Thousands of megawatts of wind and solar energy contracts in the Mekong region of Southeast Asia have been signed, seriously challenging the financial viability of major hydropower projects on the river, an energy expert told a water conference last week.

Buoyed by a recent Thai government decision to delay a power purchase deal with a major mainstream Mekong dam, clean-energy proponents and economists told the third Mekong River Commission summit that the regional energy market was on the cusp of a technological revolution.

Brian Eyler, director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Stimson Center, a nonprofit in Washington dedicated to enhancing global peace and security, said 6,000 megawatts’ worth of wind and solar contracts had been signed in Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and Laos in the last six months.

He said that in January 2017, he and his colleagues had suggested that more solar and wind energy projects be incorporated into Cambodia’s power development plan, the prospect of which had been “basically off the table” at the time. “In a year’s time, Cambodia has entirely restructured its energy sector” to emphasize solar projects in the country, “and if Cambodia’s doing it, you can bet that the other countries are doing it as well.”

Two gigawatts of wind and solar projects were announced in Vietnam in February and March alone according to a spreadsheet provided by the Stimson Center.

Hyunjung Lee, senior energy economist at the Asian Development Bank’s Southeast Asia Energy Division, said technologies such as wind and solar power were “going to hit the region very significantly, in my view.”

“The atmosphere in the region has been changed,” she said, even in just the past year. “We see a lot of development can happen in solar and wind in the region,” though more integrated approaches were needed.

Lee said the ADB was working to set up a Regional Power Coordination Center that would mimic a highly successful project in southern Africa to create an efficient, integrated regional market.

Impact on river system

A six-year Mekong River Commission Council study on development plans for the Mekong, which was the focus of the summit, suggested catastrophic impacts upon the health of the river system if all planned hydropower dams — 11 mainstream projects and more than 100 on tributaries — were built.

In a January report, the International Renewable Energy Agency found that the cost of electricity generated by solar facilities that supply utilities had fallen by 73 percent from 2010 to 2017, and the cost was forecast to be cut in half again by 2020. 

At that price trajectory, the cost of solar power would fall below that of hydropower by 2020, long before many planned Mekong dams go online.

Global solar capacity grew 32 percent, adding 94 gigawatts in 2017, while renewables across the board increased by 8.3 percent, the IREA survey of 15,000 data points found. Renewables and solar grew faster in Asia than anywhere else in the world, while the amount of hydropower commissioned across the globe was the lowest in a decade.

Wang Wenling, an assistant professor at Yunnan University’s Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, said she had just seen firsthand how far the price of solar technology had plummeted on a recent trip to North Carolina in the United States.

“I was super surprised how their solar power production cost per unit is actually cheaper than hydropower. I don’t know how they make it — it’s almost impossible for me — but their cost is only about 15 percent of the cost in China,” she said.

“So I think we have a lot of alternatives and it needs to be considered,” she said.

Some participants, particularly from Laos and Cambodia, remained skeptical of the technology.

“I think we need some more figures,” said a Cambodian member of the audience, raising concerns about stability. “We also think about some figure for the comparison between the occupation of the land of hydropower with solar energy.”

Attractive idea for Cambodia

Jake Brunner, program coordinator for the International Union for Conservation of Nature, said the figures for solar were particularly attractive in Cambodia, where land remained relatively cheap, while energy demand was high in neighboring southern Vietnam.

“We calculated that if you took one 10,000-hectare economic land concession in Cambodia, for example, and you made some very conservative assumptions, you could generate about 3 gigawatts, which is pretty close to Cambodia’s entire national consumption,” he said.

Land is a particularly sensitive issue in Cambodia, where rights group Licadho says more than half a million people have been affected by land conflicts.

Gregory Thomas, executive director of the Natural Heritage Institute, told the summit his organization had researched a solar photo-voltaic alternative for Cambodia that didn’t require any land at all.

