Texas power outage brings electrification-natural gas debate to a head

Professor on Texas power outages: 'We failed to take the steps we need to weatherize' at the end of January and  beginning of February, 2011,

Akiko Fujita
·Anchor/Reporter
Sun, February 21, 2021

In the aftermath of the winter storm that knocked out power to millions of homes in Texas, the finger pointing against renewable energy has been swift.

Research shows the dangers of fossil fuels, including natural gas, but the recent winter storm that led to crippling power outages across regions in Texas has put into question the use of renewable energy instead of natural gas.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, Texas Congressman Dan Crenshaw (R-Houston) and Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller blamed solar and wind energy for the power outages in their state. Abbott said renewable energy “thrust Texas into a situation where it was lacking power on a statewide basis,” while Crenshaw tweeted “This is what happens when you force the grid to rely in part on wind as a power source.” Meanwhile, Miller said, in a Facebook post: “We should never build another wind turbine in Texas. The experiment failed big time.”

The criticism ignores the dominance of fossil fuel use in Texas, the largest producer of crude oil and natural gas in the U.S. But, it points to a growing unease brewing within the natural gas industry, as the public turns a critical eye towards its carbon footprint, and local electrification initiatives gain momentum nationwide.

"This is the most difficult thing for Texas to admit as a huge natural gas state,” said Michael Webber, an energy resources and mechanical engineering Professor at the University of Texas at Austin. “Our natural gas system is not delivering what we need. They're all having trouble but this is really a natural gas problem more than anything else right now."

Methane natural gas has long been touted as a transitional fuel, a cleaner alternative to coal-fired electricity. At the height of the fracking boom in 2014, then President Barack Obama praised methane as a “bridge fuel” that would power the economy to a cleaner, low-carbon future, “if extracted safely.”

But as cities across the country race to reach aggressive targets laid out in the Paris Climate agreement, there is increasing skepticism around natural gas usage. While gas utilities have reduced methane emissions by 73% since 1990, according to the American Gas Association (AGA), a trade organization representing more than 200 natural gas suppliers, experts say its continued use doesn’t cut output deep enough, to get the country to net-zero emissions by 2050.

“The climate implications are huge, whatever fossil fuel it is,” said Sandy Bahr, director of the Arizona Chapter of the Sierra Club, who has been waging a fight against the gas industry in the state, adding that natural gas may sound OK but it’s not.

Natural gas bans

The fight for full electrification in the U.S. has largely been at the local level so far. And the fault lines have formed predictably, along party politics. In California, more than 40 cities have adopted building codes that dramatically reduce their reliance on gas.

The city of San Jose, along with Berkeley has led the way. In 2019, San Jose became the largest in the country to ban natural gas in new construction. Since last year, the city has committed to zero net energy in 100% of new homes. Democratic Mayor Sam Liccardo said the goal is to make all homes all-electric by 2050.

“Buildings are critically important because we know that that is where an awful lot of emissions can be controlled relatively quickly, both through retrofits and through new construction,” he told Yahoo Finance. “By moving from gas to electric, not only are we improving the planet's health we're also improving our own health.”

Last month, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called for an end to all fossil fuel connections in new construction by 2030. Denver aims to have all new homes electrified by 2024, while the Seattle City Council unanimously approved to update its energy codes, to ban most natural gas usage in some apartments and commercial buildings.

Zero-sum

AGA President and CEO Karen Harbert said 180 million Americans already rely on gas in their homes, and that transitioning to 100% renewable energy is not feasible or cost efficient. In fact, she said natural gas usage has contributed to a 73% cut in methane emissions since 1990.

“It's not a bridge fuel. It's not a bridge source of energy, and neither is our infrastructure,” she said. “And the amount of emissions further emissions that we can reduce, again, at your home is a very small part of the overall emissions picture of our country.”

Still, the industry has waged an aggressive campaign against efforts to phase out methane. When the Seattle City Council first drafted legislation to ban gas hookups in new buildings, Puget Sound Energy hired lobbying firm CBE Strategic, to “deploy a strong coalition of labor and business” to push back. In conservative states like Arizona, lawmakers have moved quickly to pass preemption laws that prevent gas bans from being debated, even though no such legislation has been introduced.

Arizona State House Representative Kristen Engel, a Democrat, said the preemption bill in her state was heavily funded by Southwest Gas, leading to the nickname “Southwest Gas Bill.”

“It really does seem to be the gas industry trying to get out ahead. They see what's happening in other parts of the country, maybe they hear or they think that the cities might follow suit,” Engel said. "And they're trying to get some action on the legislative level to just sort of cut that off at the pass."

Harbert said the AMA has never lobbied for state preemption bills, but supports the move to give customers an option, saying “you can't outright just tell people and mandate their energy choice.”

