drudgereport--2019-09-25--How Greta rise could backfire on environmentalists

How Greta rise could backfire on environmentalists...

Youth activist Greta Thunberg speaks at the Climate Action Summit at the United Nations on September 23, 2019 in New York City. While the United States will not be participating, China and about 70 other countries are expected to make announcements concerning climate change.  Just how inspiring or even persuasive you find Greta's speeches and overall activism likely depends on where you stand on the political spectrum. There are plenty of politicians and regular voters claiming to be inspired by her words and passion. There are also lots of observers expressing general alarm at what they see as an indoctrinated child being coerced by adults to make their political arguments with her youth as a shield from any criticism.  But while personalizing a movement, especially with the innocent face of a child, is usually PR gold, Greta's ascendancy to the forefront of environmental activism could end up being a major negative to the movement – and the environment.  Sixteen-year-old Greta Thunberg from Sweden is the new face of the environmentalist movement, thanks to a pair of impassioned speeches to the U.S. Congress and the United Nations .  Her story signals a clear change in environmental movement tactics, and just how much more divisive and ineffective that change is likely to be.  Greta, and the adults guiding her, are seeking to shift almost all the focus from personal responsibility to governments and big corporations to enact environmental reform. Their argument is that individual people can't do much to save the world from climate change disaster when energy companies and governments focused mostly on economic growth don't care enough to make the big changes.  The adult version of that argument emerged earlier this month when Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren basically mocked personal conservation efforts. Warren told a climate town hall audience and later tweeted that the fossil fuel industry wants the public to discuss issues like plastic straws, lightbulbs, and cheeseburgers so they can continue to get away with producing most of the emissions blamed for climate change.  The funny thing about all of this is the free market is already doing these things based on the same capitalist incentives Greta and so many other activists are blaming for environmental disaster. Natural gas is cheaper and produces 50% fewer emissions than coal, nuclear power has been modernized and made much safer in recent decades while producing no emissions. For-profit entities like a company called Carbon Engineering are working on machines that literally suck carbon emissions out of the atmosphere.  Each of these innovations has enjoyed some level of government support here and there, but raw capitalistic profit motives are the primary driver. Warren and those like her are failing to see that millions more Americans who use their consumer spending powers to reduce their carbon footprint will send corporate America chasing after those dollars in a much faster and more effective way than government fiat.  It's not just die-hard capitalists or environmental skeptics who are pushing back on this focus away from personal responsibility. In a remarkable interview on PBS last week, author Jonathan Safran Foer spoke out against Warren's comments and pointed out that those who say they believe in the dire effects of climate change would do more than protest if they really believed it. That point is the premise of Foer's new book, "We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast."  Based on all the politically partisan slogans and signs we saw at the climate protests over the past few days, are we sure the top motivation is the environment and not politics? If the activists protesting right now could get the most serious climate change threats eliminated, but without politically defeating President Trump and Republicans and/or putting the big oil companies out of business in the process, would they still be interested in the cause?  The shift from the "Think Globally, Act Locally," environmental philosophy of the 1980s and 1990s makes that question fair game. When we move from encouraging people to change their personal practices to something like Warren's mocking of that very idea, it guts the very soul of any movement for effective change.  Previous generations of environmental activists knew this. By focusing on what people could do in their own personal lives to cut down on pollution, they presided over an environmental movement that used to be much more bipartisan in America.  This new focus on making environmentalism an angrier protest movement threatens to make the effort to protect the planet just another wedge issue that politicians often use to motivate their base of voters. Similar wedge issues like abortion and gun control have long shifted become tribal controversies with little chance of progress and compromise.  Greta Thunberg is angry. Lots of people are angry. But anger without doing something other than protesting and making speeches won't protect the environment or do much else other than produce more anger.  Jake Novak is a political and economic analyst at Jake Novak News and former CNBC TV producer. You can follow him on Twitter @jakejakeny.


eveningstandard--2019-01-07--Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders warns of tough environmental targets as EV sales soar

Sales of electric cars have soared to record levels as motor vehicles struggle in a “turbulent” market, figures show.  Statistics from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show a rise of almost 14 per cent in the sale of electric cars.  While cleaner cars are soaring in popularity, diesel car sales have plummeted by almost 30 per cent.  The figures suggest December 2018 was the 21st consecutive month in which diesel sales declined.  The sharp fall in popularity of diesel was largely blamed on “anti-diesel rhetoric and negative fiscal measures.”  Petrol/electric hybrid sales grew by more than 20 per cent throughout the year, while plug-in hybrid sales also rose by almost 30 per cent in the first 10 months of the year. However, this increase fell in the last two months of 2018.  Although SMMT statistics suggest a change is on the horizon in how we choose to power our vehicles, it notes electric cars still only make up a tiny proportion of the market.  Just 15,474 pure electric cars are registered in the UK, which constitutes just 0.7 per cent of all vehicles in the UK.  The SMMT also reported that the UK is trailing behind the EU in demand for electric cars, with data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) showing an average 40 per cent rise across the EU in the first three quarters of 2018 - double the demand shown in the UK.  Mike Hawes, chief executive of SMMT, said the industry was facing “ever-tougher environmental challenges.”  He added: “Supportive, not punitive measures are needed to grow sales, because replacing older cars with new technologies, whether diesel, petrol, hybrid or plug-in, is good for the environment, the consumer, the industry and the exchequer.”


foreignpolicy--2019-02-20--Lebanon Is Facing an Economic and Environmental Disaster

