Japan Unveils Record $490 Bn Stimulus To Boost Pandemic Recovery


By Kyoko HASEGAWA
11/19/21 

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced a record $490 billion stimulus for the world's third-largest economy Friday as he looks to shore up the country's patchy pandemic recovery.

The 56 trillion yen injection, the third since the Covid crisis struck last year and expected to be approved by the cabinet later in the day, "is enough to deliver a sense of safety and hope to the Japanese people", Kishida said.

The spending will include a variety of measures, said to include cash and coupon handouts to families with children under 18 who meet an income cap, as well as pay rises for nurses and careworkers.

The vast spending plans come after Japan's economy shrank far more than expected in the second quarter as leaders struggled to overcome the outbreak by imposing containment measures in Tokyo and other cities.


Former prime ministers Yoshihide Suga and Shinzo Abe poured 40 trillion yen and 38 trillion yen respectively into the economy in 2020, although some analysts and media have raised doubts over how effective that spending has been.

"We have been able to build economic measures that will open the new society after the pandemic," Kishida said at policy talks between the cabinet and ruling coalition.

He said the fiscal spending was expected to rise as high as 79 trillion yen including other elements such as loans from funds.

Kishida triumphed in a general election last month, having pledged to unleash a huge spending programme after his predecessor Suga stepped down, partly over his government's virus response.

Fumio Kishida's stimulus is the third to be injected into the Japanese economy since the pandemic began last year Photo: POOL via AFP / Stanislav Kogiku

Businesses, especially restaurants and bars, have endured months of on-off restrictions on opening hours and alcohol sales since the pandemic began. Japan's borders also remain shut to tourists.

Government data showed this week that Japan's economy shrank 0.8 percent in the three months to September -- far worse than market expectations -- as a record surge in virus cases hit spending and supply-chain issues hampered business.

However, daily cases have nosedived in recent months, and more than three-quarters of the population are now fully vaccinated, with most restrictions now lifted nationwide.

Economists said the stimulus would support Japan's growth to some extent, although some media outlets have questioned the effectiveness of handouts and criticised a lack of clarity on how the spending will be financed.

Japan already has an enormous public debt load, amounting to 250 percent of gross domestic product according to the International Monetary Fund.

The government should explain why the stimulus package "is necessary and what effects are expected", Kengo Sakurada, chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, told reporters this week.

He also noted that Japan's Board of Audit says nearly half of the stimulus already implemented by previous governments had yet to be used.

"We need accountability from the government on why this one will be successful," he said.

Tesla, electric SUVs get poor scores from Consumer Reports

Thu, November 18, 2021
By Joseph White

(Reuters) -Vehicles from Tesla Inc and electric sport utilities from rival brands are among the least reliable models sold in the United States, a reflection of the risks of new technology, Consumer Reports said on Thursday.

Consumer Reports, a nonprofit organization that evaluates products and services, said Tesla, the world's most valuable automaker, ranked 27th out of 28 brands, just ahead of Ford Motor Co's Lincoln brand.

"Electric SUVs as a vehicle category is the absolute bottom in terms of reliability," Consumer Reports director of vehicle testing Jake Fisher said Thursday during a presentation to the Detroit Automotive Press Association.

Among electric SUVs, Fisher said Ford Motor Co's Mustang Mach-E "is the only one with above-average reliability."

Consumer Reports recommends the Tesla Model 3 sedan and rates its reliability as "average." But Fisher said the rest of Tesla's vehicles are below average.

The popular Model Y SUV, Tesla's best-selling vehicle, has problems with poorly fitting body panels, leaks and issues with its climate control, Fisher said.

The larger Model X SUV "still has problems with the falcon wing doors," Fisher said.

Consumer Reports has been critical of Tesla's Autopilot and Full Self Driving automated driving systems. Fisher said Consumer Reports still has concerns that drivers will rely too much on technology that cannot safely take over driving, but that did not factor into the reliability scores.

"Full Self Driving is not full self-driving at all," Fisher said. "It's a convenience feature."

Electric vehicle drive systems, or powertrains, are not the main source of problems, Fisher said. The issues reported by owners are with other features.

Manufacturers "are using EVs as a technological test bed," Fisher said. "Those are the things that go wrong."

The top-ranked brand overall in the survey was Lexus, and eight of the ten top-scoring brands were Japanese. That continues a long-running trend.

Among brands owned by Detroit automakers, Buick was the only one in the top ten, in fifth place.

The Buick Envision, which is assembled in China, was the most reliable compact luxury SUV in the Consumer Reports survey.

(Reporting by Abhijith Ganapavaram in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Nick Zieminski)

The chaos on Canada's west coast is a preview of climate change woes to come


Damon Linker, Senior correspondent
Thu, November 18, 2021

British Columbia flooding. Illustrated | REUTERS, iStock

World leaders have just returned home from COP26, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, eager to talk about the progress they made in devising strategies to combat climate change. Right on time, events on the west coast of Canada have given us a glimpse of our perilous environmental future.

