It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
It Will Take Years To Replenish Strategic Petroleum Reserve: Granholm
Oil prices may be trading in a sweet spot for buyers, but it will take years to replenish the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserves, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said.
When the Biden Administration sold off 221 million barrels of crude oil from the SPR last year, the idea was to buy oil to replace what was withdrawn. In October of last year, the Administration announced that it would repurchase crude oil for the reserve when prices were at or below about $67-$72 per barrel. The move would be dual purpose in that not only would it replenish the nation’s depleted reserves, but it would boost demand when prices were low instead of sending them into orbit at a time or regular prices.
In December, the Administration said that it had plans to make the first of these repurchases. The Administration issued a solicitation for 3 million barrels of sour crude oil, with bids due by December 28. Contracts were to be awarded by January 13. At the time, WTI was trading around $74 per barrel. It later declined the finalize its own buyback plan, saying that it did not get offers that met its terms for price or quality.
Today, WTI is trading at just over $71 per barrel—a price that many forecasters don’t think will stick around for long. But according to Granholm, refilling the SPR at $70 per barrel will be difficult this year. In fact, according to Granholm, it will take a few years to replenish.
The SPR currently holds 372 million barrels of crude oil, down from 638 million at the beginning of 2021. It is the lowest level since December 1983. Oil was first delivered into the U.S. SPR in 1977.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
New study finds toxic PFAS 'forever chemicals' in Canadian fast-food packaging
Researchers at the University of Toronto, Indiana University and University of Notre Dame have detected levels of toxic PFAS chemicals—short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances—for the first time in Canadian fast-food packaging, specifically water-and-grease repellent paper alternatives to plastic.
Published today in Environmental Science & Technology Letters, the findings suggest that food packaging exposes people directly to PFAS, which have been linked to serious health effects such as increased cancer risk and immune system damage, by contaminating the food they eat. Further, once discarded packaging enters waste streams, PFAS enter the environment, where these "forever chemicals" will never break down. These health and environmental risks have prompted 11 U.S. states to ban PFAS from most food packaging, and two major restaurant chains to commit to becoming PFAS-free by 2025.
"As Canada restricts single-use plastics in food-service ware, our research shows that what we like to think of as the better alternatives, such as paper wrappers and compostable bowls, are not so safe and 'green' after all. In fact, they may harm our health and the environment—from our air to our drinking water—by providing a direct route to PFAS exposure," says Miriam Diamond, professor in the Department of Earth Sciences and School of the Environment at the University of Toronto and study co-author.
For the study, the researchers collected 42 paper-based wrappers and bowls from fast-food restaurants in Toronto and tested them for total fluorine, an indicator of PFAS. They then completed a detailed analysis of eight of those samples with high levels of total fluorine. Fiber-based molded bowls, which are marketed as "compostable," had PFAS levels three to 10 times higher than doughnut and pastry bags. PFAS are added to these bowls and bags as a water- and grease-repellent.
PFAS are a complex group of about 9,000 manufactured chemicals, few of which have been studied for their toxicity. A PFAS that is known to be toxic—6:2 FTOH (6:2 fluorotelomer alcohol)—was the most abundant compound detected in these samples. Other PFAS that were commonly found in all the Canadian fast-food packaging tested can transform into this compound, thereby adding to a consumer's exposure to it. They detected several PFAS for the first time in food packaging, showing how difficult it is to track the presence of this large family of compounds.
Critically, the researchers found that the concentration of PFAS declined by up to 85% after storing the products for two years, contradicting claims that polymeric PFAS—a type composed of larger molecules—do not degrade and escape from products. The release of PFAS from food packaging into indoor air presents another opportunity for human exposure to these chemicals.
"The use of PFAS in food packaging is a regrettable substitution of trading one harmful option—single-use plastics—for another. We need to strengthen regulations and push for the use of fiber-based food packaging that doesn't contain PFAS," says Diamond.
More information: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in Canadian fast food packaging, Environmental Science & Technology Letters (2023). DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.2c00926
Canadian food packaging found to contain toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” for first time
29 Mar 2023 --- Harmful per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been detected in Canadian fast-food packaging – specifically water-and-grease repellent paper alternatives to plastic – for the first time.
