Opinion

There’s a future in clean energy. Idaho LAUNCH can give students the start they need 

Ryan McGoldrick

Idaho Statesman
Sun, December 17, 2023 


Despite Idaho’s overall growth statewide, young people continue to leave Idaho due to a lack of affordability and job opportunity. A University of Idaho study found that in 2021 alone, 17,000 people between the ages of 21 and 30 moved away from Idaho.

At the same time, we have a booming clean energy industry that desperately needs a trained workforce. Electricians, solar installers, energy efficiency auditors, and more are in short supply in Idaho. If we want to keep our young people and benefit from clean energy opportunities, we need to invest immediately in workforce development.

The opening of the Idaho LAUNCH program represents commitment to our youth’s potential. This program seeks to fill in the funding gaps that high school seniors may face, in order to help them achieve higher education and skills training that will prepare them for fulfilling Idaho’s in-demand jobs in the near future. The program will cover 80% of the cost of an in-state program up to $8,000, empowering students to build their lives here in-state.

This program also creates opportunities for Idaho to build a sustainable future by investing in in-state clean energy solutions. Idaho LAUNCH can help fund essential workforce training programs for Idaho’s rapidly growing clean energy economy and infuse the industry with educated local talent. When we have a local workforce, it means that we not only give our communities access to jobs in a economically-lucrative industry, but we keep dollars in-state: employees pay taxes here, patronize local businesses, and help the local economy thrive.

In Idaho, we don’t depend heavily on fossil fuel resources for our electricity. Idaho doesn’t have significant oil reserves or petroleum refineries, and there are few coal reserves and no coal production within the state. What we do have is an abundance of clean and renewable energy resources. When we think about building out our local economy, expanding our clean energy industry must be considered a priority.

Clean energy projects have significant benefits to rural communities in particular. They provide new revenue sources to rural areas, through an increased tax base that funds local infrastructure improvements while lessening the tax burden on community members. Generating reliable and cheap energy means that it doesn’t need to be imported, giving communities the ability to adapt projects to their local needs and potentials.

With Congress passing three major infrastructure investments — the CHIPS and Science Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) — there are many more funding resources for these kinds of projects. Grants include funding towards our energy grid, broadband, electric school buses, energy efficiency in schools, tree canopies in towns and cities, energy efficiency rebates, and workforce training. The latest opportunity being the Idaho Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program, Idaho Launch could work hand in hand with the funding provided by these critical investments for workforce training.

The IRA in particular is projected to greatly benefit the energy grid, investing millions of dollars into the clean energy industry. According to the Rocky Mountain Institute, Idaho can create up to nearly 7,500 jobs and reduce joblessness in-state by almost 30% by 2030 thanks to the demand for employees to leverage this funding. If we want to reach these goals and realize the benefits to our economy and community, we need to invest in our workforce now. Idaho LAUNCH is helping to make that happen.

It’s no secret that Idaho students are interested in entering clean energy work opportunities. There are 60 energy-related degrees among 10 Idaho colleges. As Idaho sees significant growth in occupations with the energy industry, job security will only grow stronger. We have the industry and we have the workforce — all we need now is to bring the two together with more incentives and openings for Idaho students. Idaho LAUNCH is the jumping-off point we need to create a skilled workforce in an industry that boasts jobs and economic stability, and elevate Idaho’s sustainable energy.

Ryan McGoldrick is the Program Director at Conservation Voters for Idaho, where he supports the organization’s clean energy, public lands, and civic engagement programs.

Wall Street Bank's Says Basel 3 ‘Endgame’ Will Upend Climate Finance

Natasha White
Sun, December 17, 2023 

(Bloomberg) -- Wall Street’s biggest banks are warning that existing assumptions around much-needed green finance will no longer hold if the US goes ahead with stricter capital requirements.

The Basel 3 Endgame, as the planned rules have been dubbed, marks the final implementation stage in the US of regulations created after the financial crisis of 2008. Banks will need to set aside more capital, which will make it costlier for them to provide finance. Proposed in July by a group of US authorities that includes the Federal Reserve, the rules will “fundamentally alter” how banks in the world’s biggest economy approach risk, EY says.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. estimates the plan would leave it facing a 25% capital bump, which would “for sure” affect its ability to allocate funds to green projects, according to Chief Operating Officer Daniel Pinto. And Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer David Solomon says the bank’s capital requirements would “quadruple” for certain clean energy projects.

The upshot is that Wall Street will have to rethink existing climate financing structures, said John Greenwood, co-head of Americas structured finance at Goldman.

“Given all the things that commercial banks are facing in the context of Basel,” the financial structures of existing climate deals are starting to look a bit “antiquated,” Greenwood said in an interview. That’s particularly true of a climate-funding model known as blended finance, whereby deals are de-risked by the public sector in order to lure private capital. Those enticements are now going to need to take banks’ extra capital costs into account, he said.

The eight biggest US banks currently have capital requirements ranging from $9 to $13 for every $100 in risk-weighted assets. Under the new rules, they would need to add roughly $2 more.

“With the incremental capital needed to fund the green transition, banks will look to work alongside other corners of private finance that perhaps aren’t subject to the same regulations,” Greenwood said. “What we’re seeing now in terms of new investment in energy and infrastructure is really a need for how do we crowd in and support institutional investors, given the constraints that commercial banks have under Basel.”

It’s the latest reality check from a finance industry that spent much of the COP28 climate summit in Dubai reminding the world that it will only participate in the green transition if the returns are appealing. “You have to make a profit,” hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio said at COP28. And private capital can’t get involved if there isn’t “a commercial return,” Shriti Vadera, chair of Prudential Plc, said in Dubai.

According to Jeff Berman, New York-based partner and US financial services regulatory group lead at law firm Clifford Chance, Wall Street is now “looking at a trade-off between the safety and soundness of the banking system, and the goals of climate policy.”

The clear message from bankers is that achieving a commercial return will be harder once capital requirements go up. That means a lot of finance is set to move away from banks and into the murkier realm of shadow banking, where risk levels aren’t monitored as closely, according to the industry.

“Policymakers should be concerned with a resulting shift away from regulated entities to less-regulated and less transparent markets and institutions,” JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said in a Senate hearing earlier this month.

Goldman’s Solomon says financing will happen in corners of the market over which “regulators have far less visibility,” meaning risks could build up and “ultimately lead to financial shocks.”

Multilateral development banks agree that green finance models may need to be adjusted because of the regulatory environment.

Odile Renaud-Basso, president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, said Basel 3 presents “a good excuse” for global banks to back away from climate finance. “But there are maybe some elements that we need to look into because emerging market risk is seen as variable and the approach isn’t very conducive for placement,” she said.

Wall Street has spent the past months warning of the impact of stricter capital rules on everything from mortgages to small business loans. The United Nations climate summit was just the latest venue for bankers to spread their message.

In a research paper distributed at COP28, Citigroup Inc. said regulators should “consider the implications of structures such as Basel 3, which can inadvertently hinder investment into infrastructure projects and markets that could make a meaningful difference to climate and development finance.”

