Physics-informed deep learning to assess carbon dioxide storage sites

by Gabrielle Stewart, Pennsylvania State University

This diagram shows the modeling framework for the physics-constrained deep learning 

algorithm. Credit: Parisa Shokouhi

Pumping carbon dioxide underground may help combat the warming of the atmosphere but finding appropriate underground sites that could safely serve as reservoirs can be complicated.

To address this complexity, a Penn State-led research team combined an artificial intelligence technique with an understanding of physics to develop an efficient, cost-effective predictive modeling approach. They published their results in the Journal of Contaminant Hydrology.

"Storing carbon dioxide underground is one environmentally friendly way to reduce the amount of the gas in the atmosphere," said Parisa Shokouhi, associate professor of engineering science and mechanics. "But the geological structure can be unfavorable to carbon dioxide injection. For example, if pressure surpasses a certain limit, there can be fractures, gas leakage and earthquakes, and if you over-inject with too much gas, you can have similar issues."

Numerical simulations, complex and detailed models used to help understand a problem that can't be easily defined otherwise, have been used to predict a potential site's response to carbon dioxide injection. These simulations, however, can be remarkably expensive and time-consuming to run. And for every new site being explored as a storage site candidate, a new numerical simulation must be run anew.

To avoid the cost and time commitment required with numerical simulation, the research team trained deep learning algorithms to make accurate predictions across a variety of scenarios. Learning from data produced by simulated scenarios of carbon dioxide in a 7,500-foot-deep reservoir, the algorithms were able to predict how carbon dioxide saturation and pressure would behave in new simulated systems.

The simulated training data approximate the performance of a system, from which the algorithms identify patterns they can use to make estimations on future behavior—but these patterns do not always obey the laws of physics. Although driven by data, the models can make inaccurate predictions for a system for many reasons, including inaccuracies in data. Limited training data may lead to estimations that are too specifically tailored to the dataset, a problem known as overfitting.

The researchers addressed this shortcoming by incorporating physics to refine the deep learning algorithms' predictions, developing models constrained by fundamental physics principles, such as the natural movements of subterranean liquids or for the law of conservation of mass. When physics-based discrepancies occurred, the team added a penalty to help the algorithm learn to correct the mistake.

This approach resulted in a model that was still less expensive and faster to use than a conventional numerical simulation, but more accurate than data-driven models and potentially more generalizable, according to Shokouhi.

"Using a physics-informed approach makes the model more versatile," she said. "Using just a data-driven model would make the predictions very specific to one domain, but our method allows us to get very accurate results even if you use the model on a site it wasn't trained on."

The research could enable reliable prediction software for use by scientists or operators in the field. A user could make selections for different injection options and, depending on the machine used, view predictions of the carbon dioxide behavior in a matter of seconds.

"We were able to get very accurate and fast prediction models," Shokouhi said. "One day, an operator or seismologist could use these models to be informed on how to make real-time, quick decisions about injecting carbon dioxide into the ground."

New method to predict stress at atomic scale

More information: Parisa Shokouhi et al, Physics-informed deep learning for prediction of CO2 storage site response, Journal of Contaminant Hydrology (2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.jconhyd.2021.103835

Provided by Pennsylvania State University 

As Canada ditches coal, Alberta bets on 'cheap' and 'temporary' natural gas

Jeff Lagerquist
Thu., December 2, 2021

Progress on Canada's goal to phase out traditional coal-fired electricity by 2030 is uneven across provinces still burning the world's dirtiest fossil fuel to generate power, according to a new study from the Pembina Institute.

The think tank found utilities in Alberta and Saskatchewan have made "considerably more progress" than peers in the Maritimes in their efforts to pivot away from coal. Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are the four provinces that still use coal to generate electricity.

"Utilities in Alberta are on track to phasing out coal by 2023 — decades ahead of original forecasts," Binnu Jeyakumar, Pembina's director of clean energy, stated in a news release on Thursday.

"Nova Scotia has committed to a 2030 coal phase-out and New Brunswick has now been mandated by the federal government to meet the same timeline. However, New Brunswick Power and Nova Scotia Power have yet to implement concrete plans to phase out coal by 2030."

Coal-burning Prairie and Maritime provinces are charting decidedly different paths away from coal. Utilities out west have mainly opted to convert coal units to burn natural gas, which also generates greenhouse gas emissions. Those in Atlantic provinces primarily plan to replace retired coal plants with cleaner nuclear, renewable, and imported hydropower sources.

"Alberta has abundant and cheap natural gas, the Maritimes don't. So while Alberta is also building renewables, the bulk of the replacement has been converting coal facilities to run on natural gas," University of Calgary energy economist Blake Shaffer told Yahoo Finance Canada in an email on Thursday.

"It's a cheap option as much of the infrastructure can simply be repurposed, and it's a temporary one as coal-to-gas conversions have an expiry date, and much of the infrastructure is old," he added.

