Latin America Looks To Capitalize On Soaring Lithium Demand

Editor OilPrice.com
Sun, February 19, 2023 

With the success of the energy transition closely tied to the ability to store solar and wind power, battery manufacturers are zeroing in on Latin America’s so-called lithium triangle of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile.

These three countries alone contain 52m, or 53%, of the 98m tonnes of global lithium reserves, according to the US Geological Survey.

In late January Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Argentina and Chile to secure lithium supply for carmakers Mercedes-Benz Group and Volkswagen to produce electric vehicle (EV) batteries. Germany reached a memorandum of understanding with Argentina for increased supply and plans to offer Chile a deal that is reportedly more favourable than its current arrangement with China.

Days before Chancellor Scholz’s trip, Chinese firms Contemporary Amperex Technology, its subsidiary Brunp Recycling and the mining company CMOC signed a $1bn agreement with Bolivia’s state-owned mining company Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos to explore for lithium in the country, which has the largest identified lithium reserves in the world, at 21m tonnes.

Argentina has 20m tonnes and Chile 11m tonnes, while Mexico has 1.7m tonnes and Brazil 730,000 tonnes, giving Latin America a 55.5% share of global reserves as of 98m tonnes.

By 2040 the International Energy Agency expects demand for lithium could grow some 40-fold.

With 74% of lithium consumption in 2021 going towards batteries – most notably for EVs but also for clean energy storage – commercial diplomacy backed by public-private partnerships is positioning Latin America as the centre of global lithium supply for the coming decades.

Latin America’s leading producers

While the lithium triangle boasts substantial reserves, production figures are higher in countries that have fully developed their upstream sectors.

Australia was the world’s largest lithium producer in 2022, at 61,000 tonnes – or 46.9% of the global total – with 7.9m tonnes in identified reserves. Meanwhile, Chile produced 39,000 tonnes (30%), China 19,000 tonnes (14.6%), Argentina 6200 tonnes (4.8%) and Brazil 2200 tonnes (1.7%).

It is notable that Chile has been the continent’s leading producer for over a decade, steadily increasing production from 10,500 tonnes in 2015 to 19,300 tonnes in 2019, 28,300 tonnes in 2021, and 39,000 tonnes in 2022.

The country has two active mining companies but has not opened a new mine in 30 years, largely because private companies do not own their resources under the country’s laws, which discourages potential plays.

Local community and political concerns

Lithium mining and processing has faced backlash from local communities worried about the environmentally damaging aspects of the practice and poor labour standards. Chile’s President Gabriel Boric has taken up the issue in his first year in office, which makes a partnership with Germany timely, as Chancellor Scholz underscored Germany’s own environmental and labour standards during his trip.

Similar concerns surround China’s deal with Bolivia. Though the partnership aims to build two plants capable of producing 25,000 tonnes each – which would make Bolivia the largest producer on the continent – local political and community opposition has derailed past projects in recent decades, and the opposition party voiced its objections in the wake of the deal’s announcement.

Argentina is well positioned to ramp up its production, which has held between 6000 and 6400 tonnes since 2018, and has the potential to overtake Chile.

In addition to the agreement with Germany, last December Vancouver-based Lithium Americas paid $227m for the shares it did not already own in Arena Minerals, another Canadian company with a holding in the Pastos Grandes Basin. The move aims to consolidate operations of the companies’ adjacent lithium mines and begin production in the first half of 2023.

“Energy and mining pose great opportunities for Salta and the Norte Grande to reverse historical inequities. Many mining projects are entering the commercial stage, and the lithium boom generates favourable prospects for the region,” Abel Fernandez, executive director of the Industrial Union of Salta, told OBG.

However, the governor of the lithium-rich La Rioja Province declared lithium a strategic resource and suspended mining rights in January, calling into question Argentina’s attractiveness to private companies and underscoring the political headwinds facing the global rush for lithium supplies.

In a similar move, last year the Mexican government reformed the mining law to nationalise lithium, in line with its prior moves in the energy sector that have since stymied investment in that industry.

The potential to expand lithium output in these strategic markets may therefore hinge on the ability to reach a compromise in these key policy areas.
Local supply chains

Perhaps the most important precondition for refined lithium supply for batteries is processing. China has long held a dominant position in this regard, accounting for nearly 60% of global refining capacity in 2022, albeit down from a 65% share in 2021.

Most Latin American lithium carbonate already finds its way to China for processing. Of Chile’s exports in November 2022, some $455m – or 66% of the total – went to China, with 13% going to South Korea and 10% to Japan.

With a slew of major car manufacturers shoring up their positions in EV manufacturing, the expansion of lithium exploitation and processing could create a complete supply chain within key Latin American countries.

Mexico has attracted attention in this regard, bolstered by recent intergovernmental supply chain diplomacy between Canada, Mexico and the US.

OBG recently described how the North American Leaders’ Summit in January deepened coordination and investment in semiconductor supply chains. At the same summit, the leaders of the three countries also committed to “expanding North American critical minerals resource mapping to collect details on resources and reserves”.

Two weeks ago German carmaker BMW announced it will construct an $800m plant in the state of San Luis Potosi, with more than half of the investment going towards building a new high-voltage battery assembly plant. Tesla is expected to make a similar announcement in the near future to build a battery and car manufacturing plant in Mexico, according to Marcelo Ebrard, the country’s foreign affairs minister.