The Basel 3 rules make financing green infrastructure difficult for banks, Jay Collins, Citigroup’s vice chairman of corporate and investment banking, said in an interview. That’s because it’s typically funded at the project level and tends to be long-term and illiquid, which is the kind of lending the Basel rules deter.

“As long as there is so much policy noise and regulatory fog, the multifold increase in climate investment won’t happen,” Collins said.

Hendrik du Toit, CEO of South Africa-based asset manager Ninety One, said his concern is that American and European financiers are already too risk-averse, and any additional hindrance will end up hitting the emerging markets most in need of climate finance.

“Western capital is too conservative,” he said during a panel discussion in Dubai. “It’s buying dollar cash, US dollar bonds, and it’s comfortable sitting at home. We have to change that. There are returns to be had” in emerging markets

The risks associated with climate finance were underscored this year, as higher interest rates and supply-chain bottlenecks dragged down key green sectors. The S&P Global Clean Energy Index is down almost 30% in 2023, compared with a 23% gain for the S&P 500.

Citigroup’s Collins said the numbers speak for themselves. The Basel rules mean “global banks will continue to struggle to meet regulatory capital return hurdles on green infrastructure,” he said.

--With assistance from Alastair Marsh.

 Bloomberg Businessweek

UK
Israel Gaza: FM Lord Cameron supports 'sustainable ceasefire' and warns over deaths

Andre Rhoden-Paul - BBC News
Sun, December 17, 2023 

Lord Cameron

The foreign secretary has said he would like to see a "sustainable ceasefire" in the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Lord Cameron also warned "too many civilians have been killed" in Gaza.

More than 18,000 people have been killed, including thousands of children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

His intervention in a Sunday Times article marks a shift in tone from the UK government, but stops short of calling for an immediate ceasefire.

Penning a joint article with Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Lord Cameron said he supported a ceasefire only if it was sustainable in the long term.

He said: "Our goal cannot simply be an end to fighting today. It must be peace lasting for days, years, generations.

"We therefore support a ceasefire, but only if it is sustainable."

Earlier this week the UK and Germany abstained over a United Nations resolution, backed by 153 countries, demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.

On Sunday France, which was among the countries which voted for the resolution, called for an "immediate and durable truce" in the conflict, ahead of a meeting between the French and Israeli foreign ministers in Tel Aviv.

Seeking to explain the UK's position, Lord Cameron wrote: "We do not believe that calling right now for a general and immediate ceasefire, hoping it somehow becomes permanent, is the way forward."

He added: "Would Hamas stop firing rockets? Would it release the hostages? Would its murderous ideology change? An unsustainable ceasefire, quickly collapsing into further violence, would only make it harder to build the confidence needed for peace."

Instead the UK and Germany are pushing for further humanitarian pauses to get more aid in and more hostages out.

Palestinians inspect damage in the northern Gaza on Saturday

Lord Cameron's comments amplify Rishi Sunak's line set out at Wednesday's Prime Minister's Questions.

"We have been consistent that what we support is a sustainable ceasefire, which means Hamas must stop launching rockets into Israel and release all the hostages," Mr Sunak said.

Appearing on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said: "In order for a ceasefire to be sustainable, we have to ensure we remove the threat of Hamas from Israel...

"So, that's why we continue to support Israel in its right to self-defence, to remove the threat of Hamas, and at the same time to get those hostages back."

Asked if he thought Israel had gone too far, Mr Dowden said: "I wouldn't characterise it as Israel going too far. Israel is dealing with a very difficult situation."

He said the UK continued to urge Israel to exercise restraint but added: "If you're going after an enemy that literally hides underneath hospitals, hides amongst the civilian population, you are going to sustain high levels of civilian casualties."

The offensive into Gaza, triggered by Hamas's deadly 7 October attack on Israel which killed 1,200 people, has led to vast areas of the territory being flattened.

In a sign attitudes are shifting, in the article, the UK and German foreign ministers warned that Israel "should do more to discriminate sufficiently between terrorists and civilians".

They also said more aid must reach Gaza, amid warnings from the United Nations of a humanitarian catastrophe due to widespread shortages of basic supplies.

Israel's main ally the US has also expressed unease over the failure of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's administration to reduce civilian casualties.

Deflecting that pressure on Saturday, Mr Netanyahu said: "Military pressure is necessary both for the return of the hostages and for victory. Without military pressure... we have nothing."

Cameron adds to growing pressure on Israel with ‘sustainable ceasefire’ call

Dominic McGrath, PA Political Staff
Sun, December 17, 2023 



The Government has added to growing global pressure on Israel as the Foreign Secretary called for a “sustainable ceasefire” in the escalating Gaza conflict.

Lord Cameron’s intervention, which saw him warn that “too many civilians have been killed”, is a significant shift in the Government’s tone.

It sees the UK follow Joe Biden’s White House in expressing unease about the failure of Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration to reduce civilian casualties and its plans for the future of Gaza.

Writing in the Sunday Times in a joint article with German foreign affairs minister Annalena Baerbock, Lord Cameron said: “Our goal cannot simply be an end to fighting today. It must be peace lasting for days, years, generations. We therefore support a ceasefire, but only if it is sustainable.”

But both Lord Cameron and his German counterpart stopped short of calling for an immediate ceasefire, something that has been a recurring demand by pro-Palestinian campaigners as the death count in Gaza continues to grow.

“We know many in the region and beyond have been calling for an immediate ceasefire,” the article said. “We recognise what motivates these heartfelt calls.

“It is an understandable reaction to such intense suffering, and we share the view that this conflict cannot drag on and on. That is why we supported the recent humanitarian pauses.”

The offensive, triggered by the unprecedented October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, has flattened much of northern Gaza and driven 85% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million from their homes.

Displaced people have squeezed into shelters mainly in the south in a spiralling humanitarian crisis.

In a warning to Israel, the two foreign ministers said: “Israel has the right to defend itself but, in doing so, it must abide by international humanitarian law.

“Israel will not win this war if its operations destroy the prospect of peaceful co-existence with Palestinians. They have a right to eliminate the threat posed by Hamas.

“But too many civilians have been killed. The Israeli government should do more to discriminate sufficiently between terrorists and civilians, ensuring its campaign targets Hamas leaders and operatives.”

The shift in language by the UK Government comes as Mr Netanyahu faces public anger after it emerged that the three hostages who were mistakenly shot by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip had been waving a white flag and were shirtless when they were killed.

In a nationwide address on Saturday, the Israeli primer minister said the killings “broke my heart, broke the entire nation’s heart,” but he indicated no change in the country’s military campaign.

“We are as committed as ever to continue until the end, until we dismantle Hamas, until we return all our hostages,” he said.

For Labour, shadow health secretary Wes Streeting told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips on Sky News: “The question isn’t whether any of us want a ceasefire, of course people want to see a ceasefire, an end to this bloody conflict.”

Mr Streeting said there have been “intolerable losses” in Gaza, adding: “The question is how do you get from where we are today to where we want to be.

“I think David Cameron talked about a sustainable ceasefire and I think that’s absolutely right.”

Mr Streeting pointed to the previous humanitarian pause, adding: “I think we’ve just got to keep in mind a ceasefire comes about when both parties to the conflict are able to negotiate a ceasefire.