Meanwhile, the shift to renewables is proving challenging in New Brunswick. Ottawa rejected a bid from the province last week for an equivalency agreement that would have allowed New Brunswick Power to continue operating the coal-fired Belledune Generating Station past the 2030 federal deadline.

Shaffer says while cheap and plentiful natural gas has given Western provinces a lead in the race to abandon coal, the pivot to another fossil fuel may only serve to delay a shift to greener sources of electricity.

"Eventually Alberta, too, will move beyond natural gas, or at least unabated natural gas, for its power," he said.

Currently, 81 per cent of Canada’s electricity is generated by non-emitting sources, according to the Pembina study. Beyond Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, the country chiefly relies on hydroelectricity, with the exception of Ontario's nuclear power plants.

Jeff Lagerquist is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jefflagerquist.

Antarctica volcano warning after scientists suggest eruption could cause 'sea level rise'

ANTARCTICA is home to a number of volcanoes that are hidden beneath its icy surface, with some scientists suggesting that an eruption could cause global sea levels to rise.

By JOEL DAY
Wed, Dec 1, 2021

Antarctica: Scientists find area where no life exists

Believe it or not, over 100 volcanoes are scattered across Antarctica. Scientists recently uncovered the largest volcanic region on Earth there, two kilometres beneath the surface of a vast ice sheet that covers the west side of the continent. One of the highest found was as tall as the Eiger — the famous mountain in Switzerland that stands at 3,967 metres.

The team from Edinburgh University, who made the discovery in 2017, claimed that the region was likely to dwarf that of East Africa's volcanic ridge, which was rated as having the densest concentration of volcanoes in the world.

At the moment, there are only two active volcanoes in Antarctica — Mount Erebus and Deception Island.

They are both unique in their geological makeup, completely different to many found around the world.


While scientists who work in and study Antarctica say that the volcanoes are unlikely to pose any real threat anytime soon, some have suggested that their eruption could have a knock-on effect around the world.

Antarctica: A volcanic eruption on the icy continent could lead to rising sea levels

 (Image: GETTY)

Deception Island: One of Antarctica's active volcanos 

(Image: GETTY)


John Smellie, Professor of Volcanology at the University of Leicester, previously suggested that any movement from these volcanoes could create significant amounts of melt water.

This water would then slowly stream into the sea, raising levels.

In 2017, he told The Conversation about the structure of these volcanoes: “The volcanoes would melt huge caverns in the base of the ice and create enormous quantities of meltwater.

“Because the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is wet, rather than frozen to its bed – imagine an ice cube on a kitchen worktop – the meltwater would act as a lubricant and could cause the overlying ice to slip and move more rapidly.

“These volcanoes can also stabilise the ice, however, as they give it something to grip onto – imagine that same ice cube snagging onto a lump-shaped object.

Research: Antarctic researchers pictured at the base of a mountain (Image: GETTY)

“In any case, the volume of water that would be generated by even a large volcano is a pinprick compared with the volume of overlying ice.

“So a single eruption won’t have much effect on the ice flow. What would make a big difference, is if several volcanoes erupt close to or beneath any of West Antarctica’s prominent ‘ice streams’."

When it comes to freshwater reserves, around 80 percent of the planet's stores are in Antarctica.

If melted, this would raise global sea levels by about 60 metres.

Scientists have pointed out that this would make the planet uninhabitable for humans.

Prof Smellie claimed that an eruption beneath the ice could cause this process to speed up: “Ice streams are rivers of ice that flow much faster than their surroundings.

“They are the zones along which most of the ice in Antarctica is delivered to the ocean, and therefore fluctuations in their speed can affect the sea level.

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Mount Erebus: Another active volcano on Antarctica (Image: GETTY)

Tectonic plates: Most of the worlds volcanoes are found around the edges of tectonic plates (Image: GETTY)

“If the additional ‘lubricant’ provided by multiple volcanic eruptions was channelled beneath ice streams, the subsequent rapid flow may dump unusual amounts of West Antarctica’s thick interior ice into the ocean, causing sea levels to rise.

“Under-ice volcanoes are probably what triggered a rapid flow of ancient ice streams into the vast Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica’s largest ice shelf.

“Something similar might have occurred about 2,000 years ago with a small volcano in the Hudson Mountains that lie underneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet – if it erupted again today it could cause the nearby Pine Island Glacier to speed up.”

Deadliest volcanoes: Some of the deadliest active volcanoes around the world

 (Image: Express Newspapers)

He added: "Most dramatically of all, a large series of eruptions could destabilise many more subglacial volcanoes.

“As volcanoes cool and crystallise, their magma chambers become pressurised and all that prevents the volcanic gases from escaping violently in an eruption is the weight of overlying rock or, in this case, several kilometres of ice.

“As that ice becomes much thinner, the pressure reduction may trigger eruptions.

History: A 19th century drawing of Mount Erebus (Image: GETTY)

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“More eruptions and ice melting would mean even more meltwater being channelled under the ice streams.”

While the doomsday scenarios could happen, for now, most of Antarctica's volcanoes remain dormant and have not erupted for 10,000 years.