Last year US carmaker General Motors transitioned its manufacturing plant in Coahuila from producing internal combustion engine vehicles to EVs. The company plans to invest a total of $27bn in EV products from 2022 to 2025.

By Oxford Business Group

CULTURE WAR; PHONICS VS. WHOLE LANGUAGE

‘The Evidence is Clear’: Ohio Gov Pushes For Science of Reading As Only Approach

Patrick O’Donnell
Tue, February 21, 2023


Ohio could soon join the rush of states requiring schools to use the “Science of Reading” in all its classrooms by fall, 2024 — going even further than many states by banning other literacy approaches that have lost credibility.

Currently, state law allows districts to teach reading however they want. Under his proposed bill, DeWine would force them to pick only phonics-based Science of Reading materials from a list the Ohio Department of Education will create.

Dewine has also asked the state legislature to ban use of any “three cueing” materials or lessons — an approach considered the foundation of popular teaching methods known as Whole Language, Balanced Literacy or, particularly in Ohio, Reading Recovery.

“The jury has returned,” DeWine, a Republican, said in his State of the State speech late last month where he led off his address with the importance of the Science of Reading. “The evidence is clear. The verdict is in.”

“There is a great deal of research about how we learn to read,” he said. “And today, we understand the great value and importance of phonics. Not all literacy curriculums are created equal, and sadly, many Ohio students do not have access to the most effective reading curriculum.”

DeWine is seeking $129 million from the legislature to retrain teachers and replace elementary school textbooks.

With hearings on the bill just beginning, it’s still unclear whether DeWine’s ban, which other states are also considering, will win support.

While DeWine’s plan to back the Science of Reading won strong applause at his speech and praise from some Republicans, there has been no debate yet on his ban, which only became public when bill language was released a week ago. And one of the state’s teachers unions has raised concerns about mandating a single approach to teaching reading.

There could also be logistical issues to such a dramatic shift going into effect in less than 19 months.

How many Ohio schools or teachers will need to change how reading is taught remains unclear: The state does not track how many teachers are trained in the Science of Reading or how many elementary schools are using it to teach children. The state education department could only say that “many” teachers are not trained in the Science of Reading.

Additionally, the state’s Department of Higher Education said it does not know which reading methods colleges and universities are training prospective teachers in.

DeWine’s ban also puts Ohio State University’s Reading Recovery, a widely-used reading intervention program based on three-cueing, in his crosshairs. Officials of the program did not respond to requests for comment.

The so-called “Reading Wars” of the last decade have pitched supporters of phonics against those who back related methods like whole language and balanced literacy in which students are taught to guess words they don’t know from cues such as context, pictures or letters.

Related: How COVID Reshaped the Reading Wars in Texas: Educators Say More Structured ‘Science of Reading’ Approach Worked Best During Pandemic

As studies in support of phonics and other Science of Reading concepts have mounted, even ardent champions of other methods like Lucy Calkins of Columbia University’s Teachers College have backed down and started incorporating more phonics into their books and lessons.

In the last 10 years, more than half of all states have passed laws encouraging or incorporating Science of Reading in classrooms. Ohio has moved in that direction in recent years, making Science of Reading part of the state’s recommended literacy improvement strategy, but not requiring schools to use it.

Only a few states have gone as far as DeWine proposes, including Arkansas and Louisiana, which have already banned schools from using any of the methods based on three-cueing.

Related: Review: Why You Should Buy into the ‘Sold a Story’ Podcast

But officials in eight other states are joining Ohio in seeking similar bans, according to Tom Greene, National Legislative Director for ExcelinEd in Action, the education advocacy group created by former Florida Republican Governor Jeb Bush.

Legislation has been filed in Indiana (SB 402), New Hampshire (HB 437), Florida (SB 758), West Virginia (SB 274), and Texas (HB 2162) with bills expected soon in Nevada, Oklahoma, and South Carolina outlawing three-cueing, he said.

“Eliminating three cueing is a strong step in the right direction to ensure all kids are proficient readers by the end of the 3rd grade,” Greene said. “These state leaders are looking at the research, hearing personal stories of struggling readers, and listening to the concerns of teachers about the harmful effects of this approach.”

Related: Science of Reading Gives Kids the Best Chance to Close the Literacy Gap

But Scott DiMauro, president of the Ohio Education Association, one of two teachers’ unions in the state, has already said educators shouldn’t be limited in how they teach reading.

DiMauro said last week – before the full scope of DeWine’s plan was made public — that all teachers use phonics as part of their lessons, but they are “just one piece of a larger puzzle” when it comes to teaching reading, and that a “one size fits all” solution was not a good move.

“As far as saying approach x versus approach y, as a prescribed reading plan, we don’t don’t think it’s appropriate,” DiMauro said.

Ohio State Senate education committee chair Andrew Brenner, who plans his own bill to require phonics, predicted the change would not only affect elementary schools, but also the state’s universities and teacher training programs.

DeWine’s plan sets aside $43 million in each of the next two years for the Ohio Department of Education to create training in the Science of Reading for any teacher who hasn’t had it, run training sessions and pay teachers a stipend for attending.

