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Those fighting to halt climate change call the Amazon rainforest the "lungs of Earth," and they're frustrated that Brazil's current president has made his country a chain-smoker.

A healthy Amazon is crucial for the global fight against climate change. Human activity is pumping unsustainable amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, trapping enough heat to warm the planet in ways that profoundly disrupt the climate. Trees, and the soils they grow in, store carbon that might otherwise reach the atmosphere, but trees that are cut down or burned release more carbon into the air.

That makes rapid deforestation of the Amazon an urgent problem for the entire planet. Clearcutting of trees in the region has been a problem for decades, but the January 2019 inauguration of Jair Bolsonaro as president of Brazil, home to more than 60 percent of the remaining Amazon tree cover, has made matters much worse.

Bolsonaro has stripped environmental protection agencies of funding and manpower, which flashes a bright green light to those who want to cut and burn trees to open land for farms and cattle ranches. Bolsonaro's bid to use Brazil's military to police the Amazon has failed, perhaps because the president himself and some of Brazil's army brass may not believe in the mission.

The results speak for themselves. In 2019, more than one-third of all destruction of the world's tropical forests took place inside Brazil alone. The Amazon lost more trees in 2019 than at any point in the previous decade, and then, despite the pandemic, beat that record again in 2020. When confronted with evidence that the number of fires in the Amazon has spiked sharply on his watch, Bolsonaro accused "greenies" environmental activists of setting the fires deliberately to "bring problems to Brazil."

Bolsonaro and his supporters in Brazil don't like it when outsiders demand new protections for the Amazon. "OUR SOVEREIGNTY IS NON-NEGOTIABLE," he tweeted last year in response to threats of economic sanctions over the Amazon from then-US presidential candidate Joe Biden.

But outsiders concerned about the climate are increasing their pressure. The EU has warned that failure to protect the rainforest is an important obstacle to completion of a blockbuster trade deal between Europe and Mercosur, a Brazil-dominated South American trade bloc. Institutional investors are pushing too. But Brazil has (so far) been able to resist these pressures, in part because it exports far more to China than to either the US or Europe, and Beijing isn't pushing for change.

That said, economic threats have helped mobilize Brazil's business community. Many companies have promised to cut carbon emissions and to remove products produced via deforestation from their supply chains. An alliance of Brazilian CEOs and scientists has called for investment in sustainable development.

But so far, Bolsonaro has shrugged off external and internal pressure for a change of course, in part, perhaps, because a challenging election campaign next year might depend on the continued support of his political base including farmers and ranchers in the Amazon, who say that their industry is important for feeding Brazil and maintaining the country's position as an agriculture superpower. In particular, Brazil is now the world's top exporter of soy beans.

Joe Biden hopes a mix of carrots and sticks might help. The new US president has asked his climate envoy John Kerry to lead an international effort to raise $20 billion for the Amazon, though there are plenty of debates to come over how that money should be used. The money won't flow unless deforestation is reduced, but the new US president hopes that engaging, rather than threatening, Bolsonaro can produce a better result.

In the end, the size and density of the Amazon is itself part of the problem. The ground it covers is larger than all of Western Europe, so whatever agreements are forged and promises made, it will never be easy to police Amazon deforestation.

But Ibama, Brazil's civilian environmental protection agency, must be given the resources to try, climate experts warn, because those trees are crucial for all of us.

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Who controls the lungs of Earth? - GZERO Media

Inkbit, an MIT spinout that has developed a first-of-its-kind 3D printing platform with vision-based feedback control, has secured a $1.7 research grant from the United States Air Force. As part of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract, Inkbit will build three of its additive manufacturing systems, which will ultimately be installed at USAF bases across the United States.

Since having launched the Inkbit Vista just a month ago, Inkbit has caused quite a stir in the AM industry and has already attracted the interest of the U.S. military. The highly automated polymer AM technology, called Vision-Controlled Jetting (VCJ), is based on inkjet deposition technology, integrates closed-loop feedback control, multi-material capabilities and is powered by 3D machine vision and AI. The system is intended to facilitate the transition from prototyping to full-scale production through the combination of advanced computational techniques and a highly scalable configuration.