“We’ve got to build a political path to that point and then beyond.”


Israel risks breaking law with its ‘killing rage’, says Ben Wallace


Daniel Martin
Sun, December 17, 2023 

Ben Wallace says he 'unequivocally’ condemns Hamas violence on Oct 7 and is not calling for a ceasefire - Brian Lawless/PA

Israel risks losing legal authority for its war in Gaza by going on a crude and indiscriminate “killing rage” against the Palestinian people, Ben Wallace warns today.

The former defence secretary warns the country’s tactics will “fuel the conflict for another 50 years” and will radicalise young Muslims across the world.

His comments, made in an article for the Daily Telegraph, come amid a shift in tone from Britain and the West toward Israel as the death toll in Gaza spirals.

Lord Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, joined with his German counterpart to call for a “sustainable ceasefire” in the territory, adding that “too many civilians have been killed”. Grant Shapps, the Defence Secretary, said the approach would mean “hostages released, rockets stop flowing and there’s actually a political process in place to make sure that we get to the day after”.

Mr Wallace warns that Benjamin Netanyahu is undermining Israel’s legal case for the war - MAHMUD HAMS/AFP/Getty Images

But Mr Wallace warns that Benjamin Netanyahu is risking breaking the Geneva Convention and undermining Israel’s legal case for the war – that it is acting in self-defence.

“Going after Hamas is legitimate; obliterating vast swathes of Gaza is not,” he said. “Using proportionate force is legal but collective punishment and forced movement of civilians is not.

“We are entering a dangerous period now where Israel’s original legal authority of self-defence is being undermined by its own actions. It is making the mistake of losing its moral authority alongside its legal one.”

Ben Wallace said that the Israeli prime minister is in danger of breaking the Geneva Convention - ABIR SULTAN/REUTERS

Mr Wallace said the current generation of Israeli politicians were acting like a “bull in a China shop”, and said the hardline Israeli prime minister was “losing sight of the long term” because his government missed the Hamas attack in the first place.

“But if he thinks a killing rage will rectify matters, then he is very wrong,” he said. “His methods will not solve this problem.

“In fact, I believe his tactics will fuel the conflict for another 50 years. His actions are radicalising Muslim youth across the globe.”

The former defence secretary added: “Before anyone says I am calling for a ceasefire with Hamas – I am not. You can’t have a ceasefire with Hamas unless they are prepared to declare one; even then they would have to pledge to modify their charter to do so.

“What I am saying is Israel needs to stop this crude and indiscriminate method of attack. And it needs to combat Hamas differently.”

He urged Israel to learn from the British experience in Northern Ireland, which proved that “as sure as night follows day, history shows us that radicalisation follows oppression”.

“Northern Ireland internment taught us that a disproportionate response by the state can serve as a terrorist organisation’s best recruiting sergeant,” he says. “For many, watching the events in Gaza unfold each day, makes us more and more uncomfortable.”

The former defence secretary said ‘going after Hamas is legitimate; obliterating vast swathes of Gaza is not‘

The comments came amid increasing concern at the death toll in Gaza from the US, the UK, Germany and France.

While Western leaders still support Israel’s right to defend itself by targeting Hamas, they are concerned at the disproportionate use of violence, which they suspect risks breaking international law.

Yesterday it emerged the US will push Israel to conduct “small-scale” raids against Hamas instead of its major ground and air offensive.

Yesterday it emerged the US will push Israel to conduct “small-scale” raids against Hamas instead of its major ground and air offensive.

Lloyd J Austin III, the US defence secretary, is set to meet with Mr Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defence minister, this week to discuss a new phase of the conflict.

According to US officials, this would involve smaller groups of elite forces conducting more precise intelligence-driven missions to kill Hamas leaders and rescue the hostages.

Mr Austin is still expected to reiterate support for Israel’s campaign to destroy Hamas, but also restate the importance of civilian safety and the need to increase humanitarian assistance.

It echoes comments made by Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden’s national security adviser, who last week said there would be a transition to another phase of the war that is focused in “more precise ways”.

Lord Cameron has called for ‘peace lasting for days, years, generations’ - Alexander Ermochenko/REUTERS

The change in the American stance came as Lord Cameron unveiled a change of heart in the British position.

‘We support a sustainable ceasefire’

In a joint article in The Sunday Times with Annalena Baerbock, the German foreign minister, he called for “peace lasting for days, years, generations,” adding that “too many civilians have been killed.”

“Only extremists like Hamas want us stuck in an endless cycle of violence, sacrificing more innocent lives for their fanatical ideology,” they wrote.

“But our goal cannot simply be an end to fighting today. It must be peace lasting for days, years, generations. We therefore support a ceasefire, but only if it is sustainable.”
‘Israel needs to exercise restraint’

Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Oliver Dowden, the Deputy Prime Minister, said the government did not believe Israel had gone “too far” – but wanted it to “exercise restraint”.

“I wouldn’t characterise it as Israel going too far,” he said. “Israel is dealing with a very difficult situation…

“If you’re going after an enemy that literally hides underneath hospitals, hides amongst the civilian population, you are going to sustain high levels of civilian casualties.”

He added: “What we as a UK Government is saying is, Israel, you do need to exercise restraint.”
‘Too many civilians are being killed’

On Sunday, Catherine Colonna, the French foreign minister, called for an “immediate and durable” truce in the war with Hamas.

On a visit to Israel, she said: “Too many civilians are being killed” and added that Paris was “deeply concerned” over the situation in Gaza.
Netanyahu has ‘lost the trust of the world’

Yair Lapid, Israeli opposition leader and former prime minister, called for Mr Netanyahu to step down, saying: “We have a prime minister who lost the trust of the people, lost the trust of the world and lost the trust of the security establishment.”

It came as the Israeli army claimed it had uncovered the largest Hamas tunnel in the Gaza Strip so far. The underground passage formed part of a wider network that stretched for over 2.5 miles, it said.

Al Jazeera to refer killing of cameraman in Gaza to war crimes court

WHERE IS CANADIAN MEDIA OUTRAGE?!
Reuters
Sat, December 16, 2023


Funeral of Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa, in Khan Younis

CAIRO (Reuters) - Al Jazeera is preparing a legal file to send to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over what it called "the assassination" of one of its cameramen in Gaza, the Qatari-based network said on Saturday.

The cameraman, Samer Abu Daqqa, was killed by a drone strike on Friday while reporting on the earlier bombing of a school used as a shelter for displaced people in the southern Gaza Strip, according to the Qatar-based broadcaster.

Al Jazeera said Israeli drones fired missiles at the school that left Abu Daqqa with fatal injuries. Reuters could not verify the details of the incident.

"The Network established a joint working group, which comprises of its international legal team and international legal experts who will collaboratively initiate the process of compiling a comprehensive file for submission to the court's prosecutor," Al Jazeera said in a statement.

"The legal file will also encompass recurrent attacks on the Network's crews working and operating in the occupied Palestinian territories and instances of incitement against them."

Commenting on the incident, the Israeli army said in a statement it has "never, and will never" deliberately target journalists. It also said that remaining in an active combat zone during exchanges of fire "has inherent risks".