DeWine’s plan is built into his proposed two year state budget. Though the budget bill won’t likely be passed until just before the end of June, portions of it could be split off for vote sooner as part of Brenner’s bill or others.

FAKE FUEL

Porsche's Plan to Produce (Nearly) Carbon-Neutral Gasoline in Texas

Jim Motavalli
Tue, February 21, 2023

 
HIF Global’s plant producing synthetic gasoline in southern Chile. Construction on a U.S. e-fuel plant in Texas will begin next year.

Is Porsche on to something? Last June, the German automaker announced that it was investing $75 million and acquiring a 12.5-percent stake in HIF Global LLC, a Chilean company that is producing what’s called “e-fuel,” sustainably-produced gasoline and other conventional fuels produced unconventionally—using hydrogen produced via wind power and captured carbon dioxide (CO2). Fossil fuels for transportation appear doomed globally because of their major contribution to climate change, but HIF thinks it can produce viable replicas in a process that is “nearly” carbon neutral. When burned, e-fuels will still produce tailpipe emissions, of course.

HIF’s first plant, in partnership with ExxonMobil (which is providing its methanol-to-gasoline technology) and Siemens as well as Porsche, is in Chile. But it plans to expand in a big way into the U.S., with as many as a dozen locations.

Michael Steiner, a member of Porsche’s executive board for research and development, said in conjunction with the announcement, “We see ourselves as pioneers in e-fuels and want to drive the technology. This is one building block in our clear, overall sustainability strategy.”

One reason European companies are taking a keen interest in e-fuels is that they’re under study by the European Parliament as a possible loophole in the law banning sale of new internal-combustion vehicles by 2035. Manufacturers are being asked to demonstrate e-fuel’s feasibility by 2026. For that reason, e-fuel has a higher profile in Europe now than it does in the U.S., though that could change. The European law, which exempts fossil fuels in heavy trucks and buses, was finalized in mid-February.

The company’s pilot plant, Haru Oni, in Punta Arenas, Chile officially opened last December with the “ceremonial fueling” of a Porsche 911. The hydrogen is produced via electrolysis of water; a 3.4-megawatt Siemens Gamesa wind turbine co-located with the plant powers the process. Future upgrades will add a lot more wind power.



The location in southernmost Chile makes sense because the wind blows there 270 days a year. In the pilot phase, HIF plans to produce approximately 34,000 gallons of its e-gasoline and send it to Porsche for use in motorsports events such as the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, as well as at the company’s experience centers. But by the middle of the decade HIF says the plant will be capable of producing 14.5 million gallons of fuel annually. Two years later, the company says the plant will be up to its full capacity—145.3 million gallons of gasoline and methanol.

But Chile is just the start. HIF is also building a plant in Australia, in northwest Tasmania, producing enough fuel annually to decarbonize five million vehicles. And there’s a third one in Texas. Yes, Texas. The state may harbor some suspicion about fossil-fuel bans, but it is also home to one of the country’s best wind resources—the state’s High Plains region alone has more than 11,000 wind turbines.

The $6 billion plant will be built by the Houston-based U.S. arm of HIF near Bay City, Texas. The Peyton Creek Wind Farm, a huge 151-megawatt facility, opened in Matagorda County (where Bay City is located) in 2020. Bechtel is working on front-end engineering and design of the HIF plant, with construction to begin in the first quarter of 2024.

The HIF Global plant in Chile under construction.

HIF says the Texas plant will produce its first e-fuel in 2027, initially 14,000 barrels per day, or 200 million gallons annually. It plans to make synthetic e-methanol, e-gasoline and e-liquified petroleum gas. Asked how the fuel will be used, HIF said, “The products can be sold anywhere in the U.S. and are considered ‘drop-in’ fuels because they can be used by existing infrastructure and engines. They have the highest value in places that also have economic rewards for low-carbon alternatives.”

HIF says the best such carbon market is in California, which like Europe has 2035 as a fossil fuel deadline for new cars. New York, New Jersey, Washington State and Massachusetts are following California’s lead, and other states are taking parts of California’s plans. In a statement to Jalopnik, HIF said its e-gasoline could keep the huge number of internal-combustion cars in those states running on near-carbon-neutral fuel after 2035. In a statement, the company said, “California’s prohibition on internal-combustion vehicles is on sale of new vehicles. E-fuels can be used by existing vehicles until they reach the end of their useful life, thereby providing a decarbonization pathway for existing infrastructure, a complement to electrification of new infrastructure.”

Porsche agrees with this. In a statement sent by research and development spokesperson Hermann-Josef Stappen, Porsche said, “There will remain a high demand for CO2-reduced fuels for the existing car fleet well beyond 2030. Besides in the existing car fleet, e-fuels can also be used in other transportation sectors such as aviation, shipping, trucks, heavy duty and construction machinery to reduce carbon emissions. Therefore, we see a huge potential for the use of e-fuels.”


Porsche’s Michael Steiner: “We see ourselves as pioneers in e-fuels.”

California has a Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), “designed to decrease the carbon intensity of California’s transportation fuel pool and provide an increasing range of low-carbon and renewable alternatives, which reduce petroleum dependency and achieve air quality benefits.”

