Source: United States House of Representatives – Julia Brownley (D-CA)
Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA) reintroduced the Renewable Energy Certificate Study Act, legislation that directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to evaluate how federal agencies use Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) and their efficacy in advancing our nation’s clean energy goals. While RECs, certifications that one megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity was generated from a renewable source and delivered to the grid, have become a common tool for meeting renewable energy targets, there is still limited information on whether they are delivering real and measurable climate benefits. Brownley’s bill aims to provide Congress with the data needed to ensure that RECs are being used effectively, transparently, and in a way that maximizes environmental impact.
“Renewable Energy Certificates were created to help expand and stimulate the growth of the green energy market. Currently, RECs offer federal agencies and other entities a flexible tool to meet statutory and administrative energy procurement requirements, helping reduce emissions without the complexities of procuring renewable energy directly,” said Congresswoman Brownley.
“As the single largest energy user in the United States, the federal government has a responsibility to use RECs as intended. My bill calls for federal agencies to evaluate the effectiveness of RECs and assess the extent of their use across the federal government, which will provide Congress with critical data to improve federal energy policy.
“My bill will ensure the wise and effective use of taxpayer funds, while also improving RECs market-wide and helping to build a stronger, more sustainable clean energy future.”
Under requirements in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Biden Administration’s Executive Order on Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability, federal agencies have worked to increase the percentage of energy they procured from climate-friendly sources. To accomplish these goals, many federal agencies turned to RECs. However, research and reporting have raised concerns that RECs may not be meaningfully reducing emissions as intended. The Renewable Energy Certificate Study Act addresses these concerns by directing the GAO to analyze the effectiveness of RECs in advancing federal clean energy objectives.
The text of the Renewable Energy Certificate Study Act can be found here.
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Issues: 119th Congress, Climate Crisis, Energy and Environment
SACRAMENTO, CA (May 14, 2025) –In response to the recently released May revise of the California state budget, which revealed a projected $12 billion deficit, Benjamin Smith, Greenpeace USA Senior Strategic Partnerships Advisor, said: “Today’s news of the huge budget deficit in the May revise shows that California is sinking deeper into an affordability crisis. That’s why it’s crucial California legislators pass pieces of legislation like the Climate Superfund Act. Our investments in the future shouldn’t have to come from taxpayers who are already struggling to make ends meet.
“It’s time for the biggest polluters who created this toxic mess and the subsequent escalating, expensive climate disasters to pay their fair share. This is a common sense policy that is urgently needed to protect our public sector workers, critical social programs, and both state and local budgets.
“We can’t continue draining the coffers of services that Californians need, especially when there’s money available from some of the wealthiest corporations in history who have been making record profits. To take the words right out of President Trump’s mouth: instead of 30 yachts this year, the corporate CEOs making millions could do just fine with two.”
Greenpeace USA is part of a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace USA is committed to transforming the country’s unjust social, environmental, and economic systems from the ground up to address the climate crisis, advance racial justice, and build an economy that puts people first. Learn more at www.greenpeace.org/usa.
Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) is reintroducing the Connecticut River Watershed Partnership Act (CRWPA), which would formalize a partnership between federal, state, local and private entities to promote conservation, restoration, education and recreation efforts in the Watershed and establish a voluntary grant program to facilitate these activities. This collaborative effort will benefit fish and wildlife habitats, protect drinking water sources, enhance flood resilience and help promote access to the Watershed’s public spaces, particularly for excluded and marginalized communities. U.S. Representative Jim McGovern (MA-02) leads a companion bill in the House of Representatives.
“The Connecticut River and its watershed are a vibrant part of New England’s landscape, providing habitat for fish and wildlife, supplying safe drinking water for our communities and spurring tourism that contributes to the whole region’s economy,” said Senator Shaheen. “Only by working together at the federal, state and local level can we effectively protect and preserve this critical environmental and economic resource—and that’s just the kind of partnership this legislation would create.”
The Connecticut River, New England’s longest river, drains a 7.2-million-acre watershed across five New England states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. The Watershed is home to 396 communities and provides multiple environmental and economic benefits to diverse stakeholders and industries, including fisheries, farming, hunting, recreation, boating and tourism. The Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge encompasses the entire Watershed and is the only refuge of its kind in the National Wildlife Refuge System.
Specifically, the CRWPA would:
Require the Secretary of Interior to establish a non-regulatory Watershed Partnership Program intended to identify, prioritize and implement restoration and protection activities within the Watershed in consultation with federal, state, local and non-profit stakeholders;
Create a grant and technical assistance program for state and local governments; tribal organizations; nonprofit organizations; institutions of higher education; and other eligible entities for activities in the Watershed;
Implement a 75% Federal cost share for the grant program, except where the Secretary determines a larger cost share is appropriate; and
Ensure other activities conducted by the Secretary in the Watershed would supplement, not supplant activities carried out by the partnership program.
The legislation is supported by a broad coalition of more than 50 public and private organizations throughout New England, including the Connecticut River Watershed Partnership. Along with Shaheen, the legislation is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ed Markey (D-MA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Peter Welch (D-VT).
Full bill text is available here.
Shaheen has led efforts to safeguard our natural environment and invest in climate resiliency while boosting New Hampshire’s recreation economy. Shaheen led the bipartisan Outdoor Recreation Jobs and Economic Impact Act into law to require the federal government to measure the impact of the outdoor recreation on the economy. In November 2024, Shaheen applauded the release of an annual report showing a $1.2 trillion economic contribution by the outdoor recreation sector in 2023, including $3.9 billion in New Hampshire. Shaheen also helped reintroduce the Ski Hill Resources for Economic Development (SHRED) Act to fuel investment in outdoor recreation in national forests that benefits mountain communities.
Shaheen has also led efforts to help secure full funding and permanent authorization for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which has helped protect more than 2.5 million acres of land and supported tens of thousands of state and local outdoor recreation projects throughout the nation. In 2020, Shaheen helped lead the Great American Outdoors Act into law to permanently fund the LWCF and provide mandatory funding for deferred maintenance on public lands.
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA –Today, Acting United States Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced the filing of a bill of information charging Plano, Texas-based MUREX MANAGEMENT, INC. (“MMI”), with aiding and abetting transactions that defrauded financial institutions, including the failed New Orleans-based First NBC Bank.
According to the bill of information, MMI was the management company of an affiliate that engaged in ethanol marketing and logistics services. Additionally, Company A was the U.S.-based subsidiary of a foreign, publicly traded, company that operated ethanol production plants.
According to the bill of information, beginning in 2013, Company A and its parent companies began to experience financial stress. In order to ameliorate cash flow issues and to manufacture additional financing for its debts, Company A initiated a strategy called “buy/sells” and targeted MMI to assist in this strategy. Company A’s plan called for both companies to create fictitious invoices purporting to be sales of ethanol between the two companies, which could then be sold as accounts receivable to unwitting buyers via a New Orleans-based online marketplace. This would provide cash flow for Company A and a profit to MMI. The unwitting buyers of these accounts receivable included financial institutions like First NBC Bank.
The bill of information alleges that, between October 28, 2013 and September 18, 2015, Company A and MMI conducted approximately $1.2 billion in fraudulent “buy/sell” transactions, with MMI making a profit of approximately $6,073,049. Company A eventually defaulted on paying financial institutions for the accounts receivable that had been posted for auction by MMI. The defaulted auctions caused a loss of approximately $73,073,683.05 to First NBC Bank, and a loss of approximately $8,330,427.02 to a North Carolina bank.
If convicted, MMI faces a maximum fine of $1,000,000.00, or twice the gross gain or twice the gross loss to any victim. It also will be required to pay restitution and a mandatory special assessment fee of $400.00.
Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson reiterated that the bill of information is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson praised the work of the FDIC Office of Inspector General, Dallas Field Office, and the Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division, Houston Resident Office, that investigated this matter. Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew R. Payne of the Financial Crimes Unit and Nicholas D. Moses, Health Care Fraud Coordinator, handled this prosecution.
Source: United States Senator for Nebraska Deb Fischer
Fischer’s Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act the only permanent, nationwide solution to unleash power of year-round E15
Today, U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, questioned Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin on the need for a permanent legislative solution for the nationwide sale of year-round E15, who confirmed that Congressional action is the “most durable and easiest solution to this issue.”
Fischer’s legislation, the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act, is the only permanent, nationwide solution to unleash the power of year-round E15.
Click the image above to watch a video of Fischer’s questioning
Click here to download audioClick here to download video
On Securing a Permanent Nationwide Solution for Year-Round E15:
Fischer: Administrator, a couple of months back, you and Secretary Rollins met with me and several of my colleagues about the importance of Congress passing a permanent, nationwide solution to allow for the year-round sale of E15, and I thank you.
I thank you for acting on the emergency summertime waivers to allow for the year-round sale of E15 again this year. But certainly, this yearly exercise, it needs to be done permanently. We need to pass a solution, a permanent solution, and not have your agency have to go through this product every single year.
On President Trump’s Support of Nationwide Year-Round E15:
Fischer: The President tried to get E15 done permanently through regulation back in 2019, and he has maintained strong support for it since. I want people to understand the history here, Mr. Zeldin.
We have effectively been operating under year-round E15 for the last six years through President Trump’s regulation and then yearly emergency waivers. Is that correct?Zeldin: Yes.
On Congressional Action to Make Permanent Year-Round E15:
Fischer: Is it true that, despite President Trump’s best efforts, if we want real certainty here for consumers, Congress has to act. Is that correct?Zeldin: That is the most durable and easiest solution to this issue.
On Improving EPA Efficiency by Passing Fischer’s Year-Round E15 Legislation:
Fischer: Thank you. And lastly, having that permanent, nationwide legislative solution for the year-round E15 would certainly be a more efficient and effective use of EPA’s time and resources. Is that correct?Zeldin: Yes, Senator, as the Chair pointed out, I’ve been in the position a little over 100 days, and I have had many, many, many meetings about this topic. And a lot of passionate advocacy from, including you, Senator, and your colleagues and your constituents. If Congress was to finalize a long-term, durable solution, so much of that advocacy on your part, all of your time can be better spent fighting for other priorities of your constituents.
Question for written answer E-001806/2025 to the Commission Rule 144 Nikolas Farantouris (The Left)
Greece’s Natural Environmental and Climate Change Agency (NECCA), which is supervised by the Ministry of the Environment and Energy, was established in 2020 following the transposition into Greek law of Directive (EU) 2018/844 and Directive (EU) 2019/692 of the European Parliament and of the Council. The agency is responsible for coordinating national environmental and biodiversity protection policy.
