Dutch inventors roll out river plastic clean-up barge

Yahoo – AFP, October 26, 2019

The model on display was the fourth to be built and is due to be sent to
the Dominican Republic (AFP Photo/Robin UTRECHT)

The Hague (AFP) - A Dutch non-profit group committed to ridding the world's waters of plastic, Saturday unveiled their latest invention, a floating garbage-collection barge called "The Interceptor".

It is built by The Ocean Cleanup, who say it will "close the tap" on the greatest source of garbage reaching the oceans: rivers.

The barge, which will be anchored in polluted rivers, is capable of scooping up to 50 tonnes of garbage per day floating downstream, said its inventor, 25-year-old Boyan Slat.

"Under the right conditions we think it could even achieve double that," said Slat, who is the CEO and founder of The Ocean Cleanup.

"The Interceptor" resembles a large houseboat attached to a curved barrier. It is 24 metres (78 feet) long, solar-driven, fully autonomous and able to collect plastic in rivers around the clock, Slat said.

Placed at strategic positions in a river system, its barrier directs plastic to the waiting "mouth" of the barge, from where it rolls up a conveyor belt and is dumped into one of six dumpsters.

The barge has a capacity to carry 50 cubic metres of waste plastic, the equivalent of 271,000 Rubik's cubes, said Slat.

Once full, an onboard computer sends a message to local operators to pull out the dumpsters and empty them "as easily as you would clean your vacuum," Slat said at the unveiling of the machine.

The project will tackle 1,000 of the most polluting rivers in the world "within five years", which contribute to 80 percent of global plastic pollution, he added.

Two of the machines are already up and running: one in Jakarta, Indonesia, and another in Malaysia. A third is being prepared for deployment in Vietnam.

Slat used a fourth Interceptor for the presentation in the port city of Rotterdam's harbour on Saturday. This one will be sent to the Dominican Republic, he said.

Earlier this month, The Ocean Cleanup announced that a special ship designed to clean the world's oceans had harvested its first plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

The Interceptor at work in Malaysia. Photo: The Ocean CleanUp

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Ocean Cleanup move to the Pacific, ‘a milestone’ says Dutch inventor

Photo: The Ocean Cleanup

Papua New Guinea shutters polluting Chinese plant

Yahoo – News, 24 October 2019

Papua New Guinea has ordered a Chinese nickel plant closed after hazardous
liquid was released into sea, turning parts the surrounding coastline red

Papua New Guinea said Thursday it had ordered the indefinite closure of a multi-billion dollar Chinese-owned nickel facility that spewed potentially toxic red slurry into the sea.

The Mineral Resources Authority said it had ordered owners of the Ramu Nickel refinery to "shut down its processing operations" as of Monday October 21.

The facility is run by the state-owned China Metallurgical Group, which mines and processes nickel, a metal widely used in batteries, including for electric cars.

In late August, the plant's mechanism for dealing with slurry failed, sending hazardous liquid into the Bismarck Sea and turning parts the surrounding coastline ochre red.

Earlier this year the China Metallurgical Group asked Papua New Guinea officials visiting Beijing to approve plans to expand production capacity.

The Mineral Resources Authority now said the company had been "ordered to cease operations because it has failed to adequately" fix a string of defects spotted during the investigation.

They included poor spillage containment systems, inadequate maintenance and "incompetency of operators".

Ties between Beijing and the resource-rich Melanesian nation have been growing apace, but there have been repeated tensions over standards at some minerals and infrastructure projects.

Shipping firms look to sail into the future

France24 – AFP, 21 October 2019

Paris (AFP) - Global shipping firms under pressure to cut carbon emissions are experimenting with an age-old technology: sails to harness ocean winds and reduce reliance on costly fuels.

"Five years ago, such projects would have gotten us thrown out by security" at shipping firms, said French naval architect Marc Van Peteghem.

"Now shipowners are listening to us," he said.

A design from his firm, VPLP, has just been picked by European rocket-maker Ariane Group for a sail-equipped cargo ship to transport parts for its new Ariane 6 launcher to French Guiana starting in 2022.

The ship will be equipped with four huge rectangular sails rising 30 metres (100 feet) high, supplementing a motor and cutting fuel consumption by about 30 percent.

It might not be the first, though: French start-up Neoline announced in July it would start building a sail-powered transporter this year for launch by the end of 2021.

"We have 5,000 years of experience in sailing with wind -- it's renewable energy, and less intermittent than solar power," Neoline's managing director Jean Zanuttini told AFP at his office in Nantes, western France.