This past June, British Columbia was sitting under a highly irregular "heat dome" that drove temperatures up to astonishing heights. Fires, smoke, and life-threatening heat enveloped both sides of the U.S.-Canada border, but things were especially bad above the 49th parallel, with the town of Lytton topping out at 121 degrees Fahrenheit and ending up completely consumed by flames from a brushfire.

Now, just a few months later, an "atmospheric river" has delivered a wind-swept deluge to the same area, bringing widespread washouts, mudslides, and avalanches. The consequences for infrastructure — and, as a result, already buckling supply chains — have been especially shattering.

Writing in the National Post, author Terry Glavin notes that the Port of Vancouver and other marine terminals in the area "are now cut off from the rest of Canada, by road and by rail," with the Coquihalla Highway and Highway 3 both impassable. It may be possible to resolve the rail disruptions fairly quickly, but the same isn't true for roads. A government official estimates it could take "several weeks or months" to get them reopened. And because the flooding has been so widespread across the region, diverting truck traffic through the United States to the south isn't a great option either.

Add in entire towns under water, polluted municipal water systems, and gas lines severed with winter weather on the way — and we're left with a devastating picture of coastal western Canada. It's just the latest disturbing image of what awaits the world over the coming years and decades.

Extreme weather events — storms, floods, drought, deadly heat and cold — are bad enough in themselves. But they don't just do immediate damage to people and private property. They also play havoc with the networks of commerce and travel on which our modern lives and economies depend.

Yes, we need to do what we can to cut emissions so things don't become even worse down the road. But they're going to become pretty bad regardless. Internalizing that fact is an important task, not least because doing so might goad us to develop a nimbleness in our response to disasters and resilience in our supply chains once the worst discrete weather events have receded.

Human beings can get used to anything. We're going to have to get used to calamity.

One woman's determination unlocked science behind reforestation on an arid southwest forest

Laura Rabon
Thu, November 18, 2021

ALAMOGORDO — Tucked back in carefully chosen locations on the Lincoln National Forest, you can see baby trees poking up from the ground among the blackened logs

remaining from fires that laid bare patches of the forest. These fledgling trees aren’t here by accident. They are here because of one woman’s determination to unlock the science behind reforestation in the arid southwestern forest.

Forest Service silviculturist Marisa Bowen has spent the last five years coordinating the planting of 170,000 trees.

Forest Service silviculturist Marisa Bowen, known as Reese to her friends and coworkers, revived the tree planting program on the Lincoln National Forest after others had given up 20 years ago. Previous efforts to replant trees in fire scars on the Lincoln National Forest showed only mild success. Forest staff began to wonder if the limited returns were worth the hours and money spent on the program. In 2017 Bowen began researching the old methodology and successfully tweaking how, what, where and when the trees were planted.

Since then she has coordinated the planting of 170,000 trees in the Little Bear (2012) and Scott Able (2000) fire scars and learned the little details that make a big difference when doing reforestation in a drought-stricken forest.

“Everyone thinks it’s an easy, straightforward process. Just get some seeds and plant them, right?” Bowen smiles and says. “Turns out it’s a bit more complicated if you want the trees to survive.”

While the Forest Service acknowledges it has too many trees in some part of the forest, it also has too few in other areas. Prompt reforestation in these areas allows for the accelerated regeneration of the woods after natural disturbance, such as wildfire, climate change, and insect and disease infestations. Reestablishing forest cover provides wildlife habitat, clean and abundant water for animals and humans, carbon sequestration, future timber that can be responsibly harvested, forested recreation opportunities, and prevents soil erosion.

Finding the right sites

Five years ago, Bowen and the GIS department at the Forest Service mapped the terrain burned by fires over the years. They were searching for areas where replanting trees was most needed and where they had a shot of survival. After a careful review, they chose 8,315 acres of severely burned forest at various locations across the forest.

The sites were in areas where all the trees were destroyed, and with them, the seed source that would have naturally replenished the trees. They also considered the state of the soil, access to the area, and nearby private land. It is also worth noting official wilderness areas are not eligible to be replanted per wilderness regulations. In just five years, they have successfully replanted 20 percent of the area with Ponderosa pine,

Douglas Fir, Engelmann spruce, and southwestern white pine.

Bowen inspects a three-year-old ponderosa pine seedling.

“Fire burns in a mosaic pattern. It doesn’t burn uniformly,” explained Bowen. “In the same fire you can see patches of forest that were completely untouched next to burned areas. If some trees survive in the area, it has hope of coming back. I was looking for areas with total overstory removal and no seed source remaining, but with soils that were still able to support vegetation.”
The art and science of seed collection

Success is in the details. Trees, like humans, have their own genetic makeup passed down from tree to seedling. Bowen only uses seeds collected from the same elevational levels on the same forest. Using seeds already adapted to the unique ecosystem of the Lincoln National Forest in southern New Mexico gives the tree the best shot of long-term survival.