Instead of building the massive planned Sambor dam on the Mekong, a “no dam alternative” study commissioned by the Cambodian government had recommended placing solar cells on the existing reservoir of the Lower Sesan II dam in Stung Treng.

“The advantage of integrating solar arrays on a hydropower reservoir that already exists is that you can use the unoccupied space on the reservoir without any land use conflicts whatsoever,” he said. “And, of course, the reservoir storage acts as a battery, essentially, to backstop the intermittent nature of the solar generation.”

Such a project could be cost-competitive and go online much more quickly than a hydropower dam, with 100 megwatts deployable in year, he said.

Floating solar projects are being developed around the world, including in China, where an enormous 150-megawatt installation on a lake that used to be a deserted coal mine is expected to go online in May, powering 15,000 homes.
…

From: MeNeedIt

Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Tuesday his company would step up efforts to block hate messages in Myanmar as he faced questioning by the U.S. Congress about electoral interference and hate speech on the platform.

Facebook has been accused by human rights advocates of not doing enough to weed out hate messages on its social-media network in Myanmar, where it is a dominant communications system.

“What’s happening in Myanmar is a terrible tragedy, and we need to do more,” Zuckerberg said during a 5-hour joint hearing of the Senate Commerce Committee and Senate Judiciary Committee.

More than 650,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state into Bangladesh since insurgent attacks sparked a security crackdown last August.

United Nations officials investigating a possible genocide in Myanmar said last month that Facebook had been a source of anti-Rohingya propaganda.

Marzuki Darusman, chairman of the U.N. Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, said in March that social media had played a “determining role” in Myanmar.

“It has … substantively contributed to the level of acrimony and dissension and conflict … within the public. Hate speech is certainly of course a part of that. As far as the Myanmar situation is concerned, social media is Facebook, and Facebook is social media,” he said.

Zuckerberg said Facebook was hiring dozens more Burmese-language speakers to remove threatening content.

“It’s hard to do it without people who speak the local language, and we need to ramp up our effort there dramatically,” he said, adding that Facebook was also asking civil society groups to help it identify figures who should be banned from the network.

He said a Facebook team would also make undisclosed product changes in Myanmar and other countries where ethnic violence was a problem.
…

From: MeNeedIt

Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Tuesday his company would step up efforts to block hate messages in Myanmar as he faced questioning by the U.S. Congress about electoral interference and hate speech on the platform.

Facebook has been accused by human rights advocates of not doing enough to weed out hate messages on its social-media network in Myanmar, where it is a dominant communications system.

“What’s happening in Myanmar is a terrible tragedy, and we need to do more,” Zuckerberg said during a 5-hour joint hearing of the Senate Commerce Committee and Senate Judiciary Committee.

More than 650,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state into Bangladesh since insurgent attacks sparked a security crackdown last August.

United Nations officials investigating a possible genocide in Myanmar said last month that Facebook had been a source of anti-Rohingya propaganda.

Marzuki Darusman, chairman of the U.N. Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, said in March that social media had played a “determining role” in Myanmar.

“It has … substantively contributed to the level of acrimony and dissension and conflict … within the public. Hate speech is certainly of course a part of that. As far as the Myanmar situation is concerned, social media is Facebook, and Facebook is social media,” he said.

Zuckerberg said Facebook was hiring dozens more Burmese-language speakers to remove threatening content.

“It’s hard to do it without people who speak the local language, and we need to ramp up our effort there dramatically,” he said, adding that Facebook was also asking civil society groups to help it identify figures who should be banned from the network.

He said a Facebook team would also make undisclosed product changes in Myanmar and other countries where ethnic violence was a problem.
…

From: MeNeedIt

Since 1980 when he began farming in Illinois, Brent Scholl’s mornings have consisted of a similar routine … waking early to head out to one of several buildings to check in on hundreds of his pigs.