Lebanon Is Facing an Economic and Environmental Disaster  Lebanon’s fragile communitarian democracy is hobbling on. After more than 250 days of political deadlock that threatened to bring down the economy, Prime Minister Saad Hariri now presides over another unity government, Lebanon’s sixth since the devastating 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.  When analysts and policymakers assess Lebanon’s long list of problems, political sectarianism and the general split between pro- and anti-Syrian factions in the country usually come first. The idea that sectarian tensions and proxy conflicts between regional hegemons Iran and Saudi Arabia are keeping Lebanon trapped is the general, tired storyline about the country. The Syrian war, so the logic goes, has ostensibly made good governance in Lebanon nearly impossible.  The new 30-member unity government will probably not change that picture. It includes all the major political parties in Lebanon. President Michel Aoun and his Free Patriotic Movement have the biggest share with 10 seats, while the Shiite duo Hezbollah and the Amal Movement holds six seats combined. Hariri has six seats, and his allies—the Christian Lebanese Forces—have four, the rest going to smaller groups. It is a divided cabinet with often opposing views on foreign policy; therefore, policymaking is likely to be lethargic and reactive, as has been the case for the past decade.  The U.S. response has been to beef up the Lebanese Armed Forces, while European aid has focused on mitigating the Syrian refugee crisis in the country. No one can doubt the serious implications of regional competition and sectarian tensions in Lebanon. In the past, they have threatened to bring the country back to the brink of war. Seen in this light, it is necessary to address both the security sector and refugee aid.  But, as the refugee crisis has only made clearer, the primary structural challenges to stability and security in Lebanon are now economic and ecological. Stopgap measures will not suffice much longer. Pollution is rampant; burned and dumped trash is spoiling the natural environment and contaminating water. Lebanon’s economy is faltering under the weight of mismanagement, debt, and Syrian refugees. Western policymakers have to consider these factors if they care about protecting civil peace in the country.  The previous government did very little to prevent Lebanon’s infrastructure from crumbling. Mainly due to corruption, Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk failed to find a permanent solution for trash collection. As a result, people continue to burn toxic trash near urban developments and dump rubbish into coastal landfills as well as the Mediterranean Sea with disastrous effects for the environment and public health. Contamination and depletion of the ground water have reached catastrophic levels. At the same time, electricity cuts are frequent, leaving the poorest parts of the country without power in the hot summer months and with no heating in the winter. For the one-third of the country living below the $1.90 per day international poverty line, Lebanon feels more like a failed state than a middle-income democracy.  The environment has deteriorated apace with public trust in the government and hope for the future. Elites have put their faith in Lebanon’s famed flexible economy, which relies on remittances from abroad and people’s general ability to innovate and ride out hard times. But in recent years, even for the middle class, the country’s economic future has begun to look very uncertain. Growth rates have sunk from 8 to 1 percent since the years before the Syrian war, and the budget deficit has skyrocketed as the country’s soaring debt passed $80 billion last year.  Nothing suggests that this government will be less dysfunctional than previous ones, even if some of the appointed ministers may be able to devise new policies to address the country’s serious economic and ecological challenges. Raya al-Hassan, the first female interior minister in any Arab country, could push for sorely needed anti-corruption measures and an overhaul of Lebanon’s endemic trash removal problems.  The urgency of the situation was highlighted recently when, on Jan. 21, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded the country’s credit rating amid concerns over its ability to service its debts. Bond prices rallied on the news of the new government’s formation, but this could be a temporary reaction unless it produces results quickly. Lebanon is in real danger of defaulting in the coming years.  The outside world needs to see results now, and Hariri knows it. After announcing the new government on Jan. 31, he immediately emphasized the need to stabilize the economy by passing reform bills that would trigger more than $11 billion in aid and loans for infrastructure investment pledged at the April 2018 CEDRE donor conference. Here, Western governments, Saudi Arabia, and international monetary institutions pegged aid to structural reforms that would bring in foreign investments, improve infrastructure, and reduce corruption. To meet the demands, Lebanon has to reduce the budget deficit by 5 percent of GDP within five years. It is a tall order, with almost 50 percent of government revenues currently going toward servicing the country’s already substantial debts of around 150 percent of GDP. Without drastic reforms, there is little chance of hitting the 5 percent target.  The loans were locked due to political infighting last year. Initially, Christian and Druze leaders disagreed over their representation. When parties reached a breakthrough, Hezbollah added a new demand, pushing for control of a ministry to be handed to the Consultative Gathering, a grouping of six pro-Syria Sunni members of parliament opposed to Hariri, whose Future Movement is the largest Sunni faction.  Hariri rejected Hezbollah’s demands, fearing they would allow the Shiite party to increase its dominance. As international pressure mounted, however, he eventually accepted a compromise candidate, Hassan Mrad, to become the new state minister for foreign trade. Mrad formally belongs to Aoun’s share of cabinet seats but also represents the Consultative Gathering. Under the agreement, Mrad will not vote against Aoun, the veteran Christian leader who struck a deal with Hezbollah in 2006 that eventually landed him the presidency in 2016.  Mrad will not make a big difference to the general picture. Hezbollah’s “Loyalty to the Resistance” bloc formally controls just three ministries—the Ministry for Youth and Sports, the Ministry of Public Health, and the State Ministry for Parliamentary Affairs—but it can effectively lead from behind as it holds a parliamentary majority together with the Shiite party Amal, Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement, and other allies. They will use it to block legislation that contradicts their foreign policy, not least support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.  Hezbollah’s control of the Ministry of Public Health is significant. It has the fourth-largest budget, and this is the first time that the party has taken charge of a major portfolio. It will allow Hezbollah to deliver on promises to its Shiite constituents by improving health services for low-income groups, pushing for free health care for its soldiers returning from Syria, and embedding itself further in state institutions.  These new powers are a double-edged sword because they will leave Hezbollah exposed to criticism if it fails to deliver. At the same time, by increasing its influence within the state, Hezbollah becomes a larger and more difficult target for the United States.  Last year, Washington imposed new sanctions on Hezbollah and threated to target Lebanon itself should Hezbollah take charge of a major ministry. The new minister, Jamil Jabak, is not formally a Hezbollah member but is extremely close to the movement and has served as a personal physician to its leader, Hassan Nasrallah.  The United States will see the appointment as an affront and may consider free health care to Hezbollah members, if the ministry were to provide it, as an example of “significant financial support”—a red line that could be used to justify a reduction in U.S. funding to the health ministry while pressuring other international donors to do the same. (The European Union and the World Bank are currently major donors to the Lebanese health sector.)  Washington could also impose sanctions on hospitals, preventing the export of U.S. medications to the country, or cut off military aid. Both would primarily harm civilians and risk undermining a country that the United States, along with the EU, wants to protect from collapse. Washington is therefore likely to give Hariri a chance to show his ability to rein in Hezbollah’s power.  Jostling to punish Hezbollah is a dangerous distraction from the key challenge. Lebanese policymakers should keep their eyes on reforms which would help stabilize the economy in the short term. They must also introduce new and immediate assistance to the Ministry of Environment and other public bodies to help stop environmental disaster. There is an immediate need to strengthen the state’s ability to address the crisis, but donors should also aid existing but underfunded civil society groups that promote conservation, environmental protection, and recycling.  These are the urgent challenges that ordinary Lebanese citizens face. They are also the ones that will, depending on how they are addressed, determine whether state failure spreads from the margins of the state to its core.


fortune--2019-09-06--Why Two Environmentally-Minded Designers Are Optimistic About the Future

The challenge of creating a greener more sustainable world isn’t being hindered by a lack of wealth or technology. What we lack is imagination.  That's the view of cutting-edge Dutch artist and designer Daan Roosegaarde.  “If we can’t imagine it, we can’t get there,’’ he says.  Roosegaarde presented several of his groundbreaking solutions to environmental problems at the Fortune Global Sustainability Forum in Yunnan, China on Friday. They include kites that generate electricity and the world’s largest air purifiers, just one of which is capable of cleaning the air in a small town. And he hasn’t just imagined them. He has designed and built them in China and other places.  Roosegaarde believe the solutions to climate change start with intelligent design. His conviction that designers can play an important role in creating change gives him a sense of optimism.  “We live in a world where we are more defined by our future than our history,’’ Roosegaarde said.  Considering rising global temperatures, plastics in the oceans, and fires in the Amazon, the future can be a source of fear and anger among many, including Roosegaarde’s students at Tongji University in Shanghai. Filled with despair, he said they want to know what they should do.  “Don’t be afraid, be curious,’’ is his advice. “I don’t believe in utopia, I believe in protopia: designing prototypes for solutions that create a better world and that can be realized. As humans, we learn, we fail, and we evolve. Stop whining and worrying. We need to fix it.” If they say it can’t be done, Roosegaarde says he's determined to do it.  Architect and designer Bill McDonough, who pioneered the concept of the Circular Economy, shares that attitude, and has hope for the future. “We don’t want to be depressed, because there is a lot of work to do,’’ he told the Fortune forum. Among McDonough's prolific works are buildings that generate more electricity than they consume and clothing that is completely biodegradable.  In dealing with government and industry leaders in China and other places, Roosegaarde said he can feel their sense of urgency about the looming threats and the need to take action.  “In China, they are searching for a new harmony between nature and economic progress. We can create a new harmony in society where clean water, clean air, and clean energy are valued. I want to be part of that transition,’’ Roosegaarde said.  McDonough feels that others are also searching for the path to a better world. At the Fortune forum, he said he was moved by the goodwill and willingness to engage he experienced from people across various disciplines and from many corners of the world.  “It was magical and beautiful,’’ he said. “And that’s why this will be possible.”  —Watch here: Fortune Global Sustainability Forum 2019 livestream  —Impossible Foods wants China to make its own meat  —Dow CEO Jim Fitterling has a counter-argument to the plastic backlash  —Former Sinopec chairman says Chinese executives think climate change can wait  —China’s Yangtze river basin—the world’s third-largest economy—is at great risk  Get Fortune’s The Loop newsletter on the revolutions in energy, technology, and sustainability.


fortune--2019-09-19--Trump Threatens San Francisco With Environmental Violations Over Homeless Population

President Donald Trump is threatening to hit San Francisco with possible federal environmental violations because of the city's homeless population.  As he was returning to the White House from a rare trip to the West Coast, Trump told reporters on Air Force One late Wednesday that there's a tremendous amount of raw sewage and used needles from San Francisco's homeless going into storm drains and then into the Pacific Ocean.  The president accuses the city of being in "total violation," as he planned to ask the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to serve them with a notice soon.  "We have tremendous things that we don’t have to discuss pouring into the ocean. You know there are needles, there are other things," Trump said, without getting specific on what environmental laws San Francisco might have violated. "They have to clean it up. We can’t have our cities going to hell. These are great cities. And we can’t lose our great cities like this."  Trump's comments came after he spent two days meeting supporters and fundraising in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and San Diego. The president also toured a barrier under construction near the U.S.-Mexico border. Before heading west, Trump said that homelessness in San Francisco and L.A. was ruining "the prestige" of two of California's largest cities.  But San Francisco city leaders struck back at Trump. Mayor London Breed responded to the president on Twitter late Wednesday by saying her city is responding to all issues.  "The President is cutting clean air and clean water standards, restricting our ability to regulate car emissions, and denying climate change even exists. He’s cut funding for homelessness and affordable housing. In SF, we’re meeting the challenges on our streets," Breed said in a series of tweets. "If the President wants to talk about homelessness, we are committed to working on actual solutions, like adding 1,000 new shelter beds by next year and working to pass a $600 million affordable housing bond to create more badly needed housing.  "We’re dedicating services and treatment for our most vulnerable suffering from mental illness and addiction. We will continue to do this work, and we wish the federal government would offer support on solutions that help people exit homelessness," Breed continued.  California State Senator Scott Weiner, a frequent Trump critic whose district includes San Francisco, also chimed in Wednesday by tweeting, "More Trump slander against cities, this time San Francisco. Trump is making homelessness & addiction worse by cutting healthcare & affordable housing. I wish Trump would have his EPA enforce against actual environmental problems, but I guess that would be too much to ask."  Nearly 10,000 people are reported to be homeless in San Francisco, according to the city's official count released in July. Among the homeless people polled, when asked what prevents them from escaping homelessness, 63% said that they couldn’t afford to pay rent in the city, one of the largest in the country. That figure is up from 54% in 2017, and 48% in 2015.  The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco is more than $3,700— and climbing, according to rentcafe.com.  When polled about what contributed to being homeless, 26% of respondents blamed job loss, 18% cited alcohol or drug problems, and 13% said eviction. Another 12% of those polled also cited conflicts with family or friends who had previously provided shelter.  Trump's warning of taking action against San Francisco also came on the same day that he revoked California's waiver for auto emissions, likely setting up a potential legal battle between the Trump administration and the state, which has repeatedly sued over Trump’s previous policies.  —145 CEOs call on Senate to support ‘common-sense gun laws’  —These are the 2020 senate races to watch  —Black women voters are key to the 2020 presidential race. Here’s who they support  —The U.K. government’s worst case Brexit scenario looks a lot like ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’  —Can Andrew Yang win in 2020? Inside his unorthodox campaign  Get up to speed on your morning commute with Fortune’s CEO Daily newsletter.