The LCFS offers credits for EV adoption, alternative jet fuel, carbon capture and sequestration, and “advanced technologies to achieve deep decarbonization in the transportation sector.” Does HIF’s products fit into this? It appears likely.

California Air Resources Board spokesman Dave Clegern told Jalopnik, “New fuels can apply to the program and do not require an amendment. Fuel producers must apply to the program and meet LCFS requirements, including delivering that fuel to California as a transportation fuel. For all types of fuel, staff must assess the fuel production pathway to understand the inputs and outputs to ensure accurate lifecycle assessment and carbon-intensity evaluation. New fuels can take longer to evaluate than fuels where we have established pathways.”

The biggest hurdle to widespread adoption of this fuel is its cost. It’s not surprising that Porsche is limiting use of the fuel in the initial stages, because it’s initially going to cost something like $44 a gallon. Scaling up production will reduce that—the parties hope—to something like $7.50 a gallon by mid-decade. That’s still hugely expensive, of course.

The supportive Germany-based eFuel Alliance is relatively optimistic. Ralf Diemer, managing director of the Alliance, told Jalopnik, “We will see plenty of large industrialized [e-fuel] production sites in the U.S. Therefore, I am pretty confident that in 2035 we will have reached competitive prices with fossil fuels. Maybe even in 2030.”

The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) thinks that, even at scale, e-fuel will cost $9 per gallon in the U.S., and $12 a gallon in Europe. “We hope the road sector will be fully electrified—hopefully by 2035 for passenger vehicles and 2040 for heavy duty vehicles—and at that time it will only make sense to use e-fuels in aviation, and maybe maritime,” said Stephanie Searle, program director for fuels and the U.S. at ICCT. “It seems unlikely that the dwindling internal-combustion fleet beyond 2035 will be running on 100 percent e-fuels, given how expensive they are.”

The second U.S. HIF plant, with a location as-yet unannounced, will be designed to produce e-jet fuel. “We will know our cost better after we complete engineering,” the company said. Ultimately, HIF wants to build 12 e-fuel plants in the U.S.

Searle also said that the Environmental Protection Agency is taking comment on the possibility of expanding the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to include e-fuels produced from electricity such as wind and solar if the CO2 used is captured from biomass combustion. By law, the RFS can only include biomass-based fuels.

 Jalopnik

Russia calls UN meeting on Nord Stream pipelines sabotage

Tue, February 21, 2023 

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia called a Security Council meeting Tuesday on last September's explosions at the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines from Russia to Western Europe after circulating a resolution calling for a U.N. investigation of the sabotage.

Ahead of the meeting, the ambassadors of Denmark, Sweden and Germany sent a letter to council members saying their investigations have established the pipelines were extensively damaged "by powerful explosions due to sabotage.”

The letter, circulated Tuesday morning, said further investigations are being conducted in all three countries and that it's unclear when they'll finish. It says Russian authorities have been informed about the ongoing investigations.

Security Council experts held closed consultations Monday on the Russian draft resolution and council diplomats said there was opposition to it. No vote was expected at Tuesday’s meeting, council diplomats said.

Some council diplomats view the resolution as a “spoiler” attempt to take the spotlight off U.N. meetings and adoption of a U.N. General Assembly resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and demanding the withdrawal of all its forces on Thursday, the eve of the first anniversary of President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Nord Stream 1 carried Russian gas to Germany until Moscow cut off supplies at the end of August 2022. Nord Stream 2 never entered service as Germany suspended its certification process shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. The explosions on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines took place on Sept. 26.

Russia has alleged that the U.S. was behind the attack, and the country's resolution says the sabotage "occurred after the repeated threats to the Nord Stream by the leadership of the United States.”

The U.S. denies the allegation. U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price last week called it “pure disinformation" that the U.S. was involved in targeting Nord Stream.

In their letter to the council, Denmark, Sweden and Germany reiterated that acts of sabotage against the pipelines were "unacceptable, endanger international security and give cause for our deep concern.”

Concerns about the indirect effects on greenhouse gas emmissions are ”substantial and worrisome," the letter said.

The Russian draft resolution, circulated to Security Council members and obtained by The Associated Press, expresses serious concern at the “devastating consequences to the environment” from the acts of sabotage which also “pose a threat to international peace and security.”

It asks U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to urgently establish an independent international investigation of the sabotage to identify "its perpetrators, sponsors, organizers and accomplices.” It says pipeline operator Russia and other interested parties have been barred from national investigations into the matter.

Markey urges DHS to drop smartphone app for migrants



Lauren Sforza
Tue, February 21, 2023

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) sent a letter Tuesday to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) urging it to discontinue the use of a smartphone app required by migrants seeking asylum at the southern border to use.

The CBP One app, which was rolled out in 2021, was established to allow migrants to submit applications for asylum before they cross the U.S. border. Markey said in his letter that requiring migrants to submit sensitive information, including biometric and location data, on the app raises “serious privacy concerns,” and demanded that DHS cease its use of it.

“This expanded use of the CBP One app raises troubling issues of inequitable access to — and impermissible limits on — asylum, and has been plagued by significant technical problems and privacy concerns. DHS should shelve the CBP One app immediately,” Markey said in his letter.