Seed collection is an exercise in patience. It turns out conifer trees only produce a good seed crop every 7-15 years, depending on the species. For the first few years of the program, she relied on seeds collected decades ago, some from as far back as the 1970s that had been stored at a Forest Service nursery in Idaho. The trees would produce some cones each year, but when Bowen opened the cones, she discovered underdeveloped seeds that weren’t viable for collection. However, nature was on their side because, in 2018, the trees produced a mast crop with huge cones and plenty of seeds.

Specially trained tree climbers from the Lincoln National Forest and nearby Mescalero Apache Tribe climb to the very top of dozens of trees to carefully clip the cones.

Specially trained tree climbers collect cones from dozens of trees to ensure they have enough genetic variety.

“I love it, but you can’t be scared of heights,” joshed tree climber Wells Viana. “It’s slow, technical work, but it’s rewarding. You’re attached to the tree and covered in sap. When the wind blows it feels like the rest of the world is moving and you’re staying still, when in fact, it’s the opposite. The tree climbers collect cones from multiple different trees of the same species.

“We want to make sure to get a genetic variety for each species, which wouldn’t happen if we only used seeds from one tree… and of course, we leave some so the forest can regenerate itself,” explained Viana.

The seeds are also an important food source for wildlife.

Once collected, cones are placed in burlap bags and rotated daily to avoid rot until refrigerated trucks arrive to take them to Forest Service nurseries. Forest Service nurseries and seed extractories remove the seed from the cones and grow seedlings for planting. The seedlings are shipped back to the forest in the late summer of each year.

Forest staff use recently collected seeds to replant the southwestern white pine, once a staple species in the forest. In the 1980s, its numbers began to dwindle after an outbreak of White Pine Blister Rust hit the forest. The fungus attacks white pines and kills more than 95 percent of the trees it infects by cutting off pathways for water and nutrients.

White pines are large trees that can live up to 450 years if undisturbed.

“It’s tragic. You’ll find one white pine in a sea of dead ones that survived the outbreak. The hope is that tree has a genetic resistance to the Blister Rust. By using its seeds, the seedling may get those genes that allow it to survive when it is exposed to the fungus, which almost always happens.” Bowen said.

The U.S. Forest Service estimates 3-5 percent of white pines are resistant to the devastating effects of the pathogen.

Plant in summer, not the spring

For the past five years, a crew of tree planters has arrived from Oregon in late summer or early fall. They move quickly across the landscape digging holes, placing seedlings inside, and installing beige tubes around the baby tree called sentry tree shelters. The reusable shelters garner attention from forest visitors who aren’t quite sure why they are there. The shelters stay on for two years, and dramatically increase the rate of survival for the tree. The shelter helps retain moisture, shades the plant from the harsh New Mexican sun, and protect the new seedling from being eaten by the hearty population of elk and deer.

Conifer cones are cut in half to inspect the viability of the seeds inside.

Trees used to be planted in neat, tidy rows, giving the forest an unnatural row-crop feel.

“I’ve stood in those older reforested areas, and it’s creepy the uniformity of it all,” said Bowen. “It’s supposed to be a forest, not a farm.” Today, the crew plants the trees in clusters to mimic how natural forests develop, which isn’t in straight, clean lines.

Foresters also thought the best time to plant was in the spring before the monsoons arrived, but almost all the trees died.

Bowen explained, “The soil is bone dry in spring on the mountains. Usually, we haven’t gotten rain for months, and we don’t have the snowpack we used to. Now we plant in August and early September after the heavy monsoons when the soil is wet, the temperatures aren’t as hot, and we will likely get a few pulses of moisture.”

It’s working too. Depending on the site, the tree survival rate averages between 60-80 percent, beating Bowen’s expectations of 50 percent. A high level of tree mortality is always anticipated when doing reforestation.

Forest staff chooses severely burned sites with no surviving trees, like this hillside burned by the Scott Abel Fire 20 years ago.

“Think of it this way; trees produce an enormous number of seeds because they know the vast majority of them won’t make it. We are replicating a natural process, so some level of tree mortality is inevitable,” Bowen stated.

Next year will be a big moment for Bowen and her crew. Six years after planting the first seedlings, the initial area can officially be called “reforested.” It will take another 20 years for the trees to reach full maturity and begin producing their own seeds, a reminder of how long it can take a landscape to recover.

