Edmonton's Clover Bar landfill still not capped and releasing gas after 13 years, new capture technology planned

“There’s very harmful landfill gas that is able to escape through the top of it. We need to cap it, we need to put three feet of clay on top of it."

Author of the article: Lauren Boothby
Publishing date: Nov 25, 2022 • 

Heavy equipment is used to moved garbage at the Clover Bar landfill when it was still operating in 2005. Postmedia, file
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Edmonton’s Clover Bar landfill is still uncovered and releasing fumes more than a decade after closing to the public, and new capture technology is in the works to convert its methane into renewable biogas for sale.


City council’s utility committee met privately Friday to get an update on the landfill-gas-to-renewable-gas conversion project at the Clover Bar landfill. The project was approved in February 2021, also in private, and is expected to be complete by mid-2024.

What was discussed at Friday’s meeting isn’t known, but Edmonton waste services’ utility rate filing offers some details about remediating the landfill, the new renewable natural gas facility, and funding. The waste services branch plans to spend $9.7 million next year and $3.3 million in 2024, along with a $10-million provincial grant, the city confirmed. Some cash will come from the waste services liability fund collected over the years. $1 million has been spent to date.

Capital Power is paying for a portion of the costs and will co-own the site, sharing the profits with the city, although the city would not confirm the contribution or payout.

Capital Power already runs a collection system converting landfill gas into electricity but it is aging and captured less than half of the emissions as of 2018, according to a previous utility rate filing.

Capping landfill would have big impact on greenhouse gas emissions

Before the meeting, waste services branch manager Denis Jubinville told the utility committee that covering the landfill is likely the biggest impact waste services can have on reducing greenhouse gases in the region. This work will be done alongside creating the conversion system.

“There’s very harmful landfill gas that is able to escape through the top of it. We need to cap it, we need to put three feet of clay on top of it,” he told councillors. “That will be a significant reduction in greenhouse gas.”

In an interview, Jubinville couldn’t say why the site hasn’t been covered since 2009 — he only took over leadership about a year-and-a-half ago — but said it takes a long time.

However, doing so is a priority for Jubinville, especially because the old landfill is full of organic waste.

“When (organics) decompose they create gas, and that’s really, really bad greenhouse gas. That’s methane, and that’s really bad for the environment, and because we don’t have a really thick layer of dirt on top, it’s going into our atmosphere right now,” Jubinville told Postmedia. “We really need to cap it.”

The city did not confirm the expected emissions reduction by deadline. However, according to the 2021 utility rate filing, the renewable natural gas technology could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 149,500 tonnes per year, and more than 2.5 million tonnes by 2040.

Postmedia files show the original plan for Clover Bar landfill was to cover it fully with native vegetation and link the site to trails in the river valley

Former waste management spokesman Gary Spotowski told the Edmonton Journal in 2009 that Clover Bar would continue releasing gas for 40 to 50 years, but it wasn’t a danger to the public.

At the time, Spotowski said “improved compaction” at the landfill meant when it’s fully covered it won’t create several small hills such as those in Rundle Park — which used to be the Beverly dump

Converting landfill gas to renewable natural gas, and putting it into the distribution network for sale, will be a first-of-its kind project in Alberta.

According to the capital profile in the 2023-2024 rate filing, the waste services branch chose a technology called pressure swing absorption because it is proven and reliable, conserving up to 98 per cent of the methane drawn out during the process.

Once collected, landfill gas is sent into a system to remove impurities like water, siloxane, ammonia, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide. This conditioned gas is fed into what’s called a pressure swing absorption upgrading unit that has a series of vertical towers connected by a complex network of valves and switches, cycling the gas between low pressure and high pressure where chemicals like carbon dioxide are absorbed, while others are captured in a filter.

This system is expected to generate up to 245,000 GJ per year for at least 20 years and bring in $3 million of revenue annually. The 2021 version of the capital profile said it would capture more than 75 per cent of the currently generated gas.

‘Pressure cooker’

While Jubinville thinks covering the landfill is important, it’s a complicated and long process. As they age, landfills can become unstable, he said.

“When you cap it, you’re creating a pressure cooker. It is still decomposing, and it’s creating pressure inside of this landfill, so we need a system to relieve that pressure.”

If the cover is too heavy, the sides could be pushed out and spill into the North Saskatchewan River. Reinforcing the riverbank is another part of the plan to prevent this from happening.

The methane created can be released, burned, or used for another purpose — in this case, drilling wells into the mound to pull out liquid and gas to be converted to renewable natural gas.

“If we can use this gas in an effective way in converting it into renewable natural gas, it is to the benefit of our community,” Jubinville said.

The Clover Bar landfill opened in 1975, closed in August 2009, and was Edmonton’s first engineered sanitary landfill. It lasted 20 years longer than expected after recycling programs were introduced in the late 1980s. The secondary landfill, which was built after the 1987 tornado, ceased operations in 2008 

Edmonton school boards, ATA respond to province's masking, online learning policies

Story by Madeline Smith , Anna Junker • 

Students are pictured at Svend Hansen School in Edmonton on Oct. 19, 2022.

© Provided by Edmonton Journal

Edmonton’s two biggest school boards say they welcome the “clarity” provided by the province’s new policies on masking and online learning in schools.

Alberta’s United Conservative government announced changes to regulations Thursday that prevent school authorities from moving to online-only classes and state that mask-wearing can’t be a condition of attending in-person learning.

Mask mandates haven’t been in effect in schools since February, but a recent Court of King’s Bench of Alberta decision found the provincial government acted “unreasonably” last winter when it lifted the school COVID-19 mask requirement. At the time, Education Minister Adriana LaGrange told school authorities in a letter that they would not have the power to require students to wear masks, but Justice Grant Dunlop concluded that the minister’s words were not a regulation, so they didn’t actually prohibit school boards from taking action.

As schools have struggled with surging respiratory illnesses that have spiked student absenteeism rates this month, school authorities have been pushing for answers on what metrics would prompt the return of public health measures, and who should be expected to make the decision.

Related
Alberta government restricts online-only learning in schools

Edmonton Public Schools requests data on health protocols after spike in student illnesses

Both board chairwomen for Edmonton Catholic Schools and Edmonton Public Schools said Friday that the province has now given a clear answer on whether boards have the authority to implement health-related decisions.

“I think all Albertans now understand that it’s not within the jurisdiction and nor should it ever have been within the jurisdiction of individual school boards to make decisions that belong to health officials,” Edmonton Public Schools chairwoman Trisha Estabrooks said.

Edmonton Catholic Schools chairwoman Sandra Palazzo echoed the sentiment.

