Environmentalists sue Puerto Rican government over location of renewable energy projects

DÁNICA COTO
Mon, August 14, 2023

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Activists and environmental groups including the Sierra Club sued Puerto Rico’s government Monday over the planned location of dozens of renewable energy projects meant to ease the U.S. territory’s power woes.

The lawsuit claims the projects would be built on lands that are ecologically sensitive and of high agricultural value, a violation of local laws.

The groups requested that a judge prohibit various local government agencies from approving projects on such lands, noting that they should instead be built on roofs, parking lots, landfills in disuse and previously contaminated grounds.

“The loss of prime agricultural land to install solar projects of an industrial magnitude is a serious attack on the food security of Puerto Rico, which is already in precarious condition,” said David Sotomayor, a soils professor at the University of Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico’s Energy Bureau has so far approved 18 projects on more than 2,000 hectares that the lawsuit states are classified as special agricultural reserve and specially protected rustic land.

A spokeswoman for the Energy Bureau did not return a message for comment.

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Puerto Rico’s Justice Department, which also was named in the lawsuit, said she had to check whether the agency received the lawsuit and reviewed it before issuing comment.

The groups suing also accused the Energy Bureau of withholding the names of the projects and other details because of alleged confidentiality, noting they had to go to court to obtain what is supposed to be public information.

The lawsuit comes as the government of Puerto Rico prepares to consider dozens of additional renewable energy projects in a push to lessen its dependence on oil. Petroleum accounts for nearly 60% of the island’s energy use, followed by natural gas at 28%, coal around 12% and renewables only 2%, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

As a result, power bills in Puerto Rico are one of the highest of any U.S. jurisdiction.

Recent policies dictate that Puerto Rico must obtain 40% of its power supply from renewables by 2025 and 60% by 2040. The renewable energy projects are part of a push to rebuild the island's power grid after Hurricane Maria razed it in September 2017, with ongoing power outages still plaguing the U.S. territory.

In the lawsuit, the groups asked a judge to order the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau to identify suitable places for industrial energy projects to be built, among other things.

“We favor renewable energy, but not to the detriment of land of high ecological value and agricultural reserves in the largest productive places,” said Marissa Reyes, from the Boricuá Organization for Eco-Organic Agriculture Inc.

Will China-Philippines tensions make other South China Sea claimants more likely to speak up?

South China Morning Post
Sun, August 13, 2023 


A clash between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea last weekend will make Southeast Asian nations a little anxious but it may make some governments more likely to speak up against Beijing's actions if tensions escalate, observers said.

Chinese coastguard ships intercepted and fired water cannons on August 5 to warn off a Philippine vessel that was carrying supplies for Filipino troops stationed at the Second Thomas Shoal in the contested Spratly Islands.

Manila summoned the Chinese envoy to the Philippines over the incident and called China's actions "illegal" and "dangerous", while its long-time ally the United States said the actions directly threatened regional peace and stability.

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China said it had implemented "necessary controls" to stop the Philippine ships, and that Beijing had "indisputable" sovereignty over the Spratly Islands.

It also claimed that the Philippine ships had "disregarded China's repeated dissuasion and warnings and attempted to transfer construction materials used for maintaining and repairing the ship, which has been grounded on the shoal illegally".

The Second Thomas Shoal is controlled by Manila but also claimed by Hanoi, Taipei and Beijing, which also claims the resource-rich South China Sea waterway almost in its entirety.

A Chinese Coast Guard ship launches what it says is a warning water cannon spray in the direction of a Philippine vessel as seen in a screen grab from a video released on August 8. Photo: China Coast Guard alt=A Chinese Coast Guard ship launches what it says is a warning water cannon spray in the direction of a Philippine vessel as seen in a screen grab from a video released on August 8. Photo: China Coast Guard>

Collin Koh, a senior fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore, said the Philippines' neighbours were likely to have watched the incident unfold with some unease against a backdrop of repeated stand-offs between Beijing and Manila.

"[Southeast Asian countries] will certainly view that as something quite worrisome and see it as an uptick in tensions that seem to have built up," said Koh, who specialises in naval affairs in the Indo-Pacific. "They view that as potentially impinging upon regional peace and stability."

In February, Chinese coastguard ships directed lasers at a Philippine vessel and disrupted a supply mission. More recently, vessels from the two countries nearly collided.