But, in the future, they could become active once again.

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Palestinians launch national football team for amputees



Palestinian players with disabilities, part of a football team organised by the International Committee of the Red Cross, take part in a training session in Gaza City (AFP/MOHAMMED ABED)

Sakher ABOU EL OUN
Thu, December 2, 2021

Players in the Gaza Strip used crutches and prosthetic legs Thursday to stretch, run and dribble as part of the first-ever Palestinian national team that hopes to qualify for the Amputee Football World Cup.

The team trained at the Palestine Stadium in Gaza City under the supervision of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The 20 players on the team were selected from among five Gaza clubs for players who lost limbs.

Player Hassan Abu Kareem, 38, said his leg was amputated after he was injured in an Israeli raid on Al-Maghazi refugee camp in 2006.

"From the moment of injury, my life has not changed," he told AFP.

"I continued with my ambition and great goal in life, and my goal is to represent Palestine and to make an achievement for myself in the field of sports."

Red Cross spokeswoman Suhair Zakkout said the players were setting a new Palestinian standard after the first local team began in 2019 with several players.

"Today, these players make history by forming the first national football team for amputees," she said.

Zakkout said the players were training for qualifying matches to be held in March 2022 in Iran. If the team succeeds, they will go on to the Amputee Football World Cup, slated to be held in Turkey in late 2022.

Fuad Abu Ghaliun, chairman of the Palestine Amputee Football Association, said his group applied to join the World Amputee Football Federation in 2019. Their candidacy was accepted earlier this year.

The Palestinian team is in the isolated Gaza Strip, whose two million residents have been locked under an Israeli blockade since the Islamist Hamas movement took control in 2007

Friday is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

Coach Simon Baker, himself an amputee, said he was working with players "in a way where people see the football being played, and not the person with a disability."

"We want people to respect the players and see them for Ahmed or whoever it is and not see them as somebody broken. We want to make heroes of these players," said Baker, who founded the Irish Amputee Football Association.

The Palestinian team is in the isolated Gaza Strip, whose two million residents have been locked under an Israeli blockade since the Islamist movement Hamas took control in 2007.

Ahmed Abu Nar, 34, used crutches and said he was injured in 2018 by Israeli forces who suppressed Gaza protests known as the "Great March of Return".

"Before the injury I was one person, and after the injury I became someone else," he told AFP. "A new life began, new goals began and new ambitions and new challenges, and now I am achieving my goals."

OPEN BORDERS NO ONE IS ILLEGAL
Despite migrant deaths, Iraqi Kurds still seek out smugglers

By SAMYA KULLA

1 of 5

Zana Mamand, shows a photo of his missing brother, Twana Mamand, who was lost at sea in the English Channel trying to get to the UK, sits with family members, at the family house in Ranya, Iraq, Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021. Twana had tried and failed five times to cross the English Channel from Calais before he boarded a small boat on the evening of Nov. 23. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)


RANYA, Iraq (AP) — Shoes pile up outside the Mamand home in northern Iraq from relatives and friends who have streamed inside to offer solace as they anxiously await news of the family’s young son, who was lost at sea somewhere between France and Britain.

Most are afraid to articulate their fear that 18-year old Twana Mamand may have drowned along with at least 26 others when their flimsy boat sank near the French coast last week. They had been bound for Britain with hopes of starting new lives.

Zana Mamand, 33, wiped away tears and vowed to take revenge against the family of the smuggler who arranged for his brother’s journey. “I know him, I know his family here, I have all their phone numbers,” he said.

In Ranya, a town of about 400,000 in Iraq’s Kurdish-run region, the plight of the migrants seems to be a topic that everyone knows something about.

Those who want to get out ask local travel agents to connect them with smugglers in Turkey and elsewhere. Those who have returned from failed attempts hang around the main park, eager to try again. At the police station, officers say they can’t stop the smugglers.

Many victims of the English Channel tragedy are believed to be Iraqi Kurds, who seem to make up the majority of Middle Eastern migrants seeking to move to the West. Although northern Iraq is more prosperous than the rest of the conflict-scarred country, growing unemployment and frustration over corruption is forcing many to consider the risky journey to Europe.

About 28,000 Iraqis left for Europe in 2021, with about 7,000 from the Raparin district that includes Ranya and the nearby town of Qaladze, said Baker Ali, head of a local association of refugees returning from Europe.

MISSING AT SEA

Twana had tried and failed five times to cross the English Channel from Calais before he boarded a small boat on the evening of Nov. 23.

The routine was the same: Ahead of each attempted crossing, smugglers would select a travel office in Ranya where Zana would deposit money.

That night, Zana spoke to his brother by phone just before midnight. He asked about the weather, the boat and the others with him.

“The boat is not good,” he recalls that Twana replied, explaining it was too small, and there were 33 people waiting to cross — too many for the vessel.

They spoke again at 2:05 a.m. on Nov. 24. In a four minute call, Twana laughed and joked, telling his older brother they would be docking in an hour’s time. Zana was tired, and asked his sister, Kala, who lives in the U.K., to stay online.

