significant snowfall this winter,” said Anderson. “I expect a favourable winter with solid snow bases across much of ski country in eastern Canada and especially across Quebec.”
Judah Cohen, an atmospheric scientist and the director of Atmospheric and Environmental Research in Boston, says it’s just too early to know how other atmospheric players may influence the season, especially in the east coast.
“The most impressive atmospheric feature [lately] has been this ridge of high pressure over Eastern Canada,” he wrote in a Twitter direct message. “It has acted like an immovable boulder in the jet stream, and if that feature stayed park over Eastern Canada for much of the winter we would all be saying ‘what winter?'”
He does think that could change, but a transition like that is something that weather models struggle to anticipate.
“Where that block relocates will could be potentially critical to how the winter begins and may even set the tone for the winter,” he wrote.
“Abundant snowfall is expected throughout much of ski country from the Coastal Range of British Columbia through the Rockies of western Alberta,” said Anderson.
The Farmer’s Almanac is predicting “fair weather” throughout most of October and November, with colder temperatures rolling over the Rocky Mountains and stormy weather forming in the Prairies shortly before December.
The stormy weather is expected due to what is known as La Niña conditions. La Niñas occur every three to five years when jet streams are amplified, ushering in colder, stormy weather. Last year also saw La Niña conditions form in Canada.
The intensifying La Niña should peak in magnitude, or strength, by the end of 2021. In brief, here are some of the key impacts La Niña could have in the coming months:
• Extending favorable conditions for Atlantic hurricane activity this fall;
• Worsening drought conditions in the U.S. Southwest through the winter and potentially elevating the fire risk through the fall;
• Raising the odds of a cold, stormy winter across the northern tier of the U.S. and mild, dry winter across the South;
• Increasing tornado activity in the U.S. Plains and South during the spring.
During La Niña winters, high pressure near the Aleutian Chain shoves the polar jet stream north over Alaska, maintaining an active storm track there.
La Niña first arrived in fall 2020 before fading away in May 2021. Neutral conditions, bridging the divide between La Niña and El Niño, prevailed through the early fall before the NOAA’s declaration of La Niña’s return Thursday.
This season is running about 54% ahead of average in the Atlantic, but 28% behind typical norms in the Pacific. Usually if air is rising somewhere and enhancing storm prospects, sinking elsewhere has the opposite effect.
Abundant snowfall is expected throughout much of ski country
The polar vortex, the zone of frigid air surrounding the Arctic, has been showing signs of weakening or becoming more unstable as of late. A weak, unstable vortex is more prone to unleashing frigid air over compared to one that is strong and stable and that tends to lock up cold over the high latitudes.
“Once the polar vortex weakens, it could be predisposed to further weakening in the coming weeks or months and we have a more severe winter,” Cohen wrote.
But Cohen also said there are influences that could halt any vortex weakening. He mentioned a scenario in which “the polar vortex rapidly strengthens as we approach the beginning of winter and we have an extended mild period to begin winter and possibly persisting right through the end of winter.”
Chris Fidler, left, of Halifax, and Ben Reigert, of Reading, walk out onto the ice at Sweet Arrow Lake, to fish on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018, in Pine Grove, Pa. Freezing temperatures since December 26 have made for ideal ice fishing conditions.
PHOTO BY DAVID MCKEOWN /AP
If La Niña lingers into spring, it could enhance the upcoming severe weather season in Tornado Country across the Great Plains and Deep South. There is a demonstrable link between La Niña and a more active severe weather season.
NP, Calgary Herald and The Washington Post’s Jason Samenow contributed to this report.
Architecture can be funny. Of course, it often makes for a well-disposed butt of the joke, like when Frank Gehry is satirized on the Simpsons, but buildings themselves can be funny as well. Philosophers like Kant believed humor was in the incongruity between what is expected and what is experienced. There are all sorts of expectations placed on buildings and an infinite number of ways that incongruity might grow between those expectations and what a building actually delivers. This video explores some of the most interesting of these humorous buildings through history, from Giulio Romano’s Mannerism, to SITE Architects BEST stores, and many more. Finally, it points to some contemporary practices that deploy humor to achieve more than just a chuckle.