On social media, the AMA is framing the use of natural gas as a lifestyle choice, partnering with influencers to promote #cookwithgas to reach a younger demographic on platforms like Twitter and Instagram. Other hashtags have been used to promote the industry’s work with frontline workers and food pantries during the pandemic, Harbert said.

“We will continue to use those platforms to reach out to the types of stakeholders that depend on natural gas,” she said. “Everybody loves to cook, particularly now that we're at home. And so, that's just another channel to get out a message about what natural gas does for you as an individual or as a foodie.”

Webber, who is also the chief science and technology officer at ENGIE, one of the largest electric and gas utilities, said the fight between the fossil fuel industry and renewable energy advocates shouldn’t be framed in a zero-sum context, in part because that takes away from efforts to further regulate the gas industry — actions that can be taken immediately.

“Is it a bridge to a future without gas ...or is it part of the destination as well. We don't know the answer yet,” he said. “Are we going to keep gas and add carbon capture, or keep gas but replace the gas with bio-gas, or keep gas but replace the gas with hydrogen? Are we going to get rid of the gas entirely? This is an open question.”

A Giant Flaw in Texas Blackouts: It Cut Power to Gas Supplies

Rachel Adams-Heard, Javier Blas and Mark Chediak
Sat, February 20, 2021, 



(Bloomberg) -- When the Texas power grid was on the brink of collapse and its operator plunged thousands into darkness, it didn’t make an exception for the oil and gas field.

Power was, unsurprisingly, diverted to hospitals and nursing homes. Ercot, as the grid manager is known, was staving off utter catastrophe, its chief executive later said.

But leaving shale fields like the Permian Basin dark had an unintended consequence. Producers who depend on electricity to power their operations were left with no way to pump natural gas. And that gas was needed more than ever to generate electricity.

As one executive described: It was like a death spiral.

The result was a vicious cycle that serves as a painful lesson to any power grid operator and utility company dealing with rolling outages during extreme weather.

Several energy companies say that, while frozen infrastructure and equipment malfunctions caused gas volumes to plummet, a lack of power also had a profound impact on supply. It’s a phenomenon that highlights just how interconnected -- and interdependent -- Texas’s energy network is.

In the Permian, most drillers target more valuable crude, with gas typically considered an unwanted byproduct. That wasn’t the case over days of forced power outages as nearly every source of fuel faltered in the unprecedented cold that slammed Texas.
SO THEY FLARE OFF THE GAS CAUSING GLOBAL WARMING

Even with its explorers focusing on crude, the state is the country’s biggest gas producer, and the fuel makes up just over half of the sources of its power generation mix.

A crucial part of the natural gas system was knocked out by the power outages: compressor stations that help keep gas flowing through pipelines.

As Ercot started asking utilities to prompt big customers to reduce consumption Sunday evening, those stations went down and the pressure across multiple gas pipelines started to drop, ultimately tripping some utilities off line because of lack of fuel.

That, in turn, led some areas of the Eagle Ford shale and the Permian to simply turn off gas production completely.

The situation got much worse in the early hours of Monday as demand continued to climb. Ercot simply didn’t have the power, and millions of homes fell into darkness.

Ercot executives have said the utilities ultimately determine which circuits to turn off during a rotating outage. The grid operator didn’t have information on power being cut to gas compressor stations, a spokeswoman said in an email.

At its peak, nearly 40% of U.S. oil output was shuttered due to the extreme cold and associated blackouts. Three-quarters of the U.S. frack fleet was lost this week, leaving 41 crews working to blast water, sand and chemicals underground to release trapped oil and gas, Matt Johnson, chief executive officer at Primary Vision Inc., said Friday.

Already, companies including Marathon Oil Corp. and Devon Energy Corp. have begun using restored power from local grids or generators to restart output, according to people familiar with the matter.

It’s not yet clear how long it will take to restore all the lost oil and gas supply, but oil traders and executives have said they hope most of the production lost will return within days as temperatures rise and power becomes available.


©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

MORE WHOLESOME MARS PORN

'Something that we’ve never seen before': NASA's Mars rover Perseverance snaps a selfie, other 'stunning' photos


Rachael Joy, Florida Today
Sun, February 21, 2021,

After a seven-month, 300-million-mile journey to the Red Planet, NASA's Perseverance rover has sent back the first high-definition color pictures of Mars, including a selfie.

On Friday, NASA released a photo of the rover in mid-descent as it was suspended under the sky crane moments before it touched down on the Martian surface.

“This is something that we’ve never seen before. It was stunning. The team was awestruck. Just a feeling of victory that we were able to capture these,” said Aaron Stehura, one of the leads on the entry, landing and descent team.

Two more images taken with a 20-megapixel camera show a wide shot of the landscape and a close-up of the rover’s front right wheel with rocks nearby. These are the first color images from the surface of Mars.