“Every eight weeks, we get 1,100 pigs delivered to us,” Scholl told VOA while tending to a feeding system for his hogs, which he raises for several months before sending them to market. “In a year’s time, we sell over 6,000 pigs.”

It’s a costly and labor intensive – but sometimes profitable – process, which Scholl attributes to increased foreign demand for pork.

“Every fourth hog of mine goes overseas somewhere,” he said. “So that’s 25 to 28 percent of what I am making coming from foreign dollars.”

Foreign dollars at risk if China’s proposed 25 percent tariff on U.S. pork products – a response to U.S. tariffs on Chinese aluminum and steel – is implemented later this year. 

“If that all goes away it’s a losing business,” Scholl said.

Small profit margin

The increasing trade tension between the United States and China has rattled farmers in the American heartland, where many of the products on which China seeks to impose a tariff are produced. Many farmers like Scholl are increasingly wary about how tariffs will impact their income. 

“I heard one say that the difference between losing money and making money at this point is exports, and so if he doesn’t have as many exports as he did last year, he’s going to lose money,” explained Tamara Nelsen, Senior Director of Commodities for the Illinois Farm Bureau, who added that after several years of declining farm income due largely to increased input costs, tariffs will only take away more money from a farmer’s dwindling bottom line. 

“Even though China’s tariff might only be 25 percent, the market might get nervous enough on a given day to have it be a greater discount than that. That just makes it hard for a farmer to make money.” 

And it’s not just for profits from pork. 

Brent Scholl also farms soybeans, and China’s threat to impose a tariff on that commodity has already cost Scholl money. 

“Yesterday, the market went down over 50 cents,” he noted.

Domestic politics

Scholl is concerned China will look elsewhere to obtain cheaper commodities, limiting a key market for U.S. products. He feels there is only one person to blame for his uncertain financial outlook.

“Right now, I would say our president,” he said.

A president Scholl voted for in the 2016 election, despite Trump’s tough talk on trade agreements.

Talking with reporters before a recent Cabinet meeting at the White House, Trump addressed farmers’ concerns with his trade policies.

“If we do a deal with China, if during the course of a negotiation they want to hit the farmers because they think that hits me, I wouldn’t say that’s nice,” said Trump. “But I tell you, our farmers are great patriots. These are great patriots. They understand that they’re doing this for the country. And we’ll make it up to them. And in the end, they’re going to be much stronger than they are right now.”

With the U.S. withdrawal from the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement, or TPP, last year, and more recently the re-negotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, also known as NAFTA, compounded with potential Chinese tariffs on the key products Scholl raises, it’s a challenging time for U.S. farmers. Scholl admits he has some buyer’s remorse for supporting Trump.

“I thought he was the lesser of two evils,” he told VOA. “I don’t know what I’m thinking right now.”

Scholl is holding out hope President Trump’s trade tactics will work in protecting American jobs and ultimately realizing better trade deals. 

If not, Scholl says it could influence his decision at the ballot box in the next presidential election.
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From: MeNeedIt

The world’s rivers and fresh water systems are full of pollution from prescription and over-the-counter drugs and it is taking a toll on the environment and wildlife, experts say.

Scientists meeting Tuesday in Vienna said if no action is taken, the problem will increase by 65 percent by 2050.

The drugs include painkillers, hormones, anti-depressants and antihistamines.

Much of it ends up in the waters through human and animal waste because only small amounts are filtered out in treatment plants or absorbed into the ecosystem.

The drugs have caused sex charges in fish and amphibians and one type of anti-inflammatory drug has driven vultures in India close to extinction.

U.N. experts have also said medicines in the environment are helping create drug-resistant bacteria.

Some experts say that technology is not enough to tackle the problem and that a substantial reduction on a dependence on drugs is also needed.
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From: MeNeedIt

A large study offers more evidence of a link between traumatic brain injuries and dementia later in life, with repeated injuries and severe ones posing the greatest danger.

