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Duke to study offshore wind energy’s effects on marine life | Coastal Review – Coastal Review Online

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

The United States Department of Energy has awarded Duke University a $7.5 million grant to research the impact that offshore wind development can have on wildlife and marine life.

The grant announced Oct. 13 is part of a larger sustainable energy development award package of $13.5 million by the Energy Department. The department distributed the funds among four different projects, all focused on wildlife and offshore wind.

Earlier this year, the Biden administration announced a goal of creating tens of thousands of jobs while deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by the year 2030. Meeting this goal can put the U.S. on a path to achieve 110 gigawatts by 2050. The ultimate intention is to create jobs while also creating opportunities for renewable energy, without endangering ecosystems as they currently exist.

To put these plans in motion, more offshore wind construction off the Atlantic coast will be beginning in the next several years. But there is uncertainty as to how offshore wind may affect fish, whales, birds and other marine life. Duke Universitys project, Wildlife and Offshore Wind, or WOW, aims to answer some of these questions.

Theres a fair few number of moving parts, and were going to try to figure out how to get those moving parts to move in harmony, said Dr. Douglas Nowacek, a Repass-Rodgers University Distinguished Professor of Conservation Technology at the Duke University Marine Lab in Beaufort. Nowacek will be leading WOW along with other researchers at Duke University. However, the consortium of researchers involved in the project will span 15 different institutions.

One of the first steps, said Nowacek, is to aggregate all the data that already exists in one place. This data comes from academic researchers, government agencies, as well as some of Europes experience with offshore wind. They also have letters of commitment from several wind energy developers, stating that they will share wildlife data with WOW.

The next step then is going to be to create some tools, some models, (and) some frameworks to utilize those data, Nowacek said.

The first year of this project will be focused on data aggregation, as well as creating frameworks, synthesis tools and data standards. After assessing whats already out there, the team can identify gaps in knowledge and potential lines of inquiry. The following years will be spent deploying research efforts to address the questions identified in the first year.

Nowacek said that even though coordination across so many contributors is difficult, the collective expertise across institutions is likely the reason that they were selected for the grant in the first place. Formally, WOW has been in the works since January, when Nowacek and others started compiling their grant proposal. However, Nowacek said that the relationship building that goes into an expansive project like this has been in the works for years.

Dr. Patrick Halpin, director of Dukes Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, will take the lead on the data synthesis component of the project. Halpin said the timing of the grant is especially important. As offshore wind is in the early stages of development in the region, beginning WOW work now means that they can do critical initial assessments before construction of turbines begins. This will be key later on, in that the researchers will have pre-construction data to refer to. Having pre- and post construction data will make it easier to evaluate how offshore wind interacts with marine wildlife. This project could set the stage for long-term, conscientious management of sustainable energy with regard to marine species.

A big portion of this project is really to come up with a common framework for assessment, which will allow us to help develop monitoring protocols (and) help us be able to look at the interactions for many different taxa, Halpin said, referring to biological groupings of species. And then doing that at a regional scale so that the lessons learned can be applied across this rapidly developing field right now.

Different wildlife may be affected at different stages of the process, said Halpin. Marine mammals, like the endangered North Atlantic right whale, may be most impacted during the noisy construction stage. Whereas avian interactions or displacement could occur after the turbines are built.

I think people think about it as interactions are going to be one thing a monolithic kind of issue, Halpin said. But really, interactions for different species are going to be very, very different in space and time.

In addition to Duke University, the other partners on WOW include the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Rutgers University, the University of St. Andrews, the State University of New York at Stony Brook, Syracuse University, the Pacific Northwest National Lab, TetraTech, Scientific Innovations, the New England Aquarium, Florida State University, the Biodiversity Research Institute, the Wildlife Conservation Society, Southall Environmental Associates, and Cornell University.

Are you really my client? The dangers facing offshore advisors with confusing books – Citywire Americas

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

Offshore advisors could find themselves on the wrong side of the law if they fail to identify where their clients are truly based, our legal columnist Rebecca Leon of Baker McKenzie writes.

In the classic childrens book by P.D. Eastman, Are You My Mother?, a baby bird tries to determine which animal is its mother. After questioning many different species, the hatchling finally identifies the mama bird as its mother. Firms must engage in the same inquiry to identify their clients.

Those in the securities industry throw around the words client and customer, and yes, they have technical definitions and exceptions under various US laws, as well as under foreign laws. These terms are also frequently used more colloquially. However, using such terms loosely and failing to properly identify your client creates significant risks (beyond licensing and AML) that can lead financial services firms to unintended violations of foreign law.

Unlike the childrens book, which ends with the baby bird finding its mother and the two birds resting safely back in their nest, recognizing your client is just the first step to uncovering hidden risks.

For example, Individual A in Argentina is the sole owner of a personal investment company (PIC) organized in Bermuda. Aside from a director appointed in Bermuda, the PIC has no other connections to Bermuda. Individual A will decide which financial advisor to hire, and in which products to invest the PICs account assets. The financial advisor communicates with Individual A and the PICs mailing address is in Argentina. Financial advisors frequently refer to Individual A as their client. This makes perfect sense because their relationship is with individual A, the decision-maker.

However, on the firms books, the client is the PIC, and the PIC is organized in Bermuda. The firm and the advisor have identified a different party as their client. Which one is the client for purposes of determining the applicability of foreign law? Must the firm consider the laws of Argentina and Bermuda regardless of who the client is?

Consider a more complicated structure where a PIC organized in Bermuda is owned by a trust legally established and administered in New Zealand, where the grantor of the trust resides in Argentina (Individual A).

Communications are with the trustee in New Zealand, but the account was opened by the PIC. The financial advisor may consider Individual A who set up the structure for his own benefit to be her client. Once again, on the firms books, the client is the PIC. Must the firm consider the laws of Argentina, Bermuda, or New Zealand?

You probably guessed the answer: the laws of all jurisdictions that have a connection to the account should be considered. Whether a particular countrys laws are applicable to the relationship will depend upon the facts of each client and the specific areas of law.

For example, if the client is a PIC and its only relationship to a particular jurisdiction is that its organized there and one director resides there, the securities laws of such country may not apply. The rationale is that any offers of securities products and services are being made to a person outside the country (e.g. to Individual A).

On the other hand, Individual A may be considered to be acting as an agent of the PIC. Under this interpretation, the laws where the PIC is organized apply since the PIC is the client to whom the products and services are offered through its agent. The firms identification of the client and the financial advisors identification of the client may both be correct when it comes to determining whether the laws of each country apply to the client.

In the examples above, assume hypothetically that Bermudas securities authorities take the position that local securities laws do not apply to the offer of products and services to the Bermuda PIC since all communications are with Individual A in Argentina.

However, if the director in Bermuda must send over a copy of her drivers license for the firms KYC records, the firm will be processing the personal data of the Bermuda resident. The firm may also be sharing that data with its clearing firm and other third parties. The firm must explore whether Bermudas privacy laws apply and whether they impose any requirements on the firm.

Of course, the firm must also analyze whether soliciting and advising Individual A in Argentina would trigger the application of any Argentine laws. Will this be viewed as offering services and products in Argentina? Will Argentine privacy laws apply to the personal data of Individual A received by the firm even though the client on the firms books is a Bermuda PIC? Will margin interest received by the firm be subject to withholding tax under the laws of Argentina? Will any consumer protection laws apply? These questions should be asked because the risks go well beyond potential violations of US anti-money laundering laws and foreign licensing requirements.