“We’re looking to our medical officials to make these decisions,” she said.

Emily Peckham, a spokesperson for LaGrange, said Friday that the government’s intent is to give guidance on measures “that may limit access to education.”

“Some school authorities have recently considered implementing at-home learning due to high rates of staff illness and some interest groups have been calling for school authorities to implement mask mandates,” she said.

“Given that there are currently no health orders to support these decisions, we are ensuring a consistent approach across the province.”


Edmonton Catholic Schools board chairwoman Sandra Palazzo responds to new provincial government regulations on masking in schools and the use of online learning in Edmonton on Friday, Nov. 25, 2022. David Bloom/Postmedia

ATA underlines school staffing issues

Alberta Teachers’ Association president Jason Schilling acknowledged in a Friday statement that the latest regulation changes offer school boards more clarity, but added that the government’s solutions are “unworkable.”

“Many schools across the province are struggling in the face of widespread outbreaks of COVID-19, influenza and RSV to maintain in-person teaching because of widespread teacher and student illness,” he said.

“If schools have no choice but to implement online learning in response to severe staff shortages and limited availability of substitute teachers, they simply will not have sufficient capacity to offer in-person instruction at the same time, as is required by the regulation.”

Estabrooks also said staffing issues don’t go away if an in-person teacher and an online teacher must be provided.

“In fact, it’s exacerbated, and so I would predict that could be a challenge,” she said. “We’re not at that point and I have full confidence in our superintendent that we’ll be able to manage and navigate this.”

Student absenteeism rates due to illness have been lower this week, after days in early November when 16 per cent of students in Edmonton’s Catholic schools and nearly 14 per cent in public schools missed class because they were sick.

As of Thursday, absenteeism rates at both Edmonton Catholic Schools and Edmonton Public Schools were about four per cent.

But Estabrooks said Edmonton public is still waiting for more details on how health officials are monitoring the rates of illness in schools and what thresholds they might consider in terms of future public-health orders.

“Across the province, there isn’t a lot of transparency. In fact, there’s no transparency in terms of the number of outbreaks that AHS has declared in schools across the province,” Estabrooks said.

“We’re still in this pandemic and we’re still looking for some answers, some thresholds and greater transparency.”

NOT CTHULHU; A WORM
Humans and octopuses share ancestor that lived 518M years ago

Story by Stacy Liberatore For Dailymail.com •

Octopuses and humans descended from the same primitive worm-like animal that lived 518 million years ago, and this could be why the eight-limbed creatures are highly intelligent.

The creature, known as Facivermis yunnanicus, is the earliest known example of animals evolving to lose body parts it no longer needed and was minimally intelligent.

A new study led by Max Delbruck Centre, Berlin found octopuses' brains are similar to humans because the marine animal has a variety of gene regulators called microRNAs (miRNAs) in their neural tissue comparable to the number in vertebrates.

The findings suggest miRNAs, a type of RNA gene, play a fundamental role in developing complex brains.

And this is 'what connects us to the octopus,' co-author Professor Nikolaus Rajewsky said in a statement to SWS.


Octopuses possess a variety of gene regulators called microRNAs (miRNAs) in their neural tissue compared with the number in vertebrates, which means their brains are similar to humans. This could explain their high intelligence© Provided by Daily Mail

Octopuses are renowned for being clever. They can use tools, carry coconut shells for shelter, stack rocks to protect their dens and use jellyfish tentacles for defense, SWNS reports.

Scientists have long studied the intelligence of octopuses, watching them learn to solve puzzles and open screw-top jars.

Recently they were even filmed throwing rocks and shells at each other.

Octopuses belong to a group known as cephalopods - which also include squid and cuttlefish.

The study analyzed 18 different tissue samples from dead octopuses and identified 42 novel miRNA families - mainly in the brain.

The genes were conserved during cephalopod evolution - being of functional benefit to the animals.

'There was indeed a lot of RNA editing going on, but not in areas that we believe to be of interest,' said Rajewsky.



The creature, known as Facivermis yunnanicus, is the earliest known example of animals evolving to lose body parts it no longer needed and was minimally intelligent© Provided by Daily Mail


The study analyzed 18 different tissue samples from dead octopuses and identified 42 novel miRNA families - mainly in the brain. The genes were conserved during cephalopod evolution - being of functional benefit to the animals© Provided by Daily Mail

What was the worm-like animal?


A study in 2020 claimed that a worm that lived on the seafloor 518 million years ago is the earliest known example of animals evolving to lose body parts it no longer needed.

The evolution of Facivermis — a worm-like creature that lived around 518 million years ago in the so-called Cambrian period of China — has long been a mystery.

It had an elongated body that could reach up to 2.2 inches, five pairs of spiny arms near its head and a pear-shaped tail with spikes.

The unusual creature lived a tube-dwelling lifestyle, anchored on the sea floor — because of which it evolved to lose its lower limbs.

'The most interesting discovery was the dramatic expansion of a well-known group of RNA genes, microRNAs.

A total of 42 novel miRNA families were found – specifically in neural tissue and mostly in the brain.'

Given that these genes were conserved during cephalopod evolution, the team concludes they were beneficial to the animals and functionally essential.

Lead author Dr Grygoriy Zolotarov, from the same lab, said: 'This is the third largest expansion of microRNA families in the animal world, and the largest outside of vertebrates.

'To give you an idea of the scale, oysters, which are also mollusks, have acquired just five new microRNA families since the last ancestors they shared with octopuses - while the octopuses have acquired 90.'

Oysters are not precisely known for their intelligence, added Rajewsky, whose fascination with octopuses began years ago while visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California.

He explained: 'I saw this creature sitting on the bottom of the tank, and we spent several minutes - so I thought - looking at each other.

'It's not very scientific, but their eyes do exude a sense of intelligence.' Octopuses have similarly complex 'camera' eyes to humans.

They are unique among invertebrates, with both a central brain and a peripheral nervous system capable of acting independently.



Scientists have long studied the intelligence of octopuses, watching them learn to solve puzzles and open screw-top jars. Recently they were even filmed throwing rocks and shells at each other (pictured)© Provided by Daily Mail

If an octopus loses a tentacle, the tentacle remains sensitive to touch and can still move.

Octopuses are alone in having developed such complex brain functions because they use their arms very purposefully.

The creatures use them as tools to open shells or as a weapon to spat at predators.

They are also very curious and can remember things. They can recognize people and like some more than others.

It is believed they even dream since they change their color and skin structures while sleeping.

Rajewsky said: 'They say if you want to meet an alien, go diving and make friends with an octopus.'

