XPost: alt.global-warming   
      
   *Shell's 2020 carbon emissions fall on the back of fuel sales drop   
   Ron Bousso and Shadia Nasralla, Reuters via Carbon Brief   
      
   Royal Dutch Shell, owner of the world's largest fuel retail network,   
   said yesterday that its total greenhouse gas emissions dropped 16% in   
   2020 as oil and gas sales fell sharply due to the coronavirus   
   pandemic, reports Reuters. In its annual report, Shell said that total   
   emissions from its oil wells to forecourt fuel sales fell to 1.38bn   
   tonnes of CO2 equivalent last year, from 1.65bn in 2019, the newswire   
   explains. It adds: "Net carbon intensity, the main measure the   
   Anglo-Dutch focuses on in its energy transition strategy, dropped last   
   year to 75 grams of CO2 equivalent per megajoules, a 4% reduction from   
   2019, Shell said."   
      
   At the same time, Shell announced Andrew Mackenzie - a former CEO of   
   mining company and BP veteran - as its next chairman who "will help   
   lead the energy company through a major shift away from oil and gas to   
   low-carbon energy", reports Reuters. Mackenzie "will succeed Chad   
   Holliday after the oil major's annual meeting in May as it embarks on   
   a strategic shift to lower-carbon energy", says the Times. It notes   
   that Mackenzie "began his career in academia, studying geology at the   
   University of St Andrew's and then gaining a PhD in chemistry from the   
   University of Bristol, where his research attracted the attention of   
   oil companies". Bloomberg describes Mackenzie as a "fossil-fuel man   
   through-and-through" and notes that he is "credited for being ahead of   
   the curve on climate change and gender issues in the natural resources   
   industry". Mackenzie said he was becoming chairman at "a pivotal time   
   for the industry and wider society", reports the Financial Times, and   
   that he would work closely with chief executive Ben van Beurden to   
   "profitably accelerate Shell's transition into a net-zero emissions   
   energy business". The Wall Street Journal also has the story, while   
   Reuters reports that van Beurden's pay package "dropped by 42% to $7m   
   in 2020" after the Covid pandemic "pushed the energy company to a   
   historic dividend cut following a collapse in profits".   
      
   Meanwhile, a Reuters exclusive reports that BP's trading arm made   
   nearly $4bn in 2020 - "almost equalling the record trading profit in   
   2019 despite the collapse in oil demand caused by the pandemic". The   
   newswire explains that "trading revenue for majors such as BP and   
   rival Royal Dutch/Shell shielded them from the full impact of the   
   worst recession to hit the modern energy industry, helping finance   
   their shift towards a new business model in a lower carbon economy".   
      
   In oil-related comment, Merryn Somerset Webb - editor-in-chief of   
   MoneyWeek investment magazine - writes in the Financial Times that   
   divesting from oil companies achieves "nothing good" because "when you   
   sell the shares, someone else buys them and the business just carries   
   on". She explains that "if you care about the planet I'd say there is   
   a case to be made for holding not fewer but more fossil fuel and   
   mining stocks. Better they are in the right than the wrong hands".   
      
      
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   Convalescent Plasma For COVID-19 Turns Out To Be A Bust   
   NPR/Shots - Health News, 10 Mar 2021 15:24Z   
   Infusing blood plasma from people who have recovered from COVID-19 into sick   
   patients looks good on paper. But studies of the treatment haven't found ...   
      
   Bacteria know how to exploit quantum mechanics, study finds   
   Phys.org, 10 Mar 2021 18:24Z   
   A group of scientists at the University of Chicago discovered that certain   
   bacteria deliberately use the rules of quantum mechanics to save their   
   photosynthetic ...   
      
   Earth-sized exoplanet may have lost its original atmosphere, but gained a   
   second one through volcanism   
   Phys.org, 11 Mar 2021 15:41Z   
   Orbiting a red dwarf star 41 light-years away is an Earth-sized, rocky   
   exoplanet called GJ 1132 b. In some ways, GJ 1132 b has intriguing parallels   
   to Earth, but ...   
      
   Winter Storm Xylia, a Potentially Historic Blizzard in the Rockies and High   
   Plains, Hits This Weekend   
   The Weather Channel, 10 Mar 2021 23:33Z   
   In parts of the High Plains, this could be an historic snowstorm. Here's our   
   latest forecast.   
      
   Quantum Mischief Rewrites the Laws of Cause and Effect   
   Quanta Magazine, 11 Mar 2021 16:31Z   
   Spurred on by quantum experiments that scramble the ordering of causes and   
   their effects, some physicists are figuring out how to abandon causality   
   altogether.   
      
   Military leaders thrash Tucker Carlson after comments about female troops   
   POLITICO, 11 Mar 2021 19:30Z   
   Senior military officials are condemning Fox News host Tucker Carlson for   
   saying this week that President Joe Biden is making a "mockery" of the armed   
   forces ...   
      
   North Carolina governor vows to stymie GOP-driven election changes   
   POLITICO, 11 Mar 2021 17:30Z   
   North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper on Thu said he's prepared to make full   
   use of his veto pen to stymie Republican-led effort to restrict voting   
   access in the ...   
      
   Gun Bills, Including Expanded Background Checks, Pass The House   
   NPR, 11 Mar 2021 20:28Z   
   The House on Thu passed 2 bills aimed at strengthening the nation's   
   gun laws, including stricter background checks.   
      
   US Air Force is guarding against electromagnetic pulse attacks. Should we   
   worry?   
   Livescience.com, 11 Mar 2021 13:17Z   
   A US Air Force base in TX has taken the first steps to guard against an   
   electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack. But what, exactly, is an EMP, and how   
   big is the ...   
      
   Denmark becomes sixth country to suspend AstraZeneca jab over blood clot fears   
   Yahoo News Australia, 11 Mar 2021 05:59Z   
   Denmark has suspended the use of the COVID-19 vaccine while it   
   investigates concerns that it could ...   
   [After a number of reports and the death of a 40 yo 10 days after   
   vaccination there are growing concerns in Europe over a link between   
   AZ and an enhanced risk of blood clots].   
      
   Australia's world-leading hydrogen pipeline drives analysts to boost   
   renewable growth forecast   
   pv-magazine-australia, 11 Mar 2021 06:55Z   
   Market analyst Fitch Solutions has raised its expectations for renewables in   
   Australia, citing the country's unrivalled green ...   
      
     Hydrogen hubs boost NSW regional centres   
     The Australian, 11 Mar 2021 08:56Z   
     The Hunter and Illawarra are poised to benefit from the first green hydrogen   
     hubs in NSW, with Energy Minister Matt Kean declaring the 70m investment   
     will drive new low carbon jobs and helping the ...   
      
     Australian port to host massive PV array, hydrogen plant   
     pv magazine International, 11 Mar 2021 05:57Z   
     London-based Eco Energy World plans to combine a 300 MW solar project in   
     Australia with a 200 MW hydrogen plant and 100 MW of energy storage to   
     export green hydrogen to the global market.   
      
     World-leading hydrogen plant bound for QLD   
     energymagazine, 11 Mar 2021 04:56Z   
     Eco Energy World has announced a major project that is set to position   
     Australia as a world leader in the development of green hydrogen.   
      
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