Wednesday, November 10, 2021

How Realistic Is Exxon Mobil's Climate Change Pivot?

Nov 9, 2021
CNBC

For years, Exxon Mobil was one of the largest publicly-traded companies in the United States. Coming climate legislation may target the core of the oil and gas giant's operation: production and exploration. The company says it will pivot. But the plan relies on capturing carbon from the oil it will keep pumping in the future. Watch the video to see what experts think of Exxon's green economy plans. 

Oil giant Exxon Mobil, once the most valuable company in the U.S., is fighting for its future. Over the summer, investors forced a change on Exxon’s board. Since then, the company has been speeding up plans for its green economy pivot, which includes carbon capture and storage. Carbon capture is the process of capturing CO2 at its source. Companies can store the carbon dioxide permanently, but it is more profitable and common to use the captured carbon in further fossil fuel production.

Congressional researchers say U.S. companies have pioneered the technology worldwide, injecting roughly 68 million metric tons of carbon dioxide back into the ground every year. Exxon Mobil recently announced a plan to increase the amount of carbon it captures from its refineries near Houston, Texas. The company says it has captured 40% of the world’s captured carbon to date. 

But another count from the investors at Engine No. 1 suggests that Exxon may be capturing less than 1% of its own annual emissions on a rolling basis. This count includes Scope 3 emissions, a much broader accounting of a company’s planet warming potential. Exxon Mobil publicly disclosed an estimate of its Scope 3 emissions for the first time in 2021. 

The company told CNBC it will try to flatten its production of fossil fuels through 2025, depending on market conditions. More changes could come as regulators around the world zero in on climate. But carbon market scholar Kate Ervine said that “the devil is in the details” when it comes to writing climate policies that affect oil and gas majors.

Ørsted to invest $11 billion in offshore wind farm near Hai Phong

Denmark’s Ørsted Group, the world's largest corporation in the wind power industry, has proposed an offshore wind power plant near Hai Phong, with an estimated investment of US$11.9 to $13.6 billion.

Denmark’s Ørsted Group expects to supply green energy to 30 million people by 2030. — Photo courtesy of the firm

Once operational, the power plant will have a total capacity of 3,900 MW.

Vice-chairman of Hai Phong City People's Committee, Nguyen Duc Tho, worked on the project with a delegation from the Embassy of Denmark, led by Troels Jakobsen.

The project will be divided into three phases. Wind output is expected to produce about 13,665,600 MWh per year. The wind farm's turbine is expected to be installed with a capacity of about 20 MW. Tower height will be from 150m to 200m each.

The project location is in offshore waters 14km southeast of Bach Long Vy island and 36 km northwest of Long Chau archipelago.

The project is in line with Viet Nam's National Energy Development Strategy, which prioritises the exploitation and use of renewable energy sources.

Troels Jakobsen said the cooperation between Denmark and Viet Nam would continue to be promoted in such fields as economy, trade, investment, education, tourism, and economic transformation to a green economy.

Appreciating Ørsted Group's capacity in offshore wind power development, Tho said: "Hai Phong will pay attention and create favourable conditions for investors."

Tho suggested that the investor provide more documents on issues raised by the departments and agencies at the meeting.

He requested the group to review and clarify the contents related to the survey location, the appropriate spacing of wind turbines and rationally develop the marine space. At the same time, the project must ensure compliance with current regulations, investment divergence and must not affect the navigation channel, security and defence aspects.

As a leading enterprise in the field of offshore wind power owned by the Danish Government, Ørsted's revenue in 2020 was $8.6 billion, with profits of $3 billion. The group currently supply green energy to more than 15 million people worldwide. This number is expected to double by 2025.

In June 2021, Louise Holmsgaard, Charge d'Affaires, Embassy of Denmark, met with officials from Hai Phong to introduce Ørsted and the wind power project.

Source: VNS

Climate change: Texas landfill site captures methane from rubbish to make dramatic impact on greenhouse gas emissions

Blue Ridge landfill site in Texas is trying to capture methane from mountains of rubbish and has the potential to reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to more than 51,000 cars on local roads, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.