Last weekend's incident was the first time since 2021 that China's coastguard had used a water cannon against a Philippine resupply mission to the Second Thomas Shoal.

Greg Poling, director of the Southeast Asia programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said the incident and the overall "rise in Chinese coercion ... makes everyone in the region nervous".

But the anxiety, he suggested, would be much more immediate for other South China Sea claimants in the region, from Malaysia to Indonesia and Vietnam.

These countries have in recent months appeared to be more cautious about China's actions in the disputed seas.

Manila now had plans to sign a maritime cooperation pact with Hanoi, and Indonesia had undergone a major shift within its security services after the Chinese coastguard "dangerously harassed" Indonesian oil and gas operations some two years ago, according to Poling.

"If China continues to ratchet up pressure, and especially if it causes a threat to the lives of Filipino mariners, I expect some Southeast Asian parties - Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, potentially a future Thai government - could feel compelled to speak up more forcefully," he said.

Thomas Daniel, a senior fellow at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia, said claimant states "ought to be worried", noting that Malaysian and Vietnamese stations - like the Philippines - also relied on resupply runs.

The response of Southeast Asian countries would largely rely on their interests in the South China Sea and their relationship with China, he added.

Koh from RSIS said most, if not all, Southeast Asian countries were likely to remain silent on the incident or stick to the refrain that they were monitoring the situation, for fear of appearing to take sides and being "embroiled in what seemed to be a very unnecessary problem".

There was also a fear of repercussions from China, which remains a key trading partner for many of the region's economies.

Any continued silence from Southeast Asian countries, and especially claimant states that had experienced some form of aggression from China, would be "both telling and damning", Daniel said.

"Perhaps this is a reflection of a real fear of escalation dominance by Beijing, which no claimant state can ever hope to counter," he said.

"Worse still, perhaps Hanoi and Putrajaya [Malaysia] have been slowly, reluctantly, but successfully conditioned by Beijing to keep their heads down, in the ultimately doomed hope of biding one's time."

Beyond that, the recent stand-off could also prompt countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to question whether they should still trust China in negotiating a code of conduct for the South China Sea, said Aristyo Rizka Darmawan, an international law expert at the University of Indonesia.

China and Asean last month completed the second reading of a much-delayed code of conduct, which would be a legally binding document to regulate behaviour in the disputed waterway.

Darmawan, whose research focuses on maritime security in Southeast Asia, said it was important for claimant states to stand behind the Philippines and put pressure on China to not escalate tensions if Beijing was committed in the negotiations.

"Otherwise, this shows that China is not trustworthy on any mechanism and therefore there is no point in the negotiation of code of conduct if China does not commit to keeping peace in the area," he said.

While most countries in Southeast Asia would have viewed last week's incident with some anxieties, Koh said some might see it as a "welcome development".

"Not to say that they welcome tensions but I think what they saw ... was a somewhat interesting phenomenon where there are more countries in Southeast Asia who are more willing to speak up against China and, in a way, hoping that at least it might have some positive impact of moderating Chinese behaviour from now on," he said.

Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

5-year-old buried in Rio after being killed during protest against police violence

DIARLEI RODRIGUES
Mon, August 14, 2023



Gilgres Santos, the father of five-year-old Eloah Passos, carries his daughter's remains for a burial at Cacuia Cemetery two days after she was killed by a stray bullet in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. Passos died on Saturday, Aug. 12, while at home in the Dende favela. 

(AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A 5-year-old girl was buried in Rio de Janeiro on Monday, two days after she was fatally shot as shantytown residents protested against alleged police violence.

Eloáh Passos died when she was hit by a gunshot at her home in the Morro do Dende, one of Rio's most violent areas. Passos’ neighbors allege the shot that killed her came from one of the policemen who tried to block a local protest against the death of a 17-year-old boy earlier in the day.

Rio police said in a statement they would investigate the girl's death.

The child's father, Gilgrês dos Santos da Silva, 31, carried her small casket to her grave in a northern Rio cemetery as local residents applauded, cried for justice and released fireworks in respect to the girl's death.

“I don't know who did it. I just know that my daughter's life was taken,” da Silva told journalists after the burial.

Wendell Eduardo de Almeida, 17, was killed Saturday after he allegedly refused to stop his motorbike at a police checkpoint in the same shantytown. Rio police said he was taken down during an exchange of gunfire. The teenager was buried Sunday.