The first step to mitigating risks is identifying the risks, which starts by asking: Are you my client? Then the firm should consider the laws of all jurisdictions that relate to the client. Firms should document this review and take appropriate steps to mitigate the identified risks. Such measures can help minimize regulatory and enforcement risks, as well as private litigation.

And so... the firm and its advisors can rest safely (well, as much as possible in this business) in their nest (or home office).

Rebecca Leon is a partner at law firm Baker McKenzie, focusing on legal and compliance matters for US wealth management firms, broker-dealers, and banks.

In-Depth: What would it take to decommission offshore oil platforms near California? – 10News

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- The October oil spill off the coast of Huntington Beach re-energized efforts to end offshore drilling near California.

However, experts say federal law gives oil companies strong protection to maintain existing drilling leases. And the cost of decommissioning all the oil platforms near California could exceed $2 billion.

There are 27 oil and gas platforms near California. Twenty-three of the 27 are in federal waters, just beyond the authority of state lawmakers.

The state doesnt really have control over what goes on outside of that three-mile limit out in federal waters, said UC Santa Barbara marine science professor David Valentine.

Collectively, their output has been shrinking dramatically over the last several years. Californias offshore infrastructure produced 4.5 million barrels in 2019, down from 18.5 million barrels in 2014.

For context, thats 0.6 percent of what companies extracted from the Gulf of Mexico.

Its an insignificant amount in the national picture, Valentine said.

The cost to remove a platform is immense. A report contracted by the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement estimated removing the three platforms connected to the pipeline that ruptured in October would cost $141.8 million.

Removing all 23 platforms in federal waters would cost $1.6 billion, the report said.

Decommissioning Platform Holly, one of the four platforms in state waters, is projected to cost $350 million. Work on that project is underway.

The companies that own the platforms are supposed to cover decommissioning costs, but in reality, Valentine says that hasnt always happened.

The [major oil companies] who, in many cases, were the ones that originally built these platforms, they have passed them on to much smaller operators, he said. The concern there is that you dont have the deep pockets to clean it all up when things go bad.

He says there are plenty of examples of small companies declaring bankruptcy and leaving taxpayers with the bill.

In Washington, the Build Back Better Act, still being debated by Democrats in Congress, includes a ban on new oil leasing off the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, as well as a portion of the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

So why doesnt the government force these companies out?

A 1953 federal law gives essentially says that once an oil company secures a lease to drill, they can keep it as long as they continue drilling operations.

As long as they continue to operate on their existing lease, theres not much that can be done to take that away from them, Valentine said. Even if operating is not really truly operating.

In some cases, companies keep platforms technically active on paper, even if they are not producing anything just to avoid the massive costs of decommissioning.

Five of Californias offshore platforms are in an early stage of decommissioning. Another six are inactive and in a state of limbo as former operators dispute responsibility for the costs.

The problem, Valentine says, is that the older these platforms and pipelines get, the more likely they are to leak. Some of Californias platforms are more than 50 years old.

Operation Zero Gathers Offshore Wind Majors – Offshore WIND

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

The UK Department for Transport and the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult have unveiled the Departments Operation Zero, which aims to accelerate the decarbonisation of offshore wind operations and maintenance (O&M) vessels working in the North Seas offshore wind farms.

At an event as part of COP26 in Glasgow, the UK Maritime Minister Robert Courts announced the initiative, which will convene a coalition of 28 founding signatories from across the offshore wind supply chain from the UK, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Belgium, including industry majors Siemens Gamesa, rsted, RWE, Vattenfall, ScottishPower Renewables, Equinor, ABP, Lloyds Register, Bibby Marine, North Star Renewables, and the ORE Catapult.

The vision of Operation Zero is for zero-emission vessels to be deployed at North Sea offshore wind farms by 2025, while also taking into consideration the land-side infrastructure solutions needed to upscale and maintain the operation of the vessels.

Paulina Hobbs, CEO Service for Siemens Gamesa, said: SGRE are delighted to be signing up to the Operation Zero pledge where we will work with companies right across the O&M vessel value chain to make cleaner wind farm marine logistics a reality. With SGRE currently chartering in excess of 20% of all O&M vessels across the North Sea wind farm operations, we have a responsible role to drive innovation, collaboration and support the industry take the ambitious steps that are required.

The initiative was informed by previous research undertaken by ORE Catapult and the Workboat Association, who developed a technology roadmap outlining a route to the decarbonisation of North Sea offshore wind O&M.

It suggested that the industry will build as many as 1,400 new vessels between now and 2050 just for O&M, including more than 300 SOVs, as the European offshore wind grows from the 25 GW operational capacity today to 400 GW by 2050, with 100 GW based in the UK, which equates to a sixteen-fold growth in less than 30 years.

Achieving an accelerated decarbonisation scenario for North Sea O&M would result in reducing carbon emissions by 1.2 MtCO2e per year compared with a business as usual approach, the equivalent of taking 240,000 cars off the road, ORE Catapult said.

And UK and North Sea shipyards could also steal a competitive advantage by leading the development, design, build and operation of these high-value vessels. According to ORE Catapult, if the UK captures 25 per cent of the European O&M vessel-building market, this could generate revenue between GBP 2.2 to GBP 4.2 billion out to 2050, supporting 1,400 direct and 2,500 indirect jobs.

The offshore wind industry is committed to a rapid transition to net-zero operations and provides a fantastic springboard for broader maritime decarbonisation, Andrew Jamieson, CEO of ORE Catapult, said.

Right through the supply chain, well see growth and job creation opportunities that will aid the transition from the maritime diesel fuels of today to the zero-emission, high-value technologies and skills of tomorrow, with much of this growth taking place in coastal communities where it is most needed. Innovation is essential if we are to achieve this vision. Operation Zero provides a solid foundation for the future of collaborative innovation between industry partners, and with the support of government. ORE Catapult is fully committed to Operation Zero and we look forward to working to support the industry to innovate and accelerate the transition to net-zero whilst creating economic opportunity for the UK.

The challenges of President Biden’s offshore wind plan – The Denver Channel

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas Wind. It may bother you on a good hair day, but the Biden administration believes the country should be doing more to harness its energy.

While wind farms have been popping up in more rural areas for years, President Joe Biden would like to see more of them off America's coasts.

BIDEN'S OFFSHORE PLAN

In January, President Biden signed executive orders calling for the doubling of offshore wind turbine production by 2030.

Last month, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced plans to hold seven lease sales by 2025, so companies can buy access to waters off Americas coasts.

Here is a map of all the places more wind turbines are expected in the coming years. The plans stretch from New England to the Gulf of Mexico.

CHALLENGES AHEAD

However, when you actually visit some of the windiest beaches in our country, you realize offshore wind can get complicated.

James Klein with the Sierra Club of South Texas loves the idea of more wind turbines, especially in windy areas like Corpus Christi, but he says you can't just build them anywhere.

"I dont know if you heard this or not, but Corpus Christi calls itself 'the birdiest city in the country,'" Klein said.

Klein worries about birds that travel through the corridor each year. He doesnt like the idea of a turbines blade getting in their way.

"We want to make sure that wherever these wind turbines are placed on the gulf, they are not going to interfere with migratory patterns of birds," Klein said.

