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☆ Here’s a Look at the Water Crises That Might Be Coming to You Soon
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Somini Sengupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Bangladesh is a land of water. Now, its most profound threat is water, in its many terrible incarnations: drought, deluge, cyclones, saltwater. The people of Bangladesh are rushing to harvest rice as soon as they get word of heavy rains upstream. They’re building floating beds of water hyacinths to grow vegetables beyond the reach of floodwaters. And where they’re running out of even drinking water, they’re learning to drink every drop of rain.

Locations: Bangladesh, Bengal

☆ Chile's Codelco must kick-start lithium industry while reviving copper output
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Fabian Cambero | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

At the same time, Codelco wants to boost its output of copper which has slumped to its lowest in a quarter-century. Some analysts have questioned whether the copper company with no experience as a lithium miner can tackle both challenges at once. But industry insiders told Reuters Codelco will probably focus its own resources on copper while negotiating contracts for lithium operations and letting other miners do the work. The sources said the lithium strategy was being led by executives including Jaime San Martin, manager of new business development, known by some within Codelco as "lithium man". "But I think lithium is an excellent opportunity for Codelco to help them navigate their very difficult copper situation."

Persons: Ivan Alvarado, SANTIAGO, Gabriel Boric, Codelco, Reuters Codelco, Albemarle, Jaime San Martin, Alejandro Rivera, Maximo Pacheco, Minera, SQM, Pacheco, Juan Carlos Guajardo, Plusmining, Guajardo, Andre Sougarret, Fabian Andrés Cambero, Alexander Villegas, Adam Jourdan, David Gregorio Our Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Tesla, BMW, Finance, Salares, Thomson Locations: Chile, Australia, Albemarle, Indonesia, Freeport, McMoRan, Chile's, Berlin, Beijing, Codelco, Santiago

☆ 2023 Is the Year of the Long Walk
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Erin Vivid Riley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Berkshires, in western Massachusetts, have long encouraged contemplative walking. Now, a new long-distance path, the High Road, will provide a slow-paced, inn-to-inn experience that will eventually traverse the entire region. Behind the effort is the Berkshire Natural Resources Council, which is using existing preserves as footholds for the route. Along with providing easy access to pristine wilderness, the High Road will showcase the region’s cultural highlights, allowing walkers to incorporate afternoons at destinations like Tanglewood and Jacob’s Pillow. The Berkshire Natural Resources Council has a trail map of the High Road’s first section on its website.

Persons: They’re, Edith Wharton, Herman Melville Organizations: Berkshire Natural Resources Council, Berkshire Natural Resources, Berkshire Camino Locations: Massachusetts, Pittsfield, New England, Lenox, Greylock, Berkshire County, Palmer, Great Barrington, Berkshire, Tanglewood

Boric's shock announcement was all the more surprising as no DLE technology has reached commercial production without the use of those ponds, sparking competition to be the first. "Given those demand projections, there's definitely need for more supply from DLE," said Jordan Roberts, a Fastmarkets lithium industry analyst. A customer aiming to produce 15,000 metric tons of lithium each year, for example, could buy three stackable IBAT lithium plants. Exxon has also held talks with EnergySource Minerals about licensing DLE technology, two of the people said. Many brine deposits have varied chemical compositions, meaning it's unlikely that one DLE technology will emerge as a global leader.

Persons: DLE, Ken Hoffman, Gabriel Boric, Eramet, Sunresin, John Burba, That's, Alec Lucas, Jordan Roberts, IBAT, Garry Flowers, Eli Horton, Gavin Rennick, Sinead Kaufman, Dave Snydacker, Steven Schoffstall, doesn't, Chris Doornbos, Ernest Scheyder, Veronica Brown, Claudia Parsons Organizations: . Geological, EV Battery Materials Research, McKinsey & Co, Minerals, Battery Metals, Rio Tinto, Battery Tech, Fastmarkets, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Reuters, Exxon, EnergySource Minerals, Koch Industries, Ford, SLB's New Energy, Mining, Solutions, BNP, BMW, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Lake Resources, Miners, General Motors, Canadian, Imperial Oil, Thomson Locations: CHARLES , Louisiana, Europe, Asia, North America, Rio, U.S, DLE, Louisiana, Arkansas, Salton, Salt, Chile, Schlumberger, Nevada, Argentina

