Cerberus: Why has Europe begun naming heatwaves?


Connor Parker
Thu, July 13, 2023 

Rome has been hit hard by the heatwave. (PA)

Italy and the Mediterranean are currently being gripped by a heatwave that could see the European temperature record broken any day.

For the first time European meteorologists have chosen to name the heatwave, calling it Cerberus.

The highest temperature ever recorded in Europe was in Syracuse, Sicily in August 2021 at 48.8C, with temperatures in recent days hitting 48.C.

President of the Italian Meteorological Society, Professor Luca Mercalli, said: "We know that there will be temperatures above 40C or 45C.

Read more: Cerberus heatwave: Southern Europe faces record 48.8C temperatures as first life lost

"We could get close to the record. Either way, the levels will be very high.”

Italy is the worst hit by the heatwave and it was the Italian meteorological society that decided to give the heatwave a name last week.

Cerberus specifically means the African anticyclone from the Sahara desert which hit Italy on Monday and is the cause of the extremely high temperatures.
Why name a heatwave?

Naming storms and hurricanes has been an adopted practice for decades and the same reasons are being applied to heatwaves.

Essentially meteorologists name weather events to raise awareness and improve communication about the coming threat.

By simply calling it 'Storm X' rather than 'the coming storm' meteorologists, governments and emergency services are able to better communicate their response.

All of this also helps to raise public awareness because named storms often get discussed more in the media and online.

With the rise in recent years of near-annual record-breaking heatwaves and the ever-increasing awareness of climate change, meteorologists have been calling for the same methodology to be applied to heatwaves.

Heatwaves are both more deadly and harder to see than a storm, so raising public awareness about them is important.

Read more: Cerberus heatwave: European data shows land temperatures are scorching - and it's about to get much worse

Tourists have had to take shelter in Rome. (PA)

Promoting the idea in 2020, climate communicator Susan Joy Hassol told Science News: "Naming heat waves will make something invisible more visible.

"It also makes it more real and concrete, rather than abstract."

Several local governments have taken up the ideas in recent years.

The first ever named heatwave, 'Zoe', was given its name by the local authority of Seville in the south of Spain last year.

The pilot programme was launched in June 2022 with the main aim of making residents aware of the threat of the heatwave.

Seville named another heatwave Yago in June this year when temperatures went above 40C.

When discussing Yago Mayor Juan Espadas said: "We are the first city in the world to take a step that will help us plan and take measures when this type of weather event happens."

Why Cerberus specifically?

Usually, when naming a weather event, meteorologists stick by an alphabet system, so the first big storm of the year will be given a name with 'A', then the next 'B', and so on.

But Cerberus is not the third heatwave to be named this year, instead, the name relates to the three climatic zones that Italy will be divided into during the extreme heat.

The name Cerberus originated from Dante's Inferno and was given to the three-headed dog that guarded the third circle of hell.

While temperatures right now in Italy are extremely high, in the north (which is dominated by the Alps) the mercury is only slightly above average.

Locals have been handing out free water all across Italy. (PA)

In the centre of the country, including Rome, temperatures are much higher than usual but are not the hottest.

The worst of the effects are being felt on the Mediterranean Islands of Sicily and Sardina, as well as along the southern western coast of the mainland.

"Metaphorically, the three heads indicate the three main climatic zones into which Italy will be divided," meteorologist Stefano Rossi told La Stampa.

A Ghost Ocean Might Have Dented Earth's Gravity

Tim Newcomb

POP MECH
Fri, July 14, 2023 

Henrik Sorensen - Getty Images

Researchers think they’ve found the reason for the most significant drop in Earth’s gravity, known as the Indian Ocean geoid low.

In this location in the Indian Ocean south of Sri Lanka, our planet’s gravity is at its weakest.

A new study says mantle movement that was part of the ghost ocean Tethys attributes to this anomaly.

We might be able to blame a ghost ocean for one of the wildest gravitational anomalies on Earth.

The existence of the deepest gravitational dip on our planet, known as the Indian Ocean geoid low (IOGL), has long puzzled scientists. For context, the “geiod” is a model that shows what the surface of the Earth would look like if the only influences were gravity and rotation—no land, no wind, nothing else that could disturb the surface. If the Earth were a uniform sphere, that geoid would be even, smooth, and largely uninteresting.

But the Earth isn’t a uniform sphere, and the geoid shows all the ways in which it can vary gravitationally. Areas of lower-than-average mass density, and therefore lower gravity, show up as dents in the geoid, whereas areas of higher-than-average mass density and higher gravity show up as peaks. These peaks and dents, known collectively as gravitational anomalies, indicate regions of particular strength and weakness in Earth’s gravitational field.