The ICC already has an ongoing investigation into any alleged crimes within its jurisdiction committed on Palestinian territory and by Palestinians on the territory of Israel.

In 2021, ICC judges ruled that the court has jurisdiction after the Palestinian authorities signed up to the court in 2015 and were granted United Nations observer state status.

Israel does not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC over the Palestinian territories and has previously refused to cooperate with the court.

The ICC office of the prosecutor does not typically comment on the details of ongoing investigations.

The 10 weeks of war in Gaza have taken a heavy toll on journalists, with at least 64 reporters and media workers killed, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Friday.

The CPJ called on international authorities to "conduct an independent investigation into the attack to hold the perpetrators to account".

An Israeli tank crew killed Reuters visuals journalist Issam Abdallah and wounded six reporters in Lebanon on Oct. 13 by firing two shells in quick succession from Israel while the journalists were filming cross-border shelling, a Reuters investigation found.

The Israeli military said the incident took place in an active combat zone and was under review.

(Reporting by Ahmed Tolba, Stephanie van den Berg and Dan Williams, writing by Hatem Maher, editing by Andrew Heavens)

Shooting the Messenger: Journalism under fire by the Israeli army | Al Jazeera World Documentary

RELEASED BEFORE OCT 8 DECLARATION OF WAR ON GAZA

California to vote on allowing ‘toilet-to-tap’ projects: What to know

Sharon Udasin

THE HILL
Sat, December 16, 2023 



Some Californians could find themselves flushing a future drinking water source down their commodes in just a few years’ time — pending the approval of long-awaited, but misnamed, “toilet-to-tap” rules next week.

The California State Water Resources Control Board will consider a landmark proposal Tuesday to streamline “direct potable reuse” (DPR) — a process by which purified wastewater is discharged right into a public water system or just upstream from a treatment plant.

“It’s a real important step for just adding to the portfolio that we can use here in the West,” Darrin Polhemus, deputy director of the board’s division of drinking water, told The Hill.

Such capabilities, he explained, could strengthen California’s water resilience, while providing numerous environmental benefits and reducing the need for long-distance water transport.

“We’re not using it one time and dumping it in the ocean,” Polhemus said.

While these regulations would constitute a giant leap forward in statewide water recycling, California utilities are by no means new to repurposing sewage.

They have for years engaged in “indirect potable reuse,” the injection of treated wastewater into environmental buffers — such as groundwater aquifers, lakes or rivers — before its ultimate release into a municipal system.

Orange County, which has treated sewage in some capacity since the 1970s, now boasts the world’s biggest water purification system for indirect potable reuse. Today, the county claims to be reclaiming 100 percent of its wastewater.

Unlike indirect potable reuse, however, DPR occurs without the use of an underground aquifer or any environmental storage barrier.

Even if the board does approve the rules Tuesday, DPR systems won’t be popping up overnight — and when they do, the wastewater won’t really be flowing right from a toilet to a tap.

The regulations first would have to be accepted by the state’s Office of Administrative Law — which Polhemus said would likely occur by summer or fall of next year. Only after that could utilities begin to build these large and complex projects, most of which would take about six or seven years to complete, he said.

“So no one will be drinking direct potable reuse in the immediate future,” Polhemus added.
Tapping into an existing system, over and over again

While California is often a national trailblazer when it comes to environmental regulation and legislation, the Golden State would not be the first to adopt rules regarding DPR.

Colorado adopted DPR regulations after updating its drinking water standards in January, though no utilities are making use of these rules thus far. Texas published regulatory guidance for DPR on a case-by-case basis, while Florida and Arizona are now working on related rules.

The California regulations, however, are expected not only to be the most rigorous, but would be serving several commercial-scale projects that are already in planning phases.

The proposed regulations stem from the 2017 A.B. 574 bill, which tasked the water resources board with adopting “uniform water recycling criteria for direct potable reuse” on or before Dec. 31, 2023.

Within the regulations are mandates that all source water for DPR projects come from municipal sewage and a ban on building bypasses to circumvent mandatory treatment processes.

The 69-page proposal also provides guidelines for controlling and monitoring chemicals and pathogens, as well as extensive instructions for plant operations, maintenance and compliance.

Among the expected benefits of the proposed regulations are the provision of a safe, reliable and drought-proof drinking water supply, as well as a streamlined permitting procedure for DPR facilities, according to a statement of reasons issued by the board in July.

As far as the economics are concerned, Polhemus noted that DPR would enable utilities to reduce some of the expensive and disruptive pipeline and infrastructure construction that comes with other types of water recycling efforts.

“DPR does provide this opportunity to tap into the potable water distribution system that exists already,” he said.

Polhemus acknowledged that DPR is expensive but stressed it is far cheaper than desalination. Even when cities develop new natural water sources — which are largely unavailable in California — they confront “phenomenally high” costs for dams and aqueducts, he added.
Getting the public on board

Despite the many potential benefits associated with directly recycling wastewater, California regulators have faced an uphill battle in making this practice a reality.

For example, San Diego launched a campaign to implement DPR in the 1990s, but the plans stalled when a “toilet to tap” misnomer caught on and began to sway public opinion, KPBS reported.

Public opinion on DPR has evolved since the days of the San Diego debacle — both as the science has become clearer and California’s water needs have become more dire.

Jennifer West, managing director at the NGO WateReuse California, said she believes DPR has become more palatable to Californians as they have begun to understand the value of water amid multiple decades of drought.

“Using water one time and discharging it — we can do better than that,” she told The Hill.

West said she has seen a shift in “the collective consciousness” of Californians, noting that residents now complain when their cities aren’t reclaiming enough wastewater.

Polhemus likewise attributed the increasing public acceptance to the fact that water recycling — at least in indirect form — has now been occurring for a long time.

“For decades, we’ve learned from all of the activities we’ve done for recycling — from irrigation to indirect potable reuse,” he added, describing DPR as “the final step.”

If the regulations are approved, they would also require engagement with members of the public prior to the establishment of any DPR facility, according to Polhemus.

“We want the public to be brought along, to be explained what’s going on and be part of that decision-making process,” he said.

Emphasizing that “we’re not imposing this on anybody,” Polhemus reiterated that the board is simply providing utilities with a framework if they so choose to build a facility.

One long-standing issue that he and others identified as a barrier toward getting the public on board has been a discomfort linked to the potential presence of both chemicals and infectious diseases in wastewater.

Polhemus stressed, however, that the proposed regulations included “triple redundancy” to ensure the elimination of biological contaminants.

To identify an acceptable pathogen threshold and treatment protocol, researchers relied upon both the Giardia and Cryptosporidium parasites and on norovirus, the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis, according to the July statement of reasons.

They determined that regulating bacteria levels was unnecessary, as the treatment for handling “the hardier pathogen types” could “easily deal with the bacteria threat,” the document stated.

“The regulations are extremely protective of public health, and it’s going to be the cleanest water around,” West added.

On the chemical side, Polhemus touted an effective combination of reverse osmosis, advanced oxidation and granulated activated carbon.