This high-resolution still image is part of a video taken by several cameras as NASA's Perseverance rover touched down on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021. A camera aboard the descent stage captured this shot.

“Both images the team just went crazy for,” said Pauline Hwang, assistant strategic mission manager.


This is the first high-resolution, color image to be sent back by the Hazard Cameras on the underside of NASA's Perseverance Mars rover after its landing on Feb. 18, 2021.

Perseverance’s primary mission is to search for microbial signs of life and its landing spot in Jezero Crater was hand-picked for that goal. It’s an ancient river delta that is marked by steep cliffs, sand dunes and large boulders.

'Truly America at its best.': NASA's Mars rover Perseverance landing a salute to diversity

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Amazingly, Perseverance gently touched down in a safe, flat spot with only 1 degree of tilt.

“The back of the rover is actually looking toward the delta area and the front is actually looking downward,” Hwang explained.

“By the edge of the wheel is a rock and one of first things we noticed was that it has a lot of holes in it. There are a number of geological processes that can make holes in a rock like that," Perseverance Deputy Project scientist Katie Stack Morgan said. "One of the questions we’ll first ask is whether these rocks represent a volcanic or sedimentary origin. Both would be equally exciting to the team.”


This high-resolution image shows one of the six wheels aboard NASA's Perseverance Mars rover, which landed on Feb. 18, 2021. The image was taken by one of Perseverance's color Hazard Cameras

In spite of pulling off a picture-perfect landing, there’s no downtime for the persevering rover.

The team is putting Perseverance through its paces performing hardware check-outs to make sure all the systems are functioning.

In 10 days or less Perseverance could be ready for its first short drive to scope out the neighborhood.


The descent stage holding NASA’s Perseverance rover can be seen falling through the Martian atmosphere, its parachute trailing behind, in this image taken on Feb. 18, 2021, by the High Resolution Imaging Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Over the weekend

The rover is decked out with 23 cameras and on Saturday the team was to do a full Martian photo shoot.

“We’re gonna do a panorama of the rover and we’re also going to do a full panorama of our landscape around us,” Hwang said.

They anticipated receiving those images by Monday.

Previous Mars missions have taken still photographs of descent but no landing had ever been filmed.

Six cameras were rolling high-definition video footage of the spacecraft during entry, landing and descent also known as the “seven minutes of terror” because pulling it off is a major challenge.

Related: Worm muscles, artificial retinas, space laptops: NASA Wallops launches rocket to ISS

If they were successful it will be the first video footage of a spacecraft landing on another planet.

NASA expects to record about 250,00 images at frame rates ranging from 12 to 75 images per second similar to cellphone footage.

The landing team is hopeful they will begin to see some video on Monday as well.

Perseverance is also equipped with two microphones to capture sound on the Red Planet for the first time. The team was hoping to get an indication over the weekend that they did get audio.

Next two months

Perseverance did not travel solo to Mars. A helicopter called Ingenuity hitched a ride tucked under the belly of the rover. Ingenuity will attempt powered flight for the first time on another planet.

The team says the earliest they could begin helicopter flights would be in approximately two months.

First they have need to do checkouts on the rover’s surface flight software. Once that’s done, Perseverance needs to drive to the next location to find a safe spot for Ingenuity to fly. They’re calling it the “helipad location” and they might find it sooner than they anticipated.

“Based on where we landed we’re already starting to look at that data. There might be some really good helipad location nearby,” Hwang said.

Once the location is determined, Perseverance will gently release the helicopter from underneath and drive away.

"That's a highly critical event first time on Mars so we're putting all hands on deck for that one and doing several practice sessions," Hwang said.

After Ingenuity takes flight, Perseverance will roam the Martian surface for the next two years taking core samples to be returned to Earth around 2031.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Mars rover Perseverance sends first color photos from planet surface

Former Trump official details "grave misstep" in COVID response

Emily Tillett

Sat, February 20, 2021, 

Former Trump deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger says that it was a "grave misstep" for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to wait until April 2020 to advise the American public to begin wearing masks as a means to protect against the deadly coronavirus pandemic. In an excerpt of an interview set to air on "Face the Nation" this Sunday, Pottinger told moderator Margaret Brennan that the "mask misstep cost us dearly."

"It was the one tool that was widely available, at least homemade, you know, cotton masks were widely available," Pottinger said. "It was the one effective, widely available tool that we had in the arsenal to deal with this...It was a grave misstep."

As the pandemic began its rapid spread across the United States in March of last year, key administration and COVID-19 task force officials publicly advised against wearing masks, a recommendation that was partially based on the fact that hospitals faced drastic shortages of personal protective equipment.

Pottinger turned to the government of Taiwan to secure a batch of masks that he distributed to White House medical staff and the national security team that reported to him. He said the remainder was donated to the national stockpile. The CDC did not issue formal guidance on mask wearing to the public until April.