Recent reports from Greek and European media outlets have denounced that NECCA awarded contracts for communication services[1] worth more than EUR 1 million to companies owned by persons with ties to the ruling Nea Dimokratia party – namely Thomas Varvitsiotis and Yiannis Olympios[2]. The reports reveal that one of these companies, Blue Skies, employs staff that in fact work for the Nea Dimokratia party propaganda team, ‘Team Truth’, raising serious questions about the possible diversion of national and European environmental funds for party purposes[3].
At the same time, civil society organisations complain[4] that NECCA is failing to manage protected areas, secure funding and fulfil the country’s obligations under EU law.
In light of the above, can the Commission say:
1.Is the Commission aware of these complaints, which may call into question Greece’s compliance with environmental protection obligations?
2.Does the Commission intend to investigate whether funds earmarked for environmental protection are being misused to fund the ruling group’s political propaganda machine?
The Commission has not been made aware of the project referred to by the Honourable Member but is aware of the importance of protecting natural habitats and species of European and international interest, such as the ecosystems hosted by Lake Trichonida.
The protection of these ecosystems is governed by EU legislation, specifically the Habitats Directive[1] and the Birds Directive[2]. Under Article 6 of the Habitats Directive, if the project is likely to have a significant negative effect on a Natura 2000 site, the competent authorities must conduct an appropriate assessment of its implications for the site in view of its conservation objectives[3].
The project also falls under Annex II[4] to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive[5]. For such projects, there is no automatic obligation for an EIA. Member States have to determine, through a case-by-case examination, by applying thresholds or criteria, or a combination of both, if the project is likely to have significant effects on the environment. If this is the case, an EIA has to be carried out. For projects for which it is determined that an assessment is not required, the determination must be made available to the public and specify the main reasons for not requiring such assessment.
Under the Water Framework Directive[6], it should be ensured that Article 4(7), concerning new modifications to the physical characteristics of a surface water body, is considered.
The primary responsibility for ensuring that renewable energy projects are developed in full compliance with EU law lies with the Greek authorities.
[1] Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7-50.
[2] Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds (Codified version). OJ L 20, 26.1.2010, p. 7-25.
[3] Commission’s guidance document: Guidance on the requirements for hydropower in relation to EU nature legislation, Publications Office of the European Union, 2018, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2779/43645.
[5] Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment, OJ L 26, 28.1.2012, p. 1-21, as amended by Directive 2014/52/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014, OJ L 124, 25.4.2014, p. 1-18.
[6] Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy, OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 1-73.
Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin
May 14, 2025
Streamlining Conservation Practice Standards Act modernizes USDA’s process for updating conservation standards
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, joined U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) to introduce bipartisan legislation, the Streamlining Conservation Practice Standards Act, that would remove bureaucratic barriers and better support farmers in implementing conservation practices that improve soil health and water quality.
“Illinois ranks fourth in the nation in planted cropland, but for years, has ranked as low as 37th in farm conservation funds that USDA distributes to help farmers adopt cover crops, conservation tillage, and other critical environmental practices. USDA’s statewide one-size-fits-all conservation practice rules do not always match the unique needs of each farm,” said Durbin. “This bill creates a process to add more flexibility to these standards, provide routine updates to keep up with the latest innovations, and ensure more academic and farmer input into developing the conservation practices.”
“Traveling across Iowa, I regularly hear from farmers who are eager to implement conservation practices that improve soil health, water quality, and long-term productivity — but they face real barriers when rigid USDA standards slow things down,” said Ernst. “I’m leading the Streamlining Conservation Practice Standards Act to modernize how USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service updates its technical standards. Ultimately, the goal is simple: let’s cut the red tape, let’s keep standards science-based and flexible, and help farmers get conservation tools in use faster.
The Streamlining Conservation Practice Standards Act would update the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) process to:
Require a regular review of existing conservation practice standards,
Create a public process for submitting and adopting new practices, and
Prioritize the integration of innovative tools like nutrient efficiency technologies — biological fertilizer being one example that’s proven to improve plant growth.
The introduction of the legislation follows yesterday’s hearing in the Senate Agriculture Committee, where Durbin spoke about improving USDA conservation programs.
Durbin has long-advocated for Illinois to receive USDA conservation funding that is proportionate to Illinois’ ranking as a top agricultural state. Last August, Durbin led members of the Illinois delegation in writing to USDA, urging the agency to allocate additional conservation funds to Illinois. In her opening statement, Mrs. Dwyer shared that Illinois received an additional $15 million in EQIP funds last year due to outreach by Durbin and others members of the Illinois delegation to USDA.
Durbin has also written about the importance of providing farmers with conservation funding, which allows farmers to plant cover crops to mitigate dangerous, and sometimes deadly, dust storms in Central Illinois.
Reps. Russell Fry (SC-07) and Mike Levin (CA-49) Introduce MAPOceans Act to Enhance Access to Recreational Waterway Data
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressmen Russell Fry (SC-07) and Mike Levin (CA-49) introduced the Modernizing Access to Our Public Oceans (MAPOceans) Act, legislation that will modernize public access to vital data about U.S. waterways. By requiring the Secretary of Commerce to digitize and display real-time marine data through GPS and smartphone applications, the bill aims to improve the recreational experience for boaters and anglers, support safe and legal activity on the water, and strengthen coastal economies.
Building on the success of the MAPLand Act (2022) and the MAPWaters Act (which passed the House in January 2025), the MAPOceans Act would require the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to consolidate, standardize, and digitize public information about U.S. marine waters and make that information easily accessible in real time.
Specifically, the bill would:
Provide real-time status updates on which waterways are open or closed to entry or watercraft, low-elevation aircraft, or diving.
Digitize restrictions related to motorized propulsion, fuel type, and specific types of watercraft (e.g., motorboats, kayaks, personal watercraft, airboats, ships).
Display fishing regulations and restrictions, including no-take zones, marine protected areas, and rules about specific equipment or bait (such as circle hooks or descending devices).
Publish continuously updated geographic information (GIS) data on navigation, bathymetric information, and depth charts.
Require the Department of Commerce to partner with non-federal entities—including states, Indian Tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, private industry, data experts, and academic institutions—to ensure accurate and up-to-date information.
“The MAPOceans Act is a commonsense bill to help Americans enjoy our nation’s waters and coastlines more safely and responsibly,” said Congressman Fry. “Whether you’re a fisherman or a boater, this bill gives individuals the easily accessible real-time information they need and ensures that Americans who rely on our waterways—whether for work or recreation—have the tools to access and enjoy our natural resources.”
“Our district is home to terrific coastal waters that offer recreational and economic benefits to our entire region,” said Congressman Levin. “Every resident and visitor should be able to easily access clear information about how to responsibly enjoy these areas. This bipartisan bill will help ensure that’s the case while promoting the long-term protection of these natural resources. I look forward to working with Rep. Fry to advance this important legislation through the House.”
Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Angus King (I-ME) reintroduced the bill in the Senate, where it passed the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee by voice vote in March 2025.
The bill has received endorsements from the following organizations: South Carolina Boating & Fishing Alliance, American Sportfishing Association, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, International Game Fish Association, Center for Sportfishing Policy, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS), and National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA).
“Boaters and anglers want to follow the rules, but too often those rules are buried in scattered websites or outdated PDFs,” said President and CEO of the South Carolina Boating & Fishing Alliance Gettys Brannon. “For a coastal state like South Carolina, where access to our waterways drives tourism, supports small businesses, and defines our way of life, the MAPOceans Act will bring clarity to the chaos. It gives the public one clear source to understand where they can fish, anchor, or operate. It’s a long-overdue fix that makes federal waterways more accessible and more manageable for everyone on the water. We thank Congressman Fry for his leadership on this important legislation.”
“The MAPOceans Act will provide many benefits for the millions of saltwater anglers who fish our nation’s marine waters every year,” said President and CEO of the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) Glenn Hughes. “This legislation will ease access to information on federal fishing regulations through navigation tools and mapping applications, helping anglers and boaters stay up-to-date with changing regulations and opportunities. ASA and the recreational fishing industry thank Representatives Fry and Levin for their leadership of this legislation, which will simplify access to a wide range of recreational information, allowing anglers to feel confident they’re in compliance with the law as they’re heading out on the water.”
“America’s incredible saltwater recreation opportunities should be easily enjoyed by all,” said President and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership Joel Pedersen. “The MAPOceans Act will help simplify boating and recreational fishing information by digitizing not easily accessible regulations and making them readily available to the public. TRCP thanks Representatives Fry and Levin for their leadership to introduce and advance this important public access legislation.”
“Accurate charts are one of the basic safety tools for all boaters,” said Government Affairs Manager for Boat Owners Association of The United States, BoatUS David Kennedy. “The MAPOceans Act will ensure the information collected by federal agencies will get on the chart plotters, mobile devices and even paper charts that boaters rely upon.”
“The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) applauds the introduction of the MAPOceans Act, which would provide recreational boaters and anglers with more easily accessible resources and information to enjoy America’s waterways in a responsible and safe way,” said NMMA President and CEO Frank Hugelmeyer. “NMMA appreciates Representatives Fry and Levin’s support of the $230 billion recreational boating community and their steadfast leadership on this issue.”
Several organizations also submitted this letter.
Congressman Fry serves on both the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Judiciary Committee. To stay up to date with Congressman Fry and his work for the Seventh District, follow his official Facebook, Instagram, and X pages and visit his website at fry.house.gov.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
ALMATY, May 14 (Xinhua) — The 7th Central Asian Conference on Climate Change was held in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, from Tuesday to Wednesday. The main theme of the event was stated as “Achieving the global goal of climate finance through regional and national actions in Central Asia,” the International Information Center of Turkmenistan reported on Wednesday.
The conference was organized by the Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia and the Government of Turkmenistan, and was held with the support of the World Bank and the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ).
Over the course of two days, representatives of countries in the region and international organizations discussed common approaches to combating climate challenges.
The opening ceremony featured welcoming speeches from the Minister of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan, as well as high-ranking representatives of the World Bank, GIZ, the EU and the UN Development Programme. During a special session, representatives of the World Bank, the UK, the EU and Italy outlined their approaches and spoke about climate finance opportunities for Central Asian countries. Particular attention was paid to mechanisms for the effective use of funds raised.
The key topics of the second day of the event were transboundary landscape restoration and combating land degradation.
Conference participants confirmed their understanding of common climate challenges and the readiness of Central Asian countries to work together, naming the transition from discussions to practical actions as a priority goal and promising to continue work on forming a regional climate agenda and preparing for future summits. –0–
Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito
To watch Chairman Capito’s opening statement, click here.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, led ahearing on the nominations of Sean McMaster to be Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), John Busterud to be Assistant Administrator for the Office of Solid Waste of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Adam Telle to be Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works.
