UPDATE
North Carolina's strongest earthquake in 94 years shakes area along Virginia border

By Eliott C. McLaughlin, CNN
 Sun August 9, 2020

The earthquake knocked items off shelves at a Food Lion, in Sparta.

(CNN)A 5.1-magnitude earthquake hit about 2 miles from the town of Sparta, North Carolina, early Sunday, along the state's border with Virginia, according to the preliminary report from the US Geological Survey.

It's the strongest quake to shake the state since 1926, according to the North Carolina Geological Survey.

The quake, whose epicenter is in Alleghany County, was felt as far away as South Carolina and Georgia, according to social media posts. The USGS received reports from more than 300 miles away, in Atlanta.

It struck about 8:07 a.m. ET.

"It felt like a big locomotive going by and a big wave coming underneath the bed," said Sparta Mayor Wes Brinegar, who was awakened by the quake. "A big wave coming to lift you."

There are no immediate reports of injuries, but there is some minor damage in the town of about 1,800 people, he said.

"Cracked foundation, and stuff falling off shelves in houses," Brinegar said. "I've lived here my whole life and have never felt anything like that."

The USGS says earthquakes become destructive at a magnitude of 4.0 to 5.0, depending on variables. A 5.3-magnitude is considered a moderate quake, the USGS says.
The agency issued a green alert, meaning there is a low likelihood of casualties and damage.

Town Councilman Cole Edwards, too, was jolted awake by the quake, he said. There was no damage to his home, but it broke some dishes and knocked some pictures off of the wall, he said.

"We've had a lot of scared folks this morning," the mayor said. "That was the most intense one we've ever had."

The earthquake rumbled at a depth of about 5.7 miles, which is considered a shallow quake. Quakes shallower than 43 miles tend to be more destructive than deeper ones, the USGS says.

This marks North Carolina's strongest earthquake since a 5.2-magnitude struck Mitchell County, about 50 miles northeast of Asheville, on July 8, 1926, the North Carolina Geological Survey says. A 5.5-magnitude shook Skyland in 1916, the agency said.

Sparta is about 100 miles north of Charlotte. A Charlotte firefighters union tweeted there were no reports of injuries.

"Good Morning Charlotte, we are sure most of you are awake because yes, that was an earthquake you felt. No local reports of damage or injuries but what a wake up call," the union tweeted.

The Sparta area sits among three seismic zones, in Charleston, South Carolina, eastern Tennessee and central Virginia. Several smaller quakes, all 2.6-magnitude or lower, rumbled near Sparta on Saturday and early Sunday. Two more temblors struck a few miles from Seymour, Tennessee, last weekend, the USGS says.

CNN's Chandler Thornton and Chuck Johnston contributed to this report.

Fracking in NC | Department of Geological and Environmental ...

https://earth.appstate.edu › outreach › ask-geologist › fracking-nc

None of the maps above show any shale gas development in North Carolina. ... The injection-associated earthquakes are not very strong (certainly not as strong ...

Five earthquakes rattle the Carolinas and TN, USGS reports ...

https://www.charlotteobserver.com › state › north-carolina › article241227321

Mar 16, 2020 - At least five earthquakes reaching up to 2.4 magnitude rattled North ... largest 2.4 quake hit around 11 p.m. near Centerville, South Carolina, ...

Fracking-related Earthquakes - Earthworks

https://earthworks.org › Issues

4 days ago - Sandra Ladra, who lives is Prague, the site of the 5.7 magnitude quake in 2011, is sueing the oil company in Oklahoma's highest court. A ...

Missing: Carolina's ‎| Must include: Carolina's

2019: The Year Fracking Earthquakes Turned Deadly | Inside ...

https://www.insidescience.org › news › 2019-year-fracking-earthquakes-tu...

Feb 21, 2020 - Most fracking operations in North America don't cause earthquakes, and the ... a geophysicist at the University of South Carolina in Columbia.

Strongest earthquake in 100 years jolts the Carolinas, Virginia

Digital Writers
theweathernetwork.com

Sunday, August 9th 2020, 10:59 am - The shaking jolted people awake and resulted in several power outages.


People across the Carolinas and Virginia were jolted by an earthquake Sunday morning, of a strength so rare in that part of the country that there hasn't been one like it in more than 100 years.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) says the Magnitude 5.1 tremor struck around 8:07 a.m. at depth of around 3.7 km near Sparta, North Carolina, not far from the border with Virginia.

That is relatively shallow, so it would have been felt over a large area, and the USGS says it's received 45,000 reports of shaking, mostly from across the Carolinas and Virginia but also in surrounding states.



Sunday's tremor follows a smaller quake that was detected in the early morning hours of Sunday in the same area, rated Magnitude 2.6.

Some power outages have been reported in the region along with the widespread shaking, which was intense enough to wake people up, according to local media.

"When it hit here first, it sounded like a long roar of thunder then it shook for about 3 minutes," Emily Poff told North Carolina broadcaster WXII. "It was very intense."

As for what's ahead, the USGS says there is a 57 per cent chance of aftershocks of at least Magnitude 3 over the next week, and a five per cent chance of another Magnitude 5 quake. The service says quakes of this magnitude are rare in that part of the U.S., but not impossible.

"Since at least 1776, people living inland in North and South Carolina, and in adjacent parts of Georgia and Tennessee, have felt small earthquakes and suffered damage from infrequent larger ones," the USGS says. "The largest earthquake in the area (magnitude 5.1) occurred in 1916."