For the non-environmentalists on the stretch of sand, a changing view doesnt bother them.

Rodney Starr has other concerns.

"I dont think that'd be too smart 'cause there are a lot of hurricanes. Theyd wipe these things out, I believe, Starr said.

Starr and Klein's viewpoints are part of the challenges that the Biden administration is only beginning to encounter as their wind ambitions grow.

Congress continues to debate a spending plan that would encourage more companies to take on wind projects in the ocean. Its still unclear how much of an interest exists, especially having to navigate birds, storms, and not to mention ships.

Original post:

The challenges of President Biden's offshore wind plan - The Denver Channel

UK plans leasing process for up to 4GW of floating offshore wind in Celtic Sea – Windpower Monthly

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

UK seabed landlord the Crown Estate has confirmed it wants to unlock up to 4GW of floating offshore wind capacity in the Celtic Sea off the south-western coasts of England and Wales.

It will focus on two project categories: early-commercial scale projects of 300-350MW, and full-commercial scale projects of up to 1GW.

The regulator expects to award leasing rights by the end of 2023 ahead of projects being commissioned from 2030.

Plans for the leasing round were first announced in March.

The goal is to power homes with clean energy while creating opportunities for significant new investment in jobs, skills and infrastructure, the Crown Estate explained.

Floating wind technology offers a powerful opportunity to open up the renewable energy resources of the Celtic Sea, helping to tackle the climate crisis with additional clean power and ignite a new industrial sector, said Huub den Rooijen, managing director of marine at the Crown Estate.

It aims to roll out the process at a pace and scale that will enable supply chain and infrastructure development while benefiting the local area and the wider country, it stated.

The Crown Estate will conduct an integrated spatial design and habitats regulations assessment (HRA) ahead of the market tender. Identifying key environmental issues at the earliest opportunity will help to de-risk investment, minimise environmental risk, and streamline the overall programme, it explained.

A trio of projects approved earlier this year will form part of the HRA assessment.

Early involvement with stakeholders such as the electricity system operator to support a coordinated grid solution for floating wind projects will help accelerate grid development and mitigate impacts on communities onshore.

This announcement further reinforces the critical role floating wind will play in achieving the scale of installed capacity which will be required to deliver a cost-effective net zero, said Dan McGrail, chief executive of industry body RenewableUK.

It is a huge economic opportunity as well as an industrial challenge, requiring short and longer-term enabling actions ahead of the arrival of the first large-scale projects to ensure the UK capitalises fully on first mover advantage, he added.

Crown Estate engagement with market and stakeholders on the floating wind programme will take place in two phases over the winter of 2021/22.

Phase one of this engagement will focus on the spatial design, gathering data and evidence to help inform the location of project sites.

Phase two will invite views on the design of the market tender and the wider considerations of the programme, including on supply chain, ports and grid, as well as community benefits, such as skills and employment.

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UK plans leasing process for up to 4GW of floating offshore wind in Celtic Sea - Windpower Monthly

Offshore Support Vessel Market Research Report by Type, by Applications, by End-Use, by Region – Global Forecast to 2026 – Cumulative Impact of…

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

Offshore Support Vessel Market Research Report by Type (Anchor-handling tug supply vessels, Chase vessels, and Crew vessels), by Applications (Deepwater and Shallow water), by End-Use, by Region (Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa) - Global Forecast to 2026 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19

New York, Nov. 10, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Offshore Support Vessel Market Research Report by Type, by Applications, by End-Use, by Region - Global Forecast to 2026 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06183415/?utm_source=GNW

The Global Offshore Support Vessel Market size was estimated at USD 21.02 billion in 2020 and expected to reach USD 22.27 billion in 2021, at a CAGR 6.31% to reach USD 30.36 billion by 2026.

Market Statistics:The report provides market sizing and forecast across five major currencies - USD, EUR GBP, JPY, and AUD. It helps organization leaders make better decisions when currency exchange data is readily available. In this report, the years 2018 and 2019 are considered historical years, 2020 as the base year, 2021 as the estimated year, and years from 2022 to 2026 are considered the forecast period.

Market Segmentation & Coverage:This research report categorizes the Offshore Support Vessel to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets:

Based on Type, the market was studied across Anchor-handling tug supply vessels, Chase vessels, Crew vessels, Emergency response/standby and rescue vessels, Multipurpose support vessels, Others, Platform support vessels, and Seismic vessels.

Based on Applications, the market was studied across Deepwater and Shallow water.

Based on End-Use, the market was studied across Offshore wind and Oil & gas.

Based on Region, the market was studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas is further studied across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The United States is further studied across California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The Asia-Pacific is further studied across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa is further studied across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom.

Cumulative Impact of COVID-19:COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, and the long-term effects are projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report delivers insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecasts, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market.

Competitive Strategic Window:The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies to help the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. It describes the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth during a forecast period.

FPNV Positioning Matrix:The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Offshore Support Vessel Market based on Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape.

Market Share Analysis:The Market Share Analysis offers the analysis of vendors considering their contribution to the overall market. It provides the idea of its revenue generation into the overall market compared to other vendors in the space. It provides insights into how vendors are performing in terms of revenue generation and customer base compared to others. Knowing market share offers an idea of the size and competitiveness of the vendors for the base year. It reveals the market characteristics in terms of accumulation, fragmentation, dominance, and amalgamation traits.

Competitive Scenario:The Competitive Scenario provides an outlook analysis of the various business growth strategies adopted by the vendors. The news covered in this section deliver valuable thoughts at the different stage while keeping up-to-date with the business and engage stakeholders in the economic debate. The competitive scenario represents press releases or news of the companies categorized into Merger & Acquisition, Agreement, Collaboration, & Partnership, New Product Launch & Enhancement, Investment & Funding, and Award, Recognition, & Expansion. All the news collected help vendor to understand the gaps in the marketplace and competitors strength and weakness thereby, providing insights to enhance product and service.

Company Usability Profiles:The report profoundly explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global Offshore Support Vessel Market, including BOURBON, DOF Group, Edison Chouest Offshore, GC Rieber, Grupo CBO, Harvey Gulf International Marine, Havila Shipping ASA, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd., Maersk, MMA Offshore Limited, Nam Cheong Limited, Ostenjso Rederi, PACC Offshore Services Holdings, Royal IHC, SEACOR Marine Holdings Inc., Siem Offshore, Solstad Offshore ASA, Swire Pacific Limited, Tidewater Inc., and Vroon Group.

The report provides insights on the following pointers:1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on the market offered by the key players2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyze penetration across mature segments of the markets3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, certification, regulatory approvals, patent landscape, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and breakthrough product developments

The report answers questions such as:1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Offshore Support Vessel Market?2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Offshore Support Vessel Market during the forecast period?3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Offshore Support Vessel Market?4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Offshore Support Vessel Market?5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Offshore Support Vessel Market?6. What is the market share of the leading vendors in the Global Offshore Support Vessel Market?7. What modes and strategic moves are considered suitable for entering the Global Offshore Support Vessel Market?Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06183415/?utm_source=GNW

About ReportlinkerReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.

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Blog: Storm Rolls Offshore, But Wind and Tides Remain. – WAVY.com

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

Going into this last weekend the forecast was tricky. The models were handling the area of low pressure that would sit offshore differently. While the rain forecast was a curve ball at times, the wind and tide forecasts went about as expected.