Architecture with Stewart is a YouTube journey exploring architecture’s deep and enduring stories in all their bewildering glory. Weekly videos and occasional live events breakdown a wide range of topics related to the built environment in order to increase their general understanding and advocate their importance in shaping the world we inhabit.
Stewart Hicks is an architectural design educator that leads studios and lecture courses as an Associate Professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He also serves as an Associate Dean in the College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts and is the co-founder of the practice Design With Company. His work has earned awards such as the Architecture Record Design Vanguard Award or the Young Architect’s Forum Award and has been featured in exhibitions such as the Chicago Architecture Biennial and Design Miami, as well as at the V&A Museum and Tate Modern in London. His writings can be found in the co-authored book Misguided Tactics for Propriety Calibration, published with the Graham Foundation, as well as essays in MONU magazine, the AIA Journal Manifest, Log, bracket, and the guest-edited issue of MAS Context on the topic of character architecture.
LETS ADD THE TOBIN TAX TO THAT Global tax accord could earn Canada up to $4.5 billion per year, says Freeland
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Finance minister says Canada willing to impose digital
Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland holds a press conference in Ottawa on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says Canada stands to collect as much as $4.5 billion a year through a landmark deal involving 136 countries that will require the world's largest corporations to pay more in taxes.
It's the first time she's released a revenue estimate from her department since the deal was reached a week ago. It comes just as some critics of the deal are suggesting Canada would do better if it went ahead with the digital services tax set out in Freeland's April budget.
"There are still some final details being hammered out, so the numbers I'm giving you are not exact," Freeland said in an interview with CBC's The House airing Saturday.
"Having said that, the best calculation the Department of Finance has right now is that when this deal comes into force, it will be worth $4.5 billion in additional revenue for Canada every year."
Under the agreement reached at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, many of the world's biggest multinational companies will be required to pay a minimum corporate tax rate of 15 per cent in 2023.
Starting in 2024, the agreement will also require multinational companies — particularly digital giants such as Amazon, Facebook and Google — to pay taxes on profits in the countries where they are earned, even if they have no physical presence there.
Critics of the deal have argued Canada would raise more money under Freeland's proposed 3 per cent tax on revenues from those digital services. That tax, which was to kick in next year, is being put on hold as talks continue on finalizing the global deal.
Global deal the 'best outcome' for Canada: Freeland
The parliamentary budget officer estimated this spring that the Canadian tax would raise $4 billion over five years.
Freeland said the math clearly works in Canada's favour under the global deal.
"Our own calculation, which we did put into the fiscal framework on the DST, was that that would bring in about $700 million a year. So this OECD deal, just purely on the numbers, is a much better deal for Canada."
LISTEN: Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on a major international tax deal
9:06Global tax deal dilemma
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland explains why Canada pushed for a new global tax agreement and what effect it will have here. 9:06
Freeland said that the proposed digital services tax will be brought in, and applied retroactively, if the global deal ends up not being implemented.
"I have put in place an insurance policy for Canadians," she said. "My hope and intention — and I'm going to put my shoulder to the wheel and work really, really hard for this — is that this international deal happens because it is overwhelmingly the best outcome for Canada and Canadians."
Freeland isn't alone in praising the global deal. G20 finance ministers meeting in Washington this week endorsed it, setting the stage for formal ratification by the leaders of the world's largest economies at the summit later this month in Rome.
A raw deal for low-income countries?
"This agreement will establish a more stable and fairer international tax system," the ministers said in a media statement after their meeting.
But critics warn that the terms of the agreement will disproportionately benefit the world's wealthiest nations, where most multinationals have their headquarters.
Ian Thomson, policy manager for Oxfam Canada, said the global accord short-changes less wealthy nations.
"Low-income and middle-income countries, they need hospitals, they need stronger health systems, they need strong education systems and they need to prepare themselves for being buffeted by decades of climate change," he told CBC.
"So with all of these crises, to deny low- and middle-income countries a fair share of the global tax pie is unjust."