‘Babbling and incoherent’: Internet stunned by Kudlow’s trainwreck appearance on CNN

KUDLOW ON CNN REDEUX

SOUNDS MORE LIKE GIULIANI ALL THE TIME

RAW STORY August 9, 2020 By Tom Boggioni- Commentary


While no one accused White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow of being drunk on the air this morning (well a few did), he definitely seemed unprepared to speak with “State of the Union” fill-in host Dana Bash, seemingly to unable to get his talking points and numbers straight when asked about Donald Trump’s plan to supplement unemployment payments.

Pressed multiple times about what the nation’s unemployed can expect on a weekly basis, Kudlow stated $400, then in the next breath said $800 and then $1,200 without being able to explain where he was getting his numbers from.

Twitter users were just as baffled by the CNN host who finally gave up trying to bring clarity to the issue, with one Twitter commenter calling the economic adviser “incoherent.”

You can see a sampling below:

Larry Kudlow just admitted you will get a bill in January because the payroll tax cut is really a loan until January. You will get a bill for it in January. He’s just buying votes for those dumb enough to think he is giving you more money
— Liddle’ Jirkyrick (@jirkyrick) August 9, 2020

I’m surprised Larry Kudlow isn’t the grand marshal of Sturgis
— Ashlie Weeks (@ashlie_weeks) August 9, 2020

I picked the wrong week to put Larry Kudlow back on #CNNSOTU. pic.twitter.com/3ttspxobsx
— Donald J. Drumpf (@RealDonalDrumpf) August 9, 2020


Guys I’m seeing a lot of criticism of Larry Kudlow on here, but I put it to you, if you had done so much cocaine that Bear Stearns in 1995 said “dude you are doing too much cocaine to work on Wall Street” how coherent would YOU be, huh?
— Uncle Jeff, Mask Wearer and Own SATs Taker (@Undershafted) August 9, 2020

If Larry Kudlow was a broken clock, he’d still be wrong twice a day. pic.twitter.com/tIoieuHGjn
— John Rusko (@JohnJrusko) August 9, 2020

Larry Kudlow is totally incoherent WTF these idiots #CNNSOTU and @DanaBashCNN is like huh… huh… pic.twitter.com/5lYpQoRurI
— DEK (@debineire) August 9, 2020

Also Larry Kudlow: pic.twitter.com/N6cF6fFA3R
— Al Bundy (@4tds_bundy) August 9, 2020

Larry Kudlow is drunk. I think that maybe he might think he’s drunk or maybe he’s drunk because he said he was drunk. But actually he might say he isn’t drunk but actually he talks drunk. pic.twitter.com/XykRyQL5Bu

— Za

Mail i or Walk in but Vote

(@zalie3235) August 9, 2020

Larry Kudlow having medical problem on CNN State of Union???
He said people will get $400, $800, $1200 in one sentence.
WTF???? pic.twitter.com/gQXqaZMcX7
— WesAda (@sewsmada) August 9, 2020

Listening to Larry Kudlow speak on #CNNSOTU is like listening to Elmer Fudd speak when he’s on acid. @realDonaldTrump
— Brian J. Karem (@BrianKarem) August 9, 2020

the new @larry_kudlow spin on @realDonaldTrump EO’s
you will get 800/month in unemployment IF….

states kick in 100 fed kicks in 300 states already have 400/month unemployment benefits (which is not true for all states)
and then you will magically get 1200 in payroll tax pic.twitter.com/aKKwvH8ybv
— Hilde Stuntebeck@HildeStuntebeck August 9, 2020

Trump merely walks out of the room when confronted with facts and follow-up questions, Larry Kudlow should have…
An interview performance only Ramblin’ Rudy could top. #CNNSOTU #LarryKudlow
— ClearTwoC (@ClearTwoC) August 9, 2020

Larry Kudlow doesn’t even know what the F he’s talking about…$400? $1200? $800? SOTUS doesn’t even know what Dumptruck’s plan is…LMFAO…JOKE OF AN ADMINISTRATION#TrumpHasAJokeOfAnAdministration
— Trump is a Treasonous Traitor (@gerbana13) August 9, 2020

Larry Kudlow seems extremely confused on Trump’s unemployment executive orders.
“It should be 800 bucks for the unemployment.”
Dana Bash: “800 or 400?”
Kudlow: “It should be $800. If the states step up, we’re prepared to match, that should come out $400 federal, $400 states.” pic.twitter.com/cGFjplZbui
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) August 9, 2020

Portland protests: Police declare riot after fire inside THEIR union offices.

THEIR ASSOCIATION IS NOT A UNION BY TRADE UNION STANDARDS. 

IT IS A FRATERNAL ORDER OF WHITE COPS MADE TO ACCEPT INTEGRATION AFTER 1965

NOT WITHOUT RESENTMENT OF COURSE....

By Martha Bellisle And Gillian Flaccus The Associated Press
Posted August 9, 2020

Portland police officers walk through the Laurelhurst neighborhood after dispersing protesters from the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office early in the morning on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020 in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard) . (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)


A fire inside a police union building led authorities in Portland, Oregon, to declare a riot and force protesters away from the offices as violent demonstrations continue in the city that had hoped for calm after federal agents withdrew more than a week ago.

A group of demonstrators broke into the Portland Police Association building, set the fire and were adding to it when officers made the riot declaration late Saturday, police tweeted. Video shot by a journalist shows smoke and flames arising from inside the building.