The researchers at the University of Toronto (Canada), Indiana University (US) and University of Notre Dame (US) say their findings suggest that food packaging exposes people directly to these so-called “forever chemicals,” which have been linked to serious health effects such as increased cancer risk and immune system damage, by contaminating the food they eat.
Further, once discarded packaging enters waste streams, PFAS enter the environment, where the chemicals will never break down. These health and environmental risks have prompted 11 US states to ban PFAS from most food packaging and two major restaurant chains in Burger King and McDonald’s to commit to becoming PFAS-free by 2025.
“As Canada restricts single-use plastics in foodservice ware, our research shows that what we like to think of as the better alternatives, such as paper wrappers and compostable bowls, are not so safe and ‘green’ after all,” says Miriam Diamond, professor in the Department of Earth Sciences and School of the Environment at the University of Toronto and study co-author.
“In fact, they may harm our health and the environment – from our air to our drinking water – by providing a direct route to PFAS exposure.”
The study’s findings
The researchers collected 42 paper-based wrappers and bowls from fast-food restaurants in Toronto and tested them for total fluorine, an indicator of PFAS.
They then completed a detailed analysis of eight of those samples with high levels of total fluorine. Fiber-based molded bowls, which are marketed as “compostable,” had PFAS levels 3-10 times higher than doughnut and pastry bags.
McDonald’s and Burger King have pledged to remove PFAS from packaging by 2025.
“Forever chemicals” are added to these bowls and bags as a water- and grease-repellent.
PFAS are a complex group of about 9,000 manufactured chemicals, few of which have been studied for their toxicity. A PFAS that is known to be toxic – 6:2 FTOH (6:2 fluorotelomer alcohol) – was the most abundant compound detected in these samples.
Other PFAS that were commonly found in all the Canadian fast-food packaging tested can transform into this compound, thereby adding to a consumer’s exposure to it. The researchers detected several PFAS for the first time in food packaging, showing how difficult it is to track the presence of this large family of compounds.
The study was published yesterday in Environmental Science and Technology Letters.
A regrettable substitution? Critically, the researchers found that the concentration of PFAS declined by up to 85% after storing the products for two years, contradicting claims that polymeric PFAS – a type composed of larger molecules – do not degrade and escape from products.
The release of PFAS from food packaging into indoor air presents another opportunity for human exposure to these chemicals.
Studies have linked PFAS exposure to increased cancer risk.
“The use of PFAS in food packaging is a regrettable substitution of trading one harmful option – single-use plastics – for another. We need to strengthen regulations and push for the use of fiber-based food packaging that doesn’t contain PFAS,” says Diamond.
According to Innova Market Insights, nearly half (37%) of global consumers view food safety as one of their two main concerns when purchasing ready meals like sandwiches and wraps, second only to easy transportation (40%).
Forever in the news
PFAS chemicals are increasingly making the headlines, as the adverse health effects of “forever chemicals” come to light. In January, the US state of New York went as far as to officially ban the use of PFAS in food packaging materials.
This month, the EU began discussions on an upcoming ban on PFAS. ChemSec – the environmental non-governmental organization – created an advocacy campaign called PFAS Movement, which brings together over 100 consumer brands that support a comprehensive ban on the substances.
Researchers at the University of Queensland, Australia, recently developed a novel solution for removing PFAS from water using magnets – something the study authors say is “urgently needed” to combat common public health risks like liver and kidney disease.
Meanwhile, scientists from the Environmental Working Group in Washington, US, revealed that eating one freshwater fish a year is equal to consuming one month of drinking water with PFOS (Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid) – a type of PFAS shown to be harmful.
By Joshua Poole
This feature is provided by FoodIngredientsFirst’s sister website, PackagingInsights.
U OF T NEWS
High levels of 'forever chemicals' found in paper takeout containers: Study
From makeup to clothing and furniture, so-called “forever chemicals” are everywhere – including the paper bowls and containers used to package Canadian fast-food meals.