foxnews--2019-04-29--California Gov Newsom facing new pressure from environmental groups to block drilling fracking

California Gov. Newsom facing new pressure from environmental groups to block drilling, fracking

In the next few weeks, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is slated to announce his administration’s energy policy strategy – and many environmental groups there are hoping it will include plans to end oil and gas drilling in the nation’s most populous state and phase out all fossil fuel extraction.  At the very least, green groups are hoping that Newsom – who campaigned last year on a promise to end controversial extraction methods like fracking and who has been a key figure in the fight to curtail climate change – will create buffer zones for any new oil and gas wells near schools, hospitals and residential neighborhoods and also monitor for dangerous emissions from plugged or abandoned wells.  “I consider to remain optimistic given how he expressed interest in issues that [former California Gov. Jerry] Brown did not address,” Kathryn Phillips, the director of the Sierra Club California, told Fox News. “The governor needs to make a plan to transition the state away from oil and gas toward renewables, but also transition workers into jobs in that sector.”  But as Newsom’s term in Sacramento approaches its fifth month, many of these groups are losing patience as the governor tries to balance a clean energy agenda with the demands of an industry that supports hundreds of thousands of jobs in a state with around 26 million vehicles on the road.  “I’m taking a very pragmatic look at it, in scoping this,” Newsom told The Los Angeles Times recently. “It’s also an inclusive scoping because it includes people in the industry, that have jobs; communities that are impacted from an environmental justice prism but also from an economic justice prism. It’s a challenging issue.”  Newsom must now weigh the support he received from environmental groups while on the campaign trail – and his own assurances that he wants California to be powered 100 percent by renewable energy in the near future – with any moves that could negatively affect a billion-dollar industry in a state that has the world’s fifth largest economy.  Even with California’s oil production being in decline for years, the state was the nation’s fifth-largest domestic crude oil producer in 2017, according to figures compiled by the federal government.  “His intentions are very pragmatic,” Catherine Reheis-Boyd, the president of the Western States Petroleum Association, told Fox News. “Newsom understands the importance of an industry to the 40 million people who will be driving 26 million combustible engines tomorrow.”  One practice that environmental groups are hoping Newsom will clamp down on more than his predecessor is hydraulic fracturing. Known more popularly as fracking, it is a method of oil and gas extraction in which large volumes of high-pressure water are shot into the ground.  Fracking has come under intense scrutiny in recent years amid widespread concerns over both the public health and environmental risks it poses. While Brown approved restrictions on the practice back in 2013, he was lambasted by green groups for not banning fracking outright amid his argument that it could provide economic opportunities to some Californians.  On the campaign trail last year Newsom was adamantly opposed to fracking, but has so far remained quiet about the practice – along with the possibility of banning offshore drilling in the state - when discussing his energy agenda. Newsom, however, told the "Los Angeles Times" that despite his commitment to renewable energies, it would be impossible to completely stop California’s reliance on fossil fuels at the moment.  “One cannot just turn off the switch. One cannot just immediately abut against a century of practice and policy,” Newsom said.  Still California is one of the nation’s leaders in pushing forth a green energy agenda.  Despite the criticism leveled against him for waffling on clamping down on the fossil fuel industry, Brown last year signed two pieces of legislation that effectively banned the construction of any new offshore oil and gas pipelines in the state’s waters and thwarted a Trump administration plan to open nearly 1.7 billion acres of coastal waters to drilling.  While California cannot directly block oil and gas drilling off its coast, the legislation that Brown signed aims to drive up the operating costs of these operations enough to make the effort unprofitable. The law does this by blocking state land managers from permitting the construction of new pipelines, piers, wharves or other infrastructure projects necessary to bring oil and gas from offshore drilling sites to land.  “California has positioned itself as the center of the Trump resistance,” Jessica Levinson, a clinical law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, told Fox News. “It’s bloody combat.”  California banned offshore drilling in state waters out to three miles back in 1994 and there haven’t been any new platforms built in the last 30 years. But California is the nation’s third-largest oil-producing state, behind Texas and North Dakota, and there are still 32 offshore oil platforms and artificial islands in federal and state waters off the coasts of Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles and Orange Counties.  CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP  California may be leading the nation in curbing its reliance on fossil fuels and many environmental activists believe Newsom will take even bolder steps than his predecessor, energy industry insiders like Reheis-Boyd question what the point is when other states – and nations – are not doing their part as well.  “I get the idea of taking a lead on this issue and I think many companies agree with this,” she said. “But at what cost is this being done, especially when nobody else is doing anything.”


ipolitics--2019-01-30--Lobby Wrap Keurig lobbying Ottawa on companys environmental policies

Lobby Wrap: Keurig lobbying Ottawa on company’s environmental policies

The makers of a popular homemade coffee brewer that uses single-serve plastic pods wants to meet with decision-makers on the Hill to discuss environmental and sustainability policies.  Jean Michel Laurin of National Public Relations registered with the federal Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying last week on behalf of Keurig Canada, manufacturers of the namesake brewing system that allow users to make individual cups of coffee, tea and other beverages.  The company has faced criticism from environmentalists for the waste produced by the discarded plastic pods used to make beverages. They are made of plastic and are not wholly recyclable, though the company has a reusable and refillable alternative.  Keurig has pledged to make all of its namesake K-cup pods 100 per cent recyclable by 2020.  In the registration, Laurin writes that he intends to co-ordinate meetings on behalf of Keurig with government officials to “educate them on the company’s sustainability, recyclability and environmental policies.”  The listed targets of these lobbying efforts are MPs and senators, Finance Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Natural Resources Canada, Innovation, Science and Economic Development and the Prime Minister’s Office.  Keurig Canada is owned by U.S. beverage conglomerate Keurig Dr Pepper, Inc.  There were just 31 new registrations with the commissioner’s office from Jan. 20 to Jan. 26. The St. Michael’s Foundation, a charity that supports the namesake hospital in Toronto, was named in three registrations (all filed by consultants from Ensight) last week, the most of any organization over that span.  The Canadian Wildlife Federation was the only other organization named in more than one filing, with the conservation body named in two registrations by Flagship Solutions consultants.  For consultant lobbyists, Tara Mazurk of Global Public Affairs led the way with three registrations, followed by Evan Wiseman of Counsel Public Affairs, who scored two new registrations. No other lobbyist had more than one new client.  By company, Global Public Affairs won the week with four registrations, followed by Ensight with three. Bluesky Strategy Group, Counsel Public Affairs, Temple Scott and Summa Strategies all had two each.  Here are the highlights  Phil Von Finckenstein of Maple Leaf Strategies has registered to lobby for Cleanfarms/AgriRÉCUP on a national agricultural plastics recycling strategy. Last year, the organization, which provides recycling solutions for agricultural communities, received $1,176 in federal funding and $90,000 from Manitoba.  L’Équipe Spectra, an umbrella organization representing several large Montreal festivals, registered in-house staff Jacques-André Dupont and Véronique Landry to get grant money from Canadian Heritage.  Tara Mazurk of Global Public Affairs registered for the National Ballet School, National Circus School and National Theatre School. These organizations have been registered by several lobbyists from Global in the past few weeks. Mazurk is looking to help them secure funding from the Canadian Arts Training Fund.  Global ticket retailing giant Tickemaster has a new lobbyist registered on its behalf. Kate Mosely-Williams of Crestview has registered to lobby for the company on issues around ticket reselling and consumer protection. The federal Competition Bureau is currently investigatingTicketmaster’s reselling practices after a CBC News/Toronto Star investigation discovered that the ticket seller is working with large scalpers to resell millions of dollars in tickets.  Kristin Baldwin and Serge Alexandre Buy of Flagship Solutions have registered to lobby for the aforementioned Canadian Wildlife Federation. The consultants registered to lobby parliamentarians and Fisheries and Oceans Canada on including provisions for habitat banking in Bill C-68, which amends the Fisheries Act.  A habitat bank is privately or publicly owned land managed for its natural resource value. A broker or group sells credits for the land to developers who need to meet “requirements for mitigating and compensating for the environmental impacts of development projects,” according to a summary from the Environment Bank Ltd.  Nauticol Energy Ltd. wants to build a $2-billion methane facility in Grande Prairie, Alta., and Erik Koskela of Global Public Affairs has registered to lobby for the company to discuss the project with federal bureaucrats.  Andrew Balfour, Kait LaForce and Matthew Triemstra of Ensight Canada have all registered to lobby for the St. Michael’s Foundation to find funding sources for population health research into marginalized populations.  Jeremy Bruce of Summa Strategies is registered to lobby for Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights on sexual health rights as part of foreign aid and access to abortion, reproductive rights and midwifery in Canada.  Juliana Martine of FleishmanHillard High Road has registered to lobby for the British Columbia Coast Pilots Ltd. on the pilotage review recommendations and environmental issues related to pilotage.  John Moonen of John Moonen & Associates has registered to lobby for Stewart World Port Services to find grant money to expand its port in northern British Columbia and build a rail line to move goods to and from the port.  Don Moors of Temple Scott Associates is now lobbying for the McConnell Foundation. Moors is appealing to various federal departments to create a Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy, which was recommended by a similarly named steering group last summer. In 2018, the McConnell Foundation, one of the oldest family-based foundations in Canada, received $1.1 million from Employment and Social Development Canada.  It was a quiet week for communications reports, with only 119 filed.  Most lobbied subjects, based on the first two subjects listed on each filing:


