A big boost for a climate solution: electricity made from the heat of the Earth

GEOTHERMAL IS FRACKING


 A drill rig stands at a Fervo Energy geothermal site under construction near Milford, Utah, Nov. 26, 2023. Southern California Edison will purchase electricity from Fervo Energy, Fervo announced on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

 (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt, File)

BY JENNIFER MCDERMOTT
 June 25, 2024

One method of making electricity cleanly to address climate change has been quietly advancing and on Tuesday it hit a milestone.

A California utility is backing the largest new geothermal power development in the U.S. — 400 megawatts of clean electricity from the Earth’s heat — enough for some 400,000 homes.

Southern California Edison will purchase the electricity from Fervo Energy, a Houston-based geothermal company, Fervo announced.

The company is drilling up to 125 wells in southwest Utah.

Clean electricity like this reduces the need for traditional power plants that cause climate change. The boost could go a long way toward bringing down the cost of a new generation of geothermal energy, said Wilson Ricks, an energy systems researcher at Princeton University.

“If these purchases help to get this technology off the ground, it could be massively impactful for global decarbonization,” he said. Decarbonization refers to switching out things that produce carbon dioxide and methane, which cause the climate to change, in favor of machines and methods that don’t.

Today the world still relies mainly on fossil fuels for round-the-clock power. This new deal shows that clean power can meet a growing demand for electricity, said Sarah Jewett, vice president of strategy at Fervo.

“I think that’s why it’s so exciting. This isn’t a niche energy resource going to a niche use,” she said. “And that is something we have not had, you know, readily available” and able to be scaled up.

The first generation of geothermal plants, for example, The Geysers in California, tapped into superheated reservoirs of steam or very hot water close to the Earth’s surface. Such reservoirs are relatively rare.

New geothermal companies are adapting drilling technology and practices taken from the oil and gas industry to create reservoirs from hot rock. That unlocks the potential for geothermal energy in many more places. Engineers have been working to advance the methods for years.

The United States is one of the world leaders in using the Earth’s heat to make electricity, but geothermal still accounts for less than half a percent of the nation’s total large-scale electricity generation, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Fervo is pioneering horizontal drilling in geothermal reservoirs. It signed the world’s first corporate agreement with Google in 2021 to develop new geothermal power and drilled three wells in Nevada. That project began sending carbon-free electricity onto the Nevada grid in November to power data centers there.

The Cape Station project, about 200 miles south of Salt Lake City, is expected to start delivering electricity to California as early as 2026.

California Energy Commission Chair David Hochschild said the state is committed to clean, zero-carbon electricity. He said geothermal complements wind and solar farms by providing steady power when it’s not windy or sunny, and that is key to ensuring reliability as the state cuts fossil fuels.
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The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

JENNIFER McDERMOTT
McDermott is a reporter on the Associated Press climate and environment team. She focuses on the transition to clean energy.

What happened to Minnesota’s Rapidan Dam? Here’s what to know about its flooding and partial failure

10 PHOTOS  | AP News

A Minnesota dam was still standing Tuesday after floodwaters overcame parts of the structure and prompted officials to prepare for a potential collapse.

BY MICHAEL GOLDBERG
 June 25, 2024Share

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The visuals were stunning: water from the Blue Earth River surged around a southern Minnesota dam, carrying a shipping container with it as it toppled utility poles, wrecked a substation and washed away part of a riverbank. A home teetered on the edge of an eroded slope as floodwaters rushed underneath.

Earlier this week, authorities said the Rapidan Dam near Mankato faced an “imminent threat” of collapse, but later they said an abutment had partially failed. The river swelled after an onslaught of rain pummeled the Midwest for days. More than 3 million people live in areas impacted by flooding, from Iowa to Nebraska to Minnesota to South Dakota.

On Tuesday, the dam was still intact and there were no mass evacuations. Authorities said the partial failure of the abutment was caused by the recent bout of heavy rain, but a past assessment of the dam revealed it was already at risk. Here are some things to know.

What happened?

Early Monday morning, emergency management workers gave notice that water was surging over the dam. As water flows peaked, debris plugged parts of the structure and the west abutment of the dam partially failed. The conditions around the dam spun a current that was too vicious for workers to cross safely in order to clear the detritus.

The rush of water destroyed a power station and caused outages for about 600 households, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said. Water levels peaked Monday at 34,800 cubic feet per second, and Blue Earth County officials issued an imminent threat warning. Those figures make this flood the second largest in the dam’s history.

The levels had begun to lower by Tuesday, county officials said.

Water continued flowing around and eroding the west side of the dam Tuesday, officials said. But as overall water levels decreased, they said the prospect of a total collapse was unlikely. Still, it remained possible. Blue Earth County has not issued any mass evacuation orders, but a nearby bridge and a campground downstream of the river was closed.

Officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission were on site Tuesday evaluating the damage and ongoing risks.

Was the dam already in disrepair?

Construction of the Rapidan dam was finished in 1910 and is described by the county as a hollow concrete dam, founded on sandstone bedrock in a steep, U-shaped valley. The dam is approximately 475 feet (145 meters) long, and 87 feet (27 meters) high.

A 2019 Associated Press investigation into dams across the country found that the Rapidan Dam was in fair condition and there likely would be loss of property if it failed. But that same year, the dam experienced what was one of its highest floods on record. Severe weather from that flood and other rainfall since have caused significant damage to the dam’s structure and usability, according to Blue Earth County, which said the dam was in a “state of disrepair.”

After the 2019 flood, ice jams formed in a narrow bend of the river downstream of the dam from January through March 2020. These jams continued to build and caused water to rise and flood, a 2021 study found. The buildup caused further damage, and an April 2023 assessment conducted by the National Inventory of Dams found Rapidan to be in poor condition.