So far the firm has orders from three clients, including French automaker Renault.

But using wind to meet carbon goals is not as simple as building new boats or rigging sails on existing ones, as some ship owners have already done.

"Our 136-metre ship costs 30 percent more than current ships," Zanuttini said, "but we compensate by using 80 to 90 percent less fuel."

Wind-powered vessels are also slower -- a hard sell for some shipowners and clients who want their raw materials and merchandise to move as quick as possible.

'Everything's in transition'

Operators of the 60,000 to 90,000 oil tankers, bulk carriers, ferries and other huge cargo ships plying the seas are racing to find alternatives to fuel oil as pollution rules are tightened.

The industry generates roughly three percent of Earth-warming greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, a figure that experts say could reach 17 percent by 2050 if nothing is done.

Also, starting January 1, levels of air-polluting sulphur in marine fuel must be below 0.5 percent, according to new International Maritime Organization standards -- a sharp drop from today's 3.5 percent.

This is forcing firms to seek out cleaner, more costly fuels or invest in "scrubbers" to filter sulphur out of smokestacks.

"Everything is up for grabs, everything is in transition," said Gavin Allwright, secretary of the International Windship Association in London.

This month his group organised a wind conference at the Royal Institution of Naval Architects in London, just a stone's throw from Trafalgar Square and its statue of renowned British naval officer Horatio Nelson.

Even if sailing goes back centuries, "the vast majority of the technologies are 21st-century technologies and materials. They are almost fully automated, one-button computer operated," Allwright said.

Beside sails, some firms have designed huge kites that pull cargo ships, though just a few operators have adopted the system.

'Opportunity'

Another option is to use "Flettner rotors" like those built by Norsepower of Finland, employing a technology developed by German engineers in the 1920s.

The tall columns are installed on a ship and set spinning, creating lift that propels a ship forward when they catch a perpendicular wind.

Ville Paakkari, a Norsepower representative at the London conference, said the columns can be installed in just a few hours, and can cut fuel consumption by five to 10 percent.

"The investment pays off in three to eight years," he told participants.

So far, Norsepower's rotors are used on just two cargo ships and the Viking Grace ferry between Finland and Sweden.

But wind advocates say tighter pollution rules -- potentially including more widespread taxes on carbon emissions -- will force shipping firms to clean up their act.

"People only change when they are forced to," Van Peteghem said.

"We need to find solutions so that what shipowners consider a constraint today will become an opportunity, and make them want to change," he said.

The Netherlands calls on Shell to clean up North Sea oil rigs

DutchNews, October 10, 2019

The four Brent platforms: Photo: Shell 

The Dutch government wants Shell to clean up the foundations of three oil and gas platforms in the British part of the North Sea, infrastructure minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen has told MPs. 

The minister’s comments follow the publication of a report on the decommissioning operation which recommends the clean up be carried out as agreed over 20 years ago in international treaties. 

The licence request ‘does not sufficiently support’ the claim that leaving the foundations and storage units, which contain polluted material, is the best option from an environmental or safety point of view, the minister told MPs. 

The Netherlands, she said, will join Germany in making a formal protest about the plan. 

The clean-up was agreed in a special treaty known as Ospar which was adopted in 1992. The Ospar treaty states that rigs, including their contents and pipelines, must be removed from the sea after decommissioning. 

Shell, however, wants to leave the foundations of three of the four Brent platforms – Brent Bravo, Brent Charlie and Brent Delta – in the North Sea. It argues that removing the three concrete constructions would be risky and expensive. 

Risks 

‘Constructed nearly half a century ago, they were not designed to be removed,’ Shell said when submitting the decommissioning plans in 2017.  ‘We have to consider the safety of those who will work offshore to deliver this project. The safety risks associated with trying to remove them outweigh minimal environmental benefit.’ 

The final decision is up to Britain and it is keen to make an exception for the three platforms. Germany and the Netherlands, which only have an advisory role, are opposed, fearing the impact of leaks of polluted oil in the concrete bases on marine life. 

The topside of the Brent Bravo platform was taken to Britain for scrapping in June this year. 

The Brent field was discovered in 1971 and started production five years later.

Scientists fight to save unique Guiana coral reef

Yahoo – AFP, Marion Briswalter with Tiphaine Honore on board the Esperanza, October 4, 2019

In 2013, British oil giant BP, French company Total and Brazil's Petrobras joined 

forces to buy exploration blocks in the Amazon Reef area (AFP Photo/PIERRE TRIHAN)

Cayenne (AFP) - Off the coast of Guiana, a French overseas department perched on the north coast of South America, scientists scour the choppy waters for signs of life.