Below is the opening statement of Chairman Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) as delivered.
“This morning, we will hear from three of President Trump’s important nominees. I want to first welcome Mr. Sean McMaster, President Trump’s nominee to serve as Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration or better known as FHWA.
“FHWA is an operating administration within the U.S. Department of Transportation, responsible for providing technical support, we lean on them a lot, and funding to states and local entities. The funding provided by FHWA is critical to facilitating the design and construction of improvements to our surface transportation network.
“These improvements enable the safe and reliable movement of people and goods, which enhances our quality of life and supports economic growth. Mr. McMaster’s relevant professional experience makes him well-qualified to serve as Administrator. He brings more than 10 years of government service, working in the U.S. House of Representatives and at federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Transportation.
“Since mid-2020, Mr. McMaster has worked for two private sector transportation companies. First, he served as a National Practice Consultant and Vice President at HNTB and most recently, he served as the Vice President for Commercial Aviation and Transportation at The Boeing Company.
“One challenge that the FHWA Administrator must quickly tackle is the significant backlog of announced grants that do not have signed grant agreements in place. This inherited workload will require diligence and collaboration to resolve. I am hopeful that Mr. McMaster is confirmed, his experience and leadership at FHWA will accelerate this process. This Committee also looks forward to working with FHWA and others on the long-term, bipartisan surface transportation reauthorization bill.
“Next, I want to welcome Mr. John Busterud, President Trump’s nominee to lead the EPA’s Office of Land and Emergency Management, better known as OLEM. Mr. Busterud’s exceptional experience has prepared him to lead OLEM and tackle some of our nation’s most pressing environmental challenges.
“Following a 31-year environmental legal career, he served as Regional Administrator of the EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. Mr. Busterud also served our country with distinction as an officer in the U.S. Army, deploying many times, and retiring as a decorated Colonel after 23 years of service.
“OLEM’s statutory responsibilities place it at the center of EPA’s core mission: protecting our air, land, and water. If confirmed, Mr. Busterud will oversee programs that directly impact Americans’ health and the environment, such as remediating PFAS contamination, cleaning up Superfund sites, and revitalizing brownfields.
“Addressing PFAS contamination, which affects communities in my state of West Virginia and across this country, is a priority of mine. The EPA recently announced an agency-wide PFAS strategy and OLEM will play a major role in ensuring its success. OLEM is also responsible for cleaning up Superfund sites, which are some of our nation’s most contaminated sites.
“This Committee recently heard about the challenges with cleaning up Superfund sites and there is bipartisan support to improve the program’s efficiency. I look forward to working with Mr. Busterud to implement key reforms to ensure faster, and more cost-effective Superfund cleanups.
“Finally, I want to welcome Mr. Adam Telle, President Trump’s nominee to be the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. Mr. Telle is well-suited to lead the Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works program based on his two decades of public service in the United States Senate, including as my clerk for the Homeland Security Subcommittee and as a Special Assistant to the President in the first Trump Administration.
“Mr. Telle has seen firsthand how the Army Corps’ response to natural disasters can help communities withstand significant weather events and then recover from them. The Army Corps does critical work across the nation through its navigation, flood risk management, and ecosystem restoration missions.
“This work protects the lives and livelihoods of millions of Americans and facilitates commerce throughout our country and internationally. If confirmed, Mr. Telle will also play an integral role in implementing biennial water resources development legislation, better known to all of us on committee as WRDA.
“WRDA authorizes numerous feasibility studies and projects, and directs the Army Corps to carry out various activities to address our nation’s water resources needs. I look forward to working with Mr. Telle to ensure the timely implementation of these laws consistent with congressional intent.
“And I look forward to hearing from our nominees about their experiences and the issues they will prioritize if confirmed to lead these agencies.”
April showers bring May flowers according to an old English saying.
This phrase, which might have originated in a verse written by poet Thomas Tusser in 1557, harks back to a time when most people depended on rough rules that were borne of practical experience to know when to plant crops. “Such weather lore was the only forecast available”, says meteorologist Rob Thompson at the University of Reading.
UK farmers waited in vain for showers this April. The unusually dry month gave lie to the centuries-old expression, which hints at a climate that was generally more obedient to familiar rhythms. The heating of Earth’s atmosphere and ocean, predominantly caused by the mass burning of fossil fuels, has changed that. What we can expect in each season is no longer so assured.
So, how do we keep our bearings on a warming planet?
Forecasters have an enormous challenge in predicting how the weather in each season will change, and in communicating the role of climate change.
“Overall, we can be confident that climate change is bringing warmer conditions in all seasons,” say atmospheric scientists Simon H. Lee and Matthew Patterson at the University of St Andrews. Europe in particular has been a hotspot for warming, with temperatures rising at roughly double the global average.
Patterson suspects that this has already warped our perceptions of what a “normal” season feels like. When a month arrives with temperatures closer to the long-term average for instance, like June 2024, people tend to experience it as unusually cold.
“Scientists also have strong evidence to suggest that drought conditions will become more common,” Lee and Patterson continue.
The UK has had roughly half the rainfall it would usually expect for March and April, and spring 2025 is on track to be the country’s driest on record. Some of the latest research on Earth’s water cycle predicts that these dry bouts will get drier, while wet ones will get wetter, and that the switch from drought to deluge will be more sudden (“weather whiplash”, as some have called it).
This doesn’t fully explain the UK’s record-warm and dry spring, however. There are also “weather blocks” to factor in.
“A blocking event is a disruption to the usual weather patterns of Earth’s middle latitudes,” explains Tim Woollings, a professor in physical climate science at the University of Oxford. In this part of the world it’s the jet stream, a river of air high in the atmosphere, that typically sets the agenda by driving transient weather over the British Isles from the Atlantic.
Since the beginning of March, a zone of high pressure has rested above the UK and blocked the jet stream like a boulder in a river, Lee and Patterson say. The weather has effectively remained “stuck”. This phenomenon is responsible for a lot of extreme weather in the middle latitudes, as blocks prevent relief from heatwaves or cold snaps, Woollings adds.
There isn’t conclusive evidence to suggest these blocks are becoming more common as the climate warms according to Lee and Patterson. But one thing is clear: the climate is incredibly complex – and our continuing intervention in it is reckless.
High-temperature haiku
Seasons are our living world’s accommodation of the variation in day length, temperature and weather during the year.
What we perceive as seasonal features, like the shedding of leaves, the arrival and departure of migratory animals, are the adaptations species have made to the average set of conditions that have remained within a particular range for several thousands of years.
Changes in Earth’s orbit and spin axis gradually influenced the climate and seasons over millennia. More recently, fossil fuel burning has been the dominant influence.
“As such, humanity is currently on the path to compressing millions of years of temperature change into just a couple of centuries,” say ancient climate experts Dan Lunt (University of Bristol) and Darrell Kaufman (Northern Arizona University).
The seasonal signals we once thought of as immutable are changing to match these changing conditions. It’s too much, too fast for most species to deal with – including our own.
To reorient around a rapidly changing climate, we could do as Tusser did six centuries ago, and write poetry.
Haiku is perhaps our most useful cultural barometer of climate change. These poems, which originated in 17th-century Japan, comprise three short lines and usually include a reference to the season in which they were composed.
“A successful haiku could be described as a half-finished poem,” say lecturer in publishing Jasmin Kirkbride (University of East Anglia) and creative writing PhD candidate Paul Chambers (University of Bristol). The listener must complete the scene in their head by linking it with an intense moment of perception from their own life, in which “the vast is perceived in one thing”.
As seasons have shifted, so have their markers in haiku. Snowdrops, once a feature of February haiku, now appear close to Christmas. The language used to describe certain species has altered too, the pair say, to become “soaked in grief”. Butterflies that once formed “clouds” in earlier haiku, for example, are now “lone survivors… pushing against time”.
Kirkbride and Chambers urge a new generation of poets to continue recording these changes in haiku: “The vast climate crisis is upon us, and we should write about it.”
Source: United States Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, is pushing to remove bureaucratic barriers and better support farmers in implementing conservation practices that improve soil health and water quality.
At an Agriculture Committee hearing, she announced her new bipartisan Streamlining Conservation Practice Standards Act, which would update the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) process to:
Require a regular review of existing conservation practice standards,
Create a public process for submitting and adopting new practices, and
Prioritize the integration of innovative tools like nutrient efficiency technologies — biological fertilizer being one example that’s proven to improve plant growth.
Watch Senator Ernst’s remarks here.
“Traveling across Iowa, I regularly hear from farmers who are eager to implement conservation practices that improve soil health, water quality, and long-term productivity — but they face real barriers when rigid USDA standards slow things down,” said Senator Ernst. “I’m leading the Streamlining Conservation Practice Standards Act to modernize how USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service updates its technical standards. Ultimately, the goal is simple: let’s cut the red tape, let’s keep standards science-based and flexible, and help farmers get conservation tools in use faster.”
“Iowa continues to lead and set records in conservation, but there’s still significant work to be done in the years and decades to come. The USDA is an important federal partner in these efforts, and it is essential that we streamline the review and approval of new technologies and practices that are proven to help farmers and landowners improve soil health and water quality,” said Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig.“Improving efficiency, transparency, and predictability within federal programs will help us strengthen our partnerships, accelerate the adoption of conservation practices and make progress on Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy goals.”
“By leveraging innovations in regenerative agriculture and soil health practices, we can help farmers and producers make their working lands more resilient,” said Senator Heinrich. “Our bipartisan legislation accomplishes this by updating and streamlining the process for developing new conservation practice standards at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service. This will allow producers to build more resilience into their operations.”
“Streamlining updates to conservation practice standards helps cut the bureaucratic red tape that our farmers have been wrongly forced to navigate. Our producers work hard to find new, innovative ways to work the land while conserving its resources, and the federal government should be a partner in doing so — not a roadblock,” said Senator Marshall. “I’m proud to work on this bipartisan solution with Senator Ernst to ensure farmers have the tools necessary to support conservation efforts and help producers leave their land better than they found it.”
“Illinois ranks fourth in the nation in planted cropland, but for years, has ranked as low as 37th in farm conservation funds that USDA distributes to help farmers adopt cover crops, conservation tillage, and other critical environmental practices. USDA’s statewide one-size-fits-all conservation practice rules do not always match the unique needs of each farm,” said Senator Durbin. “This bill creates a process to add more flexibility to these standards, provide routine updates to keep up with the latest innovations, and ensure more academic and farmer input into developing the conservation practices.”