In a previous interview with "Face the Nation" last March, then-Surgeon General Jerome Adams told the program that "masks do not work for the general public and preventing them from getting coronavirus." Doctors Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and then-CDC Director Robert Redfield were also giving similar guidance.

On February 27, while testifying before the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee, Redfield advised prioritizing masks for frontline health care workers and stated there was "no role for masks in the community." The following week, Fauci told a Senate committee that masks were unnecessary "because right now, there isn't anything going around right now in the community, certainly not coronavirus, that is calling for the broad use of masks."  

Adams appeared again on "Face the Nation" in July, this time donning a mask, and urged viewers to wear face coverings when they are in public.

The surgeon general said at the time that the shift in guidance to the American people was attributed to a better understanding of the coronavirus and how it spreads. Still, former President Trump himself rarely donned a mask and openly questioned their usefulness.

The CDC has since issued explicit mask guidance calling for  "universal mask wearing" in all activity outside of one's home, as well as revised guidelines unveiled last week that recommend wearing well-fitting face masks or two masks at a time in certain situations to improve the fit and filtration to help curb the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Pottinger rang early alarms inside the Trump administration regarding the virus' potential ferocity and impact on the U.S. He said the information that he was receiving from making personal calls to doctors on the ground in China provided more accurate information than what was being shared by the Chinese government with their CDC counterparts.

Pottinger also pointed to the collection and analysis of data related to the virus' spread in real time as a grave problem he says has yet to be rectified under the Biden administration. He said he is speaking out now in the hope of supporting new CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky's attempts to reform the CDC and to scale up such virus sequencing and surveillance in order to more quickly track its spread.

"...Where it's appearing, but also how its genetics are evolving so that we can stay ahead of it, ensure that that we don't get sucker punched by a new variant that could compromise the effectiveness of our vaccine." 

Pottinger, who started his time in the Trump White House back in 2017, resigned from his post at the National Security Council shortly after the January 6 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol carried out by Trump supporters, telling Brennan it "was the moment where I felt that it was appropriate for me to go."

GOING MY WAY BIG BOY?

Trump offered Kim Jong Un a ride home on Air Force One after their second summit, new series reveals

Sophia Ankel
Sun, February 21, 2021

Trump offered Kim Jong Un a ride home on Air Force One, a new BBC series has revealed.


The two had met for their second negotiations in Vietnam in 2019, which eventually broke down.


Trump said he could get Kim home in two hours, but the former declined the invitation.


Former President Donald Trump offered North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a ride home on Air Force One after the two met for a second time at a summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, in 2019, a new BBC documentary has revealed.

The three-part series, titled "Trump Takes On the World," discloses new details about how Trump and Kim negotiated North Korea's nuclear program, which eventually ended without a deal.

Trump, who had left the meeting abruptly, told the press at the time: "Sometimes you just have to walk."

But the former president didn't leave without making an unusual offer first.

"President Trump offered Kim a lift home on Air Force One," Matthew Pottinger, the top Asia expert on Trump's National Security Council, told the BBC.

"The president knew that Kim had arrived on a multi-day train ride through China into Hanoi and the president said: 'I can get you home in two hours if you want.' It was a gracious gesture," he added.

Kim declined the offer, according to Pottinger.


US President Donald Trump addresses supporters during a campaign rally at MBS International Airport in Freeland, Michigan on September 10, 2020. 

Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

The BBC series also includes an interview with Trump's former national security advisor John Bolton, who was present at the summit.

Bolton said that as they drove to the meeting, Trump was confident that he could forge a deal once he was in the room with Kim.

"Trump obviously thought he had a new best friend in Kim Jong Un," Bolton, who has since fallen out with Trump, said, according to the Sunday Times. "Trump thought that US-North Korea relations were great because he and Kim were buddies. It's a very dangerous perception."

Kim and Trump ended up meeting for a third and last time in the Korean demilitarized zone three months later but there was no further progress.

The pair had a complicated relationship during Trump's four years as president.

Trump had called North Korea's leader a "Little Rocket Man" and made threats of "fire and fury" but later suggested they were very good friends, and even described him as "a very smart guy," according to the BBC.

"Trump Takes on the World," directed by Tim Stirzaker, will be broadcast on BBC2 on Wednesday.

Read the original article on Business Insider

THE (WO)MAN IN THE GLASS BOOTH

'Trump in heels' leads new breed of acolytes into war with the Republican Party

Rozina Sabur
Sat, February 20, 2021

Amanda Chase has garnered national attention

She has praised the rioters who stormed the Capitol, been pictured with purported QAnon conspiracy theorists, and labelled rape victims “naive and unprepared”.

Amanda Chase, 51, a Virginia senator who likes to call herself 'Trump in Heels', was recently required to sit in a plexiglass box after refusing to wear a face mask during sessions in the state legislature.