Officials have not said whether the issues identified in past assessments led to the partial failure.

“The structural integrity of the dam has been in question for a long time,” Walz said. “The removal of the dam has been a question that’s been up there.”

What are the dangers to surrounding areas?

Areas downstream of the dam have no permanent inhabited structures, lessening the risk of fatalities and property damage, county officials said. But officials closed a park downstream of the dam which attracts hikers and fishermen.

The reservoir upstream of the dam provides power generation storage and recreation. But it is full of sediment, making boat access difficult, the county said. Because the reservoir is full, sediment is now pushed downstream of the dam.

Blue Earth County Public Works Director Ryan Thilges said there is more than a century’s worth of sediment upstream of the dam. Severe environmental damage could occur if that sediment broke loose and seeped into the river, he said.

How often do aging dams need repairs?

American Rivers, a conservation group that monitors dam safety issues and advocates for more federal and state resources for dam inspections, repair and removal, saw the Rapidan Dam as an example of how aging dams across the U.S. need far more attention than they’re getting.

Dams are often built to last 50 years, and like other infrastructure, they deteriorate with age.

“This is a serious risk for public safety that should have been avoided. Aging, unsafe dams are ticking time bombs,” Graber said. “While the immediate focus must be on ensuring nearby residents are safe, we must do a better job at the state and federal level to improve the safety of dams nationwide.”
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Associated Press writer John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, contributed to this report.

WATCH: Flooding causes partial failure of Minnesota dam

0:49 / 4:01

Aging Rapidan Dam was in poor condition before breach

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Politician who pushed Philippines natural gas boom is behind firm that planned to profit

The sun sets over a liquefied natural gas power plant in Santa Clara, Batangas province, Philippines on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. 

BY ED DAVEY

 June 20, 2024

BATANGAS, Philippines (AP) — An influential politician in the Philippines, who has been a cheerleader for natural gas power, is behind a company that planned to make a fortune from it, an Associated Press investigation of thousands of pages of documents has found.

Gov. Hermilando Mandanas of Batangas province and his late wife stood to profit from a buildout of liquified natural gas power — he owned the largest share in a real estate firm that soared in value as energy companies moved in, while he promoted the expansion in media interviews and public events. The firm also launched its own natural gas project.

Experts in government ethics deplored the scenario, with one environmental law advocate calling for an investigation into Mandanas. In an interview with the AP, Mandanas denied his associated businesses are involved with the buildout and called natural gas the best choice for the country.

Batangas Gov. Hermilando Mandanas gestures during an interview with The Associated Press at his office in the city of Batangas, Batangas province, Philippines on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023. 

The major commitment to natural gas comes at a time when many countries are ramping down the use of the fossil fuels that cause climate change. Scientists say that to avoid profound disruption from climate change, no new fossil fuel infrastructure that emits carbon dioxide can be built. Some analysts say all the Philippines’ future electricity growth could be met with clean renewables.

Filipinos will likely pay more for electricity than if the country went all in for wind and solar power, because in many places renewable energy is now the cheapest form of new electricity.

The construction also is happening in an ecologically vibrant zone with coral reefs and communities that depend on their fish. The AP previously reported that both could be harmed by the planned power stations.

A man swims along coral reefs off Verde Island, Batangas province, Philippines on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. 

Gerry Arances, who heads up the Center for Energy, Ecology and Development, a Philippine nonprofit, said natural gas was not the path the country should have chosen.


READ MORE

The Philippines goes all in for natural gas, a climate pollutant

Takeaways from AP’s report on Philippines governor’s interest in natural gas


“There’s only one reason” it became the Philippines’ energy priority. “That is greed and self-interest.”

Promoters of the gas plants see the Batangas region, about two hours south of Manila, as a new energy center for the country. Four gas power plants sit along the coastline already and four more are planned. Six new terminals for importing chilled, liquefied natural gas are also on the way in Batangas or have started operating.

The Ilijan liquified natural gas plant is visible along the coast of Ilijan, Batangas province, Philippines on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023.

The government says it wants the Philippines to become an LNG hub for the entire Asia-Pacific region.

“It is needed very much for development,” Mandanas told the AP in an interview in the white-columned regional capitol. The electricity will attract other industries, he said, which benefits the entire country.

Mandanas is well known in the Philippines for winning a landmark Supreme Court case that increased local government funding nationwide.

The governor said he was “very conscious” that what he referred to as the “center of marine biodiversity of the entire world” needed to be protected, and his administration is taking such action. “We have to balance the need of the environment and development,” he said.

A fisherman stands beside his boat along a shoreline at the coastal village of Calatagan, Batangas province, Philippines on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. 

Small fishing boats are docked beside homes as waves batter the coastal village of Simlong in Batangas province, Philippines on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023.

Alleged conflict of interest

Not only did companies affiliated with the governor own coastal real estate where gas developments are happening, the family firm, AbaCore Capital Holdings Inc., launched its own gas power project in Batangas.

Legal experts said these dealings violate the Philippine law on ethics in public office and very possibly the nation’s law on local government. Philippine politicians are not allowed to own major stakes in companies with goals that could be at odds with their official duties. Governors must also maintain a balanced ecology and conserve marine resources.

Michael Henry Yusingco, a lawyer and fellow at the Philippine Institute for Autonomy and Governance, called the situation a clear conflict of interest that could merit Mandanas’s suspension or removal from office. He said there was a strong case that the governor is not meeting his legal responsibilities to the environment or residents, which would be a dereliction of duty.

Mandanas led a takeover of AbaCore in the 1980s, building it into a real estate behemoth beyond its original interests in mining and gaming.