Antônio Carlos Costa, a founder of the Rio de Paz human rights non-profit organization, attended the burial showing a Brazilian flag with holes as if it had been showered with gunshots. He said 14 children were killed by stray bullets in Rio state between January of last year and August of this year.

“Most of them had their lives ended as police and criminals exchanged gunfire,” Costa said. He added that he wants to meet with Rio Gov. Claudio Castro to discuss the state's policing strategies.

BlackRock expects economy to flatline for a year before inflation returns in 2024. Get ready for a generational shift to ‘full-employment stagnation’

Will Daniel
Mon, August 14, 2023

In December, BlackRock’s top minds told their clients that a U.S. recession was “foretold.” The Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes, although meant to merely tame inflation, would ultimately lead to a wave of job losses and falling GDP, they warned. But now with inflation fading, GDP growth continuing, and the labor market remaining resilient, experts at the world’s largest asset manager have become a bit more optimistic about the future—at least in the near term.

“Our base case is that the economy broadly flatlines for another year as the full impact of high interest rates comes through and consumers exhaust their pandemic savings,” Jean Boivin, head of the BlackRock Investment Institute, and his deputy head, Alex Brazier, wrote in an Aug. 14 blog post.

A stagnant economy is slightly better than a shrinking one, but Boivin and Brazier noted that if their prediction is correct, the economy will have essentially “flatlined” for two and a half straight years. “That would be the weakest such period in the postwar era outside the Global Financial Crisis,” they explained, referring to the financial meltdown caused by the subprime mortgage crisis in 2008.

Boivin and Brazier also argue that a “big structural shift” is underway that could cause problems for the U.S. in the long term. Changing demographics and a rise in early retirements are increasing the share of retirees in the U.S. population. That could lead to labor force shortages, which would slow the economy and have the potential to reignite inflation.

“Our assessment is that we are set for ‘full-employment stagnation,’” the pair wrote Monday, arguing that as labor shortages start to “bind” in 2024, inflation will go on a “roller-coaster ride” and reemerge.

Out of the fire and into the frying pan

Over the past few years, changing consumer spending patterns and pandemic and war-related supply-chain issues helped to create a “mismatch” in the economy that sparked the rise of inflation, according to BlackRock.

Essentially, the economy wasn’t set up to produce what people actually wanted to buy, and this supply-demand imbalance caused prices to surge. But now, although that imbalance is “resolving,” enabling inflation to fade, the labor shortage is threatening to bring consumer price increases back with a vengeance.

Boivin and Brazier found that the U.S. workforce is 4 million workers short of where it would have been if it kept growing at its pre-COVID pace. And due to demographics, the pair believe it will now grow by only 0.5% on average each year, compared to 1.5% before the pandemic.

That could cause “full-employment stagnation,” or a period of weak growth with rising inflation caused by labor shortages. “And that should lead to a shift in how all the income generated in the economy is being distributed: A greater share is ending up in employees’ pockets and a smaller share for companies and their shareholders,” Boivin and Brazier explained.

Rising wages are great for workers, but with increased pay comes less profit and increased costs for business, and that “could hold back business investment” and stoke inflation, according to BlackRock. And on top of that: “A smaller workforce means the rate of growth the economy will be able to sustain without resurgent inflation will be lower: more like 1% than the 2% we were used to,” Boivin and Brazier warned.

Of course, some economists—and even billionaire CEOs—believe that rising wages are not necessarily an issue for the economy. Barry Sternlicht, the founder and CEO of Starwood Capital, told Fortune last September that even if rising wages push inflation higher, that might not be the worst tradeoff.

“I think the whole dialogue is wrong. I don’t think we need 2% inflation,” he said. “I mean, inflation that is driven by wage growth is fabulous. We should want wages to go up—that will help social issues in the United States. It’s the trickle-down that we’ve all been waiting for with low unemployment.”

A word of warning for the Fed

For the Federal Reserve, full-employment stagnation is a serious concern. Keeping inflation sustainably at bay amid labor shortages that cause steadily rising wages, while also ensuring that the economy continues to grow, will be a real challenge.

On top of that, the tactics used to spark economic growth in the past, including cutting interest rates or buying government bonds and mortgage backed securities, may prove to be far more inflationary amid future labor force shortages as lower rates and increased liquidity could lead to unsustainable wage gains.