“Coordinating the reforestation program takes a lot of time and work, but it’s one of the most rewarding part of my job,” Bowen said. “In the future, I’d like to see the program grow and to identify more areas that could benefit from reforestation.”
Money doesn't grow on trees

Reforestation is expensive. Bowen estimates she spends $200,000 a year on the program, and she relies heavily on partner organizations to help fund the work. The Lincoln National Forest partners with four organizations that help fund the tree planting efforts: The National Forest Foundation, American Forests, One Tree Planted, and the Arbor Day Foundation. The forest has been awarded money each year from one or more of the organizations, which is partly why the program has accomplished so much in such little time.

American Forests is the oldest national nonprofit conservation organization in the United States, founded in 1875. It has helped to fund replanting efforts on the Lincoln National Forest every year since 2018.

“We loved everything about this project, and so did our donors,” said American Forests Forest Restoration Manager Austin Rempel. “Locations like the Lincoln National Forest are so important. They are forested sky islands isolated by desert on all sides. Every tree counts in that scenario. A small project in these areas can have an outsized impact,” he added.

Reforestation in the face of climate change

The race is on to establish healthy mature trees sooner rather than later. As temperatures continue to rise and drought continues, the types of trees that thrive at certain elevations has already begun to shift. Historically, pinyon and juniper trees grew at lower elevations on the

Lincoln National Forest and then transitioned to ponderosa pine and eventually mixed conifer of pine, fir and spruce trees at high elevations. After a landscape altering event, like a wildfire, the lower elevation tree species are being seen at increasing higher and higher elevations, as they seek out terrain with the water and temperatures they have adapted to over millennium.

Reforestation presents opportunities to address the effects of climate change by managing plant genetic diversity and capturing carbon to counter greenhouse gas emissions.

The Forest Service National Forests Genetics Program is working to improve reforestation efforts in the face of climate change. Climate change is fueling extreme droughts and severe wildfires. Trees that aren’t killed by these threats are weakened. This leaves them vulnerable to disease and pests. The program identifies genetic variations in tree species that make them more resilient to higher temperatures and leads the development of trees with resistance to insects and diseases.

The program manages 70 highly productive seed orchards of many species developed through selection, breeding, and testing. These seed orchards cover over 25,000 acres, and include species such as Douglas fir, western larch, western white pine, ponderosa pine, sugar pine, white fir, eastern white pine, shortleaf pine, longleaf pine, slash pine, and whitebark pine. The program also conserves forest tree genetic material (primarily through collecting and long-term storage of seeds) before it is lost to climate change, pest and diseases, wildfire, and other natural disasters. The Forest Service works on over 100 species, including non-commercial conifer and hardwood tree species, native grasses, and wildflowers.

This article originally appeared on Ruidoso News: One woman's determination unlocked science behind reforestation on an arid southwest forest

Iranians gather in mass protest against water crisis caused by dried-up river

NEWS WIRES 1 hour ago

Thousands of protesters converged on Isfahan in central Iran on Friday to voice their anger after the city's lifeblood river dried up due to drought and diversion.

© Fatmeh Nasr, ISNA / AFP

The massive protest, that drew in farmers and other people from across Isfahan province, was the biggest since demonstrations over the water crisis started on November 9.

"Thousands of people from Isfahan, farmers from the east and west of the province, have gathered in the dry Zayandeh Rood riverbed with one key demand: let the river run," a state television journalist in Isfahan reported, broadcasting live images of Friday's rally.

"For years, there has been no will to resolve the problems of this important river," the journalist said.

Footage aired on the channel showed men and women in a crowd spanning the riverbed clapping in unison.

"Plundered for 20 years" and "the water must return", they chanted.

Others were seen holding up banners that read "East Isfahan has become desert" and "Our water is being held hostage", in pictures published by Iranian media outlets.

The city of Isfahan is Iran's third largest, with a population of around two million.

It is a tourist magnet due to its heritage sites, including a historic bridge that crosses the Zayandeh Rood river -- which has been dry since the year 2000 apart from brief periods.

Drought is seen as one of the causes, but farmers also blame the authorities' diversion of the river water to neighbouring Yazd province.

The Iranian government has promised to come to the aid of farmers and resolve the crisis.

"I have ordered the ministers of energy and agriculture to take immediate steps to deal with the issue," Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber said on television.

Energy Minister Ali-Akbar Mehrabian apologised to farmers for being unable to provide water for their crops.

"We hope to fill these gaps in the coming months," he said.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi had already met with representatives from the provinces of Isfahan, Yazd and Semnan on November 11 and promised to resolve water issues.

Largely arid Iran has been suffering chronic dry spells for years.

In July, deadly protests broke out in the southwestern province of Khuzestan after drought led to widespread water shortages.

Iran is one of the most water-stressed countries in the world.

Water levels in the country's lakes and reservoirs have halved since last year due to the severe drought affecting the country and the wider region, a report from Iran's space agency said in October.

(AFP)

Thousands protest dried-up river in Iran's Isfahan: State TV

AFP , Friday 19 Nov 2021

Thousands of protesters converged on Isfahan in central Iran on Friday to voice their anger after the city's lifeblood river dried up due to drought and diversion, state television said.