Rajewsky is now planning to join forces with other experts to form a European network that will allow a greater exchange.

What octopus and human brains have in common

Peer-Reviewed Publication

MAX DELBRÜCK CENTER FOR MOLECULAR MEDICINE IN THE HELMHOLTZ ASSOCIATION

 

IMAGE: OCTOPUSES HAVE COMPLEX “CAMERA” EYES, AS SEEN HERE IN A JUVENILE ANIMAL view more 

CREDIT: NIR FRIEDMAN

Cephalopods like octopuses, squids and cuttlefish are highly intelligent animals with complex nervous systems. In “Science Advances”, a team led by Nikolaus Rajewsky of the Max Delbrück Center has now shown that their evolution is linked to a dramatic expansion of their microRNA repertoire.

If we go far enough back in evolutionary history, we encounter the last known common ancestor of humans and cephalopods: a primitive wormlike animal with minimal intelligence and simple eyespots. Later, the animal kingdom can be divided into two groups of organisms – those with backbones and those without. While vertebrates, particularly primates and other mammals, went on to develop large and complex brains with diverse cognitive abilities, invertebrates did not. With one exception: the cephalopods.

Scientists have long wondered why such a complex nervous system was only able to develop in these mollusks. Now, an international team led by researchers from the Max Delbrück Center and Dartmouth College in the United States has put forth a possible reason. In a paper published in “Science Advances”, they explain that octopuses possess a massively expanded repertoire of microRNAs (miRNAs) in their neural tissue – reflecting similar developments that occurred in vertebrates. “So, this is what connects us to the octopus!” says Professor Nikolaus Rajewsky, Scientific Director of the Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology of the Max Delbrück Center (MDC-BIMSB), head of the Systems Biology of Gene Regulatory Elements Lab, and the paper’s last author. He explains that this finding probably means miRNAs play a fundamental role in the development of complex brains.

In 2019, Rajewsky read a publication about genetic analyses conducted on octopuses. Scientists had discovered that a lot of RNA editing occurs in these cephalopods – meaning they make extensive use of certain enzymes that can recode their RNA. “This got me thinking that octopuses may not only be good at editing, but could have other RNA tricks up their sleeve too,” recalls Rajewsky. And so he began a collaboration with the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn marine research station in Naples, which sent him samples of 18 different tissue types from dead octopuses.

The results of this analyses were surprising: “There was indeed a lot of RNA editing going on, but not in areas that we believe to be of interest,” says Rajewsky. The most interesting discovery was in fact the dramatic expansion of a well-known group of RNA genes, microRNAs. A total of 42 novel miRNA families were found – specifically in neural tissue and mostly in the brain. Given that these genes were conserved during cephalopod evolution, the team concludes they were clearly beneficial to the animals and are therefore functionally important.

Rajewsky has been researching miRNAs for more than 20 years. Instead of being translated into messenger RNAs, which deliver the instructions for protein production in the cell, these genes encode small pieces of RNA that bind to messenger RNA and thus influence protein production. These binding sites were also conserved throughout cephalopod evolution – another indication that these novel miRNAs are of functional importance.

Cephalopods playing with microRNAs (yellow): microRNAs may be linked to the emergence of complex brains in cephalopods.

CREDIT

Grygoriy Zolotarov

New microRNA families

“This is the third-largest expansion of microRNA families in the animal world, and the largest outside of vertebrates,” says lead author Grygoriy Zolotarov, MD, a Ukrainian scientist who interned in Rajewsky’s lab at MDC-BIMSB while finishing medical school in Prague, and later. “To give you an idea of the scale, oysters, which are also mollusks, have acquired just five new microRNA families since the last ancestors they shared with octopuses – while the octopuses have acquired 90!” Oysters, adds Zolotarov, aren’t exactly known for their intelligence.

Rajewsky’s fascination with octopuses began years ago, during an evening visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. “I saw this creature sitting on the bottom of the tank and we spent several minutes – so I thought – looking at each other.” He says that looking at an octopus is very different to looking at a fish: “It’s not very scientific, but their eyes do exude a sense of intelligence.” Octopuses have similarly complex “camera” eyes to humans.

From an evolutionary perspective, octopuses are unique among invertebrates. They have both a central brain and a peripheral nervous system – one that is capable of acting independently. If an octopus loses a tentacle, the tentacle remains sensitive to touch and can still move. The reason why octopuses are alone in having developed such complex brain functions could lie in the fact that they use their arms very purposefully – as tools to open shells, for instance. Octopuses also show other signs of intelligence: They are very curious and can remember things. They can also recognize people and actually like some more than others. Researchers now believe that they even dream, since they change their color and skin structures while sleeping.

Octopuses have both a central brain and a peripheral nervous system – one that is capable of acting independently.

CREDIT

Nir Friedman

Alien-like creatures

“They say if you want to meet an alien, go diving and make friends with an octopus,” says Rajewsky. He’s now planning to join forces with other octopus researchers to form a European network that will allow greater exchange between the scientists. Although the community is currently small, Rajewsky says that interest in octopuses is growing worldwide, including among behavioral researchers. He says it’s fascinating to analyze a form of intelligence that developed entirely independently of our own. But it’s not easy: “If you do tests with them using small snacks as rewards, they soon lose interest. At least, that’s what my colleagues tell me,” says Rajewsky.

“Since octopuses aren’t typical model organisms, our molecular-biological tools were very limited,” says Zolotarov. “So we don’t yet know exactly which types of cell express the new microRNAs.” Rajewsky’s team are now planning to apply a technique, developed in Rajewsky’s lab, which will make the cells in octopus tissue visible at a molecular level.

Max Delbrück Center

The Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (Max Delbrück Center) is one of the world’s leading biomedical research institutions. Max Delbrück, a Berlin native, was a Nobel laureate and one of the founders of molecular biology. At the Center’s locations in Berlin-Buch and Mitte, researchers from some 70 countries analyze the human system – investigating the biological foundations of life from its most elementary building blocks to systems-wide mechanisms. By understanding what regulates or disrupts the dynamic equilibrium in a cell, an organ, or the entire body, we can prevent diseases, diagnose them earlier, and stop their progression with tailored therapies. Patients should benefit as soon as possible from basic research discoveries. The Max Delbrück Center therefore supports spin-off creation and participates in collaborative networks. It works in close partnership with Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin in the jointly run Experimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC), as well as with the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) at Charité and the German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK). Founded in 1992, the Max Delbrück Center today employs 1,800 people and is funded 90 percent by the German federal government and 10 percent by the State of Berlin. www.mdc-berlin.de

---

JOURNAL

Science Advances

DOI

10.1126/sciadv.add9938 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animal tissue samples

ARTICLE TITLE

MicroRNAs are deeply linked to the emergence of the complex octopus brain

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

25-Nov-2022

Deutsche Bank warns of peril in borrowing from U.S. banks

Story by By Tom Sims and Marta Orosz • Friday


FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany's Deutsche Bank has a stark warning to European companies borrowing from U.S. lenders: They will drop you when times get tough.