Some of the coastal winds did gust to over 40 mph, but most were between 25-35 mph.

The area of low pressure has finally started moving to the east. The rain and clouds have moved offshore as well. Now high pressure is building in from the west.

As high pressure builds into the region it will still create a pressure gradient between the low offshore. So our winds will be out the north again today, but they wont be as strong as the weekend. They will run out of the north at 10-20 mph with gusts to 25mph. There will be some gusts to 30 mph near the shore. However, the winds should all decrease this afternoon as the low gets farther away.

The north breeze will keep high temperatures down a bit, but the strong sunshine will put us in the mid 60s this afternoon.

The wind will create some more tidal flooding today. It will be minor for many areas along the Chesapeake Bay. This will be during the mid-late morning

There will be a couple of spots like Kiptopeke and near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel that will have some brief moderate tidal flooding. However, it will be major again for the Outer Banks.

Yesterday morning the water level at Duck, North Carolina, made it up to 6.87 feet. There was a lot of ocean overwash, and this ended flooding out part of Highway 12.

The tide forecast down there today will be close to that level. The forecast was aiming for around 7 feet, but looking at the latest levels I think it will be just a bit under that. The winds were just a little overforecast for this morning by the models. So lets hope Im right. Either way there will be more ocean overwash today and more beach erosion down there. The record tide at Duck was from Hurricane Isabel in 2003. That level was 7.8 feet.

Tomorrow the winds will decrease, and the sun will be out. So it will be a very nice day. High temps will be in the low 70s. Well have similar weather Wednesday and Thursday. Then well have some rain move in on Friday.

Meteorologist: Jeremy Wheeler

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Blog: Storm Rolls Offshore, But Wind and Tides Remain. - WAVY.com

Super-Sized Turbines and Offshore Wind Farms Bring ‘Game-Changing’ Cost Cuts – NREL | Offshore Wind – Offshore WIND

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

Larger wind turbines and larger offshore wind projects alone can reduce a wind farms Levelised Cost of Energy (LCoE) by more than 23 per cent relative to the average fixed-bottom offshore wind farm installed in 2019, according to the research carried out by the US Department of Energys National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Researchers from NREL conducted one of the most comprehensive analyses currently available of the average cost per megawatt-hour to develop and maintain offshore wind farms and how those costs could change if current trends toward larger wind farms and turbines continue.

To do that, the team combined three models to compare the cost of a representative 2019 fixed-bottom offshore wind farm, which used one hundred 6 MW wind turbines for a total capacity of 600 MW, with various wind turbine and wind farm sizes up to a maximum of 20 MW wind turbines with a plant capacity of 2,500 MW.

The models showed that scaling up both wind turbine and wind farm size can reduce balance-of-system and maintenance costs through economies of scale (e.g., spreading export cable costs over larger projects) while reducing losses from wakes. Wakes, turbine-made turbulence that can decrease power production of downstream turbines, decline as turbines are spaced further apart in larger and larger wind plants. Combined, these savings can add up to more than 23 per cent, according to NREL.

We expected to see the costs decrease, said Matt Shields, an NREL researcher who leads the labs work on techno-economic analysis of offshore wind energy and headed the study.

But I was a little surprised about the magnitude. Thats really a game changer.

The teams data provide a valuable touchstone, the US DOE said. Now, the growing US offshore wind industry can more confidently invest in the supply chain needed to build bigger turbines and larger projectsa chain that is not yet sufficient to achieve the Biden administrations goal of deploying 30 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030, the US DOE said.

The study was funded by WETO and coauthored by NREL researchers Philipp Beiter, Jake Nunemaker, Aubryn Cooperman, and Patrick Duffy.

Still, more research is needed to achieve these savings, determine whether and how this reduction applies to floating offshore wind farms, and learn whether the bigger is better tenet has a limit. Cost savings could plateau at a maximum wind turbine or power plant size, according to NREL.

Right now, the wind industry cant achieve that 23 per cent. No manufacturer can build a 20-MW wind turbine yet.

And even when they can, the rest of the supply chain will need to catch up, too. For example, todays vessels and ports are designed to install wind turbines of 12 MW or less, NREL said.

However several companies have already ordered, or are about to order, vessels capable of transporting and installing 20 MW wind turbines such as Van Oord, Eneti, and Havfram.

Shields and his team plan to take a closer look at how innovations in technology and the supply chain might help further reduce costs in the future. In the meantime, they are working on creating a supply chain road map to find missing links.

We need to jump-start the domestic supply chain as quickly as possible to minimize project risks, make projects even cheaper, create local jobs, and grow a more sustainable industry, said Shields.

We want to build offshore wind power plants to reduce our carbon footprint, and we can do it in such a way that we are positively impacting local economies.

The supply chain must grow quickly to meet the United States 30-GW-by-2030 goal. And this study can help each link plan for a bigger future, NREL said.

Thats going to be a huge challenge for us over the next decade, said Shields. But its one thats worth investing in.

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Super-Sized Turbines and Offshore Wind Farms Bring 'Game-Changing' Cost Cuts - NREL | Offshore Wind - Offshore WIND

Shell and RWE Pinpoint North-East of England for Gigawatt-Scale Offshore Wind-to-Hydrogen Projects – Offshore WIND

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

Shell New Energies and RWE Generation will explore the possibilities of establishing integrated projects for the production of green hydrogen using offshore wind power on a gigawatt scale in the industrial regions in the north-east of England such as Teesside and/or Humberside.

The plan is one of the steps set out in a recently signed Memorandum of Understanding between the two companies to jointly advance projects for the production, use, and distribution of green hydrogen, as well as further options to decarbonise RWE gas and biomass-fired power plants in northwest Europe. The aim of the MoU is to identify concrete project options which could then be developed toward investment decisions, the two companies said.

Effective climate action needs cross-sector and cross-national cooperation. In our cooperation with Shell, we want to develop solutions that combine new approaches with proven technologies and, above all, can be applied quickly and on a large scale. We will also contribute our special expertise in the development of offshore wind projects as well as the provision of energy in the form of electricity, heat and, in the future, green hydrogen for our customers, said Markus Krebber, CEO of RWE.

RWE and Shell already have a background of cooperation through the NortH2 project in the Netherlands, and AquaVentus in Germany.

The two companies intend to jointly assess the future development of electrolysis plants to produce green hydrogen and consider locations which have potential pipeline capacity for hydrogen yet are currently difficult to connect to the electric grid. RWE and Shell want to investigate whether, and how, green energy can be transported from such locations to customers via hydrogen pipelines.

RWE and Shell also want to develop new green hydrogen solutions for industrial customers, focused on the Shell Energy & Chemicals Park Rheinland in Germany, Shell sites in Rotterdam and Moerdijk in the Netherlands, and on customers in their immediate vicinity.

In addition, RWE and Shell intend to evaluate the possible application of green hydrogen in the mobility sector in Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK.

We are delighted about this agreement with RWE. Both companies are of the opinion that progress towards net-zero emissions needs government policy to support the energy transition and our customers needs for low-carbon energy solutions, said Wael Sawan, Director of Integrated Gas, Renewables and Energy Solutions at Royal Dutch Shell plc.

It makes sense for us to evaluate the potential of joint decarbonisation projects and make the best of the global energy experience both companies bring to the table.

