Kenya's Ruto says further tax-hike protests will not be allowed



Reuters
Fri, July 14, 2023

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan President William Ruto vowed on Friday that protests planned next week would not be allowed following two rounds of demonstrations that have left at least 15 people dead.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga's party called earlier in the day for three more days of protests from next Wednesday against tax hikes that Ruto signed into law last month.

Ruto beat Odinga in last August's election. He pledged to be a champion for the poor, but his critics say the tax rises will hurt Kenyans already struggling to afford basic commodities such as maize flour.

"Elections ended August 9 last year. You cannot look for the leadership of this country using the blood of the citizens, the death of the citizens and the destruction of property," Ruto said at the opening of a road in the town of Naivasha.

"These demos will not happen. Listen to me carefully: you cannot use extrajudicial, extra-constitutional means to look for power in Kenya."

Odinga has failed to win the last five presidential votes, but has secured senior positions in government in the past by making deals with those in power following spasms of unrest.

The most recent demonstrations took place despite bans by the police, and Ruto did not say how he planned to stop the upcoming protests.

A spokesman for the U.N. Human Rights Office (OHCHR), Jeremy Laurence, said on Friday it was "very concerned by the widespread violence, and allegations of unnecessary or disproportionate use of force, including the use of firearms, by police during protests in Kenya".

Kenyan authorities have blamed the deaths on the protesters, some of whom have thrown rocks at police and vandalised public property. More than 300 people were arrested in connection with Wednesday's protests.

(Reporting by Humphrey Malalo and Thomas Mukoya; Writing by Hereward Holland; Editing by Aaron Ross and Alex Richardson)

Kenyan religious leaders urge the president to repeal a new tax law as protests surge


A protester burns tyres to block the road in the Kibera neighborhood of Nairobi, Kenya, Wednesday, July 12, 2023. Anti-government protesters are demonstrating in a number of Kenyan cities against newly imposed taxes and the cost of living. (AP Photo/Samson Otieno)

CARA ANNA
Fri, July 14, 2023 

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Christian and Muslim leaders in Kenya are urging President William Ruto to repeal a finance bill whose new taxes have sparked protests and police killings of civilians, warning that Kenyans face a level of hopelessness that “can easily inspire insurrection.”

Friday’s statement by national religious organizations came as the main political opposition group announced the next protest would take place next Wednesday, and as Ruto declared it would not be allowed.

Human rights watchdogs have asserted that police killed as many as 10 people in the latest protests this week, while a police official told The Associated Press that officers killed at least six across the country for disturbing businesses. Meanwhile, more than 50 children were sent to a medical clinic after tear gas was thrown into a school in the capital, Nairobi.

“Firearms should never be used to disperse protests,” the United Nations human rights office said Friday. It urged Kenyan authorities to ensure the right to peaceful assembly as guaranteed by the constitution.

Ruto’s government accused demonstrators of “extensive damage of major public assets” after hundreds on Wednesday dismantled part of an entrance to a recently constructed toll expressway that for some symbolizes inequality as everyday traffic surges in its shadow.

The government also blames longtime opposition leader Raila Odinga for the unrest. Odinga, who lost last year’s election to Ruto, has urged Kenyans to civil disobedience to protest the rising cost of living. Odinga’s movement seeks to protest Wednesday, Thursday and Friday next week.

Some Kenyans have described the new taxes as leaving them with the highest burden they've ever faced. The finance bill increased the value added tax on petroleum from 8% to 16%, boosted a business turnover tax from 1% to 3% and created a new 1.5% percent housing tax for salaried workers.

Pressure is rising on Ruto, who won election by appealing to Kenya’s “hustlers” as a man of humble childhood and by vowing to reduce the cost of living. But the country struggles with debt and has turned to the new taxes for some relief.

The statement by religious groups also warned Odinga that his calls for mass action risked pushing Kenya into insurrection. “Indeed, the destruction of businesses as well as public and private properties is pushing the cost of living higher, not lower,” it said.

The statement also urged all Kenyans to embrace dialogue and non-violence: “We must not allow the selfish interests of political leaders to destroy our homeland and push us into destitution," it said.