When voters returned him to the governor’s seat in 2016 after an absence, Mandanas stepped down from the CEO position at AbaCore. His wife Regina Reyes took over the post.

In the Philippines press, AbaCore is frequently referred to as a Mandanas family company. Documents filed with the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission shows as of last fall, Mandanas still owned almost 30% of it through a complex structure involving three layers of Philippine companies.

In 2019, Reyes said publicly that her husband’s policies would benefit the family company. Addressing shareholders, she said the infrastructure buildout in Batangas “implemented and led by its current governor” would boost AbaCore, increasing property values, cash flow and revenue.

Construction is visible at the Ilijan liquified natural gas plant along the coast of Ilijan, Batangas province, Philippines on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. 

The energy industry moving in, she said, would help AbaCore grow, continuing, “We expect land values to increase exponentially.” In a separate interview with Philippine TV, she agreed the gas expansion meant the value of surrounding areas rose, benefitting shareholders.

Reyes died of natural causes in May 2022, and Mandanas recently remarried.

San Miguel Corporation, one of the Philippines’ biggest power providers, affirmed in an email to the AP that its LNG projects there “led to a substantial increase in local property values.” They rose more than 13-fold, it said.

Mandanas was in Beijing during a deal signing in 2019 that involved an AbaCore sister company in which he now holds a large stake. The AbaCore affiliate and three Chinese firms agreed to build a $3 billion LNG complex, including a power plant, in the fishing village of Simlong in Batangas.

According to filings with Philippine authorities in December 2018, four properties including the land in Simlong, where the power hub will be built, were valued at $6.2 million. Shortly after that deal was struck, they were revalued at more than $30.6 million. The vast majority of AbaCore’s income has come from land revaluations in recent years, its filings show.

Asked in an interview whether the Simlong energy hub was a conflict of interest, Mandanas suggested AbaCore’s role was limited to selling land.

“Probably one of the subsidiaries sold a piece of property” to the developers, indicating a distance from the transaction. “That would be probably the involvement of AbaCore.”

“AbaCore is not in any energy business here in Batangas,” he said.

Yet that conflicts with AbaCore statements in official documents from 2021 that its then-renamed AbaCore Energy Hub would result in “huge recurring revenues.”

Mandanas did not reply to followup questions via email.

A boy walks past small boats at a coastal village in Batangas province, Philippines on Wednesday Aug. 9, 2023. 

Call for an investigation

Elizabeth David-Barrett, director of the Centre for the Study of Corruption at University of Sussex, England, reviewed the AP’s findings and agreed with Yusingco, the Philippine governance attorney, that they amount to a conflict of interest and the “abuse of entrusted power for private gain which harms the public interest.”

A professor in political science at the University of the Philippines, Maria Ela Atienza, said Mandanas may also be violating a Philippine law on conduct and ethics. She cited a ban on favors being granted to relatives.

Yusingco called it “a sad, tragic aspect of Philippine politics. Political dynasties thrive because of their business interests, and their business interests thrive because of their positions in government.

“The really tragic result (is) fisherfolks suffering, the environment suffering.”

Barnaby Pace, at the nonprofit Center for International Environmental Law, said evidence of Mandanas’s business interests in the LNG buildout was “deeply concerning” and demanded authorities investigate.

“LNG  projects should be reviewed in light of this information,” he said. “The local population has a right to know what’s behind the push for LNG facilities.”

A woman walks along a shoreline in the coastal village of Calatagan, Batangas province, Philippines on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023.

 AP Photos/Aaron Favila


__



News researchers Rhonda Shafner and Jennifer Farrar in New York contributed to this story.


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The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Brazil’s Supreme Court decriminalizes possession of marijuana for personal use



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FILE - The Brazilian Supreme Court meets during the session regarding Brazil’s former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s corruption conviction, in Brasilia, Brazil, April 4, 2018. The Supreme Court decriminalized possession of marijuana for personal use on Thursday, June 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)

Demonstrators hold a banner that reads in Portuguese, “Legalize now,” during a march demanding the legalization of marijuana in Sao Paulo, Sunday, June 16, 2024.

 (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Demonstrators carry a giant inflatable joint during a march demanding the legalization of marijuana in Sao Paulo, Sunday, June 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

BY DIANE JEANTET AND GABRIELA SÁ PESSOA
 June 25, 2024

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s Supreme Court on Tuesday voted to decriminalize possession of marijuana for personal use, making the nation one of Latin America’s last to do so, in a move that could reduce its massive prison population.

With final votes cast on Tuesday, a majority of the justices on the 11-person court have voted in favor of decriminalization since deliberations began in 2015.

The justices must still determine the maximum quantity of marijuana that would be characterized as being for personal use and when the ruling will enter into effect. That is expected to finish as early as Wednesday.

All the justices who have voted in favor said decriminalization should be restricted to possession of marijuana in amounts suitable for personal use. Selling drugs will remain illegal.

In 2006, Brazil’s Congress approved a law that sought to punish individuals caught carrying small amounts of drugs, including marijuana, with alternative penalties such as community service. Experts say the law was too vague and didn’t establish a specific quantity to help law enforcement and judges differentiate personal use from drug trafficking.

Police continued to arrest people carrying small quantities of drugs on trafficking charges and Brazil’s prison population continued to swell.

“The majority of pre-trial detainees and those convicted of drug trafficking in Brazil are first-time offenders, who carried small amounts of illicit substance with them, caught in routine police operations, unarmed and with no evidence of any relationship with organized crime,” said Ilona Szabó, president of Igarapé Institute, a think tank focusing on public security.

Congress has responded to the top court’s ongoing deliberations by separately advancing a proposal to tighten drug legislation, which would complicate the legal picture surrounding marijuana possession.