☆ Opinion | America Has a Chance to Make Farming More Climate Friendly
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Robert B. Semple Jr. | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +14 min

Why, when we think of climate change, do we think of big oil, not big ag; Exxon and not Tyson? It’s time you met the big ag lobby, one of the most powerful influences on policy in America. But when we started digging into the big ag lobby, we discovered it’s basically — “The most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. So the big ag lobby has one key aim — block environmental regulation. I absolutely envy how good these lobbyists are at their job.” It’s outrageous what the big ag lobby has gotten away with.

Persons: “, Peter Lehner, He’s, I’m, It’s, Tyson, Jennifer Jacquet, She’s, Peter, she’s, ”, Zippy Duvall, “ —, John Boehner, —, You’ve, Waxman, Markey, Obama, American Farm Bureau Federation didn’t, ” —, JBS, don’t, they’re, Chuck Schumer, Cory Booker, I’ve, they’ve Organizations: Agriculture, ExxonMobil, Shell, Exxon, Washington , D.C, American Farm Bureau Federation, Capitol, U.S . Farmers, Tyson, New York Times, Republican, Senate’s Agriculture, pharma Locations: America, United States, Lake Erie, U.S, China, Washington ,, Kyoto, Senate’s

☆ The story behind this playful rooftop portrait
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Rebecca Cairns | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Hong Kong’s humidity – already oppressive – was intensified in the dark, maze-like alleyways of an unruly enclave known as Kowloon Walled City. Greg Girard, courtesy of Blue Lotus GalleryA ‘strange, vertical village’Girard first visited Kowloon Walled City in 1986 while on a shoot at the nearby airport. As such, the Walled City remained technically subject to Chinese rule, though this was never enforced. The site of the Walled City has since been transformed into a public park, which opened in 1995. Ongoing interest in the Walled City is, Girard suggests, because of the spirit it encapsulates: the aptitude for survival even in the harshest of circumstances.

Persons: –, Greg Girard, wasn’t, ” Girard, ”, Girard, Greg Girard ., ’ Girard, “, Ian Lambot, Lambot, Girard — Organizations: CNN, Kai Tek International, Lotus Locations: Hong, Kowloon Walled City, Walled City, Walled, Tung, Hong Kong, British, ”, “, City, Girard

☆ Ukraine warns over reservoir level after Kakhovka dam collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] A column of water from the explosion during a Russian military strike is seen during an evacuation local residents from a flooded area after the Nova Kakhovka dam breached, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine in Kherson, Ukraine June 8, 2023. REUTERS/StringerKYIV, June 8 (Reuters) - The water level at a reservoir in southern Ukraine is approaching a dangerous low after the destruction of the dam at the nearby Kakhovka Hydroelectric Station, the state company overseeing the facility said on Thursday. Moscow and Kyiv blamed each other for the collapse of the dam on Tuesday, which unleashed flood water from the Dnipro River on a wide area of southern Ukraine. Ihor Syrota, general director of Ukrhydroenergo, told Ukrainian television that a drop below the current water level at the Kakhovka Reservoir could affect the nearby Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station and water supply to other regions. Ukraine's nuclear energy company said on Thursday the situation was "stable and under control" at the Zaporizhzhia plant on Thursday morning.