Shell and RWE Pinpoint North-East of England for Gigawatt-Scale Offshore Wind-to-Hydrogen Projects - Offshore WIND

Boskalis’ Taiwan Debutant to Go Into Service in Early 2022 – Offshore WIND

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

The conversion of Boskalis Bokalift 2 crane vessel is expected to be completed in the coming months, after which its new crane will be installed, allowing the vessel to enter service on Taiwans Changfang & Xidao offshore wind project in early 2022, according to an update in the companys half-year report.

In October 2019, the vessel was announced to be deployed for the first time on the 589 MWChangfang and Xidao to transport and install the projects 62jacket foundations and the accompanying 186 pin piles. However, as offshore construction at the project site started in early July of this year, the Bokalift 1 vessel came into play.

During the first foundation installation campaign, Bokalift 1 installed 48 pin piles and will also install the corresponding 16 three-legged jacket foundations, after which the vessel will wrap up the 2021 installation campaign.

Since Boskalis said in August that the remaining 138 pin piles and 46 jackets were scheduled to be installed in 2022, it is now expected that Bokalift 2 would take over once the construction work resumes next year.

Boskalis is converting the existing drillship YAN into Bokalift 2at the Dubai-based Drydocks World, where work on this projectstarted in May 2020. The conversion scope includes the fabrication and installation of 9,000 tonnes of steel blocks on both sides of the vessel to increase its stability, as well as the installation of a new work deck.

Upon completion, the vessel will have7,500 square metresof free deck space and a new 4,000-tonne revolving crane capable of lifting structures more than 100 metres high.

The DP2 vessel, capable of accommodating 150 persons, will be used forthe installation of current and future generation offshore wind turbine foundations, as well as oil and gas structures, Boskalis said when it announced that the new vessel would debut at the Changfang & Xidao project.

The Dutch company was contracted to carry out the work in the Taiwanese offshore wind farm in a joint venture with Taiwans Hwa Chi Construction Co., established in July 2019.

The 589 MWChangfang and Xidao, owned by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and two Taiwanese life insurance companies, is being built at a site 15 kilometres off the coast of Changhua County.

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Boskalis' Taiwan Debutant to Go Into Service in Early 2022 - Offshore WIND

Who Is the Judge in the Kyle Rittenhouse Trial? – The New York Times

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

Bruce Schroeder, the longest-serving circuit court judge in Wisconsin, is presiding over the homicide trial of Kyle Rittenhouse.

At times during Mr. Rittenhouses testimony on Wednesday he took a strict line with prosecutors, clashing with them over a reference to Mr. Rittenhouses silence in the months before the trial and an attempt to introduce testimony on a previous incident that the judge had ruled inadmissible.

The problem is this is a grave constitutional violation for you to talk about the defendants silence, Judge Schroeder told prosecutors.

Judge Schroeder, 75, who has said he believes that he has seen more homicide trials than any other judge in the state, graduated from Marquette Law School in 1970, worked as a prosecutor and began serving as a circuit judge in 1983.

His longevity is a subject of frequent conversation in the courtroom. As he said during jury selection in the trial, he has been in this business for 50 years.

In Kenosha legal circles, Judge Schroeder has a reputation for strictness in sentencing. He is known for delivering lectures to prospective jurors about their civic duty, which in this trial he likened to serving as an American soldier in Vietnam.

He frequently complains about media bias and the impact that news coverage can have on prospective jurors. As Judge Schroeder quizzed prospective jurors, he said that he has read news articles on the Rittenhouse case and has asked himself whether he was in the same courtroom that was described in the articles.

He has also acknowledged that some of the topics raised in pretrial hearings are new to him. Until this case, Judge Schroeder said in a hearing, he had never heard of the Proud Boys, a far-right group that offered support to Mr. Rittenhouse after the Kenosha shootings, and was unfamiliar with the O.K. hand sign as a gesture that has been co-opted by white supremacists.

The first time I saw it, or a version of it, was Chef Boyardee on a can of spaghetti, the judge said.

In one of the judges highest-profile cases, the 2008 murder trial of Mark Jensen who was accused of poisoning his wife, Julie, with antifreeze and then smothering her in their garage a conviction was overturned when appellate courts and the state Supreme Court ruled that Judge Schroeder had improperly allowed evidence in the trial.

The judge allowed the prosecution to present a letter that Julie Jensen had written and given to a neighbor, as well as voice mail messages she left for a police officer, suggesting that if anything happened to her, her husband would be responsible. Mr. Jensen will face a new trial next year.

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Who Is the Judge in the Kyle Rittenhouse Trial? - The New York Times

New ‘Lost in Space’ Season 3 trailer shows the entire Space Family Robinson in danger – Space.com

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

Hot on the heels of the first mindblowing trailer we saw just one month ago, come a second equally-as-amazing trailer for the third and final season of "Lost in Space."

If you haven't watched Netflix's "Lost in Space," already then go and do so immediately. Tell your barista that half-soy, non-fat double-blended pumpkin spice latte is To Go, scurry home and switch on Netflix. You'll thank us later.

The show is a reimagining of the pioneering sci-fi series of the same name that aired on black-and-white TV screens across America in 1965. That show came from the imagination of Irwin Allen and showrunner Zack Estrin has reworked this in the same manner Ron D. Moore did to Glen A. Larson's 1978 "Battlestar Galactica." It's been updated, reimagined, regendered, tweaked and fine-tuned and the end result has been one of the finest sci-fi shows on TV in recent years.

At the end of the second season, which aired 2019, we saw an entire ship of robots attack and board the Resolute mother ship, with more incoming to retrieve the alien engine. Maureen (Molly Parker) and Don (Ignacio Serricchio) manage to trap them, while Judy (Taylor Russell) leads a mission to send the Resolute's 97 children to the Alpha Centauri colony in a Jupiter landing ship using the alien engine, piloted by the Robot.

The Jupiter carrying the children escapes through a rift in space, but the human-made radar signature that the Robot followed has led the ship to an unknown star system. There they find the Fortuna, a ship that had vanished nearly 20 years earlier and was commanded by Grant Kelly, Judy's biological father.

Related: The best sci-fi movies and TV shows to stream on Netflix in November

Unlike the first trailer, this time we get to see much more of the Robinson family and the dilemmas they face. We also see the binary star system close to where the Resolute is located, with one star colored blue and the other fiery red almost opposite in nature all of which connects underlying themes throughout the show: the robot's two expressions, fire and water, love and hate, right and wrong and so on. While the second season wasn't quite as good as the first, we still expect great things from this suburb sci-fi.

According to the official synopsis from Netflix, "In the third and final season of Lost in Space, the stakes are higher than ever and the Robinson familys survival instincts will be put to the ultimate test. After a year of being trapped on a mysterious planet, Judy, Penny, Will and the Robot must lead the 97 young Colonists in a harrowing evacuation but not before secrets are unearthed that will change their lives forever. Meanwhile John and Maureen with Don at their side must battle overwhelming odds as they try to reunite with their kids. The Robinsons will have to grapple with the emotional challenge of not just being lost but being separated from the ones they love as they face the greatest alien threat yet."

The cast also includes Toby Stephens (John Robinson), Mina Sundwall (Penny Robinson) and Parker Posey as Dr. Smith.

Seasons 1 and 2 of "Lost in Space" are currently available on Netflix and Season 3 will be available in its entirety on Wednesday, Dec 1. "Lost in Space" is only available on the subscription service Netflix. Subscriptions start at $8.99 a month.