“Rather than mandating use of an app that is inaccessible to many migrants, and violates both their privacy and international law, DHS should instead implement a compassionate, lawful, and human rights centered approach for those seeking asylum in the United States,” he continued.

He said that the use of this technology has also faced technical problems, including with its facial recognition software misidentifying people of color.

“Technology can facilitate asylum processing, but we cannot allow it to create a tiered system that treats asylum seekers differently based on their economic status — including the ability to pay for travel — language, nationality, or race,” he said.

The app has negative ratings on both the Google Play and Apple app stores, with many users criticizing the app for crashing and for other technical issues.

When the rollout of CBP One was announced in 2021, Customs and Border Protection said the app was meant to “streamline” legal travel to the United States.

“As part of CBP’s comprehensive effort to improve the security of our nation’s borders while enhancing legitimate travel and trade, CBP One will provide increased accessibility and transparency to some of CBP’s most utilized services,” the Customs and Border Protection website states.

This letter comes as the Biden administration reportedly plans to adopt a new rule that would prohibit migrants from seeking asylum in the United States if they did not initially attempt to apply for it from the country they were coming from. Migrants would not be eligible for the program if they cross an international border without applying first.

President Biden has warned migrants seeking asylum to “not just show up at the border,” saying that they should stay where they are to apply for a newly announced parole program, or they will not qualify. He announced last month that parole program will be expanded for migrants from Venezuela, Nicaragua and Haiti.

Israel’s Giant Natural Gas Field Is Preparing For An LNG Terminal

Editor OilPrice.com
Tue, February 21, 2023 at 7:59 AM MST·2 min read

Funding for a new floating LNG terminal off Israel’s coast has been approved by the partners in the Leviathan gas field, the companies said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

The expansion of the Leviathan field, which includes a new LNG terminal, will boost Leviathan’s production to allow for increased exports to Europe, which is looking to disentangle itself from the shackles of Russian energy.

The Leviathan field currently produces around 12 bcm per year, which is sold to Israel, Egypt, and Jordan. The partners in the Leviathan field have agreed to sink another $100 million into field developments, including a new floating LNG terminal in a move that the companies say will boost the field’s production to 21 bcm per year.

The partners have dedicated $45 million to expanding production and $51.5 million to preparing the floating LNG terminal, which is expected to have an annual capacity of 6.5 bcm.

Israel and Egypt have already signed an MOU to send Israeli gas through Egyptian LNG plants to the EU. The group has cautioned that it will still take three years from FID before gas starts flowing to Egypt’s LNG facilities, and the floating LNG part will follow that.

The partners in the project - which include NewMed, Chevron, and Ratio Energies - have estimated the recoverable gas in Leviathan at 22.9 TCF, hailing it as the largest natural gas reservoir in the Mediterranean and one of the largest producing assets in the region.

Over the last decade, Israel has become an energy exporter after several sizeable discoveries.

Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting sanctions on its energy products, Russia was the largest supplier of natural gas to the European Union, supplying roughly 40% of the EU’s demand in 2021.

WE ARE FILTHY STINKING RICH
The Mormon Church settles allegations it hid $32 billion in investments. A top exec said the church was worried its staggering wealth would cause members to stop donating.

Chris Panella
Tue, February 21, 2023 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, historic Mormon Salt Lake Temple is shown here on December 17, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. A inside whistle blower has alleged the Mormon Church misled members on how a $100 billion investment fund was used.

George Frey/Getty Images

The SEC charged The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its investment company Tuesday.

The charges allege the two "went to great lengths" to hid the church's $34 billion in investment assets.

A top exec said the church was worried revealing its wealth would cause members to stop donating, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Mormon Church agreed to settled allegations it tried to hide $34 billion in investment assets — a move a top executive said was done in part because the church was worried members wouldn't donate if they realized how rich it was.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission charged The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Esign Peak Advisers Inc., the church's investment management company, on Tuesday for disclosure failures and misstated filings.

According to the SEC, the church and Ensign Peak "went to great lengths to avoid disclosing the Church's investments, depriving the Commission and the investing public of accurate market information."

The church and Ensign Peak agreed to pay a collective $5 million settlement to settle the charges.

According to a 2020 story in the The Wall Street Journal, officials said Ensign Peak's investment fund, which was one of the largest in the world, was "a rainy-day account to be used in difficult economic times."

Roger Clarke, the head of Ensign Peak Advisors, told the Journal that church leaders were concerned that knowledge of the fund would discourage regular donations from its members known as tithes.

"Paying tithing is more of a sense of commitment than it is the church needing the money," Clarke said two years ago. "So they never wanted to be in a position where people felt like, you know, they shouldn't make a contribution."

The scale of the church's wealth only became apparent in 2019 when David Nielsen, a former employee of Ensign Peak Advisors, made a whistleblower complaint.

The Mormon Church's investment portfolio features billions in Apple, Microsoft, and health care stocks, Insider previously reported.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Develop vaccines for all animal influenza strain, says incoming WHO chief scientist



Mon, February 20, 2023
By Natalie Grover

LONDON (Reuters) - Governments should invest in vaccines for all strains of influenza virus that exist in the animal kingdom as an insurance policy in case of an outbreak in humans, the incoming chief scientist at the World Health Organization said on Monday.