In a recent study published in Environmental Science and Technology Letters, Miriam L. Diamond, a professor in the U of T’s department of Earth sciences and School of the Environment in the Faculty of Arts & Science, and her team examined 42 paper-based wrappers and bowls – often billed as an environmentally friendly alternative to single-use plastics – collected from fast-food restaurants in Toronto.
They were looking for potentially toxic human-made perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), of which there are more than 9,000 in the world.
The most abundant compound detected in the samples was 6:2 FTOH, or 6:2 fluorotelomer alcohol – a PFAS that is known to be toxic. Another finding: fibre-based moulded bowls that are marketed as “compostable” had PFAS levels three to 10 times higher than paper doughnut and pastry bags.
Miriam Diamond
“As Canada restricts single-use plastics in food-service ware, our research shows that what we like to think of as the better alternatives are not so safe and green after all,” Diamond says. “In fact, they may harm our health and the environment by providing a direct route to PFAS exposure – first by contaminating the food we eat, and after they’re thrown away, polluting our air and drinking water.
“The use of PFAS in food packaging is a regrettable substitution of trading one harmful option – single-use plastics – for another.”
The research team included Hui Peng, an assistant professor in the department of chemistry, and, from the department of Earth sciences, recent graduates Anna Shalin and Diwen Yang, as well as research associate Heather Schwartz-Narbonne.
Diamond says PFAS eventually end up in our bodies and the environment, where they stay.
“PFAS are complex, persistent and they don’t break down. Whatever molecule is manufactured today will be in the environment 100 years later,” says Diamond, noting these toxic chemicals are found in a host of everyday products and have been linked to adverse health effects, including an increase in cancer risk, thyroid disease, cholesterol levels and decreased immune response and fertility.
“The bottom line is, there’s too much PFAS in the world and not enough restrictions around their use,” she says. “We need to get serious about replacing these substances with safer alternatives if we want to protect our health, and our planet’s health.”
As an environmental chemist and chemical management expert, Diamond is on a scientific mission to determine the most significant sources of PFAS exposure and spur action to limit their prevalence. As she puts it, there would be no “forever” if these chemicals were never used in the first place.
Diamond saw her research help shape policy last fall when California banned the use of PFAS in fabrics and cosmetics by 2025. This legislation builds on recent studies about PFAS in clothing and makeup that were carried out by Diamond and her colleagues at U of T and institutions around the world.
They found extremely high levels of these chemicals in school uniforms, mittens and other products marketed as stain resistant. Diamond says because clothing is worn against the skin, there is a higher risk of absorbing and inhaling chemical contaminants – particularly fluorotelomer alcohols, the primary type of PFAS measured in the uniforms.
“We're running an experiment right now on kids’ exposure to PFAS. There's insufficient information on the harm posed by the chemicals that are going into these products,” Diamond says. “I don’t know any parent who values stain repellency over their child’s health.”
Diamond notes that PFAS management is becoming a priority in Canada. In 2021, Environment Canada announced it was gathering evidence to address designating PFAS as a class, rather than as individual compounds as part of the federal government’s chemicals management plan. Such designations are important for enabling efficient regulatory practices. The action includes investing in research such as Diamond’s to collect information about sources of the chemicals and levels in the environment through 2023.
“We know where PFAS is used, but we don’t know what the biggest sources of environmental and human contamination are,” Diamond says.
She adds that exposure science has shown high levels of these chemicals in personal care products. So, Diamond and the team investigated PFAS levels in cosmetics in 2021, testing 231 cosmetic products. They found the highest concentration of PFAS in foundations, mascaras and lip products – particularly those that were labelled “wear-resistant,” “long-lasting” or “waterproof.”
“Focusing our attention on cosmetics as a potentially significant route to PFAS was a no-brainer,” she says. “You’re putting them right on your skin, near your eyes, your tear ducts, on your mouth ... is your beauty worth the risk to your health?”
Next, she is turning her attention to building materials such as outdoor durable paints and sealants for concrete and wood, and textiles used in outdoor settings like patio furniture.