In April, the Senate approved a constitutional amendment criminalizing possession of any quantity of illicit substance. The lower house’s constitutional committee approved the proposal on June 12, and it will need to pass through at least one other committee before going to a floor vote.

If lawmakers pass such a measure, the legislation would take precedence over the top court’s ruling but still could be challenged on constitutional grounds.

Speaking to reporters in capital Brasilia, the Senate’s president, Rodrigo Pacheco, said it isn’t the Supreme Court’s place to issue a decision on the matter.

“There is an appropriate path for this discussion to move forward and that is the legislative process,” he said. “It is something that, obviously, arouses broad discussion and it is a subject of preoccupation for Congress.”

Last year, a Brazilian court authorized some patients to grow cannabis for medical treatment after the health regulator in 2019 approved guidelines for the sale of medicinal products derived from cannabis. But Brazil is one of a few countries in Latin America that hasn’t decriminalized the possession of small quantities of drugs for personal consumption.

The Supreme Court’s ruling has long been sought by activists and legal scholars in a country where the prison population has become the third largest in the world. Critics of current legislation say users caught with even small amounts of drugs are regularly convicted on trafficking charges and locked up in overcrowded jails, where they are forced to join prison gangs.

“Today, trafficking is the main vector for imprisonment in Brazil,” said Cristiano Maronna, director of JUSTA, a civil society group focusing on the justice system.

Brazil ranks behind U.S. and China in countries with the highest prison populations, according to the World Prison Brief, a database tracking such figures.

Some 852,000 individuals were deprived of liberty in Brazil as of December 2023, according to official data. Of those, nearly 25% were arrested for possession of drugs or trafficking. Brazilian jails are overcrowded, and Black citizens are disproportionately represented, accounting for more than two-thirds of the prison population.

A recent study by Insper, a Brazilian research and education institute, determined that Black individuals found by police with drugs were slightly more likely to be indicted as traffickers than white people. The authors analyzed over 3.5 million records from Sao Paulo’s public security secretariat from 2010 to 2020.

“An advance in drug policy in Brazil! This is an issue of public health, not security and incarceration,” leftist lawmaker Chico Alencar wrote on X after the ruling.

By contrast, Gustavo Scandelari, a specialist on Brazil’s penal code at law firm Dotti Advogados, said he doesn’t foresee the ruling bringing about a significant shift from the status quo, even after the top court establishes a maximum quantity of marijuana for personal use. Scandelari argued that the amount will remain one determinant of whether authorities consider a person a dealer or a user, but not the only one.

Some Brazilians, like 47-year-old Rio de Janeiro resident Alexandro Trindade, have managed to be upset with both the Supreme Court decriminalizing marijuana and Congress pushing to keep it illegal.

“The Supreme Court is not the right place (for such decision). This should be submitted to a plebiscite for the people to decide,” Trindade said. “Both the Supreme Court and Congress have been very opposed to society in this.”

As in other countries in the region, like Argentina, Colombia and Mexico, medicinal use of cannabis in Brazil is allowed, though in a highly restricted manner.

Uruguay has fully legalized the use of marijuana, and in some U.S. states recreational use for adults is legal. In Colombia, possession has been decriminalized for a decade, but a law to regulate the recreational use of marijuana so that it can be sold legally failed to pass in the Senate in August. Colombians can carry small amounts of marijuana, but selling it for recreational purposes is not legal.

The same goes for Ecuador and Peru. Both distribution and possession remain illegal in Venezuela.

Argentina’s Supreme Court ruled in 2009 it was unconstitutional to penalize an adult for consuming marijuana if it didn’t harm others. But the law has not been changed and users are still arrested, although most cases are thrown out by judges.

Uruguay became the first country to legalize marijuana for recreational use in 2013 although it was only implemented in 2017. Uruguay’s whole industry, from production to distribution, is under state control and registered users can buy up to 40 grams of marijuana per month through pharmacies.
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Sá Pessoa reported from Sao Paulo. Associated Press journalists Mauricio Savarese, Mário Lobão, Regina Garcia Cano and Manuel Rueda contributed to this report.

RENT INCREASES ARE INFLATION

Consumer confidence in U.S. falls in June as Americans fret about near-term prospects

MOST AMERIKANS RENT

 Customers eat lunch at the counter at the Lexington Candy Shop on Sept. 28, 2023, in New York. On Tuesday, June 25, 2024, the Conference Board issues its monthly survey of consumer confidence in the United States, which reflects Americans’ assessment of current economic conditions and their outlook for the next six months.

 (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

 Cathy Payne of Henderson looks at toys for her granddaughter at the Pigtails & Cowlicks consignment sale on Apr. 20, 2024, in Owensboro, Ky. On Tuesday, June 25, 2024, the Conference Board issues its monthly survey of consumer confidence in the United States, which reflects Americans’ assessment of current economic conditions and their outlook for the next six months. 

(Greg Eans/The Messenger-Inquirer via AP, File)

BY MATT OTT
June 25, 2024

American consumers lost some confidence in June as expectations over the near-term future fell again.

The Conference Board, a business research group, said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell in June to 100.4 from 101.3 in May. The index’s decline was not quite as bad as analysts were expecting.

The index measures both Americans’ assessment of current economic conditions and their outlook for the next six months.

The measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for income, business and the job market fell to 73 from 74.9 in May. A reading under 80 can signal a potential recession in the near future.

Consumers’ view of current conditions rose in June to 141.5, up from 140.8 in May.

“Confidence pulled back in June but remained within the same narrow range that’s held throughout the past two years, as strength in current labor market views continued to outweigh concerns about the future,” said Dana Peterson, the Conference Board’s chief economist.