ipolitics--2019-02-28--Premiers push Ottawa for changes to environmental assessment bill

That’s not to say the Environmental Assessment Act introduced by the previous Conservative government was any better. She said it was “broken, misguided and damaging to our economy,” and agreed the process for approving infrastructure projects needs to change.  “The old way of doing things is not an option. Senators, we have to get this right. We can’t just swap one broken system for another broken system. We can’t build trust with more investor uncertainty,” she said.  “We can’t replace a “no pipeline” process under the former Conservative government with a “no pipeline” process under a Liberal one. But either by design, by willful ignorance, or maybe just by accident, that’s just what Bill C-69 does.”  Notley said there isn’t a school, hospital, road or bike lane in Canada that doesn’t owe something to a strong energy industry, but stressed Alberta can’t keep contributing what it does to the Canadian economy, build new renewable energy or lead on climate change if Ottawa makes it virtually impossible to build the energy infrastructure the province needs.  Last fall’s economic crisis was because the province ran out of pipeline capacity, she noted, which saw the value of its oil drop by about 20 per cent of what it could have fetched on the world market. In response, her government curtailed production by 10 per cent.  “In the Maritimes they were importing Saudi oil. Here in Ontario you were importing American oil. And in the West, we were curtailing production. This, my friends, does not a country make,” the premier said.  Notley came with a list of amendments she asked senators to consider as a package. Among them are harder limits on the time it can take to do a review, and ensuring assessments consider the socio-economic benefits of a project.  She also wants to see Alberta’s Climate Leadership Plan formally recognized so that projects approved under it would meet federal standards and be exempt from further assessment, unless there were significant impacts in other areas of federal jurisdiction.  Notley also requested that the act be amended to exclude downstream greenhouse gas emissions.  Bringing a perspective from the other end of the country, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Dwight Ball said while his government is concerned the proposed legislation will increase regulatory burden, costs and timelines, without enhancing environmental outcomes, the status quo doesn’t sit well with them either.  “Improvements to Bill C-69 must create a responsible but also internationally competitive regulatory environment that can support our Government’s efforts to meet ambitious targets for economic growth in our resource sector.”  He noted that sector contributed 25 per cent of Newfoundland and Labrador’s GDP in 2016 and the equivalent of nearly 18,000 person years of employment last year, and said given the economic and demographic challenges the province is facing, the need to be able to sustainably develop its natural resources “is perhaps greater now than ever before.”  His Liberal government has announced plans to double offshore oil production by 2030, which set a target of 100 new exploration wells.  The province is “on the verge of a new era in frontier oil exploration and development,” and key to unlocking that potential offshore rests with exploration wells. Ball said exploration shouldn’t be subject to impact assessment, as the process of going before a review panel could take 870 days — while the work itself might only last a couple of months.  Under the current Environmental Assessment Act, the process averages 2.5 years. The proposed Impact Assessment Act (IAA) creates a process that is three years, or longer, for every project, said Siobhan Coady, the province’s minister of natural resources.  While Newfoundland and Labrador’s offshore has caught the eye of the global industry, investors are concerned about putting money on the table because Canada’s environmental regulatory system already lags far behind countries like the UK and Norway, Ball said, noting both move exploratory well drilling through assessment in a matter of months.  “We keep saying investment is slowing down and it’s slowing down simply because of the uncertainty that’s created around the discussions we’re having around this new legislation,” he told iPolitics.  “It’s not about moving away from environmental concerns. We believe we have to do that responsibly. But we also know this creates jobs for people in Newfoundland and Labrador, and it contributes quite heavily to all of Canada.”  Balancing environmental protection with resource development is an “indispensable economic imperative,” and should be the focus of amendments to Bill C-69, he told senators.  As written, the bill would allow the federal environment minister to veto a proposed project. That’s concerning, Coady said, as it doesn’t respect the principles of joint management and shared jurisdiction for the offshore that are entrenched in the Atlantic Accord.  “We believe the federal minister should be required to consult the provincial minister on matters that have potentially significant impacts on our offshore.”  Like Alberta, he called for regional environmental assessments to be recognized to avoid delays and duplication. Further to that, the province wants the role of the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) — the regulator created as part of the Accord — clarified and enshrined in the bill. Before the Conservatives introduced their assessment legislation in 2012, the board was responsible for performing all environmental assessments for the offshore.  “They have expertise in all areas of offshore oil and gas operations and are responsible for all other operational approvals in the offshore area. To not fully use their expertise would undermine the purpose of the IAA, which is to perform more effective and efficient impact assessments,” Coady said.  Later, Ball told iPolitics: “In our province we’ve been doing this for nearly 30 years now. We’ve been doing it successfully. When it comes down to answering the question of who the responsible authority would be, it’s very clear to us that within our legislation it should be the C-NLOPB, so we want that stated right in the act itself.”  However, there are plenty of people in the province who have long felt the board already has too much power and needs better oversight itself. A spill off Newfoundland’s coast in the fall — the largest spill ever off Canada’s East Coast — renewed those calls for change to what’s seen as self-regulation by industry.  Critics say there is a built-in conflict of interest in the C-NLOPB’s mandate, given its responsibility for development, as well as safety and environment.  Senators also heard from Saskatchewan Minister of Energy and Resources Bronwyn Eyre, who told the committee this bill would be “economically devastating,” and only lead to “non-streamlining and non-efficiency.”  “If ever ‘sober second thought’ were necessary, it is with this bill,” she said.


ipolitics--2019-04-09--Will Senate go green and support stronger environmental laws

Will Senate ‘go green’ and support stronger environmental laws?

"The Senate has a constitutional duty to study legislation and refer any proposed amendments to the House of Commons for reconsideration. But the Senate has no right to block environmental legislation duly passed by the democratically elected House of Commons, especially given that the Liberal Party’s electoral mandate in October 2015 made enactment of these stronger environmental laws a priority commitment."  In 2018, the House of Commons passed four environmental protection bills that would be the most in a generation. If also passed by the Senate, these new laws would:  The question is: Will the Senate also go green and vote for stronger environmental laws before Parliament prorogues at the end of June?  Conservative senators are using a variety of procedural tactics (such as the circus of extraordinary cross-country hearings in western Canada this week and eastern Canada later in the month) to kill Bill C-69.  Bill C-48 is also at risk of death by delay.  Senators are actively considering amendments that remove important new protections for fish and fish habitat from Bill C-68, and create obstacles to more marine protection in Bill C-55.  The Senate has a constitutional duty to study legislation and refer any proposed amendments to the House of Commons for reconsideration.  But the Senate has no right to block environmental legislation duly passed by the democratically elected House of Commons, especially given that the Liberal Party’s electoral mandate in October 2015 made enactment of these stronger environmental laws a priority commitment.  Conservative and several independent senators have aligned themselves with the oil and gas industry in seeking to ensure that federal assessments of development projects do not consider greenhouse gas emissions and restrict public participation in hearings.  Bill C-69 is broadly supported by most environmental groups, including Nature Canada, the Assembly of First Nations, the Native Women’s Association of Canada and the Mining Association of Canada.  The Senate is skating on thin ice with Bill C-69 and these other bills; its very credibility as an institution with an ongoing role in our democracy depends on how it handles them.  Why? A recent AbacusData survey found that almost eight million Canadians are “extremely” worried about climate change, and that nine million say it will be the top issue, or one of the top two issues, that they vote on.  On March 15, children in 100 countries (tens of thousands in Montreal alone) went on strike from school because their politicians are doing so little to address climate change.  Meanwhile, WWF reports that global wildlife populations have declined by 60 per cent in 40 years.  Yet the Senate may well vote to weaken — or kill by delay — bills passed by the elected House of Commons that would help reduce GHG emissions and reverse the loss of wildlife in Canada.  In my view, this would be a major political blunder, but even worse, a moral failure that Canadians will remember.  If these bills are killed or weakened, I predict that Canadian children and adult Canadians who care about children will know exactly where to go to protest. The former train station across from the Chateau Laurier is conveniently located.  Canada’s children and Canada’s nature need the Senate to go green this spring.  Stephen Hazell is director of conservation and general counsel with Nature Canada, the country’s oldest national nature conservation charity.  The views, opinions and positions expressed by all iPolitics columnists and contributors are the author’s alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of iPolitics.