“The problem with PFAS is that it is not labelled as an ingredient, so if you want to limit your use of certain products that contain these chemicals, you usually don’t even know what these are,” says Diamond. “That’s when buzzwords will tip you off – like stain-resistant and waterproof. But this vigilance shouldn’t fall only to the consumer.
“In Canada, we need to strengthen chemicals management to improve the health and safety for ourselves and for the next generations. That means better corporate responsibility and government regulations.”
Not Your Grandpa’s Conservative Party
Take Back Alberta, a key Danielle Smith backer, continues its UCP takeover.
A conservative observer on watching Take Back Alberta — a key supporter of Premier Danielle Smith — in action: ‘It felt like a coup.’
Photo by Chris Schwarz via Alberta government.
Alberta Politics David J. Climenhaga
Yesterday
A clearer picture is starting to emerge of how Take Back Alberta — the anti-vaccine, pro-convoy, Q-adjacent extremist group key to Danielle Smith’s victory in last year’s United Conservative Party leadership race — is now taking over her party one riding association at a time.
Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt sounded a warning bell about Take Back Alberta early this month in a Calgary Herald op-ed.
He was the first to use the phrase “a Take Back Alberta government” to describe how a post-election Danielle Smith government might function and act.
Look for a full-blown assault on public education, including attempts to take over local school boards by TBA cadres, and legislation to weaken public health measures, Bratt said in the op-ed, written with Sarah Biggs of Olsen-Biggs Public Affairs, who has worked as a Conservative political organizer.
We could also expect a TBA government to make good on Smith’s advocacy of an Alberta-autonomy agenda, they wrote — “creating Alberta provincial police to replace RCMP, Alberta tax collection agency to replace Revenue Canada, and an Alberta pension plan by pulling out of the Canada Pension Plan.” Eventually, we might also see “a referendum on Alberta’s separation from Canada.”
“This is not hyperbole or fearmongering,” they warned. “These are all statements coming from Take Back Alberta.”
Now we have an eyewitness account of TBA’s effort to gain control of the UCP party apparatus in the Livingstone-Macleod riding, which extends south from High River, home to Smith, all the way to the U.S. border in southwestern Alberta.
Writing in the Crowsnest Pass Herald March 15, publisher Lisa Sygutek described her experience and feelings as a Conservative supporter watching TBA in action.
“I have been a card-carrying conservative my entire adult life,” began Sygutek, who is also a Crowsnest Pass municipal councillor. “When I was in university, I was part of the young conservative organization. I believe in the party, well the party I used to know and understand, and I must tell you I don’t understand this party anymore.”
“What I experienced,” she wrote, “was basically a takeover by the ‘Take Back Alberta’ faction.”
Describing the election of candidates for the constituency association board in her community, she said, “It was bizarre. There was honestly a sense of extreme hostility in the room. It felt like a coup.”
That would seem fair. Indeed, what appears to have happened in Livingstone-Macleod could be described as a coup without stretching the facts too much.
“After the board elections, I found out that around 80 per cent of the board had been replaced and many of the new board members were a faction of the TBA group,” said Sygutek, who is also a director of the Alberta Weekly Newspapers Association.
She describes what sounds very much like a concerted effort to suppress the votes of people who don’t support TBA. The UCP, she wrote, “is fractured by an extreme right conservative group and people like me who are moderate are left bereft.”
There’s more, and I recommend you read Sygutek’s commentary.
Remember that TBA has already, as Bratt pointed out, enjoyed significant success turning the UCP into an extremist organization, and when it turned to taking over UCP constituency associations “assembled more than 500 people to attend the AGM for the Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre constituency association and took over the board, winning 28 of 30 seats that were up for re-election.”
This, he noted, lead to the party’s nomination being reopened with the intention of replacing former cabinet minister Jason Nixon with a more radical candidate.
The same group is moving to take over other UCP riding associations.
Back in November last year, the Globe and Mail reported how TBA managed to gain significant control of the party’s provincial board.
As often happens with developments of this type, less attention has been paid to this group than it deserved when it was campaigning for Smith’s leadership. Obviously, it’s time to start paying some heed to what voices within the Conservative party, like that of Sygutek, are saying.