Persons: Stringer KYIV, Ihor Syrota, Ukrhydroenergo, Syrota, Dan Peleschuk, Timothy Organizations: REUTERS, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Kherson, Kakhovka, Moscow, Dnipro

☆ How new lithium extraction technology could help us meet electric vehicle targets
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Katie Brigham | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Today, most lithium brine mining takes place in the Salar de Atacama, an expansive salt flat in northern Chile that contains the highest quality lithium brine in the world. EnergyXDoing things differentlyIn a world before electric vehicles, traditional methods of brine mining and hard rock mining more than sufficed to meet global lithium demand. It's the brine resources that are large enough to electrify the vehicle industry," Snydacker said. Lilac Solutions is developing a direct lithium extraction facility in Argentina in partnership with Australian lithium company Lake Resources. Lilac Solutions

Persons: Dave Snydacker, DLE, Amit Patwardhan, Robert Mintak, there's, Snydacker, EnergyX, It's Organizations: Lilac Solutions, Solutions, Bay, Resources Locations: Salar, Atacama, Chile, Arkansas, Salt, Argentina, Bolivia, California , Utah, China, Australian

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHow new lithium extraction tech could help meet EV targetsA suite of new, but largely unproven, technologies known as direct lithium extraction could revolutionize lithium mining from brine, making it more efficient and sustainable and eliminating the need for large evaporation ponds. A number of companies including EnergyX, Lilac Solutions, and Standard Lithium are entering the DLE market and getting ready for commercial implementation across South America and the U.S., while automakers like BMW, GM and Ford are investing.

Organizations: EV, Solutions, South, BMW, GM, Ford Locations: South America, U.S

☆ Photos: Inside $33.5 Million Mansion on Long Island's Gold Coast
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Gabbi Shaw | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

A $33.5 million home is for sale in Brookville, Long Island. Brookville is the second-most affluent neighborhood in the US, Insider previously reported. One of these properties is a $33.5 million mansion nicknamed "Shangri-La." It's located in the small village of Brookville, which Insider previously named the second most affluent neighborhood in the US. Keep scrolling to see inside this expansive property in one of the country's most affluent neighborhoods.

☆ Sell this lithium stock with high exposure to the chemical's price, Goldman Sachs says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile , or SQM, is worth dropping given its direct exposure to lithium prices, Goldman Sachs warned. Analyst Marcio Farid initiated coverage of the lithium producer's stock with a sell rating. "We also think consensus is too bullish on their forecasted lithium prices, potentially leading to earnings downgrades in the short-to-medium term." Farid noted his sell rating is out of the norm on Wall Street. Lithium prices have taken dramatic swings in recent months.

☆ Opinion | Against Despair: An Open Letter to Graduates
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Margaret Renkl | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

As you enter the world, remember, too, how beautiful this place is. It will make you feel better about the mess your species has made of things if you can find a way to help. Being in the wild world will make you feel better. I promise you will feel better. Fall in love with the wild world, and you are taking the first step toward saving it.

☆ Fruit growers arrested for using illegal wells in drought-hit Spain
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

During a four-year investigation, authorities uncovered more than 250 illegal wells, bore holes and ponds in the Axarquia area in Andalusia, which has been hit by drought since 2021. Spain is Europe's biggest producer of tropical fruit, which requires large volumes of water. Producers estimate that avocado production will drop by 25% this year due to high temperatures and a lack of water. Spain registered the driest and warmest April since records began, according to the national weather agency AEMET. The average water level in reservoirs in Catalonia and Andalusia - the worst hit areas - stands at around 25%.

☆ Dozens of fruit growers arrested in Spain over illegal wells as drought grips the country
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Al Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Spanish police have arrested 26 people in recent months for an alleged scheme to use water from illegal wells to grow subtropical fruit, as the country grapples with damaging heat and drought. Spanish police officers document illegal water pipes in Malaga province, Spain in this screen grab from an undated handout video. Authorities’ investigation into the alleged illegal wells scheme began with a complaint to the Civil Guard’s environmental investigative unit four years ago. Later various growers told authorities they also detected illegal use of water, Spanish police said. The 26 people arrested have been arraigned before the magistrate there in recent months and released, with charges pending, the Malaga Civil Guard press office told CNN.