The caution, spelled out in an interview with Deutsche Bank board member Fabrizio Campelli, is the latest escalation in a battle with U.S. banks for the business of European firms on its home turf.

It comes at a time that the corporate banking unit of Germany's largest lender is seeing a resurgence in the home stretch of an extensive restructuring.

"A number of European corporates are already realising the risks of not operating with companies that are long-term committed to the geographies ... in which they operate," he said, without citing any examples.

Campelli, who oversees Deutsche's corporate division as well as the investment bank that powered Deutsche through the overhaul, said U.S. banks "tend to flex lending up and down depending on circumstances".

"There was evidence of non-German banks in this country taking lending off the table while German banks were going longer-credit during the pandemic, in 2020," he added, again without citing examples.

Last year, five of the largest U.S. banks - JPMorgan, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup - captured a combined 35% share of the revenue for loans by German companies, up from 18% a decade earlier, data from Dealogic compiled for Reuters show.

Deutsche Bank Chief Executive Christian Sewing recently warned of the "danger" of European reliance on foreign banks, equating the threat to the region's dependence on outsiders for energy.

Deutsche Bank has long highlighted a need for Europe to have strong banks to vie with U.S. and Chinese competitors, but the latest rhetoric signals a more aggressive tone.

Campelli called for a "concerted approach" by politicians and regulators to support European banks.

TIDE IS TURNING

In 2019, Deutsche embarked on a revamp, promising to shift away from its volatile investment bank and towards its more staid businesses that serve corporations and individuals.

Having long struggled to deliver on that pledge, the tide, buoyed by rising interest rates, is turning. Higher borrowing costs are fattening profits from regular banking, although war, runaway prices and energy costs cloud the horizon.

"We're now getting there," said Campelli, who previously oversaw the overhaul. "Did we rely more on the investment bank during ... 2020-21 than we initially expected? Yes. We're starting to see a much more balanced earnings mix."

U.S. banks reject the criticism. JPMorgan, now one of the largest banks in Germany, says it is committed.

Stefan Behr, head of JPMorgan's operations in Europe, told Reuters he hasn't seen any pushback on its growth in Germany and noted that "many of the German banks work with us on deals as well as us being a banking partner to them."

"There's competition for every deal. And when they don't win it, I'm sure that they're not happy about it, just like we're not happy if we lose a mandate," Behr said.

Citigroup's head in Germany Stefan Hafke told Reuters that its client base in Germany is made up of "very long-term, sustainable relationships."

He said he wanted strong European banks in Germany and pushed back on being a mere U.S. bank. "We are operating on an equal footing with anyone else," he said.

Goldman, whose headcount in Germany has surged in recent years, declined to comment. Morgan Stanley did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A spokesperson for Bank of America said Germany was critically important to its strategy, saying: "There is no pullback."

(Editing by John O'Donnell and David Holmes)

KASHMIR IS INDIA'S GAZA
India, Israel's 'Indo-Abrahamic Alliance' continues to gather pace

Story by By JONATHAN SPYER • 17h ago

This week marks 14 years since the Mumbai terror attacks. Between November 26 and 29, 2008, operatives of the Islamist Lashkar a-Taiba organization struck at 12 sites across the city of Mumbai. Among the locations targeted was the Nariman House, host to a Chabad center. Rabbi Gabriel Holzberg and his wife Rivka, who was six months pregnant at the time of the attack, were murdered along with four other hostages.

US PRESIDENT Joe Biden and Prime Minister Yair Lapid attend the first virtual meeting of the I2U2 group with Indian Prime Minister Nehandra Modi (on the screen) and United Arab Emirates leader Sheikh bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in July© (photo credit: EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/REUTERS)

The attackers were later neutralized after an Indian special police squad stormed the building. Famously, Sandra Samuel, a local caregiver employed at the Chabad House, rescued the Holzbergs’ two-year-old son, Moshe, and carried him to safety from the building.

The events at Mumbai in 2008 have become emblematic of the growing bond between Israel and India, which may now be described as a strategic alliance. In July 2018, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Israel, the first visit by an Indian head of government. During the visit, Modi met with Moshe Holzberg. In January 2019, then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was joined by Holzberg and Samuel on a visit to Mumbai.

The commonality that was expressed in the harshest terms by Lashkar a-Taiba’s choice of targets in November 2008 has flourished in the intervening years. In the area of defense and security, India is now the largest buyer of Israeli military equipment, with exports to India constituting 46% of Israel’s total arms exports. Israel is the second largest supplier of military equipment to India after Russia, New Delhi’s traditional armorer.


A municipal worker cleans the street in front of a bilboard displaying Indian and Israeli flags for PM Netanyahu's visit, Ahmedabad, India, January 2018 (credit: REUTERS/AMIT DAVE)© Provided by The Jerusalem PostA municipal worker cleans the street in front of a bilboard displaying Indian and Israeli flags for PM Netanyahu's visit, Ahmedabad, India, January 2018 

(credit: REUTERS/AMIT DAVE)

India-Israel ties expand into agriculture, tech

The burgeoning relations are not limited to the defense sphere. In the area of agriculture and water management, Indian authorities have partnered with Mashav, Israel’s international development organization, to develop methods to cope with an emergent water crisis.

Investments in the tech field are of growing significance, with Teva Pharmaceuticals among the most notable players. The acquisition by the Adani group of Haifa port is perhaps the most significant recent development in the commercial field.

And so on. The evidence for the deepening connections between Jerusalem and New Delhi in a myriad variety of fields is inescapable. An interesting question concerns the foundations of this edifice.

Related video: A Decisive Edge For IAF: How Israel Powering India To Keep An Eye On LAC Amid Sino-India Tensions?

Duration 3:35 View on Watch

What are the considerations and factors that have brought about the spiraling in relations in recent years?

In this regard, two areas are most worthy of consideration. The first is the area of geopolitics and strategy. The second is the cultural-political sphere. The grounding of the alliance in civil society and public sentiment is also important.

REGARDING THE first, India and Israel face a common challenge as Western-aligned states at a time when the US, the leader of the democratic world, is in a process of recalibrating and reducing its external commitments. There is a consequent need for the establishment of structures enabling long-term strategic cooperation between regional powers. The formal establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates in August 2020 paved the way for an emergent three-way alliance between Jerusalem, Abu Dhabi and New Delhi.