READ MORE: Violence flares up at Portland protests with police officer injured, dozens of arrests

Several hundred people had gathered outside the offices, which are located about 5 miles (8 kilometres) north of the federal courthouse that had been the target of nightly violence earlier this summer. The Portland Police Association is a labour union that represents members of the Portland Police Bureau.

Live video had showed multiple dumpster fires had been set near the building, less than half an hour after police tweeted that “criminal activities including, but not limited to, vandalism, unlawful entry to the building, or fire starting,” could be subject to arrest, the use of tear gas and/or crowd-control munitions.

Once the riot was declared _ just after 11:30 p.m. _ officers formed a line and used flash bangs and smoke canisters to force the crowd away from the area.

Rallies were also held earlier in the afternoon and evening throughout the city, including at Peninsula, Laurelhurst and Berrydale parks, local media reported.
2:53Trump says federal officers to remain in Portland on standbyTrump says federal officers to remain in Portland on standby

The gatherings this week had been noticeably smaller than the crowds of thousands who turned out nightly for about two weeks in July to protest the presence of U.S. agents sent by the Trump administration to protect the federal courthouse downtown.

This week’s clashes have, however, amped up tensions after an agreement between state and federal officials seemed to offer a brief reprieve.

Police arrested 24 people during demonstrations overnight Friday after they said people defied orders to disperse and threw rocks, frozen or hard-boiled eggs and commercial-grade fireworks at officers. An unlawful assembly was declared outside the Penumbra Kelly public safety building.

Most of those arrested were from Portland, while one man was from Oakland, California, and another was Tulsa, Oklahoma. Most were in their 20s or 30s. The charges included assault on an officer, interfering with an officer, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.


READ MORE: Portland protesters take to the streets, clash with police for 3rd consecutive night

An Oregon State Police trooper was struck in the head by a large rock and suffered a head injury, police said. The trooper’s condition was not immediately known.

Some demonstrators filled pool noodles with nails and placed them in the road, causing extensive damage to a patrol vehicle, police said. Oregon State Police worked with Portland officers to clear the protesters.

Since George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis, protests over racial injustice and police brutality have occurred nightly for more than 70 days.

https://globalnews.ca/video/rd/9169b0ec-d834-11ea-9008-0242ac110005/?jwsource=cl

Portland mayor urges protesters to avoid being used as ‘prop’ in Trump re-election campaignPortland mayor urges protesters to avoid being used as ‘prop’ in Trump re-election campaign

Democratic Mayor Ted Wheeler said violent protesters are also serving as political “props” for President Donald Trump in a divisive election season where the president is hammering on a law-and-order message. Trump has called the protesters as “sick and dangerous anarchists” running wild in the city’s streets.

Tear gas was used by police on protesters Wednesday for the first time since the U.S. agents pulled back their presence in the city. But officers did not use it Thursday or Friday despite declaring the demonstrations unlawful assemblies.
© 2020 The Canadian Press

Sculptor unveils ‘black everywoman’ as UK row over statues and race grows

A composite image showing different views of Thomas J Price’s new sculpture, Reaching Out. Photograph: ©Thomas J Price


Thomas J Price, who is also working on a Windrush memorial, says Bristol figure of a protester was a stunt

Vanessa Thorpe
Published Sun 19 Jul 2020

What kind of statue can represent black British women today? It is a question the sculptor Thomas J Price believes he has answered.

After the controversial appearance of the statue of a Black Lives Matter protester on the plinth formerly occupied by an effigy of Edward Colston in Bristol last Wednesday, Price has unveiled a new work destined for east London.

Reaching Out shows a woman looking down at her mobile phone and is intended as a black “everywoman”, shown in a relaxed, modern pose.

“It was important to me not to have to fulfil a certain expectation, like the idea you would have to be a top athlete, or a Black Panther or a politician to be up there,” Price told the Observer. “It is a fictional character based on various references. I did have someone model for part of it but she remains anonymous.

“All the characters in my work are anonymous. I want to show something about their inner world, rather than their public roles. I want to show people at a natural moment. That can look vulnerable, but it is strong really, because there is no facade.”

Price, who has recently been commissioned to make a statue to commemorate the Windrush generation for Hackney town hall, was angered by artist Marc Quinn’s overnight intervention last week in Bristol.

Marc Quinn’s sculpture of Jen Reid, before it was taken down last week. Photograph: James Veysey/REX/Shutterstock

“Quinn effectively colonised that space in Bristol again in a way that sabotaged the process that was going on in the city,” said Price. “I don’t regret what I have said because I feel it was a strategy designed to increase his own profile, despite what he says about wanting to show allegiance. And it was a strategy that he had the money to go in and do without asking.”


Price, 39, believes his bronze statue can bear the weight of expectation in a context that has become heavily politicised. The statue of slave trader and philanthropist Colston was torn down and thrown into Bristol harbour last month. Then Quinn, an artist best known for a bust he made in frozen blood, replaced it overnight with a statue he had made from a 3D scan ofJen Reid re-creating the moment she stood on the empty plinth giving the black power salute.

Quinn’s statue was taken down and the artist has since been asked to pay the city council’s costs. Marvin Rees, the mayor of Bristol, ordered its removal, saying the people of Bristol should choose what stood there.

Price regards Quinn’s overnight “guerrilla” action as seriously misjudged. “It was a clear case of opportunism. It was a great image, I agree, but the idea that it was intended just to start a debate I don’t believe. Quinn could have done it anonymously, but he put himself right at the centre of it,” he said.

