ALBERTA; Learning to live with no government
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Friday, September 10, 2021
That call comes as four key senators face pressure from climate groups in their states to support fully funding the Clean Electricity Payment Program in Democrats' developing $3.5 trillion package.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's Pine Tree Wind Farm and Solar Power Plant is seen in the Tehachapi Mountains in Kern County, California on March 23, 2021.
JESSICA CORBETT
As Democrats work to rapidly finalize the details of their $3.5 trillion reconciliation package, climate campaigners on Wednesday urged them to exclude fossil fuels and "false solutions" from a new clean energy program intended to cut down planet-heating emissions.
"We need rapid and ambitious climate policy, not another polluter subsidy."—Sarah Lutz, Friends of the Earth
Ahead of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's September 13 markup for emissions reduction policies in the evolving package, more than 300 groups sent a letter (pdf) calling on Democrats to use the Clean Electricity Payment Program (CEPP) to "incentivize the expansion of renewable energy and penalize any expansion of fossil fuels and other false solutions."
A Clean Electricity Standard (CES) requires a certain share of electricity to come from "clean" sources. While Democrats want to include such a policy—also known as a Clean Electricity Standard—in their $3.5 trillion package, lawmakers are constrained by the limits of the budget reconciliation process that they are using to avoid GOP obstruction in the evenly split Senate.
Because of those constraints, and now that both the House and Senate have passed the budget resolution for the full package, congressional Democrats are crafting the CEPP, which relies on financial incentives to utilities to promote a nationwide transition to clean energy.
As E&E News explains:
Utilities would get paid to expand their sales of clean electricity each year. If their sales failed to meet a certain threshold, they'd have to pay a tax. The emphasis on paying companies to install clean electricity is the reason advocates of the idea have a new name for their proposal.
In the context of this proposal, clean electricity includes anything without emissions. So nuclear, hydro, and fossil fuel plants with carbon capture would all qualify, as would traditional renewable energies like wind and solar. This is called a technology neutral approach.
That approach has outraged climate campaigners—including Sarah Lutz of Friends of the Earth, whose group backed the letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).
"We need rapid and ambitious climate policy, not another polluter subsidy," Lutz said in a statement announcing the letter. "These so-called 'technology neutral' standards are incompatible with the urgent need to transition to sustainable and renewable energy."
Noting that the program, "combined with other tax incentives, will account for over 40% of the infrastructure package's emissions reduction," the groups argue that "because the CEPP does not directly regulate a ramp-down of emissions, the determination of what types of energy can qualify for clean electricity payments will be crucial for the effectiveness of the program."
The letter warns:
A CEPP that incentivizes fossil gas and carbon capture and storage will undermine efforts to transition away from our reliance on fossil fuels—a reliance that has created sacrifice zones and disproportional harms on Black, Brown, Indigenous, and other communities of color in this country. Similarly, false solutions like nuclear energy, so-called bioenergies, and large ecosystem altering hydropower have proven to be extractive and unsustainable—creating disproportionate environmental harms and health burdens in environmental justice communities.
"The climate emergency cannot be fooled or tricked by legislating that polluting energy sources can now qualify as clean. Likewise, greenwashing dirty energies will not change their environmental injustices," the letter concludes. "Therefore, we urge you to direct incentive payments solely to proven and ecologically sound renewable technologies, such as solar, wind, and geothermal."
That message to Democratic leadership echoed previous demands from campaigners and came a week after the launch of activists' "Gas Is Not Clean" campaign urging lawmakers to make sure gas is excluded from the CES in the reconciliation package. It was also sent the same day as letters from more than 100 climate organizations directed at four key senators.
Those letters were sent to Machin—who last week advocated for a "strategic pause" in the reconciliation process, provoking progressive backlash—and three other members of the panel he chairs: Sens. Angus King (I-Maine), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), and John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.).
Organizations from each senator's state sent similar letters urging them to ensure that the CEPP—an "essential component" of President Joe Biden's Build Back Better agenda—receives the full funding of $150 billion so that "utilities can retire dirty fossil fuel power plants that they have not finished paying off, without passing those costs on to ratepayers."