In an influential essay published by the Middle East Institute in July 2021, Egyptian-born strategic thinker Mohammed Soliman posited the emergence of what he termed an “Indo-Abrahamic Alliance,” bringing together the UAE, Israel and India. This alliance, Soliman suggested, would form the basis for a “new trans-regional order” in West and South Asia.

The emergence of this alliance, Soliman suggested, would fill the potential vacuum left by a necessary American shift to focus on east Asia. The alliance would be based on deepening formalized cooperation in such crucial areas as maritime security in the Mediterranean, the Gulf and the Indian Ocean, missile defense, drones, common opposition to Islamist extremism, and data security.

India’s close relations with the UAE have long been based on petroleum exports and remittances from a large Indian population working in the UAE. In recent years, non-oil bilateral trade has sharply increased, with the UAE now India’s third-largest trade partner. Israel’s trade relations with the UAE, of course, have flourished since the signing of the Abraham Accords, with a free-trade deal signed in May 2022.

This emergent three-way alliance is based also on the presence of a rival alignment currently crystallizing – namely, that of Turkey and Pakistan. While efforts at rapprochement with Ankara on the part of the UAE and Israel are currently underway, the deeper orientations and ambitions of Ankara, at least for as long as the Islamist AKP remains the governing party, are likely to prevent a major change in this picture.

The establishment under US auspices of the “I2U2” group, in July 2022, formalizes and solidifies the strategic partnership between India, Israel and the UAE. Indian commentator Harshil Mehta described the I2U2 as a “platform for the 21st century, driven by economic pragmatism, multilateral cooperation and strategic autonomy.” Mohammed Soliman has expressed the hope that both Egypt and Saudi Arabia will eventually form part of this structure, which in turn will be the basis for a new, autonomous but Western-aligned security order in Asia.

The second foundation of the India-Israel strategic alliance derives from the cultural-political sphere. At the most basic level, it is a geographic fact that the two countries are located precisely at the eastern and western edges of the Islamic world. Both are based on ancient civilizations, revived into sovereignty at the moment of, and as a result of, the decline of European, specifically British colonialism in the post-1945 period. Both, indeed, were born in struggle against the retreating British Empire. And both were engaged in wars of defense during their founding decades against their neighboring Islamic states.

But beyond these general points, the specific and fascinating commonality derives from comparable internal political trajectories. Both countries were led during the struggle for sovereignty and in subsequent decades by a westernized, secular and social democratic elite. The movements in question became categorized in later years by a degree of corruption and estrangement from the orientations and desires of the populations over which they ruled.

Both have been replaced in recent decades by parties descended from alternative conceptions of the nation that were present during the pre-state periods of struggle. These have remained during the early years of statehood as alternative frameworks, and have now become dominant.

In both cases, the formerly subaltern and now dominant orientations are characterized by a more particularist conception of the nation, with a greater place given to religious tradition and observance, and a heritage of militancy.

The strategic partnership between India and Israel appears well-anchored at the public level. A poll conducted by Israel’s Foreign Ministry in 2009 found that 58% of Indians declared themselves supporters of Israel. Similar levels of warmth and support exist may easily be discerned on the Israeli side.

Shared geopolitical interests, a common political and cultural trajectory, and high levels of mutual support at the civil society level constitute the foundations of the relationship. This commonality was expressed at the starkest level in the events in Mumbai between November 26-28, 2008. In the intervening years, it has burgeoned and deepened in a variety of complementary directions. What Mohammed Soliman termed the “Indo-Abrahamic Alliance” continues to gather pace.

Canada doesn’t appear to have a plan to welcome climate migrants

“Climate debt isn’t just money.”

This is the second in a two-part series examining the impacts of climate change on migration, in partnership with Ricochet.

 Read part one here: https://newcanadianmedia.ca/climate-migration-front-and-centre-at-cop27-in-egypt/

Growing up in Ghana, Jamima Baada watched her community, including members of her own family, migrate from one region to another less impacted by climate change.

Now she teaches climate change and human migration at the University of British Columbia.

Baada, who immigrated to Canada for educational opportunities, is in a relatively privileged position compared to the rest of Ghana, where many are farmers still surviving on subsistence agriculture, and unable to move to Canada because of a lack of resources.

“The populations most impacted by climate change cannot afford airplane tickets,” Baada said. “And that is assuming that they’re able to go through the visa application process.”

Every minute, 41 people are displaced due to the climate crisis, according to a 2021 report from the Environmental Justice Foundation. What is Canada’s plan to welcome these migrants, now and in the decades to come?

More and more people are increasingly displaced by the global climate crisis because their homelands are no longer habitable. As many as a billion people could be displaced and forced to migrate over the coming decades, driven from their homes and communities because of extreme weather events, conflict and extreme heat.

Global heating is slowly boiling the oceans, which is melting the ice and causing the world’s water to rise. As the sea level rises, several cities and even countries could disappear over the next few decades. According to a 2021 report from the International Organization for Migration, as many as 280 million people’s homelands could be submerged by the end of the century.

“No one is spared. No place in the world will be safe in the future,” said Caroline Dumas, the Special Envoy for Migration and Climate Action at the start of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP27, in Egypt.

“Hundreds of millions of people, especially children and women, are today facing an existential threat.”

There are two main drivers to climate-induced migration: Sudden onset, which refers to natural disasters, conflict, water and food shortages; and slow onset, such as land degradation, or desertification, and rising sea level, or ocean acidification, explains Rachel Bryce, co-chair of the Climate Migration Working Group for the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers.

Syed Hussan, executive director of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, says slow onset is generally overlooked even though it is one of the most important drivers of climate migration. “Climate change is still seen through a very Western lens, as almost exclusively floods or earthquakes, rather than what it is largely, which is a slow erosion.”

Deteriorating agriculture is a main driver of human migration, Hussan explains. Most of the Latin American workers in Canada are farmers who lived on subsistence agriculture back in their countries. Many were forced to migrate north through the continent because desertification has made the land unliveable, he said.

Baada says that countries throughout the Global South are disproportionately bearing the burden of climate change, even though rich countries in the Global North are the ones that created the problem in the first place. Global South countries are also the least equipped to cope with climate change because of the lack of development.

The long-term impact of underdevelopment has created the conditions where extreme weather events can be catastrophic, Hussan said. “Floods of a similar magnitude in Canada would not have resulted in millions of people being displaced.