In his last message, Twana said the engine wasn’t working.

A STRUGGLE TO FIND WORK

Twana was athletic and particularly adept at soccer. Zana proudly showed photos of him charging down the pitch with the ball, a look of steely determination on his face.

He didn’t care much for school, doubting it would ever land him a job. But almost everyone in the family struggled to find work. Zana, a firefighter, seldom received his wages on time or in full. Sometimes, Twana would work as a laborer for 12 hours a day, earning 15,000 Iraqi dinars — about $10.

When he turned 18, Twana said nothing would stop him from going to Europe. The trip would be costly: $13,000 to cross from Turkey to Italy. From there, Twana would have to find his way to Calais, France. Then, it would cost another $3,000 to cross the channel to the U.K.

With a Turkish visa, he traveled to Istanbul in September and found that there were plenty of smugglers from his home region, including Ranya and Qaladze.

Twana tried and failed three times to cross from Turkey to Italy, each with a different smuggler. The money, obtained by borrowing and putting their father’s home up for sale, was deposited with a designated travel agent who pulled it back each time the ventures failed, Zana said.

When Twana finally reached Italy in late October, the travel agent sent the money, he said. The same procedure was used when Twana made it to Calais.

FINDING ‘THE BEST SMUGGLERS’ FOR CLIENTS

Abdullah Omar’s office window offers a view of Ranya’s bustling center. His agency Yaran Travel, is on the second floor, above popular tea shops.

Here, the 35 year-old travel agent summed up his business: “I help people find the best smugglers to take them to Europe.”

He has high standards, he said, working only with those who have helped people reach their destination with the fewest complaints. The smugglers are his relatives, including a brother in Turkey.

He helped over 500 people this year, a number that has risen steadily, he said. Most want to go to the U.K. where they have relatives who sought asylum years earlier. Smugglers tell would-be migrants to leave a deposit with Omar once they have a visa for Turkey.

From Turkey, most are smuggled to Italy via risky sea routes. Others try for Greece or Bulgaria.

Omar acts as an intermediary between the smugglers and the migrants and their relatives in Iraq, using the so-called hawala network in Muslim countries in which individuals rather than banks act as brokers for money transfers. He only releases funds via hawala once all sides give approval.

He sometimes sends funds directly to migrants who “run out of money and sleep in train stations in Italy, or become sick,” Omar said.

One smuggler from Iraq’s Qaladze area said he began sneaking people into Poland from Belarus in July. It was easier than other routes, he told The Associated Press by phone, because Belarus had loosened visa restrictions, and he had a friend in Poland who drove migrants to Germany for a fee.

But after tensions mounted along the Belarus-Poland border in November, business stopped, said Shwan, who didn’t give his full name because he feared getting into trouble with authorities.

THE AFTERMATH

When word reached Zana that his brother might have died, he went to the office of the agent with whom he left his deposit, and threatened him in a fit of rage. The agent told him how to reach the smuggler, who calls himself “Bashdar Ranya,” a pseudonym.

Since Ranya is relatively small, Zana soon found the smuggler’s family. He threatened to send information about the smuggler to his sister in the U.K. to report them to the authorities.

Zana later was contacted by the elusive smuggler via Facebook’s messenger app, in which he said in a voice message that he was on the run in Germany.

Zana played the message for an AP reporter, the recording breaking the mournful silence in the Mamand household.

“I am sorry. It was a surprise to me too,” the voice said of the sinking. “I will compensate you.”

Attempts by AP to reach the smuggler through a contact in France provided by Zana were unsuccessful.

Authorities can do little about the smugglers, said Hazhar Azawi, director of Kurdish security in Ranya. “The smugglers are in Turkey. They (Iraqis) get a visa to go there, so what can we do?”

Lt. Shorsh Ismail, a spokesman for Ranya’s police, said authorities are aware of the travel agencies’ activities but can do nothing without an order from Kurdistan’s presidency.

Omar, the travel agent, said he does not believe he is doing anything wrong, insisting: “I am helping people.”

In the town’s nearby park, 24-year-old Alan Aziz recalled his own failed attempt to reach Italy. He was on a boat in the Mediterranean when the currents took him to Libya instead. He spent nearly a month there before being repatriated.

“I need his help,” he said of seeing a travel agent. “I want to try again for Europe.”

—-

Follow AP’s global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration

Fact check: Wind turbine blades can be recycled, but it rarely happens today

Kate S. Petersen
USA TODAY

The claim: Wind power turbine blades cannot be recycled

As the U.S. continues to build up its wind power infrastructure, a claim is circulating on social media questioning just how green this alternative energy is.

Alongside an image of a bulldozer burying wind turbine blades, the post says: “These blades need to be disposed of and there is presently no way to recyle (sic) them. That’s how green energy works!”

A Facebook version of the meme from Nov. 5, was shared more than 200 times within 10 days.

But it's not exactly right.

It is true that decommissioned wind turbine blades are often thrown away in landfills.