American companies are importing massive amounts of used cooking oil from China — all for one unexpected reason



Laurelle Stelle
Thu, July 13, 2023

The U.S. is importing an unprecedented volume of used cooking oil to make renewable diesel — a sustainable fuel made from food waste.

Renewable diesel is a type of biofuel that is chemically identical to traditional diesel fuel, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. This means it can be used in ordinary diesel engines and mixed in with diesel fuel. But instead of being made from crude oil, it’s made from vegetable oil or animal fat.

Rudolf Diesel, the inventor of the diesel engine, also experimented with vegetable oil as a power source, the EIA reports. However, it took until the early 2000s for companies to begin producing biofuel in bulk. Now the U.S. Department of Energy says that there are five plants in the U.S. making renewable diesel.

While this incredible fuel source is a smart investment, manufacturers still need raw materials to work with. As of now, they’re getting it from China. The analytics firm Kpler told Bloomberg that the 530,000 barrels shipped in the first two months of 2023 were the first imports of this type since the group began gathering data in 2017.

Renewable diesel is a good financial choice for companies because there’s a virtually endless supply of vegetable oil compared to a limited amount of crude oil. In addition, Bloomberg reports that there are government subsidies making it even more profitable to manufacture biofuel. As the market develops, these savings could be passed on to consumers.

This fuel source is also eco-friendly while harvesting crude oil from underground pollutes the environment. According to Bloomberg, making and using renewable diesel creates only about 20% as much heat-trapping gas as traditional diesel, helping slow down rising temperatures worldwide.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. used almost one billion gallons of renewable diesel in 2020. It expects six new plants to open in the near future, increasing the U.S.’s capacity to produce renewable diesel by two billion gallons.

Ilhan Omar says 'no way in hell' she's attending Israeli president's address to Congress next week


FAUX NEWS OUTRAGED

Lawrence Richard
Thu, July 13, 2023

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said on Twitter that there is "no way in hell" she would attend when Israeli President Isaac Herzog delivers an address to a joint session of Congress next week, saying his presence sends an "absolute wrong signal" amid tensions between Israel and the West Bank.

"There is no way in hell I am attending the joint session address from a President whose country has banned me and denied [U.S. Rep. from Michigan] Rashida Tlaib the ability to see her grandma," Omar said in a series of tweets. She also said the U.S. government should not have invited him to speak in the first place.

"The United States can and should use its diplomatic tools to engage with the Israeli government, but giving the current government the honor of a joint televised address sends the absolute wrong signal at the wrong time," Omar continued.

Herzog, who was elected president in 2021, is scheduled to address Congress on July 19. The visit also coincides with Washington, D.C., celebrating 75 years since the founding of Israel, the anniversary of which was observed in April.

ILHAN OMAR GETS THE BOOT: HOUSE VOTES HER OFF FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE AS DEMOCRATS CITE 'RACISM'

She added, "Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s address comes on behalf of the most right-wing government in Israel’s history, at a time when the government is openly promising to ‘crush’ Palestinian hopes of statehood—essentially putting a nail in the coffin of peace and a two-state solution."

Fox News Digital reached out to Omar's office for comment, but a response was not immediately received.

In her series of tweets, Omar said the invitation also comes as Israel’s "cabinet members directly attack President Biden" and as the country conducts an overhaul of its judicial system.

The Minnesota Democrat also said Palestinians in the West Bank suffered their "deadliest year," sharing a report that said at least eight Palestinians were killed, and 50 others were injured during a "major Israeli offensive" in the West Bank city of Jenin earlier this month.

HOUSE LAWMAKERS PREPARE TO REMOVE ILHAN OMAR FROM FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

Israeli President Isaac Herzog will address a joint session of Congress next week, on July 19, 2023.

She noted the U.S. continues to provide billions in military aid each year to Israel and said she similarly opposed a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who delivered a joint address to Congress last month, citing his government’s human rights record.