Even though the unemployment rate ticked up to 4% in May, America’s employers added a strong 272,000 jobs last month, a sign that companies are still confident enough in the economy to keep hiring despite persistently high interest rates.

Last month’s sizable job gain was propelled by consumer spending on travel, entertainment and other services. U.S. airports reported near-record traffic over the Memorial Day weekend.

Despite the better-than-expected job gains in May, there is some visible weakening in the labor market: job postings for April hit their lowest level since 2021 and the number of Americans who are receiving unemployment benefits has risen for seven straight weeks.

On Monday, Mary Daly, president of the San Francisco Fed, said that the labor market remained healthy but that future slowing could trigger higher unemployment, something that needs to be monitored closely.

Most economic indicators show the U.S. economy in good shape by historical standards, though there have been some signs that growth is slowing.

The nation’s economy slowed sharply in the first quarter to a 1.3% annual pace in the face of high interest rates, down from a brisk 3.4% growth rate in the final three months of 2023.

Retail sales inched up just 0.1% in May from April as still high prices on groceries and other necessities and high interest rates curbed spending.

More cautious spending in the face of inflation has some big retailers offering discounts this summer. The latest quarterly earnings reported by big retailers show that while consumers have not stopped spending, they are becoming more price-conscious and choosy.

Consumer expectations of a recession in the next year pulled back in June after rising the previous two months, the Conference Board said.

Midwestern carbon dioxide pipeline project gets approval in Iowa, but still has a long way to go


A sign reading “Property rights matter, no CO2" stands near Strasburg, N.D., Jan. 11, 2024. Iowa public utility regulators on Tuesday, June 25, 2024 gave approval for a controversial carbon dioxide pipeline proposed for the Midwest, but the company will has many hoops to jump through before it can begin construction. (AP Photo/Jack Dura)

Opponents of Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed carbon dioxide pipeline gather at the state Capitol in Des Moines, Iowa, on Feb. 8, 2024. The Iowa Utilities Board on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, approved Summit’s application to build its pipeline, but the company still has many hoops to jump through before it gets its permit and can begin construction. (AP Photo/Hannah Fingerhut)

BY JACK DURA
June 25, 2024

Iowa public utility regulators on Tuesday approved a controversial carbon dioxide pipeline for transporting emissions of the climate-warming greenhouse gas for storage underground in a win for Summit Carbon Solutions’ project after setbacks in other states and opposition from landowners around the Midwest.

The company still has many hoops to jump through before it can begin building in Iowa, including gaining other states’ approval.

The $5.5 billion, 2,500-mile (4,023.36 kilometers) pipeline network would carry planet-warming CO2 emissions, liquefied under pressure, from more than 50 ethanol plants in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota to be stored deep underground in central North Dakota.

Farmers and the ethanol industry see the pipeline as a way to qualify for federal tax breaks they see as key for growing a market for a cleaner-burning aviation fuel. Corn is among the top two crops in the Midwest, and Iowa is the leader in corn and ethanol production.

“Whether you think it’s smart or silly, the world’s largest airlines want to decarbonize their fuel. Carbon capture and sequestration gets Iowa ethanol into that market, potentially providing a generational boost to Iowa’s economy,” Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Executive Director Monte Shaw said in a statement

Summit CEO Lee Blank welcomed the decision in a statement.

The project’s opponents, including many landowners, fear their land will be taken for the pipeline and that a potential pipeline rupture could release dangerous CO2 gas. A coalition opposing Summit’s project vowed to fight the Iowa board’s decision

Landowner attorney Brian Jorde said the decision was expected, with a lengthy process for Summit still ahead, such as applying in South Dakota.

“It’s just one small thing in a maze, in a track-and-field event full of hurdles that they have to get over,” Jorde said.

The Iowa Utilities Board approved Summit’s January 2022 application for a permit to build and operate the pipeline. But before the board issues the permit, the company must file proof of an insurance policy of at least $100 million to pay for any damages resulting from the pipeline project. Summit must provide proof of the insurance annually.

The company also can’t start construction until it has approvals from North Dakota and South Dakota, including for routes in both states and underground storage in North Dakota. Summit also needs approvals from Minnesota and in Nebraska before it can begin to build lines out to ethanol plants in those states.

The Iowa regulators’ decision comes after hearings last year and setbacks in other states. North Dakota regulators denied a siting permit in August, but later agreed to reconsider. Hearings on the underground storage proposal were held earlier this month.

South Dakota regulators denied Summit’s application in September; Summit said it plans to file again in early July. In Nebraska, where Summit must work with individual counties, at least one county has denied a permit.

The Iowa panel also granted the company the right of eminent domain over numerous parcels of land, but only after the permit is issued. The extent of Summit’s eminent domain powers wasn’t immediately clear from the 500-page order. The board denied use of some parcels of land; others require modifications to the route. Eminent domain is the taking of private land for public use with compensation for landowners.

The order also includes numerous other requirements of Summit, such as monthly construction reports and grants for equipment for cities and counties to respond to incidents.

Supporters view carbon capture projects such as Summit’s as a combatant of climate change, with new federal tax incentives and billions from Congress for such carbon capture efforts. Opponents question the technology’s effectiveness at scale and the need for potentially huge investments over cheaper renewable energy sources.

Companies behind two other CO2 pipeline projects proposed in the Midwest have canceled or shelved their plans. From the renewable fuels industry perspective, blows to projects such as Summit’s could put at risk the huge potential of a new aviation fuel market the industry believes would continue for many years.

North Dakota Republican Gov. Doug Burgum supports the pipeline. He has hailed North Dakota’s underground rock formations as a “geologic jackpot” for CO2 storage potential. In 2021, he set a goal for North Dakota to become carbon neutral by 2030. He isn’t seeking reelection this year, and is a top choice to be former President Donald Trump’s running mate.
___

Dura reported from Bismarck, North Dakota.