Iranians gather during a protest to voice their anger after their province s lifeblood river dried up due to drought and diversion, in the central city of Isfahan, on November 19, 2021. AFP

TelegraLinkedIn

The protest that drew in farmers and other people from across Isfahan province was the biggest since demonstrations over the water crisis started on November 9.

Related

 Iran slams Western statement on its regional actions

 Blast at power plant in Iran’s central Isfahan province : IRNA

 Iran military jet crashes in Isfahan province, pilots eject

"Thousands of people from Isfahan, farmers from the east and west of the province, have gathered in the dry Zayandeh Rood riverbed with one key demand: let the river run," a state television journalist in Isfahan reported, broadcasting live images of Friday's rally.

"For years, there has been no will to resolve the problems of this important river," the journalist said.

The city of Isfahan is Iran's third largest, with a population of around two million.

It is tourist magnet due to its heritage sites, including a historic bridge that crosses the Zayandeh Rood river -- which has been dry since the year 2000 apart from brief periods.

Drought is seen as one of the causes but farmers also blame the authorities' diversion of the river water to neighbouring Yazd province.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi met with representatives from the provinces of Isfahan, Yazd and Semnan on November 11 and promised to resolve water issues.

Largely arid Iran has been suffering chronic dry spells for years.

In July, deadly protests broke out in the southwestern province of Khuzestan after drought led to widespread water shortages.

Iranians Hold Mass Protest Over Poor Water Management Amid Drought

Thousands of people have joined a rally in central Iranian city of Isfahan to protest against water cuts and the drying up of the river that passes through Iran's third-largest city.

Images broadcast on state television on November 19 and videos published on social networks showed farmers and others from across Isfahan Province gathered in the dried-up river bed and elsewhere in the city, chanting slogans such as "Give Zayandeh Rood River back."

First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber said that meetings were being held over the issue to try to solve the water problem in Isfahan and elsewhere.

The protest movement started in Isfahan on November 8 and a number of demonstrators set up tents in the river bed last week.

Similar protests have been held across Iran in recent years.

In July, deadly rallies broke out in the southwestern province of Khuzestan amid widespread water shortages.

Failing Infrastructure, Low Rainfall Leave One Iranian Province Fighting For Water

The Iran Meteorological Organization has estimated that 97 percent of the country is experiencing drought to some degree.

Mismanagement by the authorities has also been cited as a main cause for the water crisis.

 

Iranian farmers protest, demand water be released from dam





In this photo released by the semi-official Fars News Agency, farmers attend a protest demanding authorities open a dam to relieve drought-stricken areas of central province of Isfahan, on the dried up riverbed of the Zayandeh Roud river in the city of Isfahan 255 miles (410 kilometers) south of the capital Tehran, Iran, Friday, Nov. 19, 2021. Several prominent actors and athletes joined the peaceful movement, urging the government to intervene to aid famers increasingly suffering from droughts that have worsened over the years. (Hamidreza Nikoomaram/Fars News Agency via AP)


Fri, November 19, 2021, 4

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Thousands of farmers in central Iran joined a protest on Friday demanding authorities open a dam to relieve drought-stricken areas, state TV reported.

Several prominent actors and athletes have taken part in the peaceful demonstrations in the city of Isfahan, urging the government to intervene to aid famers increasingly suffering from droughts that have worsened over the years. The demonstrations began earlier this month.

Crowds marched alongside the banks of the city's once-famed but now dry Zayanderud River, chanting “Farmers! Farmers! We support you!" and "Give Esfahan a chance to breathe!”

The country's top vice-president, Mohamad Mokhber, later gave a brief statement to state TV, saying that meetings were being held over the issue and “we are seriously trying to solve the water problem ... especially for Isfahan.”

Drought has been a problem for Iran for some 30 years, but it has worsened over the past decade, according to the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization. The Iran Meteorological Organization says that an estimated 97% of the country now faces some level of drought.

The farming area around Isfahan was once well supplied by the Zayanderud, but nearby factories have increasingly drawn on it over the years. The river once flowed under historic bridges in Isfahan's city center, but is now a barren strip of dirt.

In 2012, farmers clashed with police in a town in Isfahan province, breaking a water pipe that diverted some 50 million cubic meters of water a year to a neighboring province. Similar protests have continued sporadically since then, and the government at one point paid around $250 to each family hit by the crisis.

Yara debuts world's first autonomous electric container ship




Yara debuts world's first autonomous electric container shipYara Birkeland, the world's first fully electric and autonomous container vessel, is moored in Oslo

Victoria Klesty
Fri, November 19, 2021

OSLO (Reuters) - The world's first fully electric and self-steering container ship, owned by fertiliser maker Yara, is preparing to navigate Norway's southern coast and play its part in the country's plans to clean-up its industry.