Background:Ernst has long held that farmers are the original conservationists and pushed to remove red tape from USDA conservation programs to make these tools more accessible.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Roy M. Farman, Adjunct Associate Lecturer, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney
Australian tree frogs today make up over one third of all known frog species on the continent. Among this group, iconic species such as the green tree frog (Litoria caerulea) and the green and golden bell frog (Litoria aurea), are both beloved for their vivid colours and distinctive calls.
In the Early Eocene epoch, 55 million years ago, Australia’s tree frogs were hopping across the Australian continent from one billabong to the next through a forested corridor that also extended back across Antarctica to South America. These were the last remnants of ancient supercontinent Gondwana.
In new research published today in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, we identify Australia’s earliest known species of tree frog – one that once hopped and croaked around an ancient lake near the town of Murgon in south-eastern Queensland.
This research demonstrates tree frogs were present in Australia 30 million years earlier than previously thought, living alongside Australia’s earliest known snakes, songbirds and marsupials.
A common ancestor
Tree frogs (Pelodryadidae) have expanded discs on their fingers and toes enabling them to climb trees. Despite their name, however, they are known to occupy a wide range of habitats, from fast-flowing streams to ephemeral ponds.
Australia’s previously earliest tree frogs were recovered from Late Oligocene (about 26 million years old) and Early Miocene (23 million years old) fossil deposits. Late Oligocene frog fossils were found at Kangaroo Well in the Northern Territory and Lake Palankarinna in South Australia. They were also recently found in many deposits from the Riversleigh World Heritage Area in Queensland.
Artist’s reconstruction of the new species Litoria tylerantiqua (right) and previously described species Platyplectrum casca (left). Samantha Yabsley
It has long been known that South American tree frogs and Australian tree frogs shared a common Gondwanan ancestor. What is unknown is when this common ancestor lived.
Based on some molecular data, it has been estimated that the two groups separated from this common ancestor as recent as 32.9 million years ago.
A diverse fossil deposit
Our new study was based on frog fossils from a deposit near the town of Murgon, located on the traditional lands of the Waka Waka people of south-eastern Queensland. These fossils accumulated some 55 million years ago. This was between the time when a colossal meteorite took out the non-flying dinosaurs and the time when Australia broke free from the rest of Gondwana to become an isolated continent.
CT scans of preserved frogs were used to compare the three-dimensional shape of the fossil bones with those of living species. Roy Farman/UNSW Sydney
We used CT scans of frogs preserved in ethanol from Australian museum collections to compare the three-dimensional shape of the fossil bones with those of living species. This method is called three-dimensional geometric morphometrics. It has only been used on fossil frogs once before.
Using these new methods, we can unravel the relationships of these fossils to all other groups of frogs – both living and extinct.
Pushing back the evolutionary tree
From its diagnostic ilium (one of three paired pelvic bones), we identified a new species of Litoria from the family Pelodryadidae. We named this species Litoria tylerantiqua in honour of the late Michael Tyler, a renowned Australian herpetologist globally celebrated for his research on frogs and toads.
Litoria tylerantiqua joins the only other Murgon frog discovered so far, the ground-dwelling Platyplectrum casca, as the oldest frogs known from Australia. Both species have living relatives in Australia and New Guinea. This demonstrates the remarkable resilience over time of some of Australia’s most fragile creatures.
Our new research provides crucial new understanding that helps to calibrate molecular clock studies. This is a method scientists use to estimate when different species split from a common ancestor based on the calculated rate of genetic change over time.
Our research indicates the separation of Australian tree frogs and South American tree frogs is at minimum 55 million years ago. This pushes back the estimated molecular separation time for these groups by 22 million years.
Three left sided ilia (pelvic fossil bones) which collectively provided the diagnostic information needed to identify the new species. UNSW Sydney/Roy Farman
New insights to help endangered species
Unravelling the deep-time changes in the diversity and evolution of the ancestors of today’s living animals can provide important new insights into the way these groups have responded in the past to previous challenges. These challenges include former natural cycles of climate change.
The more we know about the fossil record, the more likely we will better anticipate future responses to similar challenges, including human-induced climate change.
This is especially important for critically endangered species such as the Southern Corroboree Frog and Baw Baw Frog. Now restricted to alpine habitats in New South Wales and Victoria, they are at serious risk of extinction due to global warming.
Roy M. Farman received funding from the Research Training Program through the University of New South Wales.
Mike Archer has received funding from the Australian Research Council, the Australian Geographic Society, the National Geographic Society, the Riversleigh Society Inc and private funding from Phil Creaser (the CREATE Fund in UNSW), K. and M. Pettit, D. and A. Jeanes and other benefactors.
UAB „Orkela“ (hereinafter – the Company) is a private limited company, registered with VĮ „Registrų centras“ on September 24, 2015.
Registered office address: Jogailos g. 4, Vilnius. The Company has no branches or representative offices.
Main Business Activities
The Company’s primary activity is real estate development and construction. The Company owns a land plot and a building complex located at Vasario 16-osios g. 1, Vilnius. The Company is developing a lyceum and hotel complex near St. Philip and St. Jacob Church and Monastery in Vilnius.
Key Events in Q1 2025
January 9, 2025 – A bondholders’ meeting was held, where a decision was made to extend the bond redemption deadline until July 19, 2025.
April 10, 2025 – The State Territorial Planning and Construction Inspectorate under the Ministry of Environment approved the completion of the construction of the administrative part of the development project.
Financial Overview for Q1 2025
During the first quarter of 2025, the Company invested €9.7 million in project development.
During this period, the Company incurred €269.8 thousand in project-related expenses and €892.7 thousand in project financing costs.
As of March 31, 2025, the Company’s assets totaled €60,825 thousand (compared to €52,376 thousand as of December 31, 2024).
After careful consideration, long discussions with my family, and lots of prayers, I have decided to step down from my position as Commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) at the end of the month, to pursue new opportunities. This decision is not easy, and it breaks my heart to leave the agency that I have grown to love so much over the last five years. It has been a privilege to work and serve at the CFTC in both the first and the current Trump Administrations, doing my part to assist in pursuing the President’s important policies. While I have spoken often of my agricultural roots, I have not spent much time talking about my upbringing. My parents did not go to college. They went straight from high school to the workforce. My dad worked from the early morning hours until late at night, and my mom sometimes worked two jobs to make ends meet. We lived in a small trailer house, our family outings were church on Sunday, and the only time we ate out was when our church hosted a potluck lunch after Mass. Despite the lack of material comforts, we never lacked love, support, or encouragement. My parents sacrificed so that my siblings and I could live out our dreams. My background really is not unique or noteworthy, and I suspect many Americans share a similar life story. I share this to explain just how grateful I am for the opportunities I have had throughout my life. When I started answering phones for Congressman John Thune in the summer of 1999, I could not possibly imagine the career opportunities before me, and I am still in awe today. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my parents who worked to support my dreams, and to Majority Leader John Thune who took a chance on a small-town kid from Onida, South Dakota. Over the last three years as a commissioner, I have been incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by a stellar team who made me look good every day. Thank you to Terry Arbit, Libby Mastrogiacomo, Josh Beale and Tim Achinger for sharing your brilliant legal minds and for all the hours and effort you selflessly contributed over the years. Thanks to Lauren Fulks, an absolute hidden gem in the agency, who took my vision for the Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee (“EEMAC”) and made it a reality, and Lillian Cardona and JonMarc Buffa for diligently working with an extraordinary team of professionals to create masterful reports from our EEMAC subcommittees. A special thanks to the members of the EEMAC for their intellectual curiosity and willingness to go “off-road” in the pursuit of understanding America’s energy sector. I also want to thank LaTasha Pate and Janet Schmautz for keeping the office, and the staff, running smoothly. And finally, I need to say thank you to my chief of staff, Chris Lucas. The title of chief of staff does not come close to covering all of Chris’s duties over the last few years. Chris was the optimism to my realism, the morning person to my hatred of anything happening before 10 am, my cheerleader, and the voice of reason when I needed someone to tell me the hard truth. Thank you to all my staff for working so hard on my behalf and on behalf of the CFTC and, most importantly, thank you for your willingness to tell me “No” when I needed to hear it. I will miss the work and my fellow commissioners, who have become close friends. But most of all, I will miss the amazing team at the CFTC. The talented staff at this agency are true public servants committed to fulfilling the agency’s mission. They are the heart of the agency and of great value to the United States government. It has been an honor to both work with you and learn from you. Thank you. I have always loved the following quote from A.A. Milne, and I can think of no better words to express my sentiment as I prepare to step into the next adventure in my career: “How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (12th District of Michigan)
Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-06), co-chair of the PFAS Task Force, released the following statement in response to reports that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to rescind the landmark PFAS drinking water standard implemented last year.
“I see the urgent threat of PFAS firsthand in Michigan, and this is a problem many communities across our country are facing and working hard to rectify. After years of fighting, the EPA issued a final rule to limit the levels of PFAS commonly found in drinking water, an important step to keep forever chemicals out of our homes. Rescinding this standard means more Americans will be poisoned and harmful PFAS contamination will continue to spread. Too many people have already suffered the adverse effects of PFAS exposure, and we must do everything possible to combat this dangerous public health threat.”
The national drinking water standard issued last year by the EPA set legally enforceable levels, called Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs), for six PFAS commonly known to occur in drinking water. The EPA estimates this rule will prevent PFAS exposure in drinking water for approximately 100 million people, prevent thousands of deaths, and reduce tens of thousands of serious PFAS-attributable illnesses.
Dingell has long led the fight against PFAS as the author of the PFAS Action Act, which includes establishing a strong national drinking water standard.
ADVISORY – HARRISBURG – Shapiro Administration to Announce Student Winners of Lyme Disease Art Contest, Remind Public to Take Proper Tick Precautions While Outdoors
The Shapiro Administration officials from the Departments of Health (DOH), Environmental Protection (DEP), and Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) will announce the student winners of the 2025 Lyme disease art contest.
Pennsylvania students in grades first through sixth were encouraged to enter the contest by submitting a poster or video about avoiding exposure to ticks based on the theme “Protect. Check. Remove.” There are 27 students who will be recognized for their submissions to the art poster and video submission categories from across the Commonwealth.
WHO: Special Advisor to the Secretary of Health, Dr. Robert Bonacci DEP Policy Director High Garst DCNR Executive Policy Specialist Ali Bowling Student art contest winners, teachers, and parents
WHEN: May 15, at 11:00 AM
WHERE: Pennsylvania Capitol Building Main Rotunda 501 North 3rd Street Harrisburg, PA 17120
VISUAL: A tick mascot, student award winners, student artwork, tick-borne disease resources.