Mark Stone
Sunday 7 November 2021 
The Blue Ridge landfill site in Texas, US

I'm outside Houston in Texas watching many tonnes of rubbish being dumped, compacted and buried.

Nowhere quite represents a consumer-driven and disposable culture like this.

Everyday, rubbish is ditched - along with the responsibility for it.


The average American produces nearly a ton of rubbish every year -three times as much as the average Briton.

But collectively it remains our problem, or one for generations to come.

And in consumer-obsessed America, the scale is quite something.

I'd not visited a landfill site before. Up close they are an overwhelming sight.

With the site manager, I watch as more land is cleared and holes dug for more and more waste.

Managing our waste


Huge trucks shuttle in and out. The average American produces nearly a ton of rubbish every year. That's three times as much as the average Britton.

Site manager Zachary Pedersen is passionate about how landfills can affect change

Globally we are seemingly unstoppable generators of waste, which is why management is so vital.

And that's what's brought us to this particular site: Blue Ridge Landfill, to the south of Houston.

Zachary Pedersen manages Blue Ridge which takes the waste from America's fourth largest city.

As he takes me for a drive around, it's clear he loves his job. He's proud too of a process that, despite wider flaws caused by our consumer culture and failures in regulation, is, he says, sustainable.



"My passion for landfills is that I can affect change. It affects our community, it affects being a good neighbour, it affects the environment," Mr Pedersen tells me.

"You know, I am directly affecting the world my daughter is going to grow up in," he says.

It's striking how green much of this vast site is. Areas that were once open landfill are now covered, sealed and topped with pasture. I watch a farm tractor cutting the grass and there's even wildlife - geese and the famous Texas Longhorn.

Capturing methane


Under the grass is tonnes of waste in various states of decomposition and dotted all over the landscape are small black pipes poking out of the ground.

Cows and the cattle industry are often blamed for contributing to greenhouse gas emissions

This is methane capture in action. We hear a lot about methane emissions from the oil and gas industry, and even more about how cows and the cattle industry are contributing to emissions of the potent greenhouse gas.

But unmanaged, our own rubbish, as it decomposes, can contribute huge quantities of methane into the atmosphere helping to warm our planet faster than carbon dioxide.

In America alone, landfill accounts for nearly 20% of human-caused methane emissions which over a 20-year period is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

But here at Blue Ridge they are operating a system of methane capture that's increasingly common across the developed world.

The tonnes and tonnes of waste brought to the site is flattened and compacted on top of a plastic shell which lines the landfill. Eventually, the section of landfill is sealed and pressurised.

The 'milkshake technique'


The site uses a special 'milkshake technique' to suck methane from a series of wells

The site's environmental manager, Raymond Whitlock, explains how the methane can be sucked out using a series of wells which dot the landscape and puncture the pasture.

"The example I like to use: if you imagine a milkshake, the straw in the milkshake; the milkshake's your landfill, the straw is the extraction well; you exert the vacuum using your mouth or in our case a blower system and the contents is removed," Mr Whitlock says.



COP26: World leaders pledge to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030 in 'game-changing commitment'

A series of underground pipes take the extracted methane to a refinery on the edge of Blue Ridge. There it is cleaned, purified and sold on to power cars and heat homes.

According to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, this plant has the capacity to reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions equivalent of more than 51,000 cars on local roads.

Republic Services who operate Blue Ridge and 74 other sites across America say they now generate enough renewable energy to fully power more than 250,000 homes annually.

The extracted methane is taken to a refinery on the edge of Blue Ridge, where it is cleaned, purified and sold on to power cars and heat homes

Recycling failures

It's not all good news, though.

While Blue Ridge is a success in its efforts to capture methane, it also illustrates a much bigger societal problem.

The amount of plastic and cardboard at the site is staggering. America's record at recycling is appalling.

Between 2015 and 2018 the rate actually fell from 34% to just 32% according to figures from the Environmental Protection Agency. In the UK, the recycling rate is about 45%.

But in methane capture, Blue Ridge is an impressive success story. They use a technology increasingly deployed around the developed world and it is having an impact in slowing global warming.