“I understand why Jen Reid would have felt it was a good idea. It is appealing, but I suspect it was a stunt. For a start it was made in resin, not in the bronze of power. People have said to me I should keep quiet and not rock the boat, but I am disappointed in them for not speaking out.”

Thomas J Price at work on the original model for Reaching Out. Photograph: Adam Kaleta

Price’s latest statue will be one of very few in Britain of black female subjects. Those in London already include a prominent one of Crimean war nurse Mary Seacole outside St Thomas’s hospital and one of a woman and child in Stockwell Gardens, south London.

It had taken two years to raise the funds to make Reaching Out, Price said, and the statue was now being cast at full size in a foundry in Farnham, Surrey.

Once erected on 5 August on Three Mills Green in Stratford, the 9ft statue will take its place as part of the acclaimed public art walk called The Line.

Price, who studied at Chelsea College of Art and the Royal College of Art, and who has had major shows at the National Portrait Gallery and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, says the title of the work has a double meaning. The figure is using her phone, but she is also allowing the artist to reach out. “Is she calling someone or being called? There is a bit of push and pull, a feedback loop there,” he said.

“In the past I have concentrated on the male black form, but after talking with lots of black women, I found a way of showing what representation can look like.”

The Line follows the Greenwich meridian on a route passing through the London boroughs of Newham, Tower Hamlets and Greenwich. Price’s work joins Antony Gormley’s Quantum Cloud and Gary Hume’s Liberty Grip.

U.S. Action Against TikTok And WeChat Symbolizes A Global Backlash Against China Inc.

Alex CapriContributor
Asia



The U.S.-China geopolitical rivalry is tilting toward a full-blown clash of ideologies. Standards regarding data privacy, censorship and freedom of speech are now intertwined in everything from the sale of U.S. semiconductors to the downloading of Chinese social media apps.

These ideological values have one thing in common: technology can be used to either advance or suppress them. In this regard, no person or enterprise will be spared from the threat of increased export controls, sanctions and public backlash, a specter that is now playing out in an increasingly techno-nationalist world.

Two recent executive orders signed by U.S. President Donald Trump provide a microcosm of this new reality. Both orders effectively ban American companies from dealing with TikTok, the video streaming app, and, WeChat, the social messaging app. TikTok is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance—which is currently in talks with Microsoft, which might purchase some or all of TikTok—while WeChat is owned by Shenzhen-based Tencent.

The actions taken against both companies highlight widespread fears of data privacy breaches linked to the browsing, search and location functions inherent to digital platforms.

Barriers and backlash await Chinese companies

Chinese companies looking to expand internationally are now in an existential crisis. One problem facing TikTok and WeChat involves the same issue for all Chinese companies: Beijing’s National Intelligence Law and its Cybersecurity Law, which, essentially, require Chinese entities to turn over data, encryption codes and any other requested information to the Communist Party.

These laws reduce Chinese digital platform companies to being de facto proxies of China Inc. Short of being fully taken over by a Microsoft or another U.S. buyer, TikTok, for example, faces the impossible task of convincing Washington that they would not provide Beijing’s state apparatus with personal, proprietary and security-related data.


TikTok's logo displayed on a smartphone on August 1, 2020. NICOLAS ECONOMOU/NURPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES

Another problem facing Chinese companies is their perceived linkage to Beijing’s official political narrative. Washington has named TikTok and WeChat, for example, as complicit in Beijing’s censorship of alleged human rights violations against the Uyghur and other Muslim populations in China’s far Western province of Xinjiang. Additional allegations have been made about TikTok’s complicity in the spread of fake news, and WeChat’s collection of data on the activities of overseas Chinese citizens.

Even without these allegations, Chinese digital companies are facing an intense backlash as they venture outside of the protected confines of China’s digital landscape, which has been, and still remains, closed to many foreign digital companies such as Facebook.

Three techno-ideological trends

For the business sector, three trends must be understood and managed.

First, Washington will expand the weaponization of supply chains to include data flows and apps, in addition to enforcing restrictions on hard technologies. Second, the polarization and fragmentation of markets will become increasingly tethered to ideology. Third, the dynamics of the first two trends will produce a flurry of corporate reshuffling, restructuring, ring-fencing and strategic decoupling.

Data and digital platforms: the new strategic goods

Washington’s move to ban Chinese social apps and other digital platforms broadens the weaponization of “deep” technology supply chains, for example, by going beyond the blocking of semiconductors and other “strategic” dual-use technology to blacklisted Chinese companies. Data, and the digital platforms and apps associated with data, are now also fair game.

Washington’s recent success in crippling Huawei, the telecoms equipment manufacturer—by choking off U.S. technology access to its microchip suppliers such as TSMC—is testimony to what could be in store for Tencent. Tencent could find itself in a similar position to Huawei, if Washington restricted access to U.S. server microchips, which are critical to its digital platforms.

A full ban on Tencent would also affect Apple, which hosts WeChat and its sister app, Weixin, on its iPhones. Tencent has a stake in a number of American companies such as Warner Music, Reddit, Lyft, Snap and a host of American gaming apps. All might have to decouple from Tencent.

Trump’s executive orders are both broad and vague, thus, extensive decoupling scenarios are possible. This uncertainty was reflected in Chinese tech stocks, which lost $75 billion in value after the executive orders were released.