“In Pakistan right now, 30 million people — almost the population of Canada — are displaced, because of floods. But if those kinds of floods had happened in Canada, you would not see the entire country displaced.”

Federal NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan said Canada has a responsibility to increase the number of accepted refugees and asylum-seekers. “Instead,” she said, pointing to new numbers released this month, “the government is reducing the numbers, so it’s going in the opposite direction.”

Sean Fraser, Canada’s immigration minister, declined requests for an interview.

“The work of lowering emissions and transitioning the energy sector must happen while supporting communities on the frontlines,” Kwan said. “[These changes] have to happen simultaneously because people are being displaced right now.”

Coming out of COP27, Kwan says she is not seeing the urgency from the Canadian government that is required on this issue. In addition to pushing to end oil and gas subsidies immediately, and to stop pursuing pipeline expansion, Kwan says the NDP is demanding the government sign on to an environmental bill of rights — for people and nature.

“We need public accountability, truth be told,” she said. “We can’t trust the government on this issue. They say nice words, but they don’t match that with action. We need independent oversight with regard to climate action.”

What that means for Canada is making significant financial contributions to a fund for countries experiencing the ravages of the crisis right now.

“We must respond to what is happening in the global community,” Kwan says. “Climate migration is already happening. People are already dying as a result of it.

At this year’s global climate talks, adaptation and mitigation efforts, as well as loss and damage funding for countries in the Global South, were a central piece of the negotiations.

At the eleventh hour, a deal was reached to provide funding for vulnerable countries hit hard by climate disasters, overcoming years of resistance from rich nations who contribute the bulk of the world’s emissions.

The agreement calls for a committee with representatives from 24 countries to work over the next year to figure out exactly what form the fund should take; which countries and financial institutions should contribute; and where the money should go. Many of the other details are still to be determined. Importantly, the agreement makes clear that payments are not to be seen as an admission of liability.

While establishment of a new international fund for loss and damage is a historical breakthrough, activists say COP27 ultimately failed to achieve any consensus for a phase-out of fossil fuels. Many hoped Canada would announce an end to fossil fuel expansion, a cap on oil and gas emissions, and a windfall tax on oil and gas profits, none of which happened.

“When COP27 ends, the Canadian public will want to know: Did Canada’s contribution help ensure a safe future? Or did we add to the delay on climate action, which will be measured in lives,” said Julia Levin, national climate program manager for Environmental Defence.

“Canada must stop bowing to fossil fuel lobbyists and putting the interests of a small number of wealthy individuals ahead of all Canadians — and indeed the entire global community.”

Canada’s current legal definition of a refugee doesn’t include those who are forced to flee their countries because of climate change. Bryce, of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers (CARL) said that needs to change.

Like most countries, Canada’s definition of a refugee is based on the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees text written in 1951 in the aftermath of the Second World War and the Nazi persecution of Jews and others.

The legal definition of a refugee is therefore very specific to this period and only concerns someone “unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.”

The only scenario in which someone affected by climate change could receive refugee status is if “the effects of climate change cause instability, and the state is unable or unwilling to provide protection against some aspects of persecution that resulted,” Bryce said.

Climate migrants might also be able to seek permanent residency through “humanitarian and compassionate” grounds, but those considerations are exceptional and rarely granted, she adds.

A 2021 report from the refugee lawyers association, suggests a number of ways Canada could modernize its policies to include climate-induced displacement. For example, climate migrants could be added to Canada’s legal definition of a refugee.

Guidelines could also be created to tell officers reviewing humanitarian and compassionate considerations to look specifically into climate risks. A third suggestion is providing “climate visas” following the example of Argentina, which recently introduced a three-year visa for people displaced by natural disasters.

But these are only temporary measures created to assist in response to specific events, Bryce said. It does not help those affected by slow onset climate change.

Climate migrants might also come through regular pathways, such as study and work permits, and family sponsorship. But CARL believes these policies are not enough “to contend with the growing scale of climate migrants,” Bryce said. In addition, she said it disadvantages those most vulnerable to climate change — the people who don’t have enough resources to immigrate.

However, for Hussan of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, changing definitions on paper “are not real solutions; they are tinkering. They don’t actually deal with the scale and scope of the crisis.”

He said changing definitions also doesn’t address Canada’s responsibility and accountability for its disproportionate damage throughout its 150-year history. Canada is among the 10 top worst polluters in the world, and greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise.

At the same time, the Canadian government and industry are planning to expand oil and gas production well past 2050, the year the government has previously committed to achieving “net-zero” emissions.

“In terms of Canada’s moral responsibility, this country needs to stop pumping carbon into the atmosphere, stop paying subsidies [to fossil fuel companies], and not depend on false hopes like carbon capture technology,” Hussan said.

“Climate debt isn’t just money.”

Daphné Dossios, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, New Canadian Media

Canada's new climate adaptation plan puts up $1.6 billion to tackle wildfires, heatwaves, flood risk and more

Canada’s much-anticipated roadmap to weather the impacts of climate change is out, and it includes $1.6 billion in new spending to fortify infrastructure, protect human health and predict future risks.

The country’s first National Adaptation Strategy lays out specific targets for its five focus areas: disaster resilience, health and well-being, nature and biodiversity, economy and workers and infrastructure.

Minister of Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair made the announcement in St. Peters Bay, P.E.I., on Nov. 24, two months after post-tropical storm Fiona hit the East Coast leaving colossal damage and mass power outages in its wake.

Coast to coast, Canadians have been touched by climate-linked disasters: From Fiona to British Columbia’s devastating floods and deadly heat wave.

Extreme weather events wreak havoc on people's lives and cause billions of dollars in damage: the adaptation strategy seeks to help us prepare for and deal with the inevitable impacts of climate change.

Of the $1.6 billion earmarked for initiatives over the next five years, $29.9 million will help expand a Health Canada program to provide guidance and resources to Canadians experiencing extreme heat, $284 million will go to reducing wildfire risk in communities and $164.2 million will help provide Canadians up-to-date flood risk maps. Flooding is Canada’s costliest hazard, with average residential costs of $2.9 billion per year, according to a report by Canada's Task Force on Flood Insurance and Relocation published in 2022.

There’s also a $489-million top-up to the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund and $530 million to expand the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Green Municipal Fund. Funding is also provided to carry out a Canada-wide climate assessment to help identify trends and risks associated with climate change.

One expert was pleasantly surprised by the contents of the plan.

“The adaptation strategy is actually stronger than what we were expecting. They've included very ambitious targets,” said Craig Stewart, the Insurance Bureau of Canada’s vice-president of federal affairs and spokesperson for Climate Proof Canada, a coalition of insurance industry representatives, municipal governments, Indigenous organizations, environmental NGOs and research organizations.