With that in mind, Boivin and Brazier had a message for central bank officials:

“This is not a business cycle. We are in the midst of a structural shift. Monetary policy cannot rescue the economy from weakness. The Fed will need to make sure the U.S. economy is not growing more quickly than what it can now maintain without inflation surging.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

State Farm is closing its doors to millions of new customers exposed to ‘rapidly growing’ catastrophes — here’s who’s affected

Laurelle Stelle
Mon, August 14, 2023 

The EPA reports that wildfires are getting worse as the planet gets warmer. In response to this and other factors, major insurer State Farm has announced that it will no longer offer homeowner’s insurance to new applicants in fire-prone California.

What’s happening?

According to the EPA, the area burned by wildfires each year has been increasing since the 1980s. The 10 most destructive years on record have happened in the past 20 years, causing more damage thanks to the plentiful dry plants left behind by drought.

While the effects are felt across the U.S., California is famous for its yearly wildfires and the resulting smoke. This year has been particularly hard for the state due to a devastating combination of storms, floods, drought, and fire.

As Axios reports, this became too much risk for State Farm. The company cited “historic increases in construction costs outpacing inflation” and “rapidly growing catastrophe exposure” in its decision to close applications across California in May.

Why does it matter?

For homeowners in California, it will now be harder to find affordable coverage for their property. Without it, residents run the risk of losing everything in a fire. Owners that already have coverage are still protected, but State Farm won’t accept any new applications in California, it says.

But the problem extends beyond California. Disasters of all kinds have become more common and more destructive as rising temperatures across the world have caused the weather to become less stable.

If insurers find it too risky to cover areas affected by these disasters, then more and more regions could find themselves without coverage. Louisiana and Florida are already losing coverage thanks to predictions of an active hurricane season, Axios reports. Ironically, State Farm has announced its intent to remain in Florida despite large competitors like Farmers and AAA pulling out.

What’s being done?

Michael Soller, the California deputy insurance commissioner, told Axios in an email that the California Department of Insurance is dedicated to protecting consumers in the long run.

“We have been here before after major wildfires,” he said. “What’s different is the actions that we are taking with the first-ever insurance discount program for wildfire safety and unprecedented wildfire mitigation investments from the Legislature and Governor.”

In other words, the CDI is working with the state government to lower insurance costs and reduce the risk of wildfires so that insurers can be secure operating in the area once again.

SINS OF THE FATHER

Libya asks Lebanon to release Gadhafi's detained son who is on hunger strike, officials say

BASSEM MROUE
Mon, August 14, 2023 

Hannibal Gadhafi, son of ousted Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, watches an elite military unit exercise in Zlitan, Libya, Sept. 25, 2011. Libya's judicial authorities have formally asked Lebanon's prosecutor general to help in the release of Hannibal Gadhafi, who was held in Lebanon since 2015 because of his deteriorating health conditions, judicial officials said Monday, Aug 14, 2023. 

(AP Photo/Abdel Magid al-Fergany, File) 

BEIRUT (AP) — Libya’s judicial authorities have formally asked Lebanon to release one of the late dictator Moammar Gadhafi’s sons, held without charges in Lebanon since 2015 because of his deteriorating health, officials said Monday.

The health of Hannibal Gadhafi has been deteriorating since he went on hunger strike on June 3, to protest his detention without trial. He was taken to hospital at least twice since then and has been only drinking small amounts of water.

According to two Lebanese judicial officials, Libya’s prosecutor general Al-Sediq al-Sour, sent a request earlier this month to his Lebanese counterpart, Ghassan Oueidat, regarding Hannibal Gadhafi. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

The note stated that Lebanon’s cooperation in this matter could help reveal the truth regarding the fate of a prominent Lebanese Shiite cleric, Moussa al-Sadr, who went missing in Libya in 1978.

It questioned why Gadhafi was being held and asked that he be either handed over to Libya or be allowed to return to Syria, where he had been living in exile with his Lebanese wife, Aline Skaf, and children until he was abducted and brought to Lebanon eight years ago.

The Lebanese prosecutor then referred the case to Zaher Hamadeh, the investigative judge in the missing cleric's case, who is studying the Libyan request and would respond in time.