And yet beyond, in the developing world, it's an ever growing challenge requiring investment and funding.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory Improves Recyclability of 3D-Printed Wind Turbine Blades

Published on November 8, 2021 by Mikahila L.
3D-printed Wind Turbine Blades

A National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) research team is testing the production of modernized wind turbine blades with highly-engineered, 3D-printed designs that use a thermoplastic resin system. Wind turbines are promoted for their ability to decrease humanity’s collective carbon footprint and environmental impact. In recent years, the benefits of additive manufacturing have been explored by this sector of the energy industry since when it comes to renewable energy, the paradox of wasteful production remains an area of continuous research and innovation. It has become such a topic of interest that earlier this year, the United States Department of Energy even provided universities and industry leaders with funding to develop 3D-printed composite wind blade molds and end-use blade components.

Existing wind turbine designs rely on thermoset resin systems like epoxies, polyesters and vinyl esters, polymers. “Once you produce a blade with a thermoset resin system, you cannot reverse the process,” explained NREL team lead, Senior Wind Technology Engineer, Derek Berry, “That [also] makes the blade difficult to recycle.” The NREL team worked with several institutions to develop systems that utilize thermoplastics, as opposed to thermoset materials, thermoplastics can be heated to separate the original polymers, enabling what is called end-of-life (EOL) recyclability.

wind turbine blade

A 13-meter thermoplastic blade 3D-printed at the Composites Manufacturing Education and Technology Facility (CoMET) by an NREL research team. (Photo Credit: Ryan Beach, NREL)

3D-Printed Wind Turbine Blades

According to research from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the average lifespan of a wind turbine is roughly 20 years. By using 3D printing technology for the manufacture of thermoplastic blades, this significantly improves the recyclability of the blades. Furthermore, 3D printing substantially reduces the weight and cost of a turbine blade by at least 10%, and production cycle time by 15%.


Further enhancing the blades’ recyclability, these thermoplastic blade parts can be joined together using a thermal welding process which would essentially eliminate the need for environmentally detrimental adhesives. “With two thermoplastic blade components, you have the ability to bring them together and, through the application of heat and pressure, join them,” team lead Berry explained. “You cannot do that with thermoset materials.” Ultimately, the team hopes to create blades that are lighter, longer, less expensive, and more efficient, all critical components to increasing the presence of wind energy in the USA as part of the goal to reduce greenhouse gasses. You can find out more in the video below or in the press release HERE.

What do you think of the NREL’s novel additive manufacturing techniques? Let us know in a comment below or on our LinkedinFacebook, and Twitter pages! Don’t forget to sign up for our free weekly Newsletter here, the latest 3D printing news straight to your inbox! You can also find all our videos on our YouTube channel.

Cover Photo Credit: Tyler Casey / Unsplash


Discarded Wind Turbine Blades Are Upcycled into Sleek Bike Shelters in Denmark

NOVEMBER 8, 2021
GRACE EBERT
Design


Image courtesy of Chris Yelland

It’s estimated that before 2050, we’ll generate 43 million tons of waste worldwide from one of the most promising clean energy producers alone. Wind turbines, while a cheap and carbon-free alternative to fossil fuels, are only 85 percent recyclable or reusable, and their massive fiberglass blades, which are so large that they span the length of a football field, are notoriously difficult to break down and often end up deteriorating in a landfill for 20 to 25 years. Until a high-volume solution for recycling the structures becomes viable, there’s a growing trend in repurposing the pieces for maze-style playgrounds, construction materials like pellets and panels, or pedestrian bridges as proposed by Re-Wind Network, a group devoted to finding new uses for the unused parts.

A long-time proponent of wind energy, the Danish government is receiving attention for its own initiative that tasked turbine manufacturer Siemens Gamesa with upcycling the blade. The company transformed the long, curved component into an open-air shelter at the Port of Aalborg, where it protects bikes from the elements. Although Siemens Gamesa doesn’t have plans to launch a large-scale initiative for installing similar designs, it recently released new fully recyclable blades that can be turned into boats, recreational vehicle bodies, and other projects in the future. (via designboom)




Image courtesy of Chris Yelland


Image courtesy of Siemens Gamesa


Image courtesy of Siemens Gamesa


Image courtesy of Siemens Gamesa

Cementing a cleaner future: how Japan is cutting carbon from industry

By Euronews • Updated: 08/11/2021 - 
.
Copyright euronews

In this episode of Green Japan we focus on the latest innovations to capture and recycle carbon and develop zero-carbon concrete.