Countries ranging from the United States and Britain to France and Japan have suffered record losses of poultry in outbreaks of avian flu in the past year.

The recent spread to mammals of H5N1 - commonly known as bird flu – needed to be monitored, but the risk to humans remained low, the WHO said earlier this month.

Incoming WHO chief scientist Jeremy Farrar said he would like to see the pharmaceutical industry at least conduct some clinical trials for all influenza strains such that the world would not have to start from scratch to initiate global manufacturing should the need arise.

"My concern that we're in slow motion watching something which may never happen," he added in a media briefing. "But if it were to happen, would we look back on what we're doing at the moment and say, why didn't we do more?"

Farrar is a clinical scientist who most recently served as the director of the Wellcome Trust. He was appointed as the WHO's chief scientist in December, and will formally join the agency later this year.

(Reporting by Natalie Grover in London; Editing by Alex Richardson)

Prepare bird flu vaccines now before virus jumps to humans, top scientist warns

Paul Nuki
Mon, February 20, 2023

Experts examine a dead sea lion on a beach in Peru, suspected to have died from bird flu - Serfor Per/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Governments across the world should urgently organise vaccines and other countermeasures to combat bird flu lest the disease which recently jumped to mammals starts to spread in humans, according to one of the world’s leading scientists.

Sir Jeremy Farrar, a former member of Sage and Chief Scientist designate of the Word Health Organization, said the avian H5N1 virus which is sweeping global bird populations posed the biggest current pandemic threat to the world after Covid.

The recent jump of the virus from birds to mammals, including mink, foxes, otters and sea lions here in Britain and around the world, should be regarded as a claxon call for government action, he added.

“If there was an outbreak in Europe, the Middle East, America or Mexico tomorrow of H5N1 in humans, we wouldn't be able to vaccinate the world within 2023,” said Sir Jeremy at a press briefing in London.

“So what I would like to see [is]... governments invest in having vaccines for every strain of influenza that exists in the animal kingdom through at least phase one and phase two [clinical trials].”

Sir Jeremy said the investment required to make such vaccines would not be wasted even if the current bird flu pandemic did not jump to humans.

“If there were an H5N1 outbreak [in humans] we would at least know that we had vaccines available, which were safe and effective. And if it doesn't happen, you haven't lost, because you’ve still got those [vaccines].”

Sir Jeremy added that a failure to act now, not just in creating new vaccines but in lowering the risk of the virus jumping to humans by improving biosecurity in farms and markets, could be seen in hindsight as a tragic omission.

“Imagine, tomorrow morning at nine o'clock there’s a report that there’s 100 people admitted to a hospital somewhere with a nasty respiratory virus, and it happens to be H5N1,” he said.

“That’s my concern; that we’re in slow motion watching something which may never happen but if it were to happen, would we look back and say, ‘Why didn’t we do more?’”
Genetic mutations

H5N1 was first reported in the Far East almost 20 years ago and has spread to become common in farmed poultry and wild birds around the world.

Although it does not yet spread efficiently between people, there have been 868 confirmed human cases and 457 deaths due to avian influenza cases reported to the World Health Organisation from 21 countries since 2003.

The fatality rate in humans is estimated to be around 50 per cent, although this varies by country and the exact strain of the virus observed.

What is worrying scientists now is that the virus has spread to affect many more types of bird and mammals.

Further, scientists have observed genetic mutations in the virus which they say may carry “public health implications”.

Sir Jeremy said the progress of H5N1 in the last few years could be characterised as a terrible natural experiment.

“If you wanted … to create something nasty, you would take a nonhuman influenza virus, you'd let it spread around the world amongst poultry, wild birds, etc,” he said.

“You would let those wild birds and poultry mix with mammals … and then you'd gradually let it go into minx and then maybe foxes and then maybe seals … and maybe dogs and cats.

“And then you'd see a small cluster of human cases somewhere having acquired the evolutionary advantage of mammalian to mammalian transmission.

“And you do that at a global scale, so there’s a shedload of viruses circulating.

“That's what we're doing.”

Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security

UK

Public told to ‘bin’ dead birds despite avian flu outbreak


Public told to ‘bin’ dead birds despite avian flu outbreak

Matt Mathers
Mon, February 20, 2023 

Members of the public were reportedly told by authorities to pick up and bin dead birds despite an ongoing avian flu outbreak.

The world is currently facing its largest-ever outbreak of bird flu and officials warned earlier this month that the virus is spreading to other mammals.

The current risk to humans is low, according to the World Health Organisation, but experts have warned the public that this might not remain the case.

Official guidance issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) tells people who find dead birds to report it and not pick the animals up.

But a woman told MailOnline that call handlers at the “overwhelmed” service advised them to put any carcasses they discovered in the bin.

Wendy Hermon, operations director at the charity Swan Support, which rescues and treats sick and injured swans, called Defra in December to inform it of two dead birds in the Thames Valley area.

She said she “highly suspected” that the bird had died from avian flu.

Ms Hermon said a call handler told her to dispose of the birds “in a bin” if authorities had not been called out within 48 hours.

She said she was told that this was because workers were “so busy”.

Ms Hermon claimed other people told her they’d had similar experiences.