MEDIA RSVP: Media interested in attending must RSVP with the name of the reporter and photojournalist to ra-dhpressoffice@pa.gov.
Writing in today’s Evening News, Transport and Environment Convener Stephen Jenkinson goes into some of the key transport business of the day.
At the end of April, I was lucky enough to visit the North Bridge and see firsthand the specialist work that we’re undertaking to restore this structure to its former glory. This site was one of the first places I visited when taking over as Convener last year and I’m very impressed with the progress that the project team has made since then. One particularly striking element was the paintwork being completed by hand on the cast iron façade. This is in addition to resurfacing work, grit blasting structural steelwork, repairing and improving the footway paving and underdrainage amongst a host of other improvements. I’m really excited for the scaffolding to come down and unveil this piece of Edinburgh’s history – restored ready to step into the modern age.
Regarding modernity, another significant development that is on the way is the Tap On Tap Off (ToTo) launch which is set for next week. This new integrated ticketing system across both Edinburgh Trams and Lothian Buses will allow residents and visitors to travel more efficiently and at the best value; with ticket prices automatically capped at the cheapest daily and weekly rate.
Our excellent public transport system is an inclusive form of travel, which provides an alternative to car use for people across the city, but in particular for people with lower incomes or those with mobility issues. Encouraging low carbon travel is also a key element of our wider climate ambitions and I’m sure this development will encourage greater use of our public transport network.
I’m committed to keeping Edinburgh moving and ToTo is a very welcome addition.
In terms of committee business, one key report which we’ll consider next week is on the prioritisation of the City Mobility Plan. This report sets out our proposed capital investment programme over the next decade, including which projects to take forward and which to pause. Prioritising allows us to work smarter with the resources we have available – making sure we have a clear and achievable path to achieving our objectives.
These goals include improving how we move around the city, including prioritising public transport, providing safer conditions for walking, wheeling and cycling and reducing harmful emissions.
When considering prioritisation, we scored projects against 15 separate criteria points which include impact on road safety, public transport, inequality, and capital raising challenges.
This is a complex and thorough piece of work which allows the City Mobility Plan to be agile, and able to adapt in the future as necessary.
However, one key element in this conversation is the fact that we remain dependent on external funding for many projects, particularly from the Scottish Government and by extension Transport Scotland.
Complex projects which take years to plan and complete but which are subject to annual external funding decisions makes this situation inherently difficult, we need commitment and stability from the Scottish Government if we’re to deliver the changes which our city needs and deserves.
I look forward to debating this important issue with colleagues next week.
We live in interesting and ever evolving times for transport in Edinburgh. I’m committed to keeping the city moving sustainably as we press ahead with our bold vision for the future.
Source: Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – From left to right: Anastasia Gancheva, Daria Antipina, Anastasia Perlina
Director of the historical and information center of SPbGASU Elena Klimenko explained the relevance of the competition: the museum funds contain the “Book of Glory”, it was prepared for the 40th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The creation of this book was preceded by long-term work on searching and collecting information about students, teachers, and employees of the university who went to the front and did not return from the war.
“Our archive contains two thick folders with responses to letters that were sent to different parts of the country by university employees in search of relatives, fellow soldiers, friends who had at least some information about the deceased. The result of this painstaking work was the “Book of Glory”, which contains a brief biographical note about each soldier. It was planned to place it on the balustrade next to the memorial plaques to show it to guests, students and the university staff. We want to make it accessible and at the same time protect it as a museum exhibit, while thinking about the possibility of demonstrating the pages of the book,” said Elena Klimenko.
High level projects
Presenting diplomas and gifts, Vice-Rector for Youth Policy at SPbGASU Marina Malyutina emphasized that it was difficult to determine the best projects, since each one was completed at a high level and had its own unique idea.
“We want to bring the best project to life, so one of the main evaluation criteria was the possibility of implementation, and in a fairly short time. This requires the ability to design well not only a beautiful unique project, but also one that meets the requirements and wishes of the customer. Such experience is necessary in professional activities: understanding the customer’s goal, the ability to talk to him, to hear him determine the success of the architect. Therefore, next year we intend to actively develop student project activities taking into account implementation,” said Marina Malyutina.
Dean of the Faculty of Architecture of SPbGASU Ekaterina Voznyak confirmed the high level of the competition entries, emphasizing that until recently the Department of Architectural Environment Design had hardly designed interiors, but today professional design projects were presented here.
Head of the Department of Architectural Environment Design at SPbGASU Maria Granstrem agreed with the high assessment of the works.
“The competition task was quite difficult even for a practicing architect, since it was necessary to solve the problem of updating the interior in the context of the style of the historical university building, but with modern means, breathing new life into the memorial space. The guys approached the project creatively, the competition significantly raised their level of preparation, and we believe that third-year students now have a solid foundation for designing any interior solution,” noted Maria Granstrem.
Winners reveal secret of success
The winners were Daria Antipina, Anastasia Gancheva and Anastasia Perlina. “While searching for an idea for the project, we came up with the image of wheat: a symbol of life, war, siege bread… We began to convey this image throughout our project. Despite the fact that the Corner of Military Glory is located quite far from the museum, we chose a single style for these spaces. One of the most important points is modularity: everything is tied to cubes, they can be moved, assembled into structures. Modularity is reflected not only in the furniture, but also in the lighting. Therefore, both rooms can be used in different scenarios. We took into account the customer’s wishes and are glad that we succeeded,” shared Daria Antipina.
Anastasia Perlina added that the accent in the project is the signature brick-red color of SPbGASU, with the help of which the authors placed accents. In addition, a unified lighting system has been developed, which “descends” from the ceiling to the walls to illuminate the stands. All this creates a unified composition.
“In the process of work, we developed several ideas, analyzed them in detail and chose the best one. In addition, we studied the experience of professionals. For example, we visited a community center built in the fifties of the last century, where the floor is made of stone slabs, and between them – colored metal inserts. We decided to borrow this interesting experience and placed such inserts in red color,” explained Anastasia Perlina.
The authors of the winning project admit that the success of their working group is also due to the fact that they are friends and it was easy for them to find a common language. And working together on the project was a useful experience.
Second place went to Arina Avidzba and Ulyana Sivachenko. Third place went to Aslan Osmanov, Polina Tambova and Sergey Klechkovsky.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe – OSCE
Headline: OSCE helps Central Asian practitioners tackle youth crime at its roots
Participants at a regional training course on multi-stakeholder co-operation in youth crime prevention for law enforcement and social services professionals, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, 14 May 2025. (OSCE) Photo details
As part of efforts to help prevent young people from becoming criminals, the OSCE Transnational Threats Department and the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities held a regional training course on multi-stakeholder co-operation in youth crime prevention for law enforcement and social services professionals from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on 13 and 14 May.
The 28 participants were law enforcement and social services sector representatives who work with and for youth. They took part in interactive sessions, group work, and expert-led discussion to strengthen their knowledge and skills in identifying and prioritizing youth crime cases, and addressing root causes such as social vulnerability, exposure to criminal recruitment and lack of access to support services.
The course participants also explored how international models can be adapted to address local and regional challenges. They placed particular emphasis on the German “Kurve Kriegen” youth crime prevention initiative as an example of a good practice.
Looking at the future, participants discussed next steps and national follow-up activities, including potential pilot youth crime prevention practices inspired by international good practices. They concluded the event by committing to turning their ideas into concrete action and strengthening early prevention efforts across Central Asia.
The training course was part of the OSCE-wide multi-year extrabudgetary project “Enhancing youth crime and drug use prevention through education on legality and awareness campaigns addressing threats of organized crime and corruption”, funded by Germany with additional support from Andorra, Finland, Italy, Norway, Poland and Thailand.
Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Peter Draper, Professor, and Executive Director: Institute for International Trade, and Jean Monnet Chair of Trade and Environment, University of Adelaide
Defying expectations, the United States and China have announced an important agreement to de-escalate bilateral trade tensions after talks in Geneva, Switzerland.
The good, the bad and the ugly
The good news is their recent tariff increases will be slashed. The US has cut tariffs on Chinese imports from 145% to 30%, while China has reduced levies on US imports from 125% to 10%. This greatly eases major bilateral trade tensions, and explains why financial markets rallied.
The bad news is twofold. First, the remaining tariffs are still high by modern standards. The US average trade-weighted tariff rate was 2.2% on January 1 2025, while it is now estimated to be up to 17.8%. This makes it the highest tariff wall since the 1930s.
Overall, it is very likely a new baseline has been set. Bilateral tariff-free trade belongs to a bygone era.
Second, these tariff reductions will be in place for 90 days, while negotiations continue. Talks will likely include a long list of difficult-to-resolve issues. China’s currency management policy and industrial subsidies system dominated by state-owned enterprises will be on the table. So will the many non-tariff barriers Beijing can turn on and off like a tap.
China is offering to purchase unspecified quantities of US goods – in a repeat of a US-China “Phase 1 deal” from Trump’s first presidency that was not implemented. On his first day in office in January, amid a blizzard of executive orders, Trump ordered a review of that deal’s implementation. The review found China didn’t follow through on the agriculture, finance and intellectual property protection commitments it had made.
Unless the US has now decided to capitulate to Beijing’s retaliatory actions, it is difficult to see the US being duped again.
Failure to agree on these points would reveal the ugly truth that both countries continue to impose bilateral export controls on goods deemed sensitive, such as semiconductors (from the US to China) and processed critical minerals (from China to the US).
Moreover, in its so-called “reciprocal” negotiations with other countries, the US is pressing trading partners to cut certain sensitive China-sourced goods from their exports destined for US markets. China is deeply unhappy about these US demands and has threatened to retaliate against trading partners that adopt them.
A temporary truce
Overall, the announcement is best viewed as a truce that does not shift the underlying structural reality that the US and China are locked into a long-term cycle of escalating strategic competition.
That cycle will have its ups (the latest announcement) and downs (the tariff wars that preceded it). For now, both sides have agreed to announce victory and focus on other matters.
For the US, this means ensuring there will be consumer goods on the shelves in time for Halloween and Christmas, albeit at inflated prices. For China, it means restoring some export market access to take pressure off its increasingly ailing economy.
As neither side can vanquish the other, the likely long-term result is a frozen conflict. This will be punctuated by attempts to achieve “escalation dominance”, as that will determine who emerges with better terms. Observers’ opinions on where the balance currently lies are divided.
Along the way, and to use a quote widely attributed to Winston Churchill, to “jaw-jaw is better than to war-war”. Fasten your seat belts, there is more turbulence to come.
Where does this leave the rest of us?
Significantly, the US has not (so far) changed its basic goals for all its bilateral trade deals.