Carbon dioxide is the main cause of global warming. In the western wing of Tomakomai port, Japan has shown that CO2 can be captured and stored. Experts are confident the technology implemented at the Tomakomai CCS demonstration project centre will be crucial for reaching net-zero emissions in Japan and worldwide.

“CCS is an acronym for Carbon dioxide Capture and Storage. It is a technology aimed at preventing global warming by capturing CO2 generated from industrial activities and storing it underground,” explains Nakajima Toshiaki, President of Japan CCS.
President of Japan CCS Nakajima Toshiaki explains carbon dioxide and storage technology.Euronews

The CO2 source is a gas supply facility at Idemitsu Kosan Hokkaido Refinery, adjacent to the Tomakomai CCS Center. A gas containing carbon dioxide is sent by pipeline to the Capture Facility.

Yamagishi Kazuyuki, from CCS, explains the process.

“We receive a maximum of 25 tonnes of CO2 per hour which is equivalent to 600 tonnes a day. Our target was to process 100,000 tonnes in one year. We achieved the injection of 300,000 tonnes two years ago.”

Once the gas containing CO2 arrives at the demonstration plant, CO2 is separated from the gas and captured by chemical absorption inside three towers, which are part of the main CCS facilities. The CO2 now needs to be stored.

“The captured CO2 is sent to the inlet of this well, after a certain amount of pressure is applied. Through this pipe, the CO2 is sent to the geological layers below the seabed,” Kazuyuki says.

The two injection wells of the project were drilled from onshore towards offshore sub-sea bed reservoirs. One well targeted a sandstone layer between the depths of 1,000 to 1,200 metres. The other one reached a volcanoclastic layer between 2,400 to 3,000 metres deep.

Japan is convinced this technology will become a key approach for reducing the impact of global warming once it reaches the implementation phase.

“"The International Energy Agency estimates in 2050 we'll have to be capable of storing over 7 billion tons of CO2 per year with CCS systems in order to achieve net-zero. This would allow to use fossil fuels in a cleaner way, or to capture CO2 directly from the atmosphere and store it underground,” says Japan CCS President Nakajima Toshiaki.
Carbon negative concrete

While CO2 can be captured before entering the atmosphere and stored in the ground, Japan has also found a way to use CO2 to produce a carbon negative concrete, called CO2-SUICOM.

“Ordinary concrete emits approximately 288 kg of CO2 per cubic metre during its production, but CO2-SUICOM has achieved minus 18kg,” says Watanabe Kenzo, the General Manager of the concrete and construction materials group, Kajima Technical Research Institute.

This is the first concrete in the world that is not only carbon negative, but is also capable of absorbing CO2 during the curing process.

The key to making this happen is the addition of a special material, which is a chemical by-product, and then exposing the concrete to CO2.
Developed in Japan, CO2-SUICOM is a carbon negative concrete.
Euronews

“We use CO2 gas instead of water for the CO2-SUICOM's curing process. CO2 is immobilised by bringing it into contact with the concrete while it is still hardening. We add a special mixture “γC2S”, we call it “magic powder” as it solidifies a large amount of CO2. The more we produce this “magic concrete” the more it reduces CO2 from the atmosphere,” says Kenzo.

This eco-friendly concrete has already been used in all sorts of infrastructure and building projects as a precast-material. SUICOM has already been used to build walls, ceiling panels and interlocking blocks. In the near future, developers intend to apply this technology to a wider range of construction materials. The carbon negative concrete could then be used as a common already-mixed concrete for cast-in place usage. This would open a new green way forward for construction.
Few willing to change lifestyle to save the planet, climate survey finds

Exclusive: poll of 10 countries including US, UK, France and Germany finds people prioritising measures that are already habits


People generally saw themselves as much more committed to the environment than others in their local community, or any institution. Photograph: Emanuele Cremaschi/Getty Images

Jon Henley
@jonhenley
Sun 7 Nov 2021 

Citizens are alarmed by the climate crisis, but most believe they are already doing more to preserve the planet than anyone else, including their government, and few are willing to make significant lifestyle changes, an international survey has found.