Each letter is also personalized. The one to Manchin notes that "for over a century West Virginians have carried the burden of our energy needs and it is of utmost importance we don't bear the financial burden as we transition to clean energy." That letter (pdf) continues:
West Virginians have experienced both the positive impacts, like good-paying union jobs but we have also suffered the negative impacts associated with extraction. Our communities and water have been polluted for decades leaving generations with cancer, asthma, and other lasting health impacts. We have the unique opportunity to stay relevant as an energy producer and restore our healthy communities by adapting to renewable energy sources. The Clean Electricity Payment Program will help ensure we not only benefit from this transition but thrive because of it. A recent study shows that a pathway to 80% clean electricity would create over 3,500 full-time jobs and $20.9 billion in solar, wind, and energy storage investments for West Virginia by 2040.
The letter (pdf) to King, who caucuses with the Democrats, says that "Maine's abundant wind, solar, water, and forestry resources are economic drivers, and the Clean Electricity Payment Program can further elevate the state as a leader in renewable energy. With full funding of the CEPP, the state can rapidly deploy affordable wind, solar, other clean energy, and battery storage while focusing on rural and other areas where economic development is most needed."
Kelly's letter (pdf) acknowledges that "Arizona is on the frontlines of the climate crisis—we cannot afford to wait for actions. We continue to see extreme heat, weather, and drought, plus larger wildfires due to our changing climate. That is why we need to act now at a scale to address this significant issue. These important climate investments will both help us move toward stabilizing the climate, but also will benefit our communities with clean energy jobs, cleaner air, and reduced water use. Recent analysis estimated that a national 80% by 2030 policy would lead to $38-48 billion in clean energy investments in Arizona."
The letter (pdf) to Hickenlooper similarly highlights that "in Colorado and across the West, communities are witnessing the intensifying effects of climate change, and they want all levels of government to take steps to address it. Polling results released this month by Data for Progress and Western Resource Advocates show that a large majority of Colorado voters support the key climate and clean energy provisions in the American Jobs Plan, and 73% of those voters support the plan's provisions to transition to a 100% clean electricity grid."
All four letters—which follow reporting that Manchin will only support $1.5 trillion in spending and progressives doubling down on the larger figure, already a compromise—state that "to ensure the Clean Electricity Payment Program and all the other priorities such as the $300 billion clean energy tax incentives in the reconciliation package can be fully funded, it is important to ensure the topline number of $3.5 trillion remains constant. We urge you to oppose any attempt to decrease the overall spending level of the reconciliation package."
Climate campaigners welcomed the letters to lawmakers, with Jamie DeMarco, federal policy director of the CCAN Action Fund, saying that he is "glad to see the constituents of key U.S. senators stepping up to say that we must fully fund the CEPP," which he called "the lynchpin for climate action."
Patrick Drupp, deputy legislative director for climate and clean air at the Sierra Club, agreed that "a clean electricity system is key to fighting the climate crisis."
"Passage of a Clean Electricity Payment Program and other clean energy investments," he said, "will transform our power system and accelerate an equitable transition away from fossil fuels and toward the carbon-free electricity we need to build a clean energy economy for all."
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Reusable cloth masks hold up after a year of washing, drying
New study also confirms that layering a cotton mask on top of a surgical mask—properly fit on one’s face—provides more protection than cloth alone.
Peer-Reviewed PublicationThe reusable cloth masks people have been using for the past year or more may look a little worse for the wear. But new research from the University of Colorado Boulder finds that washing and drying them doesn’t reduce their ability to filter out viral particles.
“It’s good news for sustainability,” said lead author Marina Vance, assistant professor in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering. “That cotton mask that you have been washing, drying and reusing? It's probably still fine—don't throw it away.”
The study, published in the journal Aerosol and Air Quality Research, also confirms previous research that layering a cotton mask on top of a surgical mask—properly fit on one’s face—provides more protection than cloth alone.
Science for sustainability
Since the start of the pandemic, an estimated 7,200 tons of medical waste has been generated every day—much of which is disposable masks.
“We were really bothered during the beginning of the pandemic, when going out on a hike or going downtown, and seeing all these disposable masks littering the environment,” said Vance, who is also on the faculty in the environmental engineering program.
So Vance was eager to join forces when scientists at the nearby National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) approached her about studying how washing and drying impacts reusable cloth masks.
Their process was quite simple: create double-layered squares of cotton, put them through repeated washing and drying (up to 52 times, the equivalent of a weekly wash for a year) and test them between about every 7 cleaning cycles.
While the masks were not testing using real people—instead, they were mounted on one end of a steel funnel through which researchers could control a consistent flow of air and airborne particles—the researchers tested the masks using realistic to real-life conditions, with high humidity levels and temperatures to mimics the impact on the mask from our breathing.