Its overarching aim is to cut the goods trade deficit by reducing goods imports and eliminating non-tariff barriers it says are “unfairly” prohibiting US exports. The US also wants to remove barriers to digital trade and investments by tech giants and “derisk” certain imports that it deems sensitive for national security reasons.
The agreement between the US and UK last week clearly reflects these goals in operation. While the UK received some concessions, the remaining tariffs are higher, at 10% overall, than on April 2 and subject to US-imposed import quotas. Furthermore, the UK must open its market for certain goods while removing China-originating content from steel and pharmaceutical products destined for the US.
For Washington’s Pacific defence treaty allies, including Australia, nothing has changed. Potentially difficult negotiations with the Trump administration lie ahead, particularly if the US decides to use our security dependencies as leverage to wring concessions in trade. Japan has already disavowed linking security and trade, and their progress should be closely watched.
The US has previously paused high tariffs on manufacturing nations in South-East Asia, particularly those used by other nations as export platforms to avoid China tariffs. Vietnam, Cambodia and others will face sustained uncertainty and increasingly difficult balancing acts. The economic stakes are higher for them.
They, like the Japanese, are long-practised in the subtle arts of balancing the two giants. Still, juggling ties with both Washington and Beijing will become the act of an increasingly high-wire trapeze artist.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
If the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, meet in Istanbul on May 15, territory – and who controls it – will be high on their agenda.
Putin offered to start direct talks between Russia and Ukraine at a press conference on May 11. Donald Trump pushed Zelensky to accept this offer in a social media post, saying that “Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY.”
The Ukrainian president, still buoyed by a meeting with the British, French, German and Polish leaders that called for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, agreed shortly afterwards.
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These 2022 negotiations focused on Ukraine becoming a permanently neutral state and on which nations would provide security guarantees for any deal. They also relegated discussions over Crimea to separate negotiations with a ten-to-15-year timeframe.
Russia uses the phrase “the current situation on the ground” as thinly disguised code for territorial questions that have become more contentious over the past three years. This relates to Russian gains on the battlefield and the illegal annexation of four Ukrainian regions in September 2022 (in addition to Crimea, which Russia also illegally annexed in 2014).
Russia’s position, as articulated recently by the country’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, is that “the international recognition of Crimea, Sevastopol, the DPR, the LPR, the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions as part of Russia is … imperative”.
This is clearly a non-starter for Ukraine, as repeatedly stated by Zelensky. There could, however, be some flexibility on accepting that some parts of sovereign Ukrainian territory are under temporary Russian control. This has been suggested by both Trump’s Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, and Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko.
Institute for the Study of War.
Black Sea’s strategic value
The territories that Russia currently occupies, and claims, in Ukraine have varying strategic, economic and symbolic value for Moscow and Kyiv. The areas with the greatest strategic value include Crimea and the territories on the shores of the Azov Sea, which provide Russia with a land corridor to Crimea.
The international recognition of Crimea as part of Russia, as apparently suggested under the terms of an agreement hashed out by Putin and Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, could expand the areas of the Black Sea that Russia can claim to legally control.
This could then be used by the Kremlin as a launchpad for renewed attacks on Ukraine and to threaten Nato’s eastern maritime flank in Romania and Bulgaria. Any permanent recognition of Russia’s control of these territories is, therefore, unacceptable to Ukraine and its European partners.
Donetsk and Luhansk are of lower strategic value, compared with Crimea and the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. However, they do have economic value because of the substantial resources located there. These include some of the mineral and other resources that were the subject of a separate deal which the US and Ukraine concluded on April 30.
They also include Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia and a large labour force among their estimated population of between 4.5 million to 5.5 million people who will be critical to Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction.
Beyond the strategic and economic value of the illegally occupied territories, the symbolism that both sides attach to their control is the most significant obstacle to any deal, given how irreconcilable Moscow’s and Kyiv’s positions are. For both sides, control of these territories, or loss thereof, is what defines victory or defeat in the war.
Putin may be able to claim that some territorial gains in Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022 are a victory for Russia. But even for him any compromise that would see Russia give up territory that it has conquered – often at exceptionally high cost – would be a risky gamble for the stability of his regime.
Anything less than the complete restoration of the country’s territorial integrity in its 1991 borders would imply recognition of defeat in the war for Ukraine. This would critically threaten the stability of the Zelensky government, whose political programme rests on exactly the premise of a return to the 1991 borders.
Long-term consequences
As a result, the Ukrainian leadership has become hostage to its own information strategy, which has placed the “return of all territories” at the top of the criteria for victory. This is a goal widely shared among Ukrainians, according to a poll conducted by the Razumkov Center in March 2025. But it will be hard to achieve.
Apart from the potential domestic fall-out from any territorial compromises that Ukraine may be forced to make, there is another reason why the territorial question has become so intractable.
Beyond any strategic, economic and symbolic value that the occupied Ukrainian territories hold from the Kremlin’s perspective, control over territory has always been an instrument for Russia to pursue its broader geopolitical agenda of exercising influence over its neighbours – from Moldova, to Georgia, Armenia and Ukraine.
It is also important to remember that Russia’s territorial claims in Ukraine have gradually expanded since 2014. Until September 2022, when it annexed the other four regions, Russia laid claim to Crimea only.
There is no guarantee that any territorial concession from Kyiv now would put a permanent end to Moscow’s territorial expansionism. It is therefore worrying that Trump envoy Witkoff, in an interview with the Breitbart news website, reiterated the US view that the two sides need to find compromises on who controls which territories.
Russia’s aggression against Ukraine was not a war over territory as such, but was part of Moscow’s agenda to restore the sphere of influence that it lost at the end of the cold war. This agenda is far from finished.
The strategy of both Moscow and Washington to focus on territorial consequences may lead to a ceasefire. But it will not address the fundamental issue of how to deal with a vengeful and revisionist autocracy on Europe’s doorsteps.
Stefan Wolff is a past recipient of grant funding from the Natural Environment Research Council of the UK, the United States Institute of Peace, the Economic and Social Research Council of the UK, the British Academy, the NATO Science for Peace Programme, the EU Framework Programmes 6 and 7 and Horizon 2020, as well as the EU’s Jean Monnet Programme. He is a Trustee and Honorary Treasurer of the Political Studies Association of the UK and a Senior Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Centre in London.
Tetyana Malyarenko does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Over the coming year, dedicated teams of cleansing staff from the Council are making their way around the Capital with the aim of sprucing up each neighbourhood and ward.
The funding being used is almost a million pounds of additional resource allocated in the February 2024 budget to be used this year as well as the same amount each year going forward.
The ‘Pride in our City’ project began in March when teams concentrated their efforts around the Leith Walk area (Ward 12) clearing 36 tonnes of dog fouling, litter, dumped items, graffiti, weeds and chewing gum.
The Council is using a dedicated website and email address www.edinburgh.gov.uk/cleanstreets and cleanstreets@edinburgh.gov.uk to keep residents up-to-date on when they will be in their area and asking residents to help them prioritise where they think the work most needs to be carried out. Community events are listed on the webpage and how to get involved.
Work is now moving to the Leith area (Ward 13) for the next few weeks where the team has its first community event tonight (Wednesday 14 May). This will help the cleansing teams prioritise which streets should be cleaned. They will also carry out inspections of each neighbourhood they work in and use complaint data to help prioritise the streets that most need to be spruced up.
Social media is also being used to keep residents up-to-date with progress and signage is being placed in areas where the cleansing teams are working to make local residents and businesses aware.
As the teams work in each area around the city, they will also report any other issues they spot, such as pot holes looked after by other Council teams, but which need addressed.
Cllr Stephen Jenkinson Environment Convener said:
I’m really pleased to see this project progressing with the additional funding we allocated last year as it is so important that we all take pride in our city. We’re playing our part as a Council and we’re asking residents in every neighbourhood and ward across Edinburgh to do the same. We are a stunning Capital city popular not only with our residents but also with visitors from across the globe so it’s very important that we all make an effort to do all we can to keep the city looking its best.
I’d encourage you to check out our dedicated webpage for updates on when we are coming to your neighbourhood/ward and let us know if there are particular issues in streets in your area such as dog fouling, fly tipping, weeds, graffiti or general littering. If you live, work or study in the Leith area and are aware of streets causing issues which need to be cleaned, I’d also encourage you to go along tonight and tell the team or email them using the dedicated email address.
Also for residents and visitors to Edinburgh please make sure you play your part helping us to keep our beautiful Capital city clean by binning your litter responsibly when out and about. For our residents please recycle where possible and book a special uplift appointment for bulker items if you are unable to book a slot at one of our Household and Waste Recycling Centres for appropriate disposal.
The review process is careful for a reason – and perhaps the only real method of speeding it up is the one Zeldin has proposed: reassigning staff so there are more people to share the work.
The EPA, which regulates pesticides in the U.S., defines a pesticide as any substance or mixture of substances intended to prevent, destroy, repel or mitigate any pest, such as weeds, insects and organisms, that attack plants.
Pesticides are often referred to as toxins when found in food, water bodies or other places where they are not intended. But just because something is detected doesn’t mean it’s harmful to humans or wildlife. Toxicity depends on how much of the substance a person or animal is exposed to, how they are exposed to it – such as breathing it, or getting it on their skin – and for how long.
In 1970, the newly formed EPA took over responsibility for pesticides. It shifted its focus to the safety of consumers, farmworkers and the environment after the Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act took effect in 1972.
The EPA determines whether the risks to people, animals or the environment are too high for the benefits the pesticide provides and whether any of those risks can be reduced. Sometimes a chemical’s risk can be lessened by recommending mitigation strategies such as wearing protective clothing, reducing environmental spread by barring the use of pesticides near the edges of a property, or decreasing the amount of a pesticide that’s legal to use.
The EPA uses all the available data on a pesticide to evaluate the dose that would be toxic to a range of organisms, as well as what residues the pesticide may leave on plants, in the soil and in water. The data is incorporated into computer models that estimate the potential amount of the chemical that may come in contact with humans, animals and the environment. Those models’ results are then combined with toxicity data to determine risk.
The models used by EPA scientists are very conservative. They often use significant overestimates of exposure, which means that when the models determine the risk of a pesticide is below a particular level, they are evaluating the risk posed by far higher quantities of the chemical than will ever actually be used. The risk from the amount actually used, therefore, is even less likely to cause harm.
If a pesticide is found to potentially be dangerous to a protected species or its habitat, the EPA will discuss those findings with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service, which enforce the Endangered Species Act, and determine what to do to ensure the species aren’t harmed.