“The widespread awareness of the importance of the climate crisis illustrated in this study has yet to be coupled with a proportionate willingness to act,” the survey of 10 countries including the US, UK, France and Germany, observed.

Emmanuel Rivière, director of international polling at Kantar Public, said the survey, carried out in late September and published to coincide with the Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow, contained “a double lesson for governments”.

They have, first, “to measure up to people’s expectations,” Rivière said. “But they also have to persuade people not of the reality of the climate crisis – that’s done – but of what the solutions are, and of how we can fairly share responsibility for them.”

The survey found that 62% of people surveyed saw the climate crisis as the main environmental challenge the world was now facing, ahead of air pollution (39%), the impact of waste (38%) and new diseases (36%).


‘I get scared’: the young activists sounding the alarm from climate tipping points


But when asked to rate their individual action against others’ such as governments, business and the media, people generally saw themselves as much more committed to the environment than others in their local community, or any institution.

About 36% rated themselves “highly committed” to preserving the planet, while only 21% felt the same was true of the media and 19% of local government. A mere 18% felt their local community was equally committed, with national governments (17%) and big corporations (13%) seen as even less engaged.

Respondents were also lukewarm about doing more themselves, citing a wide range of reasons. Most (76%) of those surveyed across the 10 countries said they would accept stricter environmental rules and regulations, but almost half (46%) felt that there was no real need for them to change their personal habits.

Thinking about your personal efforts to preserve the planet, would you say that the following applies to you?

I would accept stricter rules and environmental regulations 76% say yes

I am proud of what I am currently doing for the planet 74

I don't think there is an agreement among experts on the best solutions to preserve the planet 72

I need more resources and equipment from public authorities 69

I can't financially afford to make those efforts 60

I lack information and guidance about what to do 55

I don't think I really need to change my habits 46

I don't think individual efforts can really have an impact 39

I believe environmental threats are over estimated 35

I don't have the headspace to think about it 33

Only 51% said they would definitely act to protect the planet, with 14% saying they would definitely not and 35% torn. People in Poland and Singapore (56%) were the most willing to act, and in Germany (44%) and the Netherlands (37%) the least.

The most common reasons given for not being willing to do more for the planet were “I feel proud of what I am currently doing” (74%), “There isn’t agreement among experts on the best solutions” (72%), and “I need more resources and equipment from public authorities” (69%).




'We're in this together': why I'm protesting at Cop26 – video

Other reasons for not wanting to do more included “I can’t afford to make those efforts” (60%), “I lack information and guidance on what to do” (55%), “I don’t think individual efforts can really have an impact” (39%), “I believe environmental threats are overestimated” (35%) and “I don’t have the headspace to think about it” (33%).

Asked which actions to preserve the planet should be prioritised, moreover, people attributed more importance to measures that were already established habits, required less individual effort, or for which they bore little direct responsibility.

About 57%, for example, said that reducing waste and increasing recycling was “very important”. Other measures seen as priorities were reversing deforestation (54%), protecting endangered animal species (52%), building energy-efficient buildings (47%), and replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy (45%).

Respondents viewed measures likely to affect their own lifestyles, however, as significantly less important: reducing people’s energy consumption was seen as a priority by only 32%, while favouring public transport over cars (25%) and radically changing our agricultural model (24%) were similarly unpopular.

Only 23% felt that reducing plane travel and charging more for products that did not respect environmental norms were important to preserve the planet, while banning fossil fuel vehicles (22%) and reducing meat consumption (18%) and international trade (17%) were seen as even lower priorities.

“Citizens are undeniably concerned by the state of the planet, but these findings raise doubts regarding their level of commitment to preserving it,” the study said. “Rather than translating into a greater willingness to change their habits, citizens’ concerns are particularly focused on their negative assessment of governments’ efforts.”