Takeaways: A possible Trump VP pick grapples with supporting a CO2 pipeline


 Republican North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum listens as former President Donald Trump, in foreground, talks to reporters at Manhattan criminal court, May 14, 2024, in New York. Burgum is one of Trump’s most visible and vocal backers, sprinting around the country to drum up support while auditioning to be his running mate. Meanwhile, Burgum is wrestling with a $5.5 billion carbon dioxide pipeline project in his home state. The venture has left him straddling an awkward political divide as Trump and President Joe Biden offer voters starkly different visions of America.

 (Justin Lane/Pool Photo via AP, File)

BY JACK DURA AND RICHARD LARDNER
 June 24, 2024

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has emerged as a serious contender to be Donald Trump’s running mate. He’s one of the president’s most loyal and vocal backers and brings executive experience, business savvy and close connections to deep-pocketed energy industry CEOs. Trump wants their money to help finance his third run for the White House.

But back home, far from the glare of the campaign trail, the two-term governor is wrestling with a $5.5 billion carbon dioxide pipeline project that has split his state and left him straddling an awkward political divide as Trump and President Joe Biden offer voters starkly different visions of how to tackle — or ignore — climate change.
A pipeline champion

Burgum is championing the CO2 pipeline, which is being financed by hundreds of investors and will be built by Summit Carbon Solutions of Ames, Iowa. The project would gather planet-warming CO2 from ethanol plants across the Midwest and permanently deposit the potentially harmful gas a mile underground in west central North Dakota.

The CO2 pipeline aligns with Biden’s push to address climate change, a position that could put Burgum at odds with Trump.


A potential Trump VP pick backs a controversial CO2 pipeline favored by the Biden White House

In backing the pipeline, Burgum is navigating the tricky politics of land ownership in deep-red North Dakota and of climate change inside the GOP.

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While Burgum has outlined plans to make North Dakota carbon neutral by 2030, he’s steered clear of describing the pipeline or other carbon capture initiatives as environmentally friendly. Instead, he touts them as a lucrative business opportunity for North Dakota that might ultimately assist the fossil fuel industry.

“This has nothing to do with climate change,” Burgum said in early March on a North Dakota radio program. “This has to do with markets.”

Trouble at home

The blowback in North Dakota to the Summit project has been intense with Burgum caught in the crossfire. There are fears a pipeline rupture would unleash a lethal cloud of CO2. Landowners worry their property values will plummet if the pipeline passes under their land. And they’re outraged over what they allege are hardball tactics employed by Summit to secure the easements it needs for the massive project.

Kurt Swenson and his family own or have an interest in 1,750 acres at or near the proposed storage site. At a public hearing earlier this month on Summit’s permit application, Swenson said he had a warning for anyone who attempts to take his land without his consent.

“It seems like everybody wants what isn’t theirs,” Swenson said. “You’re going to end up taking it from my cold, dead hands. And you’re going to see how that works out for you.”

Summit said it has signed easement deals with landowners along 82% of the pipeline’s route in North Dakota and obtained 92% of the lease agreements needed at the storage site. The company added that the project also is supported by state lawmakers and emergency managers.

Close ties to the oil and gas industry

Oil and gas interests have donated nearly $8 million to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, according to the political money website Open Secrets.
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Burgum, with his close ties to his state’s dominant industry, is the type of running mate who could help boost such donations.

If Burgum isn’t the GOP’s vice-presidential nominee and doesn’t land a job in a second Trump administration, he can return to North Dakota to finish out his last term, with key decisions looming for the pipeline.
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Lardner reported from Washington.

Olympic track and field seeing dollar signs with splashy cash infusions into the sport

ONCE UPON A TIME THE OLYMPICS WAS FOR AMATUERS ONLY 

For these Olympics, at least, the days of running for pride, country, a gold medal and the hope of a big endorsement deal are over. There will be real money on the line in Paris

Dylan Beard competes a heat in the men’s 110-meter hurdles during the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Team Trials Monday, June 24, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. 

(AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Allie Wilson wins a heat in the women’s 800-meter run during the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Team Trials Friday, June 21, 2024, in Eugene, Ore.

 (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

BY EDDIE PELLS AND PAT GRAHAM
 June 25, 2024

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — One aspiring Olympian is taking a break from his day job at the deli section while he makes his run for Paris. Another athlete worked as a nanny, but when she left to focus on running at the Games, the family understood.

When these runners and hurdlers learned they would be racing for a big, fat first-prize check worth $50,000 to go with the gold medal at this summer’s Olympics, they were, understandably, excited.

“That’d be big,” American hurdler Dylan Beard said this week at U.S. track and field trials, while taking a break from his job at the Walmart Supercenter in Wake Forest, North Carolina. “I mean, I wouldn’t even know what to do with that much money.”

In a move that many in track — and the Olympic world, in general — felt was long overdue, World Athletics, the governing body for track, announced earlier this year that there would be a first-of-its-kind cash prize available for all of track and field’s winners in Paris. That’s a prize pool of $2.4 million spread across 48 events.

That move, combined with the recent rapid-fire introduction of track meets featuring enhanced prize pools — and even a new track league fronted by sprinting great Michael Johnson — represents the biggest publicly touted cash infusion into the sport in decades.

It could be a lifeline for track athletes, who have struggled for attention since Usain Bolt left the spotlight.

The sport has seen a widening gulf between haves — such as Noah Lyles, Sha’Carri Richardson and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone — and the have-nots since the heyday of the 1980s. That’s when the likes of Carl Lewis, Edwin Moses and Jackie Joyner-Kersee were mainstream stars who could often be seen on the track in the day, then on “The Tonight Show” at night.