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New 'Lost in Space' Season 3 trailer shows the entire Space Family Robinson in danger - Space.com

Jeff Bezos predicts humans will be born in space on floating colonies – Business Insider

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

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In Jeff Bezos' vision of the future, people will be born in space colonies and visit Earth on vacation.

Bezos discussed space, Blue Origin's plans, and the relationship between space exploration and saving Earth during a conversation Wednesday at the 2021 Ignatius Forum in Washington, DC.

During the interview, the Amazon and Blue Origin founder expanded on his idea for space colonies: floating habitats that mimic Earth's weather and gravitational pull. The floating, spinning cylinders would be able to hold as many as 1 million people and have "rivers and forests and wildlife," he said.

"Over centuries, many people will be born in space. It will be their first home," Bezos said. "They will be born on these colonies, live on these colonies. Then, they'll visit Earth the way you would visit, you know, Yellowstone National Park."

Bezos first mentioned the idea of building space colonies as far back as his valedictorian speech at his high-school graduation, and he said Wednesday that he believed space colonies were a better option than trying to restart life on another planet.

"Even if you were to terraform Mars or do something very dramatic like that which could be very, very challenging, by the way even if you were to do that, that is, at most, a doubling of Earth," Bezos said. "Then you're going from 10 billion people to 20 billion people."

How to establish life outside Earth is a major point of contention between Bezos and Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk. Musk has said the main goal of his rocket company is to "colonize Mars," and Bezos' reference to terraforming appears to be an indirect jab at him. Musk has endorsed the straight-from-science-fiction idea, in which the planet would need to be transformed using nuclear weapons to make it habitable for humans (NASA has since said this wouldn't work).

For his part, Musk tweeted in 2019 that Bezos' plan wouldn't work, either, because you'd need to "transport vast amounts of mass from planets/moons/asteroids."

"Would be like trying to build the USA in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean," he said.

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Jeff Bezos predicts humans will be born in space on floating colonies - Business Insider

Kids born on Mars after Elon Musks SpaceX missions would have brittle bones, weak eyesight and green ski… – The Sun

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

ELON Musk's plan to move mankind to Mars could end up with "Martian" children suffering an array of mutations such as "green" skin, brittle bones and poor eyesight.

The SpaceX mogul insists he will move to Mars and believes humans need to colonise our neighbouring planet to become a "multi-planet species".

However, experts warn that it's not just the perilous 140 million mile journey which would be dangerous - humans on Mars would endure the most brutal living conditions imaginable.

But it's the children of Martian settlers who would undergo the most drastic of changes.

It comes as SpaceX successfully launched four astronauts to the International Space Station as part of the Crew-3 mission.

According to Rice University biologist Scott Solomon, these evolutionary changes would happen much quicker than they would on Earth because of the vast changes in lifestyle, gravity and radiation.

Firstly, Mars is smaller than Earth and it has 38 per cent less gravity.

It also lacks a global magnetic field, a thick atmosphere and a protective ozone layer.

This means Mars gets battered by space radiation, UV light, charged particles from the sun and cosmic rays.

And this would cause higher mutation rates in the DNA of humans living there, the scientist says in his book Future Humans.

He says that the skin tone of settlers would likely change to help them cope with the radiation.

This would mean darker skin and possibly in a tone we have never seen before.

Solomon says: Perhaps in the face of this high radiation, we might evolve some new type of skin pigment to help us deal with that radiation.

Maybe we get our own green men

Maybe we get our own green men.

Solomon believes humans on Mars would be more near-sighted as they would only live in their small communities and would no longer need to see far.

He cites cavefish living in deep trenches that have gone blind because they no longer need vision.

Studies have also shown that children who spend more time indoors become more near-sighted.

But that's not all. Humans would also develop brittle bones and weaker muslces, the expert says.

He writes: "Science fiction has often portrayed Martians or aliens coming from Mars as being tall and lanky and thin."

Weaker bones due to the lack of gravity could also cause a woman pelvis to break during childbirth.

Another study by scientists Eneko Axpe and Eric Appel claims that half of astronauts travelling to Mars would develop Osteoporosis - a health condition which makes bones weaker and easier to fracture.

In fact, NASA scientists are trying to figure out how to deal with space weightlessness and its impact on the density of bones and muscles.

Modern astronauts have to exercise for around two hours per day in space t prevent this from happening.

Appel said: "A lot of people focus on the technological challenges of getting to Mars, or the psychological challenges of being in a spacecraft for 1,000 days, but not necessarily the fact that your bones decay.

"Can people even make it, or will they be jello by the time they get there?"

Meanwhile, Solomons also believes humans on the Red Planet would lose their immune system fairly quickly because they would be living in a sterile environment.

This is because the settlers would have no need for a body capable of fighting off germs.

These changes could mean that humans are forced to splinter from their Martian cousins as physical contact such as sexual intercourse could be lethal for the "little green men."

The biologist also reckons Martian kids living in Musk's colony would see evolutionary changes in maybe one generation or two.

He said: "Evolution is faster or slower depending on how much of an advantage there is to having a certain mutation.

"If a mutation pops up for people living on Mars, and it gives them a 50-per cent survival advantage, thats a huge advantage, right?

"And that means that those individuals are going to be passing those genes on at a much higher rate than they otherwise would have.

In a message to Musk and other billionaires keen on making the move to Mars, the Amazon founder and the world's second richest man Jeff Bezos issued a stark warning.

The Amazon founder said: "My friends who want to move to Mars? I say do me a favour:

"Go live on the top of Mount Everest for a year first and see if you like it, because it's a garden paradise compared to Mars."

Musk has long spoken about his dream of colonising Mars - with his vision of mankind's first city on the Red Planet by around 2050.

SpaceX's current goal is to send the first uncrewed version of his massive Starship vessel to 2024.

And the billionaire remains confident that the first humans will land on Mars by 2026.

He hopes that within his lifetime he will be able to transport around one million people to live on Mars.

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Kids born on Mars after Elon Musks SpaceX missions would have brittle bones, weak eyesight and green ski... - The Sun

Prague moon colony and koda lunar rover on show at Czech Space Week – Radio Prague

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

The 3D printed model of New Prague adds on to a series of international research projects known as the Global Moon Village concept. The imaginary colony features residential modules containing laboratories, greenhouses, landing ramps and a solar farm, all of which are the results of conceptual research into how a future space colony may operate.

Next to it stands LUNIAQ a lunar rover for four astronauts that was inspired by the designs of koda cars, but its technology is based on real NASA space vehicle concepts.

Both the vehicle and village can be found in the Virtuplex hall in Prague and were designed by Czech architect Tom Rousek, who has been focusing on designing structures for use in space for several years now. Visitors to the hall can also put on VR goggles and get a feel for what it is like to walk on the moon.

Czech Space Week|Photo: Michaela hov, TK

The exhibit is part of a much wider Czech Space Week programme that has been running since Monday. In it, the public has the opportunity to learn more about the universe and the latest developments in space related research through presentations held by leading experts in the field. The event is set to close next Saturday with a special Space Film Concert, performed by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra in the Music and Dance Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.

Aside from educational events, this years Czech Space Week also drew some of the heavyweights of the European space programme. Among them was the Head of the Innovation and Ventures Office of the European Space Agency Frank Salzgeber.