Researchers analyzed 36 years of health records of 2.8 million people in Denmark, where a national health system makes it possible to explore connections in a far-reaching way.

Overall, the risk was small. About 95 percent of people who suffered a brain injury never developed dementia.

But a single severe brain injury increased the risk of later dementia by 35 percent compared with a person who never had brain trauma. A mild brain injury increased the risk by 17 percent. Each additional brain injury added to the danger.

Overall, the risk of dementia was 24 percent higher for people with a traumatic brain injury compared with people without one. The study was published Tuesday in the journal Lancet Psychiatry. A study of 3.3 million people in Sweden earlier this year showed similar results.

Despite the size of the studies, they won’t settle scientific questions – or social debate – about brain injuries from sports, war, car crashes or domestic violence.

Scientists know that a blow to the head can damage brain cells, but they don’t know exactly how that might lead to later cognitive problems, said lead researcher Dr. Jesse Fann of University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle.

This kind of study can’t prove a cause-and-effect relationship, but researchers tried to eliminate the possible effect of age, gender, marital status and health, including depression. And they looked at other types of trauma, such as broken bones, and found that brain injuries were more closely tied to dementia.

In a commentary in the journal, Dr. Carol Brayne of University of Cambridge’s medical school in England wrote that improvements in care mean more people are surviving brain injuries, making it crucial to understand more about their long-term effects.
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From: MeNeedIt

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday proposed new rules that could allow some large banks to reduce the amount of capital they must hold as a cushion against a future economic shock.

The proposal may clear the way for some large banks to reduce their capital levels in the future, but the largest firms on Wall Street are not likely to get such relief, the Fed said.

The proposal is expected to reduce bank paperwork and also make it easier for regulators to monitor the health of banks, said Randal Quarles, the top Fed official in charge of regulations.

“Our regulatory measures are most effective when they are as simple and transparent as possible,” Quarles, the Fed vice chairman for supervision, said in a statement.

The Fed said the proposed changes were likely to somewhat increase the amount of capital required for the 30 largest banks known as GSIBs, or global systemically important banks.

The measures should modestly decrease the amount of capital required for banks smaller than the GSIBs, the Fed said.

“No firm is expected to need to raise additional capital as a result of this proposal,” the Fed said in a statement.

Banks and other stakeholders will have 60 days to comment on the proposal, which is likely to take effect next year, said the Federal Reserve.

The new capital standards would be the first reform of capital standards conceived after the decade-old financial crisis.
…

From: MeNeedIt

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday proposed new rules that could allow some large banks to reduce the amount of capital they must hold as a cushion against a future economic shock.

The proposal may clear the way for some large banks to reduce their capital levels in the future, but the largest firms on Wall Street are not likely to get such relief, the Fed said.

The proposal is expected to reduce bank paperwork and also make it easier for regulators to monitor the health of banks, said Randal Quarles, the top Fed official in charge of regulations.

“Our regulatory measures are most effective when they are as simple and transparent as possible,” Quarles, the Fed vice chairman for supervision, said in a statement.

The Fed said the proposed changes were likely to somewhat increase the amount of capital required for the 30 largest banks known as GSIBs, or global systemically important banks.

The measures should modestly decrease the amount of capital required for banks smaller than the GSIBs, the Fed said.

“No firm is expected to need to raise additional capital as a result of this proposal,” the Fed said in a statement.

Banks and other stakeholders will have 60 days to comment on the proposal, which is likely to take effect next year, said the Federal Reserve.

The new capital standards would be the first reform of capital standards conceived after the decade-old financial crisis.
…

From: MeNeedIt

Russian retailers warned of price increase after ruble tumbles

European electronic and household goods manufacturers have warned Russian retailers of a possible 5 to 10 percent rise in prices after the ruble tumbled this week due to U.S. sanctions, retailers said on Tuesday.

Eldorado, which operates over 400 stores in Russia, said the hikes may mean it has to adjust its retail prices.