While the cotton fibers started falling apart over time after repeating washing and drying, the researchers found that did not significantly affect the cloth’s filtration efficiency.
The only noticeable change was that inhalation resistance slightly increased, meaning that the mask may feel a bit more difficult to breathe through after some wear and tear.
Mask fit is critical
A key caveat is that they conducted the testing using a “perfect fit” in the lab.
“We're assuming there are no gaps between the mask material and the person's face,” said Vance.
The shape of each person’s face varies significantly. So depending on a mask’s shape and how well the person adjusts it, it may or may not fit snugly. Previous research has shown that a poorly-fit mask can let as many as 50% of airborne particles we breathe in and out slip through—as well as the virus.
So what mask should you wear?
This study is not the first to find that cloth masks provide less protection than surgical masks or a layered combination of surgical and cloth masks.
Measuring for how well the mask filtered air being breathed in—protecting the person wearing the mask, not reducing transmission from the source—this study found that the cotton cloth masks filtered out up to 23% of the smallest particle size (0.3 microns) on which the virus can travel. Bandanas filtered even less, at only 9%.
In comparison, surgical masks filtered out between 42-88% of the tiny particles, and cotton masks on top of surgical masks reached close to 40% filtration efficiency. KN95 and N95 masks unsurprisingly performed the best, filtering out 83-99% of these particles.
But while this study found that cloth masks alone provide less protection from the virus than a layered approach or disposable masks, such as surgical masks, KN95s and N95s, it remains important information for those who rely on cloth for its comfort, affordability and reusability, said Vance.
“I think the best mask might be the one that you're actually going to wear,” said Vance. “And that is going to fit snugly against your face without being too uncomfortable.”
Additional authors on this publication include: Sumit Sankhyan, Sameer Patel and Hannah Teed of the University of Colorado Boulder; Karen N. Heinselman, Peter N. Ciesielski Teresa Barnes and Michael E. Himmel of the Renewable Resources and Enabling Sciences Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
JOURNAL
Aerosol and Air Quality Research
ARTICLE TITLE
Filtration Performance of Layering Masks and Face Coverings and the Reusability of Cotton Masks after Repeated Washing and Drying
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
30-Aug-2021
Only a minority of those with alcohol use disorders receives medication
IMAGE: SARA WALLHED FINN, RESEARCHER AND PSYCHOLOGIST AT THE DEPARTMENT OF GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH, KAROLINSKA INSTITUTET. view more
CREDIT: PRIVATE PHOTO
Only a minority of Swedes with alcohol use disorders are prescribed alcohol medication, a situation that has remained largely unchanged in the country since the mid-2000. That is according to a study at Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Prescriptions of alcohol medication are also unevenly distributed in the society, the study found.
“The result shows there is a large underutilization of alcohol medication as well as unequal provision of treatment between different groups in society,” says corresponding author Sara Wallhed Finn, researcher at the Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, and psychologist within specialist care at Beroendecentrum Stockholm (Stockholm Center for Dependency Disorders, a regional addiction center). “This is problematic given the great suffering caused by alcohol use disorder, both for the individual and for society at large.”
The researchers say there are several plausible explanations, such as low knowledge about these drugs both among physicians and the patients, especially beyond the most prescribed alcohol medication Antabuse (Disulfiram). Another reason may be that the patients prefer psychological treatment over medication. In some cases, there may also be physical barriers, such as liver disease, that makes some types of medications unsuitable.
“There are a myriad of possible explanations that we need to continue to explore to understand why these approved and effective drugs are used to such a small extent, especially when we know that harmful alcohol use increases the risk of several diseases and premature death,” Sara Wallhed Finn says.
In the current study, the researchers wanted to examine the prescriptions of four approved alcohol medications (Disulfiram, Naltrexone, Acamprosate and Nalmefene) to individuals treated for alcohol use disorder. More than 130,000 adults who received a diagnosis of alcohol use disorder in specialist care between 2007 and 2015 were included.
The study showed that the proportion of individuals who collected prescriptions for alcohol medication varied between 22.8 and 23.9 percent, and that the overall level did not change over the nine-year study period. The researchers also found individual differences. For example, alcohol medication was prescribed at a lower degree to men, older individuals, individuals with lower education and income levels, people living in midsized towns or rural areas and people with co-morbid somatic diseases.
“We know very little about the causes of these individual differences,” Sara Wallhed Finn says. “One reason may be that the access to care varies across the country, where specialist addiction care is largely organized in the big cities. An important finding is that the prescription rates are especially low for individuals with other somatic diseases, even in cases where the co-morbidity was not a barrier for prescribing alcohol medication. This is something we need to investigate further to fully understand.”