Speaking about the work of the agencys Business Incubation Centre in Prague, which is helping aspiring Czech startups hoping to break into the space business, Mr Salzgeber mentioned InsightART, a company which uses cosmic detector technology as an art verification tool.

It might not bring 5,000 jobs, but I think it is something where you will lead the world in a certain area and people will look to the city of Prague for that.

Czech Space Week also saw networking among scientists. A special conference looking into how the EUs Copernicus environmental monitoring system could be used to help fulfil the unions Green Deal commitments was held at Charles University.

Czech Space Week is organised by CzechInvest and the Ministry of Transport in cooperation with several organisations, including the European Space Education Resource Office and the Czech Academy of Sciences.

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Prague moon colony and koda lunar rover on show at Czech Space Week - Radio Prague

Chandigarh: Substandard living conditions irk voters of ward 3 – Hindustan Times

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

On election day, voters in ward number 3, will go for a candidate who resolves the ever-increasing parking problem, works towards improving sanitation levels and upgrading the sewage system.

After the reorganisation of wards, most areas of the erstwhile ward 19, are now the constituents of the Ward 3. It includes Sector 26, Sector 26-E, EWS Colony, Bapu Dham Colony Phase 1, 2 and 3, Police Line (Sector 26) and Madrasi Colony (Sector 26). Transport area has been excluded from the new ward.

At the centre of the ward is one of the oldest clusters of housing created for economically weaker sections (EWS) of the society the Bapu Dham Colony phases 1, 2 and 3. Created more than 40 years ago, the colony has expanded over the year in different phases. The area came into limelight last year when it became the citys epicentre of Covid pandemic.

At the time of its inception, in fact even a decade ago, nobody visualised that people would face car parking problems. Even the planners didnt earmark parking space in EWS housing. But now the situation has changed dramatically --for the worse, said Harish Kumar, a local resident who runs a taxi.

Residents complain the community parking space in the community centre is not enough. It only provides space for 30-40 cars, and so most of the cars are parked either on the roadside or in small parks and there is no space left even for emergency vehicles to reach the interiors of the area, say residents.

An older problem for the area is the sewerage system. The sewerage system was recently re-laid. But in areas like phase 2 and 3, the sewage overflows and leakages still remain. Either the MC didnt complete the job systematically or the material used was substandard, said Prakash Singh, a resident who works in a factory in Baddi.

Health infrastructure also needs improvements in the area, say residents. Akash Shankar, an engineer and social activist, said, There is a dispensary in the mandi but for the large population of the area, it is inadequate. A health centre with better facility is required here.

A visit to the area indicates roads in most areas and outer parks are in relatively good shape. Though residents inform that these improvements have happened only in the last four or five months. The general sanitation and garbage collection system, say residents, leave much to be desired. Yogesh Arora, running a wholesale business in vegetable and fruits, says, MC garbage vans do come but the numbers are highly inadequate. People end up dumping their garbage in the open. Cleanliness should also be done more comprehensively in the area.

In the last elections, Dalip Sharma won as an independent candidate though later he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Yanki Kaliya, from opposition Congress party and a resident of Madrasi Colony, said, There is space available for additional parking but nothing was done on this. No major projects have come up. Other colonies have new community centres, sports complex, etc but here we have nothing.

Sharma, said, We have resolved most of the issues related to roads, sewage, parks and sanitation in the last five years. On the parking problems, he said, Earlier, there was no such problem, it has cropped up only recently. We will provide solution to it too.

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Chandigarh: Substandard living conditions irk voters of ward 3 - Hindustan Times

What Do We Really Know About Elon Musk’s Plans of Mars ‘Self-Sustaining Civilization’? – News18

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

Elon Musk is the worlds richest man and the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX. Hes also one more thing: Mars colonization enthusiast. Elon Musk will not stop tweeting about Mars and how humanity should move from Earth to the Red planet. Elon Musk has mentioned his plans of taking humans to Mars for a while, and it appears his agenda isnt stopping anytime soon. Musk has always been very vocal about his Martian ambitions - Elon Musk had mentioned his plans of taking humans to Mars for a while and has even set a timeline for it. Musk who had mentioned colonizing Mars several times, also announced that he wants to make his own laws on the red planet. But what do we really know about Musks plans on a self-sustaining civilization on the planet?

In February this year, for the first time ever, Musk specifically mentioned a time-line to get humans on the red planet. Five and a half years," Musk had said. While thats not a hard deadline, Musk listed a number of caveats theres a raft of technological advances that must be made in the intervening years. The important thing is that we establish Mars as a self-sustaining civilization," he had said. The strange thing is the deadline may be a little ambitious, as even USAs leading space agency, NASA, had a much more different date, one which is seven years after Musks time. The first humans arent due to arrive on a NASA funded rocket until at least 2033.

Is Musks plan of getting humans to Mars by 2026 too ambitious?

Humans could make the journey if technology allows, and - if they physically survive it. Some of the known risks of space travel arent simple or minor: Along with space sickness, there is radiation high-energy subatomic particles that will pass through an astronauts skin, damaging cells inside and out. Space travellers bones and muscles also can weaken as those body parts no longer have to constantly work against gravity. Blood and other fluids from the lower parts of the body can accumulate in upper body parts, including around the brain. Another side effect: Astronauts may suffer hearing loss.

The question on why Mars specifically, and not another planet has been the centre of many compelling arguments by scientists over the years. A 2017 report in Astronomy explored how, The atmosphere of Mars is mostly carbon dioxide, the surface of the planet is too cold to sustain human life, and the planets gravity is a mere 38% of Earths. Plus, the atmosphere on Mars is equivalent to about 1% of the Earths atmosphere at sea level." Thats not all. Mars temperatures may not be suited for humans either. The average temperatures of Mars oscillate sbetween 35 C to -143 C. The average temperature on the planet surface too is -63 C. How do you warm the planet up? Musk has suggested - terraforming or in his own terms, nuking Mars.

Terraforming or terraformation, which literally means Earth-shaping is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying the atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology of a planet, moon, or other body to be similar to the environment of Earth to make it habitable by Earth-like life. How does Musk plan on terraforming it though? In 2015, Musk had suggested nuking the poles.

Elon Musk explained that we could terraform Mars by exploding nuclear bombs over its polar caps. He had said that the radiation wouldnt be an issue since the explosion would be in space over the poles, but the heat release would vaporize the frozen carbon dioxide to greenhouse warm the planet and melt the water ice. In the follow-up comments to explain his stance, he added other things he had in mind. Musk said his idea was to create two tiny pulsing suns" over the regions. Theyre really above the planet, theyre not on the planet," Musk said at an event for Solar City in New York Citys Times Square this morning. Every few moments, he wants to send a large fusion bomb over the poles, to create small blinking suns. A lot of people dont appreciate that our Sun is a large fusion explosion," he had said, reported The Verge in 2015.

Musks Nuke Mars agenda also had t-shirts. Musk had designed T-shirts to promote his idea to drop nuclear weapons on Mars. Musk revealed the theory of nuking Mars recently which, according to him, will transform the exterior of the planet liveable for human beings. The billionaire CEO was also spotted wearing the T-shirt in his appearance on Saturday Night Live in May this year.

The short answer - no. The more complicated answer hes going, but maybe not first. In an interview with Kara Swisher at the Code Conference 2021 Elon Musk described his space plans, which included a self-sustaining city on Mars, and a base on the Moon for those who want to go there." While Musk, doesnt have immediate plans, and at the interview mentioned, My goal is not to send myself up. My goal is to open up space to humanity and become a multiplanet species," he did add, that Ill go up at some point."

