XPost: alt.global-warming   
      
   Brazil facing worst drought in nearly 100 years as officials issue   
   emergency warning   
   Conrad Duncan, The Independent via Carbon Brief   
   The Independent reports that Brazil is "facing its worst drought in   
   more than 90 years", driving worries of increased fires in the Amazon   
   rainforest and energy shortages from the hydroelectric   
   industry. According to the outlet, hydropower made up 70% of Brazil's   
   electricity output in 2018. It adds that Brazil's National   
   Meteorological System issued a "water emergency alert" last week to   
   "acknowledge an expected shortage of rain from June to Sept this   
   year." Reuters adds that the nation's electricity sector monitoring   
   committee recommended last week that Brazil's water regulator   
   recognise a state of "water scarcity," after a "prolonged drought" hit   
   central and southern parts of the country. Meanwhile, the Financial   
   Times reports that in April, Amazon, Boston Consulting, McKinsey,   
   Unilever, Salesforce, Airbnb, GSK and Nestlé supported a $1bn scheme   
   to tackle deforestation. Under the scheme, countries including Brazil   
   and Indonesia would be "paid for carbon credits linked to avoidance of   
   tree clearance".   
      
   --   
   Upcoming events:   
   9 Jul 2021		NOAA bn Dollar Disasters Q2   
      
   WHO: Virus Strains to Use Greek Alphabets For Names   
   Bloomberg, 01 Jun 2021 10:37Z   
   With coronavirus variants sweeping the globe, the World Health Organization   
   has devised a less technical way of describing them than their scientific, ...   
      
   [Sooo Cooold!]   
   Record highs toppled amid intense western heat wave   
   AccuWeather | Local, National, & Global Weather, 01 Jun 2021 12:36Z   
   A heat wave is smashing record highs and making it feel more like the middle   
   of summer across the West this week. But for those looking to catch a break   
   from ...   
      
   New Zealand latest nation to sign space agreement with NASA   
   Yahoo News, 01 Jun 2021 06:57Z   
   New Zealand announced Tue it was the latest country to sign a space   
   agreement with NASA, just as New Zealand's nascent space industry begins to   
   take ...   
      
   Victorian govt in talks about extending the seven-day lockdown   
   ABC News, 01 Jun 2021 09:25Z   
   Concerns about the rapid transmission of COVID-19 through casual contact   
   prompt Victorian health officials and senior govt ministers to hold   
   talks on extending the seven-day lockdown.   
      
     Melbourne COVID-19 case went on camping trip in NSW, several areas on alert   
     ABC News, 01 Jun 2021 11:24Z   
     NSW Health issues a COVID-19 alert after discovering a COVID-19 case from   
     Melbourne visited several areas of the state while potentially infectious.   
      
   Close encounters: Democrats and Republicans unified in taking UFOs seriously   
   The Washington Post on MSN.com, 01 Jun 2021 03:45Z   
   The sightings - also known as Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, or UAPs, in   
   official parlance - are having their moment in ...   
      
   Malaysia starts total lockdown   
   PerthNow, 01 Jun 2021 01:39Z   
   [The lock-down was announced after new covid cases started to spike,   
   reaching around 8k in the past 24 hrs. ICU beds are unavailable and   
   hospitals are near breaking point].   
      
   Tesla battery scheme rolled out to homes without solar to build virtual   
   power plant in SA   
   ABC News, 01 Jun 2021 05:18Z   
   South Australia's love affair with Tesla technology is about to begin   
   another phase, with a home battery scheme to be expanded to households not   
   suited for solar installations.   
      
   Singapore among first countries to begin vaccinating under 18s as neighbours   
   battle COVID-19 outbreaks   
   ABC News, 01 Jun 2021 07:17Z   
   As Singapore moves to inoculate younger people, a sharp rise in coronavirus   
   cases blamed on new variants in other South-East Asian countries prompts new   
   restrictions, factory closures and attempts to rapidly scale up vaccination   
   programs across the region.   
      
   Fresh COVID breach in WA hotel quarantine system after guest is infected by   
   man in adjoining room   
   ABC News, 01 Jun 2021 07:55Z   
   A man in his 50s acquires coronavirus in a hotel in Perth in yet another   
   breach of WA's hotel quarantine system.   
      
   [Gravy Train!]   
   Vaccines 2.0: Next-generation COVID-19 shots will be cheaper, easier to   
   deliver and protect against more viruses, industry leaders say   
   Yahoo News, 31 May 2021 17:11Z   
   Drug companies work to improve COVID-19 vaccines to fight variants of the   
   coronavirus and other viruses and make them easier to distribute.   
      
   Could a simple pill beat COVID-19? Pfizer is giving it a go   
   The Conversation AU, 31 May 2021 21:10Z   
   While the focus has been largely on vaccines, you might have also heard   
   Pfizer is trialling a pill to treat COVID-19. It almost sounds too good to   
   be true. Indeed ...   
      
   [Counting Chickens:]   
   Americans begin transition into post-pandemic life as more are vaccinated   
   CBS News, 31 May 2021 23:09Z   
   The seven-day average for new COVID-19 cases has fallen to about 12000 per   
   day, numbers not seen since March 2020.   
      
   Turning Coal Waste Into Rare Earth Metals For Renewable Energy   
   CleanTechnica, 31 May 2021 19:06Z   
   In recent years, the US Dept of Energy has been funding a number of   
   pilot plants, where scientists experiment with the best ways to remove   
   valuable rare ...   
      
   [Slight Undercount!]   
   Peru Revises Covid-19 Death Total to Triple Official Figures   
   The New York Times, 01 Jun 2021 07:48Z   
   Peru says that its Covid-19 death toll is almost 3 times as high as it   
   had officially counted until now, making it one of the hardest-hit nations   
   relative to its ...   
      
   Victorian authorities concerned about COVID transmission through 'fleeting'   
   encounters   
   ABC News, 31 May 2021 at 10:57pm   
   Victorian authorities say they are concerned about transmission of   
   COVID-19 through "fleeting" encounters, as the state records 3 new   
   locally acquired cases of the virus.   
   [There were another 9 covid cases detected in the past 24 hrs bringing   
   the total in the community to 54.  Another 5000 people are in   
   isolation awaiting test results. Officials say unlike other spikes   
   this time covid is being passed on by very fleeting contacts with   
   strangers.  The govt says it still hasn't decided whether the Victoria   
   lock-down will need to be extended past Thu].   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)