Representative samples of more than 1,000 people were questioned in the US, UK, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Poland, Singapore and New Zealand.

People gave themselves the highest score for commitment everywhere except Sweden, while only in Singapore and New Zealand were national governments seen as highly engaged. The gulf between citizens’ view of their own efforts (44%) and that of their government (16%) was highest in the UK.

This article was amended on 9 November 2021 to clarify that 51% of respondents said they would “definitely act to protect the planet”; an earlier version incorrectly said this figure referred to those who said they would “definitely take individual climate action”.


How would you rate, in terms of importance, the following measures aimed at preserving the environment and the planet?

Reducing waste and increasing recycling 57% say very important

Stopping deforestation 54

Protecting endangered animal species 52

Building energy efficient buildings 47

Banning the use of polluting substances in industry/agriculture 46

Replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy 45

Increasing consumption of local products 33

Developing natural spaces with limited human activity 32

Reducing people’s energy consumption 32

Decreasing the amount of energy we use to heat or cool our homes 32

Favoring the use of public transport over cars 25

Radically changing our agricultural model 24

Reducing travel by planes 23

Increasing the price of products that do not respect environmental criteria 23

Banning fossil fuel vehicles 22

Reducing meat consumption 18

Reducing international trade 17





N.B. Liquor employees poised to strike a week from now if deal not reached

CUPE Local 963 would become the 11th local to go on strike since a public-sector strike began Oct. 29

Jamie Agnew, president of CUPE Local 963, representing workers at N.B. Liquor, told a news conference Tuesday that the workers had voted to go on strike, which could happen as early as next Tuesday. (Ed Hunter/CBC)

Unionized workers at N.B. Liquor will be in a legal strike position as of 12:01 a.m. next Tuesday after 97.7 per cent of them voted in favour of a strike.

In a strike vote held last week, 521 of the 566 members of CUPE Local 963 voted to go on strike, union leaders announced at a news conference in Fredericton on Tuesday.

The vote was conducted from Nov. 3 to Nov 6.

If a contract agreement isn't reached in the next week, the N.B. Liquor employees would join thousands of public-sector workers who went on strike Oct 29.

Agnew, left, with CUPE New Brunswick president Stephen Drost, said a strike would affect 41 stores operated by the Crown corporation. (Mrinali Anchan/CBC)

Forty-one publicly owned and run retail outlets and warehouses would be closed to inbound and outbound traffic, Jamie Agnew, the president of Local 963, told reporters.

It would fall to N.B. Liquor management to come up with contingency plans for navigating the closures. 

"They're not telling us their contingency plans," said Agnew, who doubted agency stores in smaller communities could fill the void.

"I don't believe the agency stores can handle the business that N.B. Liquor handles in a run of a day. …We have stores that serve over 2,000 customers a day."  

Agency stores typically exist in communities without existing alcohol outlets and serve the public in places the Crown corporation has chosen not to put one of its own stores.

Local 963, like the CUPE locals already on strike, is at odds with the province over wages. 

Casual retail and warehouse employees earn $16.78 an hour, which is the lowest end of the pay spectrum, while full-time assistant managers can earn close to $23 an hour, which is at the highest end.   

Agnew said a tentative agreement had been reached between the union and management a year ago, but it was  blocked by Premier Blaine Higgs. 

Sixty-nine days later, according to Agnew, the New Brunswick Labour and Employment Board decided a tentative agreement had not been reached.

Both sides once again went back to the bargaining table.

"The last offer offered to us was not acceptable," Agnew said. "It was eight and a half per cent over five years. Lower than the tentative agreement that we thought we already had with them."

Since then, the union has yet to receive another proposal from management.

"I haven't had a raise in three years, and my last raise was point five per cent," said Agnew.

"We are struggling, we need a fair deal and we need it now."

For the fiscal 2020-2021 year, the Crown Corporation has reported a historical high in sales records of $505.9 million and a net income of $199.4 million. 