Stewart highlighted the 2028 commitment to develop a plan to get people who have been displaced by climate disasters back into their homes or resettled more quickly.

“That's significant,” he said. Homeowners with major destruction or total loss cannot return home for an average of nearly three years, according to an analysis by the Canadian Red Cross that examined over 4,000 recovery files from insured and uninsured events.

It also aims to completely eliminate deaths due to extreme heat waves by 2040 and embed climate change into all infrastructure decisions. By 2025, the goal is for at least 60 per cent of Canadians to be aware of the climate-related disaster risks for their households. Public education goals like this one are critical, said Stewart.

NDP MP and emergency preparedness critic Richard Cannings said in an emailed statement that the strategy is “a start” but the new funding “is only about a third of what is needed.” Calling it “too little, too late,” Cannings invoked a recent report by Canada’s auditor general that found Indigenous Services Canada is spending 3.5 times more money helping First Nations communities respond to and recover from emergencies than fund infrastructure projects that would lessen the impact of disasters.

The old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” rings true — Public Safety Canada says for every $1 invested in preparedness and mitigation, $6 can be saved in emergency response and recovery costs.

Above all, “it's nice to finally have a strategy,” said Ryan Ness, adaptation research director for the Canadian Climate Institute. The plan has “all the right bones,” but he would like more direct connections to be drawn between the action items and the biggest threats facing Canadians.

“It sort of immediately makes it clear that adaptation is a national priority and while maybe this strategy isn't perfect, it still is a really big step.”

Ness said the Canadian Climate Institute will publish a detailed review of the strategy in the coming weeks.

Provinces, territories and national Indigenous organizations now have 90 days to provide additional input on the strategy’s common goals and specific measurable targets and objectives.

Climate Action Network Canada welcomed the plan in a press release that emphasized “adaptation action is about saving lives and dismantling colonialism.”

“We also call on the government to tackle climate denial and misinformation, which acts as a distraction from urgent action and makes us more vulnerable to climate impacts,” reads a statement from Eddy Pérez, international climate diplomacy director, in the press release.

Natasha Bulowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada's National Observer

Indigenous cooperative restores forests to form ecological corridor in Bahia

NOT LOCKEAN PRIVATE PROPERTY

Story by Mongabay • By Sibélia Zanon

Indigenous cooperative restores forests to form ecological corridor in Bahia© Mongabay

“Our Atlantic Forest has several very important living beings, species that are already endangered and that we need to bring back,” says the Pataxó Matias Santana, president of the Foresters and Reforesters Work Cooperative of the Pataxó Boca da Mata Indigenous village (Cooplanjé), in the south of Bahia, Brazil. “We created the work cooperative to bring jobs to the community, to the family members.”

From 2018 until this year, Cooplanjé worked on restoring 210 hectares (519 acres) of degraded Atlantic Forest areas to increase forest connectivity between the Monte Pascoal National and Historical Park — the first piece of land sighted by Portuguese colonizers — and the Pau Brasil National Park, also integrating the Barra Velha Monte Pascoal Indigenous Territory of the Pataxó ethnic group.

“It was the first time that BNDES financed an AFS [agroforestry system] project in the Atlantic Forest biome,” says Marcos Lemos from the Natureza Bela Environmental Group, a project partner of the Pataxó. Fifty hectares (123 acres) out of 210 were restored within the Boca da Mata village. “We use this AFS as a restoration strategy for Monte Pascoal.”

In addition to the productive agroforestry system forming a kind of green belt sorrounding the reforested area, avoiding the entry of fire outbreaks, it is a way to strengthen the survival of Indigenous communities. “The conservation unit has an overlap with the communities of the Barra Velha of Monte Pascoal Indigenous Territory, which consists of 16 villages surrounding the park,” explains Lemos.



Indigenous cooperative restores forests to form ecological corridor in Bahia© Mongabay

Maintenance work in the restored area around the Pau Brasil National Park, in southern Bahia. Image courtesy of Natureza Bela Environmental Group.

Before the colonization

“Today I imagine that we have about 2,000 hectares [4,942 acres] or more going through a restoration process in the Monte Pascoal-Pau Brasil Ecological Corridor, most of them concentrated on the edges of the parks,” says researcher Paulo Dimas Rocha de Menezes from the Federal University of Southern Bahia.

Since 2005, restoration projects have collaborated to form the ecological corridor, which aims to connect the forest, contributing to the gene flow of animals and plant species and also to implement economic activities that benefit the people of the region.

“We have a history of deforestation and occupation of this region that was exclusively logging, first removing the Atlantic Forest and then entering with pastures,” says Lemos. “We are coming with a whole set of actions and institutions to maintain what exists and advance in preservation, considering that we are in a region with three national parks and we also have the Abrolhos Marine Park, which is influenced by these recharge areas.”

One of the largest remnants of Brazilwood forests (Paubrasilia echinata) survives in this region of water relevance and rich biodiversity. Near Monte Pascoal National Park, in a settlement of the Landless Workers Movement, the largest specimen of Brazilwood in the country was found in 2020, with an estimated age of 600 years and a circumference of more than 7 meters (23 feet).

The restoration of the region, called Discovery Coast, uses native species, which already covered the Bahian soil before the arrival of Portuguese colonizers. “We work with 132 endemic species and try to restore what used to be our flora. And here I could mention pau-brasil, ipê, conduru, jacaranda — species that we don’t find anymore,” says Lemos.



Indigenous cooperative restores forests to form ecological corridor in Bahia© Mongabay

Delivery of tools for the cultivation of agroforestry systems and firefighting equipment to the Pataxó community around the Monte Pascoal National and Historical Park, in southern Bahia. Image courtesy of Natureza Bela Environmental Group.

History of destruction

Besides conservation units and Indigenous villages, the region, also known as the Mosaic of Protected Areas of the Extreme South of Bahia (Mapes), includes private lands and suffers strong pressure from the use of native Atlantic Forest timber, usually acquired illegally.

“The devastation in the extreme south of Bahia is very recent,” says Dimas. “The first stretch that Europeans occupied on the coast was the last to be settled because colonization was forbidden here when they discovered Minas Gerais.”

To protect the gold discovered in the 17th century in Brazil’s interior, settlers were prohibited from the north of Espírito Santo to the south of Bahia. The Indigenous people there served as a shield, preventing non-Portuguese from entering the mining region.

In the 1880s, the construction of the Bahia-Minas Gerais Railroad exacerbated deforestation, which, followed by the agricultural fronts, intensified with the paving of the BR-101 highway in the 1970s.