In a new study published in Geophysical Research Letters, a team of researchers ran dozens of computer simulations on the origin of the Indian Ocean geoid low, which spans 8 million square miles and is located south of Sri Lanka. Researchers now believe that this “elusive feature” is, in part, the result of some undersea movements that happened pre-Indian Ocean.

“Assimilating plate motion in global mantle convection models from the Mesozoic till the present day,” the authors write, “we attempt to trace the formation of this geoid low. We show that flow induced by downwelling Tethys slabs perturbs the African Large Low Shear Velocity province and gives rise to plumes that reach the upper mantle.”

Attreyee Ghosh, an assistant professor at the Indian Institute of Science and one of the authors on the study, says in a news release that, while there have been previous studies focused on this anomaly, most attributed it to a remnant of an earlier plate that dived beneath another plate and into Earth’s mantle beneath millions of years ago, none of them have provided what she would deem a sufficient explanation for the anomaly.

Ghosh and her team were not satisfied with that lack of explanation, and attempted to with their study to fill in the blanks. Over the course of their research, the scientists discovered that the gravity low could be attributed to the presence of lighter materials in the upper- to mid-mantel below the IOGL. This can be attributed to mantle plumes—caused by the rising of abnormally hot rock—and the team discovered there was hot material coming from the nearby African large low-shear-velocity providence, known as the African superplume.

“A geoid low or negative geoid anomaly would be caused by a mass deficit within the deep mantle,” Ghosh says. “Our study explains this low with hotter, lighter material stretching from a depth of 300 kilometers up to around 900 kilometers in the northern Indian Ocean, most likely stemming from the African superplume.”

Also known as the African blob, this geological feature that helped form the IOGL likely came from oceanic slabs from the Tethys Ocean, a “ghost ocean” that was possibly in place before India shifted and helped form the Indian Ocean.

Though the researchers say that the lower mantle slabs from the Tethys Ocean likely contributes less to the formation of the IOGL than the plumes, the team also call them “necessary” for the generation of this geoid low. So, apparently, combining plumes with a unique region of mantle structure makes the perfect recipe for the formation of a negative geoid anomaly.

Earth Has Tilted 31.5 Inches. That Shouldn't Happen.

Tim Newcomb

POP MECH
Thu, July 13, 2023 

Earth Has Tilted 31.5 Inches. That's Alarming.

PM Images - Getty Images

Humans pumping groundwater has a substantial impact on the tilt of Earth’s rotation.

Additionally, a new study documents just how much of an influence groundwater pumping has on climate change.

Understanding this relatively recent data may provide a better understanding of how to help stave off sea-level rise.

Water has power. So much power, in fact, that pumping Earth’s groundwater can change the planet’s tilt and rotation. It can also impact sea-level rise and other consequences of climate change.

Pumping groundwater appears to have a greater consequence than ever previously thought. But now—thanks to a new study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters—we can see that, in less than two decades, Earth has tilted 31.5 inches as a result of pumping groundwater. This equates to.24 inches of sea level rise.

“Earth’s rotational pole actually changes a lot,” Ki-Weon Seo, a geophysicist at Seoul National University and study lead, says in a statement. “Our study shows that among climate-related causes, the redistribution of groundwater actually has the largest impact on the drift of the rotational pole.”

With the Earth moving on a rotational pole, the distribution of water on the planet impacts distribution of mass. “Like adding a tiny bit of weight to a spinning top,” authors say, “the Earth spins a little differently as water is moved around.”

Thanks to a study from NASA published in 2016, we were alerted to the fact that the distribution of water can change the Earth’s rotation. This new study attempted to add some hard figures to that realization. “I’m very glad to find the unexplained cause of the rotation pole drift,” Seo says. “On the other hand, as a resident of Earth and a father, I’m concerned and surprised to see that pumping groundwater is another source of sea-level rise.”

The study included data from 1993 through 2010, and showed that the pumping of as much as 2,150 gigatons of groundwater has caused a change in the Earth’s tilt of roughly 31.5 inches, thanks to. The pumping is largely for irrigation and human use, with the groundwater eventually relocating to the oceans.

In the study, researchers modeled observed changes in the drift of Earth’s rotational pole and the movement of water. Across varying scenarios, the only model that matched the drift was one that included 2,150 gigatons of groundwater distribution.