The three systems destined for USAF use are some of the young companys first commercial systems. The first to be available will be deployed by the Texas National Guard to facilitate the production of parts. The USAF contract will reportedly also fund the development of technical improvements and software tools to advance Inkbits proprietary technology and vision system. This will specifically draw from research conducted by DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

The Texas National Guard is proud to be the leader in adopting additive manufacturing into the National Guard, said Lt. Col. Alex Goldberg, Chief Innovation Officer, Texas Air National Guard. We are excited to take the technology developed by agencies like DARPA to initiate expeditionary parts production efforts that will greatly reduce costs across the force.

We are thrilled to be awarded this substantial contract from the United States Air Force, added Davide Marini, co-founder and CEO at Inkbit. We are at an inflection point in our business where the technology is undoubtedly making a difference in how additive manufacturing is used to create materials that are appropriate for end-use, pass quality assurance standards, and reduce general production costs from legacy systems. We are looking forward to working with the USAF and are excited to make a difference with additive manufacturing.

Inkbit is also notable for having received substantial funding from a series of high profile investors, including Stratasys, DSM Venturing, Ocado, IMA, 3M and Saint-Gobain. Prior to the USAF contract, the company had raised $15 million in equity investments, and had already received funding from DARPA and NSF. The companys Inkbit system is available for pre-order.

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Inkbit to supply Vision-Controlled Jetting 3D printers to USAF in $1.7M contract - 3DPMN

REFORMS OVERVIEW

STARTING A BUSINESS (more info)

At the fifteenth position, worldwide, and first in Africa, under the Starting a Business index of the 2020 Doing Business ranking, Togo sustains its reformative dynamics with more reforms.

ENFORCING CONTRACTS (more info)

Compared to some years ago when it was one of the lowest rankers under the Doing Business Enforcing Contracts indicator, Togo, leveraging many efforts to improve its business climate, was able to jump significantly on the index in the recent years... .

CONTRACT EXECUTION (more info)

Creation of special chambers of commerce for small debts Creation of chambers of commerce at the Court of Appeal Civil and commercial cases now handled by distinct clerks Establishment of commercial courts in Lom and Kara Lawyers and bailiffs now have access to the FORSETI COMMERCIAL platform A maximum period of 100 days was fixed to settle a commercial dispute .

TRADING ACROSS BORDERS (more info)

In comparison to previous years,Togo has significantly improved its ranking under theTrading across borders indicator by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

In comparison to previous years, Togo has significantly improved its ranking on the Trading across borders index by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitalization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

CONSTRUCTION PERMIT (more info)

After moving from the 133rd to 127th place under the 2020 Doing Business construction permit index, Togo intends to reiterate this feat in the coming edition of the global ranking. To this end, it has introduced this year multiple reforms.

GETTING ELECTRICITY (more info)

Over the past two years, Togos ranking under the Doing Business Getting electricity and water indicator has increased consistently. Owing this performance to multiple reforms aimed at making it easier for businesses to access power and water, Lom plans to introduce even more reforms this year to keep up its improvements.

REGISTERING A PROPERTY (more info)

Out of all the 'Doing Business indicators, Property Registration is where Togo has improved the most since 2018. Indeed, after spending years in the lowest part of this ranking, the country now seeks to beat Rwanda which is the best performer on this index in Africa. To do so, Lom has been introducing many reforms, with the latest batch implemented this year.

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT(more info)

From professionalization to digitization, through legislative regulations, Togos public procurement framework is constantly being modernized. Several reforms have been implemented to improve the sector much to the benefit of the private sector, which is the focus of the National Development Plan.

PAYING TAXES AND DUTIES (more info)

To improve its business environment, Togo introduced some important reforms related to the payment of tax and duties. From the replacement of some taxes to the cancellation of others through exemptions, the country has only one objective: offer the most attractive tax framework to investors and economic operators. To achieve this, the authorities relied on digitization.