Fragmentation of markets along ideological lines

India provides a precursor of how techno-nationalism will fragment and polarize markets around ideological values. With a population of more than 1 billion people, India is the world’s largest democracy. Recently, the Indian government banned WeChat, TikTok and 57 other Chinese apps in retaliation to a deadly border clash on June 15, 2020, between Indian and Chinese troops.

Indian public opinion, however, had already become hostile to Chinese technology brands, primarily because of concerns over privacy, censorship and links to an autocratic state with values anathema to India’s political system. In fact, Trump’s executive orders cite India’s ban of TikTok as further justification for U.S. action.

Digital platform companies such as Facebook have quickly capitalized on new market opportunities in India by emphasizing their democratic credentials.

China’s imposition of its national security law in Hong Kong provides another example of how conflicting ideologies spill over into not only the technology sector, but the commercial sector, in general.

The U.S. responded to Beijing’s national security law in Hong Kong by passing a retaliatory law called the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, which enforces sanctions on individuals and entities within the government of China that “undermine the rights of the people of Hong Kong.”

More importantly, the legislation targets any bank that would be seen as aiding and abetting violators. This makes any financial institution doing business with Chinese entities potentially a target of U.S. sanctions.

Restructuring, re-shuffling and ring-fencing

If Microsoft does purchase TikTok from ByteDance, the challenge will be how it can ring-fence TikTok’s’ existing digital infrastructure and technology. There will be doubts about cybersecurity. And if the purchase includes TikTok’s China-based platform, Microsoft could face a backlash in the U.S. for acquiescing to China’s censorship and cyber laws.

All of this marks the beginning of a period of accelerated corporate restructuring, re-shuffling and ring-fencing and, if no other safe alternative is available, decoupling.

Alex Capri
I work with the world's thought leaders in business, public policy and civil society, in the areas of global value chains, sustainable capitalism and international trade.…

Capital One fined $80 million over 2019 data breach
This is despite the breach hurting 100 million people in the US.

LESS THAN 0.75 PER PERSON AFFECTED

Jon Fingas, @jonfingas

Drew Angerer/Getty Images


Capital One is facing a penalty for its giant 2019 data breach, although it might not be as serious as you’d expect. The Wall Street Journal (via The Verge) reports that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has fined Capital One $80 million over the security failings that led to the breach. The bank didn’t create an “effective” risk assessment system before moving key IT systems to the public cloud, the OCC said, and didn’t address the flaws in a “timely manner.”

The alleged intruder, Paige Thompson, is believed to have taken advantage of a “misconfigured” firewall for a web app to steal data that compromised about 100 million people in the US, plus another 6 million in Canada. Her trial starts in 2021.

A bank spokesperson said the company had since poured “significant” resources into bolstering its security and otherwise addressing orders from both the OCC and the Federal Reserve.

The payout isn’t small, but it might not make many victims happy. The breach exposed sensitive details like addresses, reported income and (in some cases) account numbers and credit scores. Capital One did provide free credit monitoring and identity theft protection after the incident, but the payout still amounts to about 75 cents per person affected in North America. Like the Equifax breach, the compensation may seem small compared to the security precautions and stress inflicted on affected people.

Oil spill off Mauritius is visible from space

By Laura Geggel - Associate Editor

A bulk carrier ship, MV Wakashio, that recently ran aground off the southeast coast of Mauritius has been spilling oil into the sea, as seen in satellite images captured by Maxar Technologies on Aug. 7, 2020.

(Image: © Satellite image ©2020 Maxar Technologies)

The Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius is on the brink of an environmental catastrophe after a bulk carrier struck a coral reef off its coast in late July, an accident that has led to a large oil spill visible from space. The accident could lead to an even greater environmental disaster if the ship — whose cargo includes fuel oil, diesel and lubricant oil — breaks apart further, according to news sources.

The ship, the Japanese-owned MV Wakashio, hit a coral reef off Mauritius' southeast coast, near Pointe d'Esny, on July 25. In the weeks since, a crack has appeared on its hull, meaning that the ship's cargo is in jeopardy, a shipment that includes 4,290 tons (3,894 metric tons) of low-sulfur fuel oil, 228 tons (207 metric tons) of diesel and 99 tons (90 metric tons) of lubricant oil, which the ship was carrying from China to Brazil, according to The Swaddle, an Indian news site.

"This is the first time that we are faced with a catastrophe of this kind, and we are insufficiently equipped to handle this problem," Sudheer Maudhoo, the fishing minister of Mauritius told The New York Times.

A bulk carrier ship, MV Wakashio, that recently ran aground off the southeast coast of Mauritius has been spilling oil into the sea, as seen in satellite images captured by Maxar Technologies on Aug. 7, 2020. (Image credit: Satellite image ©2020 Maxar Technologies)
The ship was sailing from China to Brazil when it hit coral reefs near Pointe d'Esny on July 25. (Image credit: Satellite image ©2020 Maxar Technologies)
In this satellite image captured on Aug. 7, the ship can be seen sinking into the ocean and oozing gobs of oil. (Image credit: Satellite image ©2020 Maxar Technologies)
Maxar Technologies captured this image of MV Wakashio on Aug. 1, after the ship ran aground but before it started to leak oil. (Image credit: Satellite image ©2020 Maxar Technologies)

The spill didn't happen immediately. The MV Wakashio became stuck when it collided with the coral reef about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) off the Mauritius coast. After the ship ran aground, its crew was safely evacuated. Since then, efforts to stabilize the ship and pump out the oil have failed, all while the Indian Ocean's rough waves have battered the vessel, Maudhoo and environment minister Kavy Ramano told The Guardian.