Hannibal Gadhafi has been detained in Lebanon since 2015 after he was abducted by Lebanese militants demanding information on the whereabouts of the cleric. Lebanese police later announced it had picked up Gadhafi from the city of Baalbek in northeastern Lebanon, where he was being held. He has since been held in a Beirut jail.

The disappearance of al-Sadr in 1978 has been a long-standing sore point in Lebanon. The cleric’s family believes he may still be alive in a Libyan prison, though most Lebanese presume al-Sadr is dead. He would be 94 years old.

He was the founder of the Amal group, Arabic for “hope,” and an acronym for the militia’s Arabic name, the Lebanese Resistance Brigades. The group later fought in Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war. Lebanon’s powerful Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri heads the group.

Most of al-Sadr’s followers are convinced that Moammar Gadhafi ordered al-Sadr killed in a dispute over Libyan payments to Lebanese militias.

Libya has maintained that the cleric and his two traveling companions left Tripoli in 1978 on a flight to Rome and suggested he was a victim of a power struggle among Shiites.

Moammar Gadhafi was killed by opposition fighters during Libya's 2011 uprising turned civil war, ending his four-decade rule of the North African country.

Hannibal Gadhafi, who was born two years before al-Sadr disappeared, fled to Algeria after his father was toppled and Tripoli fell to opposition fighters, along with his mother and several other relatives. He later made it to Syria where he was given political asylum and stayed there until he was abducted.

Syrian authorities at the time blasted Hannibal Gadhafi’s seizure “by an armed gang” and have been demanding he be returned to Syria.

The late Moammar Gadhafi had eight children from two marriages. Most of them played significant roles in his regime. His son Muatassim was killed at the same time as Gadhafi was captured and slain. Two other sons, Seif al-Arab and Khamis, were killed earlier on in the uprising.

Seif al-Islam, the one-time heir apparent to his father, has been in Libya since his release from detention there in 2017. Gadhafi's son Mohammed and daughter Aisha live in Oman. Al-Saadi, a former soccer player, was released from prison in Libya in 2021 after being jailed following repatriation from Niger in 2014.

FOLKLORE STUDIES
Did you miss snow last winter? Here's what the Farmers' Almanac is predicting this year

Katie Landeck and Hadley Barndollar, Providence Journal

Mon, August 14, 2023 

Last winter may have been marked by mild weather and short bursts of deep freezes, but according to the Farmers' Almanac, don't expect those mild temperatures this winter.

Prepare to be cold and prepare for snow.

Plow working through East Providence clearing snow and slush from the winter storm Monday evening. Tuesday, Feb 28, 2023. [The Providence Journal / Kris Craig]

"After a weird and warm winter season last year, this winter should make cold weather fans rejoice — especially those in the Great Lakes, Midwest, and northern New England areas,” editor Peter Geiger said in a press release. “The ‘brrr’ is coming back! We expect more snow and low temperatures nationwide.”

The Farmers' Almanac is calling for a return to cold and snow this winter in New England, the Great Lakes and the Midwest.

What to expect in winter 2023-2024 in Rhode Island

The Farmers' Almanac is forecasting "below-average temperatures and lots of snowstorms, sleet, ice, rain" in New England and quite a few other spots in the country.

While there wasn't a lot of snow last year, they're saying the whole Interstate 95 corridor from Washington to Boston should expect to contend with quite a bit of the white stuff this year. Prepare to get your snowblower back out.

Here are some of the more specific predictions:

"The second week of January will be stormy, snowy, and wet for both the Pacific Coast and the Eastern States."


"An East Coast storm affecting the Northeast and New England states will bring snowfall, cold rain and then frigid temperatures, during the second week of February."

"Another East Coast storm will bring a wintry mess to this area during the first week of March."

"A possible late-season snowfall over the high terrain of New England during the third week of April won’t be a fun “April Fools’ Day” prank!"

How does the Farmers' Almanac make predictions?

The Farmers' Almanac, which is slightly different from the Old Farmer's Almanac and was founded in 1818, uses sunspot activity, tidal action of the moon, the position of the planets and other factors.

The Farmers' Almanac claims to have secret formulas. The only person who allegedly knows the exact formula of the Farmers' Almanac is its weather prognosticator, who goes by the pseudonym Caleb Weatherbee.

Published reports have said the Farmers' Almanac takes into account climate change.

Are the Farmers' Almanac's predictions accurate?

So, how accurate are the predictions each year?