If it ever was, the UCP is not your grandfather’s Conservative party anymore.
David Climenhagais an award-winning journalist, author, post-secondary teacher, poet and trade union communicator. He blogs at AlbertaPolitics.ca
Students end hunger strike at McMaster University citing concerns over health
By Don Mitchell ,Global News, Posted March 28, 2023
A group of students at McMaster University during a hunger strike at the learning facility on Mar. 24, 2023. The demonstration stopped on Mar.28 after eight days. Global News
A group of students on a hunger strike aimed at getting McMaster University to divest from fossil fuels is over after eight days.
In a release on Tuesday morning, the group cited “deteriorating effects on organs, muscle, cognitive abilities, and immune systems” as the primary reasons to discontinue the action.
The McMaster Divestment Project, also called MacDivest, says its campaign was in protest over new generators believed to increase the university’s carbon emissions by 415 tonnes for every 60 hours of operation.
The end of the demonstration comes not long after the university shared concerns over the students’ health and supported a decision to take on meals and other supplements to minimize risk.
Executives at McMaster reiterated in a statement they are “actively pursuing” ways to reduce the facility’s environmental footprint and are on track to cut total carbon emissions on campus by more than 40 per cent by the end of 2024.
Prior to the installation of the generators, McMaster executives said the project was necessary to pay for future clean energy initiatives via its Net Zero Carbon Roadmap, an initiative to reduce campus carbon emissions in a plan for reaching net zero carbon by 2050.
McMaster estimates the gas project will need at least 13 years to pay itself off, resulting in what MacDivest says will be 8,900 tonnes of carbon emissions (the equivalent of driving 22 million miles) during that period.
University spokesperson Michelle Donovan insisted the institution is committed to addressing climate change and shares the same objectives, but needs the generators as a stop-gap along the way to reach its targets.
“We share the same goal with MacDivest of a net-zero carbon campus and divesting from investments in fossil fuels, but we recognize we have different timelines and ideas of how to get there,” Donavan explained in an email.
Fossil fuel companies make up about 2.7 per cent of McMaster’s investment portfolio, with an estimated $30.4 million in fossil fuel holdings.
In Tuesday’s release, MacDivest said it will continue its campaign and is expected to enact future campaigns against the university’s connections to fossil fuels.
“During the strike, we were able to engage with many students, faculty, staff, and community members to mobilize the community to fight for climate justice,” the group said in a statement.
McMaster University students end hunger strike after 8 days, citing health and safety concerns
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‘I am scared to do this, but I am more scared not to,’ one
Six students began a hunger strike on March 20 to protest McMaster University's decision to install four natural gas-powered generators on Cootes Drive, and four were maintaining the strike on March 27. After eight days, it's now over. (Submitted by Navin Garg)
A group of McMaster University students have ended an eight-day hunger strike, but have vowed to intensify their efforts to get the university in Hamilton to reverse its decision to install four natural gas-powered generators on Cootes Drive.
The McMaster Divestment Project, which organized the strike, said in a news release on Tuesday morning that it called off the "gruelling eight-day hunger strike" due to health and safety concerns.
"I am scared to do this, but I am more scared not to," said Mila Py, one of the hunger strikers.
"Hunger striking for eight days has numerous negative impacts on health, including deteriorating effects on organs, muscles, cognitive abilities and immune systems," the McMaster Divestment Project said in the release.
"With end-of-term activities ramping up on campus and a continued lack of protective measures at the university, the circulation of COVID-19 is likely to increase. This has already impacted the immediate MacDivest community, and COVID-19 infection for any of the hunger strikers would likely lead to severe consequences."
The four natural gas-powered generators are being built near the alumni building. (Michael To/CBC)
Six students began the hunger strike on March 20. Two bowed out for health reasons and another dropped out to observe Ramadan. There were four students still on the hunger strike up to March 27 — three of them since March 20 and another who joined on March 23.