That redundancy, he contended, gives regulators “the confidence that we’ll be able to treat for things we don’t even know are there.”
‘A community’s always going to produce wastewater’

If the DPR regulations receive an official stamp of approval, there are several Southern California projects prepared to embark on a multi-year planning and construction journey.

Among these projects is Pure Water San Diego, a multi-phased program to provide nearly half of San Diego’s water from local sources by the end of 2035.

Although the first phase of Pure Water San Diego will use a reservoir for indirect potable reuse, the city is considering incorporating DPR into the next phase, according to the plans.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, meanwhile, is partnering with Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts on a two-phased initiative, Pure Water Southern California, which plans to include DPR from the get-go.

The first phase is expected to involve a mix of indirect potable use and a type of DPR called “raw water augmentation,” in which treated wastewater would be blended with imported Colorado River water and state resources.

This process still qualifies as DPR because the mix would go directly into a drinking water treatment plant and on to customers, rather than first spending time in an environmental buffer.

“Our plan is to have Pure Water Southern California online and using DPR by 2032,” Rebecca Kimitch, press office manager for Metropolitan Water District, told The Hill.

As far as the second phase is concerned, project officials said they have yet to decide whether the DPR technology will again involve raw water augmentation or another approach.

“DPR is a vital component of our Pure Water Southern California program as well as to California’s water management strategy as a whole,” Kimitch said.

“But DPR will allow us to take this stream of purified water and incorporate it into our system right away, regardless of what the conditions in nature are,” she added.

Because Southern California lacks the natural resources to quench the thirst of its residents, the region has been relying on bringing in water from the Colorado River and from the northern parts of the state, Kimitch noted.

“We want to just use it as much as we can,” she continued. “Using it once and then sending it to the ocean — that’s not being as efficient and as sustainable as we can be.”

Polhemus echoed many of these sentiments, noting that as utilities consider how to bolster its resilience amid drought, adding DPR to their portfolios simply “makes a lot of sense.”

“A community’s always going to produce wastewater,” he said.

California prepares to transform sewage into pure drinking water under new rules


Ian James
Sun, December 17, 2023 

Rupam Soni speaks during a tour of the Metropolitan Water District's pilot water recycling facility in Carson. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

California is set to adopt regulations that will allow for sewage to be extensively treated, transformed into pure drinking water and delivered directly to people’s taps.

The regulations are expected to be approved Tuesday by the State Water Resources Control Board, enabling water suppliers to begin building advanced treatment plants that will turn wastewater into a source of clean drinking water.

The new rules represent a major milestone in California’s efforts to stretch supplies by recycling more of the water that flows down drains.

“We're creating a new source of supply that we were previously discharging or thinking of as waste,” said Heather Cooley, director of research at the Pacific Institute, a water think tank in Oakland. “As we look to make our communities more resilient to drought, to climate change, this is really going to be an important part of that solution.”

Water agencies in many areas of California have been treating and reusing wastewater for decades, often piping effluent for outdoor irrigation or to facilities where treated water soaks into the ground to replenish aquifers.

The regulations will enable what’s known as “direct potable reuse,” putting highly treated water straight into the drinking-water system or mixing it with other supplies.

Read more: With California expected to lose 10% of its water within 20 years, Newsom calls for urgent action

Cooley and other water experts say it’s inaccurate to call this “toilet to tap,” a term that was popularized in the 1990s by opponents of plans to use recycled water for replenishing groundwater in the San Gabriel Valley. They say the sewage undergoes an extremely sophisticated treatment process, and scientific research has shown that the highly purified water is safe to drink.

“This is really about recovering resources, not wasting precious resources,” Cooley said. “This is really, I think, an exciting opportunity for helping to realize that vision of a more circular sort of approach for water.”

The process of developing the regulations, which was required under legislation, has taken state regulators more than a decade. It included a review by a panel of experts.

“We wanted to absolutely make sure that we put public health first priority, so that the public had confidence,” said Darrin Polhemus, deputy director of the State Water Board’s Division of Drinking Water.

“We have a very thorough set of regulations,” Polhemus said. “It has broad support, and we think we've gotten it to a point where everybody is comfortable with what it presents.”

Building plants to purify wastewater is expensive, and it’s likely to be years before any Californians are drinking the treated water. But Los Angeles, San Diego and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California are all planning to pursue direct potable reuse as part of ongoing investments in recycling more wastewater.

The regulations detail requirements for infrastructure, treatment technologies and monitoring, Polhemus said, and ensure “triple redundancy for each of the areas we’re treating for,” including bacteria and viruses, as well as chemicals.

The water will go through various stages of treatment, passing through activated carbon filters and reverse-osmosis membranes, as well as undergoing disinfection with UV light, among other treatments.

The regulations require such thorough purification that at the end of the process, minerals will need to be added back to achieve a taste and chemistry resembling typical drinking water.

“This will be by far the most well-treated, highest-quality water served to the public,” Polhemus said. “It's an incredible amount of treatment.”

Read more: California could shrink water use in cities by 30% or more, study finds

Once the regulations are approved by the State Water Board, they need to be approved by the Office of Administrative Law; this is expected to happen next year.

The treatment technology is similar to the process used for desalinating seawater, but recycling wastewater requires less energy and is less costly than turning saltwater into freshwater. Polhemus said the costs for purifying wastewater will probably be about half those of desalinating ocean water.

Direct potable reuse has for years been a strategy in other water-scarce parts of the world, including Namibia and Singapore. Some communities in Texas are also doing it. Colorado has rules in place allowing potable reuse, while Arizona and Florida are developing regulations.

In California, some agencies have for years been conducting indirect potable reuse, in which highly treated water is used to replenish groundwater and is later pumped out, treated and delivered as drinking water.

Orange County, for example, has its Groundwater Replenishment System, the world's largest project of its kind . The system purifies wastewater using a three-step advanced treatment process, and the water then percolates and is injected into the groundwater basin, where it becomes part of the supply.

While Orange County plans to stick with indirect potable reuse, Polhemus said, other water districts are looking at direct reuse as an approach that saves costs by using existing infrastructure rather than building separate systems for recycled water.

This strategy also offers cities and agencies a new route for reducing reliance on imported supplies and scaling up the use of recycled water — a source that managers view as relatively drought-proof.

“Our communities are always going to generate wastewater, even in the worst drought. And having this available can really augment that supply and add resiliency,” Polhemus said.

Read more: Los Angeles could soon put recycled water directly in your tap. It's not 'toilet to tap'

Recycling more wastewater brings other environmental benefits, reducing the amount of treated effluent that flows into coastal waters.

“It's easier on the environment you're taking the water from, it's easier on the environment you're discharging it to and sets us up to be better stewards of our environment overall,” Polhemus said.

The complexity and costs of the treatment plants mean that large, well-funded agencies will adopt the technology first, Polhemus said. Direct potable reuse also is suited to coastal areas, he said, because the reverse-osmosis treatment, like a desalination plant, generates brine that can be discharged offshore.

As for how much purified water might be used, if some coastal communities are able to get 10%-15% of their supply from treated wastewater during a drought, that would represent a significant improvement in diversifying supplies, Polhemus said.