It wasn't until this past week that oil — spilling from a new crack in the ship's hull — began gushing into Mauritius' blue lagoons — waters that attract international tourists and support the nation's fishing industry, according to The New York Times.


Images of the oil spill were captured by satellites operated by Maxar Technologies. These images, taken the morning of Aug. 7, show plumes of black oil saturating the lagoon and drifting northwest toward the shore.

Nagashiki Shipping, the company that owns the MV Wakashio, said that salvage efforts were on hold due to poor sea conditions, but that it was monitoring the situation, The Guardian reported. "Nagashiki Shipping takes its environmental responsibilities extremely seriously and with partner agencies and contractors will make every effort to protect the marine environment and prevent further pollution," the company said in a statement, as reported by The Guardian. Even though the ship is owned by Nagashiki Shipping, the 984-foot-long (300 meters) vessel, built in 2007, flies the Panama flag.

The location of the spill, Pointe d'Esny, is an environmentally sensitive area that is protected under an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands, known as the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance. The area is also close to the Blue Bay Marine Park, a tourist destination, according to The Swaddle.

Several groups are trying to stop the flow of the liquid cargo from the sinking ship. These include the Mauritius National Coast Guard, the environment services company Polyeco and the French island of Reunion.

This oil spill "is likely one of the most terrible ecological crises ever seen on the small island country," Greenpeace Africa said in a statement Friday (Aug. 7), according to Bloomberg Green.

This is not the only oil spill to happen in 2020. At least eight other big spills have happened so far this year, according to a catalogue on Wikipedia. This list includes the May 29 disaster, when Russia declared an emergency after 22,000 tons (20,000 metric tons) of oil spilled into the Arctic Circle, making it one of the largest oil spills in modern Russia.

Originally published on Live Science.


SEE
https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/08/locals-in-mauritius-are-going-to-great.html

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/08/mauritian-prime-minister-seeks.html

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/08/the-oil-spill-at-mauritius-is-disaster.html

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/08/update-mauritius-battles-devastating.html

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/08/france-offers-aid-as-mauritius-declares.html


https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/08/mauritius-facing-catastrophe-as-oil.html

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/08/france-offers-aid-as-mauritius-declares.html


https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/08/mauritius-facing-catastrophe-as-oil.html

UK 

Where to now? End of eviction ban leaves tenants fearing for future

Soon landlords will be able to take action against renters again, which many fear could lead to a rise in homelessness

What now? Many renters whose income has been cut because of Covid, face eviction and don’t know where to turn. Photograph: Antonio Guillem Fernández/Alamy


Shane Hickey Sun 9 Aug 2020 08.00 BST

After being furloughed from her job as a cleaning manager during lockdown, Denise (54)* is fearful about what the future holds. Her rent and bills add up to £1,000 which leaves her with just £150 a month for groceries, so she has had to rely on her local food bank.

“My landlady keeps harassing me as she wants me out,” says the mother-of-one. “I asked her if we could come to an agreement on the rent while we saw what happened. She went ballistic and demanded I pay it all. I’ve managed to keep paying in full but she’s still on at me to get out. You’re always one step away from eviction.”

Since March, Denise has been able to take some comfort from the protections provided by the government at the beginning of lockdown. As the economy ground to a halt, evictions were banned in England and Wales, allowing some breathing space for tenants who have struggled to pay the rent. But that protection is soon to come to an end in just over two weeks.

From 24 August, private landlords will be able to go to the courts to start eviction procedures, prompting concern from housing groups that there could be a rush of cases which could eventually lead to a spike in homelessness.
How did we get here?

The government ban on evictions was initially supposed to last for three months, but was extended to August as the huge impact of the pandemic became apparent. Announcing the extension, housing minister Robert Jenrick tweeted “no one will be evicted from their home this summer due to coronavirus”.


The measure affects millions of people. Currently, there are eight million renters in the UK, of whom 4.5 million have private landlords, while the remainder rent from social landlords such as councils and housing associations.

When the extension ends, the government has said it wants the courts to be a last resort and landlords to “exhaust all possible options” before considering eviction. These include agreeing flexible rent payment plans.

But there are concerns that tenants who have fallen behind on their bills may be in danger of losing their homes.

“I’ve been hearing many, many stories of rent increases, threatened evictions and more,” says Martyn James of complaints website Resolver.

“From the landlord perspective, some tenants have stopped paying rent over lockdown – breaking contracts - and that’s led to some properties potentially facing repossession.”
What next?

Polly Neate, chief executive of homeless charity Shelter, says at least 170,000 people have already been threatened with eviction by their landlords, according to a poll.

“We fear this is only going to get worse when the eviction ban lifts, the furlough scheme ends and the recession bears down,” she says. “Almost 230,000 private renters have fallen behind on their rent since March, which makes them far more vulnerable to eviction.”

The lobby group Generation Rent estimates there will be 30,000 private sector evictions in the courts when the system comes live again on August 24, based on last year’s figures. It is expected that there will be a rise in the number subsequently.

“The government has to renew the moratorium on evictions, at least where the landlord has no grounds, or where arrears have been caused by coronavirus,” says Dan Wilson Craw from the group.