Navin Garg, one of the protesting students, told CBC Hamilton on Monday they hoped McMaster would meet their demand and commit to removing the generators, which are still under construction, and to divest from the fossil fuel industry by 2025.
Generators important in university's infrastructure: McMaster
In a statement on Monday, McMaster University said its emissions reductions and targets are aggressive and are aligned with or surpass those of other Canadian universities.
"We are continuing to look at ways to reduce the carbon footprint of the generators, which are our best solution for providing energy to campus on the hottest days of summer when the provincial electrical system is nearing its peak capacity," the statement reads.
"While the generators will run no more than 100 hours a year, they are an important part of the university's infrastructure, including making sure that laboratories are able to maintain operations and research programs are not put at risk."
McMaster public relations manager Wade Hemsworth told CBC Hamilton late last week that the university has had discussions with the students throughout the hunger strike.
"The university has made a lot of progress in divestment and our net carbon zero goals, and the hunger strike does not change the due diligence that we have to undertake as we make critical investment and other decisions," Hemsworth said.
UPDATE: The students have ended their eight-day hunger strike, but have vowed to intensify their efforts to get the university to reverse its decision to install four natural gas-powered generators on Cootes Drive.
There are four students still on hunger strike — three of them since March 20 and another who joined on Thursday. (Submitted by Navin Garg)McMaster University should negotiate with the group of students on hunger strike before any long-term effects from the strike are felt, a Toronto-based nutritional sciences professor says.
The students, members of the McMaster Divestment Project, began their hunger strike a week ago, demanding that McMaster University reverse its decision to install four natural gas-powered generators on Cootes Drive.
"It seems essential that the university open negotiations now so that the hunger strikers can desist," David Jenkins, a nutritional sciences professor at the University of Toronto, told CBC Hamilton.
"The climate change issue is not going away."
Jenkins said hunger strike data is difficult to come by, but pointed to a 1981 hunger strike in Northern Ireland as an example of just how far some people will take it. That hunger strike, in support of Irish Republican Army political prisoners, lasted 53 days.
"After 50 days, one may see deaths. One month may be tolerated but with these young people, one does not know what the long-term ill effects will be," Jenkins said.
Six students began the hunger strike on March 20, but two had to bow out for health reasons, while another had to drop out to observe Ramadan. There are four students still on hunger strike — three of them since March 20 and another who joined on March 23.
"As the hunger strike drags on, I think I'm getting much, much more tired … it feels like my body is breaking down," said 21-year-old Navin Garg, one of the protesting students, on Monday.
"We are still monitoring our own vitals, but I think we're going to try to schedule an appointment [with a doctor] for today or tomorrow because now we're starting to get into the territory where it could be a big problem," they told CBC Hamilton.
McMaster public relations manager Wade Hemsworth told CBC Hamilton late last week that the university has had discussions with the students throughout the hunger strike and continued to ask them to stop putting their health at risk.
"The university has made a lot of progress in divestment and our net carbon zero goals and the hunger strike does not change the due diligence that we have to undertake as we make critical investment and other decisions," Hemsworth said.
Garg said before embarking on the hunger strike, they researched what could happen to their bodies, referring to "a lot of documents, mostly from correctional services because prisons are the main place where hunger strikes generally happen."
"I think the second week is kind of the point at which you're entering higher risk of physical harm, which is something that we're definitely taking into consideration. It's when your muscles are starting to break down more and you're becoming more and more cognitively impaired, and your immune system becomes weaker, so it does escalate once you reach that time," Garg said.
Remove generators now, students say
Garg still hopes McMaster will meet their demand and commit to removing the generators, which are still under construction, and to divest from the fossil fuel industry by 2025.
"We're concerned that they think that if they cede to our demands that there will be more hunger strikes. And we just want to make clear to them and we need them to understand, as soon as possible, that if they were accountable and transparent with us this never would have happened," Garg said.
"And they'll never need to worry about this in the future if they listen to student voices, because no one would do this for anything less than a existential cause."
The four natural gas-powered generators are being built on Cootes Drive near the alumni building. (Michael To/CBC)
"We appreciate that McMaster is trying and it is something, but there is an important distinction between something and something that is good enough," Garg added.