Bird flu is infecting wild bird populations across the globe 

(Alamy/PA) ((Alamy/PA))

Defra advice states that people should contact them if they find one or more dead bird of prey, gull, swan, goose or duck in the same place or five or more dead wild birds of any other species in the same place.

A spokesperson for Defra’s Animal and Plant Health Agency said: “We are clear that members of the public should not touch dead wild birds, as set out in our guidance published on gov.uk.

“Members of the public should use the online reporting system or call the Defra helpline if they find one or more dead wild bird of prey, gull, swan, goose or duck or five or more dead wild birds of any species.

“Local authorities are responsible for the disposal of dead birds on public land.”

Hundreds of avian flu cases have been reported in birds since the latest outbreak began in October 2021, with millions culled by farmers in a bid to prevent the disease from spreading.

Cases have been reported in Cheshire, Fife, the Shetland Isles, the Isle of Skye and Cornwall.

Foxes and otters have been infected with the virus. It’s believed they picked it up by eating infected birds.

Bird flu has led to the deaths of around 208 million birds worldwide.

There have been 171 confirmed cases of bird flu in the UK since 1 October last year, according to Defra’s most recent data.

Bird flu kills sea lions and thousands of pelicans in Peru's protected areas


Pelicans are seen at Pescadores beach in the Chorrillos district of Lima


Tue, February 21, 2023

(Reuters) - Bird flu has killed tens of thousands of birds, mostly pelicans, and at least 716 sea lions in protected areas across Peru, the authorities said, as the H5N1 strain spreads throughout the region.

Peru recorded its first case of the virus in November in birds in the north of the country. Since then it has killed 63,000 birds, according to government data.

"We have also recorded since mid-January the unusual death of many sea lions, so far we have about 716 dead sea lions in seven protected natural areas of the coast," said Roberto Gutierrez, head of surveillance of the National Service of Natural Protected Areas.

Since the beginning of 2021, bird flu has ravaged the world, killing more than 200 million birds due to disease or mass culling, the World Organization for Animal Health has said.

In South America, bird flu cases have been detected in Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and recently in Argentina and Uruguay. In Brazil, the world's largest poultry exporter, there are still no confirmed cases.

In Chile, health authorities last week detected the first positive case in marine mammal, a sea lion on a beach in the north of the country.

The population of sea lions numbered about 110,000 in Peru in 2020, mainly in the coastal region of Ica and the Paracas nature reserve, according to Oceana, an international organization dedicated to protecting oceans.

In recent weeks, crews from Peru's National Forestry and Wildlife Service, in protective plastic suits, gloves and masks, have collected and buried hundreds of sea lions from several beaches along Peru's central coast.

"What we remember initially started with pelicans last year is now affecting these marine mammals," Javier Jara, a veterinarian with the service, said.

(Reporting by Carlos Valdez Reuters Television and Marco Aquino; Editing by Alison Williams)

Investigation shows rail giant donated to Ohio governor a month before toxic crash

An inter-union alliance of U.S. rail workers, meanwhile, has called on organized labor to back the nationalization of the country's railroad system, arguing that "our nation can no longer afford private ownership of the railroads; the general welfare demands that they be brought under public ownership."

Kenny Stancil, Common Dreams
February 20, 2023

Gov. Mike DeWine during the State of the State address, March 23, 2022, in the House Chamber at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio. 

(Photo by Graham Stokes, for the Ohio Capital Journal.)

An investigation published Monday revealed that just weeks before a Norfolk Southern-owned train overloaded with hazardous materials derailed and caused a toxic chemical fire in East Palestine, Ohio, the rail giant donated $10,000—the maximum amount allowed—to help fund the inauguration of the state's Republican Gov. Mike DeWine.

According to WSYX, the Columbus-based news outlet that conducted the investigation, "This contribution, which is part of $29,000 the Virginia-based corporation has contributed to DeWine's political funds since he first ran for governor in 2018, is merely one piece of an extensive, ongoing effort to influence statewide officials and Ohio lawmakers."

"In all, the railway company has contributed about $98,000 during the past six years to Ohio statewide and legislative candidates, according to data from the secretary of state," WSYX reported. "Virtually all went to Republicans, although Norfolk Southern hedged its support for DeWine in 2018 with a $3,000 check to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Richard Cordray."

In addition to shelling out loads of campaign cash, Norfolk Southern has also extensively lobbied DeWine, statewide officials, and Ohio lawmakers.

Quarterly reports disclosing the company's lobbying activities show that DeWine and other statewide officials were targeted 39 times over the past six years, while Ohio lawmakers were targeted 167 times during the same time period.

"Most of the disclosed attempts to influence Ohio leaders came on generic rail or transportation issues," WSYX reported. "Some efforts, however, were devoted to defeating legislation that would have established tougher safety standards for rail yards and train operations."

River Valley Organizing, a local progressive group, declared on social media that "this is what we're up against."

Norfolk Southern's successful bid to thwart at least one Ohio bill aimed at improving railroad safety—explained in depth by the local news outlet—mirrors the company's triumphant campaign to weaken federal regulations.