The image in the meme shows blades being buried at the Casper Regional Landfill in Wyoming​​​​​​. It was taken by photographer Benjamin Rasmussen and featured in a February 2020 Bloomberg article about blade waste.

However, experts say there are ways to recycle them – though the technology has not been implemented on a large scale.

Special access for subscribers! Click here to sign up for our fact-check text chat

USA TODAY reached out to the social media users who shared the claim.

Twitter user @CharlesHawtrey3 acknowledged that blades could potentially be recycled. "Some companies say they are recycling blades, but ... the amount they recycle is minimal," the user told USA TODAY in a direct message.

Wind turbine blades can be recycled now, though the practice is not widespread

Wind turbine blades have typically been constructed to last for 20 to 25 years. This means many blades that are being decommissioned now were made a couple decades ago.

At that time, they weren't designed with recycling in mind, Kazem Fayazbakhsh, an assistant professor at Ryerson University, told USA TODAY. They have a chemical composition that makes it difficult to separate them into their constituent components at the end of their service life.

However, there are multiple contemporary examples of successful wind turbine blade recycling.

Fayazbakhsh has published papers documenting his team's success in creating a 3D printing feedstock from recycled windmill blades. He says they have also started a company, Fibrecycle Materials Corp., to commercialize this process.

Global Fiberglass Solutions is a U.S. start-up that is working to scale up its proprietary wind turbine blade recycling technology, CEO Don Lilly told USA TODAY. The company's website advertises diverse recycled products such as building materials and railroad ties.

"Windmill blades can be recycled," Karl Englund, CTO of Global Fiberglass Solutions and associate research professor at Washington State University, told USA TODAY. “We have proven that over and over again.”

Englund has published multiple papers documenting his wind turbine blade recycling successes.

Danish company Miljøskærm has successfully commercialized noise barriers made from recycled wind turbine blades, according to the company’s CEO, Jakob W Nielsen.

He said his company's products are currently available for purchase, and they are continuing to expand their business.

“We consider our acoustic insulation and noise barrier products as the first step in the development of a wider product range," he told USA TODAY in an email. "We are currently in the process of product developments with interesting commercial potential.”

The catch here is that while wind turbine blade recycling is technically possible, landfill disposal remains the most cost-efficient and accessible option in many cases.

“Physical and material scientists can recycle blades now," Eric Lantz, wind analysis manager at National Renewable Energy Laboratory told USA TODAY in an email. "But, broadly speaking, scaling up recycling technologies will require more research and development to maximize the value of the recycled materials and improve the economics of the processes.”

Fact check: Storm damaged a wind turbine in Texas, not a heat wave

Englund also pointed to a lack of investor buy-in as a potential obstacle, even after a technology becomes viable at scale.

 
Wind companies commit to turbine blade recycling

If decommissioned wind turbine blades continue to be thrown out, 2.2 million tons could end up in U.S. landfills by 2050, according to a study led by Aubryn Cooperman, a mechanical engineering researcher at National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

This amount “is non-trivial, but it is also one of many significant sources of potential waste across the economy,” Cooperman told USA TODAY in an email.

As an example, the EPA reports that nearly 27 million tons of plastic were dumped in U.S. landfills in 2018 alone. That amount is more than ten times the amount of windmill blade refuse that may accumulate by 2050.

Nevertheless, the industry is seeking ways to limit this waste.

European wind industry group WindEurope has called for a Europe-wide ban on the disposal of wind turbine blades in landfills by 2025.

GE Renewable Energy announced an agreement with German company, neowa, to recycle decommissioned blades. neowa recycles wind turbine blades into a product used to replace sand in cement manufacturing, CEO Frank Kroll told USA TODAY in an email.

Swedish utility Vattenfall has reportedly pledged to immediately stop dumping blades in landfills and to recycle all decommissioned blades by 2030. Danish energy company Ørsted also announced a plan to “reuse, recycle or recover all of the wind turbine blades in its global portfolio,” according to a June 2021 press release.


Fact check: Critique of windmills is a misquote, is misattributed to Thomas Homer-Dixon

While traditional turbine blades can currently be recycled through innovative techniques, wind power researchers and wind companies have started creating blades with ease of recycling in mind.

Researchers at National Renewable Energy Laboratory have created a more recyclable blade prototype using a “material technology (that) is actively being researched at a large scale and is likely to be adopted by industry,” Robynne Murray, a mechanical engineering researcher at the laboratory, told USA TODAY in an email.