“With the incentive of the military dictatorship, more than 200 sawmills were installed here and they destroyed the forest in 20 years,” says Dimas. “By the 1990s there was almost no forest left, except for what was later transformed into national parks.

If some accuse the Indigenous people of deforesting the area, experts say their use of wood for handicrafts is irrelevant compared with the region’s history of devastation.

“Our history proves that it is not them. They are the ones who suffer the most and are exploited even today in this issue of wood extraction,” says Lemos. “It is not so frequent anymore, but there is still an inhumane exploitation for the man who cuts this wood, because it is done in a handmade way and sold at very low prices, which comes to be a degradation of the human condition.”



Indigenous cooperative restores forests to form ecological corridor in Bahia© Mongabay

Nursery for forest restoration of the Cooperative of Foresters and Reforesters of the Pataxó Indigenous village Boca da Mata (Cooplanjé). Image courtesy of Natureza Bela Environmental Group.

Conflicts with farmers

In recent years, Cooplanjé and the productive agroforestry systems have emerged as an alternative to the use of wood in the Pataxó territory.

“Several families have left the extraction and processing of wood for restoration and agroforestry,” says Paulo Dimas. “If we had more resources, the ideal would be to take all the families out of this activity and turn them into forest-living families.”

Despite the advance, the Pataxó people live in a situation of constant conflict with ranchers. “Here in the territory of Barra Velha, near the Monte Pascoal Park, this area that the [Indigenous] community entered is a demarcated area that has already been ratified, but today it is occupied by ranchers,” says Santana. “We have already had a dispute with the government and with Funai to pay for the property that the ranchers have on the land and to liberate our territory, but it was never paid. So the community makes the claim in this way, retaking the area.”

According to Paulo Dimas, the amount of land in possession of the Pataxó in the Barra Velha do Monte Pascoal Indigenous Territory is very restricted. “They have the right here to more than 50,000 hectares (123,553 acres) of land already demarcated and they are in possession of 9,000 hectares (22,240 acres). With this, they cannot maintain traditional activities and have to live on tourism, trade or handicrafts.”

Santana wanted to keep the 80 families who worked on the BNDES-funded restoration project within Cooplanjé, but it was not possible due to a lack of new projects. At the moment, only five families remain working in the cooperative.

“Our plan is to seek partners and funders directly, so we can have an independent Indigenous organization. We are looking for other partners so that we can bring jobs into the community,” says Santana. “Now we are happy because we are building a partnership for seed delivery and we are also partnering with a nursery in São Paulo to produce seedlings.”

Banner image of maintenance work in the restored area around the Pau Brasil National Park, in southern Bahia, Brazil. Image courtesy of Natureza Bela Environmental Group.

This story was reported by Mongabay’s Brazil team and first published here on our Brazil site on Nov. 10, 2022.

This article was originally published on Mongabay

The award-winning conservationist fighting to save a forest | Watch (msn.com)

It Sounds Funny, But Laughing Gas Could Be the Key to Detecting Aliens

Story by Tim Newcomb • POP MECH

The use of biosignatures in the search for space-based life should include nitrous oxide, researchers say.
The presence of laughing gas—or N2O—can signify the presence of living organisms.
Nitrous oxide may be easier to see with current technology than previously thought.

Don’t laugh off the potential value in finding nitrous oxide (N2O) in space atmospheres—scientists say the laughing gas could be a key biosignature in the search for life beyond our own planet.

Add in that our current technology (looking at you, James Webb Space Telescope) is adept at locating N20, and it’s clear why researchers at the University of California, Riverside want us to take laughing gas seriously.

🚀 Science explains the world around us. 

In a paper published earlier this month in The Astrophysical Journal, researchers from UCR’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, including astrobiologist Eddie Schwieterman, say we’ve focused plenty on oxygen and methane as biosignatures, but skipping out on nitrous oxide “may be a mistake.”

As scientists study exoplanets in the search for extraterrestrial life, they strain for a view of biosignatures, typically the same gases found in abundance in Earth’s atmosphere— because, well, they’re what we personally know can support life. But Schwieterman and his team used simulations to show that with different stars from the sun we know and love, the biosignature search could well include N2O. Better yet, the James Webb Space Telescope could easily detect the colorless gas, famously used as a dental anesthetic and in preparing homemade whipped cream.

“In a star system like TRAPPIST-1, the nearest and best system to observe the atmosphere of rocky planets, you could potentially detect nitrous oxide at levels comparable to CO2 or methane,” Schwieterman says in a news release.

Living organisms create N2O in a variety of ways, continually transforming other nitrogen compounds into nitrous oxide via a metabolic process that can yield useful cellular energy. “Life generates nitrogen waste products that are converted by some microorganisms into nitrates,” Schwieterman says. “In a fish tank, these nitrates build up, which is why you have to change the water. However, under the right conditions in the ocean, certain bacteria can convert those nitrates into N2O. The gas then leaks into the atmosphere.”

Sure, the UCR team knows that in some circumstances, an atmosphere containing N2O doesn’t necessarily indicate life—lightning, for example, produces N2O. But the team believes that in these cases, plenty of other gases would exist that show the N2O is a geological process, not something from a living organism.

In the past, researchers have pooh-poohed the idea of looking for nitrous oxide, simply because they said it would be tricky to see. But that idea is based on the fact that Earth’s atmosphere isn’t heavy in N2O.


Nitrous oxide—commonly known as “laughing gas”—is a colorless gas, stored in liquid form, that dentists use to produce anesthetic effects in patients undergoing surgeries like wisdom teeth removal. It’s also sold in bulk in tiny cylinders to help bakers give homemade whipped cream its oomph. Now, scientists say it’s a biomarker that could signal life forms on distant exoplanets.

© annick vanderschelden photography - Getty Images

“This conclusion doesn’t account for periods in Earth’s history where ocean conditions would have allowed for much greater biological release of N20,” Schwieterman says. “Conditions in those periods might mirror where an exoplanet is today.”

Consider that our sun does a fine job of breaking up N2O molecules compared to some other less-impressive celestial bodies, like dwarf stars K and M, that don’t have as powerful a light spectrum to break up the molecules. It’s then possible that nitrous oxide molecules could hang on quite a bit longer on those stars.

This all led the team—which included folks from Purdue University, the Georgia Institute of Technology, American University, and the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center—into the belief that now is the time for astrobiologists to consider N2O as an alternative biosignature.

“We wanted to put this idea forward,” Schwieterman says, “to show it’s not out of the question we’d find this biosignature gas if we look for it.”