Excerpt from:
Government to reinforce controls after a surge in Covid-19 cases - Togo First

Twitter Inc. is investing its resources towards providing users greater control over their data and the algorithms that govern their timelines. In a written testimony to the United States House of Representatives, the companys chief executive Jack Dorsey said that it is building new tools to counter misinformation; it will also enhance transparency around content moderation, advertising and data protection policies.

In his testimony, Dorsey said that Twitters policies are centered around three fundamental rights: freedom of expression, safety, and privacy. But since these rights can conflict with each other, at different times, the companys policies need to find a balance between these rights and should be adaptable to changes in behavior and evolving circumstances, he said.

Quite simply, a trust deficit has been building over the last several years, and it has created uncertainty here in the United States and globally. That deficit does not just impact the companies sitting at the table today but exists across the information ecosystem and, indeed, across many of our institutionsJack Dorsey, CEO, Twitter Inc.

To address this trust deficit, Dorsey said that the company needs to be more transparent, embrace procedural fairness and choice, and protect privacy. On Thursday, Dorsey will appear before Houses of Representatives Committee on Disinformation Nation: Social Medias Role in Promoting Extremism and Misinformation.Facebooks Mark Zuckerberg and Alphabets Sundar Pichai will also testify before the Committee on Thursday.

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Twitter is working on giving more control over data and algorithms, says Jack Dorsey - MediaNama.com

The Houston Arboretum carried out a prescribed burn of its meadow in 1999. Another controlled burn will take place soon, in partnership with the Houston Fire Department and the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department.

The Houston Fire Department is planning to carry out a controlled burn within city limits, for the first time in more than two decades.

Firefighters will burn seven acres of the Houston Arboretum's savanna area, as part of its overall conservation strategy. The goal is to help prevent future fires and revitalize the land.

Once the burning takes place, ash created by the fire comes back down to earth, where it returns nutrients and rejuvenates the soil, according to Christine Mansfield with the Houston Arboretum. She added that there are numerous other conservation benefits to prescribed fires, such as removing invasive species and giving wildflowers room to grow.

"It also helps us take care of these landscapes, so it reduces invasive species that aren't used to dealing with fire," she said. "And then it creates those openings as well for both grasses and wildflowers to sprout up, so theres a lot of really wonderful benefits of doing prescribed burns."

Mansfield said controlled burns mimic fires that would naturally occur in the past from lightning strikes.

The last time the Houston Arboretum approved a prescribed burn was in 1999, she said.

"What they saw afterwards was a really, really wonderful fall wildflower season," Mansfield said.

The arboretum has been testing out natural conservation strategies to replace commercial mowing and herbicides. Over the past six months, the arboretum has brought in goats on several occasions to mow the grounds and remove invasive species.

Mansfield said the controlled burn will occur in one of the areas where the goats previously grazed.

"Were sort of hitting it with both the grazers and the fire this year to see how the landscape responds," she said. "This will hopefully knock back some of the things that the goats didnt eat all of, or that were already dormant and the goats werent interested in because there werent green sprouts on it."

The exact date of the burn will depend on weather conditions, but it's set to take place sometime between March 22 and April 2.

Justin Huddleston, the wildland coordinator for the Houston Fire Department, said for the burn to be safe, numerous weather conditions all need to line up things like temperature, humidity, wind speed and wind direction.

"When we light the fire we don't want the smoke to linger real low and impact the environment, impact traffic all those things," he said. "We write the prescription ahead of time to where we're looking for that smoke to travel up outside of the treetops into the air, and then at a certain height it dissipates and disperses."

Huddleston said if the burn at the arboretum is deemed a success, the plan is to work with Memorial Park Conservancy and the Houston Parks Department to do more prescribed burns in the future.

"It could become a partnership where we create a schedule for management of the Houston parks system inside the city and do this every so often," he said.

Originally posted here:
Houston Firefighters To Carry Out Controlled Burn At Arboretum For First Time In 20 Years - Houston Public Media