In September, Spanish renewable energy company Siemens Gamesa, also announced the creation of a new, more easily recycled turbine blade.
Our rating: Missing context


Based on our research, we rate MISSING CONTEXT the claim that wind power turbine blades cannot be recycled, because without additional information it could be misleading. The blades can technically be recycled, and an array of small-scale efforts are doing so. But the practice is not widespread due to the cost of the undertaking and a lack of infrastructure.
Our fact-check sources:

Resources, Conservation, and Recycling, Feb. 1, Wind turbine blade material in the United States: Quantities, costs, and end-of-life options
Kazem Fayazbakhsh, Nov. 12, Interview with USA TODAY
Fast Company, Sept. 10, This giant wind turbine blade can be recycled
CNBC, Sept. 7, Wind turbine giant Siemens Gamesa claims world-first in blade recycling
Siemens Gamesa, Sept. 7, Siemens Gamesa pioneers wind circularity: launch of world’s first recyclable wind turbine blade for commercial use offshore
Miljøskærm, accessed Nov. 15, Products
Jakob Nielsen, Nov. 15, Email exchange with USA TODAY
Don Lilly, Nov. 15, Interview with USA TODAY
Global Fiberglass Solutions, accessed Nov. 18, Website
Reuters, Oct. 12, Sweden's Vattenfall to stop sending wind turbine blades to landfill
Ørsted, Feb. 6, Ørsted commits to sustainable recycling of wind turbine blades
Reuters, May 16, End of wind power waste? Vestas unveils blade recycling technology
Materials, Nov. 27, 2019, Recycled Glass Fiber Composites from Wind Turbine Waste for 3D Printing Feedstock: Effects of Fiber Content and Interface on Mechanical Performance
GE Renewable Energy, June 10, GE Renewable Energy announces onshore wind turbine decommissioning and recycling agreement with neowa
Bloomberg, Feb. 5, 2020, Wind Turbine Blades Can’t Be Recycled, So They’re Piling Up in Landfills
Karl Englund, Nov. 16, Interview with USA TODAY
Aubryn Cooperman, Nov. 11-16, Email exchange with USA TODAY
Robynne Murray, Nov. 11-16, Email exchange with USA TODAY
Eric Lantz, Nov. 16-18, Email exchange with USA TODAY
Waste Management, Mar. 2, 2018, Recycled wind turbine blades as a feedstock for second generation composites
Waste and Biomass Valorization, Apr. 4, 2019, Extruded Fiber-Reinforced Composites Manufactured from Recycled Wind Turbine Blade Material
Carbon Rivers, accessed Nov. 16, Website
WindEurope, June 16, Wind industry calls for Europe-wide ban on landfilling turbine blades
NREL, Nov. 1, NREL Explores Innovative Manufacturing Approach for Next-Generation Wind Turbine Blades
Frank Kroll, Nov. 16-17, Email exchange with USA TODAY
EPA, accessed Nov. 17, National Overview: Facts and Figures on Materials, Wastes and Recycling
USA TODAY, Feb. 12, Wind energy had a 'banner year' in 2020. Here's what it means for Joe Biden's climate plan
Composites Part B: Engineering, July 9, 2019, Recycling of fiberglass wind turbine blades into reinforced filaments for use in Additive Manufacturing
WindEurope, accessed Nov. 18, Website
neowa, accessed Nov. 18, Website
USA TODAY, Feb. 17, Fact check: Frozen wind turbines don't deserve all the blame for Texas blackouts

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.

Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

HISTORY OF UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE

 The case for turning universal suffrage into the instrument of emancipation

Binay Sarkar

81 Views104 Pages

1 File ▾

WORLD SOCIALISM

INTRODUCTION The raison d'être of this pamphlet is to chronologically narrate the commencement and progression of the right to vote that had its origin under feudal aristocracy of the thirteenth century England, eventually extended to the nascent industrial bourgeoisie having in the course of class struggles, finally yielding to the working class of the most developed and developing countries of the world resulting in universal suffrage. Modern states are the ruling political instruments in the hands of the capitalist class to administer the affairs of society by a top-down bureaucratic – authoritarian – dictatorial machinery. Consequently it was the exclusive right of the capitalist class to run their own businesses as they needed and liked. It was not at all imperative to them to extend suffrage to the working class. Eventually they accepted their class adversaries alongside themselves into their most vital political decision-making bodies such as parliaments. For two reasons: the working class’s struggle and the capitalist class’s self-interest. In all their struggles against the feudal aristocracy the capitalist class had to depend on the working class who supplied their loyal driving force. Hence they ultimately did pay heed to the unrelenting struggles of their wage slaves for a political ballot which could be allowed without hampering their economic interest – exploitation, even by manning the state with their hired representatives elected from ranks of the working class. They held on to their exclusive right to exploit at the price of conceding the right to vote into the hands of their workers. Secondly, historically, through class struggle they learnt their class-lesson that they could tactically deceive the working class by extending this concession regarding the working class’s persistent and potent political demand for franchise while retaining the rein of economically exploitative, hire and fire system of wages slavery unhampered under the despotic employer/employee relation as usual . In this booklet we narrate the long drawn-out struggles of the working class to achieve this democratically decisive instrument. The working class got a political right to elect their exploiters’ executive committees of the states that oppressed them. However, the wages slavery remained unharmed since the workers were demanding only political democracy and not the economic democracy that is socialism. And this they have never done as yet. Even then that is s … View full abstract

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Majority of World's Oil and Gas Workers Want to Seek Employment in Renewable Energy Industry

"Never, ever feel sorry for oil and gas companies."