“Suppliers have already started warning of a possible 5-10 percent adjustment in prices,” a spokesperson for Eldorado told Reuters, adding that the warnings had primarily come from European manufacturers that do not produce goods in Russia.

A spokesperson for M.Video, which operates a network of 424 stores, also said that some of its suppliers had told them of plans to raise prices by between 5 and 10 percent.

The ruble fell sharply on Monday as investors took fright after a new round of U.S. sanctions against Moscow, targeting officials and businessmen around Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The ruble extended its losses on Tuesday, shedding over 3 percent of its value against the dollar, as investors continued a sell-off of assets fueled by fears that Washington could impose more sanctions and a realization that Russian credit and market risks had substantially increased.
…

From: MeNeedIt

Government and other scientists are proposing a new way to define Alzheimer’s disease basing it on biological signs, such as brain changes, rather than memory loss and other symptoms of dementia that are used today.

The move is aimed at improving research, by using more objective criteria like brain scans to pick patients for studies and enroll them sooner in the course of their illness, when treatments may have more chance to help.

But it’s too soon to use these scans and other tests in routine care, because they haven’t been validated for that yet, experts stress. For now, doctors will still rely on the tools they’ve long used to evaluate thinking skills to diagnose most cases.

Regardless of what tests are used to make the diagnosis, the new definition will have a startling effect: Many more people will be considered to have Alzheimer’s, because the biological signs can show up 15 to 20 years before symptoms do.

“The numbers will increase dramatically,” said Dr. Clifford R. Jack Jr., a Mayo Clinic brain imaging specialist. “There are a lot more cognitively normal people who have the pathology in the brain who will now be counted as having Alzheimer’s disease.”

He led a panel of experts, working with the Alzheimer’s Association and the National Institute on Aging, that updated guidelines on the disease, published Tuesday in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association. 

About Alzheimer’s

About 50 million people worldwide have dementia, and Alzheimer’s is the most common form. In the U.S., about 5.7 million have Alzheimer’s under its current definition, which is based on memory problems and other symptoms. About one-third of people over 70 who show no thinking problems actually have brain signs that suggest Alzheimer’s, Jack said.

There is no cure – current medicines such as Aricept and Namenda just temporarily ease symptoms. Dozens of hoped-for treatments have failed, and doctors think one reason may be that the studies enrolled patients after too much brain damage had already occurred.

“By the time that you have the diagnosis of the disease, it’s very late,” said Dr. Eliezer Masliah, neuroscience chief at the Institute on Aging.

“What we’ve realized is that you have to go earlier and earlier and earlier,” just as doctors found with treating cancer, he said.

Another problem: as many as 30 percent of people enrolled in Alzheimer’s studies based on symptoms didn’t actually have the disease – they had other forms of dementia or even other medical conditions. That doesn’t give an accurate picture of whether a potential treatment might help, and the new definition aims to improve patient selection by using brain scans and other tests. 

Better tests

Many other diseases, such as diabetes, already are defined by measuring a biomarker, an objective indicator such as blood sugar. That wasn’t possible for Alzheimer’s disease until a few years ago, when brain scans and spinal fluid tests were developed to do this.

They measure certain forms of two proteins – amyloid and tau – that form plaques and tangles in the brain – and signs of nerve injury, degeneration and brain shrinkage.

The guidelines spell out use of these biomarkers over a spectrum of mental decline, starting with early brain changes, through mild impairment and Alzheimer’s dementia.

What to do?

People may be worried and want these tests for themselves or a family member now, but Jack advises: “Don’t bother. There’s no proven treatment yet.” 

You might find a doctor willing to order them, but spinal fluid tests are somewhat invasive, and brain scans can cost up to $6,000. Insurance usually does not pay because they’re considered experimental outside of research. A large study is underway now to see whether Medicare should cover them and when.