☆ What Chile's state-led lithium policy means for the future of the electric vehicle industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Katie Brigham | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

The only two lithium companies currently operating in Chile are North Carolina-based Albemarle , the largest lithium producer in the world, and SQM , the No. Chile's lithium is of particular strategic importance to the U.S., which has a free trade agreement with the country but not with neighboring Argentina. The plan calls for the creation of a national lithium company to partner with all private businesses looking to enter the sector. Bags of battery-grade lithium carbonate at La Negra, Albemarle's lithium processing plant near Antofagasta, Chile. Lenny-Pessagno told CNBC in January that Albemarle supports the creation of a state-owned lithium company.

May 4 (Reuters) - Albemarle Corp (ALB.N) is open to renegotiating its Chile lithium contract before 2043 and would seek access to even more of the country's vast reserves of the metal used to make electric vehicle batteries, CEO Kent Masters told Reuters on Thursday. Albemarle and SQM's contracts only grant access to the Atacama salt flats, or salars, but Boric hopes to open up many other salars across his country for lithium production, a step that will require DLE technologies. Many DLE technologies use lots of potable water and electricity, a limitation that Albemarle has acknowledged and one it is working to limit. Chile and Albemarle could cement their dominant role in the global lithium and EV industries if they can get one or more DLE technology to succeed. Masters declined to comment on Australian lithium developer's Liontown Resources Ltd (LTR.AX) rejection in March of Albemarle's $3.7 billion takeover bid.

[1/2] Lithium evaporation ponds are seen at Albemarle Lithium production facility in Silver Peak, Nevada, U.S. October 6, 2022. REUTERS/Carlos BarriaMay 3 (Reuters) - Lithium producer Albemarle Corp (ALB.N) cut its annual profit forecast on Wednesday despite posting a better-than-expected quarterly earnings, citing softening prices for the metal used to make electric vehicle batteries. For the year, Albemarle cut its sales forecast to a range of $9.8 billion to $11.5 billion, from a prior forecast of $11.3 billion to $12.9 billion. The adjusted earnings forecast was trimmed to a range of $3.3 billion to $4 billion, from a prior $4.2 billion to $5.1 billion. Australian officials said earlier on Wednesday that Albemarle had agreed to spend $1 billion to expand lithium processing facilities in Western Australia.

☆ She’s More Than the Creator of Peter Rabbit
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Tanya Mohn | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

This article is part of our Museums special section about how art institutions are reaching out to new artists and attracting new audiences. Beatrix Potter’s tales about the frolics and misadventures of Peter Rabbit, Squirrel Nutkin, Jemima Puddle-Duck and other animals have charmed children around the globe for well over a century. Now, a new traveling exhibition explores how the English artist and author’s passion and curiosity for the natural world and scientific study inspired her books — and her life. “She creates these little enchanting, watercolor worlds and fills them with characters in gardens and ponds,” said Trinita Kennedy, a senior curator at the Frist Art Museum in Nashville, where “Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature” is on view through Sept. 17. It closed there in January, and after its run at the Frist it will head to the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and the Morgan Library & Museum in New York.

☆ Chile, US miner Albemarle hold talks on lithium nationalization plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Lithium evaporation ponds are seen at Albemarle Lithium production facility in Silver Peak, Nevada, U.S. October 6, 2022. REUTERS/Carlos BarriaSANTIAGO, April 25 (Reuters) - Chile's state development office Corfo said on Tuesday it met with U.S.-based miner Albemarle (ALB.N) to discuss the South American country's plan to nationalize the lithium industry. Chile's leftist President Gabriel Boric last week announced that control of the country's vast lithium operations would over time be transferred from Albemarle and SQM (SQMA.SN) to a separate state-owned company. Chile has the world's largest lithium reserves. He added that Albemarle, the world's largest producer of lithium, wants to grow in Chile and in the Atacama salt flat with new technologies.