Follow precautions 'many activists have set out before them'
Ourique, 21, said the group started preparing a month in advance for that strike, gradually tapering their caloric intake, and getting mentally and physically ready.
In the end, their fast lasted only for a few hours, as Teck Resources announced it was withdrawing its application to build the Frontier oilsands mine.
The students are demanding that McMaster University reverse its decision to install four natural gas-powered generators on Cootes Drive in Hamilton. (Submitted by Cordelia McConnell)
Ourique says some of the McMaster hunger strikers are his friends and, now in the second week of the strike, he's a bit worried for them.
"I find what they're doing incredibly inspiring. Just listen to your body but do what you think is right," Ourique said.
"Try to keep your body temperature as regulated as possible... If they are following the precautions that many, many activists have set out before them, and pay attention to their bodies' vitals, I believe that they will be alright."
McMaster Divestment Project spokesperson Cordelia McConnell said a solidarity rally held on Friday "had quite a big turnout," with more than 150 people taking part, including Hamilton Centre MPP Sarah Jama and city councillor Alex Wilson.
New solidarity letter sent to university
On Monday, a letter signed by an honorary degree recipient, faculty member, emeritus faculty, and former faculty of McMaster University was sent to the university's president and board of governors.
In the letter, the group called the students "courageous," and said the university board of governors and administrators have ignored and downplayed their call for the university to make evidence-based decisions.
A solidarity rally held on Friday 'had quite a big turnout,' with more than 150 people taking part, the group said. (Submitted by Cordelia McConnell)
"The university is taking the easiest path to increasing its incomes, without making the significant adverse health consequences it is creating a determinant in its decisions," they wrote in the letter.
Hemsworth previously told CBC Hamilton the generators would reduce demand on Ontario's electricity grid at peak times and help the school save money in the long run.
The student group meanwhile argued that in the 13 years before the project pays itself off, it will produce at least 8,900 tonnes of carbon.
FROM THE FRYING PAN INTO THE FIRE
Using bacteria to convert CO2 in the air into a polyester
A team of chemical and biomolecular engineers at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology has developed a scalable way to use bacteria to convert CO2 in the air into a polyester. In their paper, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes their technique and outline its performance when tested over a several-hour period.
As climate change progresses, scientists around the world continue to look for ways to both prevent emissions and to scrub emissions from the air. In this new effort, the researchers took another look at the possibility of using Cupriavidus necator, a type of bacteria, to pull CO2 from the air and then to use it to make a type of polyester.
Prior research has shown that C. necator can pull in CO2 and use it to make certain types of biodegradable plastics. But the process can only be done in batches because of the need for electricity to start the process—toxic byproducts build up and kill the bacteria. This prevents the process from scaling. In this new effort, the research team in Korea overcame this problem.
The workaround involved adding a synthetic membrane at the start of the process that separates the bacteria from the toxic byproducts. This led to a two-sided process. On one side, chemical reactions prepared CO2 for fermentation, while the other side held other needed ingredients. The membrane then allowed the ingredients to flow slowly to the side with the bacteria, which used them to make bits of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate.
The research team ran the process, which involved periodically removing bacteria holding onto the PHB and adding fresh empty samples, for 18 days. They found it worked as planned and also made 11.5 mg of PHB per hour. The researchers note that the process does still require electricity but because it is so much more efficient than other methods, the cost of converting CO2 to a polyester was much cheaper. They also note that the process can be easily scaled up.
More information: Jinkyu Lim et al, Biohybrid CO 2 electrolysis for the direct synthesis of polyesters from CO 2, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2023). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2221438120
Short film about growing up Chinese in Metro Vancouver up for U.S. national award
Global News Posted March 28 2023 Tony Shi's autobiographical story about moving from China to Canada when he was eight and growing up in a new country is a love letter to his parents. The Coquitlam man's film has been nominated for best comedy series at the upcoming U.S. College Television Awards. Jay Durant has more on This is BC.Short film about growing up Chinese in Metro Vancouver up for U.S. national award