From the deck of a Greenpeace ship, they take photos and keep meticulous notes -- compiling a catalogue of sea creatures sustained by a coral reef only recently discovered but already threatened, activists say, by mankind's hunger for oil.

Near the mouth of the Amazon river in the Atlantic Ocean, the Amazon Reef is one of the world's largest but its existence became known only in 2016.

"We are talking about a unique ecosystem not seen anywhere else in the world and that we barely know, and it is already under threat from oil," says Thiago Almeida of Greenpeace Brazil, on board the Esperanza -- a former Russian fire-fighting vessel-turned environmental ship.

At the moment, the ship is home to experts from Greenpeace and France's CNRS research institute -- participants in a special mission to document the wildlife in an uncharted region.

Their goal: to make a case for keeping the area off-limits to fossil fuel hunters.

The Esperanza is a former Russian fire-fighting vessel-turned environmental 

crusader (AFP Photo/Pierre TRIHAN)

Just last year, Greenpeace revealed that the reef stretched into French Guiana waters.

French Guiana's offshore area is off limits to prospectors under French law but campaigners say it would be threatened by any exploration or drilling off neighbouring Brazil.

"A lot of oil would come to French Guiana" in the event of a leak, said Almeida. "If we look at the oil spill modelling done by the companies themselves, you can see that the threat is real."

Not only the water and reef, but also the land is at risk, with mangrove forests stretching all along Guiana's coast serving as crucial fish nurseries.

British oil giant BP, French company Total and Brazil's Petrobras joined forces in 2013 to buy exploration blocks in the region in Brazilian waters.

But they needed permission to search and last December, Brazil's Ibama environmental regulator denied Total a licence to drill citing "deep uncertainties" in emergency plans, "aggravated by the possibility of an oil spill that may affect the coral reef present in the region and by extension marine biodiversity."

BP is still trying for a drilling licence in the area, a move campaigners say could endanger the reef.

French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) marine biologists are exploring 

the Amazon reef of the coast of French Guiana, a region environmentalists warn is 

threatened by oil exploration (AFP Photo/PIERRE TRIHAN)

Not just passing through

Earlier this month, a team of six experts braved the muddy water and strong currents to scrutinise the reef's corals, sponges and calcified algae, taking photos and samples.

So far, the mission has identified several species of dolphin, killer whales, sailfish and several marine birds.

But Olivier Van Canneyt, a scientist with the CNRS-aligned Pelagis observatory, is quick to stress the reef represents "more than a migratory route".

"We also observed humpback whales with their young; their presence confirms that it is also a vital place of breeding and (nurturing). French Guiana waters are a crucial place for the survival of many cetacean species," he explained.

For Edina Ifticene of Greenpeace's Protect the Oceans campaign, the discovery of these creatures showed "it doesn't make sense to drill for oil in such a critical environment; an oil spill could have irreversible consequences for the entire area."

Not only that but exploting oil deposits threatens to undermine the fight against climate change caused by planet-warming gases emitted as humanity burns fossil fuels for energy.

The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that ocean warming 

and changes in sea chemistry -- caused by the absorption of vast quantites of carbon 

dioxide -- is already harming ocean life and the people who depend on it (AFP Photo/

PIERRE TRIHAN)

Fish, food at risk

Brazil's ANP petroleum agency has estimated the area may hold as much as 14 billion barrels of oil -- a quantity scientists say could release 5.2 gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

According to the International Energy Agency, global energy-related CO2 emissions rose to a historic high of 33.1 Gt last year.

Scientists say we need to leave at least 80 percent of the world's known remaining fossil fuel reserves in the ground to prevent runaway climate change.

Last week, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change cautioned that ocean warming and changes in sea chemistry, caused by CO2 absorption, is harming ocean life and the people who depend on it.

"Shifts in the distribution of fish populations have reduced the global catch potential," it said.

"Communities that depend highly on seafood may face risks to nutritional health and food security."

Ruben, a fisherman from the small coastal community of Kali'na said he feared for the future.

"I think it's bad for us. It's what I think. The petrol is dangerous," he said on a stopover by the Esperanza.

Britain's 'regret' at Maori killings when Cook landed

Yahoo – AFP, October 2, 2019

A statue of Captain Cook stands in Sydney's Hyde Park (AFP Photo/WILLIAM WEST)

Britain's top diplomat in New Zealand made a low-key "expression of regret" to Maori on Wednesday over deadly clashes that occurred when Captain James Cook's arrived in New Zealand 250 years ago.