But despite being censured, her controversies have helped make her a national star among Trump supporters, boosting her chances in the race to become Virginia governor.


She is one of a slew of Trump acolytes now launching early campaigns in state-wide races across the country, promising to continue Mr Trump's legacy.

The new breed of Trumpists threaten to trigger a messy civil war ahead of the annual party conference this week.


Chase works from behind a plexiglass box after refusing to wear a mask - Ryan M. Kelly /AP

Ms Chase most notably said of the Capitol insurrection: "These were not rioters and looters, these were patriots who love their country and do not want to see our great republic turned into a socialist country”.

Virginia's Republican Party establishment has attempted to disown Ms Chase, but there is no doubt she enjoys widespread support among the party's voters.

In a poll released on Friday, Ms Chase was the runaway favourite to clinch the Republican nomination ahead of her three rivals.

According to Ms Chase, it is the support she has gained from pro-Trump, grassroots voters in Virginia that has made her the front-runner.

“That is my base support,” the 51-year-old said recently. “I’m most in line with President Trump number one because I’m a businessperson, I’m not a politician.”

Ms Chase may well be right. Polls show the former president enjoying a resurgence in support among Republican voters in the aftermath of his impeachment trial acquittal.

Acutely aware of the power he wields among the the base, Mr Trump has threatened to work to oust elected Republicans who voted to impeach him by backing primary challengers when they face re-election.

As well as Ms Chase in Virginia, there is Josh Mandel, who is running in next year's Ohio senate race and calls himself "Trump's number one ally" in the state.

Mr Trump's former press secretary, Sarah Sanders, is a candidate for Arkansas' governor's race. A number of Mr Trump's most ardent backers are also planning to run in Pennsylvania's senate race in 2022.


Ivanka Trump at a campaign event in Miami last year 

- Wilfredo Lee /AP

Members of Mr Trump's own family are also considered likely contenders in state-wide races. His daughter, Ivanka Trump, has repeatedly been tapped as a political star in the making and his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, is considered a likely contender to fill an open North Carolina senate seat.

Ms Trump, who has two children with the former president's second son, Eric, is a former personal trainer and TV producer and became a regular surrogate for the Trump campaign during the presidential election.

The 38-year-old played a lead role in courting suburban women voters and has been willing to echo her father-in-law's claims that the race was "ripe with fraud".

Ms Trump's senate bid may offer a crucial first test for the party's direction.


Lara Trump was a high-profile campaign surrogate for the Republican president - Steve Marcus /Las Vegas Sun

Some prominent Republicans, like senator Lindsey Graham, have offered a full-throttled endorsement of Ms Trump, calling her "the future of the Republican Party".

Mr Graham has argued that the party cannot win without the former president's brand of populist politics.

"I know Trump can be a handful, but he is the most dominant figure in the Republican Party," he said this week, adding: "We don't have a snowball's chance in hell of taking back the majority without Donald Trump. If you don't get that, you're just not looking."

But Mr Graham's view is not shared by all of the party establishment. Some senior figures feel that in the wake of losing the White House and both parts of Congress to Democratic control, it is time for the Republican Party to divest from Mr Trump.

The party is now split between those who believe they should capitalise on the "MAGA" movement by fielding populist, Trump-supporting candidates in the 2022 midterm elections and those who endorse traditional conservative contenders who may help win back the moderate voters who abandoned the party in 2020.

The topic of Mr Trump's future role in the party will take centre stage this week at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the annual jamboree for grassroots Republicanism.

The event has been relocated for the first time in almost 50 years to Florida, Mr Trump's new home state.

The conference's speaker list is littered with former Trump administration figures and Mr Trump himself is widely expected to attend.

Those who have broken with Mr Trump appear to be persona non grata. Nikki Haley, a former UN ambassador and likely 2024 presidential candidate, is among the notable omissions from the speaker schedule.

"There's no doubt that this is a very challenging time within the Republican Party," Olivia Troye, a former adviser to former vice president Mike Pence, told The Telegraph.

"Realistically, the Republican Party right now still is the Trump Party. There's no doubt that the acquittal has emboldened the more extreme movements of the GOP. Right now these extremes have become mainstream - that's the pattern we've seen but that's going to come at a cost."

Ms Troye, now a director of an anti-Trump group, said that while she believes populist, Trump-supporting candidates may win local races, it would cost the party dearly when it came to national elections.

"I've seen a lot of registered Republicans leave the party, they don't want to be associated with this type of movement, especially with what happened at the Capitol," she added.

"I don't think the majority of Americans are going to subscribe to a base which is full of conspiracy theorists and lies."

The black-footed ferret was believed extinct until 18 were discovered on a Wyoming ranch. 

Now scientists have cloned one 

using 33-year-old DNA.