Anyone with symptoms or family history of dementia, or even healthy people concerned about the risk can consider enrolling in one of the many studies underway.

“We need more people in this pre-symptomatic stage” to see if treatments can help stave off decline, Masliah said. 
…

From: MeNeedIt

Government and other scientists are proposing a new way to define Alzheimer’s disease basing it on biological signs, such as brain changes, rather than memory loss and other symptoms of dementia that are used today.

The move is aimed at improving research, by using more objective criteria like brain scans to pick patients for studies and enroll them sooner in the course of their illness, when treatments may have more chance to help.

But it’s too soon to use these scans and other tests in routine care, because they haven’t been validated for that yet, experts stress. For now, doctors will still rely on the tools they’ve long used to evaluate thinking skills to diagnose most cases.

Regardless of what tests are used to make the diagnosis, the new definition will have a startling effect: Many more people will be considered to have Alzheimer’s, because the biological signs can show up 15 to 20 years before symptoms do.

“The numbers will increase dramatically,” said Dr. Clifford R. Jack Jr., a Mayo Clinic brain imaging specialist. “There are a lot more cognitively normal people who have the pathology in the brain who will now be counted as having Alzheimer’s disease.”

He led a panel of experts, working with the Alzheimer’s Association and the National Institute on Aging, that updated guidelines on the disease, published Tuesday in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association. 

About Alzheimer’s

About 50 million people worldwide have dementia, and Alzheimer’s is the most common form. In the U.S., about 5.7 million have Alzheimer’s under its current definition, which is based on memory problems and other symptoms. About one-third of people over 70 who show no thinking problems actually have brain signs that suggest Alzheimer’s, Jack said.

There is no cure – current medicines such as Aricept and Namenda just temporarily ease symptoms. Dozens of hoped-for treatments have failed, and doctors think one reason may be that the studies enrolled patients after too much brain damage had already occurred.

“By the time that you have the diagnosis of the disease, it’s very late,” said Dr. Eliezer Masliah, neuroscience chief at the Institute on Aging.

“What we’ve realized is that you have to go earlier and earlier and earlier,” just as doctors found with treating cancer, he said.

Another problem: as many as 30 percent of people enrolled in Alzheimer’s studies based on symptoms didn’t actually have the disease – they had other forms of dementia or even other medical conditions. That doesn’t give an accurate picture of whether a potential treatment might help, and the new definition aims to improve patient selection by using brain scans and other tests. 

Better tests

Many other diseases, such as diabetes, already are defined by measuring a biomarker, an objective indicator such as blood sugar. That wasn’t possible for Alzheimer’s disease until a few years ago, when brain scans and spinal fluid tests were developed to do this.

They measure certain forms of two proteins – amyloid and tau – that form plaques and tangles in the brain – and signs of nerve injury, degeneration and brain shrinkage.

The guidelines spell out use of these biomarkers over a spectrum of mental decline, starting with early brain changes, through mild impairment and Alzheimer’s dementia.

What to do?

People may be worried and want these tests for themselves or a family member now, but Jack advises: “Don’t bother. There’s no proven treatment yet.” 

You might find a doctor willing to order them, but spinal fluid tests are somewhat invasive, and brain scans can cost up to $6,000. Insurance usually does not pay because they’re considered experimental outside of research. A large study is underway now to see whether Medicare should cover them and when.

Anyone with symptoms or family history of dementia, or even healthy people concerned about the risk can consider enrolling in one of the many studies underway.

“We need more people in this pre-symptomatic stage” to see if treatments can help stave off decline, Masliah said. 
…

From: MeNeedIt

Landfills around the world are getting overloaded with waste, much of it hazardous and slow to decompose. As it becomes increasingly difficult to find new places for discarded unwanted items, people around the world are looking for ways to re-use as much stuff as possible before throwing it away. Designers are embracing the trend and are increasingly using recycled materials in their new creations.
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From: MeNeedIt