ipolitics--2019-05-01--Proposed impact assessment regulations draw ire of environmental groups

Base Mine Lake with Syncrude's Mildred Lake mine in the background north of Fort McMurray, Alta., on Thursday, September 13, 2018. (Codie McLachlan/Star Metro Edmonton)  Environmental groups say prospective regulations for federal impact assessments unwisely exempt certain high-carbon resource projects, harming Canada’s ability to meet its international climate commitments.  “Impact assessment is meant to ensure we look before we leap, and that we take off any blinders that might result in a poor decision,” Andrew Gage, a staff lawyer at the West Coast Environmental Law Association (WCEL), said in a statement.  “Instead, the government is running full tilt towards the cliff, blindfolded.”  On Wednesday, the federal government released draft regulations for the new federal impact assessment regime to be established by Bill C-69, which remains before the Senate.  As part of this submission, it released proposed rules on the sets of projects that may be subject to a federal impact assessment, known alternatively as a project list. The sorts of developments that would fall on the project list under the draft guidelines include oilsands mines and major nuclear and hydro projects.  The government also submitted proposed rules on information requirements for the project planning phase and on the criteria for which legislated timelines could be suspended.  The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency is seeking public comment on the draft rules and guidelines until the end of May.  The WCEL, though, warns the prospective regulations do not contain a “trigger” that would mandate assessments based on a project’s greenhouse gas emissions and exempt in-situ oil projects — which use steam to extract oil from below — in provinces like Alberta that have emissions caps in place.  Julia Levin, climate and energy campaigner Environmental Defence Canada, said in a statement that the proposed rules were the equivalent of promising to study the environmental impact of roadway vehicles but excluding SUVs and large transport trucks.  “Exempting high-carbon projects from federal assessment is ludicrous,” she said.  The environment minister, however, still has the right under the draft rules to place projects on the list should they believe it requires federal oversight. Oil and gas projects are still subject to provincial environmental assessments.  Overall, the proposed regulations restrict the project list to developments that have the greatest potential for negative effects in areas that fall under federal environment jurisdiction, which include fish and fish habitat; aquatic species at risk; migratory birds; environmental changes on federal lands and First Nation reserves; environmental impacts that cross provincial borders or that affect federally regulated “project types such as nuclear, rail, ports, airports, interprovincial pipelines and offshore energy activities.”


mediamattersforamerica--2019-02-26--A fossil fuel-tied consultant has frequently used his CNN job to attack environmental protections

CNN political commentator Scott Jennings has defended the fossil fuel industry in at least nine instances without the network disclosing his numerous financial connections to that industry, including his firm’s work for power companies, fossil fuel associations, and a Republican super PAC that’s funded with fossil fuel money.  Jennings has used his CNN employment to criticize the Green New Deal as something that would “fundamentally alter the U.S. economy and would put a lot of people out of work”; attack Democrats for trying “to rid our country of coal and other fossil fuels”; and praise former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) head Scott Pruitt for “dismantling Obama's anti-business regulatory regime” and “taming one of the most out-of-control, anti-growth bureaucracies in Washington.”  Jennings is a co-founder and partner of RunSwitch, a public relations firm that states that it has “local, national, and international clients,” including “Fortune 500 companies and national trade associations.” RunSwitch is reportedly the largest PR firm in Kentucky. Jennings is also a longtime adviser to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who is a prominent ally of the fossil fuel industry. (Kentucky “is the fifth-largest coal producer among the states, and is ranked fifth in the nation in estimated recoverable coal reserves,” according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.)  RunSwitch has had numerous clients over the years that have been involved in the fossil fuel industry. They include:  Over the years, RunSwitch and Jennings have also been involved with the pro-McConnell group Kentuckians for Strong Leadership (KSL). According to Federal Election Commission records, the super PAC has paid RunSwitch over $140,000 since 2013 (see: data in 2013-2014, 2015-2016, 2017-2018). During that same period, major donors to KSL have included fossil fuel-linked entities such as American Electric Power, Murray Energy Corporation, and a revocable trust belonging to Joseph W. Craft III, who is the president and CEO of coal company Alliance Resources Partners. In 2014, Jennings and KSL ran a campaign defending the coal industry from political attacks. The CNN commentator also worked for the pro-McConnell 501(c)(4) group Kentucky Opportunity Coalition, which was active during the 2014 election and McConnell’s successful reelection campaign. The Intercept’s Lee Fang reported in 2015 that, according to its bankruptcy filings, now-defunct coal company Alpha Natural Resources helped fund the group. Jennings could have even more conflicts of interest than those reported here since, as the Center for Public Integrity wrote in a 2015 report, public relations firms are “not subject to federal disclosure rules.” Those many conflicts of interest should have prevented Jennings from commenting on issues related to the fossil fuel industry (or at a very minimum required CNN to offer a disclosure about his firm’s clients). Instead, CNN has repeatedly allowed Jennings to defend the interests of fossil fuel companies. Here are nine examples: During a September 2, 2017, appearance on CNN Newsroom, CNN political commentator Symone Sanders criticized Trump for reversing an Obama-era EPA regulation and correctly tied Hurricane Harvey to climate change. Jennings responded by attacking Sanders, stating: “I think that only a liberal Democrat could come in and tell us that EPA and government regulations could prevent an epic hurricane like what we just saw come ashore. I mean, that's sort of a nonsense talk.” During a December 30, 2017, appearance on CNN Newsroom, Jennings praised President Donald Trump for a tweet making fun of climate change, saying: “I do think that here in Kentucky, we know something about when it is cold, what heats our homes and that’s good old Kentucky coal. I think 90 percent of the electricity in Kentucky is generated by coal. And I think what the president is doing in his tweets is poking a little fun at some of the liberal Democrats who tried to rid our country of coal and other fossil fuels. And so, I think the president was just trying to get a rise out of the left wing. This was a big issue in the campaign. And frankly, I think it hurt.” He later claimed that environmental protections "destroyed Kentucky coal."    In a January 31, 2018, CNN.com op-ed, Jennings praised Trump’s State of the Union speech, stating that it “offered some good old-fashioned Trump-style populism,” including when the president “said he ended the ‘war on coal.’” Jennings added that the populism continues “to play well in Flyover Country, even as they cause Washington Democrats to roll their eyes. Trump has never lost his touch when it comes to putting Democrats on the wrong side of issues that play 80-20 in middle America.” During an April 4 appearance on CNN Tonight with Don Lemon, Jennings praised then-EPA head Scott Pruitt as “one of the most effective cabinet officers at rolling back the Obama regulatory regime.” (While discussing Pruitt on CNN, Jennings was also sometimes critical of Pruitt’s judgement related to ethics but still heavily praised him for trying to reduce environmental protections.) Jennings wrote an April 5 CNN.com op-ed defending Pruitt, writing that he "might be the most successful Trump cabinet member, delivering win after win to President Trump" and liberals are “hopping mad that he's dismantling Obama's anti-business regulatory regime.” He concluded by praising Pruitt for “taming one of the most out-of-control, anti-growth bureaucracies in Washington.”   During an April 5 appearance on CNN Tonight with Don Lemon, Jennings said, “Pruitt took the mandate seriously and he has systematically dismantled the Obama regulatory regime. That's why I think he is under attack right now.” During a May 5 appearance on CNN Newsroom, Jennings praised Pruitt for “effectively deconstructing the Obama-era rules at the EPA that were anti-growth, anti-business.” During a November 24 appearance on CNN Newsroom, Jennings said he didn’t believe climate change is a hoax but said that policy makers have to “figure out what actions can we take that would help counteract it but at the same time not immediately devastate people in economic regions that are more sensitive to it than others, say in Appalachia where the coal industry is still important.” He also suggested that the “free market” could “innovate” in response to environmental concerns. During the February 13 edition of Cuomo Prime Time, Jennings attacked the Green New Deal, saying, “To call this policy half-baked would be in, you know, I'm not even sure the Democrats turned the oven on yet.” He continued by discussing the proposal’s “policy implications for the energy sector, for the manufacturing sector, for the agriculture sector,” claiming that “thousands of jobs ... would be impacted in the Midwest, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, North Dakota, where Joe Manchin is in West Virginia, in my home state of Kentucky. This would dramatically fundamentally alter the U.S. economy and would put a lot of people out of work.” In those nine examples, Media Matters did not find any disclosure noting that Jennings has financial ties to the fossil fuel industry. (Both the January and April 2018 op-eds mentioned that Jennings works for RunSwitch but didn’t reference his fossil fuel ties.) CNN has not responded to Media Matters’ requests for comment about Jennings’ conflicts of interest.