OMAR LASHES OUT AT MCCARTHY FOR 'PERSONALLY WHIPPING VOTES' AGAINST HER: 'PATHETIC'

Omar was removed from the House Foreign Affairs Committee earlier this year as her congressional colleagues pointed to controversial remarks she made about Israel. The vote, 218 to 211, fell strictly along party lines, with one member voting "present."

Israeli President Isaac Herzog, left, meets with President Biden in the Oval Office of the White House on Oct. 26, 2022 in Washington, D.C.

Herzog last visited the U.S. in October 2022, when he met with President Biden and other U.S. leaders at the White House. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also visited Herzog in Jerusalem in January.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Sharif launches $3.5 billion Chinese-designed nuclear energy project




tIn this photo released by Press Information Department, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, center, with unidentified Chinese officials dig during the groundbreaking ceremony of 5th Unit of Chashma Nuclear Power Plant (Chashma-5) in Chashma, Mianwali, Pakistan, Friday, July 14, 2023. Sharif launched the construction of a 1,200-megawatt Chinese-designed nuclear energy project, which will be built at a cost of $3.5 billion as part of the government efforts to generate more clean energy in the Islamic nation.

 (Press Information Department via AP)

MUNIR AHMED
Updated Fri, July 14, 2023

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday launched the construction of a 1,200-megawatt Chinese-designed nuclear energy project, which will be built at a cost of $3.5 billion as part of the government efforts to generate more clean energy in the Islamic nation.

The ceremony marking the start of the project comes less than a month after Pakistan signed an agreement with China’s National Nuclear Corporation Overseas in the capital, Islamabad, to construct a Hualong One reactor — a third-generation nuclear reactor and is considered safer because of the latest security features.

Pakistan and China are longtime allies. Pakistan’s relations with Beijing are so close that its leadership calls China their “Iron Brother.” China is also building roads, bridges, power plants, and railways to link its far west with the Chinese-built port of Gwadar on the Indian Ocean.

The nuclear power plant known as Chashma-5 will be constructed at a site along the left embankment of the fast-flowing Indus River in Mianwali, a district in the eastern Punjab province. The site is already home to four Chinese-supplied nuclear power plants that were built in recent decades.

Sharif, in his televised remarks at a gathering of Pakistani and Chinese officials in Mianwali, said the Chashma-5 nuclear energy project by itself was a “huge milestone, a huge success story, and a wonderful symbol of the cooperation between two great friends.”

Pakistan will get clean, efficient and cheaper energy at the completion of the project, he said.

Pakistan got its first nuclear power plant from Canada and currently generates only 8% of its electricity from nuclear power plants. It plans to increase that figure to 20% by 2030.

In recent months, China gave $5 billion in loans to Pakistan to help it unlock a bailout from the International Monetary Fund to tackle a serious economic crisis. The IMF approved a $3-billion bailout Wednesday, after keeping it on hold since December.

On Friday, Sharif said his country will never forget the Chinese financial assistance that was given to his country when it faced a risk of default. It was a “very valuable contribution at a very difficult time, and the nation will never forget it,” he said.

Sharif, whose term as premier ends in August, said Pakistan is no longer at risk of a default.

EU Working on E-Bus for Lithium Deal With Latin American Nations


Jorge Valero
Thu, July 13, 2023 



(Bloomberg) -- European Union officials are working on a plan that can help provide electric buses to Latin American nations in exchange for lithium supplies, as they seek to curtail the bloc’s reliance on China for this critical raw material.

The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, is in talks with automakers and governments to create a private sector consortium that can supply e-buses to Latin America, according to people familiar with the plan who did not want to be named as the discussions are private. In return, this will facilitate access to lithium deposits for the EU firms in these resource-rich countries, they said.

The initiative is part of a broader push among western economies to ringfence their core industries and counter China, which has a stronghold over the green energy supply chain. For the Latin American countries, the deal will expedite a switch to cleaner public transport and curb carbon emissions.

The quid pro quo pact is part of the EU’s 300-billion-euro ($335 billion) plan called the Global Gateway, the people said. It aims “to boost smart, clean and secure links in digital, energy and transport sectors” globally, according to the commission’s website.

