XPost: alt.global-warming   
      
   *Oil giants prepare to put carbon back in the ground   
   Stanley Reed, The New York Times via Carbon Brief   
      
   The New York Times carries a feature piece by journalist Stanley Reed   
   on the topic of carbon capture and storage. Reed introduces Andy Lane   
   - ex-manager of "the construction of enormous facilities for   
   extracting and transporting natural gas" - who is now working on the   
   Teesside carbon capture and storage project for BP. Lane's new role in   
   storing carbon emissions from a group of chemical plants in northeast   
   England in a reservoir under the North Sea, Reed says, noting that   
   this "essentially aims to reverse what he has spent much of his career   
   doing". Reed adds that although carbon capture and storage sounds   
   "deceptively simple", it "has proved to be hugely expensive, and it   
   has not caught on as rapidly as some advocates hoped". However he says   
   that in the past month, Biden has promoted the idea, Exxon Mobil   
   announced $3bn investment into low-carbon efforts including carbon   
   capture" and Elon Musk promised a $100m prize for the best   
   carbon-capture technology. He adds that carbon capture and storage is   
   "fast becoming a focal point of attention in prime minister Boris   
   Johnson's govt" and that in last Wed's budget   
   announcement, chancellor Rish Sunak called the Teesside project "the   
   future economy of this country". Reed concludes that "if BP can put   
   together a package including govt support that provides   
   sufficient profits for the company, the power plant could begin   
   operating in around 5 years."   
      
   In related news, the Hill reports that the US Dept of Energy has   
   "announced 2 major initiatives that will put more than $75 mn   
   in projects that seek to make industry more efficient and advance   
   carbon capture technology". Energy secretary Jennifer Granholm   
   announced $52.5m for industrial assessment centres which "use federal   
   funds to research energy conservation in industrial settings", it   
   adds. The paper also quotes a statement from Granholm that "these   
   programs are proof that big climate investments can help small   
   businesses reduce their emissions and increase their efficiency, while   
   saving them 1000s of dollars."   
      
      
   --   
   'What they are doing is wrong': Australia wants to put global pressure on EU   
   over vaccine supply   
   ABC News, 08 Mar 2021 18:37Z   
   Italy's decision to block 250,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to   
   Australia is an example of "vaccine protectionism" that could seriously harm   
   developing nations in our region, according to Trade Minister Dan Tehan.   
      
   Authorities 'alarmed' by second strong COVID-19 reading in Adelaide CBD   
   wastewater   
   ABC News, 09 Mar 2021 03:54Z   
   South Australian health authorities have expressed concern about a second   
   "strong" result for COVID-19 in the wastewater of Adelaide's CBD.   
      
   Apophis, a Feared Future Earth Impactor, Just Flew Past Us   
   The Debrief, 8 Mar 2021   
   In 2004 when Apophis was initially discovered, astronomers were   
   concerned about its possible trajectory, which appeared to put it on a   
   collision course with Earth. Fortunately, the more than 300-meter-wide   
   space rock was detected early enough that we had time to prepare: the   
   possible impact wasn't expected to occur until 2029.   
   Based on existing data collected by NASA, the threat of a 2029 impact   
   with Apophis was eventually ruled out. Although its 2029 passage will   
   be close at just under 20,000 miles from Earth--placing its path   
   between Earth and the Moon--it is not believed that the asteroid will   
   represent a threat at that time.   
      
   CDC study finds about 78% of people hospitalized for Covid were overweight   
   or obese   
   CNBC, 08 Mar 2021 17:41Z   
   An overwhelming majority of people who have been hospitalized, needed a   
   ventilator or died from Covid-19 have been overweight or obese, the CDC said.   
      
   [Leadership!]   
   Syrian president Assad, wife test positive for coronavirus   
   New York Post, 08 Mar 2021 20:45Z   
   Damascus, Syria. Syrian President Bashar Assad and his wife have tested   
   positive for the coronavirus, the president's office said Mon, with both   
   having ...   
      
   Twitter sues TX attorney general over investigation into content   
   moderation practices   
   POLITICO, 09 Mar 2021 03:43Z   
   Twitter on Mon filed a complaint in US District Court against TX   
   Attorney General Ken Paxton, seeking to stop the state's investigation into   
   its content ...   
      
   Remote C.I.A. Base in the Sahara Steadily Grows   
   The New York Times, 09 Mar 2021 0:42Z   
   Washington. Deep in the Sahara, the C.I.A. is continuing to conduct secret   
   drone flights from a small but steadily expanding air base, even as the Biden   
   ...   
      
   Rare meteorite chunk traced by scientists to Gloucestershire driveway   
   The Guardian, 09 Mar 2021 01:20Z   
   'Dream come true' to locate first carbonaceous chondrite seen in UK, part of   
   fireball that caused sonic boom.   
      
   More contagious variant of COVID-19 found to be widespread in Houston   
   wastewater, city health officials say   
   KPRC Click2Houston, 09 Mar 2021 0:19Z   
   Houston. The Houston Health Dept announced Mon the UK   
   variant (B.1.1.7) of the virus that causes COVID-19 was found in most of the   
   city's ...   
      
   [Reality Check!]   
   Donald Trump Greeted by Lone Supporter and Angry Protesters As He Returns to   
   New York   
   Newsweek, 08 Mar 2021 23:17Z   
   Protesters gathered outside the building calling for his arrest on Mon   
   morning with signs that read, "Florida Man Go Home," "Indict Trump" and "   
   Arrest Trump.   
      
   New study warns Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines could be far less   
   effective against South Africa variant   
   The Hill, 08 Mar 2021 22:26Z   
   A new report states that the South African COVID-19 mutation renders   
   existing vaccines less effective. The first known case of the South African   
   variant appeared ...   
      
   4.6-bn-year-old meteorite belongs to Earth's long-lost baby cousin   
   Livescience.com, 08 Mar 2021 21:25Z   
   A lonely meteorite that landed in the Sahara Desert in 2020 is older than   
   Earth. The primeval space rock is about 4.6 bn years old, and is the   
   oldest known ...   
      
   Neanderthals disappeared from Europe earlier than thought, says study   
   Phys.org, 08 Mar 2021 22:25Z   
   Neanderthal fossils from a cave in Belgium believed to belong to the last   
   survivors of their species ever discovered in Europe are 1000s of years   
   older than ...   
      
   Meet the Sea Slugs That Chop Off Their Heads and Grow New Bodies   
   The New York Times, 08 Mar 2021 17:24Z   
   A few years ago, Sayaka Mitoh, a Ph.D. candidate at Nara Women's University   
   in Japan, was perusing her lab's vast collection of sea slugs when she   
   stumbled ...   
      
   Insatiable demand for cannabis has created a giant carbon footprint   
   Phys.org, 08 Mar 2021 16:22Z   
   It's no secret that the United States' $13 bn cannabis industry is big   
   business. Less obvious to many is the environmental toll this booming   
   business is taking, ...   
      
   Meet Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization CFO prosecutors are   
   reportedly trying to flip   
   Business Insider, 08 Mar 2021 21:21Z   
   Allen Weisselberg may know more about the Trump Organization and family's   
   finances than anyone else, and he's loyally served Donald Trump for decades.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)