For Olympic steeplechaser Evan Jager, who won silver at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, a current ESPN documentary about former sprinter Butch Reynolds, who starred in the sport in the ‘80s and early ’90s, highlighted one key difference between today and yesteryear.

“It was like $70K for some of the appearance” fees for running in meets, Jager said. “Granted, he was at the top of the sport at the time, but you don’t hear too many athletes getting that much money in appearance fees (today) at some of these meets.”

Johnson’s Grand Slam Track league will sign athletes to actual contracts, then add appearance fees for some others, with plans to bring 96 runners together four times a year to compete for $100,000 first-place prizes. (Some field athletes are, predictably, upset at not being included in the rollout, but Johnson says he’s taking things one step at a time.) Johnson touted a $12.6 million prize pool and said he had secured more than $30 million to bankroll the league, which will start in 2025.

In addition to the $50,000 first prizes for the Olympics, World Athletics this month announced the start of the Ultimate Championship in 2026, which will bring together the best in the sport to compete for a prize pot of $10 million and first prizes worth $150,000.

Also, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian recently went public with plans for an all-women’s track meet in September that will feature Olympic silver and bronze medalist Gabby Thomas and promised the largest purse ever for a female-only track meet.

All of this looks like progress to three-time Olympic medalist Brittney Reese, who is not competing but remains active in the track community.

“We’re not going to get paid like the NBA or the NFL, but we are a professional sport and we do deserve to get paid,” Reese said. “I trained 11 months out of the year, so I’m pretty sure some of these athletes do the same.”

It’s the reason well-worn stories about athletes raising funds at car washes and bake sales, and getting side jobs at coffee shops and hardware stores, become so popular every Olympic year.

Or why it’s not uncommon to see someone like Allie Wilson, who is heading to the Olympics in the 800 meters, take a nanny job to make ends meet before she peels off to focus on her training.

“Our sport is definitely growing and they’re doing a lot more to help us athletes,” Wilson said. “But for me, this was, like, for all the glory, I wanted to be an Olympian my entire life, and I knew it was going to take everything I had in me to get there.”

This push in track comes at an especially pivotal time, given the Summer Olympics are returning to the United States in 2028 — namely, the Coliseum in Los Angeles, which used to be the mecca for the sport — for the first time in a generation.

Two years ago, when world championships were held in America for the first time, World Athletics President Seb Coe made a point of spelling out his goal of turning track back into a top-four sport in the U.S.

“For the games to really work, the U.S. needs a really powerful track and field presence,” Coe said in a 2022 interview.

LA organizers doubled down on that by bucking tradition and moving it to the start of the Games instead of the second week where it had been since 1972.

“Athletics is our prime-time event,” LA28 chairman Casey Wasserman said. “We’re starting off with a bang. That Saturday night, we’re going to have world-class athletics at the Coliseum. It’s going to really create a lot of energy and excitement.”

By then, America and the world will have a better idea about whether all these attempts to put more money in the pockets of track athletes has moved the sport back into the big time.

For these Olympics, at least, the days of running for pride, country, a gold medal and the hope of a big endorsement deal are over. There will be real money on the line in Paris.

“That $50,000 for gold is definitely a good step,” American long jumper Marquis Dendy said. “I would say that there is room for more improvement, but that’s a really good step.”
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Israel’s courts say the military must enlist the ultra-Orthodox. 

What could that mean for Netanyahu?

Israel’s Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that the military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men for compulsory service, a landmark decision that could lead to the collapse of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition as Israel continues to wage war in Gaza.

BY MELANIE LIDMAN
 June 25, 2024

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Supreme Court unanimously ordered the government to begin drafting ultra-Orthodox Jewish men into the army — a landmark ruling seeking to end a system that has allowed them to avoid enlistment into compulsory military service.

Roughly 1.3 million ultra-Orthodox Jews make up about 13% of Israel’s population and oppose enlistment because they believe that studying full time in religious seminaries is their most important duty.

An enlistment exemption for the ultra-Orthodox goes back to the founding of Israel in 1948, when small numbers of gifted scholars were exempt from the draft. But with a push from politically powerful religious parties, those numbers have swelled over the decades. The court said the exemptions were illegal in 2017, but repeated extensions and government delay tactics have prevented a replacement law from being passed.

Two parties belonging to the Haredim, or “god-fearing” in Hebrew, are essential parts of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fragile coalition, but the broad exemptions from mandatory military service have reopened a deep divide in the country and infuriated much of the general public during the war in Gaza. Over 600 soldiers have been killed since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. Many reserve soldiers are starting their second tour of duty.

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What does Tuesday’s ruling mean for Netanyahu’s government?

Netanyahu’s coalition holds a slim majority of 64 seats in the 120-member parliament, often requiring him to capitulate to the demands of smaller parties like the ultra-Orthodox.

If those parties leave the government, the country would likely be forced into new elections this fall. Netanyahu’s popularity is low as the war in Gaza drags into its ninth month.

Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf heads one of the ultra-Orthodox parties in Netanyahu’s coalition. In a post on X, Goldknopf called the Supreme Court’s ruling “very unfortunate and disappointing,” but did not say whether his party would leave the government. The chairman of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, Aryeh Deri, denounced the ruling and said religious study was “our secret weapon against all enemies.”

The court this year temporarily froze state subsidies for seminaries where exempted ultra-Orthodox men study. Along with the enlistment decision, the court also ruled Tuesday that that money should be permanently suspended.

Many religious seminaries depend on government funding and “the general assumption is that the government will not survive this crisis,” said Barak Medina, a law professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and an expert on constitutional law.

What did the courts rule?