The law’s requirement to reevaluate each pesticide every 15 years is based on the fact that science evolves and information becomes more precise. New data can shed light on potential risks and benefits, and even lead to pesticides being banned or more closely restricted.
Until recently, for instance, pesticide residues on plants, food and in the environment were measured in parts per million. Newer equipment can measure even smaller amounts, determining parts per billion, which is as precise as identifying one single second in 32 years. Some chemicals can even be measured in parts per trillion, equivalent to one drop of water in 20 Olympic-size swimming pools. That means exposures can be more accurately measured. While some chemicals can be toxic in very small concentrations, most pesticides can be detected at levels that do not pose a biological risk.
Allowing a pesticide to be used
If the EPA determines that a pesticide’s risks outweigh its benefits, then its staff will conduct additional analyses to determine how to mitigate the risks enough to justify using it. If that’s not possible, the EPA will reject the application and not allow the pesticide to be used in the U.S.
If the agency determines that the benefits outweigh the risks, the EPA approves the pesticide for sale and use in the U.S. The law requires the pesticide come with a label providing a strict set of guidelines for how, when and where to use the pesticide.
The guidelines define amounts and timing for applying the pesticide safely, and specific restrictions or protection strategies to control the target pests while eliminating or minimizing harm to the environment, workers and the public.
Jeffrey Gore receives funding from the USDA-ARS and has received funding from various state and national commodity boards, and chemical and biotechnology companies in the past.
Jeffrey Gore served on the EPA’s Farm, Ranch and Rural Communities Committee from 2019 to 2024.
Sitting in my doctor’s examination room, I was surprised when she told me, “Genetics don’t really matter for chronic disease.” Rather, she continued, “A person’s lifestyle, what they eat, and how much they exercise, determine whether they get heart disease.”
As a researcher who studies the genetics of disease, I don’t fully disagree – lifestyle factors play a large role in determining who gets a disease and who doesn’t. But they are far from the entire story. Since scientists mapped out the human genome in 2003, researchers have learned that genetics also play a large role in a person’s disease risk.
Studies that focus on estimating disease heritability – that is, how much genetic differences explain differences in disease risk – usually attribute a substantial fraction of disease variation to genetics. Mutations across the entire genome seem to play a role in diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, which is about 17% heritable, and schizophrenia, which is about 80% heritable. In contrast to diseases such as Tay-Sachs or cystic fibrosis, where mutations in a single gene cause a disease, chronic diseases tend to be polygenic, meaning they’re influenced by multiple mutations at many genes across the whole genome.
Every complex disease has both genetic and environmental risk factors. Most researchers study these factors separately because of technical challenges and a lack of large, uniform datasets. Although some have devised techniques to overcome these challenges, they haven’t yet been applied to a comprehensive set of diseases and environmental exposures.
In our recently published research, my colleague Alkes Priceand I developed tools to leverage newly available datasets to quantify the joint effects that genetic and environmental risk factors have on the biology underlying disease.
Aspirin, genetics and colon cancer
To illustrate the effect gene-environment interactions have on disease, let’s consider the example of aspirin use and colon cancer.
In 2001, researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center were studying how regularly taking aspirin decreased the risk of colon cancer. They wondered whether genetic mutations that slowed down how quickly the body broke down aspirin – meaning aspirin levels in the body would stay high longer – might increase the drug’s protective effect against colon cancer. They were right: Only patients with slow aspirin metabolism had a decreased risk of colon cancer, indicating that the effectiveness of a drug can depend on a person’s genetics.
This raises the question of how genetics and different combinations of environmental exposures, such as the medications a patient is taking, can affect a person’s disease risk and how effective a treatment will be for them. How many cases of genetic variations directly influencing a drug’s effectiveness are there?
Rather than ‘nature versus nurture,’ a more accurate way of describing gene-environment interactions is ‘nature through nurture.’
The gene-environment interaction of colon cancer and aspirin is unusual. It involves a mutation at a single location in the genome that has a big effect on colon cancer risk. The past 25 years of human genetics have shown researchers that these sorts of large-effect mutations are rare.
For example, an analysis found that the median effect of a genetic variant on height is only 0.14 millimeters. Instead, there are usually hundreds of variations that each have small but cumulative effects on a person’s disease risk, making them hard to find.
How could researchers detect these small gene-environment interactions across hundreds of spots in the genome?
Polygenic gene-environment interactions
We started by looking for cases where genetic variants across the genome showed different effects on a person’s biology in different environments. Rather than trying to detect the small effects of each genetic variant one at a time, we aggregated data across the entire genome to turn these small individual effects into a large, genome-wide effect.
Using data from the UK Biobank – a large database containing genetic and health data from about 500,000 people – we estimated the influence of millions of genetic variants on 33 complex traits and diseases, such as height and asthma. We grouped people based on environmental exposures such as air pollution, cigarette smoking and dietary patterns. Finally, we developed statistical tests to study how the effects of genetics on disease risk and biomarker levels varied with these exposures.
We found three types of gene-environment interactions.
First, we found 19 pairs of complex traits and environmental exposures that are influenced by genetic variants across the genome. For example, the effect of genetics on white blood cell levels in the body differed between smokers and nonsmokers. When we compared the effects of genetic mutations between the two groups, the strength of gene-environment interaction suggested that smoking changes the way genetics influence white blood cell counts.
Second, we looked for cases where the heritability of a trait varies depending on the environment. In other words, rather than some genetic variants having different effects in different environments, all of them are made stronger in some environments. For example, we found that the heritability of body mass index – the ratio of weight to height – increased by 5% for the most active people. This means genetics plays a larger role in BMI the more active you are. We found 28 such trait-environment pairs, including HDL cholesterol levels and alcohol consumption, as well as neuroticism and self-reported sleeplessness.
Third, we looked for a type of gene-environment interaction called proportional or joint amplification. Here, genetic effects grow with increased environmental exposures, and vice versa. This results in a relatively equal balance of genetic and environmental effects on a trait. For example, as self-reported time spent watching television increased, both genetic and environmental variance increased for a person’s waist-to-hip ratio. This likely reflects the influence of other behaviors related to time spent watching television, such as decreased physical exercise. We found 15 such trait-environment pairs, including lung capacity and smoking, and glucose levels and alcohol consumption.
Environmental factors, such as cigarette smoke and the medications you take, can interact with your genes in unexpected ways. jaouad.K/iStock via Getty Images Plus
We also looked for cases where biological sex, instead of environmental exposures, influenced interactions with genes. Previous work had shown evidence of these gene-by-sexinteractions, and we found additional examples of the effects of biological sex on all three types of gene-environment interactions. For example, we found that neuroticism had genetic effects that varied across sex.
Finally, we also found that multiple types of gene-environment interactions can affect the same trait. For example, the effects of genetics on systolic blood pressure varied by sex, indicating that some genetic variants have different effects in men and women.
New gene-environment models
How do we make sense of these distinct types of gene-environment interactions? We argue that they can help researchers better understand the underlying biological mechanisms that lead from genetic and environmental risks to disease, and how genetic variation leads to differences in disease risk between people.
Genes related to the same function work together in a unit called a pathway. For example, we can say that genes involved in making heme – the component of red blood cells that carries oxygen – are collectively part of the heme synthesis pathway. The resulting amounts of heme circulating in the body influence other biological processes, including ones that could lead to the development of anemia and cancer. Our model suggests that environmental exposures modify different parts of these pathways, which may explain why we saw different types of gene-environment interactions.
In the future, these findings could lead to treatments that are more personalized based on a person’s genome. For example, clinicians might one day be able to tell whether someone is more likely to decrease their risk of heart disease by taking weight loss drugs or by exercising.
Our results show how studying gene-environment interactions can tell researchers not only about which genetic and environmental factors increase your risk of disease, but also what goes wrong in the body where.
Arun Durvasula has received funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Science.
ELBA, N.Y., May 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC (“Greenbacker”), an energy transition-focused investment manager and independent power producer, today announced the start of major construction activities on its Cider Solar Farm (“Cider”) in Genesee County, New York. Cider, which broke ground on early construction activities in late 2024, was the first renewable energy project of its kind to receive a siting permit from the state’s Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Transmission (“ORES”) under Section 94-c rules and, upon completion in late 2026, will be New York’s largest solar farm to date.
“We are pleased to begin major construction on New York’s largest solar energy project yet,” said Dan de Boer, Greenbacker Interim CEO and Head of Infrastructure. “Cider offers tangible economic benefits to Genesee County communities and the broader region, and it represents an important milestone in New York’s clean energy transition that will power the state forward for years to come.”
Cider will deliver significant energy and economic benefits to its surrounding communities. Once it enters commercial operation, Cider is expected to supply about one million megawatt-hours of renewable electricity per year – enough to power approximately 120,000 New York households.1 The project is also projected to generate roughly $100 million in revenue to the Genesee County community over its operational lifespan through property taxes, host community agreements, and tax benefits.
Cider’s initial construction phase will focus on substantive civil and mechanical activities, including placement of steel piling and racking for solar modules. All phases of construction are expected to be fully underway by mid-summer, including electrical wiring and installation of the high-voltage utility interconnection infrastructure.
The utility-scale photovoltaic solar project, which spans approximately 2,500 acres, will also support hundreds of construction jobs. Since day one, Greenbacker has committed to working with local Genesee County organized labor whenever possible and seeks to meet – and exceed – all wage and hiring requirements outlined by the state. Additionally, Greenbacker has secured a Project Labor Agreement with a New York-based bona fide building and construction trade organization to ensure Cider is staffed with experienced, skilled, and trained union workers.
“Our union is pleased to provide local, highly skilled labor supporting Cider’s construction,” said Carpenter’s Local 276 Business Manager Chris Austin. “While this is an important moment for New York’s green energy ambitions, it is an even bigger indicator of the growing strength of our state’s specialized workforce—which is drawn chiefly from labor unions like ours—to support projects like Cider in the Empire State.”
Greenbacker became Cider’s long-term owner and operator following its acquisition of the project from Hecate Energy LLC (“Hecate”), a leading developer of renewable power projects and energy storage solutions in the U.S. Cider is Greenbacker’s largest clean energy project to date, for which it secured $950 million in aggregate financing to support its acquisition, construction, and operation.
The project also plans to employ agrivoltaics—the practice of utilizing a site for both solar photovoltaic power generation and agricultural activities. Initially, Cider plans to host rotational sheep grazing on over 300 acres, with the potential to host additional acreage over Cider’s operational lifetime, as part of a more cost-effective, nature-based approach to vegetation management at the site.