Naina Bhardwaj
Sun, February 21, 2021


Elizabeth Ann, the first ever cloned US endangered species at 50 days old. USFWS National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center


Elizabeth Ann was born using the frozen cells of a black-footed ferret called Willa that died in 1988.

She will be raised in the National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center in Colorado.

The species was considered extinct until seven were found in 1981.

Scientists successfully cloned a black-footed ferret using DNA of a frozen relative that died in 1988 for the first time in US history.

Elizabeth Ann was born on 10 December and is a genetic copy of a ferret called Willa, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced in a statement this week.

Willa's cells, frozen during the 1980s when DNA technology was first developed, were used to create the newborn animal.

North America's only ferret species was considered extinct until 18 were found on a Wyoming ranch in 1981.

They were captured by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and a breeding program to recover the population was established. Their numbers have now increased to 250 to 350 ferrets living in captivity and 300 spread across 29 reintroduction sites in the wild.

Scientists are now hoping to use cloning to create genetic diversity, making the animals less susceptible to disease and genetic abnormalities.

Ryan Phelan, Executive Director of biotechnology conservation company Revive & Restore, said: "It was a commitment to seeing this species survive that has led to the successful birth of Elizabeth Ann.

He also added in the statement: "To see her now thriving ushers in a new era for her species and for conservation-dependent species everywhere. She is a win for biodiversity and for genetic rescue."

Elizabeth Ann will not be released into the wild but instead raised in the National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center in Colorado, where she was born, so that researchers can continue to study her.

A genomic study revealed Willa's DNA contained three times more unique variations than the living ferret population, meaning that if she successfully mates and reproduces, Elizabeth Ann could provide unique genetic diversity to the species, according to the USFWS.

The cloning of Elizabeth Ann resulted from a partnership between the USFWS, Revive & Restore, ViaGen Pets & Equine, San Diego Zoo Global, and the Association of Zoos aquariums.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Boy Scouts celebrate the first group of female Eagle Scouts


This Oct. 1, 2020 photo provided by Edmund Tunney shows his daughter, Isabella, center, with Bev Verweg, her scoutmaster, and Brian Reiners, the scoutmaster of the corresponding linked boy troop, in Edina, Minn. In February 2021, at age 16, Tunney will be one of nearly 1,000 girls and young women honored by the Boy Scouts in a virtual celebration of the inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts. It’s a major milestone, given the hallowed stature of a rank that has been attained over more than a century by astronauts, admirals, U.S. senators and other luminaries. (Edmund Tunney via AP)More

Growing up in Minneapolis, Isabella Tunney followed the progress of her older brother with admiration and occasional envy as he worked toward earning the Boy Scouts’ prestigious rank of Eagle Scout.

This weekend, at age 16, Tunney will be one of nearly 1,000 girls and young women honored by the Boy Scouts in a virtual celebration of the inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts. It’s a major milestone, given the hallowed stature of a rank that has been attained over more than a century by astronauts, admirals, U.S. senators and other luminaries.

Only in 2018 did the Boy Scouts start accepting girls as Cub Scouts; older girls were admitted into the flagship scouting program in 2019. Overall, more than 140,000 girls have joined.

Tunney, like many of the girls attaining Eagle rank, worked intensively to amass the needed merit badges within two years. A minimum of 21 badges are required to attain Eagle; Tunney earned all 137, in subjects ranging from welding to white-water rafting to coin collection.

“The quarantine helped a lot,” she said, referring to the lockdown ordered due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “I had a lot of time to spare.”

For her Eagle Scout public service project, she organized a drive to collect essentials for families being assisted by a homeless shelter.

Tunney is a junior at St. Paul Academy and Summit School in St. Paul, Minnesota, and she is interested in a career related to the STEM disciplines — science, technology, engineering and math.

As a child, she loved tagging along with her older brother, Eugene, but was sad when he and their father would go off on weekend camping trips with the Scouts.

“I was very envious of all those,” she said. “When the Boy Scouts opened up to girls, I was so excited to get the opportunity to participate myself.”

Like Tunney, new Eagle Scout Sydney Ireland also was drawn to the Boy Scouts due to participation of an older brother. She became an unofficial member of his New York City unit at age 4 and over the ensuing years was outspoken in urging the Boy Scouts to officially admit girls.

Ireland, 19, is now a sophomore at Amherst College, taking classes remotely from the Massachusetts island of Nantucket. She’s majoring in political science and psychology; law school and a career in politics could be on the horizon.

“Scouting has influenced my life in nearly every facet,” she said via email, crediting the leadership skills she learned in the Scouts for giving her the confidence to run for Amherst’s student Senate.

The Boy Scouts say about 6% of all scouts attain Eagle rank – roughly 2.5 million since the award’s creation in 1911, a year after the Boy Scouts of America was founded.