But Freeland and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen insist that the deal, with its minimum 15 per cent corporate tax rate, will end what they call a "race to the bottom" driving countries to compete against each other to attract large multinationals by offering lower and lower corporate tax rates.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks during a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Sept. 30, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Al Drago/Associated Press)
"The only losers from this deal are big multinational companies who are currently using globalization and the loopholes it has created to avoid paying taxes," Freeland told The House.
"So what I would say to people is, you look at the status quo and you look at this deal. And I have not heard a single person make a compelling case that the status quo is better for Canada and Canadians than this deal, or that the status quo is better for the poorest people in the world."
Freeland was less specific when asked how the extra revenue will be spent in the years ahead.
The federal government spent massively to counter the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, racking up record deficits to help individual Canadians and businesses make ends meet.
Freeland refused to say if the extra money from the tax accord would be used to pay down debt, or if she might follow the example of another Liberal finance minister — Paul Martin — who divided budget surpluses between debt repayment and tax cuts.
"I think the approach our government is taking to the fiscal situation in Canada is to say we made a commitment in the April budget to have a steadily declining debt to GDP ratio, and we continued to show that commitment in the platform on which we campaigned," she said.
Costly commitments
The Liberal government made some expensive commitments during the recent election campaign, including a $30 billion investment in a national child care program, money for social housing and funding to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
And there's a more immediate concern. Many of the federal government's emergency relief programs, including wage and rent subsidies and the Canada Recovery Benefit, are set to expire next week.
Freeland said she's been discussing the future of those programs with economists, businesses and labour leaders as the Canadian economy shows signs of stronger growth and job creation than anticipated, despite a fourth wave of the pandemic.
"I have a stack of papers in front of me about precisely this issue," she said.
Canadians will have to wait until next week for a decision on whether some — or any — of those programs will be extended.
Sea otter populations found to increase eelgrass genetic diversity
Sea otter resting in eelgrass with eelgrass draped over its hind foot.
Credit: Kiliii Yüyan Photography
A team of researchers affiliated with a host of institutions in Canada and one in the U.S. has found that eelgrass genetic diversity increases when sea otters live in eelgrass meadows. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes their study of eelgrass meadows under different conditions. Joe Roman, with the University of Vermont, has published a Perspectives piece in the same journal issue outlining the work by the researchers in this new effort.
Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the shores off the western coast of North America were filled with sea otters. Sadly, hunters drove them to near extinction over the ensuing century. In this new effort, the researchers have looked at the impact that sea otters have on eelgrass meadows when they are reintroduced by environmentalists.
Eelgrass meadows grow near the shore from the bottom of the sea to the surface. Such meadows, like coral reefs, are home to a large number of sea creatures, some of which serve as prey for sea otters. Clams, the researchers note, are especially enjoyed by the otters. The otters swim down to the seafloor, feel them out using their whiskers, then dig them up, crack them open and eat them. Prior research has shown that this activity leads to divots or bare patches on the seafloor. The researchers took a closer look at the impact of clam digging by sea otters on eelgrass meadows. Their work involved collecting large numbers of samples of the grass from multiple meadows, some of which were inhabited by sea otters and some that were not. They also noted some samples were collected from meadows where seas otters had been recently reintroduced and some were from meadows where the otters had been living for decades.
Eelgrass meadow on Calvert Island when otters were just beginning to return - otter pits are visible at the meadow-edge but later occurred within the meadow.
Credit: Grant Callegari, Hakai Institute.
The researchers conducted a genetic analysis of the grass samples and then compared them. In so doing, they found that eelgrass meadows with otters were more genetically diverse. They also found that the longer the sea otters lived in a meadows, the more diverse the grass became. They suggest that physical disturbances by predators can lead to increased diversity and more resilience in the face of changing environments.
Sea otter digging enhances eelgrass genetic diversity which can build resilience to environmental change.
Credit: Josh Silberg and Erin Foster
Erin snorkeling in an eelgrass meadow, to examine if seedlings are attached to parent plants (clones) or if rhizomes are free (result of seed germination). Credit: Carly Janusson, Hakai Institute
Sea otter digging enhances eelgrass genetic diversity which can build resilience to environmental change. Credit: Josh Silberg and Erin Foster
Erin snorkeling in an eelgrass meadow, to examine if seedlings are attached to parent plants (clones) or if rhizomes are free (result of seed germination). Credit: Carly Janusson, Hakai Institute
The aviation industry is necessary for the world we live in today, but it places a strain on the environment, thanks to emissions from petroleum-based fossil fuel.