The researchers underscore that the study only included individuals treated for alcohol use disorder within specialist care, and that the number of individuals with alcohol problems in the general population is much larger. In total, around 4 percent of adults in Sweden are estimated to meet the criteria for alcohol use disorder, but far from everyone receives some form of treatment. This means, according to the researchers, that only about 2–2.5 percent of all individuals with alcohol dependence in Sweden receive alcohol medication.
The study only included data from specialist care, which is a limitation given that nearly half of all alcohol use disorder diagnoses are set in primary care. The study was also limited to collected prescriptions; however, a prior study showed large consistency between prescribed and collected prescriptions which supports the findings.
The research has been financed by grants from the Alcohol Research Council of the Swedish Alcohol Retailing Monopoly, ALF medicine, Region Stockholm, Center for Psychiatry Research, The Söderström König Foundation and the Swedish Medical Association.
Sara Wallhed Finn has written treatment manuals for alcohol use disorders. No other conflicts of interest have been reported.
Alcohol medications in the study:
- Disulfiram (sold under the trade name Antabuse) was the single most prescribed drug, although its proportion of total prescriptions declined during the study period in favor of Naltrexone.
- Disulfiram makes it more difficult for the body to break down alcohol and causes unpleasant symptoms when consuming alcohol. Naltrexone, on the other hand, affects the brain’s reward system and inhibits feelings of well-being associated with alcohol.
- Nalmefene was introduced in 2012 with a lower recommendation from the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare for treatment for alcohol use disorder than the other drugs. The drug acts through similar mechanisms as those of Naltrexone and had the lowest number of prescriptions in the study.
- Prescriptions of Acamprosate, which affects chemicals in the brain to inhibit cravings, were largely unchanged between 2007 and 2015.
Publication: ”Pharmacotherapy for alcohol use disorders – unequal provision across sociodemographic factors and co-morbid conditions. A cohort study of the total population in Sweden.” Sara Wallhed Finn, Andreas Lundin, Hugo Sjöqvist, Anna-Karin Danielsson, Drug and Alcohol Dependence, online Sept. 10, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.108964
JOURNAL
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
METHOD OF RESEARCH
Observational study
SUBJECT OF RESEARCH
People
ARTICLE TITLE
Pharmacotherapy for alcohol use disorders – unequal provision across sociodemographic factors and co-morbid conditions. A cohort study of the total population in Sweden
500-million-year-old fossil represents rare discovery of ancient animal in North America
Scientists at the University of Missouri are using an ancient find to unlock new clues surrounding the diversity of species following the Cambrian explosion.
Peer-Reviewed PublicationIMAGE: RESEARCHERS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI HAVE FOUND A RARE, 500-MILLION-YEAR-OLD “WORM-LIKE” FOSSIL CALLED A PALAEOSCOLECID, WHICH IS AN UNCOMMON FOSSIL GROUP IN NORTH AMERICA. view more
CREDIT: UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURIMany scientists consider the “Cambrian explosion” — which occurred about 530-540 million years ago — as the first major appearance of many of the world’s animal groups in the fossil record. Like adding pieces to a giant jigsaw puzzle, each discovery dating from this time period has added another piece to the evolutionary map of modern animals. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found a rare, 500-million-year-old “worm-like” fossil called a palaeoscolecid, which is an uncommon fossil group in North America. The researchers believe this find, from an area in western Utah, can help scientists better understand how diverse the Earth’s animals were during the Cambrian explosion.
Jim Schiffbauer, an associate professor of geological sciences in the MU College of Arts and Science and one of the study’s co-authors, said that while this fossil has the same anatomical organization as modern worms, it doesn’t exactly match with anything we see on modern Earth.
“This group of animals are extinct, so we don’t see them, or any modern relatives, on the planet today,” Schiffbauer said. “We tend to call them ‘worm-like’ because it’s hard to say that they perfectly fit with annelids, priapulids, or any other types of organism on the planet today that we would generally call a “worm.” But palaeoscolecids have the same general body plan, which in the history of life has been an incredibly successful body plan. So, this is a pretty cool addition because it expands the number of worm-like things that we know about from 500 million years ago in North America and adds to our global occurrences and diversity of the palaeoscolecids.”
At the time, this palaeoscolecid was likely living on an ocean floor, said Wade Leibach, an MU graduate teaching assistant in the College of Arts and Science, and lead author on the study.
“It is the first known palaeoscolecid discovery in a certain rock formation — the Marjum Formation of western Utah — and that’s important because this represents one of only a few palaeoscolecid taxa in North America,” Leibach said. “Other examples of this type of fossil have been previously found in much higher abundance on other continents, such as Asia, so we believe this find can help us better understand how we view prehistoric environments and ecologies, such as why different types of organisms are underrepresented or overrepresented in the fossil record. So, this discovery can be viewed from not only the perspective of its significance in North American paleontology, but also broader trends in evolution, paleogeography and paleoecology.”
Leibach, who switched his major from biology to geology after volunteering to work with the invertebrate paleontology collections at the University of Kansas, began this project as an undergraduate student by analyzing a box of about a dozen fossils in the collections of the KU Biodiversity Institute. Initially, Leibach and one of his co-authors, Anna Whitaker, who was a graduate student at KU at the time and now is at the University of Toronto-Mississauga, analyzed each fossil using a light microscope, which identified at least one of the fossils to be a palaeoscolecid.
Leibach worked with Julien Kimmig, who was at the KU Biodiversity Institute at the time and is now at Penn State University, to determine that, in order to be able to confirm their initial findings, he would need the help of additional analyses provided by sophisticated microscopy equipment located at the MU X-ray Microanalysis Core, which is directed by Schiffbauer. Using the core facility at MU, Leibach focused his analysis on the indentations left in the fossil by the ancient animal’s microscopic plates, which are characteristic of the palaeoscolecids.
“These very small mineralized plates are usually nanometers-to-micrometers in size, so we needed the assistance of the equipment in Dr. Schiffbauer’s lab to be able to study them in detail because their size, orientation and distribution is how we classify the organism to the genus and species levels,” Leibach said.
Leibach said the team found a couple reasons about why this particular fossil may be found in limited quantities in North America as compared to other parts of the world. They are:
- Geochemical limitations or different environments that may be more predisposed to preserving these types of organisms.
- Ecological competition, which may have driven this type of organism to be less competitive or less abundant in certain areas.
The new taxon is named Arrakiscolex aasei after the fictional planet Arrakis in the novel “Dune” by Frank Herbert, which is inhabited by a species of armored worm and the collector of the specimens Arvid Aase.
The study, “First palaeoscolecid from the Cambrian (Miaolingian, Drumian) Marjum Formation of western Utah,” was published in Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, an international quarterly journal which publishes papers from all areas of paleontology. Funding was provided by a National Science Foundation CAREER grant (1652351), a National Science Foundation Earth Sciences Instrumentation and Facilities grant (1636643), a University of Kansas Undergraduate Research grant, a student research grant provided by the South-Central Section of the Geological Society of America, and the J. Ortega-Hernández Laboratory for Invertebrate Palaeobiology at Harvard University. The study’s authors would like to thank Arvid Aase and Thomas T. Johnson for donating the specimens analyzed in the study.The new taxon is named Arrakiscolex aasei after the fictional planet Arrakis in the novel “Dune” by Frank Herbert, which is inhabited by a species of armored worm and the collector of the specimens Arvid Aase.
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Editor’s Note: Palaeoscolecid is pronounced “pale-Eo-sko-les-sid.”
JOURNAL
Acta Palaeontologica Polonica
Issued on: 10/09/2021
Brussels (AFP)
With a bisexual protagonist who wields a mysterious superpower, the new instalment of "Life is Strange" is the latest in a growing array of video games that place LGBTQ characters in the spotlight.
Like previous games in the popular series, "Life is Strange: True Colors" allows players to pursue same-sex relationships as they journey through a supernaturally-tinged version of small-town America.
"We really wanted to continue to honour the story of queer characters in 'Life is Strange'," lead writer Jon Zimmerman of Nine Deck Games, the US studio behind "True Colors", told AFP ahead of its release on Friday.
The latest game follows Alex Chen, a young Asian-American woman who embraces her power to sense other people's emotions as she investigates her brother's death in the Colorado mountains.
Like its predecessors in the series, which is being adapted into a TV show, the game features a folk-pop soundtrack, soft pastel graphics and a gentle rhythm of play.
The games have won critical acclaim for the sensitivity of their storylines since 2015 when French studio Dontnod produced the first instalment, which has sold more than three million copies alone.
"True Colors" is the fourth full-length game in a series that has been praised for its portrayal of characters across the LGBTQ spectrum.
"Back in 2015, I was still 'in the closet'," said Mai Torras, a Buenos Aires-based game developer who runs a fan site devoted to the series.
"Life Is Strange", she said, "helped me a great deal to finally come to terms with a few things about myself."
- From indies to blockbusters -
For years, gay, bisexual and transgender characters featured mainly in video games made by small independent companies.
But larger studios are now also eager to depict a wider diversity of characters, in part to better reflect players' own life experiences as gaming has become a mainstream hobby for millions worldwide.
Before it developed "True Colors", Deck Nine Games worked on "Before The Storm", a 2017 "Life is Strange" prequel which similarly depicts a range of LGBTQ characters.
"It's one of the hardest things we do," Zimmerman said of the studio's efforts to depict queer characters in a way that feels both authentic and sensitive.
The games' writers are well aware that players' own experiences with their gender and sexuality can be "connected to great tragedy or trauma", he added.
Video game giant Ubisoft had stumbled with its own attempt at introducing LGBTQ characters in its cult "Assassin's Creed" series.
The "Odyssey" game, released in 2018, offered players the option to pursue a same-sex relationship -- but the storyline then forced them into a heterosexual one. Ubisoft's creative director apologised for the gaffe.
- Backlash -
Elizabeth Maler, co-founder of French games publisher Abiding Bridge, said the industry was waking up to the fact that it "has an impact on society" and can play a role in encouraging tolerance.
In 2017 she co-wrote "A Normal Lost Phone", a game which tackles the theme of transgender identity.
"It can be risky to speak about these subjects in games," said Maler.
"There are people who hate it and will give you negative reviews for it."
And these reviews, particularly on the influential platform Steam, can be crucial to a game's success, she added.
"It totally influences the algorithms and the visibility you can have," Maler told AFP.
Some players have accused games like "Life is Strange" of trying to force political correctness down their throats.
"I don't play games to hear about other people's political ideas, especially if it's pushy about it," read one comment about "True Colors" posted on Steam.
Gaming culture has long battled with a reputation for jokes at the expense of minorities, not least the LGBTQ community.
Twitch, the world's biggest video game streaming platform, has been struggling lately with the phenomenon of "hate raids", barrages of homophobic, racist and sexist abuse.
And while studios are increasingly trying to emphasise diversity within their games, critics say the teams developing them often remain overwhelmingly white, straight and male.
"We are still in an industry that remains very sexist and that can be racist, ableist, and that isn't great at integrating marginalised people," Maler said.
© 2021 AFP
Raducanu to face Fernandez in historic all-teen US Open final
Issued on: 10/09/2021
New York (AFP)
British 18-year-old qualifier Emma Raducanu and Canadian 19-year-old Leylah Fernandez completed astonishing runs to their historic first Grand Slam final on Thursday at the US Open.
Raducanu became the first qualifier to ever reach a Grand Slam final, and the youngest Slam finalist in 17 years, by ousting Greek 17th seed Maria Sakkari 6-1, 6-4.
"I'm in the final and I can't actually believe it," Raducanu said.
Fernandez, a 73rd-ranked left-hander, beat second seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 6-4, for her third Open win over a top-five rival, a feat not seen at a Slam since Serena Williams at Wimbledon in 2012.
"Now I can say I've done a pretty good job of achieving my dreams," Fernandez said.
In a real-life epic as amazing as any fairy-tale, the teen prodigies will meet Saturday at Arthur Ashe Stadium, where one of them will claim her first Grand Slam title.
"Is there any expectation?" Raducanu said. "I'm a qualifier so technically on paper there's no pressure on me."
It's the first Slam final between teens since 17-year-old Williams beat 18-year-old Martina Hingis at the 1999 US Open, and just the eighth all-teen Slam final in the Open era (since 1968).
"I just want to play a final," Fernandez said. "I'm going to enjoy my victory and worry about it tomorrow."
Raducanu is the youngest Slam finalist since 17-year-old Maria Sharapova won at Wimbledon in 2004.
She became only the second woman ranked outside the top 100 to reach a US Open final after unranked Kim Clijsters came out of retirement and won the 2009 US Open.
"Today I wasn't thinking about anyone else except for myself," Raducanu said.
Raducanu is trying to become the first British woman to win a Grand Slam title since Virginia Wade at Wimbledon in 1977 and the first British woman to win the US Open since Wade in 1968.
Wade and British legend Tim Henman were watching.
"Tim is such a big inspiration," said Raducanu. "He has been helping me, telling me take one point at a time. You have to stay in the moment and can't get ahead of yourself."
Fernandez, who turned 19 on Monday, had earlier ousted defending champion Naomi Osaka and fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina before Sabalenka, 23, become her third top-five victim.
"I had opportunities but I didn't use them in the key moments," Sabalenka said. "I didn't play well. She deserved this win."
Raducanu could become the first US Open champion not to lose a set since Serena Williams in 2014.
Raducanu saved three break points in her opening service game then broke to lead 2-0. Sakkari double faulted to hand the teen a 4-0 edge and she took the first set in 36 minutes, aided by Sakkari's 17 unforced errors.
An errant Sakkari forehand in the third game of the second set handed Raducanu the only break she needed as she advanced after 84 minutes on an overhead smash.
"I played some of my best tennis to date," Raducanu said. "I knew I'd have to be super aggressive and execute and I'm just really happy with today's performance."
- 'Years of work' -
Fernandez, never deeper than the third round in six prior Slam starts, showed the mental toughness preached by her father-coach Jorge in the tie-breaker.
Sabalenka netted a forehand with a wide-open court to hand Fernandez a 3-2 edge. The teen never trailed after that, winning the last four points to claim the first set in 53 minutes.
"That's years and years of work and tears and blood and sacrifice," said Fernandez of her mental fortitude.
The Ashe stadium music director played the Eric Clapton song "Layla" as the crowd roared when she took the set.
"I have no idea (how I won)," said Fernandez. "I'd say it's thanks to the New York crowd. They helped me. They cheered for me. They never gave up."
Fernandez sent a forehand long to surrender a break in the ninth game and Sabalenka held at love to take the second set.
In the third, Fernandez held to 5-4 and Sabalenka crumbled with the match on the line, issuing back-to-back double faults to 0-40 and sending a forehand long -- her 52nd unforced error -- to fall after two hours and 21 minutes.
"I don't know how I got that last point in but I'm glad it was and I'm glad I'm in the finals," Fernandez said.
© 2021 AFP
Issued on: 10/09/2021 -
Stavanger (Norway) (AFP)
In Stavanger's harbour, the Petroleum Museum chronicles Norway's road to riches. Now, faced with the climate crisis, a growing chorus wants fossil fuels to be relegated to history for good.
The "code red" sounded by the United Nations in early August has reignited debate about the future of the oil industry in Norway, the largest oil producer in western Europe, ahead of Monday's legislative elections.
The Green party, MDG, -- whose support the opposition centre-left, currently leading in the polls, may rely on in order to obtain a parliamentary majority -- has called for an immediate end to oil prospecting and a halt to production by 2035.
"Oil belongs in a museum. It served us very well for many decades but we can now see that it is destroying our climate," says Ulrikke Torgersen, the Greens candidate in Stavanger, Norway's oil capital where it is often said locals have oil running through their veins.
The UN climate report, which warned of an acceleration of "unprecedented" extreme events linked to climate change, propelled the subject right to the heart of the election campaign.
Norway's two biggest parties -- the Conservatives led by Prime Minister Erna Solberg and the Labour Party led by her likely successor Jonas Gahr Store -- have both refused to bid farewell to black gold.
But each camp has small factions pushing for the country to set an example by putting an end to its oil dependence and speeding up its green transition in order to respect its commitments under the 2015 Paris climate accord.
According to a poll on August 20, 35 percent of Norwegians said they were in favour of ending oil exploration.
Even the International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that all fossil fuel exploration projects must cease immediately if the world is to keep global warming under control.
- A painful break -
A clean break would be painful for Norway: the oil sector accounts for 14 percent of gross domestic product, as well as 40 percent of its exports and 160,000 direct jobs.
Over the years, oil and gas have financed Norway's generous welfare state, as well as costly environmental initiatives such as incentives for electric car purchases and the protection of rain forests.
In addition, the cash cow has helped the country of 5.4 million people amass the world's biggest sovereign wealth fund, today worth more than 12 trillion kroner (almost 1.2 trillion euros, $1.4 trillion).
The oil industry has been quick to point out that of all the world's oil, Norwegian crude emits the lowest amount of greenhouse gases -- at least at the drilling stage.
A recent study even claimed that an end to Norway's oil and gas production would lead to an increase in worldwide emissions, as Norwegian products would be replaced by even more polluting energy sources.
"It would be paradoxical to halt oil and gas production which has the lowest CO2 footprint at a time when the world still needs it," said Anniken Hauglie, head of the oil lobby Norsk Olje & Gass.
"We need to get rid of other kinds of fossil fuels first, in particular coal," she said.
And, she insisted, oil companies also have a wealth of knowledge, technology and capital that will be needed for the development of future energy solutions, such as offshore wind power, hydrogen and carbon capture and storage (CCS).
- Students going elsewhere -
Despite paying high salaries, the oil industry is struggling to attract young talent.
At the University of Stavanger, the number of Masters students in oil engineering is shrinking like the icecap in summer.
From over 60 students in 2013, most of them Norwegians, their number has dropped to 22 this year, including only a handful of nationals.
"We need to get rid of fossil fuels, no doubt about it. Even we in Norway as an oil-producing country, we know that. But the question is how fast we should do that and how prepared we are for that," professor Mahmoud Khalifeh told AFP.
"Even if you want to stop oil production, we need petroleum engineers to design how to properly close thousands of active wells to avoid leakages to the environment," he added.
Camilla Abrahamsen is determined to get her degree and become a drilling engineer.
"I want to contribute to the future. Maybe try to make oil a bit greener," the 25-year-old student said.
Does she have any doubts about her career choice?
"I'll be old by the time we can live without oil," she added.
© 2021 AFP
Issued on: 10/09/2021 -
Oslo (AFP)
Oil-rich Norway goes to the polls on Monday in elections dominated by climate change that the ruling Conservative party is widely expected to lose to a Labour-led coalition.
Labour Party leader Jonas Gahr Store is hoping to wrest power from centre-right Prime Minister Erna Solberg, who has headed the wealthy Scandinavian nation for eight years.
Polls suggest Solberg is unlikely to win again, and the key question is whether Store's hoped-for coalition with the Centre and Socialist Left parties will get enough votes for a parliamentary majority.
If not he may have to seek the support of other small parties.
"Something really dramatic would have to happen for the right-wing to win," political scientist Johannes Bergh of the Norwegian Institute for Social Research told AFP.
The campaign has largely focused on the future of the oil industry in Norway, western Europe's biggest producer.
Norway owes its riches to black gold, enabling it to amass the world's biggest sovereign wealth fund.
The country has embraced environmentally-friendly policies to tackle climate change in recent years, but Store says it's not been enough.
He has vowed to introduce "fair" climate policies and narrow socioeconomic divides.
"We haven't done nearly enough in our climate transition and our welfare state has in many areas been cut back, privatised or carved up," the 61-year-old told AFP.
"After eight years of right-wing politics, inequalities have increased in Norway."
- Black gold -
Though Store's own Labour party is expected to put in a poor showing at the polls, he should be able to take the election with the help of his allies, primarily the agrarian Centre Party and Socialist Left.
It remains to be seen whether the three parties will win a majority, or have to rely on support from the communist Rodt party and the Green MDG party.
The Greens have called for an immediate halt to oil exploration and an end to production by 2035.
But Store has rejected the ultimatum, saying he wants to fight global warming without endangering jobs.
"The climate and environment will be a major issue, maybe the key issue, when it comes to building a government after the elections," Bergh said.
"It will be difficult for the various parties to agree."
The centre-right has called on Norwegians to vote for continuity, citing Solberg's strong track record.
In eight years at the helm -- a record for the Conservatives -- Solberg has steered the country through the migrant crisis, plunging oil prices and the pandemic.
"The choice this year is between Erna (Solberg's) safe leadership with policies that work, and an uncertain alternative," the Conservative Party said.
"We need solid management and a clear course ahead to kickstart Norway after the pandemic."
- 'More billionaires' -
After the Vatican and Iceland, Norway has the lowest number of Covid deaths in Europe per capita, and its economy has already returned to its pre-pandemic level.
But critics have accused the outgoing government of being overly optimistic about returning to a post-pandemic reality.
In mid-August Health Minister Bent Hoie told Norwegians "we'll be able to dance slow dances and resume 'one-night stands' at the end of September".
But facing rising infection rates, the government has had to postpone the lifting of all its restrictions several times.
Solberg also ran into trouble when she broke her own government's social distancing rules at her 60th birthday celebration in March, a mistake that also cost her a hefty fine.
Ahead of the vote Monday, the election campaign was in full swing in downtown Oslo.
"Under Solberg, the inequality gap has widened. The number of billionaires keeps growing," complained one pensioner.
Near a Conservative Party campaign stand, an elegantly-dressed woman says she wants Solberg to win.
"Of course we all care about the environment, but without oil revenues what is going to pay for our welfare state?".
© 2021 AFP