Roger Garbey and Andres Hernandez, from the Goldin Solar company, install a solar panel system on the roof of a home on January 23, 2018 in Palmetto Bay, Florida.

 (Photo: Joe Raedle via Getty Images)

KENNY STANCIL

COMMONDREAMS

November 30, 2021

More than half of workers in the global oil and gas sector say they are interested in pursuing employment in the renewable energy industry—a promising development that comes as experts say the pace of the worldwide transition to clean power must speed up to stave off the worst consequences of the fossil fuel-driven climate crisis.

That's according to a report published Tuesday by the recruitment firm Brunel and Oilandgasjobsearch.com, which includes a survey showing that 56% of fossil fuel workers want to pursue employment in the renewable energy sector, up from 39% last year.

Despite receiving trillions of dollars in subsidies each year, as well as additional bailout money during the Covid-19 pandemic, oil and gas companies responded to the coronavirus-driven decline in demand and prices by firing tens of thousands of workers, rather than furloughing them while production decreased.

Now that demand and prices are on the upswing, many of those same companies are reportedly finding it difficult to rehire the employees they need to increase supply.

According to the survey, 82% of recruiters said that for every 10 job openings, one has remained unfilled for more than three months. Due to a shortage of qualified candidates, 10% of fossil fuel industry employers have had to pay retirees to take open positions.

In response to those figures, Mijin Cha, an assistant professor of Urban and Environmental Policy at Occidental College, encouraged people to "never, ever feel sorry for oil and gas companies."



Despite climate scientists' repeated warnings about the need to keep coal, oil, and gas underground to have a fighting chance of limiting global warming to 1.5ºC above preindustrial levels by the end of the century, fossil fuel corporations are currently planning to expand extraction in wealthy and impoverished nations alike.

Those plans could be hindered if enough oil and gas workers leave the field. "With more workers gravitating towards the renewables sector," said Tuesday's report, "it's likely that the industry will continue to see an exit from those in traditional sectors."

While the Big Oil lobby argues that decarbonization will leave millions of workers unemployed, advocates for a just transition have always emphasized that the shift to a post-carbon economy should be treated as an opportunity to create good-paying jobs that simultaneously reduce greenhouse gas emissions and economic inequality.

A study published earlier this year found that shifting from fossil fuels to renewables would add eight million jobs worldwide, boosting overall employment in the energy sector by more than 40% by 2050. Another recent study confirmed that green public spending yields far more jobs than unsustainable investments.

According to the International Energy Agency, "To reach net-zero emissions by 2050, annual clean energy investment worldwide will need to more than triple by 2030 to around $4 trillion."

Doing so would "create millions of new jobs," said the IEA, and there's plenty of work to be done. Quadrupling global solar power by 2030, for instance, "is equivalent to installing the world's current largest solar park roughly every day" for the rest of this decade.

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.

Have the winds of change started blowing over the oil and gas industry?

Around 43% of oil and gas workers are thinking of leaving the energy industry altogether within the next five years

Dimitris Mavrokefalidis
Thursday 2 December 2021

Image: Shutterstock

Almost 43% of people working in the oil and gas sector consider leaving the energy sector altogether in the next five years.

That’s according to a new survey by recruitment firm Brunel and oilandgasjobsearch.com which shows that oil and gas workers are less confident in finding new employment in the energy industry than those in other sectors.

That compares to nearly 89% of employees in the renewables sector that feel confident they can find another job within the industry.

The Energy Outlook report which accompanies the survey finds that nearly 82% of recruiters said that one in ten of their open positions have been unfilled for more than three months, with drilling, well delivery and geoscience being the most difficult roles to fill.

The research also demonstrates that nearly 10% of employers in the oil and gas sector have had to pay retirees to come back to take unfilled job openings due to skills shortages.

Oil industry to lose nearly half its workers

1 Dec, 2021

© Reuters / Isaac Urrutia

By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com

The oil and gas industry worldwide faces a talent gap as workers contemplate moving to renewables or leaving the energy industry altogether, a survey by recruitment firm Brunel and Oilandgasjobsearch.com, cited by Reuters, showed.

More than half of workers in oil and gas, 56%, said they would look for employment opportunities in the renewables energy sector, according to the survey. Last year, that percentage was 38.8%, highlighting the shortages the oil industry is facing as it looks to hire again, after letting go in 2020 thousands of workers in oil and gas and related services in the supply chain.

The survey also showed that 43% of workers want out of the energy sector within the next five years.

Robots threaten to replace hundreds of thousands of oil & gas jobs by 2030 – report

As more workers look to move to renewables or to ditch the energy sector altogether, recruiters in the oil and gas business find attracting talent with the right skills increasingly difficult.

Labor shortages have already become evident this year in the US shale patch and in the Canadian oil sands as demand recovers and companies put rigs back into operation.