According to a new study, we could reduce these emissions by up to 68 percent – by switching to a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) derived from plants. Specifically, the non-edible oilseed crop Brassica carinata, a variety of mustard plant. And it could be more cost-effective than petroleum fuel.
"If we can secure feedstock supply and provide suitable economic incentives along the supply chain, we could potentially produce carinata-based SAF in the southern United States," says sustainability scientist Puneet Dwivedi of the University of Georgia.
"Carinata-based SAF could help reduce the carbon footprint of the aviation sector while creating economic opportunities and improving the flow of ecosystem services across the southern region."
Roughly 2.4 percent of all global carbon dioxide emissions in 2018 were generated by the aviation industry, according to a report by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute. A study published earlier this year found that these emissions constitute a contribution of 3.5 percent to anthropogenic climate change.
That may not seem like much, but it's growing, and worryingly fast. But carinata-based SAF is looking more and more viable.
Challenges around transitioning to biofuels include their potential to displace important food crops and questions around whether it's even possible to grow enough fuel crops at all. Where, how, and what crop is grown also has a massive impact on whether it actually ends up reducing emissions.
That said, fuel derived from B. carinata is not a brand new idea. It was developed and tested some years ago – the first jet flight on pure carinata-derived biofuel was successfully flown in 2012, but the cost was much higher than conventional jet fuel.
The new work by Dwivedi and his team was not to prove that the fuel is viable, but to estimate exactly how cost-effective and emissions-reducing it could be.
Conventional jet fuel currently costs around US$0.50 per liter. Without subsidies, carinata-based SAF comes in at around $0.85 to $1.28 per liter, the team calculated.
But governments are offering incentives for reducing emissions that were not in place in 2012, such as the Biden Administration's Sustainable Aviation Grand Fuel Challenge, which offers tax credits for a minimum emission reduction of 50 percent compared to conventional jet fuel.
When all available US credits were taken into account, carinata-based SAF costs between $0.12 and $0.66 per liter, the researchers found.
"Current policy mechanisms should be continued to support manufacturing and distribution of SAF. The Grand Challenge announced by President Biden could be a game-changer in supporting carinata-based SAF production in the southern region," Dwivedi said.
In the southeastern states, where temperatures tend to be warmer, carinata can be grown in the winter months, which is the off-season for food production. This means it doesn't directly compete with other crops. In addition, the by-products of fuel production can still be used to produce animal fodder.
It seems like a no-brainer, except for at least one problem: The US currently lacks the infrastructure for turning the crop into fuel. The feasibility of building these facilities is the focus of the team's current research, with the hope of informing decisions to be made by farmers, investors and policy-makers.
"Our results would be especially relevant to the state of Georgia, which is the sixth-largest consumer of conventional aviation fuel in the country, hosts the busiest airport in the world, and is home to Delta, a leading global airline company," Dwivedi said.
"I am looking forward to pursuing more research for providing a sustainable alternative to our current model of air travel. Carinata has the potential to be a win-win situation for our rural areas, the aviation industry, and, most importantly, climate change."
B.C. facility aims to make vehicle fuel from carbon pulled out of the atmosphere
Carbon Engineering CEO Steve Oldham holds a container of the synthetic fuel the company has produced from carbon harvested out of the atmosphere at its lab in Squamish. (CTV)
Ian Holliday CTVNewsVancouver.ca Reporter Published Oct. 14, 2021
VANCOUVER -
The B.C. government, a First Nation in the Interior and a pair of Squamish-based companies are working together on a project that they say could revolutionize the transportation industry by all but eliminating its carbon dioxide emissions.
The province is providing $2 million from its Innovative Clean Energy fund to support the engineering and design work for the project, which aims to be the world's first large-scale fuel production plant that uses carbon captured directly from the atmosphere.