The Yara Birkeland, an 80-metre-long (87 yards) so-called feeder, is set to replace lorry haulage between Yara's plant in Porsgrunn in southern Norway and its export port in Brevik, about 14 km (8.7 miles) away by road, starting next year.

It will cut 1,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per year, equivalent to 40,000 diesel-powered journeys by road, and is expected to be fully autonomous in two years.

For Yara it means reducing CO2 emissions at its plant in Porsgrunn, one of Norway's single largest sources of CO2 https://www.reuters.com/article/yara-esg-idUSKBN28H1FM, Chief Executive Svein Tore Holsether said.

"Now we have taken this technological leap to show it is possible, and I'm thinking there are so many routes in the world where it is possible to implement the same type of ship," he told Reuters.

Built by Vard Norway, Kongsberg provided key technology including the sensors and integration required for remote and autonomous operations.

"This isn't about replacing the sailors, it's replacing the truck drivers," Yara's Jostein Braaten, project manager for the ship, said at the ship's bridge, which will be removed when the vessel is running at full automation.

Yara debuts world's first autonomous electric container ship

The ship will load and offload its cargo, recharge its batteries and also navigate without human involvement.

Sensors will be able to quickly detect and understand objects like kayaks in the water so the ship can decide what action to take to avoid hitting anything, Braaten said.

The system should be an improvement over having a manual system, he added.

"We've taken away the human element, which today is also the cause of many of the accidents we see," Braaten said.

The ship, which will do two journeys per week to start with, has capacity to ship 120 20-foot containers of fertiliser at a time.

It is powered by batteries provided by Swiss Leclanche packing 7 megawatt hours over eight battery rooms, the equivalent of 100 Tesla cars, Braaten said.

(Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)

40% of America’s trucking capacity is left on the table every day, MIT expert tells Congress

Nov. 18, 2021 at 8:59 a.m. ETFirst Published: Nov. 17, 2021 at 4:17 p.m. ET

By Victor Reklaitis

Testimony at Capitol Hill hearing comes as new infrastructure law delivers apprenticeship program and other provisions for trucking industry


A driver fuels up his big rig at a truck stop in Springville, Utah, on Nov. 5. 

GETTY IMAGES

American long-haul truck drivers are “seriously underutilized,” and the problem comes from the scheduling practices of shippers and receivers, an expert from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology told U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday.

“This chronic underutilization problem does not seem to be a function of what the drivers themselves do or don’t do, but rather an unfortunate consequence of our conventions for scheduling and processing the pickup and delivery appointments,” said David Correll, a research scientist at MIT’s Center for Transportation and Logistics, as he testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Long-haul, full-truckload drivers spend an average of 6.5 hours every workday driving ,even though federal safety regulations let them drive for 11 hours a day, Correll said.

“This, of course, implies that 40% of America’s trucking capacity is left on the table every day. This is, of course, especially troubling during times of perceived shortage and crisis, like we find ourselves now,” he told the House panel. Adding just 18 minutes of driving time to every existing truck driver’s day “could be enough to overcome what many of us feel is a driver shortage,” the MIT expert said.

Americans are dealing with a range of shortages and inflation as the U.S. economy snaps back from shutdowns tied to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. One main weak link in supply chains right now is the trucking industry, as MarketWatch has reported.

See: How trucking became the weak link in America’s supply chain

“Our existing warehouses and distribution centers do show the capacity to get trucks loaded and unloaded relatively quickly, but they do so only from around 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays, which represents one-third or less of every working day.” Correll said. “I submit to this committee that America’s current supply-chain problems are simply too big to commit only one-third of our weekdays to our best efforts at unclogging them.”

The $1 trillion bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that President Joe Biden signed into law on Monday features provisions aimed at truckers, such as an apprenticeship pilot program that opens the door to drivers aged 18 to 20 . That program comes from compromises after a trade group representing drivers — the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, or OIIDA — opposed fully opening up licensing to teen drivers.

The American Trucking Associations, or ATA, which lobbies for carriers and other players in the trucking industry, praised the apprenticeship program on Wednesday.

“Apprenticeships that train younger talent to safely and responsibly operate this equipment will help thanks to the language from the bipartisan Drive Safe Act included in the IIJA, but we need to do more,” said Chris Spear, the ATA’s CEO and president, as he testified before the House panel.

The ATA has said there is a shortage of truck drivers, with 80,000 needed at the moment, and Spear said his trade group’s “annually reported numbers are sound and accurate.” The OOIDA has said there isn’t a shortage, maintaining the problem is retaining drivers, as many people don’t find the compensation sufficient for the long hours and weeks away from home.

Other provisions in the infrastructure PAVE, -0.31% law aimed at truckers include the establishment of an advisory board that would encourage women to pursue trucking careers, as well as a requirement for automatic emergency braking systems for new trucks in two years. But the OOIDA has criticized the measure for not funding projects for truck parking, saying that’s the “biggest safety need” for truckers.