The start of Cider’s construction marks an important milestone in New York’s efforts to build a robust green energy workforce and achieve its clean energy goals. Solar projects like Cider have created 14,000 good-paying jobs statewide.2 During its first year of operation, the energy generated by Cider is expected to offset approximately 680,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide,3 which according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is equivalent to the annual emissions from over 150,000 passenger vehicles.
As of December 31, 2024, Greenbacker’s clean energy assets had cumulatively produced more than 11 million MWh of clean power since January 2016, abating over 7 million metric tons of carbon4 and saving nearly 8 billion gallons of water.5 Greenbacker’s fleet of operating and pre-operating projects currently support, or are expected to support, thousands of green jobs.6
About Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC is a publicly reporting, non-traded limited liability sustainable infrastructure company that both acquires and manages income-producing renewable energy and other energy-related businesses, including solar and wind farms, and provides asset management services to other renewable energy investment vehicles. We seek to acquire and operate high-quality projects that sell clean power under long-term contracts to high-creditworthy counterparties such as utilities, municipalities, and corporations. We are long-term owner-operators, who strive to be good stewards of the land and responsible members of the communities in which we operate. Greenbacker conducts its asset management business through its wholly owned subsidiary, Greenbacker Capital Management, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. We believe our focus on power production and asset management creates value that we can then pass on to our shareholders—while facilitating the transition toward a clean energy future. For more information, please visit https://greenbackercapital.com.
4 Data is as of December 31, 2024. When compared with a similar amount of power generation from fossil fuels. Carbon abatement is calculated using the EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator which uses the Avoided Emissions and generation Tool (AVERT) US national weighted average CO2 marginal emission rate to convert reductions of kilowatt-hours into avoided units of carbon dioxide emissions.
5 Data is as of December 31, 2024. Water saved by Greenbacker’s clean energy projects is compared to the amount of water needed to produce the same amount of power by burning coal. Gallons of water saved are calculated based on Operational water consumption and withdrawal factors for electricity generating technologies: a review of existing literature – IOPscience, J Macknick et al 2012 Environ. Res. Lett. 7 045802.
Source: International Marine Contractors Association – IMCA
Headline: Recent approval of IMO’s net-zero framework for international shipping
Members of IMCA’s Marine Policy & Regulatory Affairs (MPRA) Committee and Margaret Fitzgerald, IMCA Head of Legal & Regulatory Affairs, participated in recent discussions at the 83rd session of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 83) aimed at setting shipping on a trajectory to reach net zero by 2050.
It was a historic moment at the IMO when, on 11 April, MEPC 83 approved the draft legal text for incorporation into annex VI of the MARPOL Convention on its net-zero framework.
In accordance with its 2023 revised greenhouse gas (GHG) strategy, the package of measures comprises of two elements:
A global fuel intensity standard (GFI) measuring how much greenhouse gas is emitted for each unit of energy used, that ships must reduce over time,
An economic measure, that will require ships operating above GFI thresholds to acquire remedial units to balance their excess emissions, while those using zero or near-zero GHG fuels or technologies will be eligible for financial rewards for their lower emissions profile.
From 2028, ships with a gross tonnage of 5,000 GT or greater will be required to calculate their GHG fuel intensity (GFI) against a reference value of 93.3 gCO₂eq/MJ (the industry average in 2008), with mandatory reduction targets across two compliance tiers over the coming years.
In terms of the economic measure, while there was significant support for a simple GHG levy, the compromise is an approach that establishes a two-tier carbon credits system of ‘remedial units’ and ‘surplus units’ that shipowners can trade to achieve compliance.
The proposed text will now be circulated with an accompanying resolution in anticipation of adoption by an extraordinary session of the MEPC (MEPC ES/2) in October this year. If adopted, shipping will be the first sector to implement a globally agreed GHG pricing mechanism.
IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez reminded delegates that the package of measures approved at MEPC 83 was only one step on international shipping’s journey to 2050 and much more work is needed to get there.
MEPC 83 has identified a raft of new guidelines that will need to be developed, as well as a list of existing guidelines that will need to be amended to support the legal text.
It will take some time to fully unpack what the economic impact of these measures on the offshore marine contacting sector will be, but IMCA’s MPRA Committee will do so over the next few months and will publish relevant guidance for members in due course.
IMCA’s MPRA Committee will lead a seminar on 12 November 2025 analysing the outcome of October’s extraordinary session of the MEPC – please save the date in your calendars.
More than 16,000 new extendable niches at three columbaria in Fanling, Eastern District and Sha Tin will open for applications from May 19, the Food & Environmental Hygiene Department announced today.
Wo Hop Shek Columbarium Phase VI in Fanling will provide 4,000 standard niches and 50 large niches, while Cape Collinson-San Ha Columbarium in Eastern District and Shek Mun Columbarium in Sha Tin will each provide 6,000 standard niches and 50 large niches for application.
The department said applicants should only file one application form to apply for either a large or standard niche for the same deceased person.
Applicants have to fill in the particulars of at least three deceased people when applying for a large niche. For a standard niche, applicants must fill in at least one deceased person’s details.
The department will allocate the niches by open drawing of lots and computer random balloting, and it expects to conduct the exercise in the third quarter of this year.
Starting May 19, application forms can be downloaded from the department’s website.
Additionally, application forms can be obtained from the department’s Hong Kong or Kowloon Cemeteries & Crematoria Offices, District Environmental Hygiene Offices, the Home Affairs Department’s Home Affairs Enquiry Centres, or by fax via hotline 2841 9111.
Applications can also be made online from the same day.
The application deadline is June 18.
A free talk will be held at 10.30am on May 24 at Yuen Chau Kok Community Hall in Sha Tin to provide the public with more information on the coming public niche allocation, green burial facilities/services and more.
Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
On the eve of the government hour, Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the Far Eastern Federal District Yuri Trutnev and Minister for the Development of the Far East and Arctic Alexey Chekunkov took part in a joint meeting of the State Duma committees on the topic “On current issues of socio-economic and infrastructural development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation.” Representatives of legislative and executive authorities of the Arctic regions took part in the event via videoconference.
Yuri Trutnev and Minister for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic Alexey Chekunkov took part in a joint meeting of the State Duma committees on the topic “On current issues of socio-economic and infrastructural development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation”
May 14, 2025
Yuri Trutnev and Minister for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic Alexey Chekunkov took part in a joint meeting of the State Duma committees on the topic “On current issues of socio-economic and infrastructural development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation”
May 14, 2025
Yuri Trutnev and Minister for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic Alexey Chekunkov took part in a joint meeting of the State Duma committees on the topic “On current issues of socio-economic and infrastructural development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation”
May 14, 2025
Yuri Trutnev and Minister for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic Alexey Chekunkov took part in a joint meeting of the State Duma committees on the topic “On current issues of socio-economic and infrastructural development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation”
May 14, 2025
Yuri Trutnev and Minister for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic Alexey Chekunkov took part in a joint meeting of the State Duma committees on the topic “On current issues of socio-economic and infrastructural development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation”
May 14, 2025
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Yuri Trutnev and Minister for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic Alexey Chekunkov took part in a joint meeting of the State Duma committees on the topic “On current issues of socio-economic and infrastructural development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation”
“For us, contact and communication with parliamentarians are of great importance. Many of the deputies work in the territories, communicate with people, solve issues of enterprise development and solve people’s problems that arise every day. We value both our joint legislative work and work with people in the territories. We are always ready for contact, discussion, and search for new solutions,” Yuri Trutnev opened the meeting.
Five years ago, the head of state approved strategic documents for the development of the Arctic zone of Russia: the Fundamentals of the State Policy of the Russian Federation in the Arctic and the Strategy for the Development of the Arctic Zone and Ensuring National Security until 2035. Over the past period, with the participation of State Duma deputies, a regulatory framework for the development of the Arctic has been created: 16 federal laws, 7 decrees of the President and 75 acts of the Government.
“The Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, as well as the Far Eastern Federal District, by decision of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, are defined as geostrategic territories, on the development of which depends the future of not only Russia, but also the entire world. The richest reserves of minerals, which make up a significant share of the all-Russian, and in some respects of the world, the Northern Sea Route, the military-strategic potential determine the importance of the region for the economy and defense capability of the country, and form an increased interest in the Arctic of the international community,” said Yuri Trutnev.
Complex production projects are being implemented in the Arctic zone, high-tech enterprises and liquefied natural gas plants are being built, modern research stations and floating nuclear power plants are being created, and new nuclear icebreakers are being laid down at shipyards. “All of this is the result of the great work of people living in the Arctic. Those who live in Murmansk and Arkhangelsk, Norilsk and Naryan-Mar, Anadyr and Salekhard,” emphasized Yuri Trutnev.
“The Arctic is a geostrategic territory of global scale. It is one of the key economic engines of Russia’s development. Today, the Arctic already produces 7.5% of the gross domestic product and 11% of Russia’s exports. The world’s largest zone with special conditions for doing business has been created. Our central task is to ensure such conditions for the life and work of people in the Arctic so that all plans for the development of the macroregion come true. Plans in which leading Russian companies are currently investing more than 35 trillion rubles. As the projects that have already begun are implemented, the importance of the Arctic in the economy, logistics and ensuring Russia’s national security will only increase,” noted Alexey Chekunkov, Minister for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic.
“Russia is the leading Arctic power. Our country has a historical right to this title and, despite everything, consistently increases its presence in this region. This is our direct duty to our ancestors and descendants. After all, the basis of the historical conquest and development of the Russian Arctic was the heroic and selfless work of our compatriots. These are the expeditions of Toll, Sedov, Papanin, Schmidt, our respected, legendary polar explorer Artur Nikolaevich Chilingarov and others. All those whose work created the basis for the growth of our geostrategic advantage and economic potential. And today the determining geopolitical, economic, transport, environmental role of Russia in the Arctic should be recognized by the entire world community,” noted Nikolai Kharitonov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic.
An important part of the development of the Arctic economy has become the work to attract investment. The world’s largest special economic zone has been created. Attention is paid to the social sphere. Thanks to national projects and a single presidential subsidy, social infrastructure is being modernized in the Arctic: hospitals, clinics, schools, kindergartens, and gyms are being built. Decisions have been made to create new university campuses in Murmansk and Arkhangelsk. Developers are receiving support. Northerners can improve their housing conditions thanks to preferential Arctic mortgages. By decision of Russian President Vladimir Putin, master plans have been developed for 16 key Arctic settlements.
International cooperation and development of the Northern Sea Route were discussed. Environmental issues were considered, including the elimination of landfills, abandoned industrial buildings, and accumulated hazardous waste. Attention was paid to the implementation of a program to support traditional economic activities of the indigenous peoples of the North.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