“This is a powerful moment for these young women, for all Eagle Scouts, and for our nation,” said Jenn Hancock, the BSA's national chair for programs. “People recognize Eagle Scouts as individuals of the highest caliber, and for the first time, that title isn’t limited by gender."

The celebration of the new Eagle Scouts comes at a challenging time for the Boy Scouts. Facing a wave of lawsuits, it filed for bankruptcy protection a year ago in a step toward creating a huge compensation fund for tens of thousands of men who were molested as youngsters decades ago by scoutmasters or other leaders.

The case has advanced slowly since then in a federal bankruptcy court in Delaware. The BSA is expected to unveil a plan soon explaining how the compensation fund will be financed in a way that enables the organization and its local councils to maintain their programs.

Many in the scouting community have retained their admiration for the BSA’s mission – among them is Megan Wright of Omaha. Starting about 10 years ago, she helped run a Boy Scout troop to which her son belonged, and more recently she has been scoutmaster for her daughter’s troop.

The daughter, 18-year-old Rebecca Wright, is among the new Eagle Scouts, having earned 102 merit badges. She now attends the University of Wisconsin-Madison and wants to be a genetics researcher.

“It’s been fantastic to see girls be able to participate in this program,” said Rebecca’s mom. “Just seeing the pride, the sense of accomplishment, knowing that they have achieved what so few others have.”

Tanzania's president admits country has COVID-19 problem

Associated Press
Sun, February 21, 2021
John Magufuli

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Tanzania’s president is finally acknowledging that his country has a coronavirus problem after claiming for months that the disease had been defeated by prayer.

Populist President John Magufuli on Sunday urged citizens of the East African country to take precautions and even wear face masks — but only locally made ones. Over the course of the pandemic he has expressed wariness about foreign-made goods, including COVID-19 vaccines.

The president’s comments came days after the country of some 60 million people mourned the death of one of its highest-profile politicians, the vice president of the semi-autonomous island region of Zanzibar, whose political party had earlier said he had COVID-19. The president’s chief secretary also died in recent days, though the cause was not revealed.

Magufuli, speaking at the chief secretary’s funeral in a nationally televised broadcast on Friday, urged the nation to participate in three days of prayer for unspecified “respiratory” illnesses that had become a challenge in the country.

Tanzania has not updated its number of coronavirus infections since April as the president has insisted COVID-19 had been defeated. Tanzania’s official number of coronavirus infections remains at just 509, but residents report that many people have become ill with breathing difficulties and hospitals have seen a rise in patients for “pneumonia.”

The director-general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has added his voice to growing calls for Tanzania to acknowledge COVID-19 for the good of its citizens, neighboring countries, and the world, especially after a number of countries reported that visitors arriving from Tanzania tested positive for the virus.

Tedros in a statement on Saturday called Tanzania’s situation “very concerning” and urged Magufuli's government to take “robust action.” Others recently expressing concern include the United States and the local Catholic church.

WHO chief calls on Tanzania to combat Covid

  

WHO chief calls on Tanzania to combat Covid

The vice president of semi-autonomous Zanzibar, Seif Sharif Hamad, died after his opposition party admitted he had contracted coronavirus

The head of the World Health Organization on Sunday appealed to Tanzania to take "robust action" against Covid-19 in the country, where the president has long played down the virus.

President John Magufuli has claimed coronavirus has been has fended off by prayer in Tanzania, and refused to take tough measures to curb its spread.

But a recent spate of deaths attributed to pneumonia has struck both members of the public and government officials.

And Magufuli on Friday appeared to admit the coronavirus was circulating in his country after months of denial.

WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said a number of Tanzanians travelling to neighbouring countries and beyond have tested positive for the coronavirus.

"This underscores the need for Tanzania to take robust action both to safeguard their own people and protect populations in these countries and beyond," he said in a statement.

Tedros said he had urged Tanzania in late January to take measures against the pandemic and to prepare for vaccinations.

"Since then I have spoken with several authorities in Tanzania but WHO is yet to receive any information regarding what measures Tanzania is taking to respond to the pandemic.

- Papaya, quail and goat -

"This situation remains very concerning. I renew my call for Tanzania to start reporting COVID-19 cases and share data.

"I also call on Tanzania to implement the public health measures that we know work in breaking the chains of transmission, and to prepare for vaccination."

The country last gave case figures in April 2020, reporting 509 infections.

At the same time Magufuli revealed he had secretly had a variety of items tested for the virus -- of which a papaya, a quail and a goat apparently tested positive.

On Wednesday, the vice president of semi-autonomous Zanzibar, Seif Sharif Hamad, died after his opposition party admitted he had contracted coronavirus.

The head of the civil service, John Kijazi, also died Wednesday.

The cause of death has not been revealed. But Magufuli brought up Covid-19 at his funeral.

"When this respiratory disease erupted last year, we won because we put God first and took other measures. I'm sure we will win again if we do so this time around," he said.