The EU has been “working intensively with its Latin American and Caribbean partners on an Investment Agenda,” a spokesperson for the commission said in an email, without sharing specific details. “The partnerships allow both sides to advance trade and investments into secure, sustainable and resilient raw materials value chains.”

The 27-nation bloc plans to invest around 10 billion euros in projects across Latin America and the Caribbean, with additional contributions coming from the Member States bilaterally and the private sector.

EU’s ambitious green goals are dependent on obtaining a large amount of minerals, including lithium whose demand is projected to surge 12 times by 2030 and 20 times by 2050.

“We have to act now and with the highest speed,” said Bernd Schäfer, chief executive officer of EIT RawMaterials that is co-funded by the EU. “It’s a make or break moment.”

Largest Reserves

The commission signed a pact with Argentina last month for developing “innovative and sustainable and responsible raw materials value chain projects.” It is expected to sign a similar agreement with Chile next week, two of the people familiar said. Chile and Argentina are among the countries with largest lithium reserves on the planet.

Europe is not the only one racing to tie-in raw materials for key sectors such as electric vehicles and clean energy.

A bill was introduced in the US this week to create a national strategy for securing supply chains of critical minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Another US government program has given a $9.2 billion loan to Ford Motor Co. for building battery factories, in a bid to help local firms catch up to China in green technologies.

The commission is still discussing the details of the plan with member states and the industry, the people said. This includes how the European companies could benefit from being part of the consortium.

While the whole arrangement could take years to be finalized, the demand in the Latin American region — estimated at about 10,000 e-buses over the next few years — is large enough to stoke interest among European automakers, according to the people familiar.

Brussels Meeting

Leaders from the EU, Latin American and Caribbean nations are expected to discuss Global Gateway investment projects in Brussels early next week. Business leaders and officials will also hold a roundtable in the city on critical raw materials and mobility on Monday.

“It is not about buying lithium, but about sharing a resource that is scarce and that is strategic for sustainable mobility,” Xiana Mendez, Spain’s junior trade minister said in an interview.

She added that EU intends to set up manufacturing in these resource-rich countries and not just extract minerals from them.

“The difficulty would be for EU companies to cooperate,” she added. “It would be the first time something like this has been done.”

--With assistance from James Attwood, Jonathan Gilbert and Akshat Rathi.

Bloomberg Businessweek

EU removes post-Fukushima curbs on Japan food imports


Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends EU-Japan summit in Brussels

Updated Thu, July 13, 2023
By Philip Blenkinsop

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Union agreed on Thursday to remove restrictions on Japanese food imports, imposed after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident, with the hope that Japan will ease its controls on EU farm produce.

The EU has required pre-export testing of food products for radioactivity since an earthquake and tsunami wrecked the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant on Japan's east coast.

Since 2021, it has required certificates showing levels of radioactive isotopes in wild mushrooms, some fish species and edible wild plants, such as bamboo shoots, from Fukushima and nine other prefectures.

The European Commission said these restrictions had been fully lifted, while noting Japan continued to monitor for radioactivity and stressing Japan should publish its findings.

"This move will help drive forward the reconstruction of the devastated areas and is one we appreciate and welcome," Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told a press conference after an EU-Japan summit.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said both sides had also agreed to work on removing Japanese trade barriers to EU beef, fruit and vegetables, whose access to Japan is limited by food safety rules.

Kishida said Japan would make a judgment based on science, as the EU had done in lifting its restrictions.

At the summit, the EU and Japan also committed to deeper cooperation in green and digital transitions, research and other fields.

"We both need to de-risk our supply chains so one of our objectives is to reduce over reliance on a handful of suppliers, many of them based in China," von der Leyen said, adding cooperation would include critical raw materials.

The European Union and Japan already have a free trade agreement and are united in opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop, additional reporting by Sakura Murakami in Tokyo; editing by Conor Humphries and Andrew Heavens)

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. press dinner devolves into 'screaming and polemic farting': NY Post

IN THE FINE TRADITION OF BEN FRANKLIN

Chris Pandolfo
Thu, July 13, 2023

A campaign event for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was reportedly interrupted when two guests got into a screaming match over climate change and one made a noxious gas emission.