Strike will prolong nursing crisis, U of Manitoba nursing educators say

Group calls on health minister to speak with premier to

 resolve bargaining issues

Katie de Leon, a nursing instructor at the U of M, was one of the writers of an open letter to Health Minister Audrey Gordon, asking her to confer with the newly elected premier over collective bargaining issues between the U of M and UMFA. (Trevor Brine/CBC)

A number of educators from the University of Manitoba say they're worried an ongoing faculty strike will put even more strain on what they call a nursing crisis in the province.

The educators, who are members of the University of Manitoba Faculty Association, went on strike Nov. 2, citing government interference in the bargaining process as a cause. 

Nursing educators and supporters took those concerns straight to the source on Tuesday, with a noon-hour rally at the Manitoba legislature grounds.

Katie de Leon, a nursing instructor at the U of M, was there among the ranks of students, staff, faculty and supporters. She also wrote an open letter to Health Minister Audrey Gordon, which she sent Tuesday.

"I wanted the health minister to understand that this is an issue well beyond just education, and I wanted her to understand the impact of delaying the negotiations by not standing up and stopping the interference," she said.

The faculty association, which represents more than 1,000 U of M staff, has been fighting for higher wages for its members, arguing that low pay is causing retention and recruitment problems.

Educators in the college of nursing, who are a part of UMFA, are calling on the province to address ongoing barriers to retention and recruitment of nursing educators. They say the failure to address those problems will prolong a nursing crisis. (Trevor Brine/CBC)

That's a problem within the nursing faculty, de Leon said in the letter, which was signed by 36 other nursing educators.

"Nursing instructors and assistant professors make less the nurses that we graduate," de Leon said.

"We're here because we're not looking at our salaries only. We're here to try to recruit nursing faculty to come and educate the future nurses in this province."

Sachin Katyal, a cancer researcher at the U of M, believes the health-care system has been gutted in Manitoba, and the province is seeing the consequences of that now.

"We've already heard about how our fellow Manitobans have been shipped out of province due to critical health staffing issues, and the way we're going, this will become the norm, not the exception," he said at the rally.

"Now more than ever is the time to invest in UMFA faculty, educators and researchers. Otherwise, this shortage will become even more dire."

Darlene Jackson, the president of the Manitoba Nurses Union, says there are currently 2,200 nurse vacancies in the province. More nursing grads are needed to help fill the gap, she said.

"You have our full support, because the health of our profession is closely tied to your future," Jackson said at the rally.

University should be independent: UMFA

De Leon's letter to the health minister said some colleagues have retired early or left the university for better paid positions elsewhere.

"We've been hearing throughout the pandemic especially about the value and importance of nurses, but also about the importance of retaining the nurses we have and continuing to get new nurses here in the province," Orvie Dingwall, the president of the UMFA, said in an interview on Tuesday.

"If we want more nurses here in Manitoba, then we need more nursing faculty to educate them. We can't provide that education if we don't have those faculty members."

The nursing educators are calling on the health minister to confer with newly elected Premier Heather Stefanson and other cabinet ministers to help bring about a resolution to the collective bargaining issues between UMFA and the university.

One of the key issues is what Dingwall says is government interference.

"It's because of the wage restraint legislation that's been in place for the last five years, and right now it's also a key issue at the bargaining table," she said.

"Our members really shouldn't have to worry about ministers and government — the university should be independent from the government." 

A provincial spokesperson said the government is monitoring the situation, but respects that the university and faculty association are still in negotiations to explore resolution.

"No one wants further disruption to students and families already dealing with the pandemic, and we urge both sides to continue their efforts to find common ground," the spokesperson said in an email.

'Feel very devalued': instructor

De Leon says she took the letter to Gordon's constituency office in Southdale, planning to deliver it in person.

She says she waited for 15 minutes for someone to answer the doorbell, but nobody ever came.

When she peered through the door, she could see someone had just been sitting at the main desk, she said.

"First and foremost, I feel very devalued, because I stepped up when we had to teach our students online when the pandemic broke out. I stepped up to vaccinate Manitobans. I step up every day to continue to try and educate nurses," de Leon said.

"The least they could do is answer the doorbell."