mercurynews--2019-02-26--California considers environmental laws on single-use plastics green jobs paper receipts and more

California considers environmental laws on single-use plastics, green jobs, paper receipts and more

With statewide restrictions on single-use plastic bags and plastic straws in place, state lawmakers this year will consider a sweeping measure that would force a major reduction of all other single-use plastics.  Meanwhile, a comprehensive bill addressing ocean concerns —  with language still being developed — will call for improving the quality of ocean water and wetlands, better salmon habitats, and rules that would protect whales from being hit by ships. “Those will be the major bills for the environmentalists,” said Dan Jacobson, Sacramento lobbyist of Environment California.  But those proposals are hardly the only environmental issues on lawmakers’ minds. Other potential legislation ranges from a move to end the practice of pumping treated sewage into the ocean to a law that would eliminate most paper shopping receipts to a smoking ban on all California state beaches. While Friday, Feb. 22, was the last day to submit bills for the current session, legislators still can rewrite the proposals’ language or even gut existing bills and substitute different measures in their place.  But most major legislation is now on the table in some form. Here are eight environmental bills to watch:  SB 1: Environmental protections. Sponsored by Sen. Toni Atkins, D-San Diego. Intended to address concerns that the federal government is rolling back or weakening key federal provisions, this bill calls on the state to memorialize federal environmental and worker safety standards in place on Jan. 1, 2017, and enforce them under state law.  SB 8, AB 1718: Ban smoking on state beaches. Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, and Assemblyman Marc Levine, D-Marin County. Jerry Brown vetoed this proposal the past two years but now there’s a new governor.  SB 54, AB 1080: Single-use plastic reduction. Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, and Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego. While other legislation has focused on specific plastics, including grocery bags and straws, these companion bills would establish a comprehensive plan to “reduce and recycle” 75 percent of single-use plastics by 2030, and ensure that all single-use packaging and products are either reusable, recyclable or compostable. Right now, less than 15 percent of single-use plastic in the state is recycled, according to Allen.  SB 33: Solid waste reduction. Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley. Current language says this would “address the collapse of foreign recycling markets by reducing solid waste generation, encourage the transition to compostable or recyclable materials, and fostering domestic recycling markets.” Specific requirements and incentives are not yet detailed.  Antarctica set to lose ice chunk twice as big as NYC Sinkholes are popping up all over California, thanks to the rain. Here’s what to know See all that water flowing into the ocean? California bill aims to save it SB 69: Climate change and ocean resiliency. Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco. This bill has not yet had its core language finalized. However, Coastkeeper Executive Director Sean Bothwell, who is collaborating on the measure, said the wide-ranging proposal would aim to improve water quality to prevent local ocean acidification, improve coastal habitats (particularly wetlands, kelp and eel grass), sequester carbon, identify marine areas that are particularly vulnerable to climate change, improve salmon habitats and prevent whales from being struck by ships.  SB 332: Wastewater recycling. Sen. Robert Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys. To promote reuse of wastewater, this bill calls for treatment plants to reduce their ocean discharge by 50 percent by 2030 and by 95 percent by 2040.  AB 161: Paper shopping receipts. Assemblyman Philip Ting, D-San Francisco. Beginning in 2022, this would require stores to give shoppers only email or text receipts unless a paper receipt was specifically requested.  AB 176: Green jobs. Assemblywoman Sabrina Cervantes, D-Riverside. This would extend tax breaks for green businesses – from 2021 to 2031.


themanchestereveningnews--2019-01-16--You can now go to a gym class which rewards you with a free takeaway

Who said January had to be all about hitting the gym and refusing a takeaway?  We're only a few weeks into the New Year and a lot of those good intended resolutions may be starting to slip.  Including going to the gym regularly and eating healthily. We won't mention the dreaded 'd' word.  But Deliveroo and YMCA have launched a gym class we definitely wont mind being a part of.  A first in the UK, the two companies have joined together to launch nationwide gym classes that comes with a hidden incentive.  If you complete a 40 minute session, which is made up of a mixture of bike riding, stair climbing, balance and weight lifting, you will be rewarded with a free takeaway.  Sounds a bit contradictory but they do stress that Deliveroo offer healthy options too.  The completely free ROO-T CAMP classes are available in Manchester as well as London, Newcastle and Swansea from Monday January 21.  All you need to do is book into a class at your local YMCA.  The classes have been developed as new analysis reveals a food delivery rider tops the list of best calorie-burning jobs.  Fitness expert Jane Wake reviewed average daily activity of a Deliveroo rider and found that they burn approximately 1,000 calories per hour.  Wake said: "The right motivation is a wonderful thing when it comes to fitness and we now know that activity that’s built into your lifestyle can be far more effective for long term fitness, health and weight loss."  Joe Groves at Deliveroo said: "A large number of our riders tell us they took up the role partly due to the health benefits associated with it.  "Through our partnership with the YMCA we hope to help more people on their own personal journey to achieve their fitness goals for 2019.  "With such a vast range of restaurants on the platform it’s easy to find the perfect post work-out meal on Deliveroo."  Denise Hatton, chief executive, YMCA England & Wales added: "YMCA encourage and support people to lead active lives from an early age, through to adulthood.  "The Roo-t Camp is a great way to open up our fitness centres to more people in the community so they can stay fit and healthy."  So who's going to spend the whole gym class thinking about what takeaway they're going to have?