The Farmers' Almanac claims an accuracy rate of about 80% to 85%.

Others are less sure. A 2010 University of Illinois study found the Farmers' Almanac to be correct only about 50% of the time when the researchers compared the forecasts with the real weather data.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
Bankman-Fried charged with using stolen customer funds for $100 million in US political donations

Luc Cohen
Mon, August 14, 2023

Former FTX Chief Executive Bankman-Fried at a courthouse in New York

(Reuters) - Sam Bankman-Fried used stolen customer funds to make more than $100 million in political campaign contributions ahead of the 2022 U.S. midterm elections, federal prosecutors said on Monday in a new indictment filed against the FTX cryptocurrency exchange's founder.

The new indictment charges the 31-year-old former billionaire with seven counts of conspiracy and fraud over the collapse of the exchange.

He has previously pleaded not guilty to charges of stealing billions in FTX customer funds to plug losses at Alameda Research, his crypto-focused hedge fund.

Mark Botnick, a spokesman for Bankman-Fried, declined to comment.

Bankman-Fried rode a boom in cryptocurrency values to amass a net worth estimated at $26 billion, and became an influential donor to mostly Democratic candidates and causes. But the November 2022 collapse of FTX - after a flurry of customer withdrawals due to concerns about commingling of FTX and Alameda funds - decimated both his wealth and his reputation.

In the superseding indictment filed on Monday, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan said Bankman-Fried directed other FTX executives to make donations in order to evade contribution limits, as part of a push for crypto-friendly regulation.

"He leveraged this influence, in turn, to lobby Congress and regulatory agencies to support legislation and regulation he believed would make it easier for FTX to continue to accept customer deposits and grow," the indictment read.

Prosecutors had initially charged him with violating U.S. campaign finance laws, but dropped that charge in late July after the Bahamas said it had never intended to extradite Bankman-Fried to the United States on that charge. FTX was based in the Bahamas, and he was arrested there last December.

In a letter last week to U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan, prosecutors indicated they would soon file a new indictment that "will make clear that Mr. Bankman-Fried remains charged with conducting an illegal campaign finance scheme as part of the fraud and money laundering schemes originally charged."

Kaplan on Friday ordered Bankman-Fried jailed ahead of his Oct. 2 trial, after finding probable cause to believe he had tampered with witnesses twice. He had previously been largely confined to his parents' Palo Alto, California, home on $250 million bond since his extradition.

(Reporting by Luc Cohen in San Jose, California; Editing by Chris Reese, David Gregorio and Jonathan Oatis)

College students develop solar-powered car that literally ‘eats’ air pollution as it drives: ‘We pulled it off’

Eliot Engelmaier
Mon, August 14, 2023 

Meet the solar-powered electric vehicle that cleans carbon pollution from the air as you drive it: the Zem car. This super sporty and sleek magic car has been described as “carbon eating.”

The vehicle was developed by a team of students at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands. The car is suited with a carbon capture device on its underbelly, and the body of the car itself isn’t made of materials typically seen on cars –– but is instead made using recycled plastics formed by a 3D printer.

Teamwork was the name of the game when it came to development: The base group was a team of students, and partner sponsors sourced the materials. The Zem car has lithium-ion batteries from Dutch company Cleantron, gets up to 15% of its charge via solar panels from Watllab, and has its carbon output studied thanks to a lifestyle analysis conducted with SimaPro software.

The 2021 team’s goal was “zero emissions mobility,” which led to the name “Zem.” As the team worked on this innovative vehicle, they realized that achieving carbon neutrality was impossible without a new solution. So they decided they needed to find a way for the Zem car to remove carbon from the air.

The solution came by way of two filters on the underside of the car, which do their job while the car is in motion. As it is driven, air passes through the filter while carbon dioxide sticks to it.

The filters have to be emptied every 200 miles, but the Zem car team has already developed a solution to mitigate the potential hassle. They designed an EV charging station that extracts the carbon dioxide so that it can be repurposed for other clean fuels or safely stored to keep it out of the atmosphere.

The Zem car, at this stage, is an awesome concept with lots of room to grow. The carbon capture device currently captures only 4.41 pounds of carbon dioxide for every 20,000 miles –– this is only 0.04% of the average vehicle’s annual carbon and less than one-tenth the amount that the average tree absorbs annually.