“The big increase in evictions will arise from tenants, who have lost income, getting into rent arrears. Even though the government has increased the local housing allowance, the rates will not be enough to cover the rent for most renters, particularly in expensive places like London, and many people aren’t eligible, particularly if their visas give them no recourse to public funds.”

The London Renters Union says the courts will not be prepared for the large number of cases expected when the ban is lifted.

“While the ban was a necessary piece of emergency legislation, the fact remains that it could not be ending at a worse moment,” says Resolver’s James. He echoes calls for it to be continued while the economic effects of the pandemic are still being felt so strongly.

“Extending the ban on evictions into 2021 would bring some much-needed respite through the really challenging months ahead,” he says. “But this needs to be combined with support for landlords whose tenants are not paying, leaving them facing repossession. So a repossession ban during the same period would also be required, along with support for landlords whose tenant-induced rent arrears are not at fault.”

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government did not comment on calls for an extension of the scheme. It says: “We will provide appropriate support to those who have been particularly affected by coronavirus when proceedings start again. New rules will require landlords to provide more information about their tenants’ situation with regards to the pandemic when seeking an eviction, with judges able to adjourn a case if this information isn’t provided.”

* Not her real name
What to do … the key points

The rules vary depending on the types of tenancy agreement but landlords must follow a specific process to legally evict someone. “If you receive a notice to quit, or the landlord is harassing you to leave, then seek help from a renters union, or legal advice provider,” says Wilson Craw.

Martyn James says there are key points of advice for renters:

• If behind in rent and the end of a contract is looming, contact the landlord or estate agent to pre-empt what may happen.

• If you are in arrears and a payment plan has been agreed, ensure that it is in writing and agree timescales for when the rent will be repaid.

• Claim for Universal Credit if you have been made unemployed. Rent payments go directly to you and not the landlord.

• Debt charities, such as StepChange, are available to help with advice on dealing with your creditors, putting together plans on what can be afforded and how cash can be freed up to stay afloat.

“If a landlord serves a tenant with an eviction notice, they should stay put for now,” says Polly Neate. “The courts are not going to evict anyone while the evictions ban is in place, and even after that landlords will have to follow proper procedure – they can’t just kick people out.”

She adds that landlords must give tenants written notice to leave in line with the latest government legislation, and it’s only when the notice period expires can they apply to the courts.

“Please don’t struggle alone. Anyone who is threatened with eviction or worried about losing their home when the ban lifts can contact Shelter for free and expert help, and to find out what their options are.

Researchers find abstract art evokes a more abstract mindset than representational art
by Bob Yirka , Medical Xpress 

AUGUST 4, 2020 REPORT

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

A team of researchers at Columbia University has found that abstract art tends to evoke a more abstract mindset than does representational art. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes their online study involving art and paid viewers and what they learned from it.

Representational art depicts subject matter that is generally recognized by viewers. Paintings of people, buildings, fruit or other objects are examples of representational art, as are statues and busts. Abstract art, on the other hand, involves imagery that communicates ideas mainly without visual reference to the natural world. In this new effort, the researchers sought to learn more about the ways the two types of art impact the brains of the people who view them. To that end, they created a study that could be performed entirely online using a platform called Amazon Turk, a website owned by Amazon that allows researchers and others to pay workers to conduct tasks. In this effort, the tasks involved asking 840 workers to look at paintings by four abstract artists. Each of the paintings fell into one of three categories: clearly defined objects, somewhat abstract, and abstract. The workers were asked to place (in their minds) each of the paintings in a given exhibition. The exhibition choices included those representing "today" or those representing "in a year." They also had the option of placing them in an exhibit nearby, such as around the corner, or far away, such as in another state.

The researchers found some patterns in the responses—those looking at abstract art tended to see the paintings as depicting things in the future, or far away. They wanted to showcase them in the exhibits "in a year" and "another state." Those looking at more representational art, on the other hand, were more likely to want to showcase the art in a "today" exhibit "around the corner." The researchers suggest their findings indicate that looking at abstract art can evoke what they describe as psychological distance—seeing things more conceptually as opposed to realistically.


Explore further Neurosciences unlock the secret of the first abstract engravings

More information: Celia Durkin et al. An objective evaluation of the beholder's response to abstract and figurative art based on construal level theory, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2020). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2001772117

Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Electric cookers can be used to sanitise N95 masks: StudyA worker sorts through N95 masks. (REUTERS)
Electric cookers can be used to sanitise N95 masks: Study3 min read . Updated: 09 Aug 2020, 02:03 PM ISTANI
The researchers hypothesized that dry heat might be a method to meet all three criteria - decontamination, filtration, and fit
The researchers see the potential for the electric-cooker method to be useful for health care workers and first responders

ILLINOIS : An add on to its many other benefits, electric multicookers can also be used to sanitize N95 respirator masks, according to a recent study.

The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign study found that 50 minutes of dry heat in an electric cooker, such as a rice cooker or Instant Pot, decontaminated N95 respirators inside and out while maintaining their filtration and fit. This could enable wearers to safely reuse limited supplies of the respirators, originally intended to be one-time-use items.

Led by civil and environmental engineering professors Thanh Helen Nguyen and Vishal Verma, the researchers published their findings in the journal Environmental Science and Technology Letters.N95 respirator masks are the gold standard of personal protective equipment that protects the wearer against airborne droplets and particles, such as the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

"A cloth mask or surgical mask protects others from droplets the wearer might expel, but a respirator mask protects the wearer by filtering out smaller particles that might carry the virus," Nguyen said.High demand during the COVID-19 pandemic has created severe shortages for health care providers and other essential workers, prompting a search for creative approaches to sanitization.