The New York Post's Page Six gave a bizarre account of how Tuesday's press dinner for the Democratic presidential candidate "descended into a foul bout of screaming and polemic farting." A Post reporter who attended the event witnessed a "gaseous exchange" between two old men after Kennedy, who founded the conservationist group Waterkeeper Alliance, was asked a question about the environment.

According to Page Six, the question posed to Kennedy set off Doug Dechert, a former Post gossip columnist and current PR flack who hosted the dinner for Kennedy.

Dechert, who was reportedly drinking, began screaming, "The climate hoax!" His outburst abruptly awoke elderly art critic Anthony Haden-Guest, who Page Six reported was contentedly napping for most of the dinner.

MARIANNE WILLIAMSON HITS AT US POLITICAL SYSTEM: ‘DOING THE BIDDING OF DONORS’

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. speaks during Michael Smerconish's SiriusXM Town Hall at The Centre Theater in Philadelphia on June 5, 2023.

By Page Six's account, Haden-Guest called his friend Dechert a "miserable blob" and implored him to "shut up."

Reportedly undeterred, Dechert "continued to scream wildly about the climate change ‘scam’ while Haden-Guest peppered him with verbal volleys from across the table, calling him variously ‘f---ing insane’ and ‘insignificant.’"

Dechert then proceeded to "let rip a loud, prolonged fart" while yelling, "I'm farting!"

The other dinner guests, who included journalists and Kennedy's campaign manager, former Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, were reportedly left "stunned" by what happened.

RFK JR LECTURES SOCIAL MEDIA SITES ON FIRST AMENDMENT AFTER YOUTUBE MEMORY-HOLED HIS ‘DISSENTING VIEWS’

Former journalist Doug Dechert hosted a press dinner for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on Tuesday, where he reportedly called climate change a "hoax" and farted rather loudly.

Kennedy, who is challenging President Biden for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination, watched in silence, according to Page Six.

The situation appeared to improve from there — at least until another guest returned to the subject of climate change, which Page Six reported produced "another round of yelling" from Dechert and Haden-Guest.

Dechert reportedly made an apologetic comment to Page Six the next day "for using my flatulence as a medium of public commentary in your presence." But the dinner host also said he has "zero tolerance for the climate hoax scam nonsense in any venue that I am personally funding."

YOUTUBE SAYS IT REMOVED JORDAN PETERSON INTERVIEW OF RFK JR FOR VIOLATING VACCINE POLICY

Art critic Anthony Haden-Guest appears at the Chelsea Hotel in New York City on Feb. 20, 2022.

Haden-Guest, who says has known Dechert for three decades, told Page Six the two have "had spats before about this and that."

"We are not quite the same politically, but that doesn’t affect relationships in the U.K. But I thought this was pretty ridiculous," Haden-Guest said. "Doug said it was a hoax and scam. A scam for who? Who is benefiting? That’s not a political thing, it’s a human existence thing."

He told Page Six that fighting in public is "unusual" for him, "but when it is preposterous and it’s a life-or-death issue with the planet, to treat it as a zany political thing is foolish."

NASA may have just cracked the code for replacing lithium in batteries: ‘Double or even triple the energy’

Tokollo Matsabu
Fri, July 14, 2023 

NASA believes it has cracked the code in the quest to make electric planes a more viable technology.

Researchers at NASA’s Solid-state Architecture Batteries for Enhanced Rechargeability and Safety (SABERS) have created a high-performing battery that they believe can both hold enough electricity and discharge it fast enough to efficiently power an electric aircraft.

Battle of the batteries

Battery performance has long been a roadblock in the development of more sustainable electric airplanes.

While lithium-ion batteries currently dominate the battery technology space, NASA has used a different type of battery called a “solid-state battery” that is lighter and can store more power than lithium-ion batteries.

The solid-state battery isn’t new, but the technology has not been suitable for use in large electronics until SABER’s recent discovery.

Another key advantage that lithium-ion batteries have long held over solid-state batteries is that they can discharge power much faster than solid-state batteries.