Military service is compulsory for most Jewish men and women, who serve three and two years, respectively, in active duty, as well as reserve duty until around age 40.

The Israeli Supreme Court ruled that compulsory military service applies to the ultra-Orthodox just like any other Israeli. The judges said that allowing a certain community a “sweeping avoidance” of service amounted to discrimination.

“Discrimination regarding the most precious thing of all – life itself – is the worst kind,” the justices wrote in their opinion.

In 2017, the Supreme Court struck down a law that codified draft exemptions. Repeated extensions of the law and government tactics to delay a replacement law have dragged on for years.

Israel’s judiciary plays a large role in checking the government’s executive power. Netanyahu attempted to overhaul the judiciary last year, spurring massive protests across the country before a major part of the overhaul was struck down.

When will this go into effect?

It will be challenging for the army integrate a larger number of ultra-Orthodox deeply opposed to service into its ranks.

Among Israel’s Jewish majority, mandatory military service is largely seen as a melting pot and a rite of passage. The ultra-Orthodox say that integrating into the army will threaten their generations-old way of life, and that their devout lifestyle and dedication to upholding the Jewish commandments protect Israel as much as a strong army does.

The courts did not set numbers for enlistment in their ruling, but Israel’s attorney general’s office suggested that at least 3,000 ultra-Orthodox soldiers enlist in the coming year. The court said in its ruling that some 63,000 ultra-Orthodox students are eligible for enlistment.

For decades, the army has attempted to accommodate ultra-Orthodox soldiers by creating separate units that allow them to maintain religious practices, including minimizing interaction with women. One of the units created for this purpose, Netzah Yehudah, faced possible U.S. sanctions over their treatment of Palestinians, though the U.S. eventually decided not to impose sanctions.

What impact will this have on the war in Gaza?

The ruling will have little immediate effect on the war in Gaza, where more than 37,600 Palestinians have been killed, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count. The number of ultra-Orthodox who might enlist because of the ruling is too small to have a significant impact on day-to-day fighting.

Medina, the law professor, said that if the ruling topples the government, it could give Netanyahu more leeway to reach a deal for a ceasefire that could end the war in Gaza.

“Currently, one of the main reasons he’s prevented from reaching an agreement for the end of the war is because it will mean the end of his coalition,” said Medina.

If the ultra-Orthodox parties leave the coalition, Netanyahu has “nothing to lose,” he said. And that could lead to a change in policy without the pressure from far-right ministers opposed to any kind of ceasefire. Netanyahu will also be under a lot of pressure to wrap up fighting if early elections are called, to avoid going into the elections without the hostages and while a war is still ongoing, Medina said.

Israel's High Court rules government must begin drafting ultra-religious students into military


Israeli army reserve activists protest military exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Haredi students outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office in March after the High Court ordered a freeze on government funding of Haredi religious schools. The legal framework exempting the students from military service has become ever more hotly contested since the Gaza war sparked by the Oct. 7 attacks.

 File photo by Debbie Hill/UPI

June 25 (UPI) -- Israel's Supreme Court ordered a full draft of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men into the country's military Tuesday and an immediate freeze on government funding of religious educational institutions, or yeshivas, that do not comply.

The unanimous decision by an extended nine-judge panel of the High Court of Justice in Jerusalem is likely to force a change in Israeli politics -- and maybe fresh elections -- over the issue that pits an influential minority of ultra-Orthodox adherents of Judaism who believe they should be exempt from conscription against secular society which argues the burden should be shared by all.

The government and the Knesset have been grappling with the issue for years but the ruling places renewed pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government, propped up by the two biggest ultra-Orthodox parties, which is already scrambling to avert a crisis to come up with a solution and quickly.

The court ruled that a June 2023 government instruction effectively extending an expired law allowing blanket exemptions of 63,000 eligible yeshiva students was illegal and that the government must act to begin conscripting ultra-Orthodox recruits into the Israel Defense Forces.

Males in the country's ultra-Orthodox Haredi Jewish community have until now been exempt from military service, which is mandatory in Israel, if they are studying full-time at at a religious seminary.

"Non-enforcement of the provisions of the Security Service Law creates severe discrimination between those who are required to serve" and those exempted from army service, the court wrote.

"In these days, in the midst of a severe war, the burden of inequality is more acute than ever -- and requires the promotion of a sustainable solution to this issue," the decision reads.

"We determine that there is no legal basis for avoiding the recruitment of yeshiva students at this time; that the state must act to enforce the Law for Security Service on yeshiva students; that there is no legal authority to continue transferring the [financial] support for these students."

The court also ruled that a cabinet resolution passed in April that allowed the government to interpret the law using private lawyers it had appointed was "without authority and void."

\
The Movement for Quality Government, which brought the legal challenge, hailed the ruling as a "historic victory for the rule of law and the principle of equality in the burden of military service," saying it meant the government must begin drafting all 63,000 eligible ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students immediately.

However, the court said the process should be gradual and in line with administrative law noting the IDF's submission that it would be able to draft 3,000 Haredi yeshiva students in the 2024 enlistment year starting June 1.

Shas Party chairman Aryeh Deri condemned the decision saying the contribution of those who studied the teachings of the Talmud was equal to those fighting in Gaza or against Hezbollah on the border with Lebanon.

"There is no power in the world that can cut off the people of Israel from studying the Torah and anyone who has tried this in the past has failed miserably. No high-handed ruling will abolish the community of scholars in the land of Israel, which is the branch on which we all sit," said the leader of the ultra-Orthodox party.

Tuesday's ruling comes three months after the High Court first ordered the funding freeze voiding the legal framework for the traditional exemption, effective April 1 but with a rider deferring larger-scale enforcement of the measure through Aug. 9.