Squamish-based Huron Clean Energy expects to build the commercial plant on Upper Nicola Band land near Merritt, B.C., and has entered into an equity partnership and land-lease agreement with the First Nation.
The facility - which is currently in the design phase, with construction slated to begin next year at the earliest - will use "direct air capture" technology developed by Carbon Engineering, another Squamish-based company.
When it's completed - something the project's backers hope will happen by 2025 - the plant will run on renewable energy from BC Hydro, which it will use to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Other Carbon Engineering projects remove the carbon and store it underground, but the proposed facility in the Interior will instead use more renewable electricity to electrolyze water, splitting it into hydrogen and oxygen.
The fuel plant will then recombine the hydrogen and the carbon dioxide to create hydrocarbons that can be used in place of traditional petroleum-based fuels.
According to the Carbon Engineering website, burning the synthetic fuels re-releases the carbon that was captured to make them, but adds no new emissions to the air. Beyond that, because the energy used to create the fuel is renewable, the fuels have an "ultra-low lifecycle carbon intensity."
"If we can make the fuel carbon neutral, our vehicles, our ships, our planes become carbon neutral," said Carbon Engineering CEO Steve Oldham at a news conference in Squamish on Thursday.
Oldham said the plant, once completed, would produce about 100 million litres of fuel annually - a substantial amount, but a tiny drop in the bucket compared to global oil consumption, estimated by the U.S. Energy Information Administration to be 97.47 million barrels of oil per day in 2021.
A barrel of oil contains approximately 159 litres, meaning global oil consumption is more than 15 billion litres per day, though only a fraction of that is refined into fuel.
Oldham and the other partners in the project who spoke Thursday said the Upper Nicola plant is the beginning, not the end goal.
"I'm confident that it will be successful," said Bruce Ralston, B.C.'s minister of energy, mines and low-carbon innovation.
"When it's successful, it will be something that can be replicated around the world. This is, really, genuinely, globally leading technology."
The province estimates that the facility will create 620 jobs during the design phase, 4,780 during construction and 340 long-term jobs associated with operating the plant.
Oldham and Huron Clean Energy CEO Michael Hutchison each expressed a desire to see more projects of this type constructed in the coming years, and a confidence that it would happen.
"The plant itself is a first of a kind that anybody in the world that has renewable energy can emulate," Hutchison said.
This proposed B.C. facility could make vehicle fuel out of thin air
The first large-scale facility of its kind will pull CO2 from the atmosphere to make millions of litres of hydrocarbon fuels for existing ICE engines
Author of the article: Coleman Molnar Publishing date:Oct 16, 2021
This proposed BC facility could make vehicle fuel out of thin air
PHOTO BY CARBON ENGINEERING LTD
A B.C.-based company working in collaboration with multiple coastal businesses, a First Nation in the province’s interior, and the B.C. government is hoping to develop a plant to produce a new type of vehicle fuel that could reduce CO2 emissions.
Huron Clean Energy is a Canadian clean energy company that has designs on a plant that would “produce transportation fuel out of atmospheric carbon dioxide.” It has been working with two other companies — Oxy Low Carbon Ventures and Carbon Engineering — plus the Upper Nicola Band near Merritt, B.C., where it plans to build the facility.
Hydroelectricity will power the plant’s “direct air capture,” a process of combining carbon dioxide from the atmosphere with hydrogen to create renewable hydrocarbons to replace petroleum-based fuels in existing gas, diesel, and even jet engines — all while creating up to 90 per cent fewer emissions than today’s fuels.
The B.C. government will kick in $2 million from the provincial Innovative Clean Energy fund to help with project development, which will bring thousands of temporary construction jobs and hundreds of long-term jobs to the area.
At full capacity, the facility should produce 100 million litres of fuel per year, and up to 650 million litres per year by 2030. What do those numbers mean? Not much in the grand scale of things, considering that according to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers , Canadians consume some 1.5 million barrels of oil per day (for all purposes, not just transportation). With each barrel containing 159 L, that puts Canada at 238.5 million litres each day.
Project partners hope the facility will be up and running by 2025, and that others like it will follow.