“Someday, it could be 25% to 40% of some communities' water supply,” Polhemus said. “At some point, we could recycle the majority of wastewater that now flows to the ocean just as treated wastewater.”

The Metropolitan Water District plans to start direct potable reuse as part of its Pure Water Southern California project, building a $6-billion facility in Carson that is slated to become the country’s largest water-recycling project.

It’s scheduled to deliver its first treated water as soon as 2028. Initially, the district says, the supplies will be used largely to replenish groundwater basins for later use, with some also going to serve oil refineries and other industrial users.

By 2032, MWD officials plan to be producing 115 million gallons of purified water a day. Of that, they expect to send 25 million gallons per day to a plant in La Verne to be mixed with other supplies from the Colorado River and Northern California, and delivered as drinking water throughout the region — an amount that’s projected to increase to 60 million gallons a day once the facility is operating at its full capacity of 150 million gallons .

Read more: Southern California’s ‘water doctor’ pushes for transformation to adapt to climate change

Depending on how wet or dry a year is, the district will be able to store more water in aquifers or send more purified water directly into the distribution system, said Deven Upadhyay, the MWD’s executive officer and assistant general manager.

“We're building that flexibility into the design of this program,” Upadhyay said. “If you needed to push more into direct potable reuse, you would be able to do that and back off of your deliveries to the groundwater basins.”

He said that flexibility is valuable as California deals with more extreme droughts fueled by climate change.

“Our view is that over time, those imported supplies will decline. And we want to take the water that is used, and reuse it as much as possible, and try to close that cycle of water use,” Upadhyay said. "Because it's such a drought-proof supply, it really creates another degree of resilience for us."

The Metropolitan Water District functions as Southern California’s wholesaler, delivering supplies to cities and agencies that serve 19 million people in six counties.

About 450,000 acre-feet of wastewater is now recycled in Metropolitan’s service area, an amount equivalent to the water use of about 1.3 million households.

The MWD’s recycling project, as well as Los Angeles’ Operation Next and San Diego’s Pure Water , will dramatically increase the use of recycled water once they are built out, Upadhyay said.

“We should expect a doubling of recycled water that Southern California is producing and drinking by the time those three projects are completed,” Upadhyay said.

And part of that will come thanks to the state’s new regulations that enable direct reuse, he said.

“It's a major milestone for the state,” Upadhyay said. “This is going to lead to water agencies throughout the state starting to plan for potable reuse projects in a way that results in a more resilient California water future.”

Read more: A California dry farmer's juicy apples show how agriculture can be done with less water

In the Bay Area, the Santa Clara Valley Water District also plans to pursue potable reuse.

In a study last year, researchers at the Pacific Institute said California recycles about 23% of its municipal wastewater and has the potential to more than triple the amount that is recycled and reused.

Cooley said some portion of that will come through direct reuse where it pencils out for communities.

“It's just part of the puzzle in terms of helping us to realize the full potential for recycled water,” Cooley said. “This is an important piece of helping make our communities more resilient.”

There has been growing public acceptance of recycling water as people have experienced more severe droughts and seen recycling projects expand, Cooley said.

Still, she said, acceptance isn’t universal, and “it's important to really address openly concerns that people have as communities consider this as an option.”

She said reusing more water is one strategy that California should adopt, along with capturing more stormwater and improving efficiency.

Peter Gleick, the Pacific Institute’s co-founder and president emeritus, pointed out that the water-recycling technologies in use today are fundamentally the same approaches used by astronauts on the International Space Station.

“It’s not toilet to tap,” Gleick said, adding that it’s better described as “toilet to an unbelievably sophisticated system that produces incredibly pure water to tap.”

In his book “The Three Ages of Water,” Gleick wrote that reusing water provides a valuable new supply and should be part of a set of solutions for long-term sustainability.

“High-quality water produced from wastewater is an asset,” Gleick wrote. “We have the ability and technology to produce incredibly clean water from any quality of wastewater, and we should rapidly expand the capacity to do so.”

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

UK

Divided public means climate change risks becoming ‘wedge issue’, poll suggests

Christopher McKeon, PA Political Reporter
Sun, December 17, 2023 

Action on climate change could become a “wedge issue” at the next election – despite four in 10 saying they back stronger action on net zero, a new poll has suggested.

Some 41% of people told a poll carried out by Ipsos UK for King’s College London that they would vote for a party promising strong action on climate, but 33% said they would support one promising to slow down efforts against global warming.

The figures, published on Monday, come as the UK heads into an election year at which climate change and net zero could play a significant role.

Professor Bobby Duffy, director of KCL’s Policy Institute, said: “The public’s top priorities going into an election year are the typical core concerns of the NHS and economy – but this doesn’t mean climate change won’t play a key role.

“Nearly half the population think it’s one of the most important issues facing the country and, perhaps more importantly in the context of an election campaign, there are very strong views on either side – it has the potential to be an important wedge issue.

Rishi Sunak rowed back on a number of key net zero commitments in September 2023. (Justin Tallis/PA)

“Four in 10 say they’d be more likely to vote for party taking strong action, but a third say they’d be more likely to vote for a party that slows down on climate action.

“This presents a risk of divides being emphasised and encouraged during the campaign on an issue where we need people to come together, and, as the public recognise, where backtracking presents a risk to the UK’s international reputation.”

The poll comes three months after Rishi Sunak watered down a number of net zero policies, claiming they were unaffordable and risked alienating public opinion.

The KCL poll found the public divided on whether the Prime Minister had made the right decision, with 46% saying he had and 35% saying he had not.

Although 2019 Conservative voters were much more likely to say Mr Sunak had made the right decision, those who had since stopped supporting the party were twice as likely to see he had got it wrong as those who still backed the Tories.

Sir Keir Starmer has made Labour’s ‘Green Prosperity Plan’ a central part of his party’s pitch for the next election, when climate change could be a key issue. (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

More than half of those who had switched to Labour since 2019 said they thought the Prime Minister had made the wrong decision.

Some 40% also said Mr Sunak’s changes had harmed Britain’s international reputation, while only 13% thought they had improved the country’s image abroad.

Chris Skidmore, the Conservative MP and net zero tsar, urged greater efforts to sell net zero to the public.

He said: “This new data demonstrates that the public support action on climate change and will support a party that commits to action and doesn’t row back on delivering cheaper and greener energy.

“It is also telling that four in 10 people think the UK’s international standing has been damaged, after the government’s decision to approve new gas and oil.

“The Net Zero Review demonstrated that net zero is an opportunity to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, bring billions of pounds of inward investment to the UK, and to regenerate industrial communities.

“But these key positive benefits need to be told to the public, just as they are with the Inflation Reduction Act in the US. We need a net zero engagement strategy to help inform the public about what net zero means and how it will make their lives better, and leave them richer and warmer with better housing, heating and more money to spend.”

Green shipping corridors gaining momentum

Jorn Madslien - Business reporter, Rotterdam
Sun, December 17, 2023

Rotterdam's historic Hotel New York building was formerly the headquarters of Dutch shipping firm Holland America Line

The powerful diesel engine roars as the water taxi cuts through the choppy water that connects Rotterdam's gritty port areas to what remains of the city's historic maritime grandeur.