Many DLE technologies use lots of potable water and electricity. SQM (SQMA.SN) and Albemarle Corp (ALB.N), Chile's two existing lithium producers, use evaporation ponds to produce the metal. Livent Corp (LTHM.N) uses a variation of DLE technology in Argentina alongside evaporation ponds. Lake Resources is working with Bill Gates-backed Lilac Solutions Inc to deploy Lilac's DLE technology in Argentina. In Chile, DLE companies see a business opportunity despite the nationalization plans given that Boric's new state lithium company is expected to need technical support.

☆ Alberta Energy Regulator to probe wildlife death at Suncor tailings pond
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 22 (Reuters) - The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) has started an investigation into the death of 32 waterfowl at a Suncor Energy Inc (SU.TO) tailings pond on its Base Mine Site, 29 km (18 miles) north of Fort McMurray. It was detected during an oilsands bird contact monitoring program survey, according to a statement from the regulator. The company has further discovered two additional dead wildlife, one muskrat and one vole, at the site since it notified the AER. Suncor said it had begun an investigation after finding the dead wildlife on Friday, on the edge of a tailings pond at the Base Plant site during one of its regular, required checks. "At the time of discovery, all bird deterrent systems at Base Plant were active."

☆ Australian comedian Barry Humphries, creator of Dame Edna, dies at 89
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Australian television talk show host Dame Edna (L) appears as a guest on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" as talk show host Jay Leno laughs at one of Dame Edna's humorous comments. Barry Humphries, the comedian best known for his character Dame Edna Everage who blossomed from an Australian suburban housewife into a self-described gigastar, died on Saturday. The Sydney Morning Herald said Humphries died at St. Vincent's Hospital in Sydney, where he had been treated for various health issues. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to Humphries in a tweet, calling him a "great wit, satirist, writer and an absolute one-of-kind". It was the character of Dame Edna who made Humphries famous.

☆ Barry Humphries, creator of Dame Edna, dies at 89
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Byron Kaye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

April 22 (Reuters) - Barry Humphries, the comedian best known for his character Dame Edna Everage who blossomed from an Australian suburban housewife into a self-described gigastar, died on Saturday. The Sydney Morning Herald said Humphries died at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, where he had been treated for various health issues. It was the character of Dame Edna who made Humphries famous. "Edna has this way of doing things, it seems to take the curse off it," Humphries told Reuters in 1998. That changed in 2000, when he was 66, and his "Dame Edna: The Royal Tour" on Broadway earned him a Tony award and role in the sitcom "Ally McBeal".

The shock move in the country with the world's largest lithium reserves would in time transfer control of Chile's vast lithium operations from industry giants SQM (SQMA.SN) and Albemarle (ALB.N) to a separate state-owned company. "Nevertheless, projects with strategic values for the country, this partnership has to have a majority participation of the state," Boric said. The president added that there will be a division dedicated to advancing technology to minimize environmental impacts, including favoring direct lithium extraction over evaporation ponds. Privately held Summit Nanotech Corp, which is developing direct lithium extraction technology and recently opened a Santiago office, welcomed Boric's announcement. Boric said the country would look to protect biodiversity and share mining benefits with indigenous and surrounding communities as lithium extraction evolves.

☆ Canada's Suncor releases 5,900 cubic metres of water from oil sands site
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Nia Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 18 (Reuters) - Canada's Suncor Energy (SU.TO) has reported the release of 5,900 cubic metres (208,400 cubic feet) of water with more than twice the approved level of suspended solids from a sedimentation pond at its Fort Hills oil sands project in northern Alberta. The water came from a sedimentation pond, which collects and discharges surface run-off from the oil sands site, and not a tailings pond, Suncor spokesperson Erin Rees said in an email. Oil sands companies are under scrutiny for how they manage water on their sites, after Imperial Oil (IMO.TO) said in February that tailings ponds at its Kearl site had been seeping for months and another spill released 5,300 cubic metres of process water in late January. "This is not a tailings pond, but a water run-off pond that collects and discharges run off into Fort Creek ... in line with regulatory approvals," Rees said. The water discharges into Fort Creek roughly 800 metres upstream of the Athabasca River, the main waterway running through the oil sands region.

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