British High Commissioner Laura Clarke travelled to the North Island town of Gisborne for a ceremony with the Maori iwi, or tribes, who Cook met when he landed in October 1769.

The explorer's arrival sparked a series of skirmishes in the following days that resulted in nine deaths and is still recalled with anger by locals.

In a statement posted on its Facebook page, the Rongowhakaata Iwi Trust said the ceremony with Clarke was to acknowledge the hara, or atrocities, committed 250 years ago.

"Cook and his crew landed on the banks of the Turanganui river at 4pm, within 30 minutes they had opened fire and (local chieftain) Te Maro was dead," it said.

"Our whanaunga (relative) was the first casualty of The Collision."

It added: "After only being here for two hours, Cook and his crew had trespassed, terrorised, killed and stolen from us."

The British High Commission issued a brief statement about the event but refused to provide further details, saying it was a "private dialogue between the envoy and the iwi.

"The expression of regret responds to a request from the local iwi for this history to be heard and acknowledged," the statement said.

"The British High Commissioner will acknowledge the pain of those first encounters, acknowledge that the pain does not diminish over time, and extend her sympathy to the descendants of those killed."

Local media reported British officials had "sworn the iwi involved to secrecy" and carefully avoided framing the statement as an apology.

However, New Zealand's race relations commissioner Meng Foon, a former Gisborne mayor, had no such qualms.

"It's a significant day today... I hope that the apology or message will acknowledge the murder of nine Maori from Turanganui-a-Kiwa (Gisborne)," he told Radio New Zealand.

"I hope they both can move forward and tell our history."

On three epic voyages, Cook helped chart the vast Pacific Ocean more than any other, making him one of the most celebrated explorers of his era.

But his legacy has been questioned by many modern scholars amid accusations that his "discoveries" led to colonialism and the devastation of the traditional societies he encountered.

New prototype plastic catcher works, Ocean Clean Up group says

DutchNews, October 2, 2019

Photo: Ocean Clean-up

The latest prototype of a Dutch invention to catch plastic floating in the ocean is working, say researchers with The Ocean Cleanup, which has been testing the device some 2,000 kilometres off the Californian coast. 

The new prototype is successfully catching and keeping plastic in all shapes and sizes, the organisation said on Tuesday. 

Earlier versions of the plastic catcher did not manage to hold on to the plastic,  the organisation’s spokesman Joost Dubois told broadcaster NOS. ‘The problem was that we couldn’t control the difference in speed of the plastic and the device. You need a big difference in speed in order to keep hold of the plastic,’ he said. 

The solution to the problem was to use a sea anchor in the shape of a parachute which made the plastic catcher move more slowly than the plastic. Smaller plastic pieces could then be caught in the device more easily, including micro plastics of a millimetre in size. 

The Ocean Cleanup is planning a second version of the new plastic catcher next year which will be able to collect more plastic over a longer period of time. Inventor Boyan Slat and his team aim to eventually halve the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, some 1.6 million square kilometers in size, between California and Hawaii. 

Slat came up with his Ocean Cleanup project in 2012 and spent the next five years developing it, for which he has collected over €30m in funding.

VIDEO: Boyan Slat, the 25-year-old Dutch founder of @TheOceanCleanup, explains how the ship was able to harvest a range of plastics from the ocean pic.twitter.com/EjEfMOIjqS

— AFP news agency (@AFP) 2 oktober 2019

#UPDATE A special ship designed to clean the oceans has harvested its first plastic from the #GreatPacificGarbagePatch since setting sail from San Francisco last month, its Dutch inventor says https://t.co/yFNZwykhJZ #TheOceanCleanup

— AFP news agency (@AFP) 2 oktober 2019

Related Articles:

“Afraid of Love” + “What’s Wrong Today”, Laguna Hills, California, US(2), Dec 9, 2018 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

• Stagnation of the current US Politics: Compassioned (US) leaders will arise in the future
• Shortage of fresh/drinking water: Invention to make salt from salt water magnetic and remove it with water desalination process in high volumes
• Pollution on Earth: 1 - Stop killing the environment! / 2 - The rise of temperature on Earth is “temporary” and is part of the "regular" Watercycle.
• Replacement of current fossil energy source: Use of magnetics based (small/big) engines to produces electricity / free energy
• Plastic pollution in the oceans: Invention to remove the plastics gradually from the oceans

Ocean Cleanup move to the Pacific, ‘a milestone’ says Dutch inventor

Photo: The Ocean Cleanup