This report was first published on Nov. 17, 2021.

John Deere employees’ new contract changes production incentives. Here’s how it works



Bill Steiden, Des Moines Register
Thu, November 18, 2021, 2:55 PM·4 min read

The main change in the contract with Deere & Co. that UAW members approved Wednesday was to elements of the company's production incentive program.

The company divides many of its production workers into teams and offers extra payment if a group exceeds stated goals, such as for the number of tractors it makes in a week. If a team exceeds the goal by 15%, the members get a 15% pay bump on their weekly check.

If the team exceeds the goal by more than 15%, the company still only pays them an extra 15% for that week. In those cases, the company sets aside more money for the workers but it only pays it out to them every 13 weeks.

More: John Deere employees approve third contract proposal, ending their five-week long strike

For example, if a team member normally makes $1,000 a week and the group exceeded its production goal by 20% in a given week, the company will pay the worker $1,150 — 15% more than the employee's base earnings.

At the same time, the company takes another $50 for each worker — the extra 5% they didn't receive for that week — and puts it into the fund. After 13 weeks, or once a quarter, the company divides whatever amount is in that fund among all the team members.
New incentive system will pay off more often

Under the new contract, the company said it will increase the amount it pays each week to 20% above the production target. That means a worker earning $1,000 a week will get $1,200 on a check instead of $1,150. Broadly speaking, the change speeds up when workers receive the extra money.

Managers also promised not to hike production targets as aggressively as they have in the past.

Previously, if a team averaged 20% above its target for six months, the company would change the goal. Either managers told workers to produce more goods every week, or they reduced the size of the team yet expected them to produce at the same rate.

The increased targets are supposed to make the company more efficient. But raising the bar also means weekly pay drops even if workers perform as well as they did before.

Abe Elam, a worker at Deere's Ottumwa Works and the sergeant-at-arms at United Auto Workers Local 74, said workers have long complained about how the company manages the program. Even when teams struggle to keep up with targets, he said, managers move some of the workers to other tasks, leaving the rest of team on the hook to meet the goal with fewer members.

More: Timeline shows key dates in the John Deere strike

Elam said those employees were set up to fail. And yet, he said, managers didn't listen. To have their concerns heard, the workers had to file grievances with the union, setting off a legal process with a mediator that could take years.

"You basically didn't know what you would get paid from week to week and year to year," Elam said. "... A lot of times, (managers) just say, 'It's the worker being lazy, not wanting to produce.' Well, that's not the case. All 7,000 (incentive-based) employees are lazy, right? That's ludicrous.

"It's because of a lack of parts. it's because of a lack of manpower. It's because of the standards that they gave us."

Under the new agreement, the company said it will task specific managers with investigating why some teams aren't hitting their targets. Union leaders hope managers will make changes to support those groups.

Diana Swartz, an assembler on the sprayer line at the John Deere Des Moines Works in Ankeny, said she voted for the contract because of its 10% wage raise, but that she hopes the changes to the incentive program work.

Previously: Head of largest U.S. labor group tells striking John Deere workers: 'The nation is watching'

She said members of her team have become frustrated this year because Deere has struggled to get parts from suppliers. Even though workers continue to do their jobs, she said, her team's goal of making 22 sprayers a day has been impossible since this summer. On their best days, they made 16.

"Our (incentive program) was so bad," she said. "It just gets strung along. Nothing's done about it."

COP26: The truth behind the new climate change denial


Rachel Schraer & Kayleen Devlin - BBC Reality Check
Wed, November 17, 2021

the sun

As world leaders met at the COP26 summit to debate how to tackle climate change, misleading claims and falsehoods about the climate spiralled on social media.

Scientists say climate change denial is now more likely to focus on the causes and effects of warming, or how to tackle it, than to outright deny it exists.

The 'd-words' v the planet


We've looked at some of the most viral claims of the past year, and what the evidence really says.
The claim: A 'Grand Solar Minimum' will halt global warming

People have long claimed, incorrectly, that the past century's temperature changes are just part of the Earth's natural cycle, rather than the result of human behaviour.

facebook post marked false which says: Exactly! Not global warming. It's all natural climate change not man made at all. That was to get the rich more money and it did. We are headed right back to where we started and just have to adapt. We have to learn from our experiences of these events. We have to be prepared not scared. I've learn so much this week from these two major snow storms we got and that brutal cold air. I learned that I'm not even prepared so now I must prepare because it's going to get worse and we can't rely on the government. Just ask Texas. We must adapt and be ready. The post links to an article about the Grand Solar MinimumMore

In recent months, we've seen a new version of this argument.

Thousands of posts on social media, reaching hundreds of thousands of people over the past year, claim a "Grand Solar Minimum" will lead to a natural fall in temperatures, without human intervention.