As the yellow speedboat docks in front of the glamorous Hotel New York, the city's global shipping heritage is there for all to see.

The 122-year-old building, one of few to survive the extensive bombing of Rotterdam in World War Two, was originally the headquarters of Dutch shipping company Holland America Line. The firm's name is still adorned on the front of the building in large letters.

Next door, from its headquarters in a skyscraper that vaguely resembles a lighthouse, the Port of Rotterdam Authority is keen to shine a light on the future of shipping rather than look back on its past. More specifically, it is focusing its spotlight on how the sector can continue efforts to reduce it emissions.

As the manager and operator of Europe's largest port, the authority has partnered with its opposite number in Singapore to create one of the world's first new, long-distance green shipping corridors.

The idea behind these corridors is that cargo ships travel along the routes using only zero or low emission fuels. To help make this possible, both Rotterdam and Singapore are building new storage facilities for green fuels, such as ammonia and methanol, as alternatives to fuel oil.

Ammonia is a gas produced by fusing hydrogen with nitrogen. It is called "green ammonia" if the hydrogen is produced using 100% renewable energy. Meanwhile, methanol is a form of alcohol that can also be produced with green energy.

The Port of Rotterdam's interim chief executive, Boudewijn Siemons, says the link-up between the Dutch city and Singapore aims to show how the concept can practically work.

"It's a pragmatic approach to carbon reduction in shipping," he says. "We have to get started somewhere, and you cannot get started by implementing zero emission shipping as a total solution everywhere in the world.

"That's why we're seeking these green corridors as proof points on a limited scale. We then have to scale up from there."

In September of this year, the first container ship sailed between Singapore and Rotterdam in this green way. Called the Laura Maersk, it was powered by methanol, which currently delivers an up to 65% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to burning fossil fuels.

The Laura Maersk went from Asia to Europe in September, powered by methanol

The green corridors concept was born at COP26, the global environment summit held in Glasgow, Scotland in 2021. Called the Clydebank Declaration, and agreed by 22 countries including the UK, it included a commitment to create at least six corridors by the middle of this decade.

This month's COP28 in the United Arab Emirates saw the announcement of new corridors, including one from Canada's west coast to Korea and Japan, one in the Caribbean, and another between Houston in the US and Belgium's Antwerp.

It followed a pledge by the International Maritime Organisation, which represents the shipping industry, that the sector will achieve net-zero emissions "by or around" 2050.

While ports such as Rotterdam are continuing to prepare for the switch to zero emission shipping, it is clear that ship builders face an equally big challenge.

Industry figures show that just 0.6% of cargo ships around the world run on alternative fuels, and only 15 to 16% of vessels currently on order will run on dual or alternative fuels.

Yet there is some high-profile demand for more green shipping, such as from online shopping giant Amazon. The firm, a founding member of the Zero-Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance, along with other companies such as furniture group Ikea and clothing firm Patagonia, recently renewed a reduced emissions contract with shipping giant Maersk.

Meanwhile, cargo firm North Sea Container Line is launching a ship powered by ammonia, which will operate between Norway and Germany. And Hoegh Autoliners, which specialises in transporting cars and trains, is building 12 new ammonia-ready ships.

Lynn Loo is the chief executive of the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation, a body that promotes the move to green fuels in the industry. She forecasts that ammonia production could double or even treble by 2050.

Ms Loo says there needs to be "a dramatic rise in the number of vessels capable of transporting ammonia from the 200 that are on the water today". She adds that there also needs to be "significant infrastructure buildout to support the much higher throughput of ammonia in the future".

Lynn Loo is predicting a big rise in the number of ships powered by ammonia

"None of these are going to be easy to scale," observes Edward Glossop, head of sustainable operations at Bunker Holding, the world's largest supplier of marine fuels.

"But ammonia may be the least challenging. The first ammonia engines will be delivered to shipyards by the end of 2024, and we aim to be a commercial supplier of low emission ammonia within the next few years."

However, there are currently no plans to enforce green shipping lanes and some who watch the industry doubt whether they will prove popular.

"We know the future fuels will be expensive," says veteran maritime economist Martin Stopford. "You're attempting to implement change that'll make people poorer, so it'll be unpopular."

He adds that even if production of clean fuels does take off, the maritime industry will be up against sectors such as manufacturing, domestic heating, road transportation aviation all competing for supplies.

"There is going to be some very big heavyweights in the queue ahead of shipping," says Mr Stopford.

New Tech Economy

New Tech Economy is a series exploring how technological innovation is set to shape the new emerging economic landscape.

Mr Siemons acknowledges that the process of decarbonising shipping "is both complex and expensive".

"But we should not predict the future based on the state of the technologies today, and on the state of the markets today," he reasons.

"Yes today fuel oil is cheaper than hydrogen or ammonia, but that doesn't mean it has to be so in the future."

Out on the water in front of his building, even Rotterdam's yellow water taxis are joining in the green transition. As far back as 2016, Europe's first electric-powered water taxi entered service here, and last year a hydrogen-powered one also took to the water.

"It all has to become renewable," Mr Siemons concludes.

UKRAINE COUNTEROFFENSIVE SUCCESS
Vladimir Putin forced to withdraw ships from main Crimea port by Ukrainian attacks, say military experts

Nicholas Cecil
Sun, 17 December 2023

Vladimir Putin forced to withdraw ships from main Crimea port by Ukrainian attacks, say military experts

Vladimir Putin has been forced to withdraw ships from his Black Sea Fleet’s main Crimea port by Ukrainian attacks, military experts said on Sunday.

The drone and missile strikes have “changed Russian naval operating patterns,” according to the Institute for the Study of War, causing Putin’s Black Sea Fleet “to move some ships away from its main base in occupied Sevastopol”.

The Washington-based military think tank stressed that this had “hampered the BSF’s ability to interfere with maritime trade in the western part of the Black Sea”.


It added: “Ukrainian strikes have likely caused the BSF to set conditions for a more permanent basing pattern along the eastern Black Sea coast as it transfers naval assets away from Crimea and expands a small port in de facto Russian-controlled Ochamchire, Abkhazia.

“Ukrainian strikes against BSF assets have successfully facilitated the use of Ukraine’s Black Sea grain corridor as international support for the corridor continues to increase despite Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and military threats against it.”

Putin’s navy has gradually been pushed back, with the flagship of his Black Sea fleet, the Moskva, being sunk in April last year.

Russia and Ukraine reportedly launched mass drone attacks at each other’s territories for a second straight day Sunday, one of which apparently targeted a Russian military airport.

At least 35 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight over three regions in southwestern Russia, the Russian Defence Ministry said in a post on the messaging app Telegram.

A Russian air base hosting bomber aircraft used in the war in Ukraine was among the targets, according to a Russian Telegram channel critical of the Kremlin.

The channel posted short videos of drones flying over low-rise housing in what it said was the Russian town of Morozovsk, whose air base is home to Russia’s 559th Bomber Aviation Regiment.

Vasily Golubev, the governor of Russia’s Rostov province, separately reported “mass drone strikes” near Morozovsk and another town farther west, but didn’t mention the air base.