abcnews--2019-11-04--US growth of Islam creates need for religious scholars

"Brothers and sisters," the seminary instructor tells his class, don't believe in God because of your parents' beliefs but because "you know why God exists."  The challenge spurs a discussion about beliefs. But more than Imam Mohammad Qazwini's interesting delivery, deep understanding of Islam and his formal training at a seminary in the holy city of Qom, Iran, have drawn them to this suburban Detroit classroom just off the large prayer room of a mosque.  An increasing number of U.S. Muslims want guidance from religious instructors who they can understand linguistically and culturally. The Quran, Islam's holy book, is written in classical Arabic, but many of the students aren't well-versed in the language. Qazwini navigates the intricacies of Arabic effortlessly — in the everyday English they use, opening a door for many of the students and meeting an increasing need.  Traditional imams and scholars who once came from the Middle East or were educated in schools there are having more difficulty entering the United States. The Trump administration imposed a travel ban in January 2017 on people from several Muslim majority countries, and the government has made it harder to enter the U.S. entirely, with more rigorous interviews and background checks.  "In many other states there are mosques with no ... functional imam, who can assume the responsibilities of the religious leader or even speak," said Islamic Institute of America leader Imam Hassan Qazwini, who started the seminary with his son. "I thought maybe a long-term solution for facing this shortage is to have our own Shiite Islamic seminary in the U.S., instead of waiting for imams to come."  Al-Hujjah is the newest of several seminaries focused on the Shiite branch of Islam in the United States and Canada working to address a shortage of leaders.  The seminary started in fall 2017 with about 35 registered students. Now it has nearly 400, with some attending in-person, others watching live and still more watching recorded videos online. In addition to the Qazwinis, there are four other instructors.  Although there are students in 25 countries the emphasis is on North America because of the desire to deepen the bench of U.S.-trained imams, scholars and speakers, according to the elder Qazwini, a native of Iraq.  In a class on a recent evening, the younger Qazwini led an intense session on faith, proposing case studies, playing devil's advocate and prompting a philosophical back-and-forth with his students. His execution is informal but authoritative. The students understand him.  "I need to make sure he speaks the language, he's knowledgeable, he's respectful, he's truly caring and he's trying to adapt to the country we live in," said Alia Bazzi, 32, a graphic designer and seminary student. "Why would my imam speak Arabic if we live in America and the main language we speak is English? ... I want to know he's up to date, he knows what's going on."  About an hour's drive south, in Toledo, Ohio, the Ahlul Bayt Center mosque has been running for about four years without a full-time imam. Imam Mohammad Qazwini and other clerics travel there for services and special events.  Dr. Ali Nawras, a board member of the Toledo mosque, said the arrangement works for day-to-day needs because of its proximity to the Detroit area — a longtime hub for Islam in America. But the center seeks a permanent imam to meet its broader, long-term objectives: Having a strong understanding of challenges within their own community, particularly among youth, and forging stronger bonds between the Muslim and non-Muslim populations.  "On one hand, you can find an imam who is very knowledgeable, very strong background in theology, but that person might not speak English or might have lived most of his life outside the country," Nawras said. "On the other hand, you might find someone who is born here and educated here, but they don't have a good or strong theology background."  "To have a combination of both, that is where the challenge comes," he added.  Qazwini wants to expand the curriculum, faculty and enrollment at Al-Hujjah but another important step for the seminary is pursuing accreditation so it can award official degrees rather than completion certificates. In the meantime, he has spoken with other established schools offering Islamic studies about collaborating on accreditation.  The Ahl al-Bayt Islamic Seminary, located near Chicago, is another U.S.-based seminary focused on the Shiite tradition. Shaykh Amir Mukhtar Faezi founded it in 2014, offering a five-year graduate program. Ten students graduated earlier this year.  Faezi, a Pakistan native who also studied in Iran, said the program is on hold while they seek more resources, but it plans to accept students in 2020.  Traditionally as a minority, Shiite communities are more dependent on having trained and accredited scholars leading their mosques, but as the community has grown in the United States, so too has the need for these trained scholars. Faezi said in the 1980s, Shiite communities began inviting scholars and imams from places like India, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran or Lebanon to fulfill the need. But many scholars were unable to get visas, especially as relations between the United States and some of the countries soured.  "Those who were able to get the visa and they came here, they were also not very effective, because their mindset was very different than the people who had migrated here... not to mention the communication barrier," Faezi said.  Jawad Bayat, 31, comes from a Shiite background and is part of the changing face of faith here. While in college, he began to explore his spiritual journey and considered going abroad to attend a seminary. Instead he enrolled at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut, a non-denominational graduate school for religious and theological studies. Bayat graduated in 2015 and now serves as an imam and Muslim chaplain at an academic medical center in Cleveland, Ohio.  "There is a shortage of Muslim leaders as a whole in the U.S., whether it's in Sunni or Shiite communities," Bayat said, adding the focus on applied spirituality that allows him to connect with the Cleveland Muslims he serves now may not have been covered in a more traditional seminary overseas.  Zaytuna College in Berkeley, California, was founded in 2009 and is the first accredited U.S.-based Muslim college, but it focuses on the Sunni branch of Islam. Overall, Sunni is the largest sect of Islam and Shiite the second-largest. The schism between them stems from the early days of Islam and arguments over the Prophet Muhammad's successors as the spiritual and temporal leader.  There are nearly two dozen other institutions across the United States offering varying levels of post-secondary degrees in Islamic scholarship. Most are also Sunni-based and are in the process of seeking accreditation.  For Ali Ghazala, 22, the purpose of attending the Michigan seminary is to gain a greater understanding of his faith so he can better represent it around those who don't practice or understand it.  "It is vital that if you are a Muslim growing up in the West interacting with non-Muslims that you present to them the correct religion," he said. "I have to be the one who is certain before I can go to other people and explain to them why I am the way I am or why we are the way we are."

religious institutions and state relations


abcnews--2019-01-16--White House now expects greater impact on economy during shutdown

The broader impact of the shutdown on the U.S. economy may be double what was expected, White House economists confirmed on Wednesday, Day 26 of the political standoff.  Meanwhile, thousands of employees have been called back to work without pay because of the risks posed for their agencies if, for example, airports continue to run with fewer aviation safety inspectors or the IRS heads into tax season down almost 60 percent of its workforce.  On the political front, no high-level talks are scheduled in the stalemate over the president's demand for billions in funding for the wall that Democrats refuse to agree to.  Here's a look at the effects.  White House economists have doubled projections of lost growth due to the shutdown  A White House spokesperson confirmed early Wednesday that the administration has updated its projection of how much the ongoing partial government shutdown is impacting economic growth -- doubling the projected negative impact. The increase was first reported by the New York Times.  The estimated impact is that the ongoing shutdown is shaving 0.13 percentage points off quarterly economic growth each week it continues, according to the White House official, and the updated model changed to include the estimated impact from contractors that are not working because of the shutdown – a number they said is harder to estimate -- in addition to furloughed federal workers.  During the chaos of government shutdown, Trump's nominee to replace Pruitt at EPA faces Senate questioning  As much of the energy in Washington is focused on the fight over the president's border wall and impact of the partial government shutdown, President Donald Trump's nominee to take over the federal agency charged with protecting human health and the environment is scheduled for a crucial hearing.  Andrew Wheeler took over the helm of Environmental Protection Agency in July after Scott Pruitt, the previous administrator, resigned amid increasing ethical questions and controversy. Wheeler has been working as acting administrator for several months.  Democrats on the committee, led by Ranking Member Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware, have raised concerns that EPA employees are struggling without pay during the shutdown and that important environmental enforcement is on hold while they're not at work. Carper has also raised concerns that Republicans are trying to rush the nomination by having the hearing during the shutdown.  IRS declares half of its workers are needed to process 2019 tax returns and refunds; warns of long wait times and limited assistance  The IRS will require some 46,000 employees to work without pay throughout the upcoming tax season to ensure returns are processed and refunds are mailed, the agency announced Tuesday in an updated plan for the government shutdown. That represents almost 60 percent of its 80,000-person workforce.  And while the IRS will be adding staff to answer some questions via telephone "in the coming days," the agency said, it's warning Americans to expect "heavier call volume" and "longer wait times." Walk-in assistance centers also will remain closed, including those offices intended to help people who are victims of identity theft and are required to visit an IRS office to establish their identity.  What will remain in effect is the requirement that people pay their taxes on time, although the agency said it won't conduct any audits during the spending lapse.  Unpaid federal workers and contractors have started selling personal property, creating small businesses and spending more time with old friends.  Working for the Coast Guard was always Albert Waterford Jr.'s dream job. The disabled veteran enlisted for two decades and, after his retirement, went back to work for the service as a civilian. His wife, Kate Wells Waterford, is a small business owner who trains horses. For those in the Coast Guard, the furlough has affected them differently because service members in other branches of the U.S. military fall under the Defense Department, for which funding has been approved.  The Waterfords hoped to receive their normal three paychecks this week: one for Albert's retirement from the Coast Guard, one for his job as a civilian and an additional check for his disability from the Veterans Affairs. But because of the shutdown, the couple has started a "furlough sale" to supplement lost income -- selling saddles, halters, bridles and items on social media.  "I called it a furlough [sale] because it is more of an urgency now," Kate Waterford said. "It's really made us re-evaluate our whole lives."  Read more from ABC News' Beatrice Peterson and Tessa Weinberg.  Judge denies 'essential' federal workers' request to be paid during the shutdown  A federal judge on Tuesday denied requests from unions representing air traffic controllers and other employees required to work through the government shutdown that they either be paid or have the option to skip work while missing paychecks.  U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled to keep the status quo, saying that an order allowing employees considered essential to skip work would be "chaotic" in a best-case scenario and "catastrophic" at worst.  Lawyers representing the National Air Traffic Controllers Association had sued the Trump administration to get their controllers, thousands of whom continue to work and just missed a paycheck, be paid while working during the shutdown in order for them to remain "laser-focused" on their job guiding more than 40,000 flights through the nation's airspace every day.