In the February interview where he mentioned a dateline, he was also asked if he would allow his children to go to Mars on a future rocket trip. He had responded if were talking about the third or fourth set of landings on Mars Id be ok with that, adding that so far none of them are jumping to go to Mars.

A November 2020 report in The Independent had found that SpaceX will not be recognising any international law on Mars and will instead follow a set of self-governing principles that will be laid down during the Martian settlement. Elon Musk appears to have very subtly slipped in a clause into the terms of agreement of Starlink satellite broadband services that SpaceX will make its own set of rules on Mars. The Starlink terms of the agreement reads: For services provided on Mars, or in transit to Mars via Starship, or other colonisation spacecraft, the parties recognise Mars as a free planet and that no Earth-based government has authority or sovereignty over Martian activities. Accordingly, disputes will be settled through self-governing principles, established in good faith, at the time of Martian settlement. The Independent report also added that this future colony created by SpaceX would likely use constellations of Starlink satellites orbiting the planet to provide internet connection. Elon Musks SpaceX has already launched more than 800 satellites with the aim of offering broadband internet globally. The Declaration of the Rights and Responsibilities of Humanity in the Universe, however, mentions that space would be considered free, by all, for all, and to all.

SpaceXs website Mission to Mars explains it with a quote by Musk. You want to wake up in the morning and think the future is going to be great - and thats what being a spacefaring civilization is all about. Its about believing in the future and thinking that the future will be better than the past. And I cant think of anything more exciting than going out there and being among the stars."

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What Do We Really Know About Elon Musk's Plans of Mars 'Self-Sustaining Civilization'? - News18

Earth’s wobbly companion is probably the result of a lunar impact, reckon space boffins – The Register

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

A freshly discovered train-sized rock that tags along with Earth as a constant companion orbiting the Sun is most likely a fragment of the Moon resulting from an ancient lunar impact.

469219 Kamo'oalewa discovered by observers in Hawaii in 2016 is about 41 metres in diameter and orbits the Sun in a trajectory not dissimilar from our own blue planet.

Although the nearest of Earth's quasi-satellites (don't worry, it's minimum orbital intersection distance* with Earth is five million km), very little is known about the rock's origins owing to its tiny size and habit of dwelling in the darkness of space.

Yet scientists working on a University of Arizona-led project have been able to shed some light on the question. Their analysis of rays reflected from the surface of the space rock observed using the Large Binocular Telescope in the Pinaleno Mountains of southeastern Arizona, and the Lowell Discovery Telescope in the Coconino National Forest near Happy Jack, Arizona, strongly suggest it may have lunar origins.

Graduate student Benjamin Sharkey and the team showed Kamo'oalewa has a red reflectance spectrum, very similar to that of minerals on the Moon's surface.

"This spectrum is indicative of a silicate-based composition, but with reddening beyond what is typically seen amongst asteroids in the inner solar system. We compare the spectrum to those of several material analogs and conclude that the best match is with lunar-like silicates. This interpretation implies extensive space weathering and raises the prospect that Kamo'oalewa could comprise lunar material," states the paper published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment.

Although the paper concedes that the conclusion is speculative, it seems more likely than other possibilities.

Kamo'oalewa might have been captured in its Earth-like orbit from the general population of Near-Earth Objects (NEOs), but its "eccentricity and inclination are, however, rather atypical of such captured co-orbital states found in numerical simulations," the paper says.

Alternatively, it could originate from an as-yet-undiscovered population of Earth's Trojan asteroids, another group of solar system objects. It is an idea that could be tested with more observations of that system.

That leaves the possibility that Kamo'oalewa originates in the Earth-Moon system, perhaps coming from debris spewed out of an impact on the lunar surface. It could even have come from a tidal or rotational break up of another NEO.

An origin within the Earth-Moon system is also supported by the object's low relative velocity as it approaches Earth, being much lower than other NEOs.

Kamo'oalewa's name originates from the Hawaiian words for fragment and oscillate. It sort of seems to orbit Earth yet doesn't. It orbits the Sun, but oscillates around the earth as its constant companion owing to a slightly different orbital period (366 days) and the inclination of its orbit compared with Earth's, as this handy animation shows.

* While Kamo'oalewa's MOID is 5 million km, in real terms, that means it gets no closer than 14.5 million km from Earth.

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Earth's wobbly companion is probably the result of a lunar impact, reckon space boffins - The Register

‘The Artist Colony’ celebrates the mysterious Carmel women who painted outside the lines. – 90.3 KAZU

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

Local Author Joanna Fitzpatrick has always written about courageous women who live life on their own terms. When she discovered that her great-aunt belonged to a community of female artists who lived and painted in Carmel in the 1920s, she found the perfect inspiration for her next novel, a murder mystery set in Carmel called The Artist Colony.

Fitzpatrick knew she wanted the novel to be a juicy whodunit. But the project became more personal when she decided to use the life of her aunt, Ada Belle Champlin, as inspiration.

I couldnt just write a mystery, Fitzpatrick said. It was too deep.

A landscape painting by Champlin first drew Fitzpatrick to the Central Coast. It featured a small country road in Carmel lined with eucalyptus trees. The piece was hanging in Fitzpatricks home on the East Coast for years before it inspired her to move to Carmel Valley. Thats when she began to investigate the life of her great-aunt, which led her to a cottage in Carmel known as the Sketch Box the same cottage where Champlin lived and painted a century ago.

Dylan Music / KAZU News

The Sketch Box is where much of the action takes place in The Artist Colony. Belinda Vidor, another female artist, now lives in the space.

She let me into her home and we became immediate friends, Fitzpatrick said of Vidor. I think Ada Belles spirit was there with us.

The Artist Colony begins with its lead character, Sarah, traveling to Carmel after receiving the news that her sisters body was found washed up on the beach. Was it a suicide as the authorities said? Or had she been murdered? Thats what Sarah intends to find out from the remaining group of women artists, including Rosie McCann, the warm and comforting innkeeper, and Sirena, a feisty young painter with a secretive past.

A community of women artists painting together was uncommon in the 1920s. Through the lens of Central Coast history, The Artist Colony examines the roles of women a century ago, and how the creative women of Carmels artist colony defied those roles.

All of Fitzpatricks books are about women who face difficult circumstances but manage to persevere and achieve great things. Her first novel was based on the life of modernist author Katharine Mansfield, part of the English writing scene known as the Bloomsbury Group, which also included Virginia Woolf and D.H. Lawrence. Mansfield struggled in the 1920s, when very few women got published in a male-dominated industry.

Her next book, The Drummers Widow, was written as a way for Fitzpatrick to deal with her own grief and worry as her musician husband battled cancer. Fortunately, he survived his illness.

Fitzpatrick will host a book signing event at the Pacific Grove Art Center Dec.12 at noon. The event will feature live 1920s-style jazz and a presentation called Giving Voice to Monterey Artists.

Also appearing at the event will be the painting of the Carmel Valley eucalyptus trees by Champlin the inspiration for Fitzgerald to move to the Central Coast and write The Artist Colony.

More information about Fitzpatrick and her books can be found at https://www.joannafitzpatrick.com/.

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'The Artist Colony' celebrates the mysterious Carmel women who painted outside the lines. - 90.3 KAZU

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