But this is not what the evidence shows.

A grand solar minimum is a real phenomenon when the Sun gives off less energy as part of its natural cycle.

Studies suggest the Sun may well go through a weaker phase sometime this century, but that this would lead, at most, to a temporary 0.1 - 0.2C cooling of the planet.

That's not nearly enough to offset human activity, which has already warmed the planet by about 1.2C over the past 200 years and will continue to rise, possibly topping 2.4C by the end of the century.

A simple guide to climate change

We know recent temperature rises weren't caused by the changes in the Sun's natural cycle because the layer of atmosphere nearest the earth is warming, while the layer of atmosphere closest to the Sun - the stratosphere - is cooling.

Heat which would normally be released into the stratosphere is being trapped by greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide from people burning fuel.

If temperature changes on Earth were being caused by the Sun, we would expect the whole atmosphere to warm (or cool) at the same time.
The claim: Global warming is good

Various posts circulating online claim global warming will make parts of the earth more habitable, and that cold kills more people than heat does.

These arguments often cherry-pick favourable facts while ignoring any that contradict them.

For example, it's true that some inhospitably cold parts of the world could become easier to live in for a time.

But in these same places warming could also lead to extreme rainfall, affecting living conditions and the ability to grow crops,

At the same time, other parts of the world would become uninhabitable as a result of temperature increases and rising sea levels, like the world's lowest-lying country, the Maldives.

We face climate extinction, at-risk nations say

There may be fewer cold-related deaths. According to a study published in the Lancet, between 2000 and 2019, more people died as a result of cold weather than hot.

However, a rise in heat-related deaths is expected to cancel out any lives saved.

The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says overall, "climate-related risks to health [and] livelihoods...are projected to increase with global warming of 1.5 degrees". Any small local benefits from fewer cold days are expected to be outweighed by the risks of more frequent spells of extreme heat.
The claim: Climate change action will make people poorer

A common claim made by those against efforts to tackle climate change is that fossil fuels have been essential to driving economic growth.

So limiting their use, the argument goes, will inevitably stunt this growth and increase the cost of living, hurting the poorest.

facebook post marked 'needs more context': Don't let Morrison's spin fool you, the Liberal/National climate change con means a world of hurt for everyday Aussies and comes loaded with crippling costs. Writing in the Spectator, Alan Moran does an excellent job exposing just why Morrison's climate change cuts will destroy jobs, raise the cost of living and cripple businesses. He writes, "Scott Morrison is heading off to lead Australia's team at the Glasgow climate change meeting. He goes with a formula that will continue the nation's shuffling towards diminished income levels from the politically motivated sabotage of the economy."More

But this isn't the whole picture.

Fossil fuels have powered vehicles, factories and technology, allowing humans over the past century to make things at a scale and speed which would previously have been impossible. This enabled people to make, sell and buy more things, and become richer.

But stopping using coal doesn't mean returning to the days of ox-drawn carts and hand-cranked machines - we now have other technologies that can do a similar job.

In many places, renewable electricity - powered by wind or solar energy for example - is now cheaper than electricity powered by coal, oil or gas.

On the other hand, studies predict that if we don't act on climate change by 2050, the global economy could shrink by 18% because of the damage caused by natural disasters and extreme temperatures to buildings, lives, businesses and food supplies.

Such damage would hit the world's poorest the hardest.
The claim: Renewable energy is dangerously unreliable

Misleading posts claiming renewable energy failures led to blackouts went viral earlier in the year, when a massive electricity grid failure left millions of Texans in the dark and cold.

These posts, which were taken up by a number of conservative media outlets in the US, wrongly blamed the blackout on wind turbines.


Are frozen wind turbines to blame for Texas power failures?

"Blackouts are an artefact of poor electricity generation and distribution management," says John Gluyas, executive director of the Durham Energy Institute.

facebook post marked 'misleading': The Reconciliation bill is the Green New Deal & that's how we should refer to it. It's climate scam socialist programs, green energy that won't keep the lights & heat on, and CCP supplied EV batteries. It's America-last & will hurt the poor the most & make everyone more poor.

He says the claim that renewable energy causes blackouts is "nonsensical.... Venezuela has oodles of oil and frequent blackouts".

According to Jennie King from the think tank ISD Global, this discrediting of renewable energies is a "key line of attack for those keen to preserve reliance on, and subsidies for, oil and gas".

Is Putin right about wind turbines and birds?

Critics of renewable energy schemes also claim the technology kills birds and bats, ignoring the studies that estimate that fossil fuel-powered plants kill many times more animals.

There's no doubt some wildlife, including birds, are killed by wind turbines.

But according to the LSE's Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment: "The benefits for wildlife of mitigating climate change are considered by conservation charities... to outweigh the risks, provided that the right planning safeguards are put in place, including careful site selection."