SABER says it has addressed this issue with a new innovation that is able to increase a solid-state battery’s discharge rate by a factor of 10 — and then by another factor of five.

“We’re starting to approach this new frontier of battery research that could do so much more than lithium-ion batteries can,” said Rocco Viggiano, principal investigator for SABERS at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, in a press release.

“Not only does this design eliminate 30 to 40 percent of the battery’s weight, it also allows us to double or even triple the energy it can store, far exceeding the capabilities of lithium-ion batteries that are considered to be state of the art,” he added.
Is sustainable aviation around the corner?

Safety is a primary concern for aircrafts. You wouldn’t get on an electric plane if there was a possibility it could catch fire mid-air.

Because lithium-ion batteries contain highly flammable liquid that is prone to leakage, each battery cell is kept in its own steel case, which adds weight. And, when damaged, lithium-ion batteries can still catch fire.

Solid-state batteries, on the other hand, can still be used even when they’re damaged. They also don’t contain liquids, so they can be stacked vertically in one casing, which maximizes space and lightens the load of the battery.

Aircrafts operate in varying temperatures and pressures, going from low to high altitudes in short periods of time, and NASA researchers have found that solid-state batteries can operate in temperatures twice as hot as lithium-ion batteries. Solid-state batteries achieve this using less cooling technology than lithium-ion.

This battery technology has caught the eye of the U.S. government and the aviation industry as a promising way to help reduce the air pollution stemming from air travel. It isn’t commercially viable just yet, but NASA researchers are partnering with various academic institutions to continue developing this battery technology.

Engineers invent genius battery solution for storing clean energy without lithium: ‘The first in the world to do something like this’


Kecia Bal
Thu, July 13, 2023 

Providing energy year-round has so far presented one of green power’s most insurmountable challenges — but now the world’s first fully functional sand battery, which can store green power for months, could present a valuable solution.

According to BBC News, engineers working for Finnish company Polar Night Energy have put sand to work. They installed the first sand battery in July 2022 and have seen promising results so far. The sand is stored in a simple silo, a humble innovation that may help provide a path forward for cleaner, cheaper energy as a viable, sustainable part of everyday life.

While green energy sources are often readily available at certain times of the year, a long-running concern has been finding avenues to store that energy for colder months, when more families and businesses need to turn up the heat.
How would sand batteries work?

First, existing solar panels and wind turbines would generate electricity using natural and available sources.

Some of that electricity would be put to use directly and immediately through an electrical grid to meet current demands, but the remaining, unused energy could be stored as heat in a sand battery, which can be warmed up to 500 degrees Celsius (around 932 degrees Fahrenheit) using the same heat-exchange process that fuels electric fires.

Sand is considered very effective at retaining heat, and under the right circumstances, it could hold that 500 degrees Celsius worth of warmth for months at a time.

Finally, the heat that had been stored could be used to provide hot water heating in order to warm up buildings year-round.

Tucked away in a corner of a small power plant in western Finland, the geographic location of this sand battery pilot may prove to be an ideal scenario for testing the results. With rising prices of dirty energy sources like fossil fuel and cold winter months just ahead, interest in renewable energy sources is rising.

Intermittency — energy sources that ebb and flow, such as solar energy’s dependence on sunlight — has remained a concern and has prompted energy providers to continue to rely on energy from dirty and expensive fossil fuels to balance out availability.

Residents of the small town of Kankaanpää, where the pilot is taking place, will have a chance this winter to test out the results of the sand battery, engineered by the founders of Polar Night Energy. The new company installed the device in the Vatajankoski power plant, which operates the town’s heating system.

“It’s really simple, but we liked the idea of trying something new, to be the first in the world to do something like this,” said Pekka Passi, the plant’s managing director.

The next question will be whether it can be scaled for broader use and even more impactful applications, such as providing electricity as well as a heat source for hot water.

Getting energy from renewable sources is ideal in many ways, as clean energy is often cheaper and has less of a negative impact on our overheating planet, but those sources may only provide truly sustainable solutions if the energy becomes reliable and available when people need it.