Despite the recent uptick in oil industry employment in the United States, short-term and permanent shifts in workers’ negative perceptions of the sector have already started to create labor shortages. These shortages threaten to delay and even hinder the recovery of US oil production, analysts say. More and more workers are fed up with the boom-and-bust nature of the oil industry after two major oil price and drilling activity collapses in just five years. They vow they will never again be beholden to the volatile oil markets, and have quit the sector entirely after being let go in 2020.

In Canada, the number of total jobs expected is set to rise next year, but labor constraints have already started to impact the members of the Canadian Association of Energy Contractors (CAOEC), the association said last week in an otherwise positive outlook on Canada’s drilling activity for 2022.

What Will Happen To Oil And Gas Workers After The Energy Transition?

By Felicity Bradstock - Dec 02, 2021

• The oil and gas industry was devastated by the pandemic, but the job losses seen over the last two years will pale in comparison to the impact of a global energy transition 
• There are over 160,000 oil and gas jobs in the U.S. alone and another 50,000 coal jobs, and each direct job loss in the sector has a huge impact on employment outside the sector
• While some states, such as Colorado, have initiatives designed at transitioning workers into new careers, more help will be needed on both a State and Federal level

The Covid-19 pandemic led to hundreds of thousands of job losses in the global energy sector following months of restrictions that hindered people from getting to work and led to the bankruptcy of many oil and gas firms around the world. However, as the IEA and several governments push for a green energy transition, this could be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to job losses. If that is the case, then the industry desperately needs clear policies to be put in place to ensure job creation and training for the millions that stand to lose their professions. 

Following the COP26 summit at the beginning of November, attended by some of the most important world leaders and environmental actors, it was widely agreed that the world must undergo an energy transition, moving away from fossil fuels to renewable alternatives. But shifting from the world’s principal energy sources also means abandoning huge infrastructures and cutting millions of jobs, unless a plan is established to repurpose energy structures and transition workers. 

An estimated 400,000 jobs were cut across the energy sector in 2020, with half of those in the U.S. alone. Some of the most stable supermajors were forced to cut jobs, with Exxon reducing its workforce by 15%, around 14,000 employees, not to mention the smaller firms that were forced into bankruptcy. Now, with the energy transition, the oil sector is expected to contract further, around 20 percent over the next decade and by 95 percent between 2031 and 2050.

But as coal plants in the U.S. and Europe are already shutting down at an increasing rate, it is clear that the job losses of the last year are not over yet. Coal plants are closing ahead of schedule, as major economies pledge to cut carbon at a faster rate than originally planned, starting with the dirtiest fossil fuel. The U.K. government is now planning to completely end coal production by 2024, a year earlier than originally planned. And coal plants across the U.S. are undergoing the same transition, with a coal plant outside Nucla, Colorado closing three years earlier than planned. 

While this is good news for the environment, as carbon emissions are being lowered, it could spell disaster for many communities that continue to rely on jobs in the energy sector. As well as job losses, several towns and cities situated near fossil fuel production sites can expect a huge loss in revenues unless something is done to support local economies during the green transition. 

In the case of Nucla, unemployment in the small town doubled overnight. And this could be the case for several other towns, with over two dozen coal plants expected to close across the U.S. over the next decade. However, some point out the huge potential for these locations to build upon existing energy infrastructure so it doesn’t go to waste, putting railroads and transmission lines to use as well as supporting the local job market. 

The U.S., in particular, has extensive experience in dealing with job cuts due to the overreliance on specific industries, such as steel and timber, but perhaps none so big as fossil fuels. There are around 160,000 jobs across the U.S. oil and gas extraction sector, and 50,000 jobs in coal, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but this is just the tip of the iceberg considering the multitude of indirectly related jobs. For every one job cut in power plants or mining, it is estimated that another four indirect jobs are lost. 

Initiatives such as the Colorado Just Transition Action Plan, established in 2020 to support workers in the transition away from the state’s coal production, could help communities to become less reliant on boom-bust cycles. Other states across the U.S. are drafting similar strategies to ensure that they are not left behind as fossil fuel production dries up. But this will require significant funding and policy support from the federal level considering how many jobs are at risk. 

Not to forget, many of those employed in the energy sector are the backbone of American industry, whose political support should not be overlooked going into future elections. If left behind, the government could lose a significant voter population from fossil fuel-reliant towns and cities across the country. 

In addition, many of the workers employed in oil and gas are reluctant to transition to jobs in renewables, which would require more training and may offer lower-paid positions, adding an obstacle to the energy-related unemployment mitigation policy. 

But, optimistically, we’re already seeing an increase in the number of jobs in green energy, with renewable energy jobs reaching 12 million globally according to ILO data. This is an increase from 11.5 million in 2019. The majority of these jobs are in China, holding around a 39 percent share, followed by Brazil, India, the United States, and countries within the European Union. 

As a clean energy transition is finally underway, after years of stalling, the environment is not the only concern that world leaders must face. With millions of fossil fuel-related jobs at risk at the global level, governments must start implementing clear transition strategies to ensure there are training programs and new job opportunities in place for this huge population that will otherwise end up unemployed. 

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com