Golubev said most the drones were shot down and and there were no casualties.

As of Sunday evening, Kyiv didn’t formally acknowledge or claim responsibility for the drone attacks.

A major Ukrainian newspaper, Ukrainska Pravda, cited an anonymous source in the security services as saying that Ukraine’s army and intelligence services successfully struck the Morozovsk air base, inflicting “significant damage” to military equipment. It wasn’t immediately possible to verify this claim.

Ukraine’s air force also said it shot down 20 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched overnight by Russian troops in southern and western Ukraine, as well as one X-59 cruise missile launched from the country’s occupied south.

A civilian was killed overnight near Odesa, a key port on Ukraine’s southern Black Sea coast, after the remnants of a destroyed drone fell on his house, Ukraine’s military said.

Russian shelling on Sunday also killed an 81-year-old man in central Kherson, the southern Ukrainian city that was recaptured by Kyiv’s forces last autumn, according to the head of its municipal military administration.

Putin on Sunday dismissed claims by US President Joe Biden that Russia would attack a NATO country if it won the war in Ukraine, adding that Russia had no interest in fighting the NATO military alliance.

The war in Ukraine has triggered the deepest crisis in Moscow’s relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, and Biden warned last year that a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia would trigger World War Three.

In a plea to Republicans not to block further military aid earlier this month, Biden warned that if Putin was victorious over Ukraine then the Russian leader would not stop and would attack a NATO country.

“It is complete nonsense - and I think President Biden understands that,” Putin said in an interview published on Sunday by Rossiya state television.

“Russia has no reason, no interest - no geopolitical interest, neither economic, political nor military - to fight with NATO countries,” Putin said.

The US-led NATO alliance was founded in 1949 to provide Western security against the Soviet Union.

After the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, it was enlarged to include some former Soviet and Warsaw Pact countries.

Putin has repeatedly cast the post-Cold War expansion of NATO as evidence of the West’s arrogant way of dealing with Russia’s security concerns.

Under Article 5 of the NATO treaty, “the Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all”.

Putin said that Finland’s entry into NATO in April would force Russia to “concentrate certain military units” in northern Russia near their border.

The failure of Ukraine’s counteroffensive this year has raised questions in the West and inside Ukraine about just how realistic the Ukrainian and Western aims of defeating Russian forces in Ukraine are.

Officials in Moscow and the West have repeatedly spoken of a “new Cold War”, with Russia and China on one side and the West on the other.

A senior US State Department official said last month that Putin would not make peace before he knows the results of the November election in the United States.

Canada will see the world’s largest weather anomaly on Monday


Tyler Hamilton
Sun, December 17, 2023 


A major storm sweeping into Eastern Canada will bring more than powerful winds and heavy rainfall north of the border.

When looking at a few common weather metrics, the sweeping low-pressure system is a global outlier. The maps below highlight what is so exceptional about the system ahead.

DON'T MISS: 'Weather bombs' are explosive storms that create ferocious conditions
Temperatures far above seasonal for mid-December

Across all of North America, where is the warmest air compared to normal on Monday? Right over Quebec and Atlantic Canada:

North America temp anomaly

But what about the entire northern hemisphere?

You guessed it—still parked over Quebec, Labrador, and the Maritimes:

Northern Hemisphere Temp Anomaly

What about in the southern hemisphere, where it’s just days from the summer solstice?

It’s still not even close. The most significant temperature anomaly in the southern hemisphere on Monday is just 12 degrees above seasonal.

southern hemisphere anomaly

Quebec City is facing its warmest day in meteorological winter (Dec. to Feb.) on Monday, where temperatures are forecast to be as high as 15°C. An average daytime high there is -6°C. The wettest day in meteorological winter history is also possible in the provincial capital.

The warmth surges into Labrador where Happy Valley-Goose Bay will likely break their warmest December temperature on record.
Impressive moisture and record-low pressures

There is an unusual amount of atmospheric moisture moving into Eastern Canada, coming in higher than 600 percent of mid-December averages. This anomaly is the greatest in the northern and southern hemispheres.

The warmth will cause Labrador City to see upwards of 20 mm of rainfall, one of the largest winter rainstorms in history there.

Major storm stats

As the weather system moves across the southeastern U.S., it is expected to break the all-time low-pressure record for December as it deepens below 990 mb. This will surpass the more widespread pressure records set there on December 21, 2018.

Storm surge inundated a large portion of the southeast coast, as well, with Charleston, South Carolina, recording its fourth-highest tide on record, and the highest tide for a non-tropical system.
The forces driving such intense weather extremes

A conveyor belt of moisture is moving from the extreme south to the north, and its amplification is due to the extensive ridging in the North Atlantic.

Tropical moisture feed

With nowhere else for the warmth and moisture to go, it’s moving toward the north. The moisture is streaming in from the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, where there are some warm sea surface temperature anomalies.
WATCH: What, exactly, is a 'weather bomb?'

Click here to view the video

UK

Protestors return to Bolton to make feelings known about war in Gaza

Chris Jaffray
Sat, 16 December 2023 

The protest took place in Bolton (Image: NQ)

Protesters supporting Palestine have made their feelings known about the war in Gaza at another protest in Bolton town centre.

The latest major conflict in the region broke out after Hamas raided southern Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 240 hostages.

In response, the Israeli forces have killed more than 17,700 Palestinians in Gaza, about two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry.


Critics of Israel have argued its military actions have been disproportionate and too many civilians have died.

A number of protests have taken place in Bolton since the war began, and in the town centre this afternoon, Saturday, protestors gathered again outside Victoria Square calling for a ceasefire.

Flags and banners with messages stating "end the siege," "free Palestine," and "stop bombing Gaza" were on display.

There were also leaflets calling for a boycott of international drinks brand Coca-Cola due to its operation in the settlement of Atarot.

People chanted "in our thousands in our millions, we are all Palestinians".

Usman, one of the organisers, said: "This is the fourth one we have had in Bolton.

"I have also been to London every couple of weeks.

"I have been on the marches around 10 times.

"There are children dying. Somebody has got to speak up.

"The last couple of marches we have had 2,000 people.

"This was organised in the last three days but we have still got people coming down.

"We are demanding a ceasefire and we want arms to stop being sold."

Another man, who asked not to be named, said: "There are thousands of citizens in Gaza who have been killed by the Israel Defense Forces.

"That is why we are here to demand a ceasefire.

"Whatever rights Israelis have Palestinians should have the same rights."

This week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Britain continues to consider a two-state solution as the “right outcome” to the Israel-Hamas war.

He repeated his call for a “sustainable ceasefire” that involves Hamas no longer firing rockets at Israel and freeing hostages in exchange for more aid into the Gaza Strip.

The Conservative Party leader said the conflict in the Middle East is “incredibly concerning” and that “far too many innocent people have lost their lives”.

He added: “We will continue to support calls for a sustainable ceasefire where hostages are released, more aid can get in, and the rockets, crucially, stop being fired from Hamas into Israel as well.”

The United Nations’ General Assembly on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to demand a ceasefire in Gaza, a move that was objected to by the US and abstained on by the UK.