Sand batteries may provide one answer to help combat climate change and provide a stable, clean source of year-round heat.

Coastal city was mysteriously abandoned 2,000 years ago. Now, archaeologists know why


Photo from Science in Poland

Brendan Rascius
Fri, July 14, 2023

An ancient city on the coast of India was mysteriously abandoned around 2,000 years ago. Now, after a systematic study of the ruins, archaeologists believe they know why the inhabitants left.

The city of Sopara, located about 60 miles north of Mumbai, was once an important trade hub, connecting Asia to Europe, according to a June 27 news release from Science in Poland.

From as early as 1400 B.C., the maritime metropolis — which was also a religious center — facilitated trade between “Greece, Persia and Arabian settlements,” according to a study published in Current Science.

But, the city’s inhabitants appear to have suddenly skipped town, deserting their clay-brick homes around the third century, according to Science in Poland.

In 2020, archaeologists from Poland and India set out to unravel the mystery of Sopara’s downfall. How did a major trade center become a ghost town?

Using noninvasive techniques, archaeologists methodically studied the ruins, which had previously only been explored haphazardly.

Assisted by drones, they created a three-dimensional model of the ruins, which cover an area smaller than 1 square mile.

They also conducted research at the surface, scanning the ground with metal detectors and drilling narrow holes, known as boreholes, which can help assess geological conditions over time.

An analysis of the boreholes revealed that, around 2,000 years ago, the city’s waterways gradually became filled with silt, a fine sediment carried by running water.

Sopara’s residents likely left town because of silt buildups in the waterway that connected the city to the ocean, the lifeblood of the maritime trade center.

Further information, such as about the city’s layout and building sizes, may be learned during already planned future excavations and analyses, researchers say.

Google Translate was used to translate the news release from Science in Poland.

Turns out all we may need to stop climate change is 139 billion gallons of super-duper white paint


Cork Gaines
Thu, July 13, 2023 

This isn't the climate change-fighting paint, it's just a guy painting a road with a very small brush.

Nick Dolding/Getty Images

According to one professor, we can stop global warming if we used a new super white paint.

The problem though, is we would need to cover at least 1% of the earth's surface with the paint.

That won't be easy, especially with all that water everywhere.

I hope Purdue University is ready for this incoming order.

In 2021, researchers at Purdue University announced that they had developed the whitest paint on Earth. The color is so white that it can reflect over 98% of light. This is particularly useful because light generates heat — and we here on Earth are running a bit hot these days.

If used on a building, the researchers say, the paint would reduce the temperature on the surface, lowering the temps inside and decreasing the need for air conditioning. But what if there was an even bigger application, like reducing the temperature of the entire planet?

According to Jeremy Munday, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of California, Davis, who researches clean technology, if a material like Purdue's paint covered 1-2% of the Earth's surface, the amount of light being bounced back into space would reduce the amount of heat being absorbed by the planet enough to stabilize global temperatures. In other words, it could do a lot to solve climate change. Plus, Munday told the New York Times, the amount of light being bounced back into space wouldn't harm the cosmos very much. "It'd be like pouring a cup of regular water into the ocean," he told the Times.

But just how big is 1-2% of the Earth's surface? The total surface area of the Earth is right around 197 million square miles (and most of that is water), so the paint would need to cover between roughtly 2 million and 4 million square miles. For reference, the total land area of the United States is just over 3.5 million square miles, so we'd need to cover the country in white paint from sea to paint-stained sea.

That would be a lot of paint. A LOT.

If we assume the new paint acts like commerical paint, as the Purdue researchers suggest, a gallon would cover about 400 square feet, we would need roughly 139 billion gallons of the super-duper white paint to cover just 1% of the Earth's surface. Of course, that number doubles if we need to cover 2% of the surface. And none of this takes into account how hard it would be to paint oceans, deserts, and trees.

Painting things white to reduce temperatures is not a new concept. Just drive around my home state of Texas and see how many cars are white. Many places around the world are already painting surfaces white, and Purdue's new paint will help. But it does show that we have a long way to go before the problem is solved.