abcnews--2019-01-28--Shutdown cost economy 11 billion report estimates

Shutdown cost economy $11 billion, report estimates

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the longest-running government shutdown in U.S. history came at a price: costing the economy $11 billion with $3 billion that will never be recovered, according to a report released Monday.  For the fourth quarter of 2018, CBO estimates real gross domestic product was reduced by $3 billion compared to what it would have been. The level of real GDP for the first quarter of 2019 is estimated to be $8 billion lower, due to a combination of the partial government shutdown delaying approximately $18 billion in federal spending, suspending services for federal workers and a reduction in demand lowering output in the private sector.  "Risks to the economy were becoming increasingly significant as the shutdown continued," the report read. "Although their precise effects on economic output are uncertain, the negative effects of such factors would have become increasingly important if the partial shutdown had extended beyond five weeks."  While CBO anticipates a majority of the lost real GDP will be recovered, about $3 billion will not be. That's about 0.02 percent of the projected annual GDP in 2019, according to the report.  "Among those who experienced the largest and most direct negative effects are federal workers who faced delayed compensation and private-sector entities that lost business," the report said. "Some of those private-sector entities will never recoup that lost income."  In the wake of the report's release, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for an end to President Donald Trump's shutdowns.  "As the dust settles from the Trump Shutdown, it is clear as day that the president's temper tantrum caused serious and lasting damage to our nation's economy," Schumer said in a statement. "If President Trump didn't appreciate the error of his ways after seeing the human suffering his needless shutdown caused, maybe the extensive economic damage he inflicted will set the president straight: No more Trump Shutdowns."  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Trump should "swiftly sign" legislation to prevent another shutdown.  "The President's shutdown inflicted needless pain and chaos in the lives of millions of Americans and stole billions of dollars from the economy. Workers' financial security, families' well-being and America's economic strength all were senselessly sacrificed because of President Trump's callousness," Pelosi said in a statement. "Families across the nation are still trying to recover from a month of missing paychecks and overdue bills, but the President is already threatening a second shutdown if he doesn't get his way."  CBO's report analyzing the shutdown's effects came just days after the financial rating agency Standard & Poor's analyzed the cost of the partial government shutdown on the economy and found it added up to at least $6 billion — more expensive than the $5.7 billion Trump wanted for the border wall.  About 800,000 federal workers were furloughed or required to work without pay during the historic shutdown. On Friday, Trump signed legislation to reopen the government for three weeks, until Feb. 15.  "The weekly compensation costs for workers at agencies that were without an appropriation totaled roughly $1.8 billion, or about 40 percent of total compensation for federal workers," the report said.  Trump said federal employees, who were on track to miss their second paycheck Friday, would receive back pay "very quickly, or as soon as possible. It'll happen fast."  Not only will compensation be affected, but so will tax revenues, CBO predicts.  "...As a result of some reduced activities by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that are meant to ensure taxpayers' compliance with tax law, CBO estimates that tax revenues will be roughly $2 billion lower in fiscal year 2019 because of the shutdown," the report said.  CBO said uncertainty surrounded its report, particularly regarding the shutdown’s effects on federal compensation, due, in part, to the fact that the number of furloughed federal workers fluctuated over the course of the shutdown.  If the shutdown had stretched longer than five weeks, it may have further diminished consumer spending because of interruptions to federal assistance programs, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, the report said. Food stamp recipients received full benefits for February amid the shutdown.  "Although CBO did not observe a significant drop-off in grants, subsidies, or other payments made to individuals during the five-week shutdown, a longer shutdown would probably have disrupted those payments," the report said.


abcnews--2019-11-01--US economy defies threats with a solid job gain for October

A solid October jobs report on Friday spotlighted the surprising durability of the U.S. economy in the face of persistent trade conflicts and a global slowdown.  The economy managed to add 128,000 jobs last month even though tens of thousands of workers were temporarily counted as unemployed because of the now-settled strike against General Motors. What's more, the government revised up its combined estimate of job growth for August and September by a robust 95,000.  Though the unemployment rate ticked up from 3.5% to 3.6% in October, it's still near a five-decade low.  And for a second straight month, average hourly wages rose a decent, if less than spectacular, 3% from a year ago.  The report from the Labor Department suggested that the economy has enough strength to keep expanding despite the threats from overseas, political tensions at home, a downturn in manufacturing and a chronic gap between the wealthiest Americans and everyone else.  The healthy level of hiring also makes it less likely that the Federal Reserve, which cut short-term interest rates this week for a third time this year, will do so again anytime soon.  "This was an unambiguously strong report," said Kathy Bostjancic, chief U.S. financial economist at Oxford Economics.  The jobs data put stock investors in a buying mood. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 301 points for the day, or 1.1%.  Friday's jobs report also raised the prospect of further job growth to come. The settlement of the GM strike, which contributed to the temporary loss of 41,600 auto factory and likely other related jobs last month, seems sure to lead to a return of those jobs in coming months.  In addition, the labor force participation rate, a gauge of how many adults either have a job or looking for one, reached 63.3%, the best since 2013. That suggests that a rising number of people continue to think it's a good time to find a job.  Besides GM, a temporary drag on hiring last month was the U.S. Census. The government let go of 20,000 short-term workers who had been helping prepare for the 2020 survey.  The economy has been expanding for more than a decade, the longest period of growth on record. But the bump from the 2018 tax cuts is fading, and an aging population and other demographic forces are slowing potential growth.  That slowdown could be worrisome for President Donald Trump, who is seeking re-election next year amid an impeachment inquiry. The economy appears unable to achieve the lasting growth of more than 3% annually that Trump had promised. Within 30 minutes of the jobs report's release, though, the president celebrated the figures on Twitter as a "blowout," adding that "USA ROCKS."  Job growth so far this year has averaged 167,000 a month, down from an average of 223,000 in 2018, according to Labor Department figures. Even so, hiring remains high enough to keep the unemployment rate from rising even as overall growth has become more tepid. On Wednesday, the government estimated that the economy grew in the July-October quarter at a modest 1.9% annual rate.  The hot job market is spurring many employers to raise wages to attract and retain workers. Yet those gains may not always leave workers feeling better off as they grapple with high housing, transportation, health and education expenses.  One employer, Nona Lim, the founder and CEO of a company that supplies rice noodles and broths to grocery stores across the country, says she's had to raise wages 20-25% above the minimum wage of $13.80 in Oakland, California, to attract workers.  "There is a lot of money in the Bay Area in tech but not necessarily in non-tech," said Lim, 45. "It gets kind of challenging working in the Bay Area as a manufacturer. The cost of living is high. The minimum wage is high."  Much of the fuel for overall U.S. growth has come from consumers, who drive about 70% of economic activity. Pay raises are helping some of them. In September, consumers modestly stepped up their spending, and their incomes grew fast enough to let them save more, too.  In a sign that consumer spending is helping to lead to more hiring, restaurants added 47,500 jobs last month.  But even as consumers help drive growth, business investment has become a drag on the economy. Collectively, businesses have slashed their spending on industrial machinery and other equipment, mostly because the U.S.-China trade war has made them reluctant to commit to big purchases. The tariffs between the U.S. and China, the world's two largest economies, have also reduced U.S. exports.  Friday's jobs report hinted at a mixed picture for the start of the holiday shopping season. Retailers added 6,100 jobs last month. But the rise of e-commerce and an increasing concentration of wealth in large U.S. metros have corresponded with the loss of more than 20,000 jobs at retailers over the past 12 months.  A slowdown in pay growth is another source of concern. Hourly average earnings had been rising at a 3.4% annual rate back in February, significantly above the 3% pace in October.  But reduced wage growth might be somewhat misleading. Employers are giving more opportunities to workers who usually start at lower wage levels, and that might have cut into the overall pay gains, said Julia Pollak, a labor economist at ZipRecuriter, an online job marketplace.  "Given the number of women, the number of Hispanics, the number of blacks, the number of young people entering the workforce," Pollak said, "it's quite possible that the influx of all these workers is dragging that average down."


activistpost--2019-01-09--Sanctions Lose Power Russias Economy Continues To Expand Sanctions Irrelevant

Sanctions Lose Power: Russia’s Economy Continues To Expand, Sanctions Irrelevant

The United States is experiencing the problem of their sanctions no longer working as nations increasingly disobey what is declared by those in government.  Despite sanctions, the Russian economy continues to grow at a steady pace and expand.  Inflation in Russia remained low while the expansion of the economy occurred last year according to a World Bank report. “Although economic sanctions tightened, Russia experienced relatively low and stable inflation and increased oil production. As a result of robust domestic activity, the Russian economy expanded at a 1.6 percent pace in the year just ended,” said the report.  The U.S. has long used sanctions to harm the economies of other countries for a variety of reasons; however, those sanctions seem to be failing.  According to a report by RT, The World Bank pointed out that Russia and other oil exporters “maintained steady growth in 2018, supported by a rise in oil prices.” In Russia, “growth has been resilient, supported by private consumption and exports,” the bank said, projecting a short-term slowdown this year to 1.5 percent. In 2020 and 2021, the bank expects an increase in the growth rate of Russia’s GDP to 1.8 percent.  In May of last year, Bloomberg reported that the U.S.’s “sanction power” was reaching its limits. It appears that countries susceptible to U.S. sanctions are dropping the dollar like hotcakes and working around them making the issuing of sanctions powerless.  Six years ago, in the course of investigating London-based bank Standard Chartered Plc over suspicions it had flouted U.S. sanctions against Iran, the New York State Department of Financial Services published an email from a senior executive to one of his counterparts in New York. “You f***ing Americans,” the message read. “Who are you to tell us, the rest of the world, that we’re not going to deal with Iranians?” –Bloomberg  Russia isn’t the only nation to make sanctions obsolete.  China has set up its own lending institutions parallel to the Washington-based World Bank and International Monetary Fund and pushed the yuan as an international currency. The country is likely to strengthen its presence in Iran no matter what Trump does.  The key decisions, to comply or defy, will be made by the only actors on the same economic scale as the U.S.: China and Europe. “For absolutely core national security reasons, China will find ways around the hold of the U.S. banking sector,” says Jeffrey Sachs, an economics professor at Columbia University.