However dissent is mounting within the country to the government's position on the pandemic.

On Saturday, the Tanzania Law Society became the first professional body to call on the government to openly recognise the virus and take adequate measures.

On Sunday, Magufuli revealed that some of his aides and family members had contracted Covid but recovered, and offered some lukewarm support for the use of masks.

"The government has not banned use of masks but some of these are not safe at all… let's be careful," he said after a service in a Dar es Salaam church.

"Let us all depend on God as we also take other preventive measures. I put God first and that is why I do not wear a mask."

The health ministry in a statement Sunday called on citizens to "continue to believe in God" and also respect preventive measures, including mask-wearing.

er/fal/wdb/tgb

WHO says still has no details from Tanzania COVID-19 response



WHO says still has no details from Tanzania COVID-19 response

NAIROBI (Reuters) - The head of the World Health Organization urged Tanzania on Sunday to share information on its measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic, saying the authorities there had repeatedly ignored his requests.

President John Magufuli's sceptical approach towards COVID-19 has caused alarm among WHO officials. A government spokesman told Reuters on Feb.12 that Tanzania had "controlled" the outbreak, but it stopped reporting new coronavirus infections and deaths in May last year. At the time it had registered 509 cases and 21 deaths.

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Sunday that Tanzanians testing positive for COVID-19 abroad underscored "the need for Tanzania to take robust action both to safeguard their own people and protect populations in these countries and beyond."


Tedros also repeated a call he made with Matshidiso Moeti, WHO's Africa head, in late January for Tanzania to bolster public health measures against COVID-19 and prepare to distribute vaccines.

He added that since then he had spoken with several authorities there to no avail.

"This situation remains very concerning. I renew my call for Tanzania to start reporting COVID-19 cases and share data," Tedros said in a statement on WHO's website.

Tanzania government spokesman Hassan Abbasi did not respond to a Reuters message seeking comment on Tedros' remarks.

In a statement later on Sunday, Magufuli's office said the president wanted Tanzanians to follow measures to protect themselves against coronavirus. However, it also said that:

"Magufuli wants Tanzanians to ... trust and put God first, given that wearing masks, social distancing and lockdowns have been seen to be insufficient as countries that implemented them have lost thousands compared to Tanzania."

Magufuli attended a funeral service on Friday for a senior official in his office whose cause of death was not made public, and declared three days of national prayer.

On Sunday, Magufuli said Tanzanians should wear only use locally-made face masks, saying foreign-made ones may be unsafe.

On Monday, Oman's health minister said his country was considering suspending flights from Tanzania, after 18% of travellers arriving from Tanzania tested positive for COVID-19.

Thailand reported on Monday its first case of the highly contagious COVID-19 variant first identified in South Africa, in a Thai man who arrived from Tanzania.

(Reporting by Nairobi newsroom; Editing by George Obulutsa and Raissa Kasolowsky)

Belarus opposition leader admits it looks like 'we have lost'

Theo Merz THE TELEGRAM
Sun, February 21, 2021,

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya made the comments ahead 

of a visit to Switzerland - AP

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has admitted the protest movement against dictator Alexander Lukashneko “seems to have lost” after being on the verge of toppling his regime last year.

Ms Tsikhanousakaya, who fled Belarus after apparent threats to her children amid a violent crackdown on protests in the summer, said the path to freedom and democracy would be longer and harder than many imagined.

“I have to admit that we have lost the streets. We have no way of combating the regime’s violence against protestors,” she told the Swiss newspaper Le Temps ahead of a planned visit to the country next month.


“They have the strength, they have the guns...I know Belarusians are tired, they are afraid.”

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Belarus in August after Mr Lukashenko, who has ruled the former Soviet nation with an iron fist for 26 years, claimed a landslide victory in a rigged election.

Police launched a brutal response, using stun grenades, rubber bullets and tear gas on the crowds. Several people died while many more reported being tortured in custody.

Criminal cases linked to the demonstrations are ongoing, with a pair of young journalists last week sentenced to two years in prison each after they covered police violence during an anti-government protest.

“We are building the structures for the struggles of tomorrow,” Ms Tsikhanouskaya added in the interview. “Our strategy is to organise ourselves better, to put the regime under constant pressure, until such a time when people will be ready to take to the streets again, perhaps in the spring.”

The 38 year old found herself the accidental face of the protest movement last year after her husband, a popular video blogger and opposition figure, was barred from standing against Mr Lukashenko and jailed.

Ms Tsikhanouskaya was allowed to run and galvanised the opposition with mass campaign rallies. She said she would have won the presidency had the vote been free and fair.

In exile she has continued to run an office and met with European leaders in a bid to keep up pressure on the Lukashenko regime. In an interview with the Telegraph last year she said she was “suffocated by fear” but could not betray the hopes of the Belarusian people.