The team continues to work to bring the Zem car to what they believe is its full potential — carbon neutrality. Even further, the Zem car serves as an example to the industry of what is possible.

“We pulled it off: Thrifty-five students with a lot of eagerness but a lot less experience than the main industry that we are competing with,” says Nikki Okkels, the external relations manager for TU/ecomotive, in an interview with CNN. “We’re just showing the big industry what is possible.”

We can’t wait to see the progress made as the Zem car and this carbon-removing technology evolve as the vehicle develops.

TARGETING CIVILIANS IS A WAR CRIME
Ethiopian airstrike on a town square in the restive Amhara region kills 26, health official says
CARA ANNA
Updated Mon, August 14, 2023

 Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, left, accompanied by House speaker Tagesse Chafo, right, addresses the parliament in the capital Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Nov. 15, 2022. Authorities in Ethiopia are carrying out mass arrests of hundreds, even thousands, of people in the capital after deadly unrest in the country’s Amhara region, lawyers and witnesses said. Ethiopia’s parliament is to vote Monday Aug. 14, 2023 on giving formal approval to extraordinary measures which allow authorities to arrest suspects without a warrant, conduct searches and impose curfews.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — An airstrike on a crowded town square in Ethiopia’s restive Amhara region killed at least 26 people and wounded more than 55 others, a senior health official said Monday, days after authorities asserted that calm had been restored in the area.

Local militia members have been clashing with Ethiopia’s military over efforts to disband them, and last week the military retook key Amhara towns by force.

The airstrike hit the center of the Finote Selam community on Sunday, said the health official, who like other people spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. The official said 22 people died at the scene and several of the wounded had to undergo amputations.

Two residents said the airstrike targeted a truck carrying civilians who were returning from delivering food to fighters with the militia known as Fano. Their account could not be verified.

A federal government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“We heard a heavy sound coming from the sky,” a local teacher said. “When it fell, lots of people were killed and injured.”

The state-appointed Ethiopian Human Rights Commission on Monday noted “credible reports of strikes and shelling” in Finote Selam and other Amhara towns “resulting in many civilian casualties.” It also said Amhara regional officials were the target of attacks, with some killed, “resulting in the temporary collapse of local state structure in many areas.”

Ethiopia’s Cabinet declared a state of emergency earlier this month in the Amhara region. The Fano militia had fought alongside Ethiopian military forces in a two-year conflict in the neighboring Tigray region, which ended with a peace deal last November.

Lawyers and witnesses say authorities are now carrying out mass arrests of hundreds, even thousands, of people in Ethiopia’s capital amid the Amhara unrest.

The emergency measures allow authorities to arrest suspects without a warrant, conduct searches and impose curfews. Under a previous state of emergency imposed during the Tigray conflict, tens of thousands of ethnic Tigrayans were rounded up across the country.

This time, “there has been widespread arrest of civilians who are of ethnic Amhara origin,” the rights commission said.

Two lawyers said the emergency measures also appear to be in effect in the capital, Addis Ababa, where suspects are being held at police stations, schools and other makeshift detention centers after being swept off the streets. The lawyers, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution.

One lawyer said he visited seven schools and police stations last week where “hundreds” of people were held. The other lawyer, citing police sources, said 3,000 people had been arrested in Addis Ababa.

A third lawyer said he encountered several young people last week at police stations and courts in Addis Ababa who had been arrested and accused of having links to the Fano militia.

One man, an ethnic Amhara, said he was picked up off the street last week by plainclothes police officers who overheard him discussing the recent unrest on the phone. He said he was held at a school with hundreds of others before being taken to a police station. He was released on Thursday without any charge.

Another man said his brother was arrested in Addis Ababa a day before the state of emergency was declared and is being detained at a school with several hundred others. Most of the detainees there are young boys, said the man, who has visited his brother twice.

The federal government said only 23 people have been arrested under the state of emergency in Addis Ababa. Those include Christian Tadele, an outspoken opposition lawmaker who should have immunity from arrest under Ethiopia’s Constitution as a member of parliament.

“(N)o suspect has been arrested apart from these 23 individuals and the information circulating that there are mass arrests is wrong,” the federal government’s communication service said Friday.

The rights commission has urged that the state of emergency be limited to one month and “to the specific place where the special danger is said to have occurred, rather than applying it throughout the entire country.”
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