Before dozens of its train cars careened off the tracks and burst into flames in East Palestine on February 3—leading to the discharge of vinyl chloride and other carcinogenic chemicals—Norfolk Southern "helped kill a federal safety rule aimed at upgrading the rail industry's Civil War-era braking systems," The Leverreported earlier this month.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who has been criticized by progressive advocacy groups and lawmakers for his lackluster response to the crisis in East Palestine, sent a letter to Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw on Sunday stating that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the cause of the derailment and that the Federal Railroad Administration is examining whether safety violations occurred and intends to hold Norfolk Southern accountable if they did.

Buttigieg insisted that the company "demonstrate unequivocal support" for the poor rural town's roughly 4,700 residents as well as the populations of surrounding areas potentially affected by air and groundwater contamination.

"Norfolk Southern must live up to its commitment to make residents whole—and must also live up to its obligation to do whatever it takes to stop putting communities such as East Palestine at risk," the transportation secretary wrote. "This is the right time for Norfolk Southern to take a leadership position within the rail industry, shifting to a posture that focuses on supporting, not thwarting, efforts to raise the standard of U.S. rail safety regulation."

As The Associated Pressreported Monday:

Buttigieg also said that Norfolk Southern and other rail companies "spent millions of dollars in the courts and lobbying members of Congress to oppose commonsense safety regulations, stopping some entirely and reducing the scope of others." He said the effort undermined rules on brake requirements and delayed the phase-in for more durable rail cars to transport hazardous material to 2029, instead of the "originally envisioned date of 2025."

The transportation secretary said the results of the investigation are not yet known, but "we do know that these steps that Norfolk Southern and its peers lobbied against were intended to improve rail safety and to help keep Americans safe."

Nevertheless, as The Lever reported earlier this month, Buttigieg is actively considering an industry-backed proposal to further erode federal oversight of train braking systems.

  

The outlet has published an open letter urging Buttigieg "to rectify the multiple regulatory failures that preceded this horrific situation," including by exercising his authority to reinstate the rail safety rules rescinded by the Trump administration at the behest of industry lobbyists.

The full environmental and public health consequences of the ongoing East Palestine disaster are still coming into view, as residents question the validity of initial water testing paid for by Norfolk Southern.

Despite state officials' claims that air and water in the area remain safe, thousands of fish have died in polluted local waterways and people in the vicinity of the derailment have reported headaches, eye irritation, and other symptoms.

Just days after his company skipped a town hall meeting, Shaw visited East Palestine on Saturday and said that "we are here and will stay here for as long as it takes to ensure your safety."

Norfolk Southern, which reported record-breaking operating revenues of $12.7 billion in 2022, originally offered to donate just $25,000 to help affected residents—an amount equivalent to about $5 per person—but recently announced the creation of a $1 million charitable fund instead.

Lawmakers in Ohio "are now scrambling to make sure the railroad is held accountable," WSYX reported. "The House Homeland Security Committee is scheduled to hear 'informal testimony' Wednesday from Karen Huey, assistant director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety, and John Esterly, chairman of the Ohio State Legislative Board with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers."

In Washington, U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) on Friday requested information regarding the handling of hazardous materials from the CEOs of several large rail corporations, including Norfolk Southern.

"Over the past five years, the Class I railroads have cut their workforce by nearly one-third, shuttered railyards where railcars are traditionally inspected, and are running longer and heavier trains," Cantwell wrote. "Thousands of trains carrying hazardous materials, like the one that derailed in Ohio, travel through communities throughout the nation each day."

Notably, Norfolk Southern announced a $10 billion stock buyback program last March. The company has routinely raised its dividend, rewarding shareholders while refusing to invest in safety upgrades or basic benefits such as paid sick leave.

Just days after he sent co-authored letters raising safety and health concerns to the NTSB and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said during a Sunday appearance on CNN's "State of the Union" that Norfolk Southern is responsible for the East Palestine disaster, which he characterized as another chapter in "the same old story."

"Corporations do stock buybacks, they do big dividend checks, they lay off workers," said Brown. "Thousands of workers have been laid off from Norfolk Southern. Then they don't invest in safety rules and safety regulation, and this kind of thing happens. That's why people in East Palestine are so upset."

“They know that corporate lobbyists have had far too much influence in our government and they see this as the result," Brown continued. "These things are happening because these railroads are simply not investing the way they should in car safety and in the rail lines themselves."

"Something's wrong with corporate America and something's wrong with Congress and administrations listening too much to corporate lobbyists," he added. "And that's got to change."

Another Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials crashed last week near Detroit, Michigan. Like Brown, union leaders and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) have attributed the recent derailments to Wall Street-backed policies that prioritize profits over safety.

As David Sirota, Rebecca Burns, Julia Rock, and Matthew Cunningham-Cook of The Leverpointed out in a recent New York Times opinion piece, the U.S. is home to more than 1,000 train derailments per year and has seen a 36% increase in hazardous materials violations committed by rail carriers in the past five years.

The rail industry "tolerates too many preventable derailments and fights too many safety regulations," the journalists wrote. "The federal government must move quickly to improve rail safety overall."

An inter-union alliance of U.S. rail workers, meanwhile, has called on organized labor to back the nationalization of the country's railroad system, arguing that "our nation can no longer afford private ownership of the railroads; the general welfare demands that they be brought under public ownership."