Surendra Adhikari, a research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory who was involved in the 2016 study, says the additional research is important. “They’ve quantified the role of groundwater pumping on polar motion,” he says in a news release, “and it’s pretty significant.”

Where the water moves from—and to—matters. Redistributing water from the midlatitudes makes the biggest difference, so our intense water movement from both western North America and northwestern India have played a key role in the tilt changes.

Now that the impact of water movement is known for such a short–and relatively recent—time, digging through historical data may help show trends and provide greater depth to the understanding of groundwater movement effects.

“Observing changes in Earth’s rotational pole is useful,” Seo says, “for understanding continent-scale water storage variations.”

This data may also help conservationists understand how to work toward staving off continued sea level rise and other climate issues. Hopefully, changes can be properly implemented over time.

A Crucial Part of the San Andreas Fault Has Been Disturbingly Quiet for Too Long

AS IF WILDFIRES,FLOODS & DROUGHTS WEREN'T ENOUGH

Darren Orf
Fri, July 14, 2023 

A Lake May Explain Why San Andreas Fault Is Quiet

Lloyd Cluff - Getty Images

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."

The southern section of California’s San Andreas fault hasn’t experienced a major earthquake in 300 years, and is around a century overdo for a “big one.”

To understand this earthquake “drought,” scientists used computer modeling and analyzed 1,000 years of palaeoseismic data to figure out its cause.

A new paper details how low water levels of the Salton Sea, which was once a part of a much larger lake, could explain why earthquakes along this southern fault line have been less frequent.

The 800-mile San Andreas Fault is one of the largest fault lines in the world. A meeting of the North American and Pacific tectonic plates, this transform fault (where two tectonic plates move past each other) runs nearly the entire length of California, from Cape Mendocino in Redwood country to the desert landscapes of Joshua Tree National Park. Scientists divide the fault into three distinct areas—northern, central, and southern—and while the entire fault is a clear and present earthquake danger, it’s the Los Angeles-adjacent southern section that’s most concerning.

Scientists estimate that this section of fault—over the past 1,000 years—usually triggered a sizable earthquake every 180 years (give or take 40). But the southern San Andreas Fault (SSAF) hasn’t had a good shaking for more than 300 years (despite what mediocre Hollywood disaster films would have you believe).

Wanting to better understand this seismic outlier, scientists from San Diego State University (SDSU) and UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography investigated why the fault is behaving differently today than it has in the past. Their answer? Water, or to be more specific, the lack thereof. According to their paper—published on Wednesday in the journal Nature—the low water levels of the Salton Sea, located at the most southern end of the San Andreas Fault, could explain why this section of fault line has seen less movement over the past few centuries.

Mapping the extent of the prehistoric Lake Cahuilla and its relation to the SSAF.UC San Diego

The Salton Sea is a modern remnant of a much larger prehistoric lake called Lake Cahuilla. Some 32 times bigger than today’s landlocked sea, the water levels of Lake Cahuilla rose and fell over a millennia, and using new geologic and palaeoseismic data, scientists confirmed that the past six major earthquakes along the SSAF occurred when the lake was at its fullest. The frequency of earthquakes in China and around the Dead Sea have also previously been connected to water levels of nearby lakes.

But how does the full-ness of a lake impact something like an earthquake? Using computer models, scientists analyzed how the large, ancient Lake Cahuilla affected the fault line, and discovered two primary impacts. First, large volumes of water can cause the Earth’s crust to bend, which has the effect of unlocking the two plates and allowing for more seismic movement. Second, water can penetrate cracks in the Earth’s crust and increase fluid pressure, which also makes earthquakes more likely.

In a press statement, UC San Diego scientists described this hydraulic phenomenon like an air hockey table:

“The effect of increased fluid pressure in a fault is a bit like an air hockey table. With the air on, the puck glides easily, but when the air is off, friction makes it hard to slide the puck. So too with an increase in fluid pressure inside the fault, the water pushes out against the two sides of the fault, making it easier for them to overcome friction, slide by one another and trigger an earthquake.”

This new research adds even more complexity to proposed projects to ferry water from the Gulf of California into the Salton Sea, as adding more water too quickly could trigger potentially deadly seismic activity.

Unfortunately, the drought-like state of the Salton Sea is only one cog in a very complex seismic machine, and isn’t enough to stop earthquakes along the SSAF entirely. Scientists estimate that a magnitude 6.7 earthquake or higher will likely hit the greater Los Angeles area within the next 30 years as pressure continues to building.

When the SSAF finally breaks its 300-year-long silence, it’ll likely do so with an enormous bang.

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.

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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.

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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."

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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."