"There are many different ways to sterilize something, but most of them will destroy the filtration or the fit of an N95 respirator," Verma said.

"Any sanitation method would need to decontaminate all surfaces of the respirator, but equally important is maintaining the filtration efficacy and the fit of the respirator to the face of the wearer. Otherwise, it will not offer the right protection," the researcher added.

The researchers hypothesized that dry heat might be a method to meet all three criteria - decontamination, filtration, and fit - without requiring special preparation or leaving any chemical residue. They also wanted to find a method that would be widely accessible to people at home. They decided to test an electric cooker, a type of device many people have in their pantries.

They verified that one cooking cycle, which maintains the contents of the cooker at around 100 degrees Celsius or 212 Fahrenheit for 50 minutes, decontaminated the masks, inside and out, from four different classes of the virus, including a coronavirus - and did so more effectively than ultraviolet light. Then, they tested the filtration and fit.

"We built a chamber in my aerosol-testing lab specifically to look at the filtration of the N95 respirators, and measured particles going through it. The respirators maintained their filtration capacity of more than 95% and kept their fit, still properly seated on the wearer's face, even after 20 cycles of decontamination in the electric cooker," Verma said.

The researchers created a video demonstrating the method. They note that the heat must be dry heat - no water added to the cooker, the temperature should be maintained at 100 degrees Celsius for 50 minutes and a small towel should cover the bottom of the cooker to keep any part of the respirator from coming into direct contact with the heating element. However, multiple masks can be stacked to fit inside the cooker at the same time, Nguyen said.

The researchers see the potential for the electric-cooker method to be useful for health care workers and first responders, especially those in smaller clinics or hospitals that do not have access to large-scale heat sanitization equipment. In addition, it may be useful for others who may have an N95 respirator at home - for example, from a pre-pandemic home-improvement project - and wish to reuse it, Nguyen said.

Electric cooker an easy, efficient way to sanitize N95 masks, study finds
by Liz Ahlberg Touchstone, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

One 50-minute, 212 F cooking cycle in a dry electric multicooker decontaminates an N95 respirator without chemicals and without compromising the filtration or fit. Credit: Chamteut Oh

Owners of electric multicookers may be able to add another use to its list of functions, a new study suggests: sanitization of N95 respirator masks.

The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign study found that 50 minutes of dry heat in an electric cooker, such as a rice cooker or Instant Pot, decontaminated N95 respirators inside and out while maintaining their filtration and fit. This could enable wearers to safely reuse limited supplies of the respirators, originally intended to be one-time-use items.

Led by civil and environmental engineering professors Thanh "Helen" Nguyen and Vishal Verma, the researchers published their findings in the journal Environmental Science and Technology Letters.

N95 respirator masks are the gold standard of personal protective equipment that protect the wearer against airborne droplets and particles, such as the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

"A cloth mask or surgical mask protects others from droplets the wearer might expel, but a respirator mask protects the wearer by filtering out smaller particles that might carry the virus," Nguyen said.

High demand during the COVID-19 pandemic has created severe shortages for health care providers and other essential workers, prompting a search for creative approaches to sanitization.

A towel keeps the respirator from touching the heating element on the bottom of the cooker. Credit: Chamteut Oh

"There are many different ways to sterilize something, but most of them will destroy the filtration or the fit of an N95 respirator," Verma said. "Any sanitation method would need to decontaminate all surfaces of the respirator, but equally important is maintaining the filtration efficacy and the fit of the respirator to the face of the wearer. Otherwise, it will not offer the right protection."

The researchers hypothesized that dry heat might be a method to meet all three criteria—decontamination, filtration and fit—without requiring special preparation or leaving any chemical residue. They also wanted to find a method that would be widely accessible for people at home. They decided to test an electric cooker, a type of device many people have in their pantries.

They verified that one cooking cycle, which maintains the contents of the cooker at around 100 degrees Celsius or 212 Fahrenheit for 50 minutes, decontaminated the masks, inside and out, from four different classes of virus, including a coronavirus—and did so more effectively than ultraviolet light. Then, they tested the filtration and fit.
"We built a chamber in my aerosol-testing lab specifically to look at the filtration of the N95 respirators, and measured particles going through it," Verma said. "The respirators maintained their filtration capacity of more than 95% and kept their fit, still properly seated on the wearer's face, even after 20 cycles of decontamination in the electric cooker."

The researchers created a video demonstrating the method. They note that the heat must be dry heat—no water added to the cooker, the temperature should be maintained at 100 degrees Celsius for 50 minutes and a small towel should cover the bottom of the cooker to keep any part of the respirator from coming into direct contact with the heating element. However, multiple masks can be stacked to fit inside the cooker at the same time, Nguyen said.

The researchers see potential for the electric-cooker method to be useful for health care workers and first responders, especially those in smaller clinics or hospitals that do not have access to large-scale heat sanitization equipment. In addition, it may be useful for others who may have an N95 respirator at home—for example, from a pre-pandemic home-improvement project—and wish to reuse it, Nguyen said.

Explore further

Researchers says autoclaving, alcohol not the best options for disinfecting, reusing face masks
More information: Chamteut Oh et al, Dry Heat as a Decontamination Method for N95 Respirator Reuse, Environmental Science & Technology Letters (2020).

DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.0c00534

Journal information: Environmental Science & Technology Letters

Provided by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign