When bees get a taste for dead things: Meat-eating 'vulture bees' sport acidic guts

by University of California - Riverside

Raw chicken baits attracting vulture bees in Costa Rica. Credit: Quinn McFrederick/UCR

A little-known species of tropical bee has evolved an extra tooth for biting flesh and a gut that more closely resembles that of vultures rather than other bees.

Typically, bees don't eat meat. However, a species of stingless bee in the tropics has evolved the ability to do so, presumably due to intense competition for nectar.

"These are the only bees in the world that have evolved to use food sources not produced by plants, which is a pretty remarkable change in dietary habits," said UC Riverside entomologist Doug Yanega.

Honeybees, bumblebees, and stingless bees have guts that are colonized by the same five core microbes. "Unlike humans, whose guts change with every meal, most bee species have retained these same bacteria over roughly 80 million years of evolution," said Jessica Maccaro, a UCR entomology doctoral student.

Given their radical change in food choice, a team of UCR scientists wondered whether the vulture bees' gut bacteria differed from those of a typical vegetarian bee. They differed quite dramatically, according to a study the team published today in the American Society of Microbiologists' journal mBio.

To track these changes, the researchers went to Costa Rica, where these bees are known to reside. They set up baits—fresh pieces of raw chicken suspended from branches and smeared with petroleum jelly to deter ants.

The baits successfully attracted vulture bees and related species that opportunistically feed on meat for their protein. Normally, stingless bees have baskets on their hind legs for collecting pollen. However, the team observed carrion-feeding bees using those same structures to collect the bait. "They had little chicken baskets," said Quinn McFrederick, a UCR entomologist.

For comparison, the team also collected stingless bees that feed both on meat and flowers, and some that feed only on pollen. On analyzing the microbiomes of all three bee types, they found the most extreme changes among exclusive meat-feeders.

"The vulture bee microbiome is enriched in acid-loving bacteria, which are novel bacteria that their relatives don't have," McFrederick said. "These bacteria are similar to ones found in actual vultures, as well as hyenas and other carrion-feeders, presumably to help protect them from pathogens that show up on carrion."

One of the bacteria present in vulture bees is Lactobacillus, which is in a lot of humans' fermented food, like sourdough. They were also found to harbor Carnobacterium, which is associated with flesh digestion.

"It's crazy to me that a bee can eat dead bodies. We could get sick from that because of all the microbes on meat competing with each other and releasing toxins that are very bad for us," Maccaro said.

The researchers noted that these bees are unusual in a number of ways. "Even though they can't sting, they're not all defenseless, and many species are thoroughly unpleasant," Yanega said. "They range from species that are genuinely innocuous to many that bite, to a few that produce blister-causing secretions in their jaws, causing the skin to erupt in painful sores."

In addition, though they feed on meat, their honey is reportedly still sweet and edible. "They store the meat in special chambers that are sealed off for two weeks before they access it, and these chambers are separate from where the honey is stored," Maccaro said.

The research team is planning to delve further into vulture bee microbiomes, hoping to learn about the genomes of all bacteria as well as fungi and viruses in their bodies.

Ultimately, they hope to learn more about the larger role that microbes play in overall bee health.

"The weird things in the world are where a lot of interesting discoveries can be found," McFrederick said. "There's a lot of insight there into the outcomes of natural selection."Newly identified bacteria may help bees nourish their young

More information: Laura L. Figueroa et al, Why Did the Bee Eat the Chicken? Symbiont Gain, Loss, and Retention in the Vulture Bee Microbiome, mBio (2021). DOI: 10.1128/mBio.02317-21

Journal information: mBio 

Provided by University of California - Riverside 

Peeking into a chrysalis, videos reveal growth of butterfly wing scales

by Jennifer Chu, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

If you brush against the wings of a butterfly, you will likely come away with a fine sprinkling of powder. This lepidopteran dust is made up of tiny microscopic scales, hundreds of thousands of which paper a butterfly's wings like shingles on a wafer-thin roof. The structure and arrangement of these scales give a butterfly its color and shimmer, and help shield the insect from the elements.

Now, MIT engineers have captured the intricate choreography of butterfly scales forming during metamorphosis. The team has for the first time continuously observed the wing scales growing and assembling as a developing butterfly transforms inside its chrysalis.

With some minor surgery and a clever imaging approach, the researchers were able to watch wing scales form in specimens of Vanessa cardui, commonly known as the Painted Lady butterfly. They observed that, as a wing forms, cells on its surface line up in orderly rows as they grow. These cells quickly differentiate into alternating "cover" and "ground" scales, producing an overlapping shingle-like pattern. As they reach their full size, the scales sprout thin ridges along their length—tiny corrugated features that control the insect's color and help it to shed rain and moisture.

The team's study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, offers the most detailed look yet at the budding architecture of butterfly scales. The new visualizations also could serve as a blueprint for designing new functional materials, such as iridescent windows and waterproof textiles.

"Butterfly wings control many of their attributes by precisely forming the structural architecture of their wing scales," says lead author Anthony McDougal, a research assistant in MIT's Department of Mechanical Engineering. "This strategy might be used, for example, to give both color and self-cleaning properties to automobiles and buildings. Now we can learn from butterflies' structural control of these complex, micro-nanostructured materials."

McDougal's co-authors at MIT include postdoc Sungsam Kang, research scientist Zahid Yaqoob, professor of mechanical engineering and biological engineering Peter So, and associate professor of mechanical engineering Mathias Kolle.

A firefly field

The cross-section of a butterfly's wing reveals an intricate scaffold of scales and ribs whose structure and arrangement varies from species to species. These microscopic features act as tiny reflectors, bouncing light around to give a butterfly its color and shine. The ridges on a wing's scales serve as miniature rain gutters and radiators, funneling moisture and heat to keep the insect cool and dry

Researchers have tried to replicate the optical and structural properties of butterfly wings to design new solar cells and optical sensors, rain- and heat-resistant surfaces, and even paper currency patterned with iridescent encryptions to discourage counterfeiting. Knowing what processes butterflies harness to grow their scales could help to further direct this kind of bioinspired technology development.

Currently, what's known about scale formation is based on still images of developing and mature butterfly wings.

"Previous studies provide compelling snapshots at select stages of development; unfortunately, they don't reveal the continuous timeline and sequence of what happens as scale structures grow," Kolle says. "We needed to see more to start understanding it better."

In their new study, he and his colleagues looked to continuously observe how scales grow and assemble in a living, morphing butterfly. They chose to study specimens of Vanessa cardui, as the butterfly's wings have features that are common across most lepidopteran species.

The team raised Painted Lady caterpillars in individual containers. Once each caterpillar encased itself in a chrysalis, indicating the beginning of its metamorphosis, the researchers carefully cut into the paper-thin material and peeled away a small square of cuticle, or covering of the developing wing, exposing the scales growing underneath. They then used a bioadhesive to stick a transparent coverslip over the opening, creating a window through which they could watch as the butterfly and its scales continued to form.

To visualize this transformation, Kolle and McDougal teamed up with Kang, Yaqoob, and So—experts in a type of imaging called speckle-correlation reflection phase microscopy. Rather than shine a wide beam of light on the wing, which could be phototoxic to the delicate cells, the team applied a "speckle field"—many small points of light, each shining on a specific point on the wing. The reflection of each tiny light can be measured in parallel with every other point in the field to quickly create a detailed, three-dimensional map of the wing's structures.

"A speckled field is like thousands of fireflies that generate a field of illumination points," So says. "Using this method, we can isolate the light coming from different layers, and can reconstruct the information to map efficiently a structure in 3D."

Making connections

In their visualizations of the growing butterfly wing, the team watched the formation of highly detailed features, from micrometer-sized scales to even finer, nanometer-high ridges on individual scales.

They observed that, within days, cells quickly lined up in rows, and soon after differentiated in an alternating pattern of cover scales (those overlying the wing) and ground scales (those tucked underneath). As they reached their final size, each scale grew long, thin ridges resembling tiny corrugated roofing.

"A lot of these stages were understood and seen before, but now we can stitch them all together and watch continuously what's happening, which gives us more information on the detail of how scales form," McDougal says.

Interestingly, the team found that ridges on scales formed in an unexpected way. Scientists had assumed these grooves were a consequence of compression: As scales grow, they were thought to squeeze in like an accordion. But the team's visualizations showed that instead of shrinking as any material would when compressed, the scales continued to grow in size as ridges appeared on their surface. These measurements suggest another ridge-forming mechanism must be at work. The group hopes to explore this, and other processes in the developing butterfly wing, which can help to inform the design of new functional materials.

"This paper focuses on what's on the surface of the butterfly wing," McDougal notes. "But underneath the surface, we can also see cells putting down roots like carrots, and sending out connections to other roots. There's communication underneath the surface as cells organize. And on the surface, scales are forming, along with features on the scales themselves. We can visualize all of it, which is really beautiful to see."Scientists use CRISPR to tweak butterfly wing color, change wing scale surface structure

More information: In vivo visualization of butterfly scale cell morphogenesis in Vanessa cardui, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2021). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2112009118.

Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 

Provided by Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

Here's Why Earthquakes' 'Four-Leaf Clover' Shockwaves Are Dangerous Instead of Lucky


(Trugman et al., Geophysical Research Letters, 2021)
NATURE

DAVID NIELD
21 NOVEMBER 2021


Geologists have measured a devastating 'four-leaf clover' pattern of earthquake shockwaves in greater detail than ever before – and the resulting findings could be crucial in making our buildings and cities more resistant to large quakes in the future.


This four-pronged pattern has been analyzed before, but never in as much depth as this. The team behind the new study is hoping that it might remove some of the mystery surrounding how earthquake shockwaves spread out across different frequencies.

Crucially, the cloverleaf shockwaves spread at low frequencies of under 10 hertz, a level of vibration that many buildings and structures are particularly vulnerable to.

The four-leaf clover pattern is visible at lower frequencies. (Trugman et al., Geophysical Research Letters, 2021)

"We find that at low frequencies, a simplified and widely used four-lobed model of earthquake ground motions does a good job describing the observed seismic wavefield," write the researchers in their published paper.

"At higher frequencies, however, this four-lobed radiation pattern becomes less clear, deteriorating due to complexity in earthquake source processes and fault zone structure."

The researchers looked at data from one of the densest seismic arrays on the planet: the LArge-n Seismic Survey in Oklahoma (LASSO), which is made up of 1,829 seismic sensors within an area of just 15 by 20 miles (25 by 32 kilometers).

LASSO was used to measure P-wave data from 24 small earthquakes across a period of 28 days in 2016, and it's this data that the new study digs into. Having sensors so close to the epicenter of the quakes meant that patterns could be spotted before they smoothed out and evened off over greater distances.

By using algorithms to filter shockwaves by frequency, the four-leaf clover pattern emerged, but only at the lower frequencies. That might be because lower frequency seismic waves can bypass the jumble of broken rock found at earthquake faults, rather than being reflected and scattered in many different directions.

"What happens when you have an earthquake is that pieces of broken rock inside the fault zone start to move around like pinballs," says geophysicist Victor Tsai, from Brown University in Rhode Island.

The earthquakes recorded by the LASSO array were relatively small – barely perceptible to the sensors – but the same patterns should be repeated across stronger quakes, the researchers predict. The next step is to put that to the test.

Ultimately, new data like this can make earthquake assessments and modeling more accurate. It shows that while people on the ground might experience a consistent level of shockwaves (the higher frequency ones), the buildings around them might be under a greater or lesser level of stress (the lower frequency shockwaves), depending on where they are in the four-leaf clover pattern.

While earthquake faults vary in terms of their age, their geological composition, and other factors, the underlying physics should be the same. The scientists are hoping to put together a catalog of earthquake zones, showing the faults with the most potential for dangerous seismic waves and resulting damage.

"What's important in these results is that close to the source we're seeing a variation in ground motion, and that's not accounted for in any sort of hazard model," says the study's first author, earthquake geophysicist Daniel Trugman from the University of Texas at Austin.

The research has been published in Geophysical Research Letters.

After crackdown, Hong Kong’s low paid face hurdles to organising

Beijing’s clampdown on dissent in city has silenced unions and politicians that traditionally supported workers’ rights.

Foodpanda delivery workers recently went on strike in Hong Kong, where dissent is increasingly not tolerated [File: Rachel Cheung]

By Rachel Cheung

Published On 23 Nov 2021

Hong Kong, China – When Foodpanda Hong Kong announced plans to reduce payments per order by another 2 Hong Kong dollars ($0.25) earlier this month, Ahmad and hundreds of other riders went on strike.

“This was the boiling point,” said Ahmad, who asked to use a pseudonym due to fears of reprisal. “Everyone was very angry. They didn’t want to work for such low pay.”

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The Pakistani joined the food delivery platform during the height of the pandemic in 2020 when his trading business closed along with the city’s borders.

Barely taking any time off each week, he could earn up to 30,000 Hong Kong dollars ($3,850) a month to support his family of four. However, as restaurants reopened and demand for food delivery dropped, the company chipped away at couriers’ incomes by steadily reducing their pay per order.

By October, it was difficult for Ahmad to earn even 25,000 Hong Kong dollars ($3,209) per month, one-fifth of which went to the maintenance of his motorcycle.

Soon after Foodpanda announced the pay cut, several hundred members of the fleet flocked to a Telegram group first set up by couriers to discuss technical issues in the company’s app.

“People came like flies,” Ahmad recalled, fueled by mounting grievances over pay, arbitrary account suspension and unreasonable penalties, among other issues.

“We are humans, not dogs,” read the signs workers attached to their motorcycles and bikes during the subsequent November 13-14 strike, which successfully forced Foodpanda to the negotiating table, where its executives on Thursday agreed to a more generous compensation package.

The plight of gig workers is not unique to Hong Kong, but those in the global financial centre now tread a particularly fine line.

In one of the most unequal cities on earth, workers are up against not only their companies under laws that notoriously favour employers over employees, but also a government that is increasingly intolerant of any form of organising and dissent.

The pro-democracy Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions voted to disband last month citing political pressure following the passage of a sweeping national security law [File: Tyrone Siu/Reuters]

Last month, the Confederation of Trade Unions (CTU), the city’s largest independent union coalition, announced its decision to disband, joining a long list of civil society organisations that have buckled under the pressure of a sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing following mass pro-democracy protests in 2019.

The CTU’s founder and other union leaders are behind bars for their role in the protests or alleged violations of the national security law, which has wiped out practically all political opposition and silenced pro-democracy organisations and media in the former British colony. Beijing and the Hong Kong government have praised the security law for restoring peace and stability to the city after months of often violent protests.

Without the umbrella group, labour unions are left as “a snail without its shell,” as one former member put it.

The changed political atmosphere has been felt among workers organising on the ground, too.

As Foodpanda couriers’ representatives were bargaining with the company on Wednesday, dozens of riders rallying outside were warned by police against participating in an unauthorised assembly and threatened with fines for violating social distancing rules.

The CTU’s dissolution was inevitable after a relatively free political system that ensured plurality in the decades following the city’s 1997 transfer to Chinese sovereignty disappeared overnight, said executive member Denny To, speaking from the umbrella group’s former office in the bustling Mong Kok district.

“The way forward is something we must find out on our own,” To said. “The work of a labour union is long and slow. Whether it is sustainable after decentralisation remains a question.”

Hong Kong has some of the most severe wealth inequality on the planet [File: Chan Long Hei]

In 2017, To, who is also the head of the Cleaning Industry Service Workers Union, led cleaners at a public housing estate on a 10-day strike that resulted in the restoration of severance payments and a pay rise — a rare victory for grassroots workers.

His team worked tirelessly behind the scenes, raising money for workers during their strike, gathering support from residents and liaising with the media.

Their triumph sparked a wave of labour actions across public housing estates and pressed the Hong Kong government into amending the law in 2019. A new clause requires contractors to pay their employees an end-of-contract gratuity.

Yet as the cleaners’ contract drew to an end last month, they complained of their employer pulling an old trick: intimidating workers into quitting and thus surrendering their severance pay. Some cleaners said they had been fooled into signing additional contracts that denied their right to the gratuity, while a handful that refused said they were threatened with pay cuts and other penalties.

In today’s political environment, a repeat of To’s campaign on behalf of the cleaners is hard to imagine. The CTU is no longer around to provide the same support, while their allies in public office have been purged from the political system. Yeung Yuk, a district councillor who allied himself with the cleaners, was among more than 200 opposition councillors that resigned under pressure in July.

“Grassroots workers may not have a sharp political acumen, but they are not clueless,” To said. “They realise those on their side are disintegrating and it takes a huge toll on their confidence to speak out.”

To said he feared it was becoming difficult to amplify workers’ voices in Hong Kong, where advocates say labour protections are already lax and weakly enforced.

“Labour protections have always been weak in Hong Kong. Without our voice, the government may actively improve policies on its own only when pigs fly,” he said.

Ho Hung Hing, leader of the Catering and Hotel Industries Employees General Union, a former affiliate of the CTU, said the government had done little to uphold standards in the gig economy.

“Even without the CTU, our network will not disappear and we will continue to organise,” Ho said, “but without any representative in the parliamentary system, our advocacy can never reach the Legislative Council.”

Silver lining

There is, however, a silver lining, as the case of Foodpanda couriers shows. Though the company did not increase its fee per order, citing its global strategy, it agreed to suspend the rate cut till June of next year, pay bonuses during rush hour and offer other forms of compensation.

Speaking to the media after the agreement, Pedros Dias, Foodpanda’s operations director in Hong Kong, attributed the dispute to “miscommunication” with the fleet, although many riders complained they had few ways to make themselves heard.

Ho, who represented the Foodpanda riders during the negotiations, said the workers’ united stance had been key to their success, making a powerful statement that could not be ignored.

Though many of the progressive trade unions formed during the protests in 2019 have since dissolved under the political crackdown, Ho credits the social movement for inspiring a new political awakening and encouraging civic participation.

“A citywide strike might still be out of reach, but people realised that by going on strike, they are partaking in an industrial action that could influence the politics and economy of the city,” Ho said.

“Workers have come to understand that they have to speak out when they see something wrong. The vessel that holds unions together may be gone, but people are still alive and doing what they can in each of their own industries.”

As for Ahmad, he is back on his motorcycle. He was not completely satisfied with the strike’s outcome and admitted he had to compromise. But he is now delivering food with the knowledge that couriers can leverage their collective power to demand change.

“This is for our home, our family, and our survival in Hong Kong,” he said.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

 British Columbia·Photos

Before-and-after satellite images show flood devastation in B.C.'s Sumas Prairie

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Historic rainfall flooded farm fields, forced evacuations and killed livestock

CBC News · Posted: Nov 22, 2021 

This composite shows farmland and highway roads in Sumas Prairie, B.C., on June 27, left, and again on Friday, following extensive flooding in the region. (Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies)

Dramatic satellite images show the extent of flood damage in B.C.'s Sumas Prairie following last weekend's historic rainfall.

The low-lying rural area, east of Abbotsford's town centre, is mostly farmland and was created by the draining of Sumas Lake in the 1920s.

Last week the area suffered extensive flooding as water gushed in from the Nooksack River from neighbouring Washington state, forcing evacuations and killing livestock.

In images provided by Maxar Technologies, farmland in the region is shown on June 27 this year and again on Friday.

Many homes, barns and roads were left submerged under murky brown water following the storm, as seen in the composites above and below.

A pilot who has been helping to bring supplies to affected communities in the region told CBC News on Monday that the Hell's Gate Airtram attraction in the Fraser Canyon area was "gone" following the storm, but the company said on Tuesday this is not the case.

Maintenance staff were on site at noon Tuesday and confirmed the airtram is intact, the management team said. They also noted the staff took a picture of it, which was posted to the company's Twitter page.

When reached on Tuesday, the pilot, Shaun Heaps, said he was relieved by the news, adding that when he flew over Hell's Gate he couldn't see it.

Recovery efforts continue

More troops arrived in the province over the weekend to help farmers in the Sumas Prairie area save livestock and lend a hand in sandbagging efforts.

On Saturday, the mayor of Abbotsford told a news conference that round-the-clock work has improved the flooding situation in the region.

Flood gates at a pump station that has struggled to keep up with the influx of water in Sumas Prairie were able to partially reopen, allowing excess water from the Sumas River to flow into the Fraser River, said Mayor Henry Braun.

• With 40,000 chickens dead, Sumas Prairie farmer braces for a difficult rebuild

• Supply chains getting back on track as B.C. officials warn weather could derail flood recovery

"There's a dramatic change already in certain parts of the prairie," said Braun. "I can visually see a lot of green fields."

But with more rain expected in the coming week, Braun has extended a local state of emergency until Nov. 29.

See more of the flood damage in the region (all images taken on Friday):

Nearly 1,000 properties in the Sumas Prairie area were put under an evacuation order on Tuesday. (Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies)

More than 180 rescues were completed Tuesday and early Wednesday as trapped residents were stranded on their flooded properties. (Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies)

The military has since joined animal rescue efforts in the flood-stricken region. (Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies)

Corrections

• A previous version of this story quoted a pilot saying the Hell's Gate Airtram "is gone" due to the floods. The company has since told CBC News that the airtram is still intact.
  Nov 23, 2021 

Before and after: Satellite imagery shows vast devastation from B.C. flooding

Ben Cousins

CTVNews.ca Writer
Tuesday, November 23, 2021

TORONTO -- Satellite imagery from before and after the flooding in British Columbia reveal the true devastation the region has experienced.

The images from Nov. 19, provided by the satellite company Maxar Technologies, shows vast areas of green farmland in the Sumas Prairie near Abbotsford, B.C. that are now covered in what appears tobe murky brown water.

Some of the before images also show buildings and highways that are nearly unrecognizable in the second images.

The flooding situation in the Sumas Prairie has improved since these images were captured. On Tuesday, Abbotsford’s evacuation order was downgraded to an evacuation alert as the water levels receded in the area.

The downgrade meant that some residents were allowed to return to their homes. An update from city and provincial officials is expected later Tuesday.

In other parts of B.C., residents are also seeing an improvement. In Merritt, some residents were allowed to return home after the entire community was evacuated last week,

CN railways are expected to resume “limited” service in southern B.C. tomorrow after flooding and mudslides damaged the rail line.



(Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies)



(Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies)




(Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies)



(Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies)



(Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies)



(Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies)
RELATED IMAGES




Images from Nov. 19 show vast areas of green farmland in the Sumas Prairie near Abbotsford, B.C. that are now covered in what appears to murky brown water. (Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies)


Images from Nov. 19 show vast areas of green farmland in the Sumas Prairie near Abbotsford, B.C. that are now covered in what appears to murky brown water. (Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies)

35 PHOTOS B.C. flooding: Satellite images reveal extent of damage | CTV News

The Two Billionaires Reimagining Nuclear Energy

By Haley Zaremba - Nov 23, 2021

• Bill Gates and Warren Buffet are teaming up to reimagine nuclear energy.
• Their goal is to build a safer, more efficient, and more cost-effective nuclear plant.
• The Wyoming project could produce enough energy to power 400,000 homes, and future plants could be even larger

Two of the richest men in the world are teaming up to save the world from global warming. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, the fourth and tenth richest people in the world, respectively -- with estimated net worths of $140 billion and $103 billion -- are working together on a cutting-edge clean energy project that they believe has the potential to make a serious dent in global greenhouse gas emissions if scaled up successfully. It’s not solar, it’s not wind, it’s not green hydrogen -- it’s nuclear. 

Bill Gates’ nuclear venture is called TerraPower, and it has (rather symbolically) picked a remote coal town in western Wyoming as the site of its first innovative nuclear power plant. The plant will be cooled with liquid sodium instead of water, making it safer, more efficient, and more cost-effective than a traditional nuclear plant. They also have the potential to recycle their own spent fuel within these ‘molten salt’ cooling systems, thereby mitigating the total output of radioactive waste which represents one of nuclear critics’ strongest sticking points. 

While TerraPower promises that their reactors will eventually be some of the cheapest out there, however, the first plant to be built in Kemmerer, Wyoming is projected to be extremely over budget, at a price tag of approximately $4 billion instead of the targeted $1 billion. "One important thing to realize is the first plant always costs more," TerraPower CEO Chris Levesque was quoted by CNBC after a video call with media representatives last week.

TerraPower is 15 years old, and is now finally ramping up to make its dream a reality. “The advanced nuclear power plant in Kemmerer would be able to produce a baseload of 345 megawatts, but would also have the capacity to supply 500 megawatts of power, which is enough energy to power around 400,000 homes,” Insider recently reported. The plant is expected to generate power for 60 years. Furthermore, it will employ 2,000 workers in its construction, which is expected to replace lost coal jobs in Kemmerer. 

This initial plant will be the first "demonstration project" for the Natrium reactor, which Gates’ TerraPower is building in conjunction with Buffet’s PacifiCorp. Natrium is expected to go online in 2028. The United States government seems to agree that the project holds great promise for sustainable, zero-carbon energy and is funneling $1.9 billion into the project -- $1.5 of which is provisioned in the brand new Infrastructure Bill, while TerraPower is contributing another $2 billion.

The provisioning of this kind of money to nuclear power is currently the subject of hot debate, not just in the United States but on the global stage. Whether nuclear energy should count as a green energy source is hotly contested, with critics pointing to hazardous waste with a radioactive half-life of thousands of years, and advocates pointing out how paltry the amount of nuclear waste is in comparison to the existential threat of climate change. 

The timeline for curbing emissions in time to meet with the goals set by the Paris climate accord, and thus avoid the most devastating impacts of climate change, is terrifyingly short and growing shorter. This year the United Nations announced a “code red for humanity,” emphasizing the enormity of the challenge ahead of the global community and the urgency of the imperative for sweeping change in our consumption and production patterns. 

Despite the severity of the growing threat of climate change, the global agreement which culminated from this month’s COP26 climate summit in Glasgow does not go far enough to put the world on track to keep global warming within 1.5 degrees celsius over pre-industrial averages -- the necessary benchmark for avoiding the extreme effects of climate change. Nuclear proponents, such as Gates and Buffet, argue that a quick ramp-up of nuclear -- a proven and emissions-free energy technology -- would go a long way toward closing